AS Media Report:
Danielle Commins

Mark's and Spencer's Christmas Advert- #followthefairies (2014):

In Mark's and Spencer's Christmas Advert, age is represented in a variety of ways. First of it shows a middle aged man struggling to wrap his present for his partner/ wife. This gift is of an alarm clock, and he gives the audience the impression that he isn't sure if he should of got something else. This impression is given through his facial expression and body language. It shows this by him keep turning around and looking at his partner/ wife cautiously. Suddenly the alarm clock is replaced with a bra and he shows no suspicion of where it came from or how it got there it just shows him looking pleased and happy with the replacement. This gives a positive feeling towards the audience as it shows that he cares about his wife and how she feels. However further on in the advert it shows a young girl looking out of her window watching the two fairies fly around helping people, this can link into the child's imagination of believing in fairies and the tooth fairy showing a completely different attitude to the fairies than what the middle aged man shown. Towards the end of the trailer it shows a couple of children sitting in their home watching TV and playing on their technology, ignoring the snow outside, this concludes the perception of all adults believing children are spending too much time on their technology and watching TV than going out playing in the snow. It later shows the fairies freezing the TV aerials and causing it to snow therefore giving the children the option to go out side in the snow. This idea gives a negative feeling towards the audience that children are growing up too fast. This can be stereotyped. The whole idea of children growing up too soon and usually technology too much is then questioned again once it shows the children having fun and laughing out in the snow with each other. 

Mise- en- scene is used in this advert. The idea of fairies being used is supported and shown through their costume and outfit worn, this includes a dress, magic dust, and fairy wings enabling them to fly. The costumes also link into the location,  this is as when it shows the children playing outside in their scarf, coats, gloves and hat it links into the location as it is snowing.


If I Stay Official Trailer- (2014):
In this trailer age is shown in different ways and ways in which you would not expect in real life. It shows the teenage girls having a normal teenage life however not like all teenagers. She has young parents who were both into rock music including her dad being in a rock band however this does not have the same effect on Mia, who has this dream of going to Juilliard and playing the cello. However after the accident Mia has the responsibility of whether she should wake up or not. This is shown by the nurse saying; 'if you live, if you die, its all up to you'. In this film Mia and Adam are seen and represented as stereotypical teenagers. This is as they are as they say 'in love'. This represents most teenagers their age being in love. This also represents what most teenagers are like today when it comes to their parents and boyfriend/ girlfriends. This gives a negative view on teenagers as not all teenagers are the same and just focus on their love life and their girlfriend/ boyfriend. This is all represented from 1:05 till 1:36.

Mise- en- scene is also used in this trailer to fit into the idea of nurses.

 

Blonde- I l Loved You- (2014)
In this video, age is represented in a negative way. It shows two teenage girls being rebellious causing trouble in a variety of ways. This creates a negative effect on all teenagers as its showing that all teenagers are the same and cause trouble all the time. It also shows and represents that teenagers are violent. This shows a bad stereotypical representation of all teenagers to all adults. It shows the two girls violently smashing a car window with a bat, setting of a stink bomb in a bus then later robbing a restaurant and threatening people.

Mise-en- scene is used in this for when the girls are robbing the restaurant. They are wearing a mask, gloves and using a bat as a weapon.

Double page spread analysis:
The changing woman:
Text:

The font of the word "THE" is used in bold capital writing and colour. However the text under that "changing woman" is still quite bold however it is not as bold as the writing before and this text is in lower case and more of a feminine font. This heading gives the audience an impression of what the article is going to be about. For example; "THE changing woman" gives the image of Leighton Meester changing her personality to fit to different scenarios such as the programme 'Gossip Girl'.
The following text starting with 'The gossip girl you love to hate..' is wrote in lower case, feminine like font, however her name "Leighton Meester" is in the same but in bold instead to stand out over the rest. Lastly the main text is all wrote in simple feminine text, this is clear to read but is also effective as well and links into the theme of the story.

Layout:
The layout used in this image is very simple but very effective at the same time. The layout of the text is very sophisticated. The main text is fitted around the sub- heading which makes it look effective and sophisticated. This is also very symmetric therefore it looks very classy and it is very clear to read. The layout is also effective as the writing at the top is the biggest and as more text is added the smaller the text gets therefore creating an effective article.

Image:
Leighton is not looking directly into the camera which could suggest vulnerability and secrecy however by having her shoulder out shows she is comfortable and confident with her body therefore this could link to her character: 'Blair' which she plays in the show 'Gossip Girl'  to what she is like in real life. This could suggests what she is like as a person and the possibility of the story being about her two personalities. The image of Leighton takes up one whole side of the double page spread, this enables the audience or reader to clearer see her and read her emotions through her facial expression and body language.  Black and White suggests sophistication and in-depth.

