Media Studies

Advanced GCE in Media Studies H409/03/04 Making media

Statement of Intent

Centre number Centre name

18125 City College Norwich

Candidate number Candidate name

Bethany Louise Goddard

Brief chosen:

Brief 3 Magazines and Online

How do you intend to use the four areas of the media theoretical framework to communicate meaning
and meet the requirements of your chosen brief? (approx. 400 words)

Product 1

I have chosen to do a music magazine as the target audience of 16-25yrs are consumers of music
and digital technology, therefore I feel this type of entertainment magazine would be suitable and
appealing to them. I have chosen the genre of a conventional music magazine which is broard in
music, for example Rock/pop. On the first edition front cover I intend on constructing representations
by having my artists facial expressions very neutral, as Billie Eilish (the singer I’m representing) tends
not to express her emotions, therefore I want her to express her emotions through her use of clothing.
My model will wear colourful clothing, this will include a wacky beany and colourful oversized puffer
jackets as that is her way of showing feelings through visualisation. The puffer jackets and beanies
also show a street look which have connotations of rebelliousness in the industry and very grunge. In
this edition and the 2nd I will make it a part of the brand identity to have my artists using direct
address to the audience and will use a mid- close up shot, this focuses the gaze on the artist but also
makes the front cover engaging. I intend to target my audience by using a palette of co-ordinated
colours, for example in my first edition I intend on using blue, yellow and white. This makes my
magazine visually pleasing and attracts all genders. For my contents page I want to show the brand
identity, therefore I am planning on using the same colour scheme across both pages as I want the
audience to see the connection between them. I want to have my main image being about 'blogger

CCS438 – Statement of Intent CCS/H409

Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations
girls' who are the bloggers for the magazine as the target audiences are very interested in festivals.
The content will include the named artists on the front cover lines and going more into depth about
their stories on the contents. I will advertise the social media for the magazine and will put a banner
across the bottom of the page with visual images of the social media logos and usernames for the
magazine’s website. In terms of the industry, Hearst magazine create very sophisticated magazines
of very high standard. I want to use typography that represents/ connotes this sophistication.

By using serif fonts for the main cover lines, however so it can target 16-25yrs I will also mix this with
sans-serif to give it a more appealing and modern approach to the consumers. For my 2nd edition, I
will construct representations by having my new upcoming artist’s facial expressions to be very happy
and ‘smiley’, I want to do this because it will show the artists excitement to make it into the music
industry but will also link nicely to the brief which should target ‘fun loving’ 16-25yrs. To represent him
as a new artist I believe it would be suitable to have him with a signature instrument, so the audience
get a better idea of who he is and what he’s bringing to the music industry. I will use an electric guitar
as I feel it fits in with the pop/rock theme very well. His fashion will be very stylish and rocker, I will do
this by having him wearing; ripped jeans, a top with a band on and have messy hair. This will show
he’s immature in the industry and has not been professionally styled yet. In this edition I will target the
audience through layout and will use co-ordination of colour through the masthead and an item of
clothing the model is wearing to match it up nicely, this will give my magazine vibrancy and a brand
identity. I will use sophisticated typography but will mix it with sans-serif as well.

For my contents page of this edition I intend to keep with the same layout and design as my first one
as I want my target audience to see the brand identity across both, however, in this edition I will flip
the layout to the opposing sides to give it more of a twist on the layout. Due to this being a Rock/ Pop
genre magazine, I intend on using storylines including artists from this genre and having my three
images being focused around this theme and targeting audiences of this genre, for example, one of
my images will be of a professional guitar player teaching the audience how to play all different types
of guitar. I thought of this idea as through my research of magazines, not many people have used this
idea of advice and tips to the audience from a professional, so I thought this would be a really good
way to attract the targeted audience. Furthermore, I will have the social media section along the
bottom of the contents and directing the audience to usernames etc for further information.

Product 2

In my website I intend to construct representations by keeping the colour palette co-ordinated on the
website, so the colour of the backgrounds will match with the original print magazines, this will keep
with my brand identity and will be eye-catching for the audience. The use of the treble clef across the
website and the magazine keeps the generic link between the magazine and the online website and
makes the website instantly recognisable for the audience. I will place the logo at the top left of the
page which is a generic layout position of a music magazine website. I intend on using an audio-
visual element, that being a video of featured artist Billie Eilish, answering questions on a deeper
level about herself as a person and the background to her as an artist, I will do this in an exclusive
interview. I believe this will really grip the audience and will allow them to get stuck in with the website
and engage quickly. The menu bar will include different pages in relation to my stories and one of
them being the working link between the home page to another.

CCS438 – Statement of Intent CCS/H409

Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations
On both editions of my magazine I have either created a story on the ‘Blogger Girls’ or labelled a link
onto their blogger account. Therefore, I want the ‘Blogger Girls’ to be a big part in the website and
have them feature in their own separate page. This will include two images of the girls faces,
introducing the audience to the page and who they are and will also include some of their blogger
posts for audiences to read and gain information from. The target audience of 16-25yrs are very high
consumers of both music and social media, therefore by having my magazine on a website basis
allows the audience to consume the stories in different ways, one of which is open to 16-25yrs all the
time and is easier to consume out and about rather on a paper copy. To keep with the brand identity,
I will use typography to show the clear link between the magazine and the website and I will do this
by mixing between serif and sans-serif fronts to make it visually pleasing to look at. To direct readers
to purchase the print copies I will have two images of the front covers of the magazines which will
direct them to buy the print copies and is also advertising in case anyone has not seen the print
versions yet. Furthermore, I will have text that introduces the new magazine and will place that near
the top of the website, possibly to the side in a box so the audience can be immediately directed to
that.

How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of
the digitally convergent nature of your media production? (approx. 100 words)

I intend to link the print magazine to the magazine website by having a banner across the bottom of
my contents page, this will include the website name which will be in a bold font, drawing the
audience’s attention to it and will also below that have three main social media apps that the
audience can follow and see other information on. These will include small logos of the social media
apps and next to them will be the search name that audiences can use. My target audience are high
consumers of the internet; therefore, this will be a great way to have global reach of my magazines.
In some of the stories on my contents pages I will include at the end small slogans saying 'Check this
out on our website', this will then place the idea in my audience's head about the website and as they
chronologically read through the contents page from top to bottom, by the time they get to the bottom
they will see all the links and website address to find out more information on the content they have
just read. I will do the same for both editions as it then becomes a part of the brand identity within the
magazine as audiences can expect it to be there in every edition. I will direct my website audience to
the print magazine by putting two images of the two front cover editions onto my website. I want to do
this so i am advertising my print versions to the audience, this allows a more globalised reach for my
print magazine as well as the website using the link addresses in the contents page.

CCS438 – Statement of Intent CCS/H409

Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations