Blog Reflection - Week 2

In terms of independent work I had finished off my lyric analysation as well as depicting my understanding of the music, audience and my own video in terms of my chosen song. This took quite a while but showcases exactly what I believe all of the previously mentioned conventions mean, as well as how I will include it into my own video. With this in mind, anybody that needs to see the work that I initially begun with in terms of creating my own independent choice of a video can see how much work I put in.

Also, I finally got round to asking my unsigned artist for the permission to use her song. Fortunately she agreed to let me use it without any stipulations involved, which is great as it means that I can use the song in the same way that I planned to do so in the first place.

During my taught lessons I learnt about quite a few aspects of the media world, in particular, theories. One of these theories was the "genre theory" as depicted by David Bordwell and Neale, as demonstrated here. These two men thought of the following theories:

• Genre as a system
• Repetition & Difference
• Any theme may appear in any genre

This has taught me both the marketing side of the industry as well as the production sector. In terms of the marketing aspect, I have understood how music videos are advertised, as taught from the "system" theory.

The second one has educated me to understand how some videos tend to include aspects of plenty of other productions but add their own unique spin on it to create both attention and "rewatchability".

The third theory has demonstrated to me that I can be as unique as I possibly want to be. I can follow this as long as I can use it correctly so that it does not look too out of place.

According to what I learnt this week I can now go onto working on my music video with a greater knowledge of targeting an audience as well as how to create a video that works for both the audience and I in terms of entertainment.

Another set of theories that I learnt were about the way that the audience interprets media texts. These were:

• Preferred reading - Stuart Hall
• The Male Gaze - Laura Mulvey
• Voyeurism - Andrew Goodwin

These have all taught me a variety of things. Hall's theory has enabled me to understand that although you may set your production to seem one way, people may view it another and this is something you must accept. Although you can convince plenty of people to believe one thing, others will most likely go for another option, based on their own personal beliefs and surroundings.

Mulvey's theory was a great look at reality as it emphasised a 21st century feminist's view on the media industry. She has acknowledged, like myself, that plenty of directors choose to film in a certain way to make sure that females are sexualised. This has made it much clearer to me that if I go for something which is supposed to be conforming to the stereotypes of a video, that I can use this to emphasise my conventional use.

Goodwin was a slight emphasis on Mulvey's as he described how one may gain gratification from the sexualisation of females. In the post linked above I have demonstrated how common it is for the media industry to display this use of sexualisation in terms of the female gender.

These theorists have allowed me to understand how different people view things differently and whether or not I should conform to these views. As well as conforming to theories such as "The Male Gaze" I could also attempt to persuade people to have a certain reading in terms of what Hall said.

Overall I am certain that I have gained some great analytical skills in terms of understanding media texts. I can now add these theories into my own practises as I am more aware of how other people interpret pieces of work.

Preferred Reading, The Male Gaze & Voyeurism

When attempting to understand the creation of music videos, three theorists may come to mind; Stuart Hall, Laura Mulvey and Andrew Goodwin. Each media expert came up with their own vision of how the industry and audience react to certain products, whether that is the way it is created or the way that it is absorbed.

Stuart Hall - Preferred Reading

This theory is that there are three different readings that we, as an audience, can interpret.

These are the dominant reading, negotiated reading and the oppositional reading.

Dominant Reading - The reading that somebody that is fond of the work has on the production. This is typically a positive view.

Negotiated Reading - Part of the reading that the institution has delivered is accepted by the consumer. However from personal beliefs, position, experiences and interests, the consumer modifies it.

Oppositional Reading - The consumer understands the dominant code but does not share this view on the product. They tend to add personal beliefs (such as radical, feminist etc.) to their view. This is always the complete opposite to the dominant reading.

To explain this I have used Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" music video, which can be seen below:

Dominant Reading - The idea of using a wrecking ball and breaking walls is symbolic of a destructive love; the one that she shared with her finacé. The hammer, a harmful object, which is then licked, an intimate gesture, is then used to symbolise how Miley likes the pain of the relationship as it would give her pleasure as well as hell. The white used during the video is to showcase how Miley is an innocent being, as white is typically associated with such symoblism. Finally, the nudity is to highlight how vulnerable Miley feels as being unclothed has been proven to make somebody feel intimidated and under the control of somebody else.