Rita Ora:
Text:
The masthead of this double page spread takes up both sides therefore making it stand out over everything else. This text "RITA ORA" is in bold red font therefore meaning it is clearly seen and read over the white background. It also in front of her body therefore covering part of her face however it is still clear to see and read. The main text has been used in a white box background therefore making it easy for the reader/ audience to notice and easy to read. The majority of the text has been used in black text, which is easy to read and links into the theme of the article, however some of the text has been used in ted font making it stand out. It also is effective as it links into the masthead of her name. Anyhow on the second page of the double spread the text used in red has been used in a different font, this font is more of a fun text, this has been used in a different font to show which parts are the questions, this is also so it is clear to the audience and can easily find it without having to read through the whole text.

Layout:
The masthead is taking up half of the double spread which suggests it is one of the most important parts of the double spread and it the first thing that is wanted to be seen. Rita Ora herself is placed near enough in the centre of the double spread however not exactly but still takes up parts of both sides. The layout of the main text is spread out se-perately over the two pages making it equal and effective. It has been lay on the darkest part of the background therefore making it easy for the reader/ audience to read.

Image:
The image of Rita Ora is placed over the two pages and is near enough placed in the centre of the two pages, therefore making her the main focus of the double page spread and one of the first thing that people see. However the main image is covered by the title of her name "RITA ORA". The main image is in colour however the background behind her of the wall is used in black and white, this is effective as it makes her stand out more and you are able to see the details of her facial expression and body language more clearly.

AS Media

Textual analysis/Survey

How did my Textual Analysis help with my pre- production?

My textual analysis has helped with my pre- production as it has help me on the way I want to lay my CD out as I have annotated a variety of pop CD covers. I have also annotated each feature and why they have used it or why they have put it there to help me with my pre- production. I have decided to annotate three different pop CD covers to have a range of answers and ideas for my pre- production. I have focused my CD at one CD in particular. This is Selena Gomez star dance album. This album has helped me as it has helped me decide I want to make my CD quite sophisticated. Also I want to use black and white as my main colour scheme. I mainly focused on the main image, masthead, layout and colour scheme. Therefore the textual analysis has helped me decide whether I want to use capital or lower case letters, the layout of the main image. What colours I want to use and how many to use and where exactly to use them and the font of the Masthead including the name of the artist and album name. It lastly helped me with the body language of the artist and the type of body shots.

How did my survey help with my pre- production?

My survey help me with my pre- production as its shows the most popular answers for each question. The results show that my CD is going to be focused on women as the majority of people who answered my survey were female. It also helped with the age category. I am going to be focusing my CD on women aged between 16- 20. My survey also shows the most popular genre which is Pop which helps me as it shows what CD they buy the most therefore I will base my CD on that genre to get more of an audience. One main aspect that helped me with the pre- production was the aspect or aspects that draw people most to an album and the most popular answer by far was the artist or band on the front. By finding out the most amount of time spent listening to music it helps me understand and figure out how many songs to put on the album. The most popular was up to three hours. Lastly a lot of the answers from favourite band or singer show’s a variety of singers and different pop singers therefore I am going to try and focus my album on similar artists.

Who is my target audience and why?

My target audience is women aged between 16- 20 and their favourite genre or a genre they like is Pop. I have chosen this as my target audience as the majority of my survey shown that women were the most popular therefore more women are going to looking at my CD. I have based the age between 16- 20 because my survey also shown the most popular as was 16- 20 and because I wanted to focus my CD on a young but a quite mature audience.

Pre- production CD Cover

Front Cover-

Back Cover-

QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS.

1. What is your gender?

•  Female- 19 (73.08%)

• Male- 7 (26.92%)

My results from my questionnaire shows that the majority of people who answered it are women. Therefore i am going to target my CD at only women.

2. What is your age?

• 16 to 20- 24 (92.31%)

• 39 to 45- 2 (7.69%)

My results from my questionnaire shows that the majority of people who answered the questionnaire are between the ages of 16- 20, so for my final CD cover i am going to target the audience between the ages of 16 to 20.

3. What type of music do you listen to?

Pop- 11 (42.31%)

Hip Hop/Rap- 3 (11.54%)

Jazz- 2 (7.69%)

Rock- 8 (30.77%)

Reggae- 2 (7.69%)

Dance- 4 (15.38%)

R'n'B- 6 (23.08%)

Other- 11 (42.31%)


My results from my questionnaire shows that Pop is the most popular, however so does other but it consists of different types therefore still making pop the most listened to. Therefore i am going to base my CD on my results and make it a Pop CD.

