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Industry and Organisation....
Step 1 : Answer the following questions :
1. What is IPC Media?
2. How many people do their products reach?
3. Give 3 examples of magazine titles…. Include the NME.
4. Who owns IPC Media?
5. What are the 6 divisions of the company?
Step 2 : re-write your answers in a paragraph which will describe IPC Media. 100 words.
Step 3 : visit the ipc website and find out about the publishing division called ‘ipc ignite’, which publishes the NME. Write 50 words.
Regulation and ControlHow is the NME controlled? You must consider the ‘codes of practice’ which apply to journalists…..Step 1 : Write down the meaning of libel…..http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/A1183394http://www.urban75.org/info/libel.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DefamationStep 2 : Think of an example from the NME … change one of the headlines to make it libellous! Start your sentence with “ If the headline on page xxxx of the NME said “ bla bla” ……Step 3 : Read this section from the 'National Union of Journalists’ code of practice :Step 4 : Consider point 2 and point 6. Write them out and then add couple of sentences saying how these points could easily be forgotten in the NME. Invent some storylines about pop stars which might break these guidelines. This will show your understanding of the issues.
Promotion and Marketing...How can magazines promote themselves?(What is the emblem below promoting?)Create a brainstorm of your ideas……try using bubblus.com
Include some examples from campaigns you have seen.http://www.mediaknowall.com/gcse/advertising/advintro.htmlhttp://www.mediaknowall.com/Advertising/advertisingintro.htmlHow has advertising changed with technology?Have a look at the NME Website, the magazine has become interactive, how?What else can you do on the website apart from read the magazine?How is this different from the 1960's?
You must compare the old and new versions of the NME.Step 1 : place the two versions side by side.Write down : 5 things that are the same. 5 things that are different.Step 2 : Describe the page layout of both publications :- Is the mode of address formal or informal? Why?- Does the old version look more like a newspaper? Why?- Compare the size of the photos.- Compare the photos…. connotations?Step 3 : Talk about the language used in the two versions?- Formal or informal?- Puns?- Enigmas?Step 4 : Describe the target audience for each publication. Has it changed over time? How is the product supposed to appeal to its audience? Give examples.Step 5 : How have changes in technology influenced the product?Aida in Action!!!
All media texts are constructed carefully. Nothing is there by accident. The media present things in the way they choose.All media texts attempt to ATTRACT US by grabbing our attention in some way. For example, in a film this could be the title sequence, including loud sounds and fast moving action. Media texts then need to keep our INTEREST by using persuasive techniques and language. They might also use enigmas to keep us puzzled so that we carry on watching/reading/listening. They try to appeal to our DESIRES, as suggested by the Uses & Gratifications theory. This says that we all have four basic needs.Diversion (the need for entertainment)Surveillance (the need for information)Personal Identity (the need to check out our own lives)Personal Relationships (the need to share with others)Media texts can satisfy these needs in many ways. These use many LINES OF APPEAL to draw us in – you can find these at www.mediaknowall.com in the advertising section, but they don’t only apply to adverts.Finally, media texts try to get us to take some ACTION. This might be to buy a product, ring a phone number, tune in next week, visit a website etc… Very often they do this by telling us how urgent our actions are…. ‘sale ends Friday’ etc….When you want to talk about the visuals (pictures), cover as many of the following as you can :PeopleLocationObjectsDressCamera shots, angles, movementsEditingLightingEffectsGraphicsPrint Products rely on use of IMAGE, VISUALS AND COPY (writing).When talking generally about the images, consider :SizeAngleColourYou can cover everything about the visuals by using the above list (plodcamedleg)The ‘copy’ means the writing. Consider :The fonts – serif or sans serif?The words – why are certain words used?So… now you can identify the actual signifiers but how can you talk about them? It is no good just listing them. You must say how they are used together (create the mise-en-scene) to create certain representations for the target audience. What are the connotations of these signifiers? The following words can help you to cover important media areas, but you don’t need to use them in any specific order. Tick them off as you use them in a piece of writing.Preferred reading – the actual meaning intended by the producer of the media text.Primary/secondary target audience.Juxtaposed/juxtaposition – how and why are opposites placed together (eg. light & dark)Anchor – how is the meaning fixed, or is it?Connotation – what is suggested by the signifiers?Mode of address – the style of the text (comic, serious, formal, informal, direct, indirect)Polysemic – not anchored or fixed, but open to many different interpretations)Enigma – a puzzle to keep us involvedSingle/Multi strand – how many storylines the text has….Representation – the ways in which people/places/events/reality are presented to us (positive, negative, biased, realistic, stereotypical…….)Genre – it is always a good idea to say which genre you are looking at. (sci-fi, horror, news etc…) Every genre has its own conventions (typical things that always appear)Include a mention of Vladimir Propp’s characters – hero, villain, helper, damsel in distress… and Todorov’s narrative structure – equilbrium (balance in the story), disruption (upset) and resolution (the way in which the puzzle is sorted out).You might also want to talk about how images have been cropped to change the meaning.
