EVALUATION ACTIVITY 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My cover artists is Vladana, she is a old teenage/young adult. She is dressed fashionably in a white polo shirt, a back and white spotted blazer over the top, a pleated skirt with her hair is effortlessly curled along with a smoky eye look to blend in with the dark sophisticated look she gives off whilst also enhancing her eyes and creating a mystery about her. This image and styling of the artist will attract the target audience and reflect the stereotypical reader of this magazine. I wanted to be creative with the shot on the cover to represent the quirkiness of my magazine. I tried lots of different shots; such as - with props, using a tea mug, sitting down on a chair, holding flowers and leaning with a light. Also, Downward and Upward shots, Full body shot, Close up, Mid shot ect. (https://picasaweb.google.com/115835603471050886051/MediaPhotos?authkey=Gv1sRgCNGVsZ7apouFTQ)  For the cover i ended up choosing a simple but effective shot. It doesn't follow the conventional rules of being a mid shot because its a close shot but because it challenges the conventions of a normal magazine it shows the difference between them, making mine stand out. My artist has a very simple expression on her face however you are attracted to her eyes because they have direct contact which would pull in the reader. Also the attraction you get to such a simple photo is effective because it reflects my artists personality and story which is then shared in the double page spread. 

Throughout my research process i discovered that the look i origninally wanted to go for, a really wierd and arty cover shot would be hard to achieve with the materials i could get myself in the space of time. From this learning curve i went down a route of then changing the idea of having my magazine really abstract and computer edited, to being simple but effective. By doing so i had to think up a new look for my artist which lead to more sinister. My artist is a old teen which is at the starting age of my target audience but she is shown in a mature way which will then still attract the older audience too. Also because my target audience is at women, because my artist is a young adult, she will still aspire to many. 

I think that my cover artist, Vladana is similar to Lana Del Rey. Lana Del Rey is a new up and coming artist who first time hit it big with her single Video Games, which is the story I was inspired by for my artist. They both look rather alike, with an almost old fashioned twist to them which gives a mysterious feel and edge to them both. They both have brown, natural curled hair which gives them the girly feel with then, interesting defined facial features which makes them unique and unusual but defiantly beautiful in their way. This is good for my magazine as it's fighting against the usual and putting across the weird and wonderful which is shown through the style which runs throughout, incorporating art.  
The differences would be the angle of which the artist is facing. Vladana is facing straight on but her face is positioned away to the corner but her eyes are left dead on to the camera, almost like her attention has been grasped for a split second which then shows an intriguing side to her whereas Lana Del Rey is standing diagonally then positioning her face slightly down to the have her eyes slightly looking up toward the camera which creates an innocence to that shot. The serious expression on both of the artists face gives them also a sexual appeal too which will also engage the male audience too. This adds to my artists personality as she isnt a 'flaunt it' sexy but its her mysterious and unusual ways which make her attractive too. This will win my audience over too as the women wont feel intimidated by her as she is represented as pretty 'normal' so the target audience will be able to relate to that making them feel close to the artist and the magazine.