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.