Wednesday 24 April 2013
Sunday 21 April 2013
Media Language
"Media is communication." Discuss the ways that you have used media language to create meanings in one of your media products.
The product I have chosen to analyse is my AS music magazine 'Raw.' Raw belongs to the genre of rock and therefore an audience expects certain conventions when reading this type of text. The front cover communicated many things to the audience with the use of denotations and connotations.
I have used media language in my own product with the choice and placement of key elements, such as; The masthead on my cover was presented in a bold distressed font and the connotations of the word 'Raw,' all contributed to a sense of something new, outgoing and striking. This was intended to represent the genre, as rock too has connotations of bold choices and striking artists. I also noticed in my research and planning, that similar magazines, such as 'Kerrang', also feature a similar bold messy font for their masthead. Therefore the audience will form associations with this style and the loud crazy rock world. I also feel that ultimately the colour scheme of my cover played an integral role in the interpretation of my magazine's overall look. The colour scheme I chose was a simple combination of deep purple, black and white/grey tones. The reason for this choice was that I feel they reflect a punky and Gothic style that accompanies the rock genre, and also connotes a more sinister and intimidating attitude of those associated with it. Although this style may sound purposely unappealing, it is intended for my target audience of rock music lovers who will relate and seek this very look. In keeping with the my intentions to relate to my audience I purposely selected a model for my cover who also had an appearance in keeping with both the colour scheme and rock style. Therefore the model wore simple black clothes that are likely to be worn by my target audience. The mode of address of the main artist is also another way meaning is communicated. Theorist John Fiske (1982) suggested that 'Denotation is what is photographed and connotation is how it is photographed.' I have demonstrated this with the pose of the model being sat down and leaning forward confidently, this was framed in a mid-shot and the model stared directly at the camera with a smirk on his face. All the elements of this shot communicated something to the audience. As the sat down pose reflected the casual mode of address and laid back manner of rock artists, this would appeal to my target audience who seek informal magazines. The shot of the photo allowed the artists outfit to be displayed whilst still presenting a clear view of his facial expression. Finally the expression itself was intended to reflect confidence, and with the direct piercing stare, appearing slightly intimidating but engaging the audience.
Stuart Hall's reception theory would apply to my magazine, as the cover's overall meaning communicates that this magazine is informative and current in an informal manner. This is reflected with the text on the cover that is minimalist and eye-catching, so as not to bombard the audience with excessive detail that implies a more serious text. The cover lines I had included were short headings such as 'Top 30 downloads!' and 'Hot News.' These snippets of information were intended to be enticing by intriguing the audience as to what this pages would include. By not having the cover lines in full sentences, but short captions, it also connoted that the information inside could be attained quickly and therefore would hopefully appeal to my younger and impatient target audience. The general layout and positioning of elements also reflected the main focus of the issue such as; having the issue title 'The Silenced,' central to the page and in a large font size, this connoted that this was the main feature of the issue and by also having it run across my main image it paired the two elements together as being related. The Masthead of my magazine was conventionally at the top of the page, in a recognisable position that acts as a logo of the magazine being the one of the first elements the audience will notice. Whereas my cover lines were in the top right corner, away from the viewers direct gaze and therefore signifying as secondary importance.
To conclude, I believe media is communication. As even with texts such as my magazine, that unlike a video do not directly speak to the audience. All types of media have symbolic and iconic features that link to connotations or established ideologies, and in this respect voice a point of view to its audience. Even without reading the text on my page, a person can establish the dark, sleek and laid back feel of my magazine, with the colours and imagery alone.
The product I have chosen to analyse is my AS music magazine 'Raw.' Raw belongs to the genre of rock and therefore an audience expects certain conventions when reading this type of text. The front cover communicated many things to the audience with the use of denotations and connotations.
