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