Model Of The Media

Media Theory: Narrative

Media Theory - Narrative

There are many different aspects of narrative but its main definition is considered to be the way that the story within a film or media product is organised. 

Elements of Narrative:

There are a few different elements of narrative in which we must consider whilst comparing this to an sort of media products and these are:

• Time - The time within narrative dictates how much time the text covers. E.g from 2007 to 2012 in a movie with a 5 year flash back gap. An example of a film with a massive time lapse within the text is the film Space Odyssey, this film starts in prehistoric ages and then skips approximately 50, 000 years ahead. 
• Closure - closure is reliable for every aspect of the film having a definite finish. An example of a film with bad closure in the sense that it does not have a definite ending is that of the blockbuster movie Clover field. The film ends when the camera that was the main prop in the film cuts out as we assume the main character is dead. This leaves us with a lot of questions about what is happening within the film. 
• Enigma - An enigma is essentially a problem within a film that the characters and roles within the film would have to solve in order for a substantial amount of closure to be put into play. Without enigmas within film there would most of the time be no story leaving a very tedious and pointless text behind. 

Classical Hollywood Narratives: 

In contrast to that of narratives elements within media texts their are also categories of elements that fall under what we call Classical Hollywood Narratives, these are: 

• Linear - This dictates whether the story that the narrative follows is in chronological order or not, in order of when the events took place and of the dates that they took place in. An example of a film with no linear factor is that of the film PulpFiction. this film jumps about between time periods and gets very complex structure wise nearing the end of the film. Flashback
• Sub plots - This is when a character that is not majorly relevant to the films main plot line but they have their own storyline and /or plot line to follow anyway whilst the main story is still ongoing. 
• Tendency towards closure - This explains when most hollywood films follow the idea of closure, everything has an ending and most endings finish with little to no questions remaining about the questionability of the main plot line. 

Tzvetan Todarov:

This Bulgarian media analyser explains his views on how all narratives play out in popular hollywood films as well as zany of sort of text that this relates to. He expresses his ideas of Equilibrium, Disruption, Resolution and a New Equilibrium.

• Equilibrium - An equilibrium is the beginning section of the film thats main priority is showing the normality of the film, the fact that nothing special is happening and nothing bad is going on is what this equilibrium dictates through media texts. 
• Disruption - The disruption within the film is the occurrence that throws off the stores previous equilibrium and replaces it with an event that shows chaos and confusion. 
• Enigma - An enigma id essential a problem that the main character or someone who is considered an important character in the film is presented with and must fix/resolve in order for the film to end and therefore reach its new equilibrium 
• Resolution - When the enigmas that were first presented previously in the film/clip have now been fixed and taken care of
• New equilibrium - When all the problems that were first within the film have been resolved through the resolution and therefore the film has now arrived at a new equilibrium, this is different from the first equilibrium as there are no left over situations that have arised from the solved enigmas.

Applying Todorovs Theory to Scream:

We can apply Todorovs theory of equilibrium, disruption, enigma, resolution, and new equilibrium to that of the opening scene of the very popular horror film being "scream"

The Equilibrium - The equilibrium would be the very start off the film where we see the careless teenager preparing for a film, having a careless slightly flirtatious chat with an unknown caller and making movie food for her version of relaxation time. 

The Disruption - The exact moment of disruption would be when the unknown caller (in this case the villain in this film) says"I want to know who i am talking to" this is the moment in which she realises that she is being watched by someone unknown and begins to get very scared and shook up. 

Enigmas - There are few questions that we are left asking on how she will resolve certain problems/enigmas that the film then presents are careless teenager with, these are: What is she going to do? how is she going to get rid of this man? How is she going to escape? is she going to die? etc.

Roland Barthes:

Barthes described all text as "Bundles" of meaning that can be unraveled to create a whole range of different meanings.

Texts can be split into two different categories in which we can perceive them, these are: 

• Open - This means that there are numerous "Threads" to pull, this means that the film ends with no clear ending on what happens, leaving you asking different questions about which of the outcomes that are possible is the real one that the story concludes itself to. 
• Closed - This is when the film has a definite conclusion that everyone can see and it has a set ending by comparison and contrasting to that of an open text. 

Texts that can be read in a number of different ways are known as polysemic texts.

An example of a polysemic text is that of the widely controversial but also popular film "Scarface", this is because it can be read in a number of different ways of which are: the glorification of violence, a "rags to riches" like story, and lastly a film that dictates the theme of the 80s being, greed and consumption. 

These "Threads" are known as narrative codes. with the most significant of the codes being, Enigma codes. These are used to attract and hold the audiences attention with the presentation of previous problems. This enigma code is normally presented in the disruption phrase of Todorovs theories. 

