Media and Rep

Tuesday 29th October
LO: To develop the language of media analysis

This product is a magazine by TIME, which tells us about the world's 100 most influential people. We can tell this by one of the cover lines, which reads "The 100 most influential people". Denotations of this magazine cover show us that the magazine includes a colour palette of red, white and black. The masthead is a serif block capitals font and the font of the main cover line is a sans serif one in block capitals, the rest of the cover lines are they same however they are just normal capitals. A connotation of this magazine are that Kanye West is one of the 100 most influential people due to him being on the front cover and directly addressing the camera giving him importance.

Denotation - Elements that are unarguable, the factual elements 
Connotation - Elements that are arguable, elements that are personal to the viewer. This relies on personal knowledge and experience.



Between the two media products there are more denotative elements that are different than similar. Differences include the gender of the person in the main image, the colour palette is slightly different, with one including red and another including white. These are the two colours that differ the colour palette. The font styles on both are sans serif and in capitals, however one is more rough and edgy and one is more neat and organised. Another difference is that one media product includes explicit content and one does not. The only similarity in the denotative elements is that they both include a person as the main focus of the main image.

Similar to denotative elements, there are more connotative elements that differ compared to ones that are similar. The element that is similar is that they are both album covers. Elements that are different include the genre of the album, "GOOD KID IN A MAD CITY" is a rap genre which we assume from the name of the artist and his background, Kendrick Lamar, the parental advisory logo and the font style which is more rough and edgy.  On the other hand, "25" is more of a mainstream pop album, we again assume this from the artist, Adele, and the fact the layout of the album is neat and the font style is appealing which fits more of a mainstream audience. Another difference is that the target audience for Kendrick Lamar's album is for young adults/old teenagers, from 16 to 30, due to the genre and the parental advisory logo. Adele's album is aimed at a wider audience that includes children, as it is a pop albumin does not include any explicit content.

The genre of this album is presented in the album cover to be alternative rock. One of the people on the album is smoking, which already suggests rebellion, one is laughing and one sat down so they are presented quite rebellious, which is associated with rock.The font is lower case, serif yet unorganised suggesting they are more of a casual band with a lack of care. The target audience of this band is a younger audience to middle age. The people on the front are younger, in their 20s which is aimed at more of younger audience but their genre is rock which can also be aimed at middle aged audience.

Tuesday 5th November

This film poster is the poster for the first James Bond film, Dr NO. The target audience of this poster is males aged 17 - 40. We can tell this as the poster suggests action, Bond is holding a gun which implies danger which is presumed to be more of a male interest. The font colour of the title, Ian Fleming's name in the credits and a tagline which reads "The first James Bond film!' are all red which also implies danger. The size of this target audience would be quite large, as the film's main focus is action which is a popular film genre. Bond is also wearing a suit shows he is a formal character. Formality on the poster connotes that the film is aimed at members of the ABC1 social grade. What makes this poster different from the other two posters is the amount women are sexualised in the poster. There are 4 semi naked women on the poster connoting that there will be attractive females throughout the film. This is still aimed at the target audience however, as it is aimed at males aged 17 - 40 who would most likely be heterosexual and be attracted to semi naked females.

Due to the film being made in the 1960s, people are more likely to see the film poster in towns and on billboards as social media did not exist, so the poster has been constructed the have more images than text so people can easily understand what the film is about quickly.

This film poster is made for James Bond film GoldenEye in 1995. The target audience of this poster is similar to the previous one, but would be males and females aged 17 - 40. What makes the target audience differ from the last is that on the poster there is even less text related to the storyline of the film than the previous one and it has all been moved to the bottom, the image of Bond has been enlarged and there are no weapons like guns throughout the poster. This connotes that the film focuses more on Bond as a character rather than the action itself, which is aimed more at both genders as action is usually aimed at males. A lack of action suggests it is aimed at both genders.The poster also includes an attractive female, which also targets males individually.

GoldenEye was made in 1995, so the film poster would have been more accessible via programs like the Internet. However due to the Internet being in its very early stages it may not have been accessible for people in this way. Similar to the last poster it has been designed with little text and more image so people can see it in areas like towns and on billboards and understand the concept of the film quickly.

This poster is made for James Bond film Spectre in 2015. The target audience of this film would be males aged between 17 and 40. Firstly, the skull mask and skeleton costume in the background has connotations of tragedy, it suggests that there will be death throughout the film which is a heavy topic, not usually aimed at women. The poster also includes an attractive female, which is individually aimed at males. Bond is holding a gun and there is gun on the 007 symbol which suggests there will be action throughout the film, he is holding it very casually which suggests he always has it on him ready to defend himself connoting there will be a lot of action throughout the film. Both of the characters on the front are dressed formally, suggesting that the target audience would also be members of ABC1 social grade. The title of the film is written in block sans serif capitals which suggests the film is full of heavy topics and aimed more at a male audience.

The poster has been made similar the the GoldenEye poster, it's main focus is grabbing the attention of people in towns and from billboards. However due to being made in 2015 people have easy access to the Internet, so there was room to perhaps put more text on the poster. Film posters across the board however usually include less text than image to grab the attention of people.

Friday 8th November
LO: To explore the idea of semiotics and how it can be applied to media analysis

Denotations:

• There is a man in a black suit 
• There is a woman in a silver dress
• There is a drawing of a skull in the background
• The man is holding a gun

Connotations

• This is a James Bond film called Spectre
• The film is full of action which is suggested by the man holding a gun
• James Bond is a womanizer due to him standing close to a young woman
• The skull suggests there are tragic moments throughout the film as skulls are associated with death

Signs

• The skull and orange colours is a signifier which signifies that there are tragic moments in the film as a connotations of skulls is the Day of the Dead festival which celebrates death.

Audience

• The target audience of the film would be 17 - 40 and aimed towards more at males due to possible action and an attractive female on the cover

Theory: Ferdinand Saussure

• Saussure first put forward the idea that signs are compromised of two elements
• Semiotics - The study of signs and symbols and their use and interpretation
• Signs are made up of two elements - The signifier and signified
• Signifiers are "the physical form, the thing that is being considered"
• The signified is "what our culture has decided this form means"

Theory: Roland Barthes

• Barthes' theory focuses on how signs and images represent different cultures and ideologies in different ways
• These are established through denotations and connotations
• A myth in this context is where a socially agreed symbolic association becomes so widely accepted it becomes iconic

Theory: Charles Pierce

• Pierce focused on developing the idea that there were different levels of meaning that could be attached to signs and that these operated in different ways
• He claimed there were three types of signs:
• Icons - a sign that physically resembles what it stands for
• Index - a sign which implies some other object or event
• Symbol - A sign with a conventional relation to the signified 

Tuesday 12th November
LO: To apply semiotic theories when creating media products

Company - Clothing brand

Target Audience - Young Adults

The logo I have made is for a vintage clothing brand. It is aimed at young adults as the colours used are edgy yet fun, black connotes rebellion which is associated with young adults and yellow signifies warmth, freedom and happiness which teens want to have. The font is quite vintage and classic, seen on brands from the 1990s and early 2000s. Young adults would have grown up with these brands being popular and as they grew older would want to wear classic brands from their childhood. The shape of the logo is a circle, which connotes fun and friendliness which young adults want to be like and have friends like. The name of the brand "Retro Customs" signifies the brand is classic and there is a big range of clothing. "Retro" again connotes the brand would be similar to brands of their childhood that they grew up with and would want to wear and "Customs" signifies the brand has a wide range of clothing and would appeal to any young adult.

