Ya Mama - Essay

Explain how representations in music videos are chosen to promote the artist(s). Refer to one of the music videos you have studied to support your answer. 

Fatboy Slim - Ya Mama

The representation of the artist through the filming used in the music video is another way in which the representations of Fatboy Slim can project to the audience. In reference to the way the video is filmed, the whole way through the video the filming is kept very basic, using basic camera shots, angles and movements. The purpose of this being that way to keep the portrayal of

The purpose of music videos is to promote the artist to their audience. The representation of Fatboy Slim in the music video Ya Mama is linked to Faboy Slims own music, and the way it makes you feel and act.

In the music video the characters/ actors, are depicted as very simple people. They look to be rednecks/ hillbillies, this is backed up with the state of living and the way they act, including talking and driving. We are presented with shots of the poor and unkempt living conditions at the very beginning of the music video, this further proves the characters is also directly comparable to a uniqueness from Fatboy Slim, who has very abnormal forms of expressing his music with his abstract music videos.

The representation of the artist through the filming used in the music video is another way in which the representations of Fatboy Slim can project to the audience. In reference to the way the video is filmed, the whole way through the video the filming is kept very basic, using basic camera shots, angles and movements. The purpose of this being that way to keep the portrayal of simpleness. The song revolves round playing music and the way it affects the characters, the representation here is that Fatboy Slim who's music is targeted in the club, the characters in the video are depicting how his music makes people "go crazy". This is further justified with the choreography of the movements when the market characters are "possessed" and dance almost unnaturally. Clearly referring to how Fatboy Slim thinks his own music affects people in the club and on the dance scene.

To conclude, representations in music videos are chosen by Fatboy Slim to promote himself to the audience. This is apparent in the number of ways in Fatboy Slims music video make links to himself and how he conducts himself. In conjunction to links made to his music genre and type and its affects upon the audience.

Media Terminology

Social Realism
Social realism is the term used for work produced aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structures behind these conditions.

Post Modernism
Post Modernism is a late 20th-century style and concept in the arts. Which represents a departure from modernism and is characterised by the self-conscious use of earlier styles and conventions, a mixing of different artistic styles and media, and a general distrust of theories.

Intertextuality
The term Intertextuality refers to the process of creating references to any kind of media text via another media text. In other words, Intertextuality essentially means for a type of media to pay homage to another media text.

Narrative
The Narrative is the media term for storytelling. The narrative is the way the different elements in a story are organised to make a meaningful story.

Diegesis
In film-making, diegesis is used to name the story depicted on screen, as opposed to the story in real-time that the screen narrative is about. Diegesis may concern elements, such as characters, events, and things within the main or primary narrative.

Ideology
Ideology is a world view, a system of values, attitudes and beliefs which an individual, group or society holds to be true or important; these are shared by a culture or society about how that society should function.

Oppositional Reading
The term Oppositional Reading means an interpretation that opposite from the interpretation the producer intended.

Unfinished Sympathy - Essay

Explain how representations in music videos are chosen to promote the artist(s). Refer to one of the music videos you have studied to support your answer

Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy

The purpose of music videos is to promote the artist to their audience. The representation of Massive Attack in the music video Unfinished Symphony is clearly linked to some sort of heartbreak experience. In the music video the vocalist (Shara) appears oblivious to her surroundings, despite them being shocking. This is attained by filming the vocalist walking down the very urban streets of Los Angeles, along with characters such as paraplegics, gangs, homeless, drunks and vandals. We are presented with a close up at the very beginning of the music video, this then pans out to show a gang following Shara down the street, interestingly on the wall behind the gang is a graffiti tag (PBS). I did some research and found out that PBS stands for Playboys 13 and is a violent, predominantly Hispanic street gang in West, South and East Los Angeles, California. They align themselves with the Mexican Mafia and are notorious for crimes including: Class B Drug Sales, drive-by-shootings, assaults and arms trafficking murder. This emphasises the fact that Shara is heart broken, as she appears to have no cares for the danger around her. The representation of the artist through the production values used in the music video is another way in which the representations of Massive Attack can project the message of the video. In reference to the way the video is filmed, there is only one-shot the whole way through the scene, the purpose of this being that its Massive Attacks's way of portraying how Shara being in her trace like state, is permanent. That there is no changing it and the one shot allows them to show the extent of which she is affected. This suggests that the artist is concerned with issues surrounding relationships and the hardships caused from breakups/ heartbreaks. Interestingly, as the video progresses, first Daddy G, then 3D, having finished making a call on a public phone booth and then Mushroom, who was pushing a cart. Can be seen walking several paces behind her, slightly out of focus This representation is also achieved in a number of ways. The whole scene in terms of mise-en-scene (costume) depict Shara in a full black dress. As we know, black is symbolic for death and mourning in many cultures including our own, and Shara is wearing black to symbolise how she is almost dead on the inside, this is further justified with the song lyrics "How can you have a day without a night" this tells us that she feels incomplete. And the dress shows us her mourning for her loss. The use of camera, in terms of almost the whole music video being a mid shot. The mid shot is chosen because the purpose is to allow the viewer to begin to create a connection with the character and understand them and their motivations.

