Independent and Mainstream Film

Independent

• Makes you think
• Makes you ask questions
• Made by not as well known production companies e.g Moonlight by A24 Films
• Limited distribution
• Barely shown at cinemas (have to look for it)
• Tends to have lower production values
• Realist genres
• Intended to challenge, provoke, inform and educate
• 
  

Mainstream

• Makes you laugh
• Makes you cry
• Made by well-known production companies e.g. Captain America by Marvel
• Attracts mass audience
• Has higher production values

Kiss of the Vampire Cultural Contexts Research

Hammer Studios

• British film production company
• Well known for series of gothic horror films made form the mid-1950s until the 1970s

Conventions

• Blood - key point in a vampire film
• Neck biting and prop teeth - Teeth are one of the most important aspects of a vampire film/most recognisable feature
• Night setting -  only come out at night/ allergic to sunlight 
• Graveyards - good setting for vampire movies as they are creepy/ bad things happen here - negative connotation
• Gothic setting
• Coffins
• Crucifixes
• Holy water/ Garlic - weapon used against vampire/ comforting to know that the threat can be killed 
• Costume/ Make-up/ Pale skin - daily dressed in black capes/ pale skin and red lips
• Indestructible - typical vampires are strong and indestructible and appear scary and hard to kill

1960s Early Progress

The beginning of the feminist movement

Poster Analysis

• Bats
• Black+Red cape
• Blood
• Damsel in distress - who is about to be bitten
• Boasts about being in colour
• Man takes the same form as the woman - a helpless victim
• Dark castle
• Moon is out - night time
• The female vampire is seen to have more power over the man - the more dominant figure
• The unusual scene of a dominant female links to the 1963 women's movement
• Genre - Neale Theory - Made up of repetition & differences e.g. horror - darkness

Paper 1 Section A
Print TIDE Advert 
Analyse

Layout

Images

Text and Language

Mode of Address and Methods o f Persuasion

Colour

Representation of Women

Paper 1 Section B 

Print TIDE Advert

Research

1950s Consumer and Technology Boom

• A majority of consumption was done by the generation that wishes to lead a new life in he suburbs.

The Stereotypical Housewife

• Marriage and having children were apart of the national agenda for a woman.
• Many women felt the pressure to get married.
• Despite the fact that employment for women increased during this time, the media tended to focus more on a woman's role in the home.
• If a woman wasn't married or engaged by her early twenties, she was in danger of becoming an 'old maid'.
• Being single and pregnant was totally unacceptable - girls who got pregnant were forced to drop out of school and were often sent way to relatives or homes for wayward girls.
• Large families were typical - from 1940 to 1960 the number of families with three children doubled and the number of families having a fourth child quadrupled.
• This was the era of the 'happy homemaker' - in the 1950s young mothers were encouraged to stay at home if they could afford it and women who chose to work when they didn't need the money were considered as selfish.

The American Dream of Success and Upward Mobility

• Set of ideals (democracy, rights, liberty, opportunity and equality) in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, as well as an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers.
• "Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. - James Truslow Addams
• Immigrants could come here and live the 'American Dream'

Post-War American Wealth

• In the post war period, the US secured its position as the world's richest country.
• GNP (Gross National Product), a measure of all goods and services, jumped from about $200 thousand-million in 1940 to $300 thousand-million in 1950 to more than $500 thousand-million in 1960.
• Housing boom - affordable mortgages for returning servicemen
• The major corporations grew larger - new conglomerates led the way - large corporations were developed overseas, where labour costs were often lower.
• Workers found their lives changing - fewer produced goods and more provided services.
• By 1956, a majority held white collar jobs, working as corporate managers, teachers, salespersons and office employees.
• Some firms granted an annual wage, long term employment contracts and other benefits.
• Farmers, on the other hand, faced tough times. Gains in productivity led to agricultural consolidation, as farming became a big business. More and more farms found it difficult to compete and eventually left the land.
• Americans were leaving the inner cities to live in the suburbs, hoping to find affordable housing for the larger families spawned by the postwar baby boom. 

The Growth in American Suburbs

• Having your own car meant you could live further away from where you worked.
• The suburbs grew 47% in the 1950s as more and more people claimed their own territory.
• New housing , which had dropped to 100,000 a year during the war, climbed to 1.5 million annually.

