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. 

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. 

"Postmodern media manipulates time and space."

Post-modern media, is media that originates from another time or existing piece, it defies the rules of context and meaning, by formulating creations that use any combination of components. Nothing can be wrong. Works can be full of depth and depth-less at the same time. They steal, change and warp current concepts. 

One example of a real media text that directly manipulates time and space, is the film Inception. Inception can be considered post-modern, as it changes the viewer's perceptions of reality, both within the film and their own life. The film is based on the ability to enter and share people's dreams and plant an idea. The film becomes complex and involves multiple layers. Although it is portraying a dream like world, most of the sets are actually based in real places or using real models. This in itself is an example of hyper-reality, as it is using a real place to create a fake reality intended to be fake. The characters within the film have times when they too struggle to separate the dream world from reality and this doubt is transferred to the audience with the end scene, in which the spinning top is left spinning and the audience is left in suspense as to if it falls (symbolising it's the real world) or if it spins forever (indicating a dream.) This scene of the film is an example of self-referencing, also post-modern, as inception means 'Planting an idea in someone's head without them realising.' And this very scene plants doubt in the audiences mind that at the end of the film they still haven't returned to reality. The ways in which inception manipulates time is with its warping of speed during each dream layer, time being variant and dependant on which layer they are in, something we do not experience in the real world. To reflect the change in the speed of time, the song 'Je ne regrette rien.' is played at different speeds within the film to signify whether it is real time or dream time. From doing this, the film presents time as something that is not constant, but changing. Inception also manipulates space within its Paris scene, where the city is seen to fold over and have two separate gravitational pulls in one area (people can walk upside down.) This warps the viewer’s perception of physical boundaries and limitations. This is continued in the second dream layer where the hotel experiences gravitational shifts and the corridor is seen to spin and have periods of zero gravity.  

A further film that warps space is 'Scott Pilgrim verses the world.' This film is post-modern as it uses constant referencing throughout, specifically of comic books and video games. With scenes appearing like a comic book strips,  such as words appearing in time with sounds and actions 'Kpow!.' It also uses game music, such as that of Zelda, and arcade game music as the Universal logo is introduced. Ways, in which this film manipulates space, is with its very unrealistic fight scenes that allow characters to fly through the air and fight viscously whilst remaining unscathed. One clear scene that also manipulates time, is one in which Scott is getting ready to leave his apartment, and a sped up montage of his actions are presented e.g. puts on hat and coat in a second each. However when he comes to tie up his shoes, they make a comedic point for it to be in real time, to emphasise the chance of pace. This also presents the possibility that time is not constant.

Further examples of time manipulation can be witnessed in Quentin Tarintino’s film ‘Inglourious Basterds.’ Most of Tarintino’s works are explicitly post-modern with frequent intertexual reference, such as to that of his past works e.g. within this film it references the high levels of gore within ‘Reservoir dogs.’ The specific element of the film that manipulates time is as the opening credits run, where Tarintino selects the background music to be that of a spaghetti western track, a piece of music created after the film is even set. This element is an example of Levi Strauss’ 'Bricolage', bringing separate material together and placing it in a new context with no consideration to its previous relevance. It also defies the laws of time, as it combines two separate time periods, this explicitly indicates that the film is not trying to be true to reality as it explores an impossible combination.

To conclude, many post-modern works can be seen to manipulate time and space, as the very nature of post-modernism is that it does not adhere to such rules or expectations. This is reflected in the fact that these seemingly essential components of most media texts, e.g. continuity and practicable patterns do not structure in such pieces. Post-modernism was criticises by Jameson to be vacuous and trapped in circular reference. Although these mentioned examples do feature such referencing. It can be argued that the post-modern approach also defies past preconceptions of how media should be presented e.g. with the presents of Bricolage and formulating unusual combinations of elements. And therefore the presents of time and space manipulation is an example of how post-modern media is full of possibilities.

"Define Post-modern media with examples."

Post-modern media, is media that originates from another time or existing piece, it defies the rules of context and meaning, by formulating creations that use any combination of components. Nothing can be wrong. Works can be full of depth and depth-less at the same time. They steal, change and warp current concepts and manipulate the viewers perception of reality. Post-modernism is based on the concept that the possibilities of the media have been exhausted and therefore we are left with regurgitating the past. 

Post-modern media is media that can be regarded as unoriginal, a it is usually based are pre-existing works and features referencing. Post-modern theorist such as Kirby Fergusson, suggested everything is a remix and therefore all new media is post-modern. This is the concept that all new media projects are connected with no originality and creativity relies on the ability to copy, transform and combine current pieces. This idea of continuous transformation can be witnessed in real world texts, for example; The song 'Gold Digger' by Kayne West is a remix of the song 'I got a woman' by Ray Charles, which is in turn a remix of the song 'It must be Jesus' by The Southern Tones. Although it may be viewed that each of these new songs are unique as these merely use elements of one another and are ultimately original, however these pieces are regarded post-modern, as not only do they use elements of backing track etc. but they also warp the meaning of the song taking it out of context and completely changing the original message, this is an example of Levis Strauss 'Bricolage.' The original song goes from being about the wonderful acts of Jesus, to the kind acts of a girlfriend to the degrading song about a Gold digging girlfriend. No consideration of context is applied.