I have used media language in my own product with the choice and placement of key elements, such as; The masthead on my cover was presented in a bold distressed font and the connotations of the word 'Raw,' all contributed to a sense of something new, outgoing and striking. This was intended to represent the genre, as rock too has connotations of bold choices and striking artists. I also noticed in my research and planning, that similar magazines, such as 'Kerrang', also feature a similar bold messy font for their masthead. Therefore the audience will form associations with this style and the loud crazy rock world. I also feel that ultimately the colour scheme of my cover played an integral role in the interpretation of my magazine's overall look. The colour scheme I chose was a simple combination of deep purple, black and white/grey tones. The reason for this choice was that I feel they reflect a punky and Gothic style that accompanies the rock genre, and also connotes a more sinister and intimidating attitude of those associated with it. Although this style may sound purposely unappealing, it is intended for my target audience of rock music lovers who will relate and seek this very look. In keeping with the my intentions to relate to my audience I purposely selected a model for my cover who also had an appearance in keeping with both the colour scheme and rock style. Therefore the model wore simple black clothes that are likely to be worn by my target audience. The mode of address of the main artist is also another way meaning is communicated. Theorist John Fiske (1982) suggested that 'Denotation is what is photographed and connotation is how it is photographed.' I have demonstrated this with the pose of the model being sat down and leaning forward confidently, this was framed in a mid-shot and the model stared directly at the camera with a smirk on his face. All the elements of this shot communicated something to the audience. As the sat down pose reflected the casual mode of address and laid back manner of rock artists, this would appeal to my target audience who seek informal magazines. The shot of the photo allowed the artists outfit to be displayed whilst still presenting a clear view of his facial expression. Finally the expression itself was intended to reflect confidence, and with the direct piercing stare, appearing slightly intimidating but engaging the audience.
Stuart Hall's reception theory would apply to my magazine, as the cover's overall meaning communicates that this magazine is informative and current in an informal manner. This is reflected with the text on the cover that is minimalist and eye-catching, so as not to bombard the audience with excessive detail that implies a more serious text. The cover lines I had included were short headings such as 'Top 30 downloads!' and 'Hot News.' These snippets of information were intended to be enticing by intriguing the audience as to what this pages would include. By not having the cover lines in full sentences, but short captions, it also connoted that the information inside could be attained quickly and therefore would hopefully appeal to my younger and impatient target audience. The general layout and positioning of elements also reflected the main focus of the issue such as; having the issue title 'The Silenced,' central to the page and in a large font size, this connoted that this was the main feature of the issue and by also having it run across my main image it paired the two elements together as being related. The Masthead of my magazine was conventionally at the top of the page, in a recognisable position that acts as a logo of the magazine being the one of the first elements the audience will notice. Whereas my cover lines were in the top right corner, away from the viewers direct gaze and therefore signifying as secondary importance.
To conclude, I believe media is communication. As even with texts such as my magazine, that unlike a video do not directly speak to the audience. All types of media have symbolic and iconic features that link to connotations or established ideologies, and in this respect voice a point of view to its audience. Even without reading the text on my page, a person can establish the dark, sleek and laid back feel of my magazine, with the colours and imagery alone.
Media Language - A Semiotic Ananlysis
MY MUSIC VIDEO
SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS = relating to signs and symbols
Camera;
In our video we primarily used close ups of our artist to create a sense of star image and focus on her facial expression to clarify her emotions within the narrative as well as putting emphasis on her beauty and youth. The mid-shots we included were to show off her outfits and allow the audience to witness the relative proximity and positions of the two main characters.The angles that we used varied according to the connotations we wished to imply, for example in some of the scenes where I main character was unhappy and feeling vulnerable, a slightly high angle provided a sense of her feeling inferior and small. However we primarily included the use of mid angles that put the audience on a level with the characters and made them feel equal and relatable.
Editing;
Some of the editing techniques we used include, the use of slow motion to apply emphasis to certain scenes, such as when I character trows the teddy bear, the slow mo. adds emphasis to the extreme point of frustration our character was reaching and that it connoted a pinnacle of distress. We also added filters to some of our scenes to soften the edges and provide a sense of reminiscing and that it was an idillic scenario from the past. The use of editing allowed us to communicate ideas through a physical media of implied meaning and allowed the audience to form their own interpretations on certain details within the narrative.
Lighting;
The lighting for all of our scenes provided a welcoming warm glow and pleasant atmosphere. The purpose of this lighting was to create an aspiratinal homely environment that was appealing and flattering on our stars. Within the bedroom seen we even included candles and lamps that added to the positive glow, so that even in the negative parts of our narrative there was a sense of hope.
SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS = relating to signs and symbols
Camera;
In our video we primarily used close ups of our artist to create a sense of star image and focus on her facial expression to clarify her emotions within the narrative as well as putting emphasis on her beauty and youth. The mid-shots we included were to show off her outfits and allow the audience to witness the relative proximity and positions of the two main characters.The angles that we used varied according to the connotations we wished to imply, for example in some of the scenes where I main character was unhappy and feeling vulnerable, a slightly high angle provided a sense of her feeling inferior and small. However we primarily included the use of mid angles that put the audience on a level with the characters and made them feel equal and relatable.