Company - TV Channel

Target Audience - Kids aged 6 - 11

The logo I have made is for a Kids TV Channel aimed at kids aged 6 - 11. The colours of blue and purple connote creativity in the channel, there are creative programmes to help spark a child's imagination. The colour of red and black suggest excitement and rebellion which signify the programmes are fun and exciting which younger kids would enjoy. The font is very childish, funny and care free which would appeal to a child as they just want to have fun and between 6 - 11 children are very care free. There is no shape to the logo, just the text and the image of the gold cart, both of these together connote freedom. With a vehicle you can have freedom and drive around and no boundary to the logo signifies the TV Channel doesn't limit a child's imagination and gives them complete freedom in the their mind. The name of the logo is designed to be funny, and to make children laugh and enjoy watching TV.

Company - Social Media app
Target Audience - ABC1 25 to 35 year olds 

The logo I have made is a Social Media app aimed at ABC1 25 to 35 year olds. The colours of the app are simple, blue connotes fun and creativity which anyone would want to have on social media apps, they want to enjoy messaging their friends or family. In this context black suggests simplicity, it is a basic colour to have on an app and signifies the app is easy to use. The font style is quite simplistic and neat connoting the app is up to scratch and the one of the best social media apps which an ABC1 member would want. The shape of an app is a mixture between a square and circle. This signifies the app is really useful and solid appealing to ABC1 members along with being simple to use yet you can also have fun on the app. The name of the app is very simple and easy to remember which would help to create a popular app. It appeals to the target audience as people aged 25 to 35 are usually quite busy and would not want to remember an app with a really complicated name. Also, the fact is a social media app means it appeals to younger people aged between 25 and 35.

Friday 22nd November

LO: To apply semiotic theories when analysing media texts

This advert uses conventional ideas of beer marketing by using the colour scheme of green and white and a capital font. The colour of green and white connote refreshment, something new and fresh which most beer adverts use and this advert is the same. The font throughout the advert is in capital letters, suggesting the product is manly and for strong individuals. which is conventional for many beer adverts. It is aimed at males aged 25 plus, first of all the product is alcohol so it has to be aimed at people 18 plus and when Lord of the Rings was released people aged 25 plus would have just been allowed to watch the film. The advert assumes that people understand the advert and have watched Lord of the Rings, if they had not watched the film they would not understand what the advert is about or the references to the film. It also assumed that the people seeing the advert are old enough to drink.

Tuesday 26th November

LO: To explore the concept of conventions and subversion

Denotations:

• Green and White colour scheme
• Bottle or can of beer in advert
• Bottle or can is usually on a wooden surface
• Bold fonts with capital letters and lower case letters either serif or sans serif

Connotations

• Green and white colour scheme connotes the beer is refreshing and will make you feel natural
• Bottle or can in shot with it being on a wooden surface signifies that beer adverts are only aimed at men. The signifier connotes that the advert is on a bar in a pub, and stereotypically only males go to the pub
• Bold fonts with capital letters also connote that beer adverts are only aimed at males as it signifies that beer is a strong drink, that can only be drunk by strong people, stereotypically males.
• The text "bachelor party" suggests beer is a drink only for males to celebrate which is signified by what a bachelor party is

Conventions

• Green or white colour scheme in poster adverts
• Video adverts are usually meant to be funny, not aimed at women
• Bold text, capital letters, either serif or sans serif font
• Bottle of can of beer always included in the advert, if in a poster advert on a wooden bar
• Little text on the poster adverts, usually just the image which is meant to be funny or present beer as strong

Audience

• Males aged 18+. Firstly this is because it is beer and only people 18+ can buy it. The adverts also include crude jokes only older people would understand and males would find funny.

Cadbury's Gorilla Advert 2007

What does the advert tell us about Cadbury's?

It tells us that the brand is funny, they enjoy breaking typical conventions for their brand and like to be different to other chocolate brands. This is obviously signified by the man in a gorilla suit playing the drums along to Phil Collins. The prolonged production of the strange adverts suggests that Cadbury's like to experiment with different adverts and like to have a strange twist to each one.

What was the intention of the advert as it was so clearly different to typical confectionary adverts?

The intention was for the advert to go viral and boost sales of their brand due to the advert being so different compared to other chocolate brands. The advert got people talking about Cadbury's which then led to them buying chocolate from them.

Who is it aimed at?

The song in the background suggests the advert was aimed at people aged 25 - 40 at the time of release. These people would have been young or in their teens at the time the song was released, meaning they would most likely relate with advert as they have known the song for years.

What does it mean?

The way I read this advert is that it has been made with the intention of it not being serious and to be different and quirky so that people talk about it and their brand which eventually would lead to brand sales increasing.

What impact does it have on you?

The impact this advert has on me is one of humour. It is simply funny and gets people talking about the brand.

It boosted sales by 10% - why?

The advert was talked about a lot which resulted in sales being boosted

Benetton case study

The picture in the advert is of a dying AIDS patient and was originally taken in black and white, then turned into an oil painting in colour. Oliviero Toscani was an Italian photographer hired by Benetton to help with boosting sales by making a good advertising campaign. Toscani took some very controversial images to be used in these adverts, including a picture of a foetus and a dying AIDS patient. He also photographed people of different ethnicities together and refugees which helped to fight against racism and raise awareness of a refugee crisis. The certain image of the dying AIDS patient was constructed in a way to not only focus on the death of the man in the picture, but to also show the emotions of the people around him as he passes away.

The meaning of this advert is to show the horrible effects AIDS has on families of people who have died or have the disease. It is clearly signified by the man dying of the disease and what appears to be his family around him as he passes away, all clearly devastated at what is happening. The overall intention of this advert and Toscani's advertising campaign is to bring attention to the company Benetton by completely subverting typical conventions for clothing advertisements, resulting in people talking about the campaign and the brand. Very controversial images like these would make people who see them talk about them and some possibly angered by them.


I think that this image in particular was banned for one of either three reasons, because of the severity of what is going on the image, which could possibly upset anybody in general or people who have lost members of their family to AIDS. Perhaps it is down to the fact at the time of release, AIDS was the number one cause of death among males aged 25 - 44 which suggests that that Toscani wanted to benefit off of this by exposing his brand through it. Or perhaps it is down to the fact that some people may assume that, without knowing the background of the image, that the patient looks like or is meant to be Jesus Christ which may lead to people of faith being upset over it. 

Tuesday 3rd December
LO: To explore set advertising texts and research brands

How has the representation of the brand Barbie changed since the 1990s?