Negotiated Reading - Although the video can be seen as quite symbolic, like the way I have described above, some may view this as being that but also to be a way of Miley breaking the stereotype of where she found her fame. As she was apart of the Disney Channel, a network built for kids and young teenagers, many assume that every actor/singer that comes from the channel should remain celibate and abstain from anything that may offend younger viewers. As Miley has decided to lick hammers and wear no clothes whatsoever, we can understand that this is not something a typical actor from the Disney Channel would do, thus showcasing how she is breaking the stereotype of people from this network.

Oppositional Reading - Many may view this as a way of the singer to just act promiscuous. After her first song from her new album was about partying and having fun, many may find it odd that she has written a song that is so meaningful. After seeing the video for this song they may have the mindset to believe that she just wants to continue that 'wild child' side of herself but hide it behind something that may be quite deep so that she does not get the negative feedback she would have normally received.

Laura Mulvey - The Male Gaze

This theorist believed that central active characters in films are male and that the audience of the same gender identify with them i their viewing of the passive females. With music videos in particular, she argued that the camera would linger on women's bodies and that this is proof that females were being viewed as sex objects purely for the gratification of men. Those watching, despite their gender, would then view the production from the male point of view.

I have made a powerpoint explaining how and why certain music video makers create videos that objectify/empower particular genders. This can be viewed below:

Andrew Goodwin - Voyeurism
This is the understanding that one person would receive sexual gratification from watching somebody else on screen being presented in a certain light. Goodwin believed that in the music industry, this was mainly present with females.

To showcase my thoughts on this I have put together a few photos of women to prove that they tend to be exploited by the media. The photo can be seen below:


Here you can see that each body part is not from the same woman. In fact they are from her, her, her and her. Put together they summarise the voyeurism expressed in today's media industry.

Genre Theory

Neale Theory - Genre as a system

This theorist believed that genre worked in a repeated three step cycle. He believed that the industry would create a piece of text in which would appeal to a particular audience as they would expect a certain output. They would then give that text attention/money, thus benefiting the industry. Then the cycle repeats and repeats. 

I can use Notorious B.I.G.'s "Sky's The Limit" to describe this theory. As a slow paced hip-hop video, the typical conventions of something from this genre are aspects such as rich mise-en-scene, male dominance and slow motion within the shots. All three of these expectations are showcased in the video. We see the rich visuals demonstrated when the expensive cars, suits, sunglasses, bed, pool and more appear. The reason for these appearing is that they allow the rapper himself to look like someone of a high profile, thus being idolised by the audience. The male dominance is during the stairs scene where a woman is being walked by a man. You can tell that the man is controlling the walk as her arm is holding onto his and she appears a step behind him. The use of this is the same as the other one as it again puts the performer on a pedal-stool to his audience.

Neale Theory - Repetition & Difference
This is the theory that the plot of the media text remains the same, but the way in which the institution entices the audience is by changing a bit of the product. 

For this, I will use Blink 182's "All The Small Things" as an example. This theory is very applicable in this video as it is a homage to the very prestigious reign of 'boybands'. Some typical conventions of videos for male singing groups contain screaming fans, lack of clothing, choreography dancing. beach scenes and more. This Blink 182 video contains all of this, which is apart of the repetition side of the theory, and the difference occurs when they take a more comedic turn with it. The band members are seen with screaming fans (0:05), in which the people playing these 'fans' appear to be overreacting. Then at 0:06, the band are in white underwear, something that is not conventional of the 'cool' look that boybands typically go for. As a way to make fun out of the lack of manliness that many people claim boybands have, at 0:11 the band are dressed in female clothing whilst in a dance studio. As groups of this genre tend to know how to dance, the reference is right there. Finally, the beach scene at 1:36 is taken a bit far as there are no clothes on the men, so they look more vulnerable than 'cool'. This has been used so that people can see the references to pop culture and laugh at it. This will then take something that people are already familiar with as well as fond of, plus add a unique spin on it in order for the audience to still find it interesting. There are many ways of doing this, whether it would be for a more serious outlook, such as the change in characters in Marvel films, or it could be the opposite, just like this video.

