Kiss Of The Vampire Mega Analysis

Super.Human mega analysis

 

Final Advertising Mega Analysis 3000

•  In this session, you will create a visual resource analysisng just a single element of an advert we have studied. 
• These analyses will be combined to create a MEGA ANALYSIS, which will be published on the blog.
• And, in years to come, A-level media studies students (including you) will use them to revise for their final exams, and get amazing grades.
• Because you are producing a resource, you will make it look as visually striking as possible. Basically make it pretty.
• Use VISUAL EXAMPLES for each of these tasks. No big blocks of writing. Label screenshots! Draw little cartoons!
• You only have ONE thing to do, so do it well!
• You will email your resource to your teacher BEFORE the end of the session (so they can collect it all together and publish it to the blog). AND publish it to your blog, to help us know who did what. It forms part of your initial assessment (along with everything else you've done on your blog)

T block - Super.Human

P block - Kiss Of The Vampire

1- Textual analysis - break apart your case study, making reference to every bit of media language you possibly can. Try not to use much theory though. 

2 - Barthe's semiotic theory - give SPECIFIC examples of how this product uses proairetic, hermenutic, symbolic and referential codes.

3 - Levi-Strauss's structuralist theory - Opposites make meaning! Find and give examples of as many binary oppositions as possible! What do they mean???

4 - Hall's representation theory - How are re-presentations encoded in your case study? What stereotypes are used and why? WHAT IS THE IDEOLOGY OF THE PRODUCER? And what claims about REALITY are being made here?

5 - Gauntlett - Identity/pick and mix theory - In what ways can audiences use this case study to construct their own identity? How can audiences respond to the representations in this product? What 'blueprints' or inspirations are encoded in this advert?

6 - Van Zoonen's feminist theory - How are women represented in this product? How does the representation of men and women differ? Does this product reinforce of subvert stereotypes? Do what extent does this product reinforce the notion of a heterosexual male gaze?

7 - Gilroy's postcolonial theory - How are non-white people represented in this advert? What messages and ideologies does this construct? Does this subvert or reinforce stereotypes? How is Britain represented? How are non-British countries represented?

8 - Gerbner's cultivation theory - what ideological perspectives are cultivated in this advert? Does it reflect the dominate idea of society? What would happen if everyone agreed with this message? What are three other products that share this ideological message? What violent or upsetting elements may affect the audience?

9 - Hall reception theory/encoding decoding model - How can different audiences interpret this product in different ways? What is the dominant ideological perspective of this advert? And what tare the preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings?

10 - Hegemony!!! What hegemonic values and expectations are reinforced by this poster? Howe does it 'play by the rules'? This about all elements of media language, because remember, HEGEMONY RUNS DEEP...

11 - Audience - who is the target audience for this product? Secondary audience? What demographics does it appeal to? How does it specifically use audience appeal? How does it position the audience? How does it ensure financial success?

How to get in to game design talk

 Check out this awesome opportunity to hear a talk from a game industry veteran and ask questions too! For everyone even slightly interested in game design, this is a no-brainer/ To be honest, this is going to be fascinating just from a general media studies and sound design perspective. I can't wait!

Kiss Of The Vampire theatrical poster initial analysis

Click image to view full resolution, and save it to your blog

Initial analysis

Run through this list of media language, and find one example for each heading:

• Codes and conventions
• Layout and design
• Composition
• Images/photographs - camera shot type, angle, focus
• Font size, type of font (e.g. serif/sans serif), colour 
• Mise-en-scène – colour, lighting, location, costume/dress, hair/make-up 
• Graphics, logos etc.
• Language – slogan/tagline and copy 
• Anchorage of images and text
• Elements of narrative

Applying theory

Stuart Hall

• What representations are encoded in this poster? 
• Dies this poster use stereotypes? And if so, how and why?
• What messages about society in Britain in 1966 are constructed in this poster?

Liesbet Van Zoonen

To what extent does this poster live up to the following statements:

• "Men and women are constructed differently through media language"
• "Men act, women appear"
• "the sole function of every media product is to appeal to a heterosexual media audience"

Paul Gilroy

Think CAREFULLY: what messages about race, ethnicity, Britain and cultural hierarchies does this poster demonstrate?

Discourse analysis of TV listings (Tuesday 12th October 1993)

These scans were taken from the wonderful Transdiffusion Twitter account (@transdiffusion), who you should totally follow if you're interested in broadcast media archival 

Discourse analysis of UK TV spot advertisements (approx 1993-1994)

 Follow this link to view the adverts

Click to a random bit, and just go nuts.

What messages, values and ideological perspectives do you see REPEATED in these commercials?

