My Media Product - A Print-based Advertisement Poster

I created my media product in Photoshop. It is a print-based advertisement: designed as a poster and also suitable for a magazine page ad. My advertisement product and brand were both made up by myself and consist of a make-up product (an eyeshadow palette) by BOOM luxury products. I also produced the photographic content of the poster myself.

The Production Of My Media Product.

Below are the photographs used in my media product:

 

I created my poster using Photoshop:

Miss Selfridge Website.

From looking at the 'Miss Selfridge' website above, it is apparent to the viewer that they are looking at a women's clothing shopping website as it follows typical codes and conventions of fashion clothing websites. It features female models only: that's how the viewer is able to depict the fact that the website is not aimed at a male target audience. Feminine text fonts and logos, and also the colour pink is used (which is obviously often associated with femininity.) The pink colours are likely to appeal to a female audience who are interested in fashion - and if the website is aesthetically pleasing on the eye, the viewer is more likely to view the products which the store has to offer.

The website also suggests that women should be conscious of how they look and what they wear. All models are attractive and are wearing fashionable items of clothing. The clothing also appears to be smart and casual at the same time - allowing it to appeal to people who wish to have a casual look and also those who aspire to look more sophisticated.

The models are also empowered through their positions in terms of camera angles. The low camera angles make the females appear more powerful - making the images also very powerful - perhaps this relates to confidence and how the viewer would look wearing these products, and perhaps how they would feel wearing them. The portrayal of the empowerment of women can also be very pleasing for a female audience.

The text within the website appears to anchor the images within it. The website homepage has not been 'taken over' with masses of textual information but alternatively words such as 'Chic Pleats' and 'Spring Denim' - these simple words make the website easy on the eye.

Overall, the website appears to be delivering the message to the audience that 'looking good and buying clothing from Miss Selfridge will make you more desirable.'

Another Juicy Couture Ad...

                                             

Whilst viewing this advertisement I understood the significance of the conventions used by looking at semiology, and began to interpret them in my own individual way. The first thing which grabbed my attention to this image was the fact that the woman appears to be sort of 'blowing the man away', and also the fact that she stands out a great deal more than the male who appears more in the background. I think that this is reaching for a female target audience who associate this action with the empowerment of women because perhaps this image is symbolic of the fact that women have power over men when wearing this perfume, and therefore 'blow men away.' Also, the use of an elegant looking woman placed with an attractive male and the fact that she is in control connote the fact that with this perfume she can get attention from attractive males, and also the fact that she is in control connotes that women who wear this perfume are dominant and in control.

The meaning of this advertisement is anchored through the use of signs and objects and the relationship between them. The 'Juicy Couture' text is iconic - the viewer can easily recognise the fact that the product being advertised is one belonging to the brand Juicy Couture. The rather large perfume bottle allows the viewer to then depict that it is a new fragrance that is being advertised. The placement of the perfume bottle is indexical - the audience are highly likely to logically connect the perfume with the brand. The mise-en-scene of the perfume bottle also connotes a sense of regality which is then reinforced through the photographic rhetoric and composition of the brand name and text.

This advertisement is also very symbolic, mainly due to the connotation of the word 'Couture,' which also appears to be the perfumes name. The viewer is able to learn the conventional meaning being represented, i.e. an expensive perfume for an extrovert person - because of the phrase 'show off.' Also, the pink glitter can be associated with femininity and glamour which reflects the overall meaning of the advert. 

The males eyes also appear to be covered by his hair, where as the female is engaging with the viewer; holding a direct gaze. This allows the audience even-more-so to depict that the female is in a powerful position. This can be quite aesthetically pleasing for a female viewer, or also an interesting one that holds their attention as it isn't a dominant ideology within society. Also, the typography in the text 'do the don'ts' is in a strong, bold type - which was often used in the era of English rebellion and punk; the gold chain on the perfume bottle and the black dress appear to somewhat convey this era. This appears to be counter typical as traditionally in perfume adverts, white can be seen to represent innocence and virginity.

The typography in ‘do the don’ts’ is a strong, bold type which was used in the era of English rebellion and punk, the gold chain on the bottle of perfume conveys this era, as well as the black dress. This is also counter typical as traditionally in perfume adverts, white can be seen to represent innocence and virginity. The 'lipstick' typography of the text 'show off' also adds a unique female touch to the advertisement.