David Bordwell - Any theme may appear in any genre
Bordwell believed that it did not matter what genre of song was appearing in the video. He said that as long as it was thought out right, any theme may appear in any genre and it could work out well.

For this theory I will use "Acapella" by Karmin to exemplify it. The song is a modern day pop track that talks about a relationship between a man and a woman. However, the video is much more old school and is something that we would see within the 1990's/early 2000's. This fits perfectly as it has now made the song seem as if it actually suits the era of video making. The music video has one colour sets, as seen in plenty of videos in the 90's/early 2000's such as "Say My Name" by Destiny's Child.

I could use this for my music video as it can be quite a beneficial thing. This can make it much easier to create as there would be no conventions that I had to stick to. Also, as the video is not something that fits one particular audience, people that are into either styles (the song and the video) can be attracted to my product. This means that a wider amount of people can watch my video, which is something that any video maker wants as it means that they can gain a bit of profit from it.

Permission Granted!

The permission for the song "Hold Me Tonight" by the YouTube artist Bethan Mary Leadley has been granted after I had sent out an email to the artist herself in which she responded with:

I am now free to use this song for my Media Studies coursework - that is if my partner and I both decide that this particular song is the one that we would both like to use. Nonetheless, the two of us definitely have an available song for us to use!

Analysis of 'Hold Me Tonight' by Bethan Mary Leadley

SECTION 1 - TARGET AUDIENCE

AGE: 12 - 18 year olds as this a typical teenage love story.

GENDER: Both, but a little more of a female dominated market due to people of both ages within the teenage range being affected by love in the same way that the song describes. However females tend to be more open about these feelings so will be more likely to pay attention to this song.

INTERESTS: Hanging out with friends, relationships, social networking and mainstream/acoustic music as the listeners would preferably be those that relate to the song, thus being sociable as well as liking the same music of the genre that this song is a part of.

LOCATION: Any first world country because the problems expressed in this song are more apparent in these countries as opposed to third world ones.

ETHNICITY: There is no particular ethnicity that can relate to this the most as this song describes something that plenty of teenagers go through. So I would not say that there is a certain skin colour that will relate.

SECTION 2 - LYRICS

VERSE ONE

"I remember she was just thirteen

Small mind big dreams gotta hand it to her love

She grew up fast" 

Immediately listeners can understand that the song is about someone that has had their innocence taken away from them greatly. As the "thirteen" year old "grew up fast" after having "big dreams", the audience can anticipate an unfortunate tale being told.

"Now she's pushed up against the door

She shrieks, honey everything was bleak and

She cried on the floor"

Now the story is more obvious, and the anticipation was correct. These lyrics add more emotion to the song as it speaks about crying and fast paced movements (i.e. pushing).

"Don't think I've ever seen her sad

False smile seeps through and she seems pretty glad to have him, even though he isn't hers

And she told him all her nightmares

She hoped he loved and didn't just care about her

'Cause she wanted to say"

Now the song makes it clear that it is about a relationship. One view can understand that it is about an infatuation that a girl has for a boy that is not returned, as expressed through how she is "glad to have him, even though he isn't hers". Others may look at it as a family relationship where a daughter wants the love of her father as "she hoped he loved" but "he isn't hers" due to him possibly having another family.

CHORUS

"Stay with me tonight

Can't forget all the stupid fights

Can't forget all the fags i light-ed

After i was so unkissable

So stay with me tonight

'Cause I know we didn't handle it right

And i'm sorry for the stupid fights 

but i need someone to ho-ol-ol-old me tonight

Just to ho-ol-ol-old me tonight, i-ight."

The chorus is also something that can be seen from two point of views; the love thing is apparent as "fights", kisses and the act of holding someone are all things that couples do. It talks about the sadness of it all, thus adding on to the emotion of the song. The parent image expressed can be seen as the daughter may be "unkissable" to her father and has fought a lot with him. But at the end of the day she still wants him to hold her, which is a very sad concept.

