Production Schedule

My show is a sit-com which follows a group of friends who share a house and follow the religious believe of Pastafarianism. The show will me a mixture of toking fun at the religion, yet also making people more aware theme s the religion is constantly interpreted, and I will call it "MEATBALLS (and Pasta)". I will set the comedy show in two scenes, the first is in my house at our dining room table, with the 4 (or 5) friends about to eat their 'holy' meal of Spaghetti and Meatballs and saying 'grace' to their deity, referencing their 'Bible' The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. The second will be in the woods, on a mock pilgrimage to Mount Sala, a religious location referenced in their holy book. I will start filming this week, and I will set the show similar to how spoof comedies set the show,  with a variety of close-ups and mid-shots with a lot of cut-scenes to hilarious and unrelated shots which shows often use to virtually demonstrate a characters train of thought.  

Life On Mars

Life On Mars - Rhys Wallett

The British TV series Life On Mars first aired in 2006, and below I will analyse the pilot episode of the crime drama with reference to technical codes, tropes, narrative and how the show both strays and adheres to the trope of crime drama. 

Firstly, when looking at the protagonist of Life on Mars Sam Tyler, through mise en scene we can infer his character traits and how this links to crime dramas in general. I interpreted Sam as a character who had been a detective for a while and has lost his passion for solving crimes, how I inferred this was in the duo shot with Sam and Maya when Mays quotes "You used to follow your instincts." This quote demonstrates his new found mediocrity he found with working as a detective, and so a trait of his is that he is exhausted. Linking this to conventions, Sam is more of a typical detective in this sense, as the bored detective is one that if fairly common amongst crime drama shows. Additionally, when the pilot episode first begins, there is the impression Sam is more intimidating and cruel then when he is later in the show, evident when he interviews Colin Raynes shot with close-ups with the SFX of a zooming camera. The impression he makes hence is also common in association with the trope of protagonist detectives, hence when establishing the character of Sam the audience get a rather bleak impression, however I sense this is intentional regarding the later twist in the episode.

In regards to target audience, as the target audience was adults, the show attempts to draw in older audiences through various means, the biggest being nostalgia. In Life on Mars, there are vivid references to 1970's society which bring the audience pleasure of nostalgia, an example is the record shop Sam and Annie visit, and the reference to the record shop would make an older audience remember their existence and hence be drawn into the show due to the accurate representation the show provides. They also use conventions of crime dramas to give the audience something to expect and familiarise with, and an example is when Maya goes missing, as it is the suspense in the series created as a result which is what audiences are familiar with and draw audience pleasure with being used to the conventions of crime dramas.

Life on Mars is rife with representation, regarding gender and ethnicity. An example the show uses is the technical opposites of binary opposites, and this appears in the contrast between how women are treated in the workplace in the two different eras. In 2006, through the character of Maya, women are demonstrated as confident and hard-working, creating a positive ideology regarding gender equality. Juxtaposing this, in 1970's London, the representation of women is far more regressive than in the 'modern' era, evident via Sam's first arrival in the 1970's PD, which a panning shot with direct mode of address indicates how the detective force is staffed only by Caucasian men, and an example of their regressive attitude to women is when Annie is mocked when asked to give her professional opinion. The show has included this to demonstrate 1970's England in an honest light, both portraying the positive nostalgia of the '70's mixed with the harrowed truth people prefer not to think about, demonstrating the progression the society has gone through since then. Representation of men is also interesting, especially in regards of the 1970's police force, the most baffling example is through the boss, Sheriff Hunt. The character of Sheriff Hunt displays signs of progression and regression, as an example of his regressive nature is his cruel approach to interrogation to Dolly who uses violence to make her confess, not only that but he frequently addresses women as "birds". However, the audience are confused as to whether or not to like him in the bar scene, when he compliments the black bartender by saying "He's a good lad" and hence strays from the convention of being racist which the majority of the middle aged Caucasian male society members were. This repetitive battle of sympathy therefore has been used by the producers to build suspense and draw the audience, as they are curious to see how the character of Sheriff Hunt will be explored further.

In Crime Dramas, there is a trope that the show will consist of the main investigator, the Boss, the sidekick, the villain and the love interest. In Life on Mars there is an interesting approach to this common standard, yet the show has all of them. Therefore, in this aspect the show is adhering to general crime conventions, a necessary involvement I would assume, granted how the show brings in the supernatural theme of time-travel, and so provides the audience who would already be familiar with crime something to fall back on as the show explores the genre of crime in a new interpretation. 

TV Genres

TV Genres - Rhys Wallett

What TV Genres exist? 

A)

• Sit-Com (Outnumbered)
• Fantasy (Game of Thrones)
• Romance (The Vampire Diaries)
• Gore (Santa Clarita Diet)
• Horror (American Horror Story)
• Tragedy (13 Reasons Why)
• Dystopian (Black Mirror)
• Crime (Sherlock)
• Drama (Gossip Girl)
• Competition (The Great British Bake Off)
• Reality (RuPaul's Drag Race)
• Historical (Reign)
• Documentary (Planet Earth)
• Action (Iron Fist)
• Comedy (Don't trust the b- in apartment 23)

B)

My favourite genres of TV would be a mix of Fantasy and comedy. My reason for this is the TV genre of Fantasy can be an effective mode of escapism, and can use supernatural themes to build up suspense and action. For example, Game of Thrones is one of my favourite TV series because of the mix of all nicher genres it contains: From comedy to gore, horror to romance, the TV series entwines serious dramatic tension alongside mythological tales and fables to grip the viewer into enjoying the series. Additionally, comedy is a widely appreciated TV Genre as it provides their audience with a source of humour and can also provide an easy-watching alternative to a stressed out viewer, rather than a heavy TV series like 13 Reasons Why. Such as The Big Bang Theory, with its light-hearted comedy entwined with education of physics, the show provides humour based off the stereotypical absurdity of the nerdy friends and the juxtaposition of fashionista Penny. 

However, my least favourite genre of TV is reality, as I consider it as a conglomerate technique for attention, and the negatives it promote are too much to be likeable in my view. For example, Love Island does not appeal to me based on its shallow context: Attractive people must form relationships to stay on Love Island, and in my opinion, I just consider this to be tacky. The show's exploitation of love as a concept, and turning it into a means for profit disgusts me, alongside how the majority of Love Island's contestants are attractive, enforcing the negative ideology that only the desirable deserve the chance to stay on Love Island. 