Post modern media has become popular in recent years and many professional set out to purposely create post-modern work. One such individual is the director Quentin Tarintino. His film 'Inglourious Basterds' alone, contains multiple post-modern elements. As the opening credits run Tarintino selects the background music to be that of a spaghetti western track, a piece of music created after the film is even set. This element is an example 'Bricolage', bringing separate material together and placing it in a new context with no consideration to its previous relevance. The chapter one setting also references a similarly set film 'The Sound of Music', this focuses on the process of transposition, taking familiar scenery from an originally heart warming scene and transforming it to a new setting, to give it a more sinister feel, something considered post modern. The use of hyper-reality is also a frequent element within this film, such as Tarintino explicitly showing scenes as sets and not real places, with the use of over-head shots. This is post-modern as illustrates that the fake reality usually portrayed as being real, is being portrayed as fake, it is both creating and destroying the sense of reality. Further to this Tarintino also frequently uses Intertextual references of past works within his film, most of which derive from his own projects. Such referencing includes; High levels of gore, similar to 'Reservoir Dogs', the female glamour combined with weaponry and action seen in Jackie Brown, and also army camp scenes that are almost a pastiche of scenes from the 'Dirty Dozen.'

Post-modern media can also be presented in the form of a Parody, an imitation intended to mock past works. This can be seen in films such as 'Hobo with a shotgun'. This film can be regarded by some to be purposely bad and therefore exaggerate the ridiculous elements of other films, to formulate a piece that is totally bizarre. Such examples within the film include the over-the-top acting that attempts at some points to evoke emotion but is too fake to be taken seriously. The levels of gore within the film are also unnecessary and gruesome, such as a girl having her arm ripped off by a lawnmower. This within another film such as that of 'Saw' might be horrifying, however in the parody context it is simply unrealistic. The result of such media is that it makes you reassess how you ever found the original texts entertaining. 

Post-modernism is often criticised for producing copies that lack the substance of the original creation. This idea was presented by theorist Baudrillard and is described as Simulacrum. This concept is frequently seen within advertising campaigns that attempt to present a product in its most appealing light, such as a McDonald's poster, however the real product that you can purchase bears no resemblance to the artificial image. These advertisement create a an illusion of reality and present an unattainable reality. The claim is that there is no direct link between reality and its expression in words and pictures e.g. your Big Mac looks nothing like it is 'supposed' to.

To conclude, modernism was considered to stress the creativity of individual ideas, focusing on integrity and authenticity. However media nowadays is almost destined to be post-modern, with most works being influenced and formulated by multiple people, it is also available all over the world to download and view. Unlike a piece of artwork which usually exists in its original form alone, media such as films and TV are intended to be broadcast and spread in its copies far and wide. Therefore the only form of media we can view is that of a copy and media cannot exist in its pure modernist form. 

Genre Theory

Genre can be described as the particular form or style of a text, which includes a certain typical structure or conventions. In A2 we created a music video ours of a country/pop genre. The purpose of genres within the music industry is a means of ordering and organising where types of music fit in, and by doing so allow audiences to interact with software such as iTunes or YouTube in a functional way. A particular genre of music a person prefers can be accessed easily, with genre forming the basis of categorisation. In a modern world we relish order.

Theorist Glenhill said 'One advantage of genres is that they can rely on readers already having knowledge and expectations about works within genre.' It was important for our video to satisfy the audience’s expectations of the pop/country genre, as people choose to watch music videos as a means of entertainment, and escapism. This can be related to the uses and gratifications model, as pop/country music videos can be seen to benefit an audience by providing them with the diversion and pleasure they desire. An audience will select to watch videos of a particular genre, as they already hold preconceptions on how they will be and so are confident they will enjoy them. Therefore by formulating our music video to fit a genre, we could be confident of the expectations of this target audience of and so how to make it appeal to them. The creation of texts outside of genre is risky, as you cannot be certain they will have elements that appeal to any market.

The target audience for our music video was primarily females aged 13-21 years old. We selected this audience as from analysis of the market for the Taylor swift song we were using as our base, this audience appeared to be the primary consumers. In order to adhere to our country/pop genre we attempted to follow the conventions of current real media texts. From our analysis of similar artists videos, we concluded some of conventions to be; A focus on star image of the main artist, we included this by having 90% of shots being of our artist and with frequent close ups of her face. Editing with the beat of the song to match the pace of the music, in our video we adapted the cutting speed of shots, creating a fast paced montage for the lively instrumental. Specific to primarily pop videos is also the presents of a narrative within the video that usually directly illustrates or amplifies the lyrics of the song. To re-create this in our video with had a narrative storyline portraying a relationship break-up between our female artist and her 'boyfriend.' Not only is the present of a narrative common in pop videos, but also a storyline based specifically on a relationship is repeated frequently and fulfils certain expectations. The reason this is so popular within this genre is that it appeals to the target audience, with primarily young girls watching these videos, relationships and break-ups are a concept they can relate to and likely to be a part of their life. The purpose of a female pop artist is also to appear aspirational and attractive to her audience. We therefore tailored our mise en scene to emulate our artist’s beauty by; curling her hair, using light natural make-up, and feminine floral clothes that reflected innocents and youth. Within the genre of pop female artists are often exploited for their beauty and use it to expand their appeal to both sexes. This is the basis of Laura Mulvey's theory of 'the male gaze,' and that women are sexual objects, admired by males and aspirational to women. However the country element of our videos genre made us avoid the sexualisation of our artist, as it isn't main stream pop but a more traditional and classic music style, which is reflected by a more demure image we tried to exhibit.