1950s Fashion and Film Imagery

Marketing Campaign

Chloe, Christina, Hailie, Aaron

Product (Amazon A1)

Our product is called Amazon A1

The features that our phone has are:

• Wireless Charging
• Good Camera Quality
• Good Storage Space
• Good Battery Life
• Holographic Qualities
• Good Phone Security
•  "Ask A1"
• Emergency Button for Assistance

How We Are Going To Market It

To market our product, we are going to produce a short video - an advert.

In our advert, we are going to include: 

• Our Slogan - 'Living Life On The Edge'
• Our Message - 'Improving Your Day To Day Life'
• Our Product - The Phone
• Main Target Audience - Elderly People 
• Three Golden Rules To Advertising

3 Golden Rules To Advertising

To Inform the public of our product we will discuss the qualities of the phone: wireless charging, camera quality, storage, performance (battery), phone security, holographic qualities, "Ask A1" and emergency button.

To persuade the public (mainly our target audience) we will include how our phone is different compared to other phones and how it is the first phone of it's kind to be created.

To sell our product we will show that it is directed at the elderly audience who have trouble with technology by making this phone an easy learning device. It will help with their day to day life, for example: setting reminders, calling people. We will also use a number of different Persuasive Devices.

Persuasive Devices

The persuasive devices that we will use are:

• Catchy jingle
• Repetition
• Famous celebrity sponsor - Morgan Freeman - He relates to our target audience - he is also a well known and popular actor.
• We will also include our USP(Unique Selling Point). This is that our phone has holographic features that other phones do not have. We will emphasis this point and show that this is a one of a kind phone.

WaterAid Charity Advert

• Positive advert - shows the positive effect of giving.
• We emphasise because we take water for granted, so seeing the community happy and singing over something so simple makes us feel guilty.
• Giving Claudia a name makes us feel instantly more closer to her than we would feel if it was someone with no name who is seen as more of a symbol.
• She is singing a 90's western pop song, so the target audience of middle class can relate to the advert more.
• There is more colour (getting warmer) as the video progresses and as more people start to appear.
• Advert shows what the money donated is being donated to - try to avoid getting questions like "Where is the money going?"
• Wide shots/ establishing shot - shows the landscape/background
• Iconography - water - making it look precious
• Text - At the end of the advert - '650 million people still don't have access to clean drinking water' - shock tactic used at the end to leave a lasting impression - first negative point after a positive video so that people don't think that they do not need to donate because they look 'happy'.
• Last thing we see- what the audience have to do - donate - 'Text SUNNY to 70555 to give £3 today and help reach more people like Claudia'
• Non-conventional charity advert - not all charities show the positive aspect of donating but rather focus on the 'bad' side.
• The target audience is middle class people who work.

Save The Children Advert

• Opposite of WaterAid advert
• Negative advert - they guilt trip the audience
• Audience - middle class(most adverts do)
• Setting looks like it is set in the UK
• The setting starts to change throughout the video, making it seem more and more unfamiliar to us.
• 'Most Shocking Second a Day' - shows us the highlight of each day
• Close-up throughout the whole video - wants us to feel guilty whilst watching her life gradually changing for the worst.
• Editing - sharp. quick transitions - one second - notice the sharp cuts which makes the audience feel unrelaxed and tense as the noise and scenery keeps getting cut off by the next scene.
• The lighting gets gradually colder
• Last shot of the girl - she is finally looking straight at the camera - direct mode of address
• The last couple of scenes conclude the whole advert and tell us the actual meaning behind the advert - "Just Because It Isn't Happening Here, Doesn't Mean It Isn't Happening" - If London were Syria - We would only care and take action if it happened here.

Fay's Semiotics Theory Lesson

Anti-Realism - Realism and Anti-Realism are two sides of a philosophical debate behind the whole basis of accepted scientific truth.
For example: Realism advert - Dyson | Anti-Realism advert - the guardian - the three little pigs

Surrealism - The Rihanna Reb'l Fleur advert's main purpose is to promote and sell the perfume. The other reasons may be that the perfume can change your personality and make you feel more confident. Another reason could be that using the perfume will make you feel good.                        

Semiotics - The study of signs and symbols as elements of communicative behaviour; the analysis of systems of communication such as  as language, gestures, colours or clothing. Used to contrast possible meaning form a text. Is a way to looking at hidden/overt messages that advertisers may use.