C) 

A Pre-Credit Scene is the scene in a film or series in which is shown before either the opening or ending credits. For example, in Game Of Thrones the opening scene in which we see The Hound join a peaceful village community before the opening credits is a pre-credit scene and its effect is it shocks the audience as it establishes he is still alive, despite his violent near-death experience we saw earlier with his battle with Brienne of Tarth. 

Example Exam Question

Example Exam Question - Rhys Wallett

In Save The Children's 2014 advert, the charity organisation prove to use a wide array of advertising techniques to allow the shock and horror of the advert to persuade the audience to donate to the charity. 

Firstly, the advert demonstrates usage of the 'hard sell' technique. This is effectively conveyed by using quick snapshots, on average a second each, with no music to follow the ad. The effect of this is it constantly keeps the audience alert and gives them no escape from the tragedy conveyed in the advertisement, allowing the audience to be forced emotions of sadness which is associated with hard sell adverts. Furthermore, the melancholy in the advert's main character is outwardly portrayed in a blunt manner once again with the direct address close-ups. An example is one of the mentioned shots which shows a tear rolling down on the little girl who is using direct mode of adreess. This will create a truly tragic image, and as such the advert is playing with the audience's sympathy to convince them to donate. 

In addition, the advert has used audio codes effectively to once again create an image of melancholy typically associated with charity advertisements. This is demonstrated by the saddened voiceover's in the advert, such as when at the end the nurse sings a hollow verse of the song "Happy Birthday". This use of voiceover, alongside the visual codes of the shot which are in a makeshift hospital with a bleak colour palette translate into sadness and isolation, and so the audience will be empathetic with the girl. Plus, the advert have also used the technique of foreshadowing through the news snippets. In certain shots at the beginning of the advert, there is a news channel in the background giving key information. the audience will hence interpret this as a foreshadow for later tragedy, and so this ensures the audience are kept tense at the beginning, rather than relax in the peaceful British middle class lifestyle portrayed at the start as this will then result in the audience being less inclined to alarm when the war torn consequence begins. 

Furthermore, Save the children have used the plot effectively to break common barriers British people have towards donating to international causes. Such barriers which are commonly heard from British civilians include that the crisis does not effect them personally, and they should instead donate to causes in the UK as this benefits them. As a result, Save the Children's decision to place the advert in England is extremely effective as this breaks the barrier and inconsiderate viewpoint of not helping obverses struggles, making an audience who would originally be less inclined to give interest to be forced to give immediate attention. The advert uses visual codes to suggest life in Britain to achieve this, an example is the girl's uniforms. In the close up shot, the miss en scene demonstrates how the young girl is wearing a red cardigan and a polo shirt, stereotypical clothes a primary school student  would wear. Furthermore, the comfortable, middle class living also portrayed in the advert, proven with the homey miscellaneous used in the background of the house also is using stereotypes of England as it is the living conditions the majority of English residents live in. Especially at the end, where graphics of text are used in the sentence "Just because it isn't happening doesn't mean it isn't happening" as this ending sentence establishes the most dialogue and answer the audience's queries as to why a terrorist attack is taking place in England. The effect of all of this is it will pull on the English audience on a more personal manner than if say the advert was set in Syria, as the audience would assumedly feel more inclined towards their own country than others. 

Moreover, Save the Children demonstrate their ideal target

'Legal Clowns' Project - Rhys Wallett, Nudaar Gopee, Hafsa Sheikdon, Ayanna Korsah.

'Legal Clowns' Project - Rhys Wallett, Nudaar Gopee, Hafsa Sheikhdon, Ayanna Korsah

Overview

For our Media project, our group were tasked with creating a film idea, and to produce a series of posters and a trailer alongside detailed analysis of factors to consider. As a group, after brainstorming potential ideas, we decided to make our film fit into the comedy genre, and branching off that we decided to make a legal comedy called 'Legal Clowns'. 

Plot

The plot of our movie Legal Clowns revolves around 4 colleagues at a law firm: Graham, the regular joe trapped in a mediocre position; Alex, the libertarian feminist who asserts her dominance through her intense personality; Neve, the naive lawyer who only sees the good people and is gullible to an extent and Gemma, the new trainee at the law firm brimming with happiness and nervousness. 

After the 4 mentioned characters begin to tire of their position's at the law firm, Alex recommends the 4 lawyers go on a road trip, filled with adventure. Desperate to leave, they agree and as none of them are experienced for the conventions of a road trip, the trip results in being a catastrophic failure rife with humorous events. 

Posters/Advertisement

Considering our advertisement methods, we decided for our posters that we will have 4 individual posters, each focused on one character.  The posters will be similar in design and layout, with a mid shot of said character doing their recognisable pose. Alongside this, each character will have their own unique quote which sums up their character in the middle of the page in hot pink. There will also be two movie ratings which are both 5 stars in the bottom right corner from Daily Mail and Glamour. The final projects are shown below: 

Analysing this, I believe that overall our posters were effective and unique. Our decision to use hot pink for the text is due to hot pink having pragmatics of fun and youth, whilst also standing out to attract an audience. The stars were included as we are attempting to use the psychology behind reviews to support our product. What I mean is that it has been proven that an audience is more tempted to go see if a film if positive reviews are left for it, as it is a stamp of quality.

Genre and Other Considerations

Legal Clowns is a comedy, in particular an inappropriate one. This is demonstrated through our trailer, where the use of wildly inappropriate jokes portray the movie as comedic and embarrassing. Therefore, we have use certain genre conventions to demonstrate to an audience that our movie is a comedy. The first example is the quick cut scenes between the slides with text. This short and snappy use of slides is a convention used for comedic trailers, and so it will establish to the audience our promise of pleasure is that you will laugh.  Plus, we have also used slapstick in 'Legal Clowns', this is evident in the wide shot where Alex throws Graham to the floor to establish dominance. This wacky and idiotic display of power translates to comedy, and so we have also used childish humour alongside innuendo humour.

Plus,  the hyperbolic language in our wide shot in the woods also displays signs of humorous intent. When Graham bellows "We're in the middle of f*cking nowhere!", this displays overexaggeration of aggression,  and the quick cut to the title turns this into a display of humour.