To conclude, the use of genre provided us with guidelines for the production of our music video and helped us make creative decisions by providing some restriction to the possibilities of our video. Genre also ensured we were focusing on the audience’s reception of our video and providing a product that would fulfil a purpose to provide enjoyment. Genre can be regarded incredibly post-modern as it actively encourages the mimicking of concepts to create predictable products that lack originality and are just versions of old work. However it seems that people enjoy the consumption of predictable products as there is enough variation for them to enjoy guessing, for example the end to a narrative storyline, however the sense of familiarity is comforting. It was sated by theorist Neale that ‘Pleasure is derived through repetition and difference.’ Our music video had a predictable clique narrative of a boy and girl, however the new faces and catchy tune of country pop creates a pleasant image the audience can empathise with and recognise. The hyper reality of pop videos evokes an emotional response that never gets old.

Describe how your analysis of the conventions of real media texts informed your own creative media practice?

Across AS and A2, I used my research and planning to analyse real media texts and establish current conventions. Within the two years I have made a music magazine, music video and ancillary products(Poster and Digipak.) From the comparison of established brands I was able to grasps key concepts and elements that were constant across these products of a similar genre, and this provided me with a base for my own work.

For the production of my AS Music magazine I learnt from my analysis, the integral features of magazines. To establish conventions I considered current magazines of the same genre to my own, music magazines of a rock base, and so analysed magazines like NME, Rolling Stone and Kerrang. Some of the conventions I found were; Similar modes of address, typically quite informal and speaking directly to the reader. I try to emulate this in my own work, by having a model on the cover I believe the target audience could relate to, as he was a young male in simple dark clothing, similar clothes the audience would wear. My model was looking directly at the camera in a confident manner. The aim of this was to reflect the bold and confident side to rock and directly attract buyers attention by addressing them directly. Other elements that continued with this bold and eye catching theme was the use of paint effect behind my cover lines, in keeping with a casual messy look and the striking purple colour scheme to represent individuality. I also kept any writing on my cover short and simple, with catchy lines such as 'Top 30 downloads.' My double page spread was laid out like an interview and was based on quotes of the feature band with slang and informal speech. The intent was for the audience to feel they gained a personal perspective and the article was tailored to a young modern reader.

Further conventions I noticed included a similar layout of elements on all the magazine covers, the presents of the golden spiral theory was apparent. Most magazines had their masthead at the top, cover titles down one side, a central title and lower banner. I used this convention on the cover of my magazine because it draws the readers eyes to the important aspects of the issue and once their attention is gained is also hopefully sustained, so they read all the cover and are convinced to purchase. Real media texts informed me greatly in my own creative ideas, as when it came to considering my choice of fonts there was an abundance of options. What I noticed across magazines of a rock genre, is their fonts tended to be unusual, messy and bold. Such as that of 'Kerrang' magazine that has an effect on its masthead almost like shattered glass. This encouraged me to explore in the selection of my own font and download one from DaFont.com after many considerations. My final font fitted with the messy bold design and appeared aged and weathered. I only used a range of three fonts on my cover so it did not appear too disjointed and lose its focused style. Most importantly the details on my cover needed to remain in keeping with conventions, so as to stand up against competition and appeal to my target audience. Kerrang and NME both have very busy covers that reflect the crazy side of rock and appeal to an audience who want lots of info quick and easily. Within my own work I still included cover lines, large title and banner, however kept my cover a little more simplistic, such as a 'Rolling stone.' Although conventions helped me understand how current magazines achieve success, this convention also changed my creative path, as I believed by keeping it slightly more simplistic it would stand apart from current brands.

By A2 I believe my creative abilities had developed and I was able to identify and replicate conventions far quicker and more precisely. Unlike AS, where I feel I attempted to manipulate the conventions to make them my own e.g. with a controversial colour scheme and simplistic look. Over the time I released the necessity of the conventions in establishing genre, and selling a product to an audience who expect a certain type of product. Therefore I tried to more accurately replicate the elements I identified. My competence with the media equipment also greatly improved with time, such as my abilities on Photoshop and photography skills. This increased capability allowed me to recreate the sleek professional style of real media texts, and the comparison to them encouraged me to improve my skills further, such as mastering editing tools on Photoshop (making photos sharper with filters and feather edges with the blur tool.) I created my poster and Digipak based on a pop genre featured around a solo female artist. Within real media texts I noticed that an artist will attempt to achieve continuity across all their products, so their appearance, brand and style is recognisable to the public. This inspired me to use the teddy bear within our video on my Digipak, as a means of creating links between the related elements. For my poster, some of the conventions I noticed on similar products to my own, was a more formal and less direct mode of address, with minimal text and an image that is more sophisticated. Within my own work I tried to achieve this by keeping text informative and to the lower half of the cover and in a simplistic font that connoted more maturity and importance. The font used for my artists name and album title was also intended to appear feminine and sleek, I achieved this with a slightly hand written looking font in a red colour. One convention on all of the posters I analysed was the use of portraying the album cover on the poster so it would be recognisable to an audience. Also the album covers of female solo artists tended to be close ups of their face alone, to form their image. I also used a close up on my album to highlight my artists beauty and youth, her pose is of her looking off to the side, to connote innocence and a shyness. This then formed my poster background. The purpose of an album poster is to promote the artists album, therefore analysis of real texts highlighted crucial conventions, such as the presence of the album name, reviews, a release date and website address. Adhering to this I included these on my own poster, even setting up a twitter account for my fake artist, and including her twitter name at the bottom of my poster. These conventions aided my practice by making my product more true to real life texts and not just creative pieces.