Editing;
Some of the editing techniques we used include, the use of slow motion to apply emphasis to certain scenes, such as when I character trows the teddy bear, the slow mo. adds emphasis to the extreme point of frustration our character was reaching and that it connoted a pinnacle of distress. We also added filters to some of our scenes to soften the edges and provide a sense of reminiscing and that it was an idillic scenario from the past. The use of editing allowed us to communicate ideas through a physical media of implied meaning and allowed the audience to form their own interpretations on certain details within the narrative.
Lighting;
The lighting for all of our scenes provided a welcoming warm glow and pleasant atmosphere. The purpose of this lighting was to create an aspiratinal homely environment that was appealing and flattering on our stars. Within the bedroom seen we even included candles and lamps that added to the positive glow, so that even in the negative parts of our narrative there was a sense of hope.
Monday 15 April 2013
Thursday 11 April 2013
'Arrested for breaking and entering... your heart.'
Meagan Mccullough, 27, of Zephyrhills, as she was then known, was arrested for 'Driving under the Influence' in July 2010 leading to her photo being taken in an orange jumpsuit.After the photos release, it caught the attention of the sharing website Reddit and soon spread around the internet like wildfire.
Dozens of men made Memes featuring the police shot with captions such as 'GUILTY - of taking my breath away', 'Arrested for breaking and entering - YOUR HEART' and 'Tell me what she did so I can end up in the same jail'. Social media sites were overtaken by comments from men wanting to marry her, looking for her phone number and asking if she is a model, but in reality she is a mum-of-four medical assistant from Florida.
Representation Essay
"Representation in media texts are often simplistic and reinforce dominant ideologies so that audiences can make sense of them."
When most audiences interact with media they have preconceptions of how they will be, based on genre and the mediums they are presented in. Therefore it is important for an audience to feel that their requirements are met in their consumption of media texts and so simple representations ultimately allow understanding of what is happening so an audience can truly engage and enjoy the media.
In A2 we created a music video in the genre of country/pop. Our music video was created under the assumption that the audience is viewing, to be diverted from their own lives and receive enjoyment. We have also selected a target audience of primarily females aged 13-21. Therefore the video was presented with a casual mode of address to relate to our perceived audience’s style and established ideologies that music videos are laid back and light-hearted. We achieved this by not having the actors stare directly into the camera at all times, but sometimes divert their gaze and allow the audience to be onlookers on the action. We also tried to vary the type and positioning of shots to keep the video upbeat and reflect variation (e.g. long shots, close ups, mid-shots and over the shoulder shots,) so the video is seen as pleasurable to watch. A formal video would tend to be very static and simplistic, whereas the scene variation and frequent costume changes within our video connoted the informality. However this chosen casual representation was not so the video could necessarily be understood, as a formal version could still be within the intellectual capabilities of our audience. However they probably would not have recognised the video as being that of a mainstream music video.
One ideology associated with modern pop videos is that a female solo artist is likely to be provocative and objectified. However our video challenges this representation, as our artist is depicted as being feminine and innocent, with the use of pastel coloured floral clothes, minimal make up and pleasant surroundings. This portrayal connotes her childlike qualities and almost naive perspective. This stereotypical portrayal of a young female is positive in our video, as she evokes the desired response in our audience, which is empathy for her within the narrative and the target audience of primarily teenage females can also relate to her image and maybe find her style aspirational. Although this aspect of our video does, in some respects, challenges dominant expectations of a pop video, the representation is still simplistic and easy for an audience to grasp and relate to.
Also with our artist residing within the country genre category, we intended for the representation of our female to be more tasteful and demure, connoting a real woman. We still however intended for our artist to appear strong and confident, almost a feminist representation, with her not appearing inferior to our male actor in anyway. This was expressed in our video, where our artist pushes the male during their fighting.
Within our video we feature a narrative, and the intended reading of our video is that the audience can empathise with the artist in her break-up situation, and also find the upbeat music and pleasant mise en scene easy to watch. We therefore relied on the audience to make sense of the storyline and so for it to be simplistic. Our narrative is not intended to be accurate to life and follows a clique predictable story that almost forms an ideology for what many music videos also include (e.g. a boy and girl have relationship troubles.) It focuses on main events as there is not enough time to combine all the details and still allow for understanding.
