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| Zoella/Sugg's vlogs often start with a montage of 'unedited' candid moments and mistakes, that constructs a laid-back and relatable mode of address for her target audience |
Question - Explore how Zoella utilises genre conventions (note: this question is a little basic, but it does the job!
Underline the key terms
Explore how Zoella utilises genre conventions
Knee jerk reaction
Zoella is highly conventional of the beauty and lifestyle vlogging genre, so as to effectively target and appeal to a younger teenage female audience
Plan
Lexis (childish)
Bright and colourful
Upbeat music
Major key
Stock music
High production values (eg camera)
Rough informal mode of address
MES
Makeup
Beauty genre
Rule of three
Framing
Friendly upbeat performance
Colourful positive outfit
Proairetic code
Hermeneutic code
Parasocial relationship
Direct mode of address
Conventions
Binary oppositions
Genre theory - repetition and difference
Introduction - DAC
Definition, argument, context
D - Genre refers to a specific category of media product. Genres are defined through conventions. Genre is important for producers as it allows them to lure in very specific audiences, and therefore allows producers to minimise risk and maximise profit. A - In this essay, I shall argue that Zoella/Zoe Sugg deliberately follows genre conventions in order to appeal to her vast and enthuseastic target audience. In doing so, Zoella is able to create a positive and relatable mode of address to her target audience. C - Zoella is an online influencer/vlogger who has created a successful brand around beauty and lifestyle. She has changed and evolved considerable over time in order to appeal to her changing and aging audience
Paragraphs - PEA
Point, evidence, argument
One way in which Zoella is highly typical of her genre is through her deliberately quirky and 'unedited' mode of address. This is constructed through the inclusion of a number of interruptions, mistakes and 'bloopers' in her mode of address. In her video 'Stationary Haul', Zoella distractedly rubs her hair while framed in a close up. The video quickly cuts to her introducing herself to her audience through a direct mode of address, whereupon she makes a number of mistakes and is distracted. These mistakes are left in the edit, and are drawn attention to though a montage of highly distracting jump cuts. This amateurish mode of address is further anchored through Zoella's playful performance, where she uses the MES of a box file on her shoulder to pretend that it is a boom box. Furthermore, her childish and unpolished mode of address is reinforced through her exaggerated facial expressions, which are emphasised through a series of close ups directly addressing the audience. Her speech is clear yet clearly unscripted, disjointed and colloquial, with a number of choices of lexis which represent her as being far younger than she actually is. By combining these elements, Zoella constructs a highly relatable mode of address to he target audience. These elements are highly conventional and typical of the fashion and lifestyle vlog genre, and will allow Zoella to effectively target her audience by constructing a highly effective parasocial relationship.
Another way in which Zoella uses specific genre conventions is through the direct mode of address maintained throughout the video, and through the MES of her face...
Yet another way in which Zoella deliberately follows genre conventions to maximise profit is through the highly conventional use of MES