Vladimir Propp:

Vladimir Propp is known for his analysis of old folk stories that he later compared to modern day films to see the comparisons in which he can make, for example he concluded that all famous hollywood narrative films contain only 8 different kinds of characters that have any significant relevance to the films outcome. These are: 

1. Hero 
2. Villain
3. Donor(provider)
4. Helper
5. Father Figure
6. Dispatcher
7. Princess
8. False Hero(someone who seems as if they are on the side of the hero un till nearing the end where they change and most of the time switch to the side of the villains.)

An example of a massive hollywood blockbuster of which we can compare this theory to is that of Star Wars:

1. Hero - Luke Skywalker
2. Villain - Darth Vadar
3. Donor - Obi wan Kenobi
4. Helper - Chewbacca, R2D2, C3P0
5. Father Figure - obi wan Kenobi
6. Dispatcher - Princess leia
7. Princess - princess leia
8. False hero - Han solo?

Blog 8: Star Theory - Richard Dyer

Star Theory - Richard Dyer

Stars As Constructions:

Richard dyer believes that artist such as Madonna and Britney Spears are created for all artificial uses such as media consumption through product placement, advertisements, erotic desire and any means that will make them (the artist) and their record producers money. Richard dyer also stated that audiences prefer it when an artist portrays his or her true emotions and feelings through the artist profile without following the artificial stereotype that their managers and record labels advice them to do but instead do what they want and what would make them happy as an artist. This is known as being a "Real" artist, being a "Real" artist is also a selling point on its own and it encourages people who do not like to follow the mainstream flow to buy this artists music or general media. 

Promotion - Industry and Audiences:

Richard Dyer also believed that stars are manufactured for the soul reason to make money for their record labels, managers and generally anyone that is used to control them and their image. As a result of this record labels have to cater their different artists to appeal to different target audiences and ages, for example One Direction appeal to mostly 10-16 year old whereas that same record company might also have someone else to appeal to that of an older age group.

Promotion - Ideology and Culture:

Artists will become trendsetters. This idea states that any popular artist that is made popular under a particular style or image will be mimicked by that of their audience as their followers will try to copy them and everything they do in their hopes to be like them. It may even get so extreme that audiences
even change their religious beliefs because of their artists religious preferences. Sources such as the internet and other ways that technology can be used allows audiences to be up to date on anything and everything that their artist does and therefore allowing them to obsess over them further.

Promotion - Stars Support Hegemony:

Stars support hegemony, this is by their use of ideology and the presentation of a "glorified version of normal people" they are seen as leaders by portraying their dominance by the means of paparazzi's constantly glorifying them and trying to analyse every aspect of their life in order to make money. There is also a theory of Cultural Hegemony this describes how states can use cultural institutions to maintain power in capitalist society's for example.

Artists Representation in Music Videos

Music industries and more specifically record companies create the artists profiles under their own unique genre, for example rock, pop, rap, RnB, etc. each genre/category has their own signatures of which appear in almost all of the music videos that fit under this category of music genre. Because of this record labels can decide whether they want their music video to conform or contrast to that of the music video genres overall idea and use this to promote the video. 

An example that we can use for an artist profile in a music video is that of the superstar sensation Britney Spears. Britney spears videos for all of her songs all depict to the same target audience. Her empowering body language and overall catchy songs from her (a woman's) perspective appeal to that of the teen girl market very well. However the extent of the sex appeal within the video suggest appeal to a male audience, this shows Laura Mulveys idea of the male gaze. From this piece of information we can say that Britneys career is built around a male controlled industry. 

We also see features of pop videos that are typical of the , girl group/teen girl style music video such as catchy choreography and synchronized dance moves along with the image of childish pigtails in her hair.

Deconstructing Britney Spears: 

This was a music video that Britney Spears released very early in her career as one of her first majorly popular songs. As for her image in the video i would definitely say that the music video, and more specifically the mise-en-scene within the video is very exploitative in oppose to it being empowering. This is because she is playing the character of a bored, blond, not too bright school girl and is wearing this characters costume in not the most decent way as it has been turned into a crop top and an incredibly short skirt leaving little to the imagination. This again conforms with Laura Mulveys theory of the male gaze as this video was obviously set up by her dominantly male corporation leaders and as well as that it was definitely made for her male audience specifically, while still trying to appeal to other audiences at the same time. 

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During Britneys early years her videos made her surrounded by teen iconography, such as meeting with friends, tight clothing, pink, revealing clothes, pigtails etc. This developed into how people saw her, in other words her image. Britneys image reflecting teen life and all the dram that comes with it correlates extremely well with the songs she released for example her song "I'm Not A Girl Not Yet A Woman" details her struggles growing up as well as general teenagers struggles everywhere, thus appealing again to her teenage audience but this time more to teenager in general instead of just the male audience. 