To conclude, the analysis of real media texts inspired me to create my own products by providing guidelines that focused my creation and formed a basis for the elements of my own work. From AS to A2 I gained increased understanding of what conventions were within real media texts and became better at re-creating them. Although all pieces of my work were original and contain my own creative ideas, conventions informed me of how to make creative products that look professional and wouldn't be out of place in the real world.

Discuss why some people are not convinced by the idea of post-modernism?

Post-modern media, is media that originates from another time or existing piece, it defies the rules of context and meaning, by formulating creations that use any combination of components. Nothing can be wrong. Works can be full of depth and depth-less at the same time. They steal, change and warp current concepts and change people’s perceptions of reality.

Some people are not convinced by the concept of post-modern media as it suggests that nothing can be original and therefore everything is a copy. Theorist such as Kirby Fergusson, suggested everything is a remix. This is the concept that all new media projects are connected with no originality and creativity relies on the ability to copy, transform and combine current pieces. This idea of continuous transformation can be witnessed in real world texts, for example; The song 'Gold Digger' by Kayne West is a remix of the song 'I got a woman' by Ray Charles, which is in turn a remix of the song 'It must be Jesus' by The Southern Tones. Critics may argue that pieces such as these merely use elements of one another and are ultimately unique, however these pieces are regarded post-modern, as not only do they use elements of backing track etc. but they also warp the meaning of the song taking it out of context and completely changing the original message, this is an example of Levis Strauss 'Bricolage.' The original song goes from being about the wonderful acts of Jesus, to the kind acts of a girlfriend to the degrading song about a Gold digging girlfriend. No consideration of context is applied. This in itself is another area that post-modernism faces opposition, as it can regarded as disrespectful and mocking, such as with the use of parodies. With films such as 'Hobo with a shotgun,' the aim is to create projects that are purposely bad and highlight the failures of previous ventures. The acceptance of post-modern media allows and encourages people to seek such weaknesses and therefore can be seen as negative, as it influences audience’s receptions to new media.

A further issue of post-modern media is that it is thought to manipulate people’s perceptions of reality. For example; with the increasing quantity of advertisements on TV and online, people are bombarded with idyllic and aspirational lifestyles and scenarios that aim to sell a product. But theses adverts can actually be considered, by critics, to be unhealthy or even damaging. Adverts such as that for Nikon, are based on trying to re-create fake memories that have never been, but are represented as real. Hyper-reality was presented by Baudrillard and is described as the inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality. An issue with its present within the media, is that this hyper-real representation of life, may actually replace people’s expectations and view of reality. People no longer aim to attain real individual experiences but replicate the aspirational events they view, and are actually disappointed when their exacting standards are unfulfilled. This media makes the real world inadequate.

Nowadays people aim to be post modern. Media containing Intertextual references are prevalent, such as Quentin Tarintino’s films like ‘Inglourious Basterds.’ The film is formulated on the bases of making it relate to past works and continuously mimic and warp current films. Tarintino aims for his audience to pick up on the references and take enjoyment from identifying the copies, such as; his opening scene, reminiscent of the sound of music and a shot almost identical to one in ‘The Dirty Dozen.’ In the past during modernist times the aim of media projects were to make them as original and unique as possible, often with daring and controversial ideas. The reason people may not be convinced by post-modernism, is that by accepting post-modernism to be inevitable, and that everything is a remix, it formulates the belief that we therefore no longer need to bother trying to make things unique or original. Post-modernism can therefore be argued, to be a mind-set as well as a category of classification. If people are in the mind-set that they can’t make anything new and set out to copy, then everything will be a copy. However critics may argue, that post-modernism is not an eventually for the future of all media.

To conclude, from the perspective of critic Jameson, postmodern media can be regarded as the creation of vacuous pieces that are trapped in circular reference. Therefore the creation of such media destroys the integrity of media, as it does not lead to the valuable work of the past. The influence of this post-modern world can be seen as detrimental to future generations; nowadays people don’t buy things from a shop and hold the product in their hand, they look at a virtual replica online and have it delivered. When someone wants to hear from their friend they don’t meet up for a chat, they virtually meet up through Skype. Although these elements of the modern world can be regarded as a step forward in the development of media, from another perspective it can be regarded as means to move away from what is real and develop into a world that is fake and therefore moving nowhere at all.

Applying audience theory to one of your products.

