AOB 4- Representation of music press

Stephen Gately was a singer in a very popular boyband called Boyzone. Gately died in 2009, unexpectedly, of an unknown death thought to be triggered by a build up of fluid in the lungs.
It was reported a few days after by Jan Moir that it was a 'strange, lonely and troubling death' in her column in the Daily Mail which had been changed from 'there was nothing natural about Stepehen Gately death' after many complaints.
She suggests that the death was 'more than a little sleazy'. She writes that what ever he died of it was by no standards a natural cause and that all the postmortem shows is that it was not murder but anything else could have happened. She thinks the circumstances are too weird and that people as young as Gately do not just die in their sleep like he did.
This annoyed and upset Gately's family and fans, they were not happy in how Moir had described the death. Describing it in the Guardian as 'a catty take on the death....' going on to say it 'pandered to the prejudices of its readers'. and in the article by Brooker it says how it was hateful and spiteful towards him and his family. Brooker uses sarcastic language of Moir being a criminal investigator to show her feeling of how dare she write this.
The Daily Mail and the Guardian is targeted at completely different audiences and therefore the content is going to do this. The Daily Mail is a tabloid newspapers targeted at a less educated more working/ medium class audience. A big thing in this type of newspapers which the readers like is the controversial content so this type of story and big controversial headlines is quite common however offensive it may seem. A reader of the guardian however is said to be more a upper class individual who's likes to go into a lot of detail for the stories and this is exactly what the guardian does. Because of this the audience are going to want to read different stories or the same story but in different ways. So when it comes to a death of a celebrity the Daily Mail likes to look into it deeply and sharply and pin point and triple-guess what might have happened in some ways they may appear offensive in how they do this. Whereas the guardian only reports what is known and thinks that a lot of what the Daily Mail and other taboilds say is a lot of rubbish. This is what so of the readers think too.

AOB 4- How and why is Beyonce represented in different ways?

We had a look at four different Beyonce music videos for the tracks called, Crazy in Love, Single Ladies, Halo and Telephone (Lady Ga Ga and Beyonce). Each of these videos have a different message trying to be portrayed and put across through the video. In the Crazy in Love video, Beyonce dances to a routine in a urban setting and the video does not follow a narrative. She uses party images and of a hydrant bursting and water raining down and wears “revealing” clothing and dances very seductively especially at the beginning, to a high energy and upbeat way to show the power of falling in love. In Single Ladies, she again is doing a dance routine but this time in a white blank studio. She uses a driving forces of lighting in a simple background along with the grayscale effect. She wears a very simple outfit to do be suggestive and in somewhat lustful dance routine. Although the video is very simple with nothing going on in the background with no flashing images it still makes the video have an upbeat and fast-paced feel to create the feeling she has with her lost relationship. In Halo she is wearing much more 'normal' clothes in a somewhat everyday background setting. The video is given a clean and positive look by the use of sunlight which helps to brighten up the video. In this video Beyonce is represented as a normal well educated women with a simple haircut and little make up on. There is a very little story line going on. This shows the feeling of being in love and Beyonce is portrayed in a very pure and innocent light. In Telephone lady Ga Ga, she is wearing some very weird clothes and make-up which goes along with the several nonfigurative scenes. The video has camera shots cutting between the numerous and complex changes between scenes. To show much she does not want to talk. In each of these videos Beyonce plays some very different roles each trying to appeal to a different audience. For example in Crazy In Love she plays a very wild role, which appears to a different audience then some of the others e.g. Halo. This is much more of an action full role than the others so this is why this charcter was picked. In Halo she plays a much more romantic role. This was picked because Halo is much more about being in love so this role would work. Beyonce is trying to be represented in a much quieter and romantic way and so to appeal to more than one group of people, that why she plays a different role in each video. Sasha Fierce is Beyonce’s new, more fun, more sexual and more aggressive alter-ego. However it is much deeper than this, Sasha Fierce is a symbol of an artist who has been taken over by evil to remain in a successful position. Some of her audience might be influenced by the videos and be sucked in to a way that they want to be like her, look like her and behave like her. think that maybe some girls may be influced in how she dances and looks but I do not really think they would copy her actions because they should know they are only videos so of it especially in Crazy In Love is not real. Some people may watch these videos because they are fan's of Beyonce and like to listen to her music. People may also watch these videos or in fact any music video for a specific goal. They can find they can develop from watching it. It may help them to define themselves. By looking at the visuals within the video may add a very valuable content to the video with this depending on your gender for girls Beyonce may be a icon they want to look like but males may watch it because they fancy her and want to look at her. But also videos give a topic of discussion people can have between each other with so many ways of sharing them on the internet and television channels this is a very easy thing.