The sign - is made up of signified (the concept it represents) and signifier ( the form which the sign takes). When the two meet, it creates the sign.
For example: Signifier: the word or symbol open |  Signified: That the shop is open for business. When we see that a shop has an open sign, our mind processes this and we walk in knowing that the shop is open.
For example: Signifier: the word or symbol stop | Signified: That we should stop whatever we are doing. When we get told to stop, it represents to stop/pause our actions.

Vance Joy - Riptide Analysis

GENRE AND AUDIENCE

Riptide is an indie song. The indie genre is alternative rock/guitar based music. It originates from the United States and United Kingdom in the late 1970's. It is targeted at a niche audience. Indie is short for independent pop music that artists produce the music independently from record labels.

Vance Joy's Riptide fits into this category because ....

Research and summarise the indie  genre : conventions, influences, audience  and key artists.

What is the definition of " indie " and does the artist, video fit into this category ?


NARRATIVE AND ICONOGRAPHY

Riptide's music video is an interpretive style. So the images/scenes/objects directly link to the lyrics. For example the scene with dollars on blue background accompanied by the lyrics "All my friends are turning green". The literal meaning of this would be that money is his new friend however if you look deeper, it could mean that his friends are turning green with envy.

The music video doesn't have a storyline and rather focuses on showing the lyrics literally. However there are a couple of scenes based on a female singer which progresses throughout the music video. The first time we see this female singer, she looks glamorous and well presented. The next time we see her, her lipstick is smudged. The scene after that, her lipstick is still smudged, her eyes are wide open and mascara smeared looking like she had been crying. In the next scene, her lipstick is still smudged, her hand is to her neck, with blood trickling down her hand and her mascara is fixed. The last time we see her, her hand is no longer at her neck, she is not bleeding anymore and her makeup is fully ruined. 

Marketing Campaign

Chloe, Christina, Hailie, Aaron and David

Product: Amazon A1

How we are going to market it: Advert - short video

Slogan: Living on the edge
Message: Improving your day to day life
Inform: In the advert we will discuss the qualities of the phone: wireless charging, camera quality,  storage, performance (battery), phone protection/privacy, holographic qualities, "Ask A1"
Persuade: Different compared to other phones, first phone like that to be created.
Sell: Our product is directed at the elderly audience who have trouble with technology by making this phone an easy learning device. It will help with their day to day life. For example: setting reminders, calling people.

USP ( UNIQUE SELLING POINT: Has holographic features that other phones do not have

Persuasive devices: Catchy jingle, repetition, Morgan Freeman feature  

Music Video Representation

Childish Gambino - This is America

• Relates to real life situations - this music video brings awareness to how we only care about mass shooting in the moment but when the latest viral dance or video comes out, we get distracted and stop caring
•  Establishing shot - wide shot of guitar on the chair
• He is topless and in grey trousers to show that he is vulnerable because he is black
• The whole music video reflects the behaviour of real life
• The music videos scenes were mostly taken in one shot with limited editing unless to change location
• There are more than one gender in this music video which shows representation. 
• This music video has lot of male masculinity which could perhaps show that
• There is a scene where Childish Gambino shots the guy with his head covered in cloth; the song begins straight after this scene "This is America, Don't catch you slipping' up"
• Gambino is dancing with school children amid violence
• At the end he is seen running from a mob of people. This is seen as a reference to the movie get out
• Man in black on a white horse ( death) is escorted by the police.

Representation

• More than one gender
• Predominantly black people but in the background people of other races can be seen
• Different ages
• Represents the issues that black people go through
• Gender
• Age
• Represents police brutality and is standing up against it
• Both look at the stereotypes of black people

Dove Beauty Campaign

The Dove Beauty Campaign received many different views towards how they portrayed their meaning. Some thought that they had succeeded in renouncing some of the media's narrow, unattainable standards of beauty and therefore got increase in sales. However many thought they hadn't included much diversity in gender, body size or sexuality therefore resulting in backlash.

In one campaign called Beauty vs Average, women had the choice between two doors labelled beautiful and average. The results showed that most women walked through the 'average' door.