The product I created during A2 was a music video of a pop female artist Taylor Swift, which I made with my partner Shannon. The target audience for our video was primarily aimed at young females between the ages of 13-21 years old. We chose this age group as we believed that the pop/country genre of our artist was most enjoyed by this audience, and as our artist was a young female artist we believed they would be able to relate to her.

Aspects of our video that were aimed at our target audience was the the use of costumes worn by our artist, which primarily consisted of feminine floral and nude pastel colours. The connotations of such outfits is a sense of innocents and youth we wished to portray our artists as possessing. These outfits are relevant to our young audience as they are meant to emulate the clothes they too will wear and a look they aspire to achieve.The male actor within our video was also intended to appear attractive to our target audience,  with the aid of his trendy smart outfit, depicting an aspirational relationship at the beginning of the video. 

The narrative storyline of our video is also intended to appeal to our audience, as it expands on the meaning of the song and provides a story the audience can empathise with and relate back to their own lives. Narratives are a common feature of modern day pop videos, and so we purposely included this convention to clearly express our genre and provide a video the audience expects to see. Within our narrative our artist is depicted breaking up and fighting with her boyfriend, a situation we believe would be apparent to young girls. I believe, as suggested by the effects model, the audience may have been influenced by feelings of empathy but can passively absorbed the music and pleasant mise en scene. Our audience is however not intended to be a passive audience but actively gratified by our work. For example The Uses and Gratification Model suggests that the audience is active and receives gratification from the viewing of mediums. I think a way this model can apply to our video, is with the concept that the combination of music and narrative can provide the audience with feelings of pleasure and escapism. By becoming absorbed by the simple narrative and catchy tune of our video, they may be able to temporarily forget about issues in their own life, find the tune uplifting and may even be reminded their own life isn't so bad e.g. they're in a happy relationship. The smiling and friendly face of our artists may even provided hope for an audience, as they see her strong response to the bad situation and aspire to be the same.

The intended reception of our video is for our audience to appreciate the video on two levels. The physical appearance of our artist, admiring her beauty and talent and the pleasant aspirational surroundings. The audience then sees the narrative and becomes emotionally engaged with our female actor, and may be reflected of their own relationships. However Morley's theory suggests that members of an audience will always interpret media texts in differing ways, with also a negotiated or oppositional view. A potential oppositional view of our video would be that the audience regard it to be amateurish and evoking no emotion. The storyline may be seen to be so simple it is not captivating at all, and could be seen to follow a predictable pattern to other videos of the same genre, a cliché. Or a negotiated perspective may appreciate our video represents a sad story and may empathise with the narrative however they may also have conflicting opinions that the story is very simplistic and lacks realism. The repetitive nature of some of the scenes may appear to highlight the fake quality. However the fact our video presents a fictional situation allows the escapism of our audience. 

The feedback we received from our target audience during the production of our video  allowed us to formulate a product tailored to that market. Some of the comments we gained on our first draft were that some of the settings appeared unrealistic, some shots were blurry and did not contain enough star image. By incorporating and correcting these suggestions e.g. improving the quality of mise en scene with better lighting & props, using an HD camera and including more close ups of our artists face, we created a video that more successfully gratified the requirements of our audience.  This in turn would allowed our audience to receive more pleasure and diversion from the video. 

Overall I believe our video  is appealing to an audience, as it takes the initial audio of our song and transforms it into a story that adds meaning and interest. The addition of the visuals provides the audience with a further medium to enjoy the song and engages their attention further. Our video is also applicable to most young girls and boys in many cultures across the world who will encounter similar situations in their own lives. Even to those who have differing values and relationship dynamics, the simple nature of the narrative makes it clear to understand. 

Audience Theory

The Effects Model; Mediums that have an effect on their audience. The audience is passively absorbing information and injected with an influence they cannot resist.

With our video I believe the audience may have been influenced by feelings of empathy and can passively absorbed the music and pleasant mise en scene. 

Reception Theory;
Preferred/Dominant Reading: I think the dominant reading of our video is that the audience appreciates the video on two levels. The physical appearance of our artist, appreciating her beauty and talent and the pleasant aspirational surroundings. The audience then sees the narrative and is left with feelings of empathy for our female actor, and may be reflected of their own relationships. 

Negotiated Reading: Although the audience can appreciate our video represents a sad story and may empathise with the narrative, they may also have conflicting opinions that the story is very simplistic and lacks realism. The repetitive nature of some of the scenes may appear to highlight the fake quality. 

Oppositional Reading: An oppositional view of our video would regard it to be amateurish and evoking no emotion. The storyline may be seen to be so simple it is not captivating at all, and could be seen to follow a predictable pattern to other videos of the same genre.

The Uses and Gratification Model; The belief that the audience is active and receives gratification from the viewing of mediums. They are provided with escapism, diversion, pleasure, and in some cases, information.

I think a way this model can apply to our video, is with the concept that the combination of music and narrative can provide the audience with feelings of pleasure and escapism. By becoming absorbed by the simple narrative and catchy tune of our video, they may be able to temporarily forget about issues in their own life, find the tune uplifting and may even be reminded their own life isn't so bad e.g. they're in a happy relationship. The smiling and friendly face of our artists may even provided hope for an audience, as they see her strong response to the bad situation and aspire to be the same.

How did the conventions of real media texts inspire you to use new media technology to create the style of product you achieved?

