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Tuesday 16 November 2010

Magazine industry - 3 point analysis

'The magazine industry has survived the coming of the digital age because it has been able to exploit technological advances. Indeed, it has always done so throughout its long history.' 



The word magazine describes branded, edited content often supported by advertising or sponsorship and delivered in print or other forms. Traditionally, magazines have been printed periodicals which are most commonly published weekly, monthly, or quarterly. These may be supported by printed one-off supplements and annual directories. Increasingly, magazines exist online where content is available through websites or in digital editions, or delivered by email as an electronic newsletter. Many magazines brands also deliver tailored information services to the audiences. Magazines brands also engage with their audiences face-to-face by organising exhibitions, conferences and other events. 
            The magazine industry has always been up with technological advancements such as the use of photoshop and airbrushing models. If you look at the history of magazines they have always kept up with technological advances. As soon as something new develops, the magazine industry uses this to their advantage. Example the ability to use more advanced technical photography i.e. images going from black and white to coloured and they can be edited. Magazines use these advances to exploit them, for example fairly recently magazines have become available on the internet, this could be seen as a abad thing, as readers could argue there is no point in purchasing the magazine if they can simply read the information it entails online. However instead magazines and exploited this fact by revealing only snippets of their magazine which in turn encourages their audience to buy the real thing because they are intrigued to read the rest. As well as encouraging regulars it could also persuade those that have never bought that particular magazine before to buy it. 


In conclusion, diversifying isn't a choice that magazines companies can make, it is necessity for them in order to keep the company afloat and information relevant to their audience. Magazines have done this well throughout their history and will continue to do so in the future. Hopefully this means that magazines will always be current and upcoming. Because of this the demand for magazines will always be strong and ongoing.

Monday 8 November 2010

MISE-EN-SCENE, THIS MUCH I KNOW...

Mise-en-scene is a French term meaning what is put into the scene of a frame. For film, it has a broader meaning, and refers to almost everything that goes into the composition of the shot. There are five elements of mise-en-scene, facial expressions and body language, lighting and colour, positioning of characters/objects within a frame, settings and props, and the costume, hair and makeup of characters. Mise-en-scene is a tool used in film making to communicate essential information to the audience.

Settings and Props

Settings and locations play an important part in film making and are not just ‘backgrounds’. Sets are either built from scratch or time is spent to find a setting that already exists. Settings have the ability to manipulate an audience. The setting can be used to amplify character emotion or the dominant mood of a film.

Costume and makeup

Costume refers to the clothes that characters wear. Using certain colors or designs, costumes in film can be used to signify characters or to make clear distinctions between characters. They can also give the audience a better understanding of the character’s personality and what part they have to play in the scene. Makeup can be used to subtly add expression to an actor’s face. For example makeup can be applied under the eyes to add tone and make the actor look tired. Makeup can also be used to hide any wrinkle, blemishes and imperfections that the camera picks up and is not wanted in the film.

Lighting and Colour

Lighting can have a massive affect on how a shot is received by an audience. The direction, intensity, the type (natural or artificial) all contribute to have a scene is received and gives the audience snippets of information about where and when the scene is taking place.

Acting

The facial expressions and the body language an actor/actress uses to in a film can have a major impact on the audience. Different facial expressions at different times within a scene can give the audience information at the character (his personality, how he reacts in different situations, etc). The body language used by an actor is another subtle affect of mise-en-scene. Without closely analysing what the actor is doing, an audience might not realise how his body language is affecting there interpratation of the character.

Positioning of characters/objects within a frame

A director will carefully position objects that may have a significant role in the story in specific positions in a scene. Doing this is just another layer of telling the story. Positioning of the actors and actresses in a scene can add to the tone of the scene, and where they are placed can show who are the main dominant characters.