MUSIC VIDEOS: MUSIC LANGUAGE

 

PREP Explain how music videos use media language to promote their artists. Refer to the pair of music videos you have studied from the list below in your answer.

Our music videos are Wheatus Teenage Dirtbag Avril Lavigne Sk8ter Boi

HOW TO ANSWER: Media language points to consider:

the prioritising of the star / the group; the privileging of the star / the groups in the frame

authenticating the star's performance / the band's performance to show their skills

the use of close ups; lip syncing to camera; eye contact with the audience

 

 

RNR MOJO COMPARRISON PREP

 

MUSIC MAGAZINES: MEDIA LANGUAGE

Look carefully at the front covers of MOJO and RNR magazines. 

QUESTION: How far do MOJO and RNR use different media language to create different connotations? (CONNOTATION meaning: an idea or quality that a word makes you think about in addition to its meaning.)

Answer on your blog. This is a high-value question and should take all lesson to answer. You can use the class blog search engine for more examples of how to analyse music magazines.

In your answer you should have 2 paragraphs:

• analyse the media language in MOJO and RNR magazine. 'Media language' includes the placement of the main image, the type of photography, lighting, colours, fonts, how busy or restrained the cover is, the layout (such as alignment to the margins), how serious or playful 
• make judgements and draw conclusions about how far the media language is used differently in both extracts to create different connotations. Are there similarities in both covers? What sorts of audiences are they targeting? You could think about MOJO's rock aesthetic of living loud and dangerously compared to RNR's folk, rock, blues vibe. 
  
  

  
  

The MOJO magazine has a large image situated in the centre of the page to show the main article. In this case the main splash is of Dave Grohl, the guitarist for Foo Fighters, who is depicted in a harsh lighting. This masks his face and maybe some of the wrinkles caused by age. He has taken a forward and open aggressive stance and is smearing. This shows the grit and aggression of rock music. We also see this reflected in the cover line “We’ve been to funerals, we’ve been to jail.” This creates an unsettling atmosphere as neither of these are nice places to be. In addition the background and cover mount are very harsh colours which helps the white and red writing to stand out.  On the other hand RnR depicts the old folk singer Christy Moore. He is lit in a warm lighting, showing the age in his face. He is also smiling and is set against a brown, beige background which helps give a calm atmosphere. This is mirrored in the cover line saying “These days it's yoga, camomile tea and three Our Fathers.” This reflects the calm, peaceful persona he gives off in his music. 

In conclusion, both have a similar layout with cover mounts, and other cover lines aligned to the right. They differ extremely as they show two different sides to music. Dave Grohl's shows a harsh environment whereas Christy Moore shows a more calm, collected side to music. In addition, they have two very different colour schemes. The MOJO magazine has lots of bright colours and stands out massively. On the contrary, RnR has a more calm approach with dull colours like brown, beige and grey. Despite this they have similarities like the white font and red hints.

MEDIA LANGUAGE AND MOJO

 

Identify the different elements on the MOJO front cover and say if this is a genre convention:

 

Title- the title is MOJO which is in all capitals and in a white font which makes it stand out

Main splash / image: who is it and does it celebrate the person? How is it lit? Is the singer made to look important? How many other images are there? the main splash is of Neil Young who is a popular singer of country rock, is depicted in a warm orange light. this makes his features look soft and masks some of the wrinkles that could have come from aging. the lighting also makes him feel like a friendly person with a warm persona. we see one other image in the top right which shows another musician featured in the magazine. 

 

How 'busy' is the cover as a whole?

Are there cover lines (additional articles)? How organised are they? Do most music magazines have a similar number of cover lines (additional articles)? the cover is relatively busy with bright saturated colours, it has many cover lines which are aligned to the right. it is hard to say how many cover lines a magazine normally has as it varies between different magazines.

 

What are the main colours and is there an accent colour? the main colours are blue with white and yellow font. there are also light accents of black and red

 

Is there a cover mount and is this typical of MOJO? there is a cover mount and is very common of mojo. 

TASK 3

 Go to the BBFC site and research age ratings. Why was The Lego Movie (2014) given a U rating? You need to click on the Ratings info

the lego movie was given a U rating as it does not have explicit content. it is considered to have mild action, which is understandable as it is a lego action movie, and mild rude humour. It is given a U rating as it is aimed at a younger audience.
  

Go to the PEGI site and research what age ratings are about. Why is The Lego Movie video game classification 7+?

pegi says "This game has received a PEGI 7 because it features non-realistic violence in a child-friendly setting or context and violence that lacks any apparent harm or injury to fantasy or mythical beings and creatures."                what this means is that pegi think that as the game is lego which is a child friendly product and there is no problems with harm or injury that its ok for young children to experience the game. despite this parents should still make their own decisions and decide if the game is suitable for their child.

CUFFS: MEDIA LANGUAGE, REPRENTATION OF CHARECTERS, SOCIAL ISSUES ANS CONTEXTS

 We watch cuffs on ClickView and work from the OCR GCSE text book starting at page 5.

 arc pan follows eyes looking for shop lifters

non diegetic

donna is in front running - equality 

lets Jake cuff the shop lifter for experience 

arc pan again - Jake is confused 

Jake is embarrassed and confused

cut from Jake to prison door locking

contrast of Jake being spat on compared to chief super intendent saying "the public respects and supports the police"

we see police doing their job as well as their friendships and comedy between the police

people use media for needs:

escapism, diversion and entertainment, usually choose media the reflects us - personal identity, watercooler moment - social bond, surveillance - naturally nosey so want to learn

eye contact between Jake and Simon who are both gay - sets up for more throughout the series

two shot and focus pull between Jake and Ryan. Ryan isn't talking directly to Jake but wants him to hear "we don't care what your parents do" Jake is soft focus and comes into focus when he realises and understands 

Donna and Lino react smirking - shot to shot - smirking - reaction shots

After that motivated edit, hard cut to Jakes dad

Joe is torn between decisions, hesitant, interpreted his reassurance as flirty or professional guidance

close up on Joe shows reaction, emotions after her interaction with Chief Super-intendant Vickers

shot reverse shot, little narrative, Felix feels deeply and feels lots of pressure, lots of strain on the individual

cross cutting between police of duty lunch out, builds relationship

popcorn prep

 Name 3 different camera movements; explain how they may be used

Close up-  A close up or extreme close up is a useful camera technique which can focus on a character. It is commonly used to build a bond between the audience and characters and is particularly useful when showing grief or uneasiness.

Panning-  panning is swivelling the view of a fixed camera horizontally and can be used to set a large scene. this could be a persons POV as they turn their head left or right. camera pans can also be used to elongate shutter exposure when trying to take a still image of a moving object.

Establishing shot- Often included at the beginning of a scene, the establishing shot helps to build ambiance and may give a nod towards the context of what’s to come. It generally comes in the form of a long shot and indicates where (and sometimes when) the scene is taking place.