Note - please make sure each of these lessons is completed as a separate blog post, with the same title as the lesson, So this one should be called 'Formation - analysis, themes and representation'. This helps your own organisation and it helps me to mark them.
This week in media studies, we will be exploring the video to Formation by Beyonce. Along with Riptide, Formation is a key case study that you may be asked to explicitly refer to in the exam, so it's essential that you know it like the back of your hand.
Top tip - repetition is an excellent learning technique. Music videos are designed to be watched over and over again, and with their short running time, it makes them excellent candidates for close textual analysis. So make sure you watch these two videos in particular again and again and again...
Context
Formation, lead single for the album Lemonade, was released the day before Beyoncé performed at the Super Bowl final in February 2016. The Formation music video, directed by Melina Matsoukas, was released with the song.
This music video has won numerous awards including a Clio Award for Innovation and Creative Excellence in a Music Video at the 2016 awards, and has been nominated in the music video category at the 59th Grammy Awards.
The video is set against the backdrop of the flooding in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina and the associated racial tension in America, and also draws historical parallels with references to racism and slavery.
Context paragraph provided by Eduqas
Task - copy and paste the above information in to your blog. We will look at the context of this video in WAY more detail next lesson
Initial analysis - themes of conflict
There's lots to take in here! For now, we are going to be focussing on the theme of conflict.
Task - Watch the video again, and make notes under the following questions/headings. Make sure you have the textual analysis toolkit open (and it should have been open already...)
- In what ways are the themes of conflict encoded in this video? What media language is used to show conflict?
- What are the functions and purposes of this music video? What is it trying to get its audience to do? How do you know?
- What groups are represented in this music video? Are these representations typical or subversive?
- Is this a typical music video? How do you know?
Here are a few visual hints for what you could/should be focusing on:
Detailed textual analysis
Task - using the textual analysis toolkit, analyse how the video to Formation creates meaning for its audience
'How does this media product create meaning for its audience?' This, and variations of it, is the most common single question that could come up in the exam. In fact, this question is pretty much the focus for every media lesson.
However, rather than simply pointing things out, you must make explicit reference to media language in every single paragraph you write, and explain how it encodes meaning.
You have a few ways of completing this task
- Use the table above, or create a new one in PowerPoint (or anything else)
- If you have the tools, create a poster, take a picture of it, and upload it to your blog
- Simply create a series of headings (camera angles, editing, lighting etc) and give examples, analysis and audience effect under each
- Make screenshots from the video, and use these as headings. Here are a couple of examples you can use:
