Mise en scene in cuffs

In the extract, mise en scene is used to create meaning through what the characters are wearing. Police officers all wear professional, smart clothing and they all wear the same thing which emphasises a unity among police officers.The police officers uniform connotes their professional view on work, in addition to the authority the uniform commands over the public. The criminals are deliberately depicted in contrasting clothing to emphasise both a lack of formality and a lack of class. The criminals are dressed in baggy clothing, trousers and t-shirts, which are mostly dirty which show that they are not of a high status, and not law abiding citizens.

Another example of mise en scene used to create meaning in the extract is through the criminals home and the props used to decorate it. The house is a typical council estate, which the audience automatically associate with crime and dangerous people. The items in the house create meaning as the house is covered in alcoholic bottles. This connotes that these people can be dangerous.

 The items inside of the house create meaning as the house is covered in alcohol bottles. This connotes that these people can be dangerous

Observer Q9

Firstly, political context of the observer is portrayed through their core values and beliefs. Important news stories, for example David Miliband "we need a second vote on Brexit" and other important news stories not only reflect the observers left wing more liberal views, it portrays the fact that the newspaper values real news and in a sense prioritises it over other less important stories.

Furthermore, there are ethnic presentations on the front page that portray the diversity of Britain, specifically London, and also the Observers values and beliefs about a diverse audience. There is also a large representation of females on the front page, that goes against outdated stereotypes that women are not sporty. The Observer counters this stereotype by portraying a women, in action, running and she looks very fit and focused. To emphasise this, her foot is left hanging out of the yellow box which reinforces her as an anti - stereotype as she wont follow the rules. This shows how the Observer has been influenced by modern thoughts and much more diverse, equal society.

To contrast this powerful depiction of female, men are portrayed in a fragile manner and are presented as more vulnerable. Mo Farah is depicted as an anti - stereotype, kneeling and crying, which is highly unusual to see for a man in a competitive environment. This shows the Observers views on gender stereotypes as they use anti - stereotypes to try and counter common misconceptions about men and women in sport.

CLASH Music Magazine

Clash music magazine uses very de-saturated colour in their magazines and plain backgrounds with very few cover lines. This connotes to the reader that the musicians are serious and that their lives are not always easy and that they face serious challenges that should be respected by the reader. Clash magazine contrasts magazines such as "Bob Marley Mojo" by connoting the artists in a serious manner.

For example, in the 'devil may care' clash magazine issue, he is portrayed in a golden light which connotes him in a reverential, almost angelic light. This suggests to the reader that we should look up to him and this is emphasised by the low angle which makes the reader look up to him. 

The main splash is often concealed or distorted and the musicians never make eye contact with the reader. This further suggests that Clash put their musicians on a pedestal and views them as important and to be respected.

The lego movie ad break

 Analyse the representations found in the UK television ad break for The Lego Movie. [10]

Warner bros converted very famous and identifiable adverts into lego 'parodies' to advertise their upcoming movie and reach a mainstream audience.

All of the adverts and brands portrayed in the ad break are mostly only relevant to adults, but they are all family friendly. This advertising not only appeals to the parents, who quickly recognise the adverts, it also portrays the lego movie in a safe, family friendly environment. This can be seen through the brands advertised. For example, the British Heart Foundation. The BHF has a very good reputation and is immediately thought of in a positive manor. Also, the premier inn adverts are very iconic and loved by many adults across the country. This use of advertising associates the Lego movie with the good reputation of these very famous ad's.

The Lego movie ad break targets an older more mature audience. Whilst children, the target audience for the film itself, will recognise the Lego portrayal, only the parents will recognise the humour involved and identify the adverts the ad break is based off. This is important for many reasons as it portrays the movie in a good light and if the parents are convinced, then they will happily take their children to go and watch the movie in cinemas.

The real world is presented in the Lego movie ad break, through the universal image of lego to connote humour. The companies that recreated their adverts in Lego format recreated their most iconic and famous adverts in order to not only promote the movie, but to associate themselves with the brand. For example, the BT advert already incorporated humour as a way of promoting their brand and this is only reinforced buy the Lego recreation. This element of humour is brought purely because of the Lego movies reputation as the Lego format connotes humour for a wide range of audiences. Through this, the Lego movie associates itself with iconic adverts to promote the movie and the brands associate themselves with the Lego movie to incorporate humour into their adverts, which in turn promotes the brand itself.