The mise en scene aids the understanding of representation and the narrative as it provides an instant concept of setting and time. The settings we used included a bedroom and lounge. These settings were modern and well furnished with pleasant warm lighting that provided a welcoming hue. The purpose of these features were to present an aspirational home and reflect the ideology that artists live in an aspirational world, making the audience interested in the setting.These settings were however realistic enough for the audience to relate to, and represented the typical environment for a young couple. This allowed for the audience to understand the initially intimacy and resulting turmoil of the pair, that wouldn't have been so clear or appropriate in an environment more public or cold.
David Gauntlett said 'That identities are not given, but constructed.' I believe that this reflects the representation of the artist in our music video. Her personality and situation was gradually established and built through the video and allowed for the audience to gain a clear understanding of events. The nature of this gradual character and storyline formation is a feature of most music videos, as the use of camera angles, costumes, setting and editing, all contribute to a simplified depiction of an artist. Therefore I believe the representation of such dominant ideologies allow for the audience understanding.
When most audiences interact with media they have preconceptions of how they will be, based on genre and the mediums they are presented in. Therefore it is important for an audience to feel that their requirements are met in their consumption of media texts and so simple representations ultimately allow understanding of what is happening so an audience can truly engage and enjoy the media.
In A2 we created a music video in the genre of country/pop. Our music video was created under the assumption that the audience is viewing, to be diverted from their own lives and receive enjoyment. We have also selected a target audience of primarily females aged 13-21. Therefore the video was presented with a casual mode of address to relate to our perceived audience’s style and established ideologies that music videos are laid back and light-hearted. We achieved this by not having the actors stare directly into the camera at all times, but sometimes divert their gaze and allow the audience to be onlookers on the action. We also tried to vary the type and positioning of shots to keep the video upbeat and reflect variation (e.g. long shots, close ups, mid-shots and over the shoulder shots,) so the video is seen as pleasurable to watch. A formal video would tend to be very static and simplistic, whereas the scene variation and frequent costume changes within our video connoted the informality. However this chosen casual representation was not so the video could necessarily be understood, as a formal version could still be within the intellectual capabilities of our audience. However they probably would not have recognised the video as being that of a mainstream music video.
One ideology associated with modern pop videos is that a female solo artist is likely to be provocative and objectified. However our video challenges this representation, as our artist is depicted as being feminine and innocent, with the use of pastel coloured floral clothes, minimal make up and pleasant surroundings. This portrayal connotes her childlike qualities and almost naive perspective. This stereotypical portrayal of a young female is positive in our video, as she evokes the desired response in our audience, which is empathy for her within the narrative and the target audience of primarily teenage females can also relate to her image and maybe find her style aspirational. Although this aspect of our video does, in some respects, challenges dominant expectations of a pop video, the representation is still simplistic and easy for an audience to grasp and relate to.
Also with our artist residing within the country genre category, we intended for the representation of our female to be more tasteful and demure, connoting a real woman. We still however intended for our artist to appear strong and confident, almost a feminist representation, with her not appearing inferior to our male actor in anyway. This was expressed in our video, where our artist pushes the male during their fighting.
Within our video we feature a narrative, and the intended reading of our video is that the audience can empathise with the artist in her break-up situation, and also find the upbeat music and pleasant mise en scene easy to watch. We therefore relied on the audience to make sense of the storyline and so for it to be simplistic. Our narrative is not intended to be accurate to life and follows a clique predictable story that almost forms an ideology for what many music videos also include (e.g. a boy and girl have relationship troubles.) It focuses on main events as there is not enough time to combine all the details and still allow for understanding.
The mise en scene aids the understanding of representation and the narrative as it provides an instant concept of setting and time. The settings we used included a bedroom and lounge. These settings were modern and well furnished with pleasant warm lighting that provided a welcoming hue. The purpose of these features were to present an aspirational home and reflect the ideology that artists live in an aspirational world, making the audience interested in the setting.These settings were however realistic enough for the audience to relate to, and represented the typical environment for a young couple. This allowed for the audience to understand the initially intimacy and resulting turmoil of the pair, that wouldn't have been so clear or appropriate in an environment more public or cold.
David Gauntlett said 'That identities are not given, but constructed.' I believe that this reflects the representation of the artist in our music video. Her personality and situation was gradually established and built through the video and allowed for the audience to gain a clear understanding of events. The nature of this gradual character and storyline formation is a feature of most music videos, as the use of camera angles, costumes, setting and editing, all contribute to a simplified depiction of an artist. Therefore I believe the representation of such dominant ideologies allow for the audience understanding.
Tuesday 9 April 2013
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