To conclude, the representations in the music video is directed towards heartbreak. This is apparent in a number of ways in Massive Attacks music video, including the name "Unfinished" which makes a connection to the way people feel after a breakup, almost not whole. As well as "sympathy" which suggests people feel sorry for the time she's going through.

Never Alone - Media Short Video Project

Ill Manors - Essay

What representations of society are constructed in this music video? How does the use of camera, editing and mise-en-scene help to construct these?

What representations of gender, ethnicity and social class are constructed in this music video? How does the use of the camera, editing and mise-en-scene help to construct these?

What representations of the artist are constructed in this music video? How does the use of camera, editing and mise-en-scene help to construct these?

Plan B - Ill Manors Essay

Society is represented very strongly in the music video. We are lead to believe that society is very harsh and aggressive, this is backed up with the use of camera, showing close up shots which portrays the aggressive nature of the society, they get up in the viewers face to intimidate them. There is also the use of point of view camera shots which portrays the violent nature of the society, the camera shot makes you feel as if you are one of them and the images of violence represent the way society is portrayed. To further back up the point on aggressiveness, the used of editing further emphasises the society's aggressive nature. Fast cuts and transitions mean that at some points in the video there is almost no scene longer than two seconds. The fast, frantic flow of the editing gives the feel of violence and represents the way the society is. Mise-en-scene elements such as setting is used to construct beliefs. Within the opening shot we see rows upon rows of council estates and because of this we form a negative belief on the type of people who live there. We also form this negative belief on the sort of clothing they wear, tracksuits in full black, the covering of the face, the covering of the fingertips with gloves. It forms a negative image of who this person may be. We perceive that they are up to no good because they are hiding their identity, and because they are all dressed like that we perceive the whole society to be the same.

As well as society; gender, ethnicity and social class are also represented in this music video. Gender is not strongly represented in the video however, we see that the majority of the people in the video are young, males. Ethnicity in the music video is not a key factor, however, Plan B has used a mixture of people with different ethnicity's to highlight the point that ethnicity is not a key role in the behaviour of these people. It is instead the background they were brought up in, along with their environment.

Social class is something that is more prevalent throughout the video. We are exposed to many different types of camera shots throughout the video, a key shot i want to talk about is the few establishing shot used at the very start of the video. We are shown an establishing shot that depicts the area/ location that the video is filmed in. We can see that Plan B is standing on a block of council flats in a lower class looking area/ estate. Mise-en-scene of the lighting means that we can see the more desirable location of London in the far distance with tourist attractions such as the London eye. That area also seems to be shrouded in sunlight directly contrasting with the dirty, dark estate area.  The way this video has been edited and put together has ended up with these establishing shots at the very beginning. This is to set the scene and also give an idea of what the video will be about. We have been lead to believe certain stereotypes about the lower class and their violent tendencies. This taints our perception on the sort of video it will be. During the video we hear Plan B refer to the estate as a "concrete jungle" we definition of a jungle which reads "an area of land overgrown with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in the tropics" the language used to describe the jungle includes words such as "overgrown", "dense" and "tangled". This language creates an aurora of negativity around the estate. We hear the word "overgrown" and it gives the sense that the estate has been forgotten and left to rot along with the people in it. The word "dense" and "tangled" makes it feel like the area itself is actually overpopulated, and the people included with the term "working class" have run of out room meaning that life there is much harder. Overall this represents the social class in a negative way for the viewer.