Across AS and A2, I used my research and planning to analyse real media texts and establish current conventions. Within the two years I have made a music magazine, music video and ancillary products. From the comparison of established brands I was able to grasps key concepts and elements that were constant across these products of a similar genre, and this provided me with a base for my own work.

For the production of my AS Music magazine I learnt from my analysis integral features of magazines. Such as large recognisable mastheads, cover photos covering most the page and a key heading for the main feature. In the production of my magazine I used an SLR camera to achieve the high definition and clarity of my mid-shot cover photo, this allowed me to stretch it to A4 size and still maintain the professional look. I could then manipulate all elements of my magazine through Photoshop  importing in my photos and tweaking elements such as exposure and saturation to compensate for the limited availability of lighting equipment during my shoot. I could also use the cloning tool to correct minor imperfections of my model and achieve the air brushed look that is a huge convention of most media texts.The type of music magazine I chose to make, was of a rock genre. To reflect this throughout my magazine I tried to emulate the style of current rock magazines such as Kerrang and Rolling Stone. I noticed that the conventions these magazines followed, was the use of bold colours, textured fonts, rough paint effects and busy elements. To achieve a similar appearance within my own magazine I relied on the use of new media technologies to create my vision. With the website DaFont.com I could download a font that would be distinct from other magazines, reflect the rock style and be recognisable as a logo for my brand. This website provided me with the textured weathered look I desired. With photoshop I also had access to various paint tools, playing around with the various options I found a brush that gave me thick rough strokes I could use as a background for my magazine contents and it provided me with the messy and rugged rock finish.

Within the production of our A2 music video, it would have been impossible to achieve without the aid of media technologies such as Final Cut Pro. Through research and planning we recognised the conventions of similar products such as the use of lip syching throughout, a narrative storyline and focus on star image. Our video was based on a pop/country song by a young female solo artist, we therefore compared the possibilities for our video against ones from similar artists such as Ellie Goulding and Kate Nash. The star image was very integral to these videos as it created great focus on the artist's beauty and branding. To achieve a quality look to our own video we relied on the use of an HD camcorder, to provide the clarity and most professional look we wanted. We were inspired by videos such as Kelly Clarksons 'Since you've been gone.' to create a fast cutting montage sequence within our video. We emphasised this further with the use of re-timing during our editing process. With the aid of Final cut pro we were able to use the 'Re-time' element to slow down the pace of some of our clips and add emphasis to the narrative storyline. Within current pop videos the use of a narrative is very prevalent to their style, and so by implementing this throughout, it reflected the genre and meaning of our song. Final Cut pro also proved invaluable when adding zoom and movement to shots in the post production period. One convention of nearly all videos is the element of movement seen throughout videos, especially important to keep interest during the use of star image close ups. It also allowed us to add transitions and effects to clips that made cuts more seamless and kept the video flowing.

To go alongside our video I we also created ancillary products, a poster and Digipak. Within real media texts I noticed that an artist will attempt to achieve continuity across all their products, so their appearance, brand and style is recognisable to the public. This inspired me to use the teddy bear within our video on my Digipak, as a means of creating links between the related elements. I was able to use Photoshop to import this photo and adjust the colouring so it would fit in with the colour scheme of red, black and white I had chosen for my ancillary products. Photoshop provided me with tools such as filters to change the saturation of my images and the magnetic lasso to keep the colour of a red rose in the same image. It also became clear that on most album covers of female pop artists, it will feature a close up of the artists face. I relied again on the use of an SLR camera to achieve a clear and flattering photo of our star, and also Photoshop to adjust lighting and mask minor imperfections with the cloning tool. One aspect of CD's is also that they are produced by a record company that is acknowledged on the back panel of a Digipak. This inspired us to use Photoshop to invent out own imaginary company logo that could be displayed on own Digipaks.

To conclude, the analysis of real media texts inspired me to create my own products by providing guidelines that focused my creation and formed a basis for the elements of my own work. Software such as Final Cut pro and Photoshop, allowed me to imitate the professional nature of current work, with the complex possibilities of manipulation and detailed adjustment. If I had relied on creating my magazine, for example, with only the use of pen and paper, I would have been restricted by time and the inability to quickly undo my mistakes. Real media texts are formed form multiple constituent elements that can be brought together with the aid of media technology and reflect the  style of a product by translating and repeating key logos and themes. 

How I've developed my skills in the use of digital technology

Describe how you developed your skills in the use of digital technology for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to your creative decision making. Refer to a range of examples in your answer to show how these skills developed over time.

Digital technologies have a had a massive influence on media production over the last few years, and since I started in Year 12, I have learned a massive amount about how to use them and what the benefits of using them are. They in turn have had a massive impact on the quality of my finished products.

The technologies I have used during my journey from AS to A2 are theings such as; Blogger, Photoshop, YouTube, Tubechop, Prezi, Scribd, Slideshare, Cameras/Camcorders, Movie maker and Final Cut pro. The benefit of having access to these technologies is that it allowed me to present my work in mediums that were easily accessible and interesting, such as with posting Blogs on Blogger. It also allowed me to compare other products for research and planning, such as viewing current music videos on Youtube, and establish conventions. And technologies equipped me with tools, such as Photoshop, that allowed me to manipulate and develop my work in a detailed and professional manner. 