In the trailer we have used stereotypes for the comedy use. Such as Alex, who is a feminist, she constantly goes against the stereotypical view of woman, as she is portrayed as the alpha male. This creates a progressive ideology that women can run in a rework force, hence creating a feminist ideal. Another braking of stereotypes demonstrated is when the character Graham breaks out of the stereotypical view of men, as he cries in the woods. This can be argued  

Analysing "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD"

Analysing 'The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD' - Rhys Wallett

For my chosen game, I will be analysing "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, HD" which was released in 2013 in "The Legend of Zelda" franchise on the Wii U. The Wind Waker HD was released by Nintendo in 2013 to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of the original game "The Wind Waker" available on the Nintendo GameCube, therefore Nintendo have effectively used the selling point of nostalgia as remaking and improving the retro game released in 2002-2003 allows older audiences who had previously enjoyed the game to replay it with improved 1080p graphics, extras and general improvement, and so will prompt them to purchase the game on the Wii U console. 

In addition, Nintendo has been able to use the already successful "The Legend of Zelda" to attract loyal consumers for The Wind Waker HD as they would be excited to either relive the game for older audiences and allows a younger audience to be tempted to play this game and purchase it. This was also effective by Nintendo as in 2017, 29% of people who play video games were 18 and under, therefore the decision to rerelease The Wind Waker on the new Wii U would attract a younger audience. Plus, The Wind Waker HD was one of the first games to be released alongside the Wii U, hence why they also released a Wind Waker themed Wii U console, with the Wii U Gamepad being designed with aspects from The Wind Waker shown below: 

This shows that Nintendo was attempting to use their successful "The Legend of Zelda" franchise to boost the sales of the Wii U (with around 65 Million units being sold amongst the different Zelda games over 25 years.). However, this did not go as well as Nintendo would have hoped, with the release of the Wii U being relatively poor ( with 16 million units being sold.)

Game Play

The game is played in 3rd person format as you control the main avatar link through the fantasy world which is referred to as the 'New Place'. Nintendo's choice of animation was very well received by fans and customers to its utter unique layout, with strong primary colours, simplistic animation of objects and the music playlist for The Wind Waker HD which can make the audience associate certain feelings regarding the situation. EG: When sailing in daylight, the tune is happy, regal and easily discernable, however in frozen Hyrule, it's eerier which makes the theme of suspense prevalent.

In addition, on both the original GameCube version and 'The Wind Waker HD' on the Wii U, the actual controls are relatively simplistic and easy to get, with no extremely advanced moves which can confuse starting players. This can help Nintendo push their product as it advertises how this game can be both for professional Zelda players and beginners.

Plot 

The plot of 'The Wind Waker HD' is rather unique from other games. The game starts with the main avatar (whose default name is Link but can be changed by the customer before GamePlay) asleep on a remote island in a blue poncho. This is different from the other 'The Legend of Zelda' as it first strays from the all too famous outfit of Link: a green tunic, elf hat and beige boots and trousers.

In addition, instead of the primary mission being to rescue Princess Zelda like most Zelda games (Eg: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild), whilst that is the end mission, the first turning point of the games is when Link's sister Aryll is snatched by the Helmaroc King and taken to the Forbidden Fortress, where the famous villain Ganondorf firsts resides. This allows a somewhat new plot for the consumers to follow, which is effective as it allows a fresh outlook to be added to the Legend of Zelda franchise, which prevents fans from tiring as the games are too similar. On the other hand, Nintendo is also effective in preventing the fan's concerns about 'The Wind Waker HD' straying too far from traditional Zelda games by including the character of Princess Zelda later, and as the final end mission is to slay Ganondorf and rescue Princess Zelda like most traditional games, this allows the familiarity of the games to pass through, which consumers love.

Type of Game

The Wind Waker HD can fit into many of the gaming categories. the first one can be fantasy and it is fantasy because it is set in the make-believe world of the 'New Place'. With Dragons, Spirits and supernatural creatures (such as wise talking trees and living sailboats.), this allows the macabre element of fantasy to be embedded in this game. In addition, the actual Wind Waker which the title stems from is fantastical and supernatural also as it is a device that allows you to change the direction of the wind which allows you to sail in whichever direction you choose, and can be used to solve certain puzzles.

The game can also fit into the category of Adventure as the game provides you with a huge ocean to explore alongside the missions. Plus, The Wind Waker HD provides you with many other bonus missions, with examples being to feel all the fish in certain squares to get the full map of the New Place and upgrading your Beedle Membership card. These extra missions allow the consumer to play the game in their own time and choose to do the additional missions and enjoy more of the game.

Lastly, the game can also be counted as a Combat game due to how your avatar must fight monsters, sea mutants and bosses in order to win the game. Throughout the game, Link must attack these monsters for both bonus missions and main missions, therefore this safe violence can count it as a combat game. However, this term would be used loosely as the game does not include blood, gore or extreme violence, almost childlike violence instead, hence why the game has a PEGI rating of 7.

Overview Of Video Game Terminology

Overview of Video Game Terminology - Rhys Wallett

Key Terms

Avatar - The characters(s) which you play as or play in a game.

Audience Appeal - What a game will add to its creation or advertising to attract them and purchase the Videogame.

Genres: Categories of games based on the way their played, the ideals are shown and the layout of the game-play.

  Examples include:

• Survival Horror - A game (typically 3D shooter) must survive numerous armies of monsters or enemies and survive till the game's completion (eg: COD: World at War)
• Exercise - Games that allow players to have pleasure of exercise in the games and revolves around exercise and workout's to improve the player's health (eg: Wii Fit)
• MMPORG - A game that millions of players can play simultaneously amongst each other and interact on the WWW (eg: World of Warcraft)

Augmented Reality - A game that uses the real world as we see it as a platform, with most AR games adding virtual miscellaneous to a genuine setting (eg: Pokemon GO)

Retro - Video Games created a few years ago and are out of date and not up to par with modern gaming, however, are still loved by players for nostalgia (eg: Mario 64)

History + Industry

Technological Changes - How consumers method of playing video games has changed and advanced as technological breakthroughs have occurred through the years.

Audience Changes - How a game has changed its target or primary audience due to changes in the gaming industry and game in question, and society's interpretation of Video gaming.