The artist of Ill Manors is Plan B, his real name is Ben Drew. Ben Drew is an extremely successful singer/ songwriter however, unlike some artists who are brought up in privileged family's, Plan B was brought up in an underprivileged home in an underprivileged area. Born in Forest gate, which is an area in London that is known for not being the best part of town. Plan B was suspended from school and an early age for bad behavioural issues. Due to this he was sent to a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU). Due to his place of birth he grew up surrounded by crime, violence and other negative influences. He also didn't have a stable family to nurture and care for him properly. When Plan B was five months old his dad walked out on the family, this was followed by when Plan B was 6 years old his father disappearing out of his life, permanently. This was a traumatic experience and could have contributed to the way Plan B's delinquent early life panned out. In reference to mise-en-scene Plan B is wearing similar attire to those seen in the video, this is because he wants to show how he came from the same background as them and hes been in situations they have too, he believes that the some of his audience wont be able to hear his message and be inspired unless he acts like them and talks like them. The opening shot features the sound of a violin, along with the visuals of Plan B miming the playing of a violin. This has a hidden symbolic meaning of how Plan B who is an activist for social justice and equality of the working class. We know that violins can symbolise serenity, calmness and peacefulness. This is directly juxtaposed with the environment around him, however, this is to show how he believes that things can change and we can make a better lives for those who are underprivileged. He wants people to see that they can do things to change. During his TED talk he talks frequently about how people who have made a change to better the lives of the unprivileged, he mentions Andrew Curtis who set up an academy where he teaches disadvantaged kids on how to cut hair. Plan B believes that we can make a difference to these peoples lives and the video which is classed as a protest video is made to create awareness of this.

Editing Using Premiere Pro

Explain the task that you were given to do

We were asked to create a music video. We were given a few clips of water sports and the song (Oops Upside Your Head) and had to edit, cut and transition them all together, it was composed of purely non-diegetic sound resulting in a music video.

Describe the way in which you went about completing the task

• What did you find easy?

The general understanding of the layout I found quite easy because I have used Sony Vegas Pro, a similar editing software to Premiere Pro and they have a similar layout so I found it didn't take me long to fully understand the concept.

• What was more difficult?

In terms of using the timeline, it was slightly different to Sony Vegas Pro and therefore I had to re-learn certain aspects of the timeline and how it is different.

• How did you overcome any challenges?

During editing a file that was in use became corrupted, this was not due to my own error, however, I got around this. What I did was copied and pasted the file onto my desktop and replaced the file in Premier Pro with the new file. This was a temporary fix but it worked and allowed me to continue with the project.

Evaluate your finished movie

• What do you think is successful?

One thing that I feel I did successfully was sync up certain clips in time with music. I find this is very effective and makes the video much more exciting.

• What do you think could be done to improve it?

To improve the video, I would add in more transitions, because I have overused the dissolve transition and should be more creative with the transitions.

Media Language - Use Of A Camera

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Basic Camera Shots

Extreme Long Shot

An extreme long shot or also known as an establishing shot is a photo of a setting normally outside and of a location, not of people. It is used to establish the scene and convey to the viewer where the characters are and the overall setting. 

Long Shot

A long shot is a shot of a character or person, and includes the whole body, (head to toe) in the frame. The purpose of this shot is to help the viewer understand the relationship between the character and the environment they are in.

Mid Shot

The mid shot is a shot that includes the waist and up in the frame. The use of the mid shot is to allow the viewer to begin to create a connection with the character and understand them and their motivations.

Two Shot

The two shot is a shot that includes two people. The purpose of this shot is to show and express the relationship that the two characters have between each other.

Close Up

The close up shot is a shot that is taken with the character from the shoulders up, without a clear shot of the background. The point being that the director wants to focus the viewers attention on the character and be ore in tune with their emotions. The close up can also be used to show an object that is of some importance to the narrative.

Point Of View
The point of view shot shows what the character themselves would see during an action or something else. The purpose being to keep the viewer in check with the characters motives and enable them to understand what the character wants to do.

Extreme Close Up

The extreme close up is a shot of exclusively their face and can be even more specific areas such as the eyes. The point of this is to bring the viewer even further into the emotions of the character. The extreme close up can also be used to show an object that is of importance to the narrative again.

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Basic Camera Movements                                                                                                           *Dolly

Tracking*
Tracking is the moment into or out from the character. Tracking in is used to draw the viewer into the action and tracking out is used to signify the end of the scene and that the narrative is moving on.

Sideways Tracking*
Sideways tracking or the crab shot is where a shot is filmed whilst the camera is moving sideways on a dolly. The purpose being to follow the movement of a character or object, to keep the audience in check with the pace of the action.

Tilt
A tilt is filmed by either moving the camera up or down on an axis. The purpose of tilting up being to create a sense of power and superiority from the character. Tilting down would be the opposite effect and make the character seem small and less significant or powerless.

Zoom
Zooming is the changing in focal length of the camera zooming in or out. This creates a similar effect to the tracking. Tracking in is used to draw the viewer into the action and tracking out is used to signify the end of the scene and that the narrative is moving on.

Arc
The arc is when the camera which is focused on a character or an object and semicircles or full circles around them. The purpose being to allow the viewer to see the reaction of the characters and can also build the intensity of the narrative.

Crane
The crane shot, as it sounds is where the camera is attached to a crane and lifts up to give a birds eye view. This allows the viewer to follow the action from a different perspective.

Panning
A panning shot is a shot that is taken by a camera mounted on a tripod and it can also be paired with

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Basic Camera Angles

Over The Shoulder Shot

The over the shoulder shot is a shot that is taken from over the shoulder and is mainly used during conversations that occur between two people.

High Angle Shot
The high angle shot is a shot where the camera is placed above the character and points on an angle downwards. This angle can give a feeling of vulnerability to the characters and make the viewer feel superior.

Low Angle Shot
A low angle shot is a shot taken by a camera that is in a low position and therefore points at an upward angle. As opposed to the high angle shot the low angle shot does the opposite, it makes the characters look superior and make the reader perhaps feel vulnerable.

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The Media And Me

The Internet
The internet has always been in my life even when we were first born. I didn't start to use the internet until later into my life during my early teenage years, the internet had always been around me as my dad used it, however, the internet was never actually used by me as a source of information, instead I was pushed towards books and other ways of getting information, but never the internet. This was due to the old fashioned nature of my family. Towards my early teenage life, around the age of 13. I began to rely on the internet more as a source of information. As on the use of the internet nowadays I'm extreemely reliant on the internet, its a source of information for almost everything I do, whether its informing me of how to do something or maybe even a source of entertainment.  I use the internet all the time and is a large part of my life.

Video Games
I grew up alongside video games. They had just started to be created and being used. During my childhood the Nintendo DS' and specifically the DSi's which I was an owner of myself was a big part of my childhood. Today, this is no longer a part of my life as I have moved towards other video games. I currently own a PC owner and play once or twice a week, on and off (not obsessively).

Television
Television as a child was never used by myself. My parents did but this never influenced me and it was not something that I did, unless it was something such as "i'm a celeb" or tv programs that I rarely watched with my family.. As I've got older and very recently I have begun to watch more television, however its almost exclusively sport television (UFC) I watch.

Film
I have always watched films especially as a kid. I would get very involved in them too, I enjoyed them and this has relatively stayed the same. However, I have become much more cynical of films and I also find have less time for them due to being busy.

Advertising
Advertising has always been in my life but it has never had an effect on me. Im always seeing advertisements everywhere for all types of things however unless its something thats specifically interesting to me then I will most of the time ignore it and or forget it regardless if I'm interested or not.

Music Video
Music videos are not a source of media that I use much either. The reason for this is because I've never had a reason to watch them. With the use of music streaming apps such as Spotify you don't have to and is easier and more appropriate, so I never have really watched music videos unless it was recommended by a friend for humour reasons.

Radio
My parents have always listened to the radio, when I was younger kid I would listen too. Specifically BBC Radio One, BBC Radio Two and Classical FM. I didn't like the latter two and only listened too radio one, however, this was only for the music and would always tune myself out when they talked because I wasn't interested at that age. Nowadays I will always opt for music I play through the AUX cable over the radio. The only purpose the radio serves now is to wake me up with ambient music in the morning. I use it almost as an alarm.

Magazines
Magazines were used by my mum when I was younger, she would use clothing magazines for specific brands to buy some of her clothing and sometimes still does, however, this is a very rare occasion. I myself have never used clothing magazines or any type of magazines because I do all of my clothing shopping online or in store, never in a magazine.

Newspapers
Newspapers were never a big influence on my life. I have never really used them or read them for entertainment or news. Neither did my family, and we never had them in the house unless it was to kindle our open fire in the winter. The reason for this is because most news can be accessed online nowadays and id rather watch a short concise video informing me of what the current headlines are over reading a newspaper.

Learning New Skills

I can type in my blog.

I can add an image to my blog.

I can add a video from Youtube by embedding it in my blog.

I can add a hyperlink to my blog.

CLICK HERE to go directly to Cody Garbrandt's website.

Media Studies Induction Task

Why study the media?