Bob Marley - Mojo Magazine

The magazine extract uses a white background with bright accent colours yellow, green and red to connote a less serious tone to the magazine and also pay respect to Bob Marley's Jamaican heritage. This is further reinforced through the Main splash which shows Bob Marley smiling and looking directly at the camera. This suggests that Mojo view Bob Marley as more of a relaxed, fun musician. This contrasts to Mojo's typical magazines which use simple colour palette's and monochrome colours to connote serious attitudes towards music and often show older white musicians. 

Analyse the representations of Musicians - Mojo

The Joni Mitchell magazine cover portrays a very ordered layout with the cover lines mostly aligned and one central image. This connotes Joni Mitchell as a serious and authentic musician who is very well respected. This magazine cover uses only sans-serif typefaces which is a common theme in Mojo magazines and portrays Jodi Mitchell as a very modern, independent woman. The colour palette is mostly limited to white, black and blue. This connotes sophistication and elegance. The Main splash shows Jodi Mitchell smiling at the camera which portrays her as very down to earth and approachable. Language used emphasises danger and struggle, "agony". This connotes very serious musicians looked at in a wry manner. The media language presents a world that celebrates serious artistic endeavour.

THE AVENGERS: REPRESENTATIONS OF GENDER

HOW DOES THE AVENGERS CHALLENGE TRADITIONAL REPRESENTATIONS OF GENDER TO REACH A 1960's AUDIENCE?

In your answer, analyse how both Peel and Steed are presented, supporting your comments with examples of what they do and say, what they wear, and how they behave with each other. You can take examples from anywhere in the programme.

Emma peel is  depicted as a strong female character in "The Avengers" and constantly challenges gender stereotypes of the 1960's to appeal to a modern audience. She consistently uses her intelligence to solve cases which would not have been expected for a woman to do. This can be seen when she Outwits the man in the church and discovers that the choir nobody in it. This clearly challenges gender stereotypes of men being in charge and holding all the power. An audience in the 60's would definitely expect Steed to solve the case.

The avengers challenges traditional representations of gender furthermore by depicting Emma Peel as a very brave, intelligent, independent woman. Evidence of this can be seen during the fencing match between Steed and Peel in episode 4, "the town of no return". Steed enters her apartment to find her practising her fencing skills and asks for tea. Peel goes against gender stereotypes by rejecting to get him some. Furthermore, during the fencing match, Peel physically holds her own against steed, which would have been a very abstract idea for a 1960's audience.

Gender stereotypes also influence the Avengers. For example, Steed is very urbane and self-confident and as an older white, he is a stereotypical depiction of "The modern man". Though Emma Peel is an independent, empowering character, she is still undermined by Steed. This can be seen when he orders a drink for her despite her saying she did not want one. Steed as the male is still portrayed as in charge.

Observer Question 9

‘The representations featured in the online Observer reflect its values and beliefs.’ Discuss how far you agree with this statement. In your answer, you must:

·      Analyse the representations featured in the extract with reference to the Observer’s values and beliefs

·      Make judgements and draw conclusions about how far you agree with the statement. [15 marks]

The observer, and its sister newspaper the Guardian, are both owned by "The guardian media group" and therefore, both newspapers reflect core beliefs of the other such as liberal views, left of centre. In the home page of the Observer, stories from all across the world are featured, for example, "Saudi dissidents". This reflects the Observers internationalist views and how they value and care about news and culture from all over the world.

In the past, the Observer had always confronted "difficult" news stories head on. This value of the Observer is reflected in the online observer home page through difficult, hard news stories such as "Huntington's disease". News about death and other difficult social issues is often shied away from by other major newspapers however, the Observer online reflects its core beliefs and values by featuring them on the homepage.

The advertisement on the Online observer home page reflects its core values and beliefs. The advertisement on this newspaper are mostly finance which suggests that most people that read this newspaper have money and therefore reinforces a 'middle class' feel to the newspaper. This can also be seen through an interest in Politics (hard news) like Brexit issues which concern many of the readers.

In conclusion, form the online observer we can judge that the online issues of the newspaper are heavily influenced by the core values and beliefs of not just the guardian media group, but also, the Observer's beliefs about issues like politics, hard news and difficult stories and the contextual features of the newspaper such as its audience.

