Chrissie Bishop

G325 1B – KEY CONCEPTS

A class or category of artistic endeavor having a particular form, content or technique.

• Throughout my AS coursework, I had to cater to an audience who listened to the indie genre of music as that was the genre I used for my magazine. I used props such as guitars, amplifiers and microphones as the indie music scene relies heavily upon these objects. I used images from live gigs I had attended (The 1975) to make the magazine more authentic. I also used language appropriate to the music industry, and featured lyrics in the magazine. I used my handwriting on one of the special edition covers of the magazine as it is quite scrawly and careless which depicts the audience of whom represent the indie genre well. My house style was red, black and white – gender neutral colours.

GENRE

A spoken or written account of connected events; a story.• In my AS coursework I created a story for the artist featured in

my indie magazine. Indie music generally depicts the life that they have gone through; whether it be love, hatred – they sing a lot about their feelings in a deep manner. In order to meet the expectations of an indie magazine, I had to create a rebellious character with a crazy story that would reflect the types of things that she would sing about. My article discussed how she had been hooked on drugs and living on the streets, busking for money to get by and then got the opportunity to be signed by a huge label. She also battled with love. This story helped form my artist’s character as it is quite clear what kind of music she would write and sing about. I used taboo language such as ‘f***’ and ‘s***’ in the story to make her seem more hardcore and tough, which is appropriate to the audience.

NARRATIVE

The description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way.• In my Year 11 coursework I had to portray the model to be heroic and

inspiring for my fashion magazine. I made her appear very angelic by dressing her very classy and having her say inspiring quotes about her views on the world. I used natural props such as trees and flowers and played around with lighting on the camera in order to make her be seen in a more favourable light. The model posed very happily; smiling a lot and being very feminine.

• This contrasts hugely with my AS coursework. My artist had to be quite rebellious and controversial. I had her pose in quite a wacky way; such as sticking her tongue out and screaming. I wrote around the image of her screaming with words and lyrics that related to her – generally quite aggressive thoughts, to make the artist more appropriate to my indie genre. I also used props such as guitars, amplifiers and microphones. In some images, my artist wore a bandeau top so that in the images it would appear that she was basically nude. She was more sexualized compared to my Year 11 work in order to fit in with the genre of the magazine.

REPRESENTATION

The people giving attention to something.• Throughout the years, I have created many different projects for a wide variety of audiences in

each of my coursework pieces. In Year 10, we had to create a comic. I chose a young female audience of around 10+. I achieved this by following the general conventions of a young girls comic catered towards their young age, by using a house style of pinks and purples and featuring female characters such as princesses and fairies who could be seen as heroic as all young girls fantasize over being like them. I also used loads of fun shapes such as stars and hearts, with curvy writing which is very feminine looking.

• In Year 11, we had to create a magazine. I chose a fashion magazine, with the audience being female teenagers and young female adults who are interested in style and beauty, in a social class ABC1. Obviously, this had to follow different styles than my comic. I used a more professional colour scheme such as light and deep blues. I created a ‘singer’ who was also a model – she was seen as an inspiration to the female audience in order to make them want to purchase the magazine so they could find out about her. The model was seen in close up shots to make her seem admiring, and I kept her looking stylish and glamorous as I wanted the images to be appropriate for my audience.

• Most recently, in my AS coursework I created a music magazine. This was more challenging as it was for both males and females in the ABC1 category who are interested in the music industry and more importantly indie genre. I chose images that were intimate, such as pictures I had personally taken at gigs (The 1975) and using a professional colour scheme of red, black and white as it is a gender neutral house style. I stuck to the same fonts throughout the magazine as I wanted it to look consistent and fluent as it had to look more classic. I also used props such as guitars, microphones and amplifiers to represent the indie genre well as the audience can identify with it.

AUDIENCE

Media conventions, formats, symbols and narrative structures which cue the audience to meaning. The

symbolic language of electronic media work much the same way as grammar works in print media.

• In my AS coursework I created a music magazine. The audience was both males and females in the ABC1 category who are interested in the music industry and more importantly indie genre. I had to use language specific to this audience in order for them to be able to interact with the magazine and trust it. I used taboo language such as swear words like ‘f***’ and s***’, as the artist was seen as quite feisty and hardcore. I also used sympathetic language so that the audience could relate to her and feel empathy.

MEDIA LANGUAGE