4. How much do you spend on a CD?

• £0- £5- 5 (19.23%)

• £6- £10- 16 (61.54%)

• £11- £15- 4 (15.38%)

• £16- £20- 1 (3.85%)

These results from my questionnaire show a variety of answers, however the price that was chosen the most was £6- £10 therefore i am going to make my CD around the same price as it is not too expensive but is not too cheap either. This price suggests a variety of people and a more wide range can buy it as it is a reasonable price.

5. What is the main thing that draws you to a CD cover?

• Artist/ Band- 23 (88.46%)

• Font- 1 (3.85%)

• Colours- 3 (11.54%)

• Image- 8 (30.77%)

My results show a variety of results however it clearly shows the most popular and thing that draws someone to a CD is the artist/band therefore i am going to use people as a band or artist on the front of my CD.

6. How often do you buy a CD?

• Never- 2 (7.69%)

• Monthly- 8 (30.77%)

• Every couple of months- 8 (30.77%)

• Every six months- 2 (7.69%)

• Yearly- 3 (11.54%)

• Every couple of years- 3 (11.34%)

My results show that there are a variety of time periods that people buy a CD, however my results show the most common time is monthly and every couple of months which means i am going to make my CD cover as attractive and easy to seek attention for those who buy a CD quite often.

7. How often do you listen to music a day?

• 0- 3 hours- 12 (46.15%)

• 3- 6 hours- 10 (38.46%)

• 6- 9 hours- 2 (7.69%)

• 9 hours+- 2 (7.69%)

My results show that there is a variety of how much music people listen to a day, however it shows the most common time is between 0- 3 hours. This means i am not going to put too much songs on the album which will make it over the most common amount of time.

How do you buy your music?

• Itunes- 11 (42.31%)

• CD's- 10 (38.46%)

• Download Illegally- 3 (11.54%)

• Other- 2 (7.69%)

My results show that iTunes is the most common way to buy music however CD's is the second most common which suggests quite a lot of people would buy my CD's if it attracts them as it is one of the most popular ways to buy music.

9. What do you associate with your favourite music genre?

The results from this question suggests there are a variety of things that people associate with the music they like, for example: drums, guitar, parties, pop; etc. So for my CD i am going to make sure i include something which links to the genre which will attract people more.

10. Do you have a favourite artist(s) or group(s), if so please list below?

The results of this questions shows a variety of answers and different genres, quite a lot including the most common genre- pop. Some examples listed are: Ed Sheeran, 5 seconds of summer, Beyonce, Oasis; etc. This helps give me an idea of what sort of music people like and helps me with the songs i am going to include on my CD. Also with the colour scheme and layout as i can look at the different artists given albums to give me an idea on how and what to do on mine.

This magazine front cover is targeting women aged 20- 35. The social demographic of this magazine is group B and C1. The main image is a single picture of Beyonce. This image takes up the whole centre of the magazine, this suggests that she is important. Her body language and pose also suggests classy and expensive. The clothes Beyonce is wearing suggest, expensive, rich and glamourous. This is as she is wearing a gold glittery dress, which stands out and reflects the lighting of the dress. The dress is used in this colour to stand out. This is as it is place on a  very limited coloured background, of silver and pink. Lastly the main image used direct address and full eye contact, this is used to direct the target audience and to draw them in. It shows that the magazine is targeted at them. By Beyonce being used on the magazine it suggests the magazine is going to be glamorous and unique just like her.

The masthead used is in big, bold and capital letters. This suggests they want it to stand out and be seen. Also by the writing being in pink it targets the correct audience and it is seen as being unique. 

The main cover line; 'Celebrate' is also used in pink lettering, however it is used in a fancy and feminine font. This is place over the front off Beyonce so it is seen. The masthead and the main cover line is used in the same colour to stand out and to be seen and so it is one of the first thing seen by the audience after the main image.

One cover line that standout over the others is 'Beyonce, We high- five you!' this is seen important as it is one of a few things used in the colour black, this is so it stands out over the background and is also one of the things you seen after the main image. This also suggests people look up to her and praise her. She is seen as a role model and people may want to buy the magazine as she is placed on it. 'Special birthday issue' is also placed over Beyonce's body which could suggest it is a very important part of the magazine. This is used in white, unique writing which stands out as it is placed over the top of a variety of colours, such as silver, pink and gold which ames it stand out more.