Observer Online: Messages and Values

1.  The major use of newspapers is to offer a sense of knowing
what is going on in the world.The Observer knows that its readers are serious and interested in international affairs. This is evident in hard news articles about.... Foreign affairs such as "Trump threatens national emergency" and "Saudi teen lands in Toronto"
2. The Observer meets its audience's need for a range of cultural, sporting and artistic news. It provides these with... "2019 Brit award nominations"
3. The Observer does not shy away from 'difficult' issues that could make uncomfortable reading, such as... "Captive fearful as she prepares for Iran Jail hunger strike"
4.  The Observer has sections which are designed to appeal to
different types of readers.The Observer reflects the diversity of its readership in articles on... Body image and School sections
5.  Newspaper readership can still be used as a symbol of one’s

social identity. The term ‘Guardian reader’ connotes a certain

type of social attitude and The Observer  similarly reinforces

a set of social and political attitudes, and thus identity, in its

representations. For example, Observer  readers like to think

of themselves as open-minded and this is reflected in the

Observer’s practice of allowing both sides of an argument

equally to be put when the newspaper is clearly on one side

of this argument. There is an example of this in... Articles on Brexit, different opinions and views portrayed.

6.  The entertainment function of newspapers may take the

form of humour.  It may take the form of diversion into

a celebrity world of ‘glamour’. It may take the form of human

interest stories in which readers are invited to sympathise with

the subjects of the article. Newspapers further offer games,

puzzles, crosswords and the like. At the higher end, sections

such as the New Review in the Observer may offer the pleasure

of extremely well-written think pieces and literature reviews. An example of this is....Articles on Brit nominations are a diversion into a celebrity world of glamour.

Teenage Dirtbag/Skater Boy Homework

SB -This video is documentary style mostly hand-held camerawork, de-saturated colour and fast-paced editing.
TD-This video has saturated colour, more controlled camerawork, slower-paced editing.
TD-This video consists of mostly montage shots.
SB-This video has more developed editing with cause and effect.
SB-In this video, the singer values rebellion, which is seen in the narrative.
TD-In this video, the singer values 'fitting in', conformity, albeit to an oppressive system, which is seen in the narrative.
SB-This video is set in LA, a big city, with its connotations of street credibility.
TD-The mise-en-scene of this video is American suburbia with its connotations of conformity. 
TD-This video is intertextual in its narrative (=it makes references to high school drama).
SB/TD-In this video, the singer performs to camera.
SB-In this video, real locations and 'everyday' costume for the performers connote a sense of naturalism.
TD/SB-In this video, there is a sense of linear narrative (a story is told, in the order it unfolds). 

Cover work - Question 8 The Observer

Analyse the use of media media language to create meaning in the online Observer home page. Give two examples.

The Observer home page uses media language to create meaning in a variety of ways. Firstly the layout of the home page is used to create an air of formality. This is achieved through very organised, ordered boxes and columns that contain all the content and through the clearly delineated sections of the home page, which include 'features' 'news' and 'sport'.

This sense of order and formality is further reinforced through the use of a simple colour palette of a royal blue and white, both colours connote maturity and seriousness. This conveys to the observer reader that they can trust the contents of the website.

 

Exam Q3 Cuffs

3.  In this question you will be rewarded for drawing together elements from your full course of study, including different areas of the theoretical
framework and media contexts.
How far does the extract try to create a sense that it is portraying 'real life'?
In your answer you should:
􀁸 analyse aspects of the extract giving detailed examples
􀁸 judge how far these aspects create a sense of watching 'real life'


In the extract, the use of naturalistic locations create a sense of watching real life. For example, the criminal incident takes place in a shopping precinct. Many, if not all, of the audience will know what these are and have visited one before. This creates a sense of familiarity and realism for the viewers. Another example is the convectional costumes, e.g the police uniform, the criminals clothing (all black, balaclava) creates a sense of realism for the viewers as all of the viewers recognize the police uniform and together with the naturalistic locations create a very realistic scene/atmosphere so the audience do not have to suspend disbelief.

In the extract, camera work and continuity editing can be used cover up artificiality in the scenes. For example, shot reverse shot makes the scene seem more realistic so people do not consider any situations that might not seem fully realistic.

The use of general conversations including the police drama and stereotypes live up to audience expectations and creates a realistic affect as the concepts seem familiar. For example, the young rookie and the old hand show a sense of realism as the idea of  an older police teaching a younger policeman is realistic and audiences can associate with these realistic stereotypes.There is always also a team of officers, including different ethnicity's which fits the audiences expectations and doesn't undermine a sense of reality. Also, all off the criminals fit into the audiences idea of a stereotypical villain. This makes it so the sense of realism is not lost and the idea of a police chase is familiar.

Seb Hardy
(Draft 1) 

Exam Q2 Cuffs

Analyse how far the extract depicts the police's point of view rather than the criminals' point of view. In your answer you should:
analyse aspects of the extract using examples to support your analysis.
judge how far these aspects depict the police's point of view

The extract depicts the policies point of view rather than the criminals' point of view through the use of screen time and the perspective of the audience. For example, in the chase seen when the police are trying to catch the criminals, the camera is always on the police men and not on the criminals. This makes the audience much more likely to support the police as we see things from their perspective and not the criminals. Also, the audience know nothing about the criminals back story or anything else, so the audience wont see things from the criminals point of view.

Also, close up shots of the police show the audience the police's emotions and the audience feel sorry for the police whereas the criminals have no screen time so the audience do not feel the same way about them. This can trigger the readers  emotions.

To conclude, the use of close ups and camera time make the audience see things from the polices point of view rather than the criminals.

Exam Q1 Cuffs

Analyse how sound is used in the extract to create meaning. Refer to at least two examples in your answer.

Diegetic sound is used in the extract to create meaning when the police officers are called into action. When the police officers start to chase the criminals, the siren is playing very loudly in the background. This creates realism and immerses the audience in the fear and tension of the car chase.
Another example of diegetic sound in the clip, was when the sound of the radio plays as the officers are called into action. This also adds  to the realism.

News/Exam Q8

The Home page of the observer uses lots of different media language and techniques to create meaning and encourage more people to follow them. Firstly, on the main page, there is a featured bar to bring together all of the different types of news into whats most important/newest. In this featured section, the put famous celebrity names in them because they know that these people have large social media based followings which means that any off their fans that see the celebrities name, will click on it.

Also, they make the most controversial topics largest and use colors and, in most cases, out of context language to draw viewers in and create meaning. For example, "Can i forgive the man that raped me" stands out to readers and encourages them to read the story. Another example of how the observer has used the home page to create meaning is by categorizing different news and putting the most relevant on the front page. This is important as it means that the news has a broader appeal to people that read it.
Seb Hardy

Exam Q7

Explain 2 reasons why a film company would release a video game linked to the film.

One reason why film company's would want to make a video game linked to a film is to appeal to different audiences and generations. For example, the lego movie itself is mainly targeted for kids but for the film to expand, they need a wider variety of audience members to watch the film. For this reason they release, the lego movie game that appeals more to teenagers who would buy the game. Playing the game introduces them to the story line and persuades them to watch the actual movie.

Another reason why film company's would want to make a video game linked to a film is to make more money off of a selling idea. The lego movie was very successful and made the amount it cost to produce in a week, the company wants to carry on with this idea to make as much of a profit as possible. This includes, merchandise, special edition lego boxes, a lego movie game, all of which to expand the company profits.

Seb Hardy 

The Lego Movie: Genre Codes

The movie title plays a huge role in any movie poster because it stands out the most to the audience and is the first thing they will read. The movie title gives audiences an idea and understanding of what the film will bring about and attracts certain genres and audiences. For example "The Lego Movie" will attract the younger generation towards the film. In the Ensemble Movie poster, the movie title is bold and easily recognizable. Also, to appeal to the target movie audiences (younger generations) the title is made out of Lego bricks.

In all of the individual movie posters, the main characters are identified by name. For example, Chris Pratt is Emmet. This comes under Relationships from the blumler and katz theory. The audience recognize Chris Pratt from other movies and we identify with him. This persuades audiences to watch the film. Another individual movie poster is the vitruvius poster. This poster has a close up of vitruvius and in bold, Morgan Freeman is vitruvius. This has the same affect as the Emmet poster. Audiences definitely recognize Morgan Freemen but mainly adults. Naming the cast in all off the posters convinces the parents to take their children to see the movie as even the parents want to see the movie knowing the cast.

The last movie poster has written in bold, Elizabeth Banks is wildstyle. In the movie wildstyle represents women and appeals to the female audiences. Putting this on a poster works in both ways, it appeals to the female audiences and also attracts parents who know Elizabeth banks and identify with her.

The second convention of the movie poster is the tagline. The tagline in the main Ensemble poster reads, The story of a nobody who saves everybody. This tagline is very important for attracting family audiences. The tagline allows everyday people, the target audience, to relate and identify with Emmet which plays a huge role in persuading people to watch the movie. Also the rhyme is appealing to younger audiences and effectively sums up the movie for them.

In the main Ensemble poster, all of the main characters are identified as the main central image. All of the most familiar recognizable characters are shown running away from an explosion. This sets the scene to show how action packed, the film is going to be and also shows the audience the characters in action. This genre code hugely attracts the family audiences.

Seb Hardy

Corrections:
In the close up with Lord Business, we see that he is very close up, in an extreme close up and his facial expression tells the audience straight away that he is an angry/evil character that is going to be the villain. The tagline says "Will Ferrell is Lord Business". This has two effects on the audience. Will Ferrell is a very established actor and his name is recognized and admired by many. This draws in and persuades the audience to go and watch the film so that they can see him in this role. Also, Lord Business sounds very corporal and gives the impression that the main villain is like a boss. This idea of a mean boss in the work place appeals to many adults and because of this, it allows them to see themselves as Emmit, defeating their boss.

Exam Q8: Uses and Gratifications of the Lego Movie

One of the uses and gratifications of the Lego movie is personal identity. In the movie, this idea is represented through Emmit who is the main character. Throughout the movie, Emmit is shown to be a completely normal, average person who follows current trends and his most redeeming feature is his lack of redeeming features. This idea of Emmit being a normal person is hammered into the main plot of the story and expands Emmit as the ordinary person who despite all the odds becomes a hero. This is a vital part of the media aspect of the Lego movie as we, the audience, are supposed to reflect our own values with Emmit and relate to him. This is key when the idea of good versus evil later develops in the movie as the audience already relate and support Emmit and can see themselves in their own fight for good versus evil. Also, younger children can see Emmit as a role model. Emmit is just an ordinary person like you or I and so when younger children see Emmit as this figure who saves the world, they can also relate and admire him.

Another use and gratification of the Lego movie is the idea of escapism which is represented throughout the entire screening time of the film. The Lego movie is a perfect example of how media  is used in Movies and Games to draw out interest from a variety of audiences. For example, many people see the Lego as an ideal place where everything can be fixed and no one ever gets hurt, you can do whatever you want. This especially appeals to the younger generations because basically everything they know is what they can do and what they cant do. The Lego movie game is used as escapism to leave go to a place where rules do not apply and they have their won free will to do as they like.

Seb Hardy

MOJO MAGAZINE COVER

This Magazine features the name of the company (MOJO) featured in bold, obvious, font at the top of the magazine. The main splash of this Magazine cover is David Bowie who is placed in front of the logo so you cant miss it. Also, magazines often do this, they use part of the main splash, usually the head, to cover part of the Cover name. They do this as magazine company's such as MOJO are established and the readers know what the name of the magazine is from just 3 words that appear on the front.

The use of boxes and columns in the magazine cover are used so that the reader is attracted to the magazine when they see it in shops and also, so they can put small pieces of information in them that otherwise would have been missed. For example, 'Free CD' is in its own box in bold in the top left hand side of the magazine so that people who see it will be encouraged to buy it. In this magazine, the headline and caption stand out above all other things and tell the reader whats going to be inside the magazine and also give the readers encouraging information such as, 'untold, unseen David Bowie', this makes the reader intrigued as to what the magazine has inside.

Along the sides of the magazine cover there are other articles that are featured in the magazine. In  the sidelines, to make the articles look fun and appealing they use slang. For example, in the Liam Gallagher strap line, he says 'id do an oasis re union for a fiver'. This is not necessarily what he said but the magazine paraphrases to make for an appealing sub heading.

Seb Hardy 

MUSIC VIDEO CODES AND CONVENTIONS

Wheatus Teenage Dirtbag