Q4 Analyse the representation of musicians

Analyse the representation of musicians in Extract 1, which is from MOJO Magazine. 


The magazine extract uses a simple colour palette of monochrome colours and uses white and brown writing with an accent colour of red. This use of colour connotes a serious tone towards the magazine and the artist Nick Drake. This is further supported through the decision of the editor presenting Nick Drake in black and white with his head covering the title of the magazine which once again shows seriousness and respect towards Nick Drake.

The magazine has quite a masculine feel to it, partly due to the colour scheme used. The masculine feel is also portrayed through the other artists discussed, including Nirvana and Krist Novoselic. All of these artists or bands are male dominated which suggests that the world of rock is male dominated and enjoyed by a male target audience, which is further reinforced by the monochrome colour scheme and capitals for the coverlines.

This feeling of masculinity is further reinforced by the choice of language used in some coverlines. Phrases such as 'Krist Alive!' and 'war and peace' connote a sense of struggle or a battle to live shared by many of the artists covered in the magazine; use of words like these are stereo typically male.

Finally, MOJO magazine is challenging the stereotype that music is dominated by younger artists as it is representing 'authentic' music as being the domain of the older, more established artists such as Nick Drake.

OBSERVER Q9

'The representations featured in the online Observer reflect its values and beliefs'. How far do you agree with this statement?

The Observer and the online Observer are publications that sit towards the left of the political spectrum and as a result concern themselves with values and beliefs that are more socially liberal and not usually sensational in their content. The online Observer shares their values, they aren't prepared to voice their opinions, they discuss worldwide news rather than just the UK and they also discuss politics and international affairs. Something else they also do is featuring women who are in empowerment which many people around the world enjoy reading about.

Firstly, the online Observer doesn't just discuss news within the UK, but all around the world. In the extract given to us, we as a reader see that there have been articles about US immigration, Saudi dissidents who can finally voice their opinions and also an article about Jamaica. This connotes that the Observer want to discuss international affairs rather than things just within the UK which many other newspapers do.

Next, the Observer also includes diverse and inclusive articles. It is obvious that they are interested in all sectors of society as in the article given to us, health, NHS, diseases, people mourning and many more. This represents all of the voices of the unheard which connotes inclusiveness and seriousness to insure every topic is discussed.

The online Observer also isn't afraid to tackle difficult issues. For example, they mention death, brexit, bullying and other difficult issues to discuss. This connotes that they have a robust understanding of all sorts of issues and are prepared to discuss them.

Something the online Observer does too, is value culture just as much as hard views such as politics. For example, mentioning of Saudi Arabia and Jamaica signals that the Observer understands all cultures which connotes they value culture and other countries.

Therefore, the online Observer evidently reflects all values and beliefs even if people don't agree with them.

OBSERVER Q8

Media Language is used on the online Observer to create meaