MOCK EXAM

Key assessment three – 80 minutes

Component 1 A

'In what ways do music videos encode viewpoints and ideologies? Make reference to Formation by Beyoncé and Riptide by Jack Vance.'  [30]

-representation and textual analysis 

what is ideology? the morals and the message behind something 

talk about mise-en-scene, shot types, camera angles, actors as it is all encoded with in the aesthetics 

-constructed by the producers

why? to convey or inflict their beliefs to the audience as well as make money 

THEORISTS! reference and name them in every question

Barthes--------- Semiotics= Hermeneutic, Proairetic, Symbolic, Intersexuality 

Levi-Strauss--- Binary Opposition and structuralism 

Hall------------- Representation= stereotypes 

Hall------------ Readings= Proffered, Negotiated, Oppositional

Gauntett------- Identity and pick and mix

Van Zoonen--- Feminist theory= Male Gaze, sexualisation of women 

hooks---------- Feminist theory, patriarchal hegemony  

Gilroy---------- Ethnicity and postcolonialism (racial hierarchy still exists) 

shot types and framing:

short, long, medium

depth of field (shallow = background blurred)

behind- positioned as antagonist

in front- positioned as audience  

direct mode of address- when character looks straight at camera  

Component 1 B

'Explore the ways in which production, distribution and circulation have shaped the newspapers you have studied. Make reference to The Daily Mirror and The Times.' [15]

Curran and Seaton-------The media is controlled by a small amount of companies which is bad as it limits variety, creativity and quality. We should have social diverse patterns of ownership can create more varied media products. 

Hesmondhalgh----------- The cultural industries- vertical and horizontal integration 

Livingstone and Lunt----- Regulation of media eg. film (BBFC) or newspaper (ipso). The increasing power of global media corporations and technologies transforming production, this has placed traditional approaches to media regulations at risk

The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper founded in 1903. It is owned by parent company Reach plc which used to be Trinity Mirror until this year.
The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times (founded in 1821) are published by Times Newspapers, since 1981 a subsidiary of News UK, itself wholly owned by News Corp.

-Tabloid= traditionally more working class focusing on soft news (celebrity gossip and scandals) known as red top and generally cheaper
-Broad sheet= traditionally middle class with a lot of writing and lacking in pictures, more formal and intellectual topics   

Ipso is the independent regulator for the newspaper and magazine industry in the UK. print news paper tends to specifically be aimed at older people as with the rise of the internet young people get news online 

(Example of conglomeration with all the news papers coming together)

Title	Published	Political Orientation
Sunday Express	Sunday	Right-wing, Eurosceptic
The Sun	Daily	Right-wing, conservative
The Sun on Sunday	Sunday
Daily Mirror	Daily	Centre-left

Print VS Online 
PRINT- Employment opportunities, satisfaction of physical product, creates sense of community, waste of paper, more expensive   
ONLINE- audience response immediately, more convenient, less expensive, constant current news, can access it anywhere  

Component 2

'To what extent has sociohistorical context influenced representations in the magazines you have studied? Make reference to both Adbusters and Woman.'  [30]

1- underline key terms in question 
2- find immediate reaction/opinion  
3- plan PEA (point evidence and argument)
4- reference specific articles
5- introduction DAC (definition argument context)
6- conclusion, sum up of everything  

binary opposition, fem theories, sexualisation, hypo needle, pick and mix, semiotics, representation 

Women= weekly women's lifestyle magazine published by IPC
Adbusters= independent Canadian, published 6 times a year by Adbusters Corp.  

Component 3

Music videos:

Prep & Regulations

INDIVIDUAL CROSS-MEDAI PRODUCTION

Apply knowledge and understanding of theoretical framework (media language, representation, media industries, audiences)


CROSS-MEDIA: "Production must be conceptualised as a complete package of interrelated products in two forms, reflecting the nature of the contemporary media and the importance of different platforms in distributing, and enabling audiences to access the media"

TASK 1- create an original music video to promote new artist or band between 3mins - 3mins 30 sec

• two or more filming locations (eg. studio, live venue, woods)
• wide range of camera shots, angles and movement to interpret lyrics of the song 
• shots of the artist or band to establish a clear identity 
• some sort of performance footage and lip syncing
• representations of at least one social group (eg. youth, punks, the working class, family)
• Clear structure with element of narrative 
• Editing of original footage to the music video 
• Graphics depicting the original
•  name of artist or band and title of the track
• Every shot in focus!!!! 