Unlike our other Britney examples this one seems very indecisive on what it is trying to do, by this i mean that it has elements of being both exploitative as well as empowering. This is done by the very strong and heartfelt lyrics that were made to appeal to female audiences and encourage them to achieve well in life, the lyrics also make the song more enjoyable which contributes to its popularity. However there are scenes during the video where we see Britneys typical lack of clothing or modified clothing to suit her "Style" such as the cowboy like outfit in the beginning. This conforms with earlier Britney such as "Oops I Did It Again".

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Moving on to Britneys much later career, the song "Overprotected" was made as her response to a news report that she saw about her not wearing as much clothes as she should in public places. Because of this the song "Overprotected" is a very powerful song and it is seen as empowering to women of all ages and for this reason it is very popular to its specific target audience which in this case is women in general. 

In conclusion when it comes to gender debates, Britney Spears songs are seen as polysemic texts, meaning they have more than one meaning and can be perceived in many different ways. We have seen Britney Spears career evolve from the early "Teen Princess" through to a half naked woman who does performances souly for male audiences or only to appeal to male audiences. 

Blog 7: Power Point On How Pop Videos Can be Used to Create a Brand

Blog 7: Power Point On How Pop Videos Can be Used to Create a Brand

Blog 5: Key features - Andrew Goodwin

Blog 5 - Andrew Goodwin 

Andrew Goodwin was a very important figure in our media research role for the main reason of his features and references that are contained within his book, "Dancing in the Distraction Factory".

In this book he explains all the key features and stereotypical occourances throughout different types of music video. These are: 

• Music videos that demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g stage performances in metal songs, or dance routines for boy/girl bands etc.) 

An example of a music video that perfectly fits these guidelines is his, All American Rejects - Gives You Hell. this video shows them as a relatively popular rock band having fun and showing off their musical abilities through the form of this very catchy and repetitive song. The requent use of close ups of the lead singer as well as overall shots of the band preview and showcase their ability as a band whilst stil allowing the song to draw you in. The mise en scene is more or less scruffy, therefore also giving off a rock band feel to it and correlating with the song. 

• Another characteristic of music videos that Andrew Goodwin described to us through his book is that of the relationship between the music videos synopsis and the story that the lyrics are portraying either through illustration, amplifying, or contradicting. 

An example of this characteristic in a music video is that of: Adele - Someone Like You

This videos story line dictates a very sad love song where Adele who plays herself in the video is singing about someone she once lost(break up and that she will never find again, it is a very said song and the video reflects this through the constant black and white theme giving off a very sad motif throughout the song, as well as the constant takes of Adele on her own with no one else, also reflecting the very sad mood of which the song and lyrics also portray, they are correlating.

• The video will need lots of closeups within the context of the video in order to please the record label and preview the artists full potential in order to make as much money as possible. the close ups will portray the artists brand identity for example, lady gaga weird sense of style.

This video by lady gaga features a lot of closeups which highlight and draw special attention to her style and fashion sense, being her brand identity that she has built up. This can also be liked back to Laura Mulveys ideals of feminism, as in almost every scene within this music video she is practically half naked, purposely trying to show as much "allowed" skin as possible in order to attract more male viewers and appeal to her male audience. 

• There is also frequent reference to the notion of looking, screen within screen, looking into iphone, computer, phone, or tv screens as well as generally any technological advancement that is being abused in order to redirect your attention to it. An example of this is within the video made by the killers- "just another girl" nearing the very end of the video we see a refernce to looking through looping tv screens all showing the same picture.

This video by the Killers does not contain a lot of these looking notions, looking at screens within screens for example. However it does have one very good and obvious example nearing the very end of the music video where the singer for the band is leaning over a monitor which is filming him, making a repeating image effect within the screen. 

• There is an intertextual reference to other music videos or generally other forms of media such as films etc. This cause other people to relate said music video to the other music videos they are referring too as well as it would also make their video more popular because of the use of famous examples such as well known films etc. 

This video entitles - "Walks Like Rihanna" by the Wanted uses many different references to many different famous music videos throughout the course of their video. This contains references to bands such as Take That, Backstreet Boys etc and therefore proving how popular this can cause videos to be as this is a well known video because of its iconic references. 

Blog 3: Purpose of a Music Promo video with special reference to Synergy

Blog 3: Purpose of a Music Promo video with special reference to Synergy.

Although their are some bands and artists that are in the music industry purposely to make music and only that most other bands are only in the band or industry as a whole for one reason and one reason only.

The Art of the Music Video;

The music video has many different purposes to it as well as goals that it was made in order to achieve, all of which benefit the artists and their goal of making money. 

1. It helps to promote the artist and their work, such as the album that the song appears on and the artists profile etc. 
2. It also persuades the audience to purchase whatever merchandise the artist may be selling along with the production of this music video.
3. It raises the audience awareness of the artist and therefore their popularity also grows through this production. 
4. Product placement will take place somewhere in the video and therefore subliminally telling the audience to buy that said product that was intentionally displayed within the video, thus also helping them to further make more money as an artist i the music industry. 