VERSE 2

"Wanted to be accepted

have a life of her own

but just a face in the crowd

Just wanted to be known

As a girl that broke through

And she wouldn't stop

For boys that broke herin their douche bag tops"

Here the singer is speaking about a girl that wanted independence but is truly just like everybody else. She didn't want to fall in love, but she did, and is hopelessly involved inside of that infatuation.

"And she'd 

seen life, freak nights, got into every fight

and excited to be invited for the vodka shots and the other lot who think they're so hot"

These lines express teenage-like actions, showcasing how this is a description of the typical teenager. Fans within that age range can relate more as they can have a greater understanding of what the song means.

[CHORUS]

SECTION 3 - MUSIC/TEMPO

The music is very soft. As the only instrument that appears is the acoustic guitar, the sadness is highlighted even more here. Acoustic music has the ability to make people feel great emotion as it delivers such a raw sound to it. This relates to the unfortunate lyrics that are spoken about as both present a sad sight. The tempo remains quite slow during the entirety of the song, reflecting the sadness of the song in itself. As the lyrics speak about a sorrowful time in life, the tempo's speed emphasises on that view.

SECTION 4 - HOW I WOULD APPLY IT TO A MUSIC VIDEO

I would take advantage of the emotion of the song and create a very touching video. As there is an introduction at the beginning, this could be used as a way to start the video off; there could be a radio at the beginning in which the 'sound' is coming out of as the artist will be introducing the song by telling the viewers about its meaning. A few establishing shots of empty streets will be shown during this part to highlight the lack of fulfillment in the girl affected by the guy.

I could then have a 'performance' section in which the singer lip syncs the lyrics in a run-down area to highlight the same emotion mentioned above. Flashbacks of the relationship, during and after it, can be used to make the audience members understand how the girl is feeling about the end of it.

Blog Reflection - Week 1

This week we I reflected on my work that I produced during my AS year. I focused on how I was creative as well what it took on my behalf to create the work that I produced. This required me to think back and work on my analytical technique so that I could demonstrate the skills that I learnt from my AS year. Although the year did not go as swimmingly as I hoped it would, it did end out on a decent note. I have taken this into consideration for this year so that I can make up for any mistakes that I have created.

I also had a further look at what song I could potentially use for my music video. I then came up with "Hold Me Tonight" by the unsigned YouTube artist Bethan Mary Leadley, which can be seen here. As I need to understand the lyrics and figure out a way in which I can create the music video in a manner that will be of good enough quality for me to pass with, I have begun analysing the lyrics as well as understanding the audience and music. This post will be up sometime next week as it requires a lot of work put into it.

A Reflection of my work in AS

As of right now, I have spent a year studying A Level Media Studies. This past year has taught me a lot about the media industry, including how everything is created to the ways in which I can get my hands on a creative spin.

How I was creative last year

During my AS year of the subject, I was told to have unique ideas in my work in order for it to stand out. I understood this challenge and applied it into my coursework via various ways.

One of these was the use of characters within my "BSR Opening Sequence". This sequence was supposed to conform to the conventions of a typical British Social Realist production, but in order for it to stand out a form of creativity was ideal. My creativity within the character choice was that the character did have the coarse personality trait, but did not appear that was through his mise-en-scene within the first scene of the production. My main actor was wearing a t-shirt, jeans and glasses with a very innocent look on his face. This hopefully led the viewer on to thinking that he was an average person that had his life on track, based purely on looks. However the voiceover and the following scene showcased a different outlook on him; through the fast paced music, mentions of a struggling life the cheap clothing (hoodies and trainers) which all help to add to the typical representation. This difference in character was a creative technique used to make the viewers understand the impact of the tragic life that the boy had -  he was so ashamed of the life he had that he felt the need to hide it in front of others.

Digital Technology used last year

A wide range of digital technology was incorporated into my AS work in the previous year. This includes:

Camera - This was a very essential part of the recording process. This allowed me to capture good quality shots that could narrate the story that I wanted to be told.

iMovie - iMovie is a video editing programme on the Mac that I used to edit my shots together to create my opening sequence. It was a great tool that allowed me to edit audio and visual clips together, resulting in the desired end product.

