MUSIC VIDEOS: MUSIC LANGUAGE

 PREP Explain how music videos use media language to promote their artists. Refer to the pair of music videos you have studied from the list below in your answer.

Our music videos are Wheatus Teenage Dirtbag Avril Lavigne Sk8ter Boi

HOW TO ANSWER: Media language points to consider:

the prioritising of the star / the group; the privileging of the star / the groups in the frame

authenticating the star's performance / the band's performance to show their skills

the use of close ups; lip syncing to camera; eye contact with the audience

In the music video "Wheatus" it is made clear who the main band is. We see close ups of the lead singer, the drummer, the guitarist and the bass guitar. The affects of a close up is that it shows us who the main people are in the music video, and who we need to be looking at. We get a panning shot of the band to highlight who is in the band and to show us the whole band itself, these two shots also show us to see the bands skills and what they can do with their instruments, which proves to us that it is the band playing the song. In the shots of the band there is a large crowd gathered around them enjoying the bands music, this emphasises that they are the main important artists in the video. Close up shots also allow us to see the lip syncing and direct eye contact of the artist on the camera, when the artist stares deeply into the camera we automatically think that they are the star of the video, which is what we are wanted to know to help promote the artist In "teenage dirtbag" the band is singing but also someone is acting to relate to the words of the song. We again have a close up of the Teenage Dirtbag to show us that this is the boy they are talking about in the song.  

In "sk8ter boi" it is made extremely clear that Avril Lavigne is the main star of the video. We see lots of close ups of her and her actions, she makes direct eye contact with the camera highlighting to us that she is the main character and the artist of this song. Her eye contact can also come across as quite intimidating as it makes it seem as though she owns the place and she wants us to know that. We get panning shots of her and her band while they perform on top of the car, which is also followed by a whole crowd of people around them enjoying their music. We are also presented with close ups of the bands skills, we see each member doing their part, shown by a close up shot. Avril laviegne is lip syncing the song which shows to us that she is the singer/artist. It emphasises to us that this is her music and no one elses. 

MUSIC MAGAZINES: MEDIA LANGUAGE

 Look carefully at the front covers of MOJO and RNR magazines. 

QUESTION: How far do MOJO and RNR use different media language to create different connotations? (CONNOTATION meaning: an idea or quality that a word makes you think about in addition to its meaning.)

Answer on your blog. This is a high-value question and should take all lesson to answer. You can use the class blog search engine for more examples of how to analyse music magazines.

In your answer you should have 2 paragraphs:

• analyse the media language in MOJO and RNR magazine. 'Media language' includes the placement of the main image, the type of photography, lighting, colours, fonts, how busy or restrained the cover is, the layout (such as alignment to the margins), how serious or playful 
• make judgements and draw conclusions about how far the media language is used differently in both extracts to create different connotations. Are there similarities in both covers? What sorts of audiences are they targeting? You could think about MOJO's rock aesthetic of living loud and dangerously compared to RNR's folk, rock, blues vibe.

In the RNR magazine Christy Moore is the big picture/ the main splash of the magazine cover. He holds a small smirk on his face giving off the sweet and calm vibe, he's not too crazy. His eyes are softly sat as they are, making him come across as a pleasant and self-controlled. The photo used of Christy is taken in casual lighting, with a background colour of a neutral brown. His face isn't right in the middle but is slightly positioned on the right side of the magazine, avoiding the writing. The cover itself is quite calm, there's not too much over lapping and there's a lot of space left on the cover that could be filled. Its restrained and there isnt writing in unusual places, its all written around the big picture of the cover. All the writing is distanced from the margin making it look well arranged, although the "free CD" promotional offer overlaps off the edge as well as the text box "over 300 reviews". It gives off a serious vibe as the colours are toned down and contains no vibrancy. The main colours are white, as we see on the text of the writing, which is in the font san serif, and brown colours on the CD and background. Whereas In the MOJO cover we see the main splash as a member from the band "FOO FIGHTERS" name Dave Grohl. He is presented as a hyped up male, he looks like he's got a lot of energy and he's struggling to hold it in. His mouth is open and his teeth are gritting together which shows us the power he holds in the rock and roll genre. His eyebrow is raised and his eyes are wide open, showing us the liveliness he gives off. The colour of the background, which is blue, contrasts with his shirt and the writing "FOO FIGHTERS" which is red and white. The whole cover itself isn't particularly too busy, although comparing it to the RNR cover its much more detailed. There is only a couple things that overlap the cover, they conclude of the promotion and the puff. The cover is attracting to younger ages.

There are not many similarities between the covers but the ones that are most clear are that they are both male and they are both musicians. Some differences between the covers is that RNR is targeting people who like soft and flowing music, we can tell this because Christy Moore is on the front cover and he produces folk music, whereas MOJO are targeting people who like rock and fast pace music, we know this as the band foo fighters are more of a grunge and hard rock genre of music. MOJO comes across as a dangerous and energised living, illustrated by the way Dave Grohl is positioned, his facial expression and the music type which is presented on the cover, however RNR appears more as a blues vibe, shown by Christy Moores facial expressions and again the genre of music. RNR seems as though its targeted towards older people as its common for older people to prefer quieter, relaxing music, we also may think because the colours are toned down its aimed at older people because its a well put organised cover rather than a busy page. On the other hand MOJO is targeted as more of a younger age range as it is more shocking and violent music, which is more of the trend for younger people these days. Mojo also has a wide range of popping colours which attract the eye of young people, making it more appealing to them and possibly less to older people. 

MOJO: REPRESENTATION

 How the producers have chosen to construct a version of reality that represents events, social groups and ideas to fit their purposes:

• MOJO wishes to attract a target audience that shares its reverence for ‘classic rock’ so constructs a version of reality that represents musicians as authentic heroes, striving for excellence

The messages and values conveyed and issues addressed:

• MOJO’s front cover associates musicians with quest, danger and struggle, celebrating the values associated with rock music of ‘living fast and dying young’

The front cover comes off as a sense of darkness and death. It says things like "All hells gonna break loose" which brings out the rock in the front cover. Rock is represented as loud and rule breaking. The front cover also says "let it bleed unseen" the word bleed relates to death and violence which is what the genre rock wants to convey across to people reading the magazine. 

How and why (e.g. to enable quick interpretation) stereotypes have been used, including anti-stereotyping / counter-stereotyping:

• MOJO’s selection of a cover photograph of a white male may be to fit the stereotype of rock musicians – this will enable instant recognition by audiences
  

• MOJO’s anti-stereotypical positive representation of older people as popular musicians. This may reflect the anti-ageism of an older audience

Which social groups are under-represented or misrepresented:

• MOJO’s front cover represents predominantly white male musicians in photographs, under- representing female musicians and musicians of colour

White male musicians are often shown in Mojos front covers, un like women. In this Mojo cover Neil Young is the centre of attention, whereas the lady in the right top corner is only presented in a small square of the cover. Musicians of colour are very under-represented in the Mojo covers, we often see white male musicians as the main feature of the cover. 

POPCORN PREP

 PSB- Public service broadcasting

Television programmes, or radio, that are broadcast to provide information, advice, or entertainment to the public.

BBCS remit: "to act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain".

LEGO MOVIE POSTER CAMPAIGN

 There are a lot more male characters in the movie than female. There is a lot more masculine roles which shows a higher variation of male characterisation over feminity. 

Emmet is presented as a non-stereotypical male. In the front cover Emmet has got a scared facial expression, his mouth is open and looks like he's screaming, his eyes are wide and round showing hes seen something dangerous and he's panicking. We see this as the non-stereotypical male because we think of males being big, strong and not afraid of anything. Emmet also wears a traditionally masculine builders costume. 

Vitruvius is shown as a wise old man, and is the stereotypical male. He has a grey beard and wrinkles underneath his eyes, which shows how old he is. His white robe gives off a sense peacefulness and cleanness, relating to an old persons calmness. His eyes are glowing brightly coming of mystically. This shows he is the stereotypical old male, he is calm, wise and his face is old. 

Lord business is presented as the stereotypical male villain. He has thick eyebrows and they bend as if hes angry. His mouth is wide open showing his aggressiveness and his helmet is also shaped in teeth shape which shows his viciousness of a typical villain, it shows he's the bad guy. His posture is wide and strong, showing the typical male body type. 

Wyldestyle is presented as a independent woman. She isn't the stereotypical woman, but in some ways she is. Her defined features of a woman, long eyelashes show her beauty, hr freckles are very bold and she's wearing lipstick which is stereotyped as what woman wear. Her hair has a blue and pink streak in which is presented as very feminine. Her eyebrows are nicely shaped which is usually a feature of woman. Her actions are completely different to her looks, as we see her fighting and saving people which is usually a very masculine role. 

LEGO REGULATION

 Task 3: Go to the BBFC site and research age ratings. Why was The Lego Movie (2014) given a U rating? You need to click on the Ratings info

The short insight description the BBFC provides use on posters and advertisement which contains mild fantasy violence and very mild language. In the Lego movie no one is seen to get hurt and the fact that all the fighting involved animated toy figures means that the fantasy of natures of the violence is very clear, the Lego movie was awarded a Universal certificate. this means the BBFC feels it is appropriate for any age group.

MEDIA MEANINGS

Franchise, Synergy, Tent-pole production, Ensemble cast, Conglomerate, Vertical integration

Franchise- A collection of media products e.g. films, television programmes, video games, which are all based on an original creative work.

Synergy- The promotion of linked products across different areas of the media. So the Lego movie uses synergy through linked products like- the superhero cast from DC comics, minifigure etc.

Tent-pole production- A film that can make large profits to support funding of other projects. The Lego movie makes large profits that warner can afford to fund other projects, as well as tie-in merchandise, which will prolong the profit stream from the film.

Ensemble cast- A cast made up of members in which has something for everyone.

Conglomerate- A large business organisation that owns a number of different companies.

Vertical integration- Where a single company (or merged companies) controls both the production and supply of a product. So TT Fusion, owned by warner Bros, makes the video game (animations, soundtrack etc) while warner bros distributes the product to the audiences.