Synergy:

There are many ways to promote a music video, one example of a different way to promote said music video without just the single music video campaign which is sen as the norm of how music videos are released is that of synergy. this is when both 2 different companies work together with the same motive, In the case of the music industry and music video production synergy would be used by a film and music video teaming up to produce and/o promote both the film and the music in the same music video. An example of this is Bryan Adam's - "Everything I Do"

This form of synergy works to the benefit of both companies being both the music video producer and artist as well as promoting and advertising the film that is seen in the music video also. 

What Makes a Successful Music Video:

How well a music video does in its industry is based on a lot of different things but it is mainly based on how much money the artist makes from it as well as how popular the artist is. Music videos can be seen and spread in many different ways in order to make them more popular and to earn more money for the production company and artist, some of these examples are:

• Word of mouth
• Number of hits on you tube ( dictates how popular the video is)
• Newspaper articles and TV reports 
• When and how many times it is premiered on television
• how much publicity the artist gets
• How popular the artists brand identity already was before releasing this video 
• Charts and cd sales

MoodBoard for RememberDecembers Brand Identity

MoodBoard for RememberDecembers/ Alternative Music Video Brand Identity

This is a mood board that i made which dictates how we will present our band member and main narrative characters within our music video, in other words what their key brand identity that they must present them self as will be. These are also typical of the rock/alternative style that the song we are using falls under.

Genre Moodboard

Genre Moodboard For RememberDecember/alternative genre

This is a mood board that we did not just for the band RememberDecembers style (The band who made the song which we are using) but for the entire genre that this band fall under. This mood board explains typical scenes, items of clothing and photo styles of how these sort of alternative style bands represent themselves and we will use this to dictate how our characters in our music video will look like as well as how they will be presented also.

Artist Profile

Artist Profile

Age: All band members are in late teens

Gender: All members are male with the exception of the female vocalist

Number of band members: 5

Genre: Alternative, punk

Core target audience: Teens, Young adults

Permission For Our Music Video

This is a message that i sent to the lead singer of the band RememberDecember, this is the band that i plan to use for the song that will be what our music video is focused around. I asked if i could use the song if i credited them for all the rights and gave them all the credit but they did not reply, however i can still use their song as they did not refuse to the statement. For this reason i will be using RememberDecembers song"Friends With Benefits" for my music video

Brand Identity

Brand Identity

Music videos can make or break an artists popularity in a very short period of time. For example the main reason that Lady Gaga is popular is for her very unusual and spontaneous style that she presents through her music videos. Another example of getting massively popular through just the means of a catchy and weird music video is that of the Korean superstar PSY. He is only popular because of the very stylistic dance that is presented in his video for the massive hit song "Gangnam style" 

Why is Brand Identity So Important? :

Brand identity is a very important aspect of the media industry as it is what their career as a popular musician revolves around and if they change this style that they would of worked so hard to create it will confuse their followers and they may even posse popularity, artists become known for this personal image instead of their actual music that they produce. 

An example of brand identity that has made this artists career through the constant, repetitive use of her key style and characteristics is that of national pop star JessieJ. 

JessieJ has a very unique style and some very interesting features that is trademarked by her style. these being the constant use of money related products such as gold, silver etc. Expensive objects and also her signature "bob" hairstyle that she has had throughout the most of her career so far.
She also has a her very own font of writing her name as seen in this photo, this logo of hers is used in almost every single poster that she has been placed in. 

Her video for "price tag" displays all of her signature trademarks very clearly. 

Another example of a band that is constantly referred to and recognised by their signature identity that they have developed is that of the recently very popular band "Arctic Monkeys". The arctic monkeys have ben around for a very long time in fact their first album was released some time in the early 2000's however they have only recently shot up in popularity and have now become somewhat of a "mainstream" artist. 

They have developed from an old school punk band of teenagers to the classy, simple and recognisable artist that they are today. Their signature trademarks include the constant black and white them in a lot of their photos, the sound wave on they album "AM" and the constant classy dress sense. All of these things has made them develop massively into this popular artist that they are recognised by today. 

There is one more band that i have found that is recognised by their brand identity and this is the very recent Hardcore/metalcore band "Beartooth" 

This band have only recently burst onto the scene and they are recognised by many of they key features set by the lead singer as well as the rest of the band. For example their is a constant use of denim clothing within the band, hence the sleeveless denim jacket the singer is wearing in most of their photos. They also have their own logo being the "B" in the circle that is owned by them and used on all of their album covers somewhere as well as almost all of their posters and advertisements. 

They are also recognised by their new sound that not many people have made popular before them, the "shouting" vocal style that the singer has and fast paced but also very melodic backing d=tracks set by the other members are key to their style and no other bands.