WaterAid TV spot advert: Claudia Sings Sunshine on a Rainy Day

 

1 - Analysing typical advertising campaigns 

Choose two print adverts from two different UK charities. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Oxfam
• Barnados
• Save The Children
• NSPCC

Answer the following questions:

• What groups are being represented in this advert?
• How is this representation constructed using media language? (Hall)
• What messages are presented about this societal group?
• In what ways might this advert impact the group being represented?

2 - WaterAid TV spot advert: Claudia Sings Sunshine on a Rainy Day - background 

The charity Water Aid was established in 1981 as a response to a United Nations campaign for clean water, sanitation and water hygiene education. It now works with organisations in 37 African, Asian and Central American countries plus the Pacific region. Since1991 its patron has been Prince Charles.

Created by Atomic London in October 2016, this advert (titled Rain For Good) stars 16 year-old Zambian student Claudia and aims to show how communities benefit from clean water by depicting everyday chores such as farming and laundry.

Information taken directly from exam board resources

3 - Textual analysis

Making extensive use of the textual analysis toolkit, analyse this advert, making screencaps to draw attention to important points

Make reference to:

• Barthe’s codes (proairetic, hermeneutic, symbolic)
• media language, especially audience positioning, editing, sound and mise-en-scene
• Levi Strauss’s binary oppositions
• Hall’s representation (gender, ethnicity, age)
• Van-Zoonen's construction of gender expectations
• The representation of women/girls, ethnicity and 'Africa'*

4 - Comparing representations of ethnicity

What messages surrounding ethnicity and nationality are constructed in the advert 'Genet' (WaterAid, 2013)?

In what ways do the representation of 

• Ethnicity
• 'Africa'*, and
• Women/girls

in this advert differ from the 2016 WaterAid advert you have previously studied?

*Remember, 'Africa' is a continent, not a country. However, many charity advertising campaigns are fuzzy on exactly which African country that the advert is set in. For example, the Claudia advert is filmed and set in Zambia, but makes no reference to the country. Why is this the case?

Media coursework after the music video

 You've finished your music video! And you've done so in the most difficult circumstances in A-level media studies history (probably)! You deserve a pat on the back. 

Before you rest too much though, remember there are two more pieces of coursework to complete. 

The following work must be completed and submitted on or before Friday 23rd October at 16:10

1 - Aims and intentions essay: second draft

• The aims and intentions essay is a short, one page, 500 word essay
• In it, you explain what you aim to do, and how you intend to do it
• Therefore, this essay is to be written in future tense
• 500 words is not enough to write a normal essay. Therefore, you will be using lots of bullet points
• You will be marked on your accurate use of media language, and your knowledge of representation, industry and target audience
• You will make reference to appropriate theories

You hopefully have completed a draft of your aims and intentions. You will now complete a second draft. It is due on or before Friday 23rd October at 16:10.

You can find ALL the information you need to complete this essay by clicking here. This includes a point by point list of what to include, a reminder of the assessment criteria for the music video and magazine, and examples of exceptional aims and intentions essays which were moderated by examiners. Use this information. It will help you!

I also made a video on aims and intentions: watch it!

2 - Preparing for the magazine.

After half term, you will shoot photographs, write copy, and edit a striking magazine.

This magazine will feature the artist you created on the front cover, and will interview them in a double page spread.

You don't get a mark for your music video: you get a mark for your combined music video and magazine. This is why the A-level media coursework is called the cross media production. They are two halves of the same product, both of them promoting your artist.

Task- copypaste the following questions in to a new blog post and answer them:

• What is the name of your artist?
• Representation is important to your artist. Who are they keen to represent?
• Your artist is a celebrity and a style icon. How do they feel about this? What sets them apart?
• Since your artist is a style icon, what are they going to wear on the front cover of your magazine? JEANS AND HOODIES ARE BANNED. THINK EXCITING. 
• You artist is targeting a niche audience. How do they do this,. and who is this audience?
• What is your artist going to wear on the front cover of the magazine?
• What kind of magazine is interviewing your artist? Are they a music magazine? Fashion? Culture? A hybrid genre? Look back to your notes on independent magazines for some inspiration
• Think about lexis and modes of address. How does your artist speak? Why?
• Your artist is interested in intertextuality. What media products (eg films, bands, games, etc) do they make reference to? 
• What is your artist's ideological beliefs? What are they [passionate about? And how are they going to let the world know?

3 - Taking initial photographs

This can be completed during the last week of half term, and should be finished during the half term holiday. Please start to take appropriate images for your magazine cover and double page spread. We will discuss exactly what you can be doing in our Teams conversations next week!