In the 1990s, Barbie as a brand was always represented as childish and girly brand that just produced toys for girls to play with. This is connoted by Barbie adverts from the 1990s. The adverts always pictured simply girls playing with the dolls who wore pink clothes and the dolls did things stereotypically girls enjoy more like dancing. The music in the background was soft and the colours were bright and full of pink, again signifying that Barbie is a girly brand. In the modern day however, Barbie has changed to a brand that is represented as trying to encourage girls to do adult like jobs. This is again connoted by the Barbie advert from 2019, which consisted of girls replacing adults in their jobs like lecturers and vet surgeons. They are trying to encourage girls to be strong, and yes they may play with Barbie like the girl at the end of the advert, this doesn't stop them from doing girl like things. 

Set Text Research

Text 1: Old Spice 2011

Overview of Old Spice:

It was founded in 1937, and was originally targeted at women, men's products were first released the Christmas 1937. Old Spice now sells male grooming products including anti perspirant, deodorant sticks and body wash. In 2008, the original Old Spice scent was repackaged as the classic scent.

Brand image and values:

Before the advertising campaign, the brand was seen as a no nonsense masculine brand. Their adverts were directly addressed towards males who would use these products. After the success of this advertising campaign, the brands is now seen as a brand that like to subvert conventions and have fun with their products and advertising campaigns. Their values haven't changed, they just wan to produce good grooming products.

Previous advertising campaigns:

Previous advertising campaigns of the 1970s and 1980s for the brand consisted of a male surfing and a women being attracted to him. They fit the conventions for the typical male grooming brand and never subverted conventions. 

Star Vehicle:

The star vehicle of the This Man Your Man Could Smell Like campaign was Isaiah Mustafa, a previous NFL Footballer and now actor.

Advertising Campaign Content:

The original campaign consisted of two 30 second and 15 second long adverts released in February 2010. In June 2010 another advert called "Questions" was released and then another 15 second long one named "Boat". Then in 2011, and third set of adverts were released. This poster advert was released as part of the third set of adverts.

Social Context (UK):

The English summer riots hit their peak in August and reached Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham. Prince William married Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey.

Text 2: Lucozade 2013

Overview of Lucozade:

Lucozade is a soft drink brand manufactured by the Japanese company Suntory marketed as a range of sport and energy drinks. It was created in 1927 by a Newcastle pharmacist and was first known as "Glucozade". It acquired by the British pharmaceutical company Beecham's in 1938 and sold as Lucozade. It was rebranded as a "pick me up" drink in 1978 and as a sports/health drink in 1983. In 1989 Beecham's merged with SmithKline to for, GlaxoSmithKline and in 2013 Lucozade was sold to Suntory.

Brand Image and Values:

Before the advertising campaign, Lucozade was known as more of an energy drink, rather than a drink to help improve performance in sport. GSK wanted the company to be a sports drink completely, and released the "I Believe" Campaign to help this.

Previous Advertising Campaigns:

Previous advertising campaigns included the "Faster, stronger, for longer" campaign which was released alongside the London 2012 Olympics. Adverts from the 1990s portrayed the drink as a casual energy drink rather than a sports drink.

Star Vehicle:

This advertising campaign included 5 main stars, England Rugby's Chris Robshaw, Scotland's Richie Gray and Wales' Leigh Halfpenny. It also included at the time Tottenham and Real Madrid star Gareth Bale and Arsenal and Liverpool star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Advertising Campaign Content:

The campaign included several TV adverts including the 5 stars and a poster campaign including Gareth Bale. The campaign was banned in 2014 after several complaints about the advert claiming the drink hydrates you better than water does during sport.

Social Context (UK):

Members of the House of Lords vote in favour of the Marriage Bill, paving the way for same sex marriage in the UK.

Text 3: Shelter Box 2011

Overview of Brand and Organisation:

Shelter is a registered charity campaign in England and Scotland which aims to stop homelessness and bad housing by preventing situations which can cause this in the first place. The company provides advice and advocacy to people in need. It was founded in 1966 and raised £60.9 million in 2016/17. It works with Shelter Cymru in Wales and the Housing Rights Service in Northern Ireland. 

Brand and Image and values:

Shelter believes that everyone should have a fair say and that everyone should be supported in these certain situations. Their advertising campaigns aim to reach people in need. 

Previous advertising campaigns:

Previous advertising campaigns included similar content to this one, they depict a person in desperate need of help and at risk of homelessness due to no fault of their own.

Star Vehicle:

There are no star vehicles, there are just three ordinary people in the advertising campaigns and the video adverts just include ordinary people.

Advertising Campaign Content:

The main focus of this advertising campaigns are the poster adverts, but video adverts ran throughout social media. Each advert depicts a generic person in distress because they are facing a serious crisis, such as a sudden job loss or a building debt. They carry a headline which depicts their desperation. The poster campaign launched in four towns which have been identified as hotspots for housing problems, and ran for 6 weeks after being launched on the 21st August.

Social Context (UK):

In 2011 and at time of release, the English riots were taking place.

Tuesday 10th December 

LO: To apply context and representation to Old Spice advert

Old Spice Context and Semiotics:

The magazine advert released in 2011 was a follow up to the me Smell Like a Man Man campaign. Mustafa was a famous NFL player and helped the brand to win multiple awards and double their sales, their adverts were very popular across many media platforms. Mustafa returned in 2011, and his first advert in the follow up campaign was aired after the Super Bowl, which means many of the men would recognise him. They were inspired by the freshest places on the planet, the all new two 15 second adverts and 30 second advert included places like Cyprus and Fiji.

The 2011 print campaign returned in a playful print ad form. Although Mustafa stole people's hearts in the commercials with his suave and charming nature, the print ads will continue Mustafa's legacy in a more surreal manner. The point of the second campaign was to illustrate what smelling like the freshest places on earth was like, Mustafa claims you can "smell like the freshest places on earth".

Semiotics:

First of all, the denotations of this advert include the star vehicle Mustafa in an exotic location, his body makes up the beach which people are on top of. Their is bold, white, block capital sans serif text along with the old spice logo. The actual product is in the bottom right hand corner. Their is a volcano on top of Mustafa's head. These are all signs which signify different meanings. Firstly, Mustafa's body making up the beach is an index sign which signifies the product can give you as much power as Mustafa has in the image, the product will allow you that much power you are part of nature and as fresh as nature. The text and Old Spice logo are both symbolic signs which signify that the Old Spice product will make you as dominant as the text on the advert. 

How does the product use and subvert the conventional genre stereotypes and masculinity associated with adverts for such products and brand?

Throughout the follow up campaign to the "Smell Like a Man Man" campaign, Old Spice subvert genre stereotypes and masculinity for adverts for male grooming products. 

Throughout the campaign, Old Spice represent Mustafa as fresh, clean and natural. This opposes typical male grooming adverts as males are typically represented as strong and macho after using the product. In both the print and TV advert campaigns they show Mustafa in exotic locations such as Komodo and Fiji, and they claim that you will smell like these fresh places after using the product.

An example of this is the print advert of the star vehicle, Mustafa, in Fiji. His body makes up the beach, which is an index sign that signifies Mustafa smells fresh and natural as he is a part of nature after using Old Spice as oppose to just simply representing Mustafa as a strong male after using Old Spice. Also in terms of subverting conventions, an example of this is in the first follow up commercial named "I'm back", where Mustafa simply talks to the camera about his return to the brand after having a shower and using Old Spice. This subverts genre conventions as this is an index sign which signifies that Mustafa is fresh and clean and smells good after using the product, as to again representing Mustafa as strong and macho after using the product. Another example of them subverting conventions is in another one of the print adverts, where Mustafa is in Komodo. Mustafa is in front of an orange sunset, this is an index sign which signifies Mustafa now feels as natural as the sunset behind him due to using Old Spice, this also subverts genre conventions as present Mustafa as happy now he feels natural, rather than being happy as he is a macho male. 