Task 2- Create original front cover and double page feature article for a new specialist 

-How to get an A-

Must use media lang to demonstrate intersexuality and or hybridity and combining genres

Convey a complex representation of a social group using media lang

Subvert and challenge typical representational stereotypes 

Present an ideology context typical to an independent music label

Create a magazine that demonstrates clear stylistic, thematic and ideological links in your music video   

  

FORMATION

FORMATION: BEYONCE (2016)

directed by Melina Matsoukas

lead single to Lemonade album

realised day before Super Bowl

music video black representation

Representation- process or portrayal of someone or something in a certain way

(creates meaning for audience)   

-nothing we study in the media is real 
-everything a constructed or represented 

cultivation - self for filling prophesy

Nicki Minaj- ANACONDA (2014)

primary representation- young black women

young black women are consistently sexualised eg. mid shot of women buttocks

sexual premiscurity is incoded through gesture and shot types 

the screen wobble emphasises the size of her buttocks  

empowerment through sexuality 

many black women are faulsely represented   

Lil Pump- GUCCI GANG (2017)

primary representation- ethnic minorities 

connotes disrespect for authority through gesture and piff

subversive as there is no violence, guns, or sexual behaviour  

women less presented and in less of a sexual way however lyrics are still explicit 

Horror film conventions

SUSPIRIA (1977)

genre conventions = paradigmatic features

• non diegetic soundtrack cuts out, functioning as a proairetic codes sign posting up coming violence
• mid shot of girl hanging covered in blood, low key lighting
• suspenseful framing of female protagonist standing in corner of empty women
• consistent venerability of women emphasised through there young features and lack fighting back attitude   

References to Riptide:

• women being attacked threatened by a male figure
• stereotypically pretty women
• either lowkey or highkey lighting to connote fear or impending death  

Surrealism 

-art movement started in France

-something that follows the logic of dreams 

Un Perro Andaluz (1929)

the audience just accept the weird cuts 

Things are not questioned eg. man with hole in his hand cut to the beach 


Binary oppositions -Claude Levi Strauss theory 
day vs night
Bart vs Lessa
busy city vs quite country
noise vs silence 

Producers use binary oppositions to create a narrative

contrasts give each other meaning  

audience can instantly identifies with characters and situations

emphasise and exaggerates the two opposites  

  

RIPTIDE

VANCE JOY- RIPTIDE 2013

1. extra post modern 
2. use of juxtapoitional distressing creepy and aesthetically pleasing images
3. strong link between visuals and lyrics 
4. binary opposition between conventional music video and subversive music video 
5. 'riptide' high angle long shot of the sea, connotations of danger and extremity 
6. montage of closeups of everyday items
7. establish themes of travel and gives the audience escapism  
8. metaphorical lyrics of splitting up a relationship
9. mixture of discontinuous editing, some shots have cause and effect with narrative
10. horror film connotations- blond female tied to a tree
11. contrapuntal imagery- cult horror films eg Blair witch project 
12. female gender emphasise through mie-en-scene of heels, lipstick, nail varnish 
13. lacks a coherent narrative 
14. unconventional master shot of glamours singer lip syncing badly 
15. mise-en-sene of blood and smeared makeup can have connotations of abuse  
16. not explicit therefore subliminal and postmodern- leave the audience to wonder 

subsidiary= company owned by another company 

Vance Joy- singer/songwriter, signed by Atlantic Records (subsidiary of major label Warner)

categories as Indie folk pop genre, platenuim selling single 

Video directed by Dimitri Basil and Laura Gorun- just over 2 hundred mill views on youtube 

Objectification- the process of a character or person is portrayed like an inanimate object 

Male gaze- (vanzoonans theory) women in media are placed in assumption for the gratification of heterosexual men  

Sexualisation- process of presenting someone purely for sex

Voyeurism- the pleasure of watching someone without there knowledge

Scopophillia- the love of watching (same as voyeurism) 

Romanisation- to think about or describe someone as attractive or more interesting than they are, connotations of love 

Cognitive dissonance- subtitles are different on screen to whats being said or sung  

High angle shots are used to show superiority and power over the character 

Intersexuality of slasher film (women being crept up on by murder)

voyerism for the audience as the girl is unaware of the camera 

blond girl, long hair, loose clothing all connotes romantic holiday vibes  

WOMEN IN THE VIDEO

Every women presented in this video are stereotypically attractive
They are interchangeable and dispensable, audience does not tend to note them specifically
Women are consistently threatened throughout the video  
Consistent sexualised and objectified by the camera
Also subversive as women are shown as fighters and doing magic tricks which is not a typical depiction 
Vastly polysemic as does not confine to a single genre or presentation


INTERPRATIONS:
about a divorce 
about abuse/violence
about unrequited love 
about a summer fling 
   

  Audience unusually close to the performer, high angle shot

stereotypically model looks, red lipstick, tanned skin, sharp features 

main focus under spot light, clearly representing her ads glamorous and sophisticated

slightly older women (25-35 guess) 

represented as venerable and emotional when makeup smudged and crying 

singing the words wrong symbolises distress 

IRONIC AND KNOWING VEIW POINT- 

• tongue and cheek playing on hegemonic perspectives of women 
• using sexy characters in a non sexy way
• mid shot of man standing in front of women ironically showing patriarchal hegemony 
• sexualised images utilised referential codes 
• many film references draws attention to negative portrail of women in media 
• close up of women singing words wrong gives connotations of rebellion 
• whole video lacks any anchorage 

CREEPY AND SEXIST VEIW POINT-

• shows the issues women go through eg domestic violence   

The video is highly polysemic and most of all subversive of the hegemonic ideologies perspectives normally seen in music videos! 