The media is everywhere! Almost every one of us uses it every day. It’s something we might not necessarily think about consciously but is all around us, and we’re always using it. It’s exciting and evolving, no longer is the media limited to a black and white sheet of paper. It’s on our phones… we carry the media around with us almost everywhere we go.

Media. Communicating a message to many people. This comes in many different forms…

Print media

Newspapers are perhaps one of the oldest forms of media, dating back 353 years from current day, the first documented newspaper was published, the “Oxford Gazette” . they’ve been there from the beginning, informing people of the latest news. The national daily newspapers are newspapers that like they sound, report on national news every single day. “The Daily Courant”, the first daily newspaper began in March 1702. According to (agilitypr.com) the bestselling newspaper by circulation today is “The Sun”, a tabloid newspaper, which started in 1964. However The Sun and many of its competitors have moved towards the online approach, as newspapers are in circulation less and less as technology advances.

Books may not appear to many as a form of “media” however they entertain, communicate, encourage people to form certain opinions and can change people’s views. Books are also like most forms of media, evolving with the introduction of technology. This means many people now prefer to read an eBook.  One of most successful writers, famous for her Harry Potter series of books, sold more than 400 million copies worldwide, so clearly books are still relevant!

Magazines, another form of print media. Which instead of reporting news events like the newspaper. Are specifically targeted towards a certain audience with different magazines having their own niche or subject. The first magazine published in the UK was in 1731 and was called “The Gentlemen’s Magazine”. Today according to (betterretailing.com) TV Choice is the UKs top selling magazine, with a current circulation of 1,219,107 per week. It’s quite interesting that the top selling magazine happens to be a magazine about Television, another form of media. 

Broadcast media

Television is a form of broadcast media that unlike most reaches 95.5% of the UK, this is a large proportion and is still currently the most popular form of mass media. Our TVs broadcast the news 24 hours a day, there are also factual documentaries, sport, children’s TV programmes, and entertainment channels and even films are included in this spectrum. In 1936 The British Broadcasting Corporation began broadcasting, this at the time was the only channel available, and only transmitted in a small area. So now there is up to 600 different channels available to certain Sky TV users (package dependant).

Television has been used to broadcast the biggest events in history.  In 1969, when man first set foot on the moon, an estimated 530 million people worldwide watched this giant leap for mankind, which is an incredible feat in my opinion.

The Radio, invented in 1920 by Guglielmo Marconi Marconi is an audio only form of media. Today radio is still popular, with 9 out of 10 adults listening at least once per week, in fact according to (bbc.co.uk) BBC music radio’s reach to all ages has grown since 2009/10. The number of radio stations in the UK currently stands at 290.

The internet

Perhaps the most relevant form of the media currently is the internet. This is particularly the most relevant to the younger generation where it has made a huge difference our lives, in both positive and negative ways. 

Social media is huge. It is basically communicating and sharing online with other people. Starting in the early 2000s with websites such as Myspace (which has nearly 1 billion active and inactive users) and LinkedIn (half a billion users) which brought along the idea of connecting with friends and family via the internet, allowing them to communicate via a system unlike telephone. YouTube started in 2005 introducing the concept of video sharing. Today 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. Facebook and Twitter came along in 2006 which elaborated on the original idea that was introduced by Myspace and LinkedIn. It snowballed from there on, and for our current generation it would be hard to imagine a world without social media.

One of the unattractive sides to social media is how it is slowly decreasing our social skills and abilities. For example, choosing a Facetime call over a face-to-face interaction. It can have a detrimental effect to mental health, with depression being a problem when people compare themselves and their lives to others, being cyberbullied, associating the number of followers someone has with their popularity.  All these things can lead to a feeling of loneliness and isolation.

Video games, yes part of entertainment media. I particularly wanted to mention this as I have personally spent many hours playing them! Although they can be played alone, online gaming allows for mass communication in certain situations, allowing contact with others from all over the world, and effectively puts this firmly into the media category. There is an estimated 2.2-2.6 billion gamers worldwide which shows how big of a media platform this is.

Conclusion

To sum up the question of “why study the media”.  Media has always been part of my life without me really knowing it, from watching films and TV, listening to music, or even playing video games. From Instagram and Snapchat, which is definitely a large part of my social life – it is relevant, exciting, constantly evolving and quite simply media is the future.

Resources

Statista.com

Wikipedia

Study.com

999inks.co.uk

Throughfullearning.com

Quora.com

Fortune.com

Smallbiztrends.com

Ukie.org.uk