As the relationship between the viewer and an image can often lead to many possible meanings of a text, it is important that the adverts preferred reading is successfully put across to the audience. In this case, the preferred reading of the advertisement has been put across to the viewer through mise-en-scene and the use of layers. The male has been been featured in the background - delivering the message to the audience that he is not the main focus of the advert and can perhaps be seen more as a 'prop' than a character. The female on the other hand has been positioned more towards the middle connoting that she is dominant and that the advertisement is targeting a female audience. The text and perfume has been brought to the foreground of the image - showing that it is following the main conventions of print advertising.

How many horses do you see?

Optical Illusions (also called visual illusions) are visually perceived objects and images that differ from reality. The information that is gathered from the image is processed in the brain to give a perception that is in fact, inaccurate according to the physical measurement of the stimulus source.

In the case above, colour has been very cleverly used to create an optical illusion of more horses than there actually is within the image - when in fact it is the background which the use of the same colour(s) (brown and white) very cleverly places an image of several horses in the foreground of the image (within the viewers mind.)

It is easy to depict which horses are actually being portrayed within the image, for example, the black/brown colour of the horses tail belonging to the horse in the very foreground of the image is clearly not an illusion as the tail does not fit in with the much paler brown and white colours of the intended background.

In the grid illusion above, ghostlike grey and black circles appear when this image is viewed - then when you look directly at an intersection they disappear. Shape, position, colour, and 3D contrast converge to product the illusion of the dots at the intersections.

In the image above, the black dots appear to form and vanish at the intersections of the gray horizontal and vertical lines. If you focus your attention on a single white dot, both grey and black dots appear, and if you scan your eye across the image more black dots seem to appear. The effect is reduced when you position your head to an angle, and if the eye is moved very close to or far away from the image the black dots do not appear at all.

Lunch atop a Skyscraper.

The very famous photograph above is of New York 'Construction Workers' having their lunch on a crossbeam, and was taken by Charles C.Ebbets during the construction of the GE Building at Rockefeller Center on September 29, 1932.  The photograph is of 11 men eating lunch whilst sat on a girder with their feet dangling above New York City.

This photograph personally makes me feel uneasy just looking at it as there are no safety nets in sight or belts around these men. As a viewer I became instantly emotionally involved in this photograph: it provokes fear and at the same time excitement - associated with the bravery of these men. I almost feel as if I am on the girder myself. As the photograph has been taken from a lower angle than where the men are positioned, it almost empowers them - although they were all working class men, from the position that they are in it is almost as if you are admiring them from below - this once again can be associated with their bravery.

What mainly keeps my attention on this photograph is the actions of the men within it. They all look so calm and collected (talking, eating, and smoking) - except for the man who is positioned on the very right hand side of the girder. My eyes always focus back to this character within the photograph, as I feel that he is connecting more with me as a viewer - and perhaps his gaze has some sort of hidden meaning. He's looking directly at the camera and has some-sort of liquor flask in his hand. He looks somewhat lost compared to the other men, perhaps he doesn't want to be there - maybe he's only up there risking his life in such a job because he has no other option due to the depression era. Also, if he is carrying alcohol it seems a very dangerous place to be drinking it - these men appear pretty much fearless.

He also does not appear to be engaged with the other men, perhaps representative of the fact that he is a loner, or being rebellious. This all relates back to how the narrative of an image can change when the picture itself is broken up into separate parts - in this case the photograph appears to now be of a man sort-of posing for the camera - as opposed to a more casual photograph of a  group of men and their working lives. The view also appears completely different - from this angle the girder could be above perhaps any city in the world.

In terms of lighting, the men and girder also appear to be darker and more in focus than the background of New York City, this makes them the clear subject of the photograph.

Information About the Viewer.

The viewer does not just witness a light-structured object but arrives at a conclusion through mental operations. Visual perceptions are determined by numerous mental activities... 'memory, projection, expectation, selectivity, habituation, salience, dissonance, culture and words' (Carolyn Bloomer)

Julian Hochberg (1970), found that human eyes constantly move as they scan an image - the viewer constructs the scene with short-lived eye fixation and the mind combines the elements within the image into a whole picture.

Mario Garcia and Pegie Stark also used an eye-track testing machine and found that the content, size and placement of artwork or photographs are more important than whether the image is in colour or in black and white.