Barnardo's Advert

Shock Tactics

• Close up shot to show emotion
• High angle on little boy to show that his status is low
• Emotive language - "I'm scared"
• Shaky camera transitions to show that his situation was getting worse the younger he went
• Sad music to make us feel sympathy 
• Point of view shot - as if we were talking to each character

Inform

• The narrative, as it was a direct way to inform the audience
• Slogan and logo at the end of the advert
• Dialogue, as if we, the audience, are talking to them

Sell

• Direct link to their website.

Dizzee Rascal - Dream Analysis

Narrative

Dream is a narrative and performance music video. The old lady plays the role of the narrator whilst Dizzee is the performer. The main message of the song is about having a dream. Dizzee's lyrics talk about how he "used to dream of crazy little things like fame" and now he has "made an album and over 100,000 people bought it". He encourages young people to follow their dreams and start being productive, "you can go far if you put your mind to it". The music video confirms the message that the song wants to send as it shows Dizzee being 'unproductive' at the start but as the music video progresses he starts to achieve his dream and influences the young boys to do something more creative such as breakdancing rather than stealing and graffitiing. 

What is the main narrative and message  of the song, and how is this added too or altered by the visual elements of the video and the techniques used ? Does the video subvert or confirm the messages and content of the song?

Representation

There are only 2 different races in the music video. There is the white woman playing the piano, the white police officer and the puppet. Then there is Dizzee and the other puppets who are of color. There seems to be a range of different ages in the music video. There is a baby puppet, the old lady and Dizzee who is in his 20's. The middle aged white lady is represented as a stereotypical middle class woman. She can be seen as the one with the most power as she is narrating, introducing and finishing Dizzee's performance and everything happens on her piano, in her house. It can be seen that this is her world as she watches the scenes that take place on top of her piano. Her horror to the helicopter flying past her head connotes her stereotypical British; she doesn't like her personal space being violated and confronting anti-social behavior.
On the other hand, Dizzee is represented as being a rebellious young man, wearing hoodies (which weren't seen as very good in the olden days). One of his lyrics are "Reckless with no shame" which could suggest he is challenging authority. As the music video progresses, Dizzee is seen in a much more positive light as he starts to influence the young boys (who were stealing from shops and graffitiing walls and are now doing stuff more creative i.e break dancing, football). It can be said that Dizzee and the lady are binary opposites as they represent the complete opposite communities. 

There is a scene in the music video which shows the black boy puppets stealing from a shop and getting confronted by the police. This relates to the stereotype that all black boys steal and get arrested.  There is also a reference to Golly from Golliwog Jam. Golly was a black clown as in those times black people were seen as clowns as they always entertained people. One of the puppets in the music video has the huge eyes and silly grin that clowns have. The idea of Dizzee coming out from a wind up box is similar to the Jack-in-a-box toy.



How is ethnicity, age , gender and class represented in the video ? What binary oppositions are created or shown in the video between different stereotypes? What stereotypes are used to represent different social groups ?

How is the concept of inequality or social power demonstrated  in the technical codes or narrative of the video ?

Intertextuality

The music video is based on the 1950's children television show. We can see the links through the pianist who talks to the audience in a patronising way "Hello boys and girls", in a way the original character talked to the children audience. The middle aged woman introduces Dizzee by saying "He's such a rascal". A rascal is a mischievous or cheeky person like a child (which links to the fact that the music video is based on a children's program. 

What cultural or media references does the video and song make and why ?

Media Homework 

Fay

1.

 "Save money, Live better" - Asda

 "Every little helps" - Tesco

 "Live well for less" - Sainsburys

 "Innovation that excites" - Nissan

 "Just do it!" - Nike

2.

Close to home - It Can Wait - AT&T

This advert uses shock tactics to teach you not to use your phone whilst you are driving. However many found the advert very difficult to watch. This is because looking at your phone whilst driving is a situation everyone who drives can relate to. There was a close up shot on the bystanders faces to show their emotion (shocked, surprised, horrified etc). The shot of this was slowed down to leave more of an impact on the audience that not only will the people in the crash be affected but also the people watching. At first there is relaxing music playing ,which is disrupted by the loud crash between the two cars. The relaxing music is then contrasted as sad music starts to play. Right before the crash, there is a ping of a notification which leads to the scene of the mother looking at her phone, causing the accident. After the crash, there is a high pitched sound like frequency

3.



