weekly progress

This week I have looked at several examples of good magazine covers to see the standard in which my magazine cover should live up to. I then started thinking about a theme for my magazine cover and then got images of existing magazine covers that have the same theme as my magazine cover and then textually analysed them to get an idea of what should be included on my magazine cover

magazine analysis

Ultimate Force

Analysis of Visual, Technical and Audio Codes and the meaning of them:
Visual Codes:
All of the characters clothing is suiting to the show, in the funeral scene all of the mourners are dressed in black like you'd expect at a funeral and then all of the soldiers are dressed in their smart, green army wear, this gives the audience an insight into the kind on etiquette that there is at a soldiers funeral.
During this same scene there body language is very minimal, a lot the time you see characters looking to the ground and they also have negative facial expressions, this means that they are all in mourning for the person that they have lost.
There is also very little use of colour throughout the clip, a lot of the colours are the same, there is a lot of green as you'd expect as it's a program about the army and there are a lot of blacks because of the funeral scene and there are a few dark blues as well. This shows the audience that it is not a light hearted, comedy show, it is quite serious and covers quite serious issues.
Technical Codes:
At the start of the clip there the camera is angled so that you are looking down the sights of a gun, this is to make the audience feel as though they are part of the show and make them feel engaged, it also makes it clear what the show is about as the gun symbolized that the show is about war or the army/soldiers.
You then see a close up shot of the gun holders face, this allows the audience to see the displeasure on his face and at the same time it keeps the audience engaged in the show as it brings you closer to the character.
At the start of the clip the pace is quite fast, as the sights of the gun are moving around to try and find the target and then when the camera changes to a close up of his face and then when he takes a shot at someone, the fast pace is used to build up tension in the scene as you are anticipating what the man with the gun is going to do. The pace then slows down for the funeral scene and the movements of the characters and of the camera are at a slower pace to show that the characters are feeling at a loss because they have all lost someone who was important to me.
The start of the program is also an enigma code as all you can see is down someone looking down the barrel of a gun and it makes you question what they are doing, who they are looking for, and why they are doing what they're doing.
Audio Codes:
At the funeral, non diegetic sound/music is added in the background of church bells ringing to symbolize that there is someone being buried. At the same time there is also a gentle tune from what sounds like a flute, this is to bring an aura of peace and calmness to the scene which makes the funeral seem as realistic as possible to the audience. It also adds and sad, emotional emotion to the scene.
There is also non diegetic sound of the gun firing at the start of the clip, the sound is loud and echoes, this is meant to grab the audiences attention and it is used to shock the audience.
There is also a voice over used, when the man with the gun is looking through his sights for his target, you can hear the voice of the vicar talking at the funeral, this is showing that what he is doing is wrong, by having the voice of a vicar talking at a funeral it also is meant to symbolize that his target is going to be the next one having those words spoken to them at their funeral.

Gavin and Stacey

Analysis of Visual, Technical and Audio Codes and the meaning of them:
Visual Codes:
All of the characters are wearing normal clothing to symbolize that they are just normal, average families for example Mick comes home and he is wearing a suit to show that he has probably been to work in an office all day like the average person, and Pam is wearing a pink tracksuit to show that she is the stereotypical housewife cooking dinner for her husband when he gets home, this means that the audience can personally identify with them because they are just normal people like the audience are.
The settings of the two families are quite contrasting, Gavin's family live in a relatively large house, this suggests that they are quite wealthy, and that Mick and Gavin both have quite well paid jobs, whereas Stacey and her family live in a smaller, ordinary terrace house which suggests that they are not as wealthy as Gavin's family, however having the two contrasting families makes the show more appealing to a wider audience.
There is quite a lot of brightly coloured clothing worn by the characters, this shows that the show is not a deep, depressing, intense show, its a light hearted comedy show and there are no nasty characters in the show and that is reflected through their clothing.
Technical Codes:
At the start of the program the camera pans across Barry Island in Wales this is to show the main setting of the show and to show that it is just like any other ordinary seaside town and that symbolizes that the show is just about ordinary people.
It also uses close up shots of both Gavin and Stacey at the start of the show when they are talking to each other on the phone, this is so that you can clearly see their facial expressions, mainly excitement and happiness that they are actually going to meet each other for the first time.
There are also widescreen shots of both houses, Gavin's house and Stacey's house so that you can clearly see the contrast in them; that Gavin's house is much bigger so you automatically stereotype them as being a more wealthy family whereas when you see the shot of Stacey's house a few seconds later it's just an average house and you therefore assume that they are not as wealthy.
The show uses high key lighting, which means that everything is bright because it is meant to be a comedy and therefore low key lighting wouldn't really suit the genre of the show.
Audio Codes:
The theme music used is very lively and upbeat so before you even get to see the show you automatically assume that it is going to be a funny, entertaining show not a deep thriller.
The show also uses non diegetic sound of the song "in the morning" by Razorlight playing when you see Gavin pull onto the drive in his car, this was a modern chart song at the time which symbolizes that Gavin is a lively young adult and many people in the audience can personally identify with that.
There is also non-diegetic sound of the rape alarm going off, this adds a feeling of mayhem and entertainment  to the scene as its quite an unusual noise and the fact that Nessa is still trying to hurt Bryn when it's going off provides humor to the audience.