Modern Industry - The state of the Videogame industry today

Marketing + Distribution - Looks at how games are advertised to appeal to their chosen target audience and looks at the selling and the success of a Videogame with its customers.

Applying The Hypodermic Needle Theory To Representation Of Veterans In The Media

Applying The Hypodermic Needle Theory To Representation Of Veterans In The Media - Rhys Wallett

In the Media, we can see how the Hypodermic needle theory has been used to create a generally progressive representation of Veterans. For example, when looking at this advert from National Geographic, we can see how a representation of heroism is demonstrated in the sub-title "Remarkable Stories of Heroism, Sacrifice, and Honor." The three abstract nouns "Heroism, Sacrifice, and Honor", which have pragmatics of nobility and bravery create a progressive ideology that all war Veterans are heroes who deserve respect and adoration. Therefore, the media is using the Hypodermic Needle as it is injecting an idea that becoming a Veteran is the heroic option in society and it is subconsciously persuading the viewer to join the army.

Plus, patriotism is also shown in this advert, by the CVI which is a mid shot of a soldier using indirect mode of address waving The American Flag. This is effective as The American Flag has connotations of patriarchy, pride and nobility, therefore this advert is demonstrating that Veterans make America proud, which allows the Hypodermic Needle Theory to suggest how they are attempting to embed an idea of Veteran heroism in the viewer's brain, which also doubles as an effective form of persuasion to join the army.

However, we can also see how Veterans are also represented in different ways on different media forms. For example in the Netflix show One Day at a Time, they have attempted to prove how War Veterans are just like everyone else and instead of creating an ideal that Veterans are heroes, they are just normal people:

In this trailer, for example, they show a more serious, truthful side to being a Veteran when Penelope says "I went to war. I got hurt. And when I got back, there was an organisation set up to help me and other veterans get the help we need.". This provides evidence of an attempt to highlight the underbelly of being a veteran: the fact that it can destroy you, physically and mentally. Therefore, when applying the Hypodermic Needle Theory to this trailer, we can see how Netflix has attempted to break from the generally progressive, heroic portrayal of Veterans and has instead decided to show how they are just people who need some compassion like the rest of us. This ideal is also enforced by Netflix's decision to make Penelope a mum as this shows how Veterans are like the rest of us. This is shown in the mid shot with Lydia, Elena and Penelope when she celebrates when Elena gets accepted into the "Young Voices" programme.

In addition, there is also the progressive representation of ethnicity in relation to the Veteran community. This is proven when we get hints that the Alvarez family are Cuban, such as how Penelope is called the racist term 'Maria' and rants about it to Dr Berkowitz in his office. While is regressive to society, we can see how it is progressive for Veterans as it shows how American soldiers can be of many ethnicity's, and so breaks the general view of Veterans, which is stereotypically a white Caucasian male. Plus, it also allows feminism to be portrayed by having the soldier in question be a proud mum which suggests a progressive representation of women's equality in our society today.

Analysis of Newspaper Front Covers

Analysis of Newspaper Front Covers - Rhys Wallett

When analyzing the front cover for the May 19th, 2017 edition of the 'Daily Mail', we can see how the right wing persona of the newspaper is enveloped in this front cover and we can analyze how the newspaper has used numerous media techniques to effectively attract an audience. An example is the effective use of font to creature an effective brand image, such as how the masthead 'Daily Mail' is written in a decorative font. This is effective as it adds connotations of creativity, newness and individuality, subconsciously telling the reader that the Daily mail is individual and strays from the fellow newspapers, thus providing news you can trust. Plus, the use of serif font in the title "At last, a PM not afraid to be honest with you" is effective as serif font has pragmatics of wealth, sophistication and tradition which tells the reader that they are a successful newspaper and the sophistication associated with serif font will link to a target audience in the higher social demographic classes (A-B) which will allow them to sell more copies.

In addition, the magazine in question proves to be associated with society's interpretation of the right wing due to the CVI of a close-up shot of Prime Minister Theresa May with the aforementioned title next to the shot. The title hence suggests that previous Prime Ministers such as David Cameron lied to us previously and so The Daily Mail has proven to support and 'sell' May almost and as the subtitle "a better deal for 'mainstream Britain'" shows how they support Brexit, it creates the impression that the Daily Mail is right wing as a more open, left-wing audience would have voted against Brexit.

Plus, we can see how the Daily Mail has decided to link to right-wing pleasure of tradition rather than the left-wing pleasure of newness and change through images such as The Crown and Lion silhouette  found in between the masthead as this has pragmatics of regality and traditional Britain, hence the decision to include an infamous sigil used to represent Britain for Centuries proves how they are applying to a target audience who would primarily value British tradition (which unfortunately closely links to a primarily Conservative, right-wing audience).

9/1/18

Now, we can also see how the 'Daily Mail' has appealed to their audience's needs through the plug "The Healthy Gut Diet" as this shows that the target audience of the Daily Mail are in need of health care and advice, due to said target audience being older, right wing businessmen.

However, when we look at the front cover for the May 23rd, 2017 edition the 'Daily Mirror', we can see how the left-wing newspaper has used different techniques to effectively appeal to their juxtaposing target audience than that of the 'Daily Mail'. For example, the sans serif font used in the masthead 'Daily Mirror' is an example of this, as sans-serif font has pragmatics of modernity, therefore we can see how this is effective in linking to a reformer audience, who would be the audience most attracted to the 'Daily Mirror', due to their left-wing nature, equal outlook and generally progressive method of telling recent news. Plus, how they've also used serif font in the subtitle 'PM FLIP-FLOPS AGAIN' is interesting as this is the only example of serif font used on this front cover, and as it links to Prime Minister Theresa may (From which it is obvious they dislike due to the choice to make the CVI an embarrassing mug shot of the PM) it could be a subtle satire. My theory for such is that as serif font links to tradition, the decision to use a negative comment on the PM in a traditional font could show how the Mirror is 'mocking' how May is 'upholding' British tradition.

Furthermore, the 'Daily Mirror' also prove to promote their brand image in a more blunt manner than that of the 'Daily Mail'. This is evident in the slogan of the magazine, which is 'Fighting For You'. This blatant call out to the reader proves how the Daily Mirror is putting an increased focus on selling themselves that the Daily Mail and so this promise to the audience allow the target audience to trust the magazine and so will prompt them to purchase the newspaper.