Tuesday 17th December 

LO: To apply context and representation to the Lucozade and Shelter adverts

Lucozade Context and Semiotics:

When Lucozade first came out, it was known as a drink to help you when you were run down and tired. In the 1970s, when people's health started become on a whole healthier, sales of Lucozade dropped as less people needed it. In 1982, the most significant and successful re marketing took place. They rebranded to more of an energy drink to drink when you were doing sport, or to recover from the tiredness of every day life. In the 1950s, the drink was more aimed at women who could give the drink to their child, to help them recover from illness. In the 1980s, they changed the target audience to more young adults and teenagers to help them in sport and every day life with the use of Daley Thompson as a star vehicle. In the 1990s, with the launch of Lucozade Sport and isotonic sport drinks, it was the first brand to launch with a sports sponsorship deal iwht the FA Carling Premiership and British Athletics. In 1998s, they used video game character Lara Croft in and advertising campaign to suggest that such a character associated with vitality and strength which suggests she uses Lucozade to keep this up. At this point, sport clothing culture was big with brands such as Nike and Adidas, which is reflected in the advertising campaigns. In 2013, it had established itself as the UK's leading sports drink. It had effectively distanced itself from the connotations of a weakness and illness, and is now a drink associated with scientifically allowing athletes to improve their health.

The IBELIEVE campaign itself, used a range of ethnicities, white welsh Bale, mixed race Chamberlain and white Alexa Matthews. The campaign also reflects technological change, they are using a hashtag in their campaign, which has been influenced by social media. The advert was banned in January 2014, for being misleading claiming is hydrates you better than water.

How does the product use conventional stereotypes associated with adverts for such products and brands? (10 marks)

Firstly the advert uses a conventional stereotype of adverts for sports drinks by getting a sports star as the star vehicle. Using Gareth Bale as a star vehicle is an index sign that signifies even athletes drink Lucozade, and it helps them with their and improves their performance. This would improve sales of the product due to Two Step Flow, the audience would believe what Gareth Bale suggests, not the brand, and buy Lucozade to help improve their sport performance. The typography and lexis throughout the the advert is also a conventional stereotype. Throughout it is in bold, capital and sans serif letters and reads "IN A DIFFERENT LEAGUE' and "SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN". This is an index sign signifying that the drink fuels you with energy and increases your determination, just like the energy throughout the advert with the typography and lexis, which is similar to many adverts for sports drinks. Another conventional stereotype used is the colour palette, it is full of neon blue and yellow colours, which is similar to many modern sport drink advertisements. It is an index sign that signifies the drink is full of energy, the colours are bright and they stand out, and will fill you with energy just like the energy throughout the adverts.

One unconventional stereotype used is the use of the slogan #IBELIEVE, at this time it was a use of subverting conventions, as social media was just becoming big, so using hashtags was a first for a company. It allowed to company to gain interest via people using the hashtag.The slogan as a whole however was and index sign signifying that Gareth Bale believes in what the company is trying to convey. 

Shelter Context and Semiotics:

Traditionally, charity campaigns have lower production values due to more money going to help the charity rather than high value campaigns. These adverts generally develop a sense of guilt, however they eventually lose their impact via desensitisation or compassion fatigue as we see them so much. Most charities have two aims, to raise awareness and donations.

Shelter launched the "We Can Help" campaign in 2013, the main target audience of this campaign was people who were in danger of becoming homeless, and trying to get across the message that the charity was there to help them. The secondary audience were people who could donate money to help. The campaign was created on a pro bono basis (for free) which consisted of three outdoor posters showing an extreme close up of three people. In 2013 there was a housing crisis, which was one of the main driving forces for Shelter to produce this campaign. Each headline is not direct address, to get people to struggling to call the charity to help as they would understand what the person on the advert was going through. The campaign was launched in four places in the UK which were known as hotspots for homelessness. 

Friday 20th December

Explain how representations in advertising are chosen to help sell the product or brand. Refer to two of the adverts you have studied (10 marks)

In general, representations in advertising are chosen to help engage the target audience in the product and represent the product as efficient and useful. Representations in advertising can include how the star vehicle is represented after use of the product and representations of the product itself. In this case, I will be comparing the Lucozade advert and Old Spice advert. The target audience of the Lucozade advert includes sport people, people who would benefit from the use of the drink. The target audience of the Old Spice advert includes females who are in relationships with men who would benefit from the use Old Spice. 

The first example is the use of a Star Vehicle to represent the product in both adverts. In the Lucozade advert, they use a very professional sports man in the form of Gareth Bale, who is a professional footballer. This is an index sign that signifies that famous sports star like Bale drink Lucozade as it improves their performance significantly, and it suggests that the target audience, sports people, will perform just as good as Bale after drinking Lucozade, representing Lucozade as a solid brand. This is similar to the Old Spice advert with the use of Mustafa as a star vehicle to represent the brand. Mustafa is represented as a comedic and strong macho male, making sarcastic comments throughout the advert. This directly addresses the target audience, as Mustafa is represented as the man that females wish their significant other could be like helping to sell the product as Mustafa is represented like this after the use of Old Spice. 

Another example of this is the colour palette throughout both products. In the Lucozade advert, the colour palette is made up of very neon colours, this is an index sign which signifies the drink will give you energy, as neon colour are usually very bright and full of energy, just like the drink. This represents the product as very efficient, as it is giving you energy for sport. Likewise in the Old Spice advert, the colour palette is used to represent the product. The palette is made up of very naturalistic colours, like the soft light blue of the sea and green from the palm trees. This connotes that after the use Old Spice, you will feel fresh and natural, representing the product as nice and good. 

Lastly, lexis is used throughout both adverts to represent the products. In the Lucozade advert, the tagline in the the advert reads "In a different league". This connotes that the product will make you perform that much better, you'll be incomparable to any competition. This represents the product as an efficient product. This is the same as the Old Spice advert, the tagline claims the product comes from the Bahamas: "comes from an anti perspirant mine in the Bahamas", this connotes that the product is fresh like the Bahamas representing the product as efficient and fresh.

Self Assessment

WWW: A balanced explanation between both of the two adverts and how the representations are chosen

EBI: Link the use of the representation to the target audience and perfect grammar and paragraphing

Tuesday 14th January

LO: To explore the purpose, form and conventions of music videos

The purposes of music videos:

The main purpose of music videos is to help sell/promote a song. It helps to represent the artist/band through what happens in the video. It also helps to provide a better understanding of the song through visual elements and to highlight the talents of the band/artist.