AOB 3- Creating meaning for music press

I am looking at two front covers from the music magazine NME. The cover on the left dates back to the 1960’s and the one on the right are from 2011. The name of the magazine is so well known to its fans that some of it is being obscured. Both these are targeted at the same young person audience and are trying to get across what music/artistes are included in the magazine and so appeal to the audience.

 The new NME magazine has a very controversial image of lady ga ga on the front wearing a see-through all-in-one sheath type outfit. This is something that would never have been allowed in the 60’s. The magazine also has swearing and a play on words with the ‘unzipped’ and the fact she is wearing a suit with zips on. Again something back in 1960’s they would never have had. Both of these magazines are targeted at music lovers aged 14-30 year old. 

The new magazines appeals to this audience as it has harsh, bright, modern looking colours and all the artistes named on the front cover along with the close-up shot of Lady ga ga all target younger music fans. The mode of address is very blunt, harsh and uses the kind of language that is spoken in everyday conversation amongst young people. The audience aspirations for this magazine are that young women might want to be like lady ga ga e.g. to have a body like her, to be a singer, to be as eccentric as her or as controversial.  There are numerous cover lines on the front cover promising various information on bands, such as Artic Monkeys and so enticing the music lover to buy the magazine. The main cover line promises, so it seems, to let the reader know all the juicy gossip about the main image (Lady Ga Ga).  The recent NME magazine puts across a quite raunchy, sexy and slightly aggressive message, one that says, just be yourself and stick by what you believe.  Reader profile for NME is Male, average age of 23 years. They are obsessed with music and also watch a lot of films. Around half of the readers are students who no doubt spend much of their time either reading it or discussing the content with their peers. The front of the new NME magazine follows the conventions of it’s type. The masthead is bold, bright and so well known by its fans that the full masthead does not necessarily have to be in full view.  The typeface is very modern and easy to read with a mix of black, white and blue for the colours.

The old cover is again aimed at the same audience of 14-30 year old. You can tell as the cover has big bold text and funny headlines that, I think, would appear at the time to this audience. The mode of address this cover gives is again of harsh and humours language like ‘I GO CRAZY’. The audience aprisarts are that young people may aspirer to be like the people on the front. To be able to sing like they do and be famous. There are several cover lines for what the magazines will have inside. This old NME cover gives across the idea of cut out faces that people in music are posh and wear suits. The typeface the mastheads have is of a big bold heading on a black background in the top left corner the same place as the other one. The paper have no real photography just images of cut out heads with little technology  around in those days this is all you can expect. The cover is laid out with the text next to the images and the images scatted nicely around the paper.

Although there are many differences in these magazines like the colour, the images, text used and the fact one is more of a magazine then the other. There are also a few similarities these include the masthead being in the same place. Also the biggest text is in the bottom medium on each.

AOB 3-NME analysis

I am looking at two front covers from the music magazine NME. The cover on the left dates back to the 1960’s and the one on the right are from 2011. The name of the magazine is so well known to its fans that some of it is being obscured. Both these are targeted at the same young person audience and are trying to get across what music/artistes are included in the magazine and so appeal to the audience.