Aa a left-wing newspaper, this means that they value modern, considerate ideals which focus more on equal portrayal of people regardless of race, sex or sexuality and promote a progressive ideology.

Applying Media Theory to Advertising Media

Applying Media Theory to Advertising Media - Rhys Wallett

When using Emilie Autumn's music video for Fight Like A Girl, found in her 2012 album of the same name as an advertising product from which we can apply Media Theory too, we can see how the only music video of Emilie Autumn is rife in semiotics, iconography, and representation which would allow many media theorists (Hall's and Gauntlett's theories in particular) to use this to support their viewpoints.

Starting with Hall's Reception theory, you could argue that Autumn's dominant view would ideally be that an audience would be alarmed by the extreme difference of this music video compared to others, and so would check out Autumn's other works and purchase her albums. However, it is easy to assume how an oppositional viewpoint would be they would be deterred by the violence and Gothic layout to the music video and would be fearful of Autumn and hence would not support her.  Plus, Autumn has been able to effectively encode many ideas which link to her brand image which an audience would effectively decode, such as how we can use the wide shot of Autumn with which the mise en scene shows her performing in uneasy clothing, which gives of a disturbing brand image. In fact, there is an abundance of evidence to support how the music video portrays Emilie Autumn's brand image as being creepy, and thus allows an audience to use Hall's theory to decode ideas about her. Such as how in the duo mid shot towards the end where the mise en scene shows the imprisoned Emilie Autumn being forced to make out with the prison guard, with the clever graphics of "W14A" being effective intertextuality to Autumn's novel The Asylum For Wayward Victorian Girls shown in the background. This scene would be typically decoded by the audience as horrific, uneasy and unethical and so gives the audience the impression of her music being niche and that of the Gothic genre and thus would ideally either create a Dominant or at least Negotional response from her target audience which would both result in checking out the artist and the other albums with examples being Opheliac and Your Sugar Sits Untouched .

Meanwhile, when applying Gauntlett's Identity Theory to Fight Like A Girl, we can consider how the producers have effectively shaped Autumn's identity as both a person and a producer and what emanates what pragmatics. For example, Autumn has decided to make all the females in the music video as either being mentally insane patients shown in the close-up shot of Autumn being strangled by the male guard at the door where the background shows the mise en scene of fellow mentally insane women being violently abused while they all wear rags which would be considered to be prison uniform and have messy hair. Or they are represented as wards of a mental health facility shown by the duo mid shot of the two wards which the mise en scene shows them looking up at unison using indirect mode of address. As these representations are negative primarily if an audience's 'Pick & Mix' of media was limited to propaganda like this with Gothic, unsettling images like Fight Like A Girl then they could identify women as either being mentally insane or strict wards, and if they aren't insane they're homosexual shown by the duo shot of the wards being sexually aroused when seeing the mentally insane patients change, therefore this is hugely negative as it creates a colossal dichotomy of status amongst men and women so prevalent in the media today. Therefore if they limited themselves to media similar to music videos like this, they will be convinced men are the sane leaders of the world, while the women are mentally insane nuisances which would cause sexist ideologies to be implanted in the viewer's brain, despite the seemingly sounding feminist song.

Meanwhile, when we apply Barthes', Halls' and Gerbner's Media Theories to the trailer for the 2005 production of Pride & Prejudice we can see how the infamous novel by Jane Austen which has been adapted into movie form allows their effective media theories to convey the desired details of the respective theories.

When looking at Barthes' Semiotics Theory, we can see how they used the cliff shown in the wide panning shot which shows the main character, Elizabeth Bennet, using indirect mode of address which the mise en scene shows her standing on the end of a colossal cliff to add effect to the trailer. This is shown by how the pragmatics of a cliff is the brink of mental consciousness and sudden end. Thus, this allows the audience to infer the idea that Elizabeth is contemplating huge personal dilemmas and stressful thought which they will then link to her inner battle about whether or not she loves Mr. Darcy which advances in the audience's devotion in their relationship. Plus, you can use the semiotics of the weather too in the trailer for Pride & Prejudice as an example shown by how in the mid shot of Mr. Darcy and Bennet arguing via "Do you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your circumstances?", in the layout of the shot, there is the visual code of rain which allows connotations of rain (which are melancholy, misery and degradation)  to be added into this scene which an audience could infer as to how there arguing is causing deep sadness for them both as they love each other. In contrast, sunlight has also been effectively used in this trailer shown in the mid duo shot of the two with the sun's light shining behind them as they are about to kiss. This is extremely effective as the pragmatics of love as redemption, savior and joy and therefore adds to the effect of the scene where they acknowledge there love for each other and allows an audience to be further emotional and happy about their success in love then if the sunlight wasn't there.

Next, when looking how Hall's Representation Theory, we can see how similar to Barthes' theory, signs such as the opening wide shot which the mise en scene shows a horse and carriage allowing the codes of the 18th Century to arrive in the trailer, as contextually they were the primary form of transport in the 18th Century.  Therefore, this forewarns an audience whom would not have already been aware of the context of Pride & Prejudice that the movie will be set in classical times. Plus, we can use how the stereotype of men back in 1797 create meanings of the community, as we can see how the stereotype that rich men wear suits is shown through the wide shot which the mise en scene shows Mr. Darcy in the center using direct mode of address and wearing a penguin suit. Thus, this allows the meanings of the stereotype to be brought into the movie as it gives the men meaning in the sense that their purpose in the world is to amuse, dance and celebrate while looking sophisticated and formal at all times. We can also see how the fact that stereotypes were based on inequalities is a tradition still being upheld in this trailer for Pride & Prejudice as there is a definite sense of power difference amongst Elizabeth Bennet and Lady Catherine de Bourgh shown in the close up scene of the two women's discussions where Lady Catherine says "Do you think his union can be prevented by a young women of inferior birth?" showing how the stereotype that the rich dominate the poor is shown in this, which is based off an inequality of class and thus, shows how stereotypes reducing people is shown in this trailer as Lady Catherine's class allows her to be cruel and pompous enough to insult Elizabeth purely based on class which reduces Elizabeth's character to working class.