Music video timeline:

Friday 17th January

LO: Te explore the purpose,form and conventions of music videos

Rock - Arctic Monkeys - R U Mine

Camerawork:

- A range of shots including close ups, medium shot and one long range

- Two main angles used which are eye-level angle and high angle

- The camera is moved between people, creating an unstable pan effect

- Towards the end the camera moves from a long range shot to medium close up

- Mostly handheld

Editing:

- B&W colour grade throughout the whole video

- Filmed in two shots. The cut happens when the song starts

- The second shot takes up nearly the whole video

- No use of graphics, sfx or slow motion

Mise En Scene:

- Performance with slight narrative, the narrative is following the band in a car journey

- Three main locations, a radio station, car and car park. Matches the craziness of the genre as we follow the hectic car journey

- Dim lighting all throughout the video

- B&W colour grade so no colour palette

- The costume of the band is smart/casual

Pop - Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk

Camerawork:

- A range of shots including close up, medium close up, and long range shot

- A range of angles including low angle, canted angle, eye level angle and one high angle

- The use of a steadicam, dolly and tripod

- Never handheld

- Zoom has been used as well

Editing:

- Saturated colour grade

- Fast paced editing with a mixture of continuity and non continuity 

- Cuts to beat and claps in the song

- No use of slow motion, sfx or graphics

Mise En Scene:

- Variety of locations including barber shop,main streets and a club

- Set in a 1950s to 60s street

- Suits with a range of colours including pink

- Saturated colours throughout

Indie - Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks

Camerawork:

- Mostly long range shots and medium close up

- Angles include mostly eye level angles and low angles

- The use of a tripod and a few handheld shots

Editing:

- Slow paced editing, fits the tempo of the song

- Saturated colour grade

- A few shots are in slow motion

- Non continuity editing throughout

Mise En Scene

- Variety of locations including rural lake, recording studio and urban areas

- No overarching setting

- Performance narrative

- Costume is casual, jeans and t shirt

Rap - Stormzy - Blinded By Your Grace PT 2

Camerawork:

- A range of shots, close up, medium close up, medium shot and and long range shot

- A range of angles as well low angle, eye level angle and high angle

- The use of a tripod and handheld

Editing:

- Slow paced editing to fit the pace of the song

- B&W colour grade 

- A few slow motion shots

- No use sfx or graphics 

Mise En Scene:

- Urban setting, outdoor communal spaces and flats

- Casual clothing

- No colour palette due to B&W colour grade

- Performance narrative

Friday 10th January

LO: To research selected case studies for use of Media Language and Representation 

Radiohead - Burn The Witch - 2016

The genre of the song is alternative/indie. The lyrics of the song aim to make the listener "abandon all reasons, avoid all eye contact, do not react, shoot the messengers and burn the witch". The lyrics were inspired by the the News of the World newspaper publishing the names and addresses of sex offenders in 2000. 

The video opens with an Inspector being driven to a town and being greeted by a town mayor. The mayor gives him a tour of the town, where he is shown a number of unsettling sights, including a noose and a ritual. As the Inspector progresses through the town, he is shown a wicker man and convinced to climb into it. It is then set on fire and the townspeople turn their backs to it and wave at the camera. The video closes with the Inspector escaping through the trees. 

The video links to the meaning of the lyrics as it depicts examples of the the unsettling sights in the meaning of the song for example the workers in the greenhouse are not reacting to the Inspector. The wicker man idea was inspired by the 1973 horror film The Wicker Man and the setting of the video, Trumpton, was inspired by the 1960s stop motion animation TV show the Trumptonshire Trilogy along with the use of stop motion animation. 

 

Through the video and song, Radiohead are represented as experimental artists in their genre. They completely subverted rock conventions, experimented heavily and created something rather strange. The song represents the band as more dark and meaningful artists due to the meaning of the video and song.

Massive Attack - Unfinished Symphony - 1991

The genre of the song is trip hop. The song's vocals were by Shara Nelson. The meaning of the lyrics are to inspire people to leave what is behind then and move on from it. The lyrics fins Nelson longing for a companion, but she knows she has been hurt before in a relationship. It was recognised as pioneering song in the development of British dance music, it's distinctive production and Nelson's vocals. 

The song was also known for it's memorable video. The video was directed by Baillie Walsh, and shot in a single continuous shot on a steadicam of Nelson walking through a street in LA. She walked from 1311 South New Hampshire Avenue to 2632 West Pico Boulevard. It opens with a shot of a street gang to then Nelson walking as the vocals kick in. Nelson walks through drunks, bikers and disabled people all without notice of her surroundings. As the video progresses, members of the band can be seen a few paces behind Nelson walking out of focus. First Daddy G, then 3D and then Mushroom. The video closes with Nelson walking past the camera and then proceeding to walk down the street. 

The video links to the song as it features Nelson walking through many distractions, for example bikers and drunks without a care in the world. This is what she is aiming to do in the lyrics, she wants to be free without a care in the world and leave and get over the past. She is successfully ignoring her depressive surroundings and past and moving on without being distracted by them. 

The video represents Nelson as a strong and independent female. She is walking through streets full of depressing sights and moving on without a care, showing her independence and strength. It also represents Massive Attack as a band which are ahead of their time, they are empowering females and showing their independence. They are also represented as a band who are very aware of problems in society, in the video they show daytime drunks, street gangs and run down and dismal streets. The video and lyrics suggest we should move on from this, just like Nelson is doing in the video.

Tuesday 21st January 

LO: To explore the different representations in music videos

Coldplay - Adventure of a Lifetime

Artist:

- Very creative and imaginative

- Experimental 

- Out of the box

- Confident in their ideas

Social Groups:

- Most social groups under represented

- Music artists represented positively, music gives the monkeys life

Ideologies:

- Evolutionism represented positively, the monkeys develop the ability to create music

Stereotypes:

- The artists are go against stereotypes for their genre, more light hearted and fun rather than serious

Stormzy - Blinded By Your Grace

Artist:

- Socially aware

- Very progressive

- Approachable, kind and caring

- Role model

- Positive outlook on life

Social Groups:

- Working class represented very positively with progressive minds

- Youth are represented positively, sensible and approachable 

- Both genders represented as equal, equal roles in the music video

- A range of ethnicities shown in the video, all shown as equal

- Disabilities under represented in the video

- Different sexualities under represented in the video

Ideologies:

- Socialism and progressivism represented positively throughout the video

- Conservatism represented negatively, everyone is equal

Stereotypes:

- Stormzy is very anti stereotype of the jock, he is more approachable and caring rather

Friday 24th January

LO: TO explore representations of chosen music videos 

Starter Task

- The Mise En Scene has be chosen to make her look attractive 

- Her pose and direct gaze suggests she is confident

- Slightly low angle suggests she is being represented with authority 

- The Mise En Scene is very abstract, suggests she is funky and outgoing with her fashion 

Creating an Image

Radiohead - Burn the Witch

- Days before the release of the album, Radiohead removed all images from their social media and replaced them with blank images

- They then released excerpts on Instagram before releasing 'Burn the Witch' as a download

- Artwork for the album 'A Moon Shaped Pool' was created by Stanley Donwood, the original canvas was left outside to be weathered, and then was photographed and edited in photoshop

- Radiohead toured after they released the album

- The final album cover:

- The choice of this album cover represents Radiohead as a more ambiguous and experimental band, they do not feature in the album cover. The Black and White represents them as a more mysterious band.

- All of their albums are artwork, suggesting the band is artistic 

- They don't appear in any album imagery, suggesting the music is their main focus

Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy

- Unfinished Sympathy was released as the second single of their debut album 'Blue Lines'

- The final album cover:

- The album cover is quite clean, representing the band as slick and modern. 

- They don't appear on any album imagery, suggesting the music is their focus.

- The logos are very experimental, suggesting the band is progressive.

Representations - Unfinished Sympathy

Genre conventions:

- The music video is very basic, filmed in one long shot. The focus is on the music and not the visuals

- The setting of the video is very edgy in streets of gangs, like many hip hop music videos 

- The video has a serious tone to it, she a strong independent female. There is a strong tone in many hip hop music videos

Representations of artist:

- The band make a few implicit cameos in the video, with Nelson being the main focus, suggesting that their main focus is the music and not the visuals.

- Nelson is represented as a strong independent female, she is walking with confidence through streets of gangs, drunks, bikers and trouble without a care in the world.

- Because of this the band itself are represented as very progressive, they are forward thinking. This is due to equality being one of their main focuses in their visuals.

- They are also represented as very socially aware, problems in society like gangs, people suffering from alcoholism and just general trouble being caused in the street feature in the visuals in the video. They could also being trying to suggest that these problems need to be addressed

Representations of place and social groups:

- The setting, a street in LA, is represented as very rough and tough to live on. This is due to what goes on in the streets during the video. Gangs and drunks feature, and general trouble is being caused on the street as well. 

- The class that features throughout the video is the working class. It is represented as a tough class to grow up in. This is due to the gangs and drunks that commonly feature in the video, suggesting the working class streets in LA are tough to grow up in.

- There are a range of ages represented in the video, from a young kid to an old man. All of the ages in this video are represented as quite reckless, the young kid is playing with a toy gun and the old man is dancing around with a boom box in the street.

- Females are represented as very powerful and independent in the video. Nelson walks confidently through gangs, drunks, bikers and general trouble being caused on the streets without a care in the world.

- All ethnicities are being represented as equal. Nelson the main focus of the video is black, there are both black and white people causing trouble in the streets. 

- Different disabilities and sexualities are under represented in the video 

Representations of positive and negative stereotypes

- Nelson goes against the stereotype of a typical female. She is represented as a strong and independent female, rather than a female that needs help, support or protecting.

- The people in the gangs fit the stereotype of the jock, they are muscular and strong, almost appearing unapproachable.

- The typical American street gangster is represented as quite reckless and strong, they are shown as unapproachable in the video.

Viewpoints and ideologies

- Feminism and Gender Equality is represented positively throughout the video, Nelson is acting independent and strong and ignoring all distractions. 

Preferred audience response

- I believe the audience would support Nelson in her strength and confidence. They would also feel concerned at the problems happening in the streets of LA from gangs to drunks 

Cultural Context - Unfinished Sympathy

What key events happened in the year of release?

- Cease fire ends the Persian Gulf War, UN forces are victorious

- Europeans end sanctions on South Africa

- France agrees to sign 1968 treaty banning the spread of Nuclear Weapons

- Communist government of Albania resigns

- The Warsaw pact falls, which ignites the fall of the of Soviet Union into the Russian Republic. Boris Yeltsin becomes the first freely elected president of the Russian Republic

- Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia win independence from the USSR, them becomes recognised by the US

- Nirvana releases the song "Smells like Teen Spirit" on the LP "Nevermind"

- Massive Attack temporarily change their name to Massive to avoid controversy with the Gulf War

Who directed the music video and where was it filmed?

- The music video was directed by Baillie Walsh

- The video features a one long continuous shot of Nelson walking through a street in LA, oblivious of her surroundings

What are the representational issues surrounding 'street life' offered in your List A music video

In the video for Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack, 'street life' is represented as a very rough and tough life to live. It is represented like this through the representations of a range of different social groups, classes and genders. 

Firstly, the representations of class represent street life as very rough. The working class are conveyed to be very troublesome, with it being made up of gangs and drunks in the street during the day. There is also people vandalising buildings in the street with graffiti. This represents street life as rough as these are common occurrences on the streets of LA, and would be hard to live around. Also the representation of age represents 'street life' as rough. There are a range of ages causing trouble in the streets, from a young kid playing with a toy gun to and old man dancing with a boombox. This shows in street life, trouble is caused by everyone making street life at any age a rough life to live. Also, the

representation of the artist and gender, Nelson, shows that street life is tough. Nelson is represented as a very strong and independent woman, showing that to put up with the trouble caused in the streets of LA you have to be very confident and strong to ignore it. All ethnicities and people with disabilities are shown to be causing trouble in the video. There is a white man with no legs on a skateboard, riding in the way of Nelson. Distractions like these are a common occurrence in the video. 'Street life' has been represented this way to help convey the reality of living in the streets of LA. During the early 1990s, there was a major recession throughout the Western world, forcing people into poverty due to an increase in taxes.

Friday 31st January

LO: To research and explore intertextuality and cultural context

Intertextuality - Burn the Witch

Trumpton and Camberwick Green

Trumpton and Camberwick Green are both British children's stop motion TV Series that was aired from January to March 1967 on the BBC. They were  the second and first towns featured in the series in the Trumptonshire trilogy respectively which also featured Chigley. The action takes place in the towns which have the same names as both their series' names. The music video for Burn the Witch pays homage to both of these TV Series as they animate the video in a similar style to the animation in the video. 

The Wickerman

The Wickerman in a 1973 British horror film directed by Robin Hardy. The film is about a police officer who visits a remote island to find information about a missing girl. He discovers the island now practice a form of Celtic Paganism. After finding the missing girl after she was about to be sacrificed, the island's leader declares the police man was meant to be sacrificed due to their God's command. He is captured and placed in a Wickerman with other animals and burns to death as part of the sacrifice. The music video plays homage to the film as it includes the Inspector representing the police officer, as he is investigating a remote village and is burnt in a Wickerman at the end, just like in the film.

How is media language used to show the following viewpoints and ideologies?

'Normality'

Normality is shown throughout the video with the use of the narrative. At the start of the video, every villager is going around doing their daily business, as if the community they live in is normal for all of society. There is a villager creating the Wickerman, there are villagers decorating what we discover later in the video to be a noose. There are also what looks like to be villagers just simply decorating for the arrival of the Inspector. Also, all but two of the people in the are expressionless, the Inspector and the person marked as the next person to be sacrificed. This suggests what goes on in the video is normal, no one reacts to it until they are to be sacrificed themselves.

Social solidarity and conformity

Both of these are shown throughout the video through camerawork and the narrative. There is a high camera angle looking over the model village which features the characters of the Mayor and Inspector. The suggests conformity and social solidarity as it suggests that even the most powerful people are under some form of control and are being made to live in secrecy.

Exploitation

There is exploitation shown throughout the video with the use of the narrative and camerawork. There is a long range shot of a group of workers working in unity for a farmer. The shows exploitation as they are all being ruled over by one person, being exploited for labour.

Xenophobia

Xenophobia is shown through the use of the narrative and camerawork. There is a high angle shot over the Inspector's model character in the model village, suggesting that people form outside of their village and community are looked over and disliked. The villagers also burn the Inspector in the Wickerman at the end of the video, suggesting that the villagers dislike anyone from outside of their community.

