Wired's iPad Lauch

On the 27^th May 2010, Wired magazine launched their app on the iPad. It was largely consumed and quick to be labelled as the beginning of a new era in publishing. In the first 24 hours it was downloaded an average of 17 times a minute, netting 24,000+ paid subscriptions. Over the next few days it was named “App of the Week”, which made it the first media brand to achieve this nomination. It remained at the top of the paid apps chart for five consecutive days. After three weeks since the release, the app had sold 90,000+ copies – which exceeded the average monthly newsstand sales of the print edition.

Why was it so successful?

·        One reason why the launch was so successful was due to the minimal amount of magazine apps available on the iPad during the time of Wired’s launch. Therefore when the app was launched, many consumers were eager to download it.

·        The digital edition of Wired is cheaper than the print edition.

·        The app uses new and advanced publishing technology, which attracts consumers.

·        Interesting exclusive features.

The Word Magazine

The Word Magazine is a monthly music magazine which is published in The United Kingdom. It has been voted 'Music Magazine of the year' twice, once in 2007 and again in 2008. It was first published in 2003 by Development Hell Ltd, the editor of the magazine is Mark Ellen.

Content

The magazine is divided into two sections. The first features photographs and interviews, while the second section focuses on reviews of CDs, DVDs, books and films.

Exclusive regular features in The Word Magazine are:

• 'Diary' - The editor Mark Ellen talks about current events.
• 'Face Time' - This is an interview section.
• 'Word of Mouth' - People's interests.
• 'Departure Lounge' - Obituaries & stories.
• 'Word of the Wise' - An individual interview.
• 'Inbox' - Letters to the editor.
• 'The Last Word' - Reviews section.

Each issue comes with a free feature CD called 'Now Hear This', which showcases 15 songs from forthcoming music releases.


Information

First Publish: February 2003

Publisher: Development Hell Ltd

Editor: Mark Ellen

Region: United Kingdom

Genre: Music

Target Audience: Male & Female, 30+

Publishing pattern: Weekly

Price: £4:50

 The Word Weekly

The magazine also has a weekly online podcast which has gained a large number of followers and is fronted by editor; Mark Ellen and one of the publishers; David Hepworth. The object of the podcast is to keep the followers informed and entertained, it features contributions from other members of The Word Magazine.

Misfits Extract

In class we watched an extract of 'Misfits', we learnt about a group of characters. Three of those characters we learnt about were Nathan, Simon and Kurtis.

Nathan

Camera: Nathan comes across as confident and the biggest personality in the group, often on screen he is centralised which emphasises his stature in the group.

Sound: During the extract, Nathan makes a lot of jokes and insults the others. This shows that he is self-confident, cocky and a bit of a clown.

Mise-En-Scene: At the beginning of the extract Nathan is smoking, and throughout the extract he's seen playing a fool and mocking the others. This tells us that he doesn't really care and doesn't take much seriously.


Simon

Camera: From the camera usage, Simon comes across as a quiet and also rather disturbed individual. This is emphasised by him usually being shot from a high angle and he is usually off-centre.

Sound: Simon doesn't usually talk during the extract, but when he does he sounds very defensive and withdrawn. This makes him come across as a lonely person who finds it hard to warm to people.

Mise-En-Scene: Simon is first seen aggresively pressing his hair down while looking extremely stern, then for the duration of the extract he segregates himself from the group. This makes him come across as a lonely person who keeps his emotions and frustration inside, furthermore making him seem rather mysterious.


Kurtis

Camera: Kurtis is usually off-centre, this makes him seem as though he doesn't want to be with the group.

Sound: Throughout the extract Kurtis often mutters "I shouldn't be here", this shows how he feels he has not done wrong and therefore shouldn't be doing community service.

Mise-En-Scene: Kurtis is usually seen keeping himself to himself and half-heartedly getting on with the task given, this shows how he doesn't particularly want to involve himself with the group but he is a genuine character.

Semantics and Syntax

Semantics

• The study of meaning of different words.
• For media, it is the study of signs and symbols and their relationship for eachother.

Altman and Semantics

Genre, according to Altman, is usually defined in terms of certain signs.

Sci-Fi: Aliens, spaceships, planets, space, metallic colours.

Horror: Monsters, blood, screams, darkness, death.

Western: Cowboys, indians, taverns, cactuses, horses, guns.

Gangster: Mafias, Italian-Americans, suits, casinos, money.

Romance: Love, sex, boy meets girl, happiness, female characters.

Syntax

• The grammatical arrangement of words in a sentence.
• The syntax involves the plot and themes.

Language Of The Moving Image

Camera
Shot distance
Angle
Movement
Position

Sound
Diegetic/non-diegetic 
Volume
Matching

Editing
Pace
Style

Mise-En-Scene
Lighting
Setting
Props
Body language

Thriller Intro Storyboard Sequence

1. Intro starts with darkness.


2. Camera slowly begins to track down the stairs.


3. Dead bodies become visable as the camera tracks down the stairs.


4. As the camera tracks over each body, cut-scenes of that person being murdered are shown.


5. Eary music begins playing while the camera continues to track over the bodies.


6. After the camera tracks to the bottom of the stairs it slowly begins to tilt upwards.


7. The camera keeps tilting upwards until a person is seen sitting on the chair, head down.


8. The person then slowly looks up directly at the camera, blood splattered on their face.


9. The person then begins laughing as the non-diegetic music stops playing.


10. The screen suddenly goes dark again as the person's laugh continues to echo.

Thriller Genre Research

Thriller movies often follow the same conventions in terms of editing. Many thriller films use quick cuts with each of the cut varying in camera angles and shot distance.


The opening of most thriller films don't usually give most of the film's plot away, instead they tend to introduce the audience to the setting of the film and often a character.


The character(s) featured in thriller films are either 'good' characters, or 'bad' characters. The good characters are usually weak and vulnerable to the bad characters. The bad characters are usually strong, dangererous and usually set out to get the good characters, this is a common plot of a thriller movie.