Music Magazine Contents Page - Mock-Up

Media Effects Models - Encoding and Decoding Model

• Production
• Content – typology genre
• Reception – impact on audience

Encoder – anyone who produces a media text
Decoder – the target audience, the person who uncovers the meaning of the text

Stuart Hall arrived at the conclusion that we can decode texts in 3 ways:

Hegemonic / Preferred / Dominant
The decoder takes the meaning from the text and does not question it at all

Negotiated
The decoder understands the meaning but has an issue with certain aspects

Oppositional
The decoder understands the text but does not accept the message

* Aberrant – the decoder does not understand the text at all

Double Page Spread

Anchorage, Gender and Typology

- Anchorage – anchoring the meaning of an image (telling the viewer what is is/means)

- If something is well anchored, it is described as didactic – the meaning is explained obviously to the viewer/reader

- Sex – what you are born as (male or female)

- Gender – a constructed concept. Men’s masculinity and women’s femininity. The way you behave and compose yourself.

- Intertextuality – making references to previous texts

- ALL representations are intertextually linked

- Some representations are common, while others are rare

- Typology – labelling a group of people by what they are expected to act like e.g. how women are represented in music videos:

· Decorative
· Patronising
· Victims
· Independent

E.g. black people:
Native – simple
Slave – happy to serve
Entertaining

Selecting Photos from the Photo Shoot

Photo Shoot 1

In preparation for my media products I organised a photo shoot where I would take pictures of the person who would be featured in the main feature article, Sacha. She was acting as a young, popular singer, who was being interviewed after he career took a downfall after her affair was disclosed.

The main photo shoot took place at a local park, where the images taken would fit in with the casual atmosphere of the interview. These would then be edited in a way that made them suitable to place on the double-page spread, where the interview with Sacha would appear.

The photos I took showed Sacha in a number of casual poses that signified her thoughtful state of mind as she sat at various places in the park. These are the original photos I took in the park:

Of these photos I would select the few that I thought would be most appropriate to edit and use in my media products. After the editing process I would then choose suitable fonts to use for the text that would be placed around the images on the contentz page and double-page spread.

Photo Shoot 2

I also organised another photo shoot with Sacha, where I took images of her that focused on her personal appearance rather than her surroundings. I took various images that showed her in various types of clothing and with different facial expressions, signifying to the decoder her mood at the time, as well as personal style. These are the photos I would choose from when the time came to select images for my magazine:

Ronan Keating

For my other cover story I included an image of the Irish pop singer Ronan Keating that I had taken myself at a previous concert.

Investigating Representation of Gender

Symbolic annilation – women’s roles in the media are limited compared to the roles of men

Meehan (1984)

• Woman who led research into primetime TV
• Categorised women’s roles in the media into 9 major groups

1. Imp – ‘’tomboy’’. Behaviour/dress sense is slightly masculine


2. Good wife – likely to have children and stay at home to care for them


3. Bitch – nasty, likes to cause trouble / always ready for an argument


4. Decoy – plays a minor role, limited character, has minimum impact on storyline


5. Siren – alluring woman, incredibly beautiful, often ends up ‘’using’’ men


6. Victim – experiences upset/heartbreak


7. Harpy/courtesan – prostitute


8. Matriarch – powerful woman, often found in a soap opera


9. Witch

Front Cover