Authoritarianism

Authoritarianism is shown in the video through the narrative. All of the villagers appear to be under some form of enforcement when we meet them. Towards the beginning of the video, there is a man who's door has a red cross on it, suggesting he is to die soon or be executed. There is also a ritual happening, which is similar to what a Witch trial would look like. This suggests enforcement as they are enforcing strict law over the people in village, they are under constant watch and strict rule. Additionally, there is a group of workers working in unity under watch by a farmer, suggesting that are under strict rule to work whilst being watched. 

Social Exclusion

Social Exclusion is shown through the narrative in the video. Close to the beginning of the video there is a house with a red cross being painted on the door. This shows social exclusion as the man in the house is being excluded from society, possibly due to disease or soon execution. 

How are the following groups represented in Burn the Witch?

Radiohead

Radiohead are represented as a band that like to experiment and focus on their music. The music video is very abstract, there are loads of implicit meanings hidden throughout it suggesting they are experimental as the video is extremely different compared to many rock music videos. They also don't appear at all in the music video, and this specific song is a different style of rock compared to many of their past songs. This represents them as very music focused, they are experimental with their music and they don't appear in the video, both suggesting they are focused on the music. 

Rural Utopia

Living in a rural utopia is represented as an alternate and very socially excluded life to live. The villagers are shown to not be very accustom to people from outside of the village. When the Inspector arrives, they show him various brutal things happening around the village then proceed to burn him in a Wickerman. Their acceptance towards these brutal acts represents living in a rural utopia this way as they believe these acts are normal and acceptable, suggesting they have been excluded from the rest of society to believe this. 

Ethnicity

Different ethnicities are represented as rare in the music video. Everyone in the music video is white living in a very medieval like society. They are represented like this due to the society not including anyone of a different ethnicity. 

Gender 

Throughout the video, both of the genders are represented as equal. The workers working for the consist of both males and females, suggesting they are both able to complete tasks which require labour. Both males and females complete narcissistic tasks, there are females decorating a noose and selling food which appears to have blood dripping out of it, there is also a male painting a red cross on a door, which could potentially be dangerous if it was because the inhabitant was ill. 

Class and Status

Throughout the video, there is a clear difference between the classes which is represented as normal throughout the video. The Mayor and Inspector are both dressed very formally all the way through the video, whereas the villagers are dressed in normal clothing. Also the villagers have to complete narcissistic tasks and tasks which requires labour, especially for the farmers, however the Mayor, Inspector and farmers are just observing. This is represented as normal, as the villagers don't appear to be annoyed about it, they just show the Inspector what they are doing as if it is their daily work. 

Britishness 

Britishness is represented in as normal in the video. There are stereotypical British things all throughout the video which includes farming and food like pasties which the chef created. There is also the stereotype that British people are quite rude, which is shown in the video as the Inspector ignores the Mayor's handshake. 

Tuesday 25th February

LO: To research institutions and ideologies behind case study project

The Big Issue

The Big Issue is a street magazine founded in 1991 by John Bird and Gordon Riddick. It is one of the UK's leading social businesses and exists to offer homeless people, or individuals at risk of homelessness, the opportunity to earn a legitimate income thereby helping them reintegrate into society. It is now published in four continents in 9 countries. It discusses various problems and stories in society from politics to theatre. The target audience is for both males and females aged between 18 and 49. 

  

Vendors buy the magazine for £1.25, and then sell it on for £2.50. To become a vendor you must be homeless or at risk of homelessness. All vendors receive training, sign a code of conduct and can be identified by badges on the street. 

The magazine had a rebrand in 2012 to discuss a wider range of problems and changed its' logo to a more modern look. The magazine also gained a more graphic look. 

Ideology - The extent to which media products contain and communicate particular ways of looking at the world, an assumed set of values that news providers assume its audiences possess and share. 

These may be the general values of society, for example the importance of human life or attitudes towards crime and punishment. It might be values that only a specific group in society share like anti nuclear or veganism.

In a lot of mainstream newspapers, you can clearly see Gramsci's model of the social political landscape of a culture or society as being Hegemonic. The hegemonic view is the dominant political view of a culture or country. This value shapes the way that most of society see the world.  

  

The Big Issue believe in more of a left wing magazine, they express more left wing views in their covers than right wing views. They also celebrate British culture and British values. 

Friday 28th February
LO: To identify the primary target audience for The Big Issue

Psychographics of The Big Issue

• Interested in the, music, theatre and film etc
• Interested in culture
• Parents
• People who read

Target Audience Infographic

Tuesday 10th March
LO: To analyse Big Issue covers effectively

What ideologies are represented in this cover and how have they been represented? What does it tell us about the target audience?

Firstly, the ideology of having a social consciousness has been represented positively throughout the cover. In the cover lines there are stories such as "94 year old Holocaust survivor" and the "the sign language rapper" which suggests the target audience have a strong social conscious and are aware of problems in the current and past societies. Also, there is an ideology of cultural awareness as well as social awareness, they are aware of stories from different cultures as well as British culture, suggesting the target audience is also interested in different cultures. 

Cover Analysis

Firstly, the cover has an indirect mode of address to the audience, with a serious address and tone as well shown through the lexis. For example, a lot of the lexis is very blunt: "Still At War". This is to emphasise the severity of the story in the main cover line, it is a story about problems soldiers suffer back at home, especially mental issues.The lexis throughout the cover also helps to emphasise the issue of veterans mental health. The emphasise and combination of certain words, for example: "Battle" and "Peace" along with "fighting" and "futures" suggests that this issue should be taken extremely seriously. This appeals to the target audience as it they as socially conscious, and aware of issues in society like the problems soldiers suffer back at home. 

The layout also helps to promote the severity of the issue, the subheading covers the eyes of a civilian with a solder's helmet, who is the cover star, suggesting that soldiers aren't confident in themselves when they return home due to mental issues they suffer from. Again, this appeals to the target audience as they are socially aware of problems in society. 

The other cover lines appeal to the target audience in two ways. Keith Moon was the drummer for rock band "The Who" who were a big band during the late 1960s and 1970s. RZA is the leader of band Wu Tang Clan which originated in the early 1990s and still create music today. This appeals to all of the target audience, the older side of the age range would be interested in Keith Moon and the younger side RZA as the target audience are interested in arts, which would include music. 

The colour palette also helps to emphasise issues throughout the main cover line. The juxtaposition between the light green and monochrome grey and black is harsh on the eye and it also makes the the reader focus on the helmet over the head. Overall it is suggested that there is a war going on inside the civilian/soldier's head due to mental health problems, for example PTSD or depression. This would again interest the target audience as they have social conscious. It would also interest the vendors as due to homelessness or due to being on the verge of it, they could be experiencing similar issues and want to help promote them. 



Friday 13th March

Starter:

• Lexis, "National identity", represents British culture in a positive light, suggesting the target audience celebrate British culture.
• Colour palette, Intertextuality involving The Sex Pistols album, suggesting the target audience are into music.
• Lexis, "spirit of rebellion", presents the magazine to have more liberal and rebellious ideologies, suggesting the target audience are also more liberal.
• Main cover line involves Banksy, suggesting the target audience are into art and different cultures.
• Cover lines, involves author Horatio Clare, suggests the target audience are into literature. 