Lastly, let's look at Gerbner's Cultuation Theory and how it applies to the trailer for Pride & Prejudice. When you look at how 'Repetition of Representations' has been used in this, you could argue that this enforces the classical idea that women back in 1797 had a primary purpose of looking for a man, shown by the narrator says "In an era when marrying a man was the most a women could hope for." which is, while contextually true, still regressive towards the representation of women as this idea is similarly repeated in the trailer for the 2002 production of The Importance Of Being Earnest  and the trailer for the  2011 production of What's Your Number?. Therefore, as this idea that women's sole purpose is to marry a man, this changes the audience's perception of women in a regressive way, and instead of encouraging how independent women are, it enforces regressive stereotypes of women and so the audience's perception of women could be changed to the ideology that a women's sole purpose to live is to be wed to successful men.

Extension Task: 8/12/17

Extension Task: 8/12/17 - Rhys Wallett

In the trailer for the movie Dorian Gray released in 2009, we can see how the trailer has been similar and different than that of the film poster released alongside it to promote the movie and how the trailer has effectively used visual codes, semiotics and other media techniques to attract audiences.

For starters, when considering the presentation of the macabre in the trailer and how the same theme is shown in comparison to the film poster, we can see how the supernatural is present in the trailer, with an example being in the wide shot which the mise en scene shows a butler holding a metal plate from which Dorian Gray's true appearance gleams off, causing him to go into shock shown by the close-up shot of the glass smashing as a result. This is intriguing as this can link to the essential picture which is vital to the story, which has no link in the film poster. Furthermore, in the film poster, the macabre of the eponymous character Dorian Gray is shown in an entirely different manner, with the mid shot of Dorian Gray using direct mode of address and the post-production technique of having his torso deteriorate from him and have the black crumbles move towards the fearful manor being the evidence of this. However, in the trailer, we see no physical evidence of his body singing away from him in this matter, and therefore an audience would be able to identify that this post-production technique is, in fact, a visual metaphor of the corruption of Dorian Gray's soul as Lord Henry Wotton's persuasion and Dorian's repressed sexual desires result in his demise in Dorian Gray. 

Furthermore, we can use the horrifying and extremely Gothic manner shown in the wide shot of the background of the film poster as a difference between the poster and trailer as in both the trailer for, and the actual movie Dorian Gray, there is no reference to a manner of Gothic design and therefore the film trailer is misleading in the premise of the plot of the movie, which the deteriorating torso of Dorian also supports. I feel that this has been intentional as the vagueness of these indications of stereotypical horror allows a secondary audience to become intrigued by the complete sinistral of these iconography's and so will be prompted to watch the trailer and the movie as the juxtaposition between the trailer and poster ion this sense may have been intentional as it will cause a now stressed audience to watch the movie to discover whether or not the iconography of the macabre shown in the poster will be present in the movie or not. This proves that they are using sheer curiosity as their advertising technique, which is a common but effective technique in trailers and advertisements. 

Secondly, when looking at how semiotics have been used effectively in the film poster and trailer and how they differ, we can infer further differences between the respective media products. Such as how in the film trailer, for example, we can use the semiotics of objects such as the essential painting, shown in the close up of the picture's eyes through which the mise en scene shows the star vehicle Ben Barnes caressing with his index finger. The semiotics of this is of true importance, as the pragmatics of portraits are memory, remembrance and ideality, by which I mean that a typical portrait would never age and remain in its form forever, however as any The Picture of Dorian Gray fan would know, that exact point is the most major point of the play and shows the corruption and consequence if we embedded our ageing to a portrait. Therefore these semiotics are effective as it allows the pragmatics linked to said semiotics to be exploited for the movie regarding the picture which surmises the majority of the plot. However, when looking at the semiotics in the film poster such as the red dress which is shown on the character Emily, we can infer other meanings to the movie as a result. The pragmatics of a red dress are class, wealth and most importantly, sexual desire as psychologically, humans subconsciously consider a red dress to be the most sexually desirable than a dress of another colour. As a result, it allows an audience to ponder why the producers decided to have the late love interest, Emily Wotton dressed in a dress which is a blend of wealthy and promiscuous, with a potential argument being as to how Emily causes Dorian to fall in love with her with her colourful personality and could be a close to Dorian's sexual success and attraction which increases as the movie progresses, her personality is an absorber of Dorian's attraction and devotion, hence why the semiotic of a red dress has been included to give a potential foreshadowing of the emotional envelopment Emily will have on Dorian towards the end of the movie. 

Next, we can use post-production and visual techniques such as the graphics used in both Dorian Gray's trailer and poster to emanate similarities and differences respectively. Such as how in the film poster firstly, we can use the main use of the graphics of the title "Dorian Gray" written in the decorative font. The said decorative font is intriguing as it has tendencies of the serif font, proven by the little add-ons to the text, has a subtle hint of block cursive font shown by the drag of the end of the 'r' in Gray, yet overall the font gives off a certain Gothic look. This is effective as it foreshadows a Gothic/thriller type movie and juxtaposes from the frilly cursive font which is commonly associated with either classy or comedy movies. Plus, a similar but brighter font has been used for the poster's tagline "FOREVER YOUNG, FOREVER CURSED."  which is also effective as the vague quote allows pragmatics of mystery and suspense to be given to the poster which represents the movie, allowing the poster to be mysterious which once again links to the audience technique of curiosity to attract potential viewers as their target audience will be interested in the vague quote and will be tempted to watch the movie to find out the context behind the statement if they are not familiar with the plot for Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray,  of which it is based on. 

Similarly, in the trailer, the same Gothic, decorative font has been used for nearly all of the lines used in the trailer with a few examples being "His Face Unforgettable", "Forever Perfect" and "Forever Cursed". However this trend of their unique font is broken at the very end when they reveal the title "Dorian Gray", when at the start of the showing of the title graphics, the font is identical to that of the previous statements, however the title begins to wither and decay further on in the trailer which is effective as it is a link once again to Dorian Gray's withering and corrupting soul and has pragmatics of supernatural, impurity and horror, which also could be argued as an odd form of establishing shot, as while it doesn't establish the set of Dorian Gray, it establishes the genre of the movie: Fantasy Thriller. 

So in conclusion, there are arguably numerous similarities and differences between the film poster and film trailer for the 2009 movie production of Dorian Gray and how the producers have decided to use different specifics of stereotypical goth in the respective forms of media to provide the right level of context and foreshadowing to the plot in both to allow the intrigue of audiences to be just at the right consistency to convince them to purchase access to the movie.  