How to create a compelling interview

Tips

• For your cross media production, you must construct a convincing and arresting section of a magazine that promotes the artist you have made up. This will take the form of a double page spread interview feature.
•  The specific focus of the interview is your artist's latest music video.
• How did they feel about making the music video? Was it beneath them? Was it all their idea? Was it the greatest thing to ever have happened to anyone ever?
• This interview is an excellent opportunity for you to divulge the ideology that your artist wishes to encode. Representations, narratives, the deeper message... they can be very on the nose!
• Avoid an overly formal tone. The audience wants spicy stories about the music industry!
• Please avoid a simple question answer question format
• Your artist is NEW. Your artist is on an INDEPENDANT label. Your artist is likely to be EDGY or somewhat controversial!

Suggestions

The following three celebrity archetype could help you to write your interview quickly and effectively

Scenario one: the geezer

"Shit", mutters Becky. She's just walked straight in to the table of the crumbling but otherwise pretty nice really Dog and Fist on the corner of Camden High Street. "I'm not usually this drunk, I promise", she slurs... 

Scenario two: the rock god/prima donna

"I really don't wanna be here to be honest. In fact, there's like half a million other places that I'd rather be. No offence." None taken. I'm in the VIP area of Trap Kitchen, Gordon Ramsey's latest project. Jaquavion is has just lit up his third cigarette of the interview, and has put his big, battered Doc Martins on the table. He blows a smoke ring in to the air and then stares at me, cross eyed. "Go on then. Get on with it"

Scenario three: the hothouse orchid 

Robbbin has been staring at their hands for over ten minutes now. From time to time I'm not even sure they're breathing...

Other scenarios could include...

The rude and snappy businessman 
The extremely chilled person
The too-shy-to-be-a-celebrity

Applying Gilroy to American snack food adverts

Paul Gilroy's work and analysis of media products sought to outline the ways in which subtle and not so subtle racism is encoded in media products. Gilroy argues that even long beyond it's colonial period, the UK still is inherently racist in it's discourse, and routinely presents white people as normal and acceptable, and black people as disruptive and different.

Much of Gilroy's most famous work was written in the 1980s, when racism in UK newspapers was barely concealed. This article in The Sun from 1987 casually suggests that black men are a sexual threat, and that the famous poet and activist Benjamin Zephaniah should not be a visiting lecturer at Trinity College, Cambridge, on the basic that he has dreadlocks (and "could do with a good shampoo"). Articles such as this reinforce the ideological perspective that black men are violent, threatening, and above all, different. 

For this activity, students analysed recent junk food adverts screened during the Super Bowl, one of the most watched sporting events in the world, with the most expensive advertising slots in the world. This is an excellent example for advertisers to demonstrate the dominant ideology of the society they are representing, and create an advert that appeals to the biggest, broadest audience possible!

Super bowl Doritos, Lays and Pepsi advert 2022

• In the Doritos, Lays and Pepsi advert, white people are represented as being boring, and 'normal'. A stereotypical white suburban setting is used. Audiences will understand this with being familiar with this stereotype, and it is anchored through the open plan staircase and the simple, straightforward furniture. The MES is neat and tidy, and a bland white colour scheme is used throughout. Their conversation is theatrically bland and boring as they discuss crisps and soft drinks.
• The first black person to enter the advert is represented as being loud, obnoxious, intrusive, chaotic, disruptive... The billowing smoke and and shattered wood resemble the conventions of an action film, which reinforces a representation of black people as being exciting, loud, and obnoxious. 
• After the house is literally demolished by two black visors, the remaining white character tells the audience "I'll tell your mum" which reinforces a stereotype about white people that they are no fun, and respect. However, the binary opposition of this is that the black characters do not respect authority, and are fun and exciting. 
• Another binary opposition is constructed through sound. Black characters are associated with with loud and obnoxious noises, while white characters are constructed through sudden silences. This differences reinforces a perceived difference between quite and black people
• The advert reflects commonly held stereotypes about both white people and black people. However, in doing so, the advert argues that white people are in a position of superiority over disruptive black people. 

Steve Carrel Pepsi advert 2019

• In this advertisement, white people are consistently represented as being boring. This representation is constructed through the lexis, which is consistently formal throughout. This encodes the symbolic connotations that white people themselves are stereotypically formal and even dull. 
• This stereotype is further reinforced through the casting of the waiter. He is physically weak looking, and has an awkward mannerism, which is made clear through how slowly he talks and is further anchored through his confused facial expression.
• The advert is set in a stereotypical American diner, which is made clear through the patriotic colours of red and white. This normal, straightforward and stereotypical setting would be instantly familiar to white working class audiences. 
• However, when BME people enter, the cinematography completely changes. The previously static, formalist shots are replaced with a more fluid and energetic cinematography, where the camera moves and drifts throughout the diner. This exciting change is further anchored through the significant change in costume. Cardi B's elaborate nails and jacket match the red white and blue colour scheme of Pepsi, which reinforces Pepsi as an exciting and interesting branding. 
• The deep, rolling sub bass has symbolic connotations of rebellion and excitement. The volume is excessively loud and over the top, which has connotations of both excitement and also threat. This notion of threat is emphasised through Cardi B's performance, as she assertively bursts through the door, which forms a direct mode pf address with the audience.
• Black people in this advert are represented as being loud, threatening, exciting and extravagant. In doing so, this advert constructs a binary between black and white people, where white people are represented as being 'normal' and relatable, and black people are construct as an other.
• However, black working class audiences may identify with the non-white characters in this advert, and see the white characters as 'other' 

Cheers to P and T block respectively for analysing these adverts! Good job!

Super. Human: initial representational analysis

Who and what is being represented in this promotional video?

• Athletes with a wide range of disabilities 

How is this representation constructed through media language?

• The fast paced editing constructs a a positive and varied ideology around people with disabilities. Fast paced editing is typical of sports movies, and therefore communicates to the audience themes of sport. By contrasting themes of sport , exercise and also disability, the advert encodes themes of difficulty and persistence. This therefore constructs a representation that those with disabilities are strong, powerful, and resilient.
• The choice of soundtrack is upbeat, informal and presents a positive ideological perception of those with disabilities
• In addition to the musical soundtrack, a number of jarring sound effects are including, including alarms blaring, crowd noise, mechanical sounds and so on,. This has the effect of positioning the target audience through a confusing and even annoying mode of address. This provides the audience with valuable insight in to the lives of Paralympians, and further reinforces the ideological representation that life for people with disabilities is challenging. 
• Frequent use of low key lighting throughout the promotional video symbolises a dark, depressing and tough moments that these athletes must suffer through. This is further reinforced through the performance of the athlete slumping her shoulders as if carrying a heavy weight. Picked out with a high key light, the emphasis is made on her facial expressions, which emphasises her as a normal person, which can be relatable for the target audience
• Rapid fire montage of various internal organs and extreme close ups of bleeding body parts constructs an intimidating and even horrifying mode of address for the target audience, forcing them to question exactly why the athletes in this trailer would even participate in this. This therefore represents Paralympians as ruthless and tough. A highly subversive representation of people with disabilities. 
• The MES of blood is used throughout the trailer, in particular in an ECU of a bloody tooth hanging in a socket. This odd tooth has symbolic connotations of differentiation, and clearly depicts how Paralympians are viewed and stereotyped by wider society. 
• Another way in which disabled athletes are represented is being tough and strong. This is most notably constructed through the montage of extreme closeups of the performers faces, which connotes the humanity and personality of the individuals, and how they matter as much as anybody else
• There is a focus on the athletes as individuals, as opposed to including MES of prosthetic limbs and so on. 
• There are a number of unflattering and even grotesque elements of MES, for example an ECU of a camera going down the throat of a performer. This positions the audience literally internally, and able to see the internal organs, as well as the literal blood sweat and tears of the athletes. This connotes that the athletes are truly human.
• A longshot, underwater shot of an athlete swimming while dragging an enormous and heavy medal is lit through low key lighting, which connotes the uncertainty ahead for the athlete. This positions the audience in a relatable and exciting mode of address. 
• A significant contrast between low key training sequences and high key performance sequences functions as a symbolic code, suggesting both the high points and the low points the athletes are facing
• A significant binary opposition is formed between the exciting MES of performance shots, and the dull, depressing MES of the café. where the performer is unable to get over the step of the café on her wheelchair. This contrast reinforces the difficulty that disabled athletes face in everyday life
• Lexis of "you might as well quit" constructs a theme of defiance against common advice, again reinforcing the ideological perspective that these athletes are both human, and...
• Stock footage of armies marching, which presents a reference to discipline and even war, and also uniformity, which creates a complex and even contradictory representation of people with disabilities 

These brief notes are a mash-up of P block and T block's notes. Go you!

KA5: aims and intentions final draft controlled assessment

Rules

• Assessment must be completed in silence
• Assessment must be be between 450 - 550 words
• Headphones may be used, as long as music etc played at a reasonable volume
• You must be in the classroom for the full three hours, except for the short, ten minute break
• Students without extra time will be allowed 90 minutes. Students with extra time will be allowed 112 minutes
• You may access any number of resources during the assessment, including, but not limited to your first draft(s)
• You will submit the A&I by uploading to the relevant folder of your google drive AND emailing your teacher directly with the A&I in the message body 

Resources

• Please check out the coursework tab, and specifically the aims and intentions subheading for important resources

Tips

• Use headphones, and listen to something instrumental