Super Bowl commercial break 2020

“The purpose of publicity is to make the spectator marginally dissatisfied with his present way of life. Not with the way of life of society, but with his own within it. It suggests that if he buys what it is offering, his life will become better. It offers him an improved alternative to what he is” – John Berger

The Super Bowl is a huge American sporting event, and is one of the most watched TV broadcasts in the world. Perhaps even more important than the event itself (at least to people who have no idea what on earth American football is, anyway), is the commercial break. Given its enormous viewing figures, the price of buying airtime for a single 30 second long spot advert is a crazy $5.6 million dollars. This figure does NOT factor in production costs, including the cost of hiring actors. 

The Super Bowl commercial break is advertising at it's most extreme and polished, and will tell us everything we need to know about representation in America in 2020.

 Click here to view the Super Bowl commercial break for 2020.

Please only watch from 8m56s to 15m41s (approximately)

As you are watching this these commercials, please make notes using the following prompt questions:

• What brands are being advertised?
• Who is the target audience for the advert/product?
• What lifestyle is being sold to the target audience?
• John Berger argued that advertisements work by causing the audience to be dissatisfied with their everyday life. What 'problems' are these adverts solving?
• What groups of people are represented in each advert? Think age, nationality, ethnicity, weight, sexuality and so on
• What messages about these groups are constructed and re-presented to the target audience?
• In what ways might these representations reinforce and reconstruct reality for the target audience?

Second year plus time sessions: final editing week!

We will be running two special plus time lessons on the following dates, which you can use to edit your music video to the highest possible quality. 

You must use the computer that you usually use for this, so in order to get an idea of who is coming, please make sure that you email your teacher in advance in advance, if possible, as capacity will be limited

Tuesday 13th October @ 14:40

Wednesday 14th October @ 14:40

T block cover work: textual analysis of print adverts

 1 - Please open your blog, and start a new post, called 'textual analysis of print adverts'

2 - I have uploaded today's lesson to YouTube, which you can find by clicking on the big link below:

Textual analysis of print adverts 

Please watch the above video, making notes throughout, and pausing the video to complete tasks when prompted 

3 - One of the main tasks for this lesson involves analyzing the Maybelline lipstick print advertisement. You can find this advert by clicking here (the image you'll be analyzing is the second one down, for 'colour sensational lipstick)

Extension

This work should take 90 minutes to complete. However, if you would like to push your knowledge and understanding of media further, take a look at the other videos I have uploaded to the YouTube channel. Remember, you can access a full index of all the YouTube videos I have uploaded by clicking on the YouTube link around the top left of the blog.

Analysis of print advertisements for beauty products

 P block

• Location: city has connotations of professional upmarket lifestyle
• Lexis of 'New York' acts as anchorage for the audience, reinforcing the idea of New York, which has connotations of an exciting, busy life
• Muted colour palette draws attention to the product instead of the setting
• Intense high key lighting emphasises models face demonstrating that she is the focal image
• Target audience of women: use of clearly female model suggests makeup is targeting a female audience
• Direct mode of address: model looks directly at audience, demonstrating her power, confidence and importance
• Slogan: "maybe it's Maybelline" catchy and easy to remember for the target audience (working class audience?)
• Models use of makeup is 'natural' and unobtrusive, which draws attention to her eyelashes
• Gesture: slightly open mouth functions a hermeneutic code, forcing the audience to answer the question "what is she about to say?"
• Slightly open lips may also function as a proairetic code, suggesting that she is about to kiss someone. Suggests to audience that putting on maybelline makeup will make them more sexually attractive
• Use of city as mise-en-scene suggests the mascara is everyday, normal use product. Highly polysemic advert
• Mise-en-scene of other woman walking creates contrast between 'normal' looking woman in the background and the 'beautiful' Denise Richards, again suggests the makeup will make the audience beautiful
• Emphasis on model's eyes reinforces the importance of having beautiful eyes
• Unnatural setting and strange place to put on makeup (a busy street!) gives the audience some fantasy elements
• Contrasting colours reinforce the notion of a "boldly thickened look", further emphasising through anchorage
• Model's face takes up approx 50% of image, (close up) demonstrates importance of the model
• Enigma code of "maybe she's born with it"

• Blue background forms a stark contrast with the model's red lips, suggesting her bold personality. Functions as a symbolic code
• New York is symbolic of wealth and luxury, suggesting that this is a luxurious product for a wealthy audience
• Hermeneutic code: model gazes out of the advert, directly at the audience, creating a sense of mystery
• Flower is symbolic of passion of love, which is further anchored by the lexis of the word 'passion' 
• Mise-en-scene of model's pale face suggests that she is stereotypically beautiful
• Layout of range of shades helps the advert to target as large an audience as possible
• Slogan 'Make it happen': connotations of opportunity and excitement, much like new york!
• Lexis of 'passion and passionate' link to flowers, love and kissing
• Blue and red create a juxtaposition, creating a symbolic message of two opposing ideals
• New York: connotations of 'dreams coming true', the american dream 
• Use of bold colours, reference to Marilyn monroe and other famous women? Referential code
• Word it ∫is highlighted in red, meaning it functions as an hermeneutic code, creating a sense of mystery for the audience
• Use of block capital, sans serif font constructs a bold message for the target audience 

R block

• Use of colour beige reflects a calm, toned down atmosphere, promoting Mabeline as a 'natural' beauty product
• Proairetic code of mid shot of model on the roof of an exclusive building suggests that she is about to go out and to go clubbing
• Model looks out into distance, forming an hermeneutic code for the audience. Who is she looking at?
• Slogan: make it happen. It functions as a hermeneutic code. Sexual connotations? open to audience polysemic (many meanings)
• Use of high key lighting symbolises happiness, excitement and life
• Close up shot of model emphasises her beauty, including the mise-en-scene of her clear skin
• Mise-en-scene of studio lighting symbolises confidence and a high class luxury lifestyle
• Compact layout: two shots of woman, information, product. Working class audience? 
• Lexis: the brightest side of flawless: demonstrates the product is superior to its rivals
• Natural makeup references the individual of the model, and potentially the individuality of the audience
• Font: black, capital letters, sans serif: simple and easy to read
• @new super cushion" - hyperbole
• Direct mode of address - talks directly to a young, heteroseusl female audience
• Seductive icongography - looking direction, smirking...
• Lexis: NEW YORK: busy lifestyle! Glamourous!
• Use of "two in one" suggests audience is getting better value for money
• Red top and shoes demonstrates sexualised and confident ideology: selling a sexy and confident life 
• Shiny undertones, use of gold and silver: connotations of luxury
• Body posture demonstrates model is confident yet relaxed, and carefree
• Repetition of image demonstrates that the model is the singular and most important aspect of the image

How does mise-en-scene construct meaning in these high end fashion adverts?

P block

• The mise en scene of the warm, natural lighting, connotes themes of calmness and tranquillity 
• The selection of older models indicates that the brand is targeting a more mature audience
• The mise-en scene of books and papers suggests that the two models are working, and have a high status occupation
• Francis ford coppola's unbuttoned shirt connotes his relaxed demeanour and his suave and sophisticated nature 
• Sophia Coppola's bare feet symbolises freedom, confidence and her ability to both work and relax simultaneously

T block 

• White is symbolic of cleanliness and innocence, which suggests, suggesting luxury and exclusivity
• The mise en scene of the classic car further reinforces ideas of luxury and wealth
• The mise en scene of the model's jewelry suggests classiness, subtlety, and her romantic availability
• Getting in to the back seat of the car suggests the model is able to afford a chauffeur 
• The model's pink knitted cardigan suggests that she is comfortable, approachable.
• Selena Gomez is a well known american singer and actor, who already has ties to the fashion industry with her makeup 

R block

 

• Prominent use of logo emphasises the high end and well known quality of the brand itself
• Classy yet eccentric, odd and over the top choice of fashion 
• Mise en scene of the shopping trolly suggests a bland, normal and even boring existence 
• Canted angle suggests quirkiness edginess and a low-fi sensibility which contrasts with the extremely expensive clothes the models are wearing

Music video: what to focus on in your final two weeks

 We have now marked all the music video rough cuts you have submitted, and you should have received feedback and a grade via email (if you haven't, it's either because you missed the assessment or for another reason: please bug your teacher if you think you're owed an email!). This should hopefully give you some pointers on what to focus on for the last couple of weeks of the music video project.

However, as we marked these, we kept suggesting the same feedback again and again. It's clear that there are some really important things that almost everyone needs to focus on. So check out the list below, and see what you should be including in your music video

Three things to include in your music video

1 - Performance shots

Performance means performing the song. Performance can involve singing (i.e lip syncing), dancing and/or playing an instrument. You can be as creative with these shots as you like. Remember that a lip syncing master shot is unlikely to work as a mid shot: we won't be able to see the lips! Better yet, make it a close-up (with just the head of your performer), or even an extreme close-up (with just a pair of lips!

2 - Shots establishing a celebrity

Look back at your rough cut, and be brutally honest. Is it clear who the performer is? Do we know who's the celebrity? Or is it just a bunch of people in a park, hanging out, going for a walk?

You MUST establish a personality for your performer. You MUST show the audience that they are special and important. So think: what's the craziest thing you own that you could wear? What makeup could you apply to show your personality? What props could you use to show your power and confidence?

3 - Lots of different shot types

Mid shot, mid shot, mid shot. It's dull, it's repetitive, and it looks nothing like a music video. 

If your music video does not have at least three extreme close ups then you're frankly wasting an opportunity. 

Here are some things which look really good in extreme close up:

• Eyes
• Mouths
• Ears
• Flowers
• Insects
• Flowing water
• Painted nails
• Car engines and bike chains
• Wires
• Coins

Remember, thanks to the magic of Teams and email, you can ask for help and advice from your teacher whenever you need it! Please take advantage of this: you will not get extra marks for never asking for help!