4.
All black people like chicken - KFC
All blonde women are dumb - Mercedes
Only women do the washing - Fairy Liquid
Mum's do everything around the house for events - Asda

5.
The Specsavers advert that referenced Lynx.

6.
Music such as jingles help the brand link a catchy tune to their business. For example, McDonald's - "I'm Loving It".

7.
George Clooney in the Nespresso adverts.

8.
"Shop with us or you'll waste money" - Iceland
"Donate to help save lives or let people die" - Unicef
"Buy from us or be considered as boring" - Apple
"More food and nutrients than any other brand" - IAMS

Media Written Introduction Task

Gender/Ethnicity Representation

Men's Health - Justin Bieber

Men's Health Magazine is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries. The magazines target audience are males. The dark colours used on the magazine could support this idea. The red could be representing the confidence and masculinity of the main image Justin Bieber. He is using eye contact, direct mode of address, and this tells us that he has confidence in his body. The magazine's title "Men's Health" links to the main image of a supposed healthy man.

Justin Bieber is standing with his top off, showing his "muscles" and "abs". The men that buy this would think that they could look like him if they buy this magazine. The front cover is bold with the main use of red, black and white. The sell lines that stand out are "Lean muscle in just 8 moves!" and "Your ultimate cardio plan". This will push the male audience to buy the magazine as they think this magazine will help them get the 'ideal' body like Justin Bieber. The front page also consists of a quote from Justin Bieber's interview, " It's time for me to grow up". This could be targeting young males and suggesting that this is the way your body should look like when you grow up. This puts pressure on young males to look like Justin Bieber. 

Men's Health promotes a stereotypical young male body and suggests this is the way that young males should look like by using fit white men aged between 20-40.
Referring to Hall's representation theory, this magazine supports the stereotype of what men should look like by using media language. 

Women's Health - Rachael Taylor

Women's Health Magazine is a magazine focusing on health, nutrition, fitness and lifestyle. It is published 10 times a year in the US and has a circulation of 1.5 million readers. The magazines target audience are females.  The bright colours used on the magazine could support this idea. The pink (the "official" colour for girls) could be representing friendship, affection, harmony, inner peace and approachability. Therefore, showing us how feminine the main image, Rachael Taylor, is. The magazine's title "Women's Health" links to the main image of a supposed healthy women. Rachael Taylor is posing with her hand on her hip (a feminine pose) in a sports bra and leggings showing her fit and toned stomach. The women that buy this would think that they could look as slim as Rachael Taylor is. The front cover is soft with the use of pink, white and black. The sell lines that stand out are "Strong and sexy ultimate 15-minute workouts for the fittest body - ASAP" and " Tasty and guilt free dinners". The first sell line suggests that you can only be strong and sexy if you do these 15-minute workouts. The second sell line suggests that the only way to not feel guilty whilst eating is to follow the dinners they have. This could be targeting the young females who are at the age where they are most self-conscious of their weight and watch what they eat. Another sell line "Rachael Taylor, her A-list wellness secrets revealed" could push the female audience to buy the magazine thinking that if they know her secrets, they can look like her and have the "perfect body a woman should have".
Women's Health promotes a stereotypical young female body and suggests that this is the way that young females should look like by using fit, pretty white women aged between 18-40.
Referring to van Zoonen's feminist theory, this magazine supports the idea that women should look fit and pretty and like pink to show that they are "normal females".


Women's Health - Issa Rae

This women's health edition has the same dark colours used in the men's health (red, black and white), representing confidence and masculinity. This could be seen as quite offensive towards black females as this supports the stereotype that fit black women are masculine. The front cover is bold as it uses the colours red, black and white. The sell lines that stand out are " The move that will change your life (and butt!)" and "Should you buy into this skincare craze?". The first sell line has the unnecessary addition of "and butt!". In the women's health magazines, with white women as the main image, have "appropriate" health-related sell lines. This also connects to the stereotype that black women have big butts. The second sell line relates to black females more than the other sell lines do and talks about the skincare that supposedly makes your skin "glow" and "soft". This makes the black females think they have a connection with Issa Rae.
This Women's Health edition with Issa Rae was different from the editions with white women as main images. This was more controversial in a way as the layout was similar, if not the same, as the Men's Health rather than being like the rest of the Women's Health magazines with bright, "girly" colours. Therefore, suggesting that black women are "masculine" and " aggressive " like men.