1. Question 2: How does your media
product represent particular social
groups?
Similarities, differences, body language,
posture, expression, gesture, angle, shot
type, lighting, costume, hair, makeup,
beliefs/values, what they stand for,
aspirations, stereotypes, race and ethnicity
2. Target Audience
The target audience that I want my magazine to appeal to is 16-24 year old teenagers/young
adults. My audience is slightly more female based however I want to be able to appeal to both
genders. My audience will be fans of Rock and Indie music, attend gigs and festivals and the
majority will be students.
I created a mood board which demonstrates the interests, hobbies, clothing and lifestyles of my
target audience. This helped me when creating my media product as I was able to base my
model, colour scheme, conventions and design around what would interest and represent my
readers. Through the mood board I have found that rock lovers are stereotypically associated
with bad attitudes, dark grunge colours and extreme dedication to their music.
I also researched how my target audience was portrayed in other media products such as
KERRANG and Rock Sound which try to appeal to the same type of people and same genre. By
identifying the similarities and differences between the way I have represented the social group
and how other media products have represented it, will help to show what is most effective at
representing them correctly and appealing to my target audience.
3. My Choice of Model
Before choosing my model, I wanted to make sure he would be able to represent
my social group as an individual therefore I asked him questions about his
lifestyle and hobbies.
As you can see, my model is 22 years old therefore he
fits into the same age range of my target audience and
the same age stereotypically linked with the social
grouping.
His favourite music is indie/ rock therefore fits with the
genre of my magazine. This means that he understands
how the social group wants to be represented therefore
through his body language he was able to represent
them in a positive light and in the way that they would
want to be represented. This was important as having
an inside view meant that my magazine didn’t contain
any over exaggerated stereotypes that aren’t actually
true.
4. Clothing, Hair and Make-up
Stereotypes
The social group
of rock and indie
lovers is normally
stereotyped by
mainstream
media by the way
they dress. This
includes; tattoos,
piercings, dark
grunge clothing,
dark makeup,
beards and
messy hair.
Magazine example:
The clothing in magazines
such as KERRANG follow the
stereotypes of mainstream
media and include the same
dark clothing, tattoos and
piercings. I took inspiration
for my outfit ideas from this
front cover below as specific
items such as skinny black
jeans, flannel tops and plain
tees are very popular for the
social group. A lot of the
models have overgrown facial
hair and long messy hair in
their images also.
My media product:
My model is seen my magazine wearing the following outfits:
Similarities: I chose those outfits because they represent the social group really
well. Black jeans are most commonly associated with the rock genre and are used in
every magazine and every mainstream media product which is why I displayed them
across all of my images. The rest of my clothing follows a black, white and red colour
scheme which is widely associated with this specific group for example the NME and
KERRANG colour schemes are black, white and red also. These colours also matched
with my own scheme of my magazine. Even though the clothing looks pretty simple
and plain, it represents the target audience well and makes the artist seem more
relatable. It creates less of a barrier between the reader and the model as they are
both able to represent the same social grouping.
Differences: As the social grouping has a lot of pride in their music taste and the
artists they like, they often wear a lot of band tees or band merchandise to
demonstrate their music taste. My model didn’t have any band tees however the
general structure and colouring of the clothes is quite similar.
5. I went on to Tumblr and compared my models
outfit to the outfits of Indie Rock pages created
by people in the social group.
As you can see my model is very similar to the
images of clothing used by real people in the
social groups therefore I think I have successfully
represented the clothing of my target audience.
Hair
Boys of the social grouping normally have quite
long hair or hair that is dyed red for example.
This is a difference in my magazine as my
model has quite short hair therefore doesn’t
represent the mainstream media entirely.
Despite this, I asked my model to push the
front of his hair back so it looked a bed messy
and not too neat. I also asked my model not to
shave the week before the shoot so that he
had a bit of stubble which would make up for
the shorter hair.
Make-up
Females in the social grouping are associated with dark
make up styles including winged eyeliner, Smokey
eyeshadow and black lips. This would have been effective
to portray in my own magazine if I had a female model
however my model was male. To represent the social
group through my male model, I decided to Photoshop a
tattoo onto his arm and ask him to wear black star
earrings. These were effective decisions as tattoos and
piercings are associated with both genders in the social
group as the represent the rebellious attitudes of rock.
