1B Genre analysis basic questions.

D.I.Y. Generic analysis-

The following questions are offered as basic guidelines for students analysing their coursework in relation to genre. This is a potential question in Section B of your summer examination. Note that an analysis of a text which is framed exclusively in terms of genre may be of limited usefulness. Generic analysis can also, of course, involve studying the genre more broadly. This is something we simply don't have time to do in class so you will need to spend time outside of class doing this (although you will hopefully have done lots of this when planning your production).

General-

In what context did you encounter it? (web, film, TV etc) 
I used the web for research for my music video, magazine and ancillary texts and examples of that genre of work i was aiming for as well as sources of inspiration and ideas. Film helped with the making of the music video how realistic it will need to look for the audience to think of it as a real music video, as well as help with shot ideas to use and how to conduct shots together to create a film/video. TV again showed examples of text and how professional mine should have to look, as well as inspiration and ideas from real life texts.

What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text?
Whether the piece of text i have created is realistic to real life examples of the text and if my text would sell compared to other products that have been influenced on this text and how well it would do in the real world as a product.

To what genre did you initially assign the text?
Indie/alternative genre.

What is your experience of this genre?
I listen to this genre of music myself and from this i would believe i have the indie/alternative fashion style as well which gives me a good idea of what the indie/alternative genre should be look and come across as but also what the audience of this genre want and look for in texts of this genre.

What subject matter and basic themes is the text concerned with?
A very simplistic but stylish and clean look that is different to other main stream common designs of magazines, music videos, digipaks and adverts. The music video had the idea of a four piece boy band just playing their song as if in a studio hanging out together jamming a very chilled out and natural setting.

How typical of the genre is this text in terms of content?

What expectations do you have about texts in this genre?
That the texts would be very stylish, simplistic, cool and should show that real care had been put in to make it look presentable as this is the style of genre and the way the audience of this genre also present them selfs. also that the texts are different from other mainstream and common styles of these texts as thats what indie/alternative is looking and being different to everything else thats out there and standing out. 

Have you found any formal generic labels for this particular text (where)?

What generic labels have others given the same text?

Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text?
The mono tonal colour schemes, a simplistic and minimalistic style, bold fonts, alignments of text to look clean and neat, music video well planned and thought through, music videos shots very basic, a chilled and relax vibe. 

To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?

Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre?

Which conventions seem more like those of a different genre (and which genre(s))?
There are no other conventions of a different genre because i didn't want to use and be influenced by any other genres. 

What familiar motifs or images are used?
Colour and style of clothing and the simplistic and clean cut style of the texts.

Which of the formal/stylistic techniques employed are typical/untypical of the genre?

What institutional constraints are reflected in the form of the text?

What relationship to 'reality' does the text lay claim to?

Whose realities does it reflect?

What purposes does the genre serve?

In what ways are these purposes embodied in the text?

To what extent did your purposes match these when you engaged with the text?

What ideological assumptions and values seem to be embedded in the text?

What pleasures does this genre offer to you personally?

What pleasures does the text appeal to (and how typical of the genre is this)?

Did you feel 'critical or accepting, resisting or validating, casual or concentrated, apathetic or motivated' (and why)?

Which elements of the text seemed salient because of your knowledge of the genre?

What predictions about events did your generic identification of the text lead to (and to what extent did these prove accurate)?

What inferences about people and their motivations did your genre identification give rise to (and how far were these confirmed)?

How and why did your interpretation of the text differ from the interpretation of the same text by other people?

Mode of address-

What sort of audience was your text aimed at (and how typical was this of the genre)?
An age group between 16-27 which is both male and female who are interested in indie/alternative music and fashion and like to be different from the crown and stand out from others in their personality and style. This is a very typical style of audience being as the genre is indie/alternative, as this is what indie/alternative people are like and how the express them selfs as. 

How does the text address your classmates?

What sort of person does it assume they are?

What assumptions have you made about their class, age, gender and ethnicity?
That the audience are middle class young students between the age of 16-27 being both male and female and fitting into the stereotype of a 'white' different, unique styling, young adult. 

What interests does it assume they have?
The audience would be interested in music festival of indie music bands, as well as simplistic but stylish fashion from vintage and unpopular stores, as well as listening to older cool music with a chilled out style to the sound, following trends from the past of the older generations, regularly reading unpopular music magazines to find new and smaller styles of musicians.  

What relevance does the text actually have for you?

What knowledge does it take for granted?

To what extent do you resemble the 'ideal reader' that the text seeks to position you as?

Are there any notable shifts in the text's mode of address (and if so, what do they involve)?

What responses does the text seem to expect from your audience?
A positive response showed that the audience wanted to view these texts and even buy them, due to the genre and audience being met in the design and making of the texts.

How open to negotiation is their response (are they invited, instructed or coerced to respond in particular ways)?

Is there any penalty for not responding in the expected ways (think in terms of enjoyment for the audience or consequences for the institution)?

To what extent did people find themselves 'reading against the grain' of the text and the genre?

Which attempts to position your audience in this text do they accept, reject or seek to negotiate (and why)?

How closely aligned is the way in which the text addresses you with the way in which the genre positions you (Kress 1988, 107)?

Relationship to other texts-

What intertextual references are there in the text you have created (and to what other texts)?
My magazine design was influenced by Clash magazine, the music video was inspired by The 1975's music video Sex and Girls and my digipak was design with the thought of Jamie xx's album covers, Kings of Leon digipak panel, The XX and Arctic Monkeys album design, then my advert was design with the inspiration from The XX and Arctic Monkeys poster simplistic design.

Generically, which other texts does the text you created resemble most closely?

What key features are shared by these texts?
My magazine and Clash magazine a lot of the style and layout has been followed through into my own magazine design copying and taking their magazine design forward into my own work, like the contents page the whole design has been copy and inspired my clashes contents page.
My music video and The 1975's music videos sex and girls influenced being in a plain white room with just the band playing and singing the song, some of the shots where copied shot for shot by then placed different in the whole frame work of our own music video, the clothing style was influenced by those videos too the plain simplistic style of mono tonal colours used in our video. 
My digipak cover having that one symbol came from Jamie xx's album cover the same with his, then the Kings of Leon grid photo design across the panel inspired my grid of images on the back panels too.
My advertisement using the simplistic and minimalistic style of having not much text giving much information away and keeping it short and snappy the same with The XX and Arctic Monkeys advertisements.

What major differences do you notice between them?
In all these similarities i placed my own ideas and styles into my products so nothing was a exact copy of any of texts that influenced my designs. In the magazine i used my own text style as well page number location on the page and actual contents in the magazine was all made up not copied. 
Then my music  video i used some of the same shots used in those music videos but i replaced in them in different parts of my music video as well as made up some shots of my own, but also the actors in my video look different and have their own style to the video that makes it seem different. 
My digipak is different to the Kings of Leon grid panel digipak design because i used my own images of the band and random elements as well as a different front cover thats different from Jamie XX's album cover because i used my own shape design and placed it in a different direction and positions to his covers. 
Then my advertisement is different from my inspired advertisements because of my black and white colour scheme as the others have a bit more colour to them unlike mine design, also my text font and style is my own idea that fits in with the genre and look of the package well.