A Look At Film Media Based On Work By Oscar Wilde

A Look At Film Media Based On Work By Oscar Wilde - Rhys Wallett

When analysing the film poster shown above for the British film Dorian Gray released in 2009 (based on Oscar Wilde's The Picture Of Dorian Gray), we can infer how the producers have effectively used and juxtaposed from stereotypes of the fantasy/thriller genre Dorian Gray fits into.

Firstly, when looking at the visual codes such as layout and design, we can use the effective background shown to indicate target audiences, in which case is Englishmen, particularly those who reside in London. This is evident by how in the back of the wide shot, we can make out the shape of the infamous tower Big Ben which is commonly associated with London. This, therefore, tells us that the target audience is people who live in - or know a great deal about - English culture. This has been included, as the novel it is based off is set in Victorian London, and so they are referencing the novel and proves to Oscar Wilde fans they are sticking close to the novel, satisfying this audience expectation that Wilde fans would have. However, this is juxtaposed by the inside reference of Emily, who is the secondary character which the mise en scene shows her wearing a red dress which contrasts her father, Henry Wotton beside her, and both links to and juxtaposes the eponymous character, Dorian Gray as evident by the mise en scene of Dorian Gray, with the visual codes of costume highlighting his red scarf with matches with Emily's dress, but his black coat linking to Lord Henry Wotton. This is an inside reference which only proper Wilde fans would understand as in the novel, Lord Henry Wotton has no child and so an unaware audience would assume it is on par with the script, however, advanced Wilde fans would be able to recognise this is not the case.

Furthermore, we can prove the genre of Dorian Gray is fantasy/thriller by the layout on the other side, with the mise en scene showing a darkened, sinister fortress with a dragon sigil on a statue as the CVI for the fortress. This allows pragmatics of fear and horror to emanate from the poster and allows the film to be advertised as belonging to the thriller category. Plus, the star vehicle Ben Barnes also shows themes of thriller and macabre in numerous ways, the most blatant of which is in his mid shot with which the mise en scene shows his torso being flaked and singed away from him in a diagonal line across his torso. This is very intriguing as it is in itself, a visual metaphor for corruption and degradation, thus fitting in the category of horror, particularly the mental corruption commonly associated with the horror genre. This USP of the poster is so unique and effective however that it would not be foolish to argue that the deteriorating torso is the poster's 'hook' as it is in itself a virtual cliffhanger as their target audience would be intrigued to find out why he is corrupt, and how he becomes this degraded and broken. Plus, it's also interesting that they have called the movie Dorian Gray, unlike the novel it's based off called The Picture of Dorian Gray. This would have been made intentional as a Wilde fan (or an audience who would have read the infamous novel) would be aware that plot-wise, the majority of the plot revolves around Dorian Gray and his infamous picture, with which he trades his soul so that the picture of him will age, yet he will not. However, the producers and advertisers have decided to make absent any link, reference or suggestion towards his picture which will result in his demise. This, therefore, allows them to make a cliffhanger in itself, as their target audience would be literate lovers with an acceptable knowledge of Wilde's work who would generally be older, therefore the absence of any indication of a painting is effective, as this target audience will be curious as to whether or not they will adhere to the novel and revolve the novel around said picture (which they do but not nearly as much as the book would have intended.) and so will pay to watch it to see if the plot will match, they have used sheer curiosity for correct closure from the audience's behalf to sell their film product, which is a very unique and interesting selling gambit.

Star billing/ Star Vehiclising has also been used in this film poster which is evident by not only the eponymous character played by Ben Barnes, whom a large audience would be able to link to his previous infamous role as Prince Caspian in the hugely successful The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian  therefore, they have used the famous actor to allow audiences to recognise Ben Barnes and use their fond knowledge of Ben Barnes to assist in their decision to purchase entry to watch the movie.

In addition, star billing has also been used in the text that reads not only "Ben Barnes" but  "Colin Firth" as well in serif font above the title. Colin Firth has also been used as a marketing gambit as shown as a secondary image in the mid shot at the back, using direct mode of address. This has been effective as a typical British audience, especially the target audience explained above, would be aware of Colin Firth's numerous and famous works with examples being Nanny McPhee, Kingsman: The Secret Service and The Importance of Being Earnest which will be analysed below. The last example is especially important as Wilde fans of the same category would have assumedly watched the 2002 production of Wilde's infamous comedy The Importance of Being Earnest which also stars Colin Firth as the main character, therefore the decision to use Colin Firth in another film product based on Wilde's work will allow pre-roped Wilde fans who like Firth to be drawn in to this new movie released in 2009, therefore they have used the cast as an effective way of advertising.

Lastly, the absence of expert criticism in this film poster is more effective than if it was included as that in itself is a Mark of Quality. You could argue that the decision to leave out expert criticism means that the film is so good, you don't need to listen to other people's opinions due to the film being great anyway. Plus, while the movie is stand-alone and independent, it is in its own weird way, a 'sequel' of sorts to their 2002 movie The Importance of Being Earnest which is based off the same author, and so the fantastic reviews from that movie would be carried over to this new movie and therefore the mark of quality is that if you loved the first adaptation of Wilde's comedy, you'll also like this adaptation of Wilde's infamous horror and thriller The Picture of Dorian Gray. 

However, when we analyse the film trailer for the 2002 production of The Importance of Being Earnest, we can see that extremely juxtaposing techniques have been used effectively in this trailer and see how factors such as audience expectations, genre indications and Lexis have been used extremely different than that of Dorian Gray to promote Wilde's most famous comedy.

Firstly, we can infer target audience from this film trailer and I will argue that said target audience is late youth, middle-class audience who would be at least social demographic class A. The evidence

for such is how the voiceover tells us in the wide shot with Colin Firth using indirect mode of address in the low-angle shot of him staring at renaissance paintings by "And perfect manners", which is context to the plot and premise of the movie. This proves how the target audience would have a sense of aura about them as the target audience would adhere by and appreciate the morals portrayed in this advert, and as that links to wealth and decency, it would not be foolish to assume that the target audience would have access to money.