6. Body Language, posture and facial expressions
Front Cover Dominant Image:
The front cover image is the first thing the audience will look at and plays a big role in determining
whether they will buy the magazine or not. It is important that it instantly draws the attention of the
audience therefore it needs to be appealing and eye catching. The body language of my model is quite
open for example he isn’t hiding any of himself by having his arms crossed and there are no props
covering him. This means that there is no barrier between my model and the target audience which
suggests he is similar to the social group and he is able to relate to them. He has his shoulders back and
arms by his side which suggests he is quite confident. This represents the social group as media presents
them as confident when they are at gigs for example because they shout very loud. The social grouping is
also displayed as confident through the way they dress because even though the colours are dark, they
stand out a lot from casual people and have a lot of extravagant features such as tattoos and piercings.
I have used the catalogue/ practical facial expression from Miller because I think it shows that my model is
serious about his music and is serious about himself as an artist. This can be seen as a difference to the
social group as Rock Stars are often associated with being immature and using their lifestyle to have
parties and get drunk instead of focusing on their music. Despite this, I think this is a good difference as it
shows the stereotype isn’t always true and they do care about their career. Stereotypically, people in the
social group of rock are considered to be moody and emo like which means they are unipositive and don’t
smile. Although I want my magazine to be positive, I decided to have my model not smile so that he can
represent the social group more. His face isn’t moody but it is neutral with only a slight smirk which can
represent the hidden rebellion in the model – a rebellion that links to how mainstream media represents
rock lovers as being dangerously outgoing.
I have used direct mode of address so that the model is looking directly at the audience which shows
confidence and catches their eye. It also creates a sense of trust with the reader that implies the artist is
quite similar to the grouping therefore can represent them.
7. Contents Page Dominant Image
I decided to use indirect mode of address for my contents page image because
the audience have already purchased the magazine and already seen the front
cover therefore have already established a relationship with the main model.
This means I was able to change the representation slightly.
The models body language suggests that he is deep in thought. His eye line is
looking at the guitar which shows he is concentrating on his music as that plays a
big role in his life. This represents the social grouping as their music taste is
extremely significant in their everyday lives. People who enjoy rock music tend
to be in a friend group with people who all like the same type of music . They
also spend a lot of their money on rock concerts, rock clothing and rock merch
which shows they take their favourite artists very seriously therefore it is
important that I show my artist taking his music seriously.
I have applied a black and white filter to the image to make it look more grunge
and indie like. When I google searched rock Tumblr, the majority of the images
that came up were black and white which shows the filter is very popular in the
social group. Black and white are the predominant colours therefore the
audience will find this appealing and be used to a similar style editing technique.
I have used a prop of a guitar in this image which also represents the audience. A
lot of people in the social group play instruments as they have been inspired by
their artist. The guitar is also black therefore links in with the colour scheme
stereotypically related.
8. Double Page Spread Dominant Image
In this image my model is looking to the side therefore we only see a side view of
him. When positioned on my double page spread, it looks as though he is reading
the article which again puts him in the same place as the audience and suggests he
is not so different.
He has his hands in his pockets which suggests he is relaxed and confident. He is
leaning against the wall of a back lane which has graffiti on. If the audience assume
he has created the graffiti then they could assume he has a rebellious attitude. This
would represent the attitudes of the social group who are often associated with
violence or underage drinking for example. Also, teenagers especially are called out
by the older generation for hanging around on street corners and in back lanes
therefore his position can represent the social lifestyles of a teenager.
His face is very serious which suggests he is serious about his article and serious
about producing new music.
9. Camera shots, lighting and angles
Similarities in my magazine
Mainstream media representations:
Camera shots of people in the social group are quite varied and not too specific. They are often either long shots to show the
persons outfit or medium shots with emphasise on their tattoos and facial expressions. Angles tend to be either direct or low
angle because their rebellious attitude gives them confidence and dominance in society. The lighting used in pictures of
rock/indie people tends to be quite low key and dark. They often use black and white filters, vintage effects or scratch overlays.
High key lighting is only used in magazines. If natural lighting is used, it tends to be on a day when the sky is quite grey or cloudy.
This is high key lighting and bright sun is more associated with pop social groups.
