Stephen Neal believes that Genre is distinguished by purpose and content.

I will create 2 media products for brief 4. I have chosen this brief because I have always enjoyed music and especially the visual component as I find it fascinating. I took this brief up because I am interested in narrative theory and seeing how music related media have their own narrative. For example, I really like Todorov’s theory that in every media product, the characters go through stages. They start in an equilibrium, something disrupts it, and they resolve the conflict, creating a new equilibrium.  

The target audience that I will be aiming my products at will be teenagers that enjoy music. This will be 15–21-year-olds who enjoy the visual and textual components to music and who enjoy reading about and discovering new aspiring artists. In terms of Young and Rubicam’s Psychometric profiles, my target audience will be the explorer’s. This is because they like to discover new concepts and genres of music. In terms of Katz and Blumler’s Uses and Gratifications theory, I aim to create products that target people who want to seek media to fill emotional experiences and escape their ordinary lives. I enjoy reading the NME music magazine so I will ensure that the style, tone, and flow of my magazine matches that of NME’s style. I enjoy their style because of its busy front covers and detailed content. As for my music video, I am influenced by self-directed videos by artists. This is because it shows their own story through a video that is created exactly how they envisioned it.  

I want both my music video and my magazine to be linked in content and representation. This will look like my magazine and my music video both featuring a sponsorship. I will consistently reinforce the branding for the sponsorship through out the video and have specific articles based on the sponsorships. I will ensure that throughout my products, my indexical signs are consistent and provide the correct meaning that I want to put across. 

1)Why, according to the news report do investors like the Video Games Industry so much? 

The news report Suggests that because video games get increasing engagement, Investers that are interested in the area could get big returns from it. With this rapidly growing engagement, Companies like Take-Two Interactive and Electronic Arts are increasing their sales and setting best case price targets at around $155. 

2) What are E sports? 

E sports refers to a form of competition using video games. It is usually organized; multiplayer games and the gamers are usually professional.  

3) How is new digital media technology changing the way that video games are accessed by consumers? 

Traditionally, everyone would go out to get PCs and Consoles to be able to play video games. However nowadays, mobile gaming has become popular with the percentage of time spent gaming on mobile devices has surpassed that of on console or PC. 

4) What does FPS and MMORP stand for? 

FPS – First Person Shooter. – A game that puts the player in first person whilst containing guns. 

MMORP – Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing game.  

Bandura’s theory suggests that individuals learn by observing other, imitating behaviours and receiving reinforcement like punishment for theory actions. Putting this is the context of media audiences, he believes that media portrayals can influence the audience’s behaviour by providing them with models to imitate. Bandura’s view is different from Shirky and Jenkins view of media audiences because Shirky and Jenkins argue that media audiences don’t just passively absorb the media they are consuming but they rather actively share and remix it in complex ways. In conclusion, they all achnolage the active role of audiences engaging with media, but they differ in how they do it. 

Active Audience – Engages, interprets and responds to a media text in different ways and is capable of challenging the ideas encoded in it. 

Passive Audience – More likely to accept the messages encoded in a media text without challenge and are therefore more likely to be directly affected by the messages. 

Extension: Explain the ways in which media products are thought to impact on audiences cognitively, affectively and behaviourally? 

Media products can impact audiences because they can provide them with dramaticised information that they believe is factual and real. 

I intend to create a magazine cover called Ambrose which means immortal. This magazine will be based on fashion and discuss the new forms of fashion. The masthead ‘Ambrose’ will suggest to the viewers that fashion is never ending and there are new evolving styles that appear all the time. This magazine will be distributed both physically and digitally, so it is accessible for everyone in the target population. 

The target population for this magazine will be mainly women and in their 20s. This is because they enjoy fashion and are always looking for new styles and beauty tips. My secondary audience will be anyone who likes to follow fashion celebrities. Using Young and Rubicam’s theory of psychographics, my target audience will be explorers. This is because they will be interested in all the new products and will want to read my magazine to be the first people to find out about the newest tips and tricks in fashion. 

The Uses and Gratification theory created by Blumer and Katz suggests that people seek specific media to satisfy their own personal needs. This will be useful to promote this magazine because my target audience will look to the magazine as a way of filling their need for the newest fashion, gossip, and drama. By understanding what my target audience is and enjoys, I can tailor the cover and contents of the magazine to fill their craving for fashion/drama. 

The cover will be the main way I will attract my viewers, so it is important that the mis-en-scene is presented in a way that will spark my audience’s attention. I will do this by making my model have a direct address to the audience which will invite them in by making it feel personal. I will scatter the contents around the cover to create a busy and interesting photo which will attract my audience and make them think of what kind of information will be included in the magazine. I will use light colors and a simplistic design to make sure that it will appeal to the psychographic personalities of my target population.  

The Two Step Flow theory offers a valuable insight into the premotion of this magazine. With the understanding that my target population enjoys fashion, using this theory will increase the magazines reach. They will then share the magazine with all their friends and social groups that have the same interests which will influence them to purchase the magazine as well and in turn, boost the popularity of it.