Further evidence can be shown in visual codes such as iconography in the advert when the title of the movie is revealed in salmon pink fancy cursive. This is effective as the cursive font is commonly associated with wealth and so the decision to use one of England's classiest fonts tells us that this movie would be intended to those of middle class and those who have had/ or are in expensive education. Age wise, you could argue how the target audience is wealthy 30 years old to the elderly with the narrator saying "But this isn't Jane Austen's England." as this joke would only be apparent to those who are highly educated in classical literature and can appreciate Jane Austen and her infamous novels, therefore the target audience would not be ideally youthful teenagers as they would stereotypically be aware of classicism and literature enough to appreciate the inter textual reference, instead those of considerable years of age will have had time to learn about said history.

When looking at genre indications, we can easily infer that The Importance of Being Earnest  is a comedy, in particular, Epigrammatic humour which is supported by when Algernon the insulting but clever declarative "The only way to behave to a woman is to make love to her if she's pretty and someone else if she's plain.". This sentence tells us that Epigrammatic humour has been effectively used in this film trailer as they are using witty statements about morals to invoke laughter from the audience's behalf, which is a very classy and reserved for of humour, way more austere than Juvenile humour for example. This can also link to audience expectation as their target audience would be similar to that of Dorian Gray: literate civilians who have moderate/advanced knowledge of  Oscar Wilde and his work and therefore as they would knowledgeable of the class and morals in Victorian England in which it is set, and further away of how The Importance of Being Earnest  is a satirical comedy, they would expect the movie to be a spoof of class, presentation and social views, therefore the use of said witty statement allows the audience expectation of the movie to be light-heartily classy is satisfied.

It can also be proven to be a comedy through the audio codes of the film trailer, as throughout the trailer we can hear a non-diegetic opera of sorts being played constantly, with the lead being a violin solo. As the song played is one of typical class and the music being enjoyable and happy, allows a more joyful sound to the trailer to be made which assists in telling the audience the obvious point that this movie product is comedic, and their 'promise of pleasure' is that you will get laughter, humour and satirical joy from this Epigrammatic satire, which is widely considered Oscar Wilde's masterpiece of a comedy.

Analysis of Print and Moving Image Adverts

Analysis of Print and Moving Image Adverts - Rhys Wallett

In this ad from "Salvations Army", we can decode how they have used certain media techniques to promote this charity which care for the poor. For starters, we can analyse how they have deeded to use the colour rule of three with black, red and white which have pragmatics of nuance, simplicity and tradition. Therefore, this allows a juxtaposition from tradition and abstractness to be shown in the advert as the abstract can be argued by how Salvation Army have gone for the unusual decision to make the CVI a small collection kettle which is insignificant enough to allow lots of white space to be shown in the ad, connoting class.

Class can also be shown with the decision to make the main headline which says "When you put money in our kettle, expect change." be written in serif font, which has connotations of class and sophistication. Yet this decision to make the advert sophisticated is interesting as a typical charity do not care about formality or manner, especially Salvation Army who care for the poor and homeless, thus the class act is intentional to tell their target audience charity is not the grunge, displeasing stereotype we commonly associate with it, and how charity deserves to be respected and listened to.

Furthermore, the choice to use a quirky yet powerful pun in the heading (with the pun 'change' being a link to change in the world and change from your pocket) is effective as it allows a 'riddle' of sorts to be embedded in the title, giving them the audience pleasure we receive when we decode a hidden message in an advert, which will then lead them to consider the seriousness of the situation and therefore they have used the puzzle of the pun to grab an audience's attention to donate towards their charity. 

Simplicity is a huge part to this advert and its effectiveness. There appears to be no demonstrative action, nor intertextuality, or even applying to fear or desire many advertisers do. Just a red kettle with a powerful heading and some disclaimers at the bottom. The simplicity is effective as it ensures that an audience does not tire of, or get confused by an advert that would be more complex, and is able to use the white space to grab an audience's attention as it is an easy peruse, yet still allowing iconic representation of the charity to be effectively portrayed with their USP being a red kettle as the CVI.

Plus, they have also broken the rules of the 'soft sell/hard sell' paradigm in this advert as stereotypically, charity adverts use hard sells and leech of the audience's feelings of melancholy, empathy and woe to push them to donate towards their cause, however in this advert, hard sell does not prove to be used as there is nothing an audience would feel especially glum about, nor it is a soft sell as it also prevents feelings of pride and self confidence to be inherited for the audience, it fits into neither category. I feel this is effective as it allows cold facts to be the focus and dismisses the emotional response they egg from the audience, allowing a straight up and therefore effective advert to be produced and distributed.

In this Boohoo TV advert however, from their advertising campaign "WeAreUs", we can infer different advertising techniques used to effectively sell their product and see how it primarily differs from the advertising techniques used in the Salvation Army's print ad.

Firstly, demonstrative action is shown in this advert in the close up tracking shot of the women walking in her wedges from Boohoo. This is effective as it allows there products to be shown in use, thus highlighting what you would look like in them, which would give an audience the knowledge and security that there products are usable and pretty when worn, and therefore will provide a target audience with insurance when purchasing their products.

Plus, we can also use visual codes such as the background in the advert to infer effective sales techniques, especially in the first half of the advert which the background proves to be the ideally blue, sunny and cloudless weather, which is considered the most desirable weather by the majority of the audience which creates a subtle hyperbole which states that if you wear Boohoo, you will be surrounded by sun and joy and be as happy as the model's in the advert. Plus, it also taps into the 'fear and desire' rule used commonly in advertising as it uses the 'desire' straight men and homosexual women will feel when seeing these models, especially the mid shot of the brunette model which the mise en scene shows her exiting a swimming pool in a bikini and smiling broadly. This sexual desire allows Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory to be shown in the advertisement and will attract male customers for Boohoo Men and the target audience of females as they 'desire' to be like these happy, beautiful models.

Plus, they also prove to use the 'soft sell' technique so commonly found in fashion ads as the decision to make all the models happy, wealthy and successful tells us they aim to make the audience feel somewhat bad about themselves as they are not these icons to aspire to, therefore if you purchase Boohoo's products, you will magically be as successful as these women and have their lifestyle, as they are also advertising the 'glamour' lifestyle in the advert. Yet on another note, their decision for iconic representation is rather interesting as while their particular products are shown constantly throughout the advert, their branding is not visible till the very end which allows a target audience to get excited about the products shown and finally given the brand from which they can purchase these products, creating a pique level of intrigue before flashing the brand image.