Exam Style Question

Analyse why The Big Issue magazine has used an intertextual approach to the referendum on its front cover

Throughout the main cover, the Big Issue have used intertextuality to express their opinions on the Brexit referendum as a whole and the Conservative, UKIP and SNP government parties. The main use of intertextuality is the use of Abba song quotes, and placing MP's faces on the bodies of Abba. 

Firstly, the main image contains the faces of several MP's on the bodies of the band Abba. It is almost mocking the MP's in their approach to the Brexit referendum, suggesting that they believe that it should not have been put through in the first place. It is also mocking the individuals as well with the images of them pulling strange faces. Especially Boris Johnson who is known for being strange in his approach to politics. Another way it suggests that they do not support the referendum is the fact that the image is not serious in any way, conveying that they are telling people to take the referendum lightly. This appeals to the target audience as they have more liberal views than right wing and the Brexit referendum was not viewed positively in left wing British politics. Overall, the use of this main image is an advantage in trying to help convey their message and opinion as it is clear to the audience what they are trying to convey. 

Next, the use of the lexis and typography throughout the cover helps to suggest that they do not support the referendum. The use of quotes from Abba songs, for example: "The winner takes it all" and puns using lyrics from Abba songs, for example: "Knowing me, knowing EU" again suggests that they are not taking the referendum seriously, they are making cheesy jokes about the referendum due to not supporting it. The typography also helps to convey this. Apart from the masthead and headline, the font is all in lower case. This also helps to suggest that people should relax about it as it was going to happen at that point adding to their half hearted views towards the referendum. This again links to the target audience as most of the readers would understand the intertextuality throughout the cover due to their interest in music and arts, also because Abba were and extremely popular band. This is also an advantage in helping to convey their message and most of the target audience would understand the jokes being made throughout the lexis. 

Lastly, the use of the colour palette helps to express their viewpoints to the reader. It mostly consists of blue, yellow and red with exception to the headline and masthead. These colours do not connote severity as oppose to black, white or grey. It is also opposes colour palettes for many broadsheet newspapers, which tend to support Brexit and the referendum rather than following similar views to the. This suggests that they are against the referendum and not taking it seriously unlike many broadsheet newspapers. This links to the target audience as again they tend to have more liberal views which were against the referendum rather than right wing. The use of the colour palette is an advantage in expressing their opinion as it lacks severity, just like their take on the referendum. 

In conclusion, the Big Issue have used several different types of methods to their advantage to help express their viewpoints on the Brexit referendum. 

Tuesday 14th April

LO: To review end of unit assessment and set personal targets

Question 5 DIRT

• Patriarchal ideologies have been reinforced throughout the advert with the use of the star vehicle, and their facial expression along with the camera angles. The star vehicle is Isaiah Mustafa, a former NFL player who has the body type of the typical macho male, suggesting he is a strong and confident male. The photo of him is medium/close up, which allows us to see his body type. He also has a confident facial expression, suggesting he is confident in himself and his body. This reinforces the idea of patriarchal ideologies as women would almost see Mustafa as a figure to look up to, and make their partner like.
• Masculinity has been reinforced in a similar way, they are representing Mustafa as a confident male throughout the advert, suggesting all males should be confident about their body in a similar manner especially after the use of old spice. 
• The ideology of consumerism has been represented positively. This is through the use of the lexis, typography and the representation of Mustafa. The lexis suggests that the product will make you feel fresh and clean, as it has come from an "anti perspirant mine in the Bahamas". The font is sans serif, capitals and in white to stand out from the rest of the advert, suggesting the brand are confident that the product is excellent. the representation of Mustafa also helps to reinforce this, he has a confident facial expression, and the close/medium shot of him shows his torso, suggesting that after the use of Old Spice you could be just like him. 
• Individualism has been reinforced throughout the advert as well. Mustafa's confident facial expression and the medium/close up shot of his torso suggests he believes in himself, and stands out from the crowd. Through the main image there are several people playing in the beach individually, suggesting that Old Spice gives you freedom to do what you want and independence. The typography and lexis also suggests that Old Spice will give you confidence, allowing you to stand out from the crowd due to the boost in confidence.
• Ethnic stereotypes have been represented positively throughout the advert. This is because of the representation of Mustafa. He is extremely confident in himself. He has a confident facial expression and he is directly addressing the audience. The close/medium shot including his torso suggests he is also confident in his body. Overall he has been represented as a man to look up, the typical macho male which helps show that ethnic stereotypes are being shown positively as Mustafa us black. 
• Tropical cultures have been represented positively throughout the advert, the advert main image includes a beach in the Bahamas, where the people on the beach appear to be having fun and playing throughout. It has also been represented positively through the lexis, it claims that Old Spice has come from an anti perspirant mine in the Bahamas, suggesting something that can make you so confident comes from a tropical area. 
• Lifestyle/wealth/success has been represented as something to be proud about. Mustafa as been represented as confident in himself due to his direct address of the audience, close/medium shot of torso and confident facial, and is a former NFL player so is priding upon his success. 

Question 6 DIRT

In a music video, the artist can be represented in several ways even when they are not in the video which then helps to promote the artist. The video I will use as an example is the video for "Unfinished Symphony" by Massive Attack. 

Firstly, the video uses social realism to help represent American street life, the use of non actors help to empasise the reality of this representation. The video shows a run down street in the city of LA, which includes broken pavements and run down buildings. It also includes a gang at the start of the video and drunken men throughout the video. This represents American street life in a negative way. It suggests that it must be a difficult life to live, as there are all these problems happening everyday on the streets. It also includes non actors, real people who live that life everyday who were not aware they were in the video, which helps add to the realism and express this issue. This help to promote the artist as they are raising awareness about this issue, the video expresses issues in society and people watching just for the video would then be exposed to the artist.

The vocalist, Shara Nelson has also been reprented in a postive light throughout the video. Nelson confidently walks through a street filled with issues, without a care in the world. It also helps to represent women and ethnic minorities in a positive light, as Nelson is both black and female. She has been shown to be confident and independent as she walks through the street ignoring all distractions. This helps to promote the artists as they are expressing that both females and ethnic minorities should be confident in society, anyone who agrees with this viewpoint may watch the video and be exposed to the artist. 

Lastly, the artists themselves have been represented in a positive light throughout the video. They make short cameos in the background of the video, joining Nelson on the walk in the background. The video is in focused on them at all, suggesting that they want to focus on the issues of American society or focused on making good music rather than the video. This helps to promote the artists as they are making meaningful music along with a meanignful video, which would attract a larger audience as they are producing better media.

In conclusion, in the music video for "Unfinished Symphony" by Massive Attack there are several representations which help to promote the artist.

Question 7 DIRT

• I would add the use of a parody type style of the front cover, which helps to emphasise the meaning of the front cover.
• I would also add that the juxtaposition between Trump and the four males helps to emphasise the power that females are gaining in society.

In conclusion I believe that the Big Issue have effectively represented these different social groups in good detail. They have individually represented each different social group in a different manners, females and ethnic minorities in a positive light suggesting they have power and are better roe models to look up to, and white males who are negative influences in society.