 The new NME magazine has a very controversial image of lady ga ga on the front wearing a see-through all-in-one sheath type outfit. This is something that would never have been allowed in the 60’s. The magazine also has swearing and a play on words with the ‘unzipped’ and the fact she is wearing a suit with zips on. Again something back in 1960’s they would never have had. Both of these magazines are targeted at music lovers aged 14-30 year old. 

The new magazines appeals to this audience as it has harsh, bright, modern looking colours and all the artistes named on the front cover along with the close-up shot of Lady ga ga all target younger music fans. The mode of address is very blunt, harsh and uses the kind of language that is spoken in everyday conversation amongst young people. The audience aspirations for this magazine are that young women might want to be like lady ga ga e.g. to have a body like her, to be a singer, to be as eccentric as her or as controversial.  There are numerous cover lines on the front cover promising various information on bands, such as Artic Monkeys and so enticing the music lover to buy the magazine. The main cover line promises, so it seems, to let the reader know all the juicy gossip about the main image (Lady Ga Ga).  The recent NME magazine puts across a quite raunchy, sexy and slightly aggressive message, one that says, just be yourself and stick by what you believe.  Reader profile for NME is Male, average age of 23 years. They are obsessed with music and also watch a lot of films. Around half of the readers are students who no doubt spend much of their time either reading it or discussing the content with their peers. The front of the new NME magazine follows the conventions of it’s type. The masthead is bold, bright and so well known by its fans that the full masthead does not necessarily have to be in full view.  The typeface is very modern and easy to read with a mix of black, white and blue for the colours.

The old cover is again aimed at the same audience of 14-30 year old. You can tell as the cover has big bold text and funny headlines that, I think, would appear at the time to this audience. The mode of address this cover gives is again of harsh and humours language like ‘I GO CRAZY’. The audience aprisarts are that young people may aspirer to be like the people on the front. To be able to sing like they do and be famous. There are several cover lines for what the magazines will have inside. This old NME cover gives across the idea of cut out faces that people in music are posh and wear suits. The typeface the mastheads have is of a big bold heading on a black background in the top left corner the same place as the other one. The paper have no real photography just images of cut out heads with little technology  around in those days this is all you can expect. The cover is laid out with the text next to the images and the images scatted nicely around the paper.

Although there are many differences in these magazines like the colour, the images, text used and the fact one is more of a magazine then the other. There are also a few similarities these include the masthead being in the same place. Also the biggest text is in the bottom medium on each.

AOB 3- Creating Meaning for music video

AOB2; Music Video Analysis

AOB2; Structure of a music magazine

Most magazines are set out in a certain way and follow the same order of layout. The contents are put in order to allow for easy reading and so that the magazine contents flow. On the first page of the NME magazine we looked at is a full page advert because this is the first page people look at. On the second page is a list of contents so people know what's coming up in the magazine and so they can go to that page of interest. On the next few pages is usually a list of news and adverts this is because people want to hear about the new things that are going on before the rest. The magazine includes adverts spread throughout it as if they are all put together then it would not have the same impact as adverts that can be placed strategically e.g after a review of the same product. These are adverts that are related to the subject matter for example new album releases in a music magazine. The majority of adverts are paid ads from outside of the magazine company as well as unpaid ads from within the company trying to sell the magazine etc. The middle of the magazine includes letters from the readers which is placed in a similar position as those in other magazines, this follows the news of the magazines. The middle also have feature article spread through a few pages in the centre of the magazine. These are a more in depth look at the artists who are usually wanting to promote a new album. Then towards the back is a series of reviews for new releases, gigs and this is followed by various small adverts sometimes three or four on a page. I think the smaller adverts are put near the back because as the reader can quite often not bother to look at the last few pages as by then they are bored.

AOB 2-Pie Chart showing NME content

from this i can see just how many adverts are in a magazine and highlights the importance of media products as a tool.

AOB 2-Flat Plan