One of the key areas I developed my skills in was Photoshop. As at the beginning of AS I had never used it before and so found it very challenging when it came to creating my pre-liminary school magazine. Looking back this magazine appears very amateurish, however this was due to my inability to apply the software to create my vision. However now my abilities in Photoshop are far more advanced and the creation of my A2 ancilliary products appear drastically more more professional. This is due to my improved skills at using the software and being aware of the software's capabilities. For example; in AS all I was really  able to do was move images around and roughly cut out pictures and text. However by A2, I was aware of the various filters and effects I could add to my product, adjusting lighting and exposure of all my elements to change my Digipak and poster in multiple ways. I was able to cut and manipulate images to a standard that didn't ruin their quality and was unnoticeable. Overall the products appeared far more professional.

A further technological challenge that arose in A2 was my attempts at using Final cut pro. Seeing as myself and my partner had never used the software before, everything we did was learning from new and I required great help to grasp simple elements such as zooming. However with practice multiple re-drafts we eventually established ability in the programme and could effectively trim shots, remove audio, change speed, add effects and transitions and add zoom and movement to shots. From developing these skills and knowledge of the product we are now far more competent and knowledgeable about the possibilities of editing we could achieve. 

These examples of developed skills in technologies, can be related to Tim O'reily's DIKY triangle. As I began with the making of all my products relying on the internet and the expertise of others to extract information to form ideas and knowledge of what to do. Through practice with these programmes and trial and error I eventually gained wisdom in the workings of such mediums and now consider myself capable to pursue future tasks. 

These acquired skills in digital technology have greatly contributed to my creative decisions, as initially with my limited knowledge I was ignorant to the possibilities my work could achieve. However with the exploration of software and current examples of products presented through the media, I gain inspiration and established what I could and wanted to achieve in my own work. For example when in AS I may have accepted that my images had turned out a little poor and maybe not what I'd hoped, but been ignorant as to how I could have corrected or adapted my idea. By A2 I had increased skills in photography and framing a shot meaning I could afford to be more adventurous and attempt things out of the ordinary. Such as with the use of extreme close-ups on my album cover, in black and white, and changing the angles in my music video. 

With increased skills comes increased confidence, and less fear of getting things wrong. This is why the biggest benefit to creativity I have achieved from building on my abilities in digital technologies, is the increased freedom I feel in the formulation of new ideas, and a belief I can make something work and always make it better. In AS where I may have settled for the first draft of my pre-limiminary magazine, simply because I didn't know how to create my vision, by A2 I was not satisfied until I knew my work was at the standard I wanted and I had fully exhausted my creativity. My first drafts were also more varied and original by A2, as I could think ahead at the filters and effects I could add to my products such as on Photoshop,  so I could broaden my ideas and remove the limitations I originally had within my abilities.

There were however still restraints in the possibilities of my creations. Restraints within the brief I had to adhere to e.g. making only a music video and the restraints in the available materials I had. Although the technologies I did have access to allowed me to increase the complexity and professional finish of my products. The absence of certain materials, such as that of a green screen and unlimited locations or actors, meant I had to refine the magnitude of my creations to make them plausible to make.

In conclusion, technological skills contribute greatly to the extent and variation in creative ideas, as they broaden your mind to the possibilities. However skills themselves do not instantly make you a creative person, but can be applied to allow creative vision. The gathering of knowledge, such as within the research and planning, analysis other products, equip you with a base of conventions that channel creative thoughts. And the presence of a creative mind encourages exploration and gained ability in the complex elements of digital technology.

“Digital Technology turns media consumers into media producers”. In your own experience, how has your creativity developed using developed using digital technology to complete your coursework productions?

'I think it's fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we've ever created. They're tools of communication, they're tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user.' Bill Gates.

I agree that “Digital Technology turns media consumers into media producers” as I believe technology provides people with access to creative ventures that are far beyond their natural ability without it. Technology provides tools and added levels of manipulation that encourages ideas and allows people to make and produce their own products of a professional standard. In the past when computers were only available to the minority of the population and were just being developed, the prospect of average people using them for their own products would have seemed absurd. However my journey from AS to A2 has proved that now anyone can gain access to software such as Photoshop and form their own ideas into professional pieces.

The consumption of media is also vital in a person's production of media. As with all my products such as my AS music magazine, I was required and benefited from the analysis and viewing of current products that allowed me to broaden my knowledge and awareness of current conventions, and direct my creative path. As with the process of Tim O'Reilly's DIKY triangle, I used technologies such as Google and YouTube to gain data, extracted information that was relevant to my task, gained the knowledge such as common features of current magazines, and used my wisdom to understand it apply within my work to create a realistic looking music magazine. As well as aiding my direction, research and planning helped me consider the possibilities of media products and not be scared to make things my own, and create limits to my creativity  Such as on my magazine cover I added paint brush strokes for the background of my subtitles, to mimic the bold layouts of current magazines and interpret the bold aspects in my own way.When making our music video my creativity definitely developed in the formation of our animatic. To make our animatic we used our scanned shot pictures and movie maker to form a basic version of our vision. The benefits of using this technology to layout our ideas was that it allowed us to visualise if they would work and see areas of improvement in our work, where shots should be added or removed. We could reassess our work from another perspective and so fuelled our ideas and creativity of what we'd do next. Without this technology we may not have re-developed our initial video idea in the same way and not form the same creative ideas that resulted in our final product. 