Montage editing- series of short shots are edited into a sequence to condense space, time, and information

Eyeline match- is a film editing technique where the audience will want to see what the character on-screen is seeing

Beat matching- synchronising the tempos of two recordings to enable a smooth transition between them in a set of uninterrupted music

Continuity editing- process in film and video creation, of combining more-or-less related shots, or different components cut from a single shot into a sequence

Jump cut- where there is a cut to the same scene, normally a mistake 


-Intertextual references to surrealist Cinema
-gets across abstract concepts in short space of time 

MUSIC VIDEOS

MUSIC VIDEOS...

component 1A) Media language and Representation  

component 1B) Audience and Industry 

music video definition-

• montage of clips with song in background
• visual representation of song 
• short film that accompanies the music 
• video that gives context to the sound
• advertising the song!

Where do we see them?

YouTube

Vevo

KEY TERMS-

Modes/ language/ polysemy/ meaning/ conventions/ intertextuality/ audience/ representation/ audience response/ ideologies/ construction/ processes/ stereotypes/ social and cultural context

social and cultural context= whats going on in society at the time

construction= building of a represention by the producer

music videos are significantly shorter than other forms of visual media eg. Tv shows and films.... 

AUDIENCES RESPONSE- audience tend to be very protective over there favourite artists 

what can people do with their fave band/artists?

• aspire to be like them
• buy there merchandise eg. posters 
• represent yourself through them 
• connect to them through social media 
• see them live 

SCOPEYTONE music video=

France Gall- Baby Pop 1965

audience would have been impressed as music videos are not common 

poor quality but good for the eire

appeal of new technology, advanced for its time 

How is France Gall represented

young, pretty, can't dance, beauty icon

use of close up and mid shots gives a direct mode with the audience  

mise-en-scene of baking dancers shows 'friends' and lively atmosphere 

REBECCA- Vanity Angle 1989

the editing is beat matched 

fast pace with every 80s cliché possible

white and black backing dancers- creates ethnic diversity- excitement and exotic 

Pulp- Babies 1994

clear narrative with sisters to match lyrics 

conventional and unconventional with multiple captions

presentation of ironically cool British kids   

self deprecating 

Convergence= coming together of two previously seperate industry 

eg. film + music = music video

Benefits

target broader audience 

can utilise advising

choose specific audiences 

new art form 

This is called SYNERGY= The interconnectivity of media products leads to a result of more of the sum of its parts eg. merchandising tie-ins 

On of the reason younger audiences are also targeted is because they have a more expendable income than the older generation  

MTV:   

(music television)

Music Videos 

1. short timing around 3 mins
2. may not include narrative
3. can stream for free
4. lower in cost
5. lower expected levels of engagement
6. expected to watch many times 
7. prioritise sound track over narrative
8. made after music has been made
9. audience less likely to make effort to watch
10. form of advising/ promotion for the artist
11. rely on intense visual effects 
12. stand alone product
13. based around the song
14. faster pace editing (average shot length 1s) 

Cinema

1. usually between 90-120 mins long
2. always have a story line
3. able to purchase after realise 
4. very high production rate. need big team
5. higher expected levels of engagement 
6. may watch once or twice 
7. priorities narrative over soundtrack 
8. music made to fir film 
9. audience go out of there way to watch
10. form of art/ are the product
11. don't rely on intense effects  
12. can be part of a franchise eg sequels 
13. can be about anything 
14. slower pace editing (average shot length 4s)

CELEBRITY

"attribution of the glamorous or notorious status to an individual in the public sphere"

-can be a derogatory term

-known by the public 

-somebody who holds a significant amount of notoriety 

-well known for something specific 

-owns a lot of cultural capital- value through reputation

-must have mainstream appeal 

-currently notorious  

Lady Gaga -Applause 2013

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pco91kroVgQ

she is encoded by the producer 

what makes her a celebrity?

lack of makeup- subversive celebrity 

lack of clothing- catches attention 

many close up/mid shots- emphasise her emotion 

 stage setting- connotes performance aspect 

high key lighting- looks like spot light 

• Celebrity provides audience with the gratification of surveillance 
• They are also an escapist fantasy
• Role models to look up too and idolise   
• to entertain and give an objective in life 
• used to advertise and promote 

Metanarrative= over arching or system of beliefs, basically living your life through a system and routine 

• some narratives of life are religion- gives you rules and routines to follow eg. go to church weekly and love your neighbours 

• some narratives of life are science- understand people and the world we live in eg. medicine

• some narratives are of marriage- metanarratives change eg. olden days you had to marry a virgin whereas now days thats not the case

CELEBRITY CAN PROVIDE US WITH AN IDEOLOGY: "BE YOUR SELF"

Diegesis= in the world of the narrative
Diegetic sound is sound in the world of the narrative eg. dialog 

non Diegetic sound is not in the world of the narrative eg. music/sound track

(In music videos the diegesis of the sound is NOT clear)

Postmodernism= media product that breaks the rules-subversive  

Why world postmodern be used?

uniqueness

put across deeper meaning

catch audience attention