Adobe Photoshop CS5 - As my production needed a title, I chose to edit it on Photoshop using the tools on there because it was a programme that I was very used to at the time and could create the exact design that I intended to create.

Blogger - In order to keep up to date with my work and present what I have created, I used this website to start a blog on my coursework. The site allowed me to upload pictures, videos and presentations (some needed external link from sites such as YouTube and Issuu) and as they were all on the same blog, it was easier to access each item.

IMDB - For me to look at other official productions created, I looked at IMDB to link me to details about the films created. This helped me to understand how it was created (cheap budget usually means easier to make than a higher budgeted production), how many people were in it (whether smaller casts were more popular than larger casts) and to see comments from other users, saying what they liked/disliked.

Research and Planning used last year

In order to create a successful production, planning your work and researching about it can help you to gain a better understanding into doing so. I had to do a lot of this which included:

Vox Pop Questionnaire - As my film was aimed at teenagers, a school was a great way to get views from many different people. A vox pop was also a good way to gain an understanding of what my target audience wanted in a short amount of time as I could just record people whom I ask questions to whenever they were free, as oppose to getting a lot of people into one room at the same time.

YouTube - This was used for my research as I needed to look at other clips from other BSR opening sequences. YouTube had plenty of these clips so it was very easy to access them without having to pay for a DVD etc.

IMDB - In order for me to look at how I could create similar productions to those that are already professionally made, this website provided me with the details of budgets, casting and reviews from others. With this I could get an understanding of what was in my reach and what worked/did not work.

Microsoft Excel - I used this software to plan my action script. This allowed me to organise every shot into their own individual slot so that I could see clearly what happened when.

Blogger - This was a great way for my planning to be organised. With weekly logs and posts of what my planning has been like, I got an understanding of what I had done/could keep up to date with my own work. I used Issuu and YouTube to upload my presentations/videos which were then put onto my blog for easy access.

Post Production technology used last year

For me to edit my production and to analyse everything, I had to use digital technology to make my work more presentable and to actually complete the coursework. This included:

iMovie - This Mac programme allowed me to edit the music I created from Logic and the videos I took from the camera into my final production. I could then have my desired work completed to the standard that I wanted.

Logic - I used this to create the music that played during the second scene of my opening sequence. It allowed the production to have the atmosphere that I aimed for it to have as the correct instruments (i.e. guitars and drums) as well as tools (i.e. merging) were available on this programme.

Blogger - Again I used this to organise my work and to put the presentations made from Issuu and the videos uploaded onto YouTube onto one page. This created an easier access point as well as allowed me to show a use of many technologies.

Adobe Photoshop CS5 - The title screen for my film that appeared between the two scenes was created using this programme. I used it as I knew how to use the programme and knew that I could create exactly what I wanted to by using the available tools.

Conventions I studied and applied to my work
A range of aspects were studied last year as I aimed to make my work as good as it could possibly get. These conventions were:
Camera - To get an understanding of how I could display each shot, I studied different types of camera shots that I could include. I learnt about new shots that I had no clue about such as an establishing shot as well as a master shot which were both used in my production for their own reasons.
Narrative - This was something that I gained a bit more knowledge on. I got a higher level of understanding of this aspect as I found out the reasons why it was so important. Also, I realised how much I could benefit by thinking of this the same way that Todorov thought of it.
Themes - As somebody that was not much of a fan of BSR films, after studying this aspect I

understood how relatable these films could be. I also gained a greater understanding of how I could actually include these themes into my own production.
Mise-en-scene - The mise-en-scene in BSR films is very different from Hollywood productions. I did know this before my AS course began, however I did not have as much knowledge on it than I do now. For example, the lighting is something that is very important in terms of BSR films as darker screens represent more unfortunate times, something that plenty of BSR films include.
Sound - This is something that I studied and learnt a little from as well. I did know a bit about it, but now, for example, I am more knowledgeable on how natural sounds are used to create a more believable environment.

Overall, I can conclude that I learnt a lot from my previous year of studying this subject. From aspects such as mise-en-scene and sound to how to use certain digital technologies, there is a lot that I gained from this subject after studying it for a year at AS level.