With our music video we also used the editing software, Final cut pro, to bring all our shots together. This technology provided us with extensive possibilities for the development of our work. It especially helped us become more creative, as when exploring the tools available we discovered different effects we could apply to shots we didn't even know were available. Therefore the technology itself provided some of our ideas and made our video more complex and creative then we even imagined. Effects and tools we were able to apply to our work were things such as filters to change the appearance of shots, change the timing of our shots to make them slow motion and add zoom to maintain interest. This software meant that even if the initial shots hadn't quite captured what we hoped or lived up to our expectations we could tweak and change them to transform them to something that worked. This development process is a perfect example of how media consumers can be producers. As even with our amateurish knowledge of filming and no experience, we could mask some of our mistakes and allow the software to do some of the work.


With my A2 ancillary products I used Photoshop to bring the elements of my Digipak and poster together in a fast and simple manner. When forming initial drafts of my work I was very unsure how my products should look, and used the technology to play around with ideas, sometimes even making mistakes that fuelled inspiration. This is why I believe in Scott Adams' quote 'Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.' As with no clear plan the technology still allowed me to be creative and produce a professional product through trial and error. This is how my first draft and final products looked so different as the possibilities of Photoshop meant I could change every aspect I wanted to, such as changing colours and exposure of images, turning and warping my photos to be at different angles and levels and adjusting my fonts till they were exactly how I wanted.

To conclude I believe that access to digital technology during all aspects of my media production has always made me more creative, it has allowed to from research and gain ideas and explore these ideas in a manner that has always made them quick to change. One brilliant aspect of digital technology is that nothing is permanent and can always be adjusted if you change your mind, like me my ever changing Digipak. This means that even though professionals may get things right faster. Amateur media consumers such as myself can reach the same goals through a slower exploratory process and still be creative.

Creativity Essay

Creativity is ‘A process needed forproblem solving…not a special

gift enjoyed by a few but acommon ability possessed by

most people’

Jones 1993

I believe that creativity is enjoyed by many and everyone has the calpability to be creative. However there are levels of ability within the range of creativity, some are especially talented, and some people struggle to be creative at all. This is reflected within the work you can view of different people, within my class alone we didn't all recieve the same grade for our projects regardless of the effort we each put in. But some of use were more able and skilled to use the software provided and had natural ability to produce higher quality work. However our grades were not a true reflection of how creative we had been. As some who chose to break from the conventions we were attempting to follow, such as placing their magazine title in the centre of the page, would in some repsects the most creative as they could see past the boundaries. But they  may have been challenged, and the course of their creativity questioned for being right.

I believe there is no right or wrong way to be creative, you can use creativity to solve a problem but you can also be creative with no true aim. For my media projects I always had a brief to follow within fairly stricked guidelines, such as my magazine had to be a music genre and my A2 video had to be a music video. This was an aspect that did restrict my creativity as I wasn't free to make whatever I wanted. However the brief acted as almost a problem or a challenge, and allowed my creativity to be channeled, whilst also highlighting my abilities to still be creative when restricted. Diverging from the brief would have been regarded as 'wrong,' however this wasn't the creativity itself that would have been wrong but the product of the creativity.

The idea that creativity is 'needed for problem solving,' I find questionable. As problems can also be solved with logic, and contemplation. This was illustrated within my media work, as whilst being creative with the aid of programmes such as photoshop or final cut pro, I faced personal problems of using the software to achieve my vision. Creativity wasn't required to discover how to change the exposure of my picture, for example, but I had to use logic and process of elimination to actually allow form my creative vision. There is however a quote by Albert Einstein that said 'Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.' I believe this to be true, as without viewing things in a different way you will contiued to reach the same conclusion. Therefore creativity can aid problem solving as it encourages us to attempt something completely different and think outside the box to achieve something new. With the work of our video we had many filming sessions, in which watching the footage back we had the harsh realisation our initial idea just didnt present the desired effect. We therefore had to use our creative abilities and share ideas between myself and my partner to correct our mistake and solve the problem of our poor shots.

Creativity is definately something that can be regarded as a process. It is a step by step journey of attempts and failed attempts to reach a final goal. This was demonstrated within all my projects. My music video, for example, we began with research and planning, analysing currents products and establishing our initial idea. From here we had to attempt to put our ideas into a visual format with moodboards and our animatic to summarise our plans. Even after the production of our draft video we had to edit and tweak footage and film some all over again. It was long process that enabled us to reach our final goal, however our final product wasn't the single creation, but every step of the process was a reflection and progression our our creative ability.

Even though some people may have a natural talent of being creative and artistic, my journey through media has proved that creativity can also be developed, encouraged and taught. As with my very first preliminary product to make a school magazine I lacked vision in the possibilities of my project. When attempting to take my photos for the cover and arrange them on photoshop I had no real concept of what was good and my abilities, especially on photoshop were so poor, I could barely make it look like a magazine. But with guidance on the software, feedback from teachers and peers and simply dedication and practice, gradually my ability improved. Proof of this is with my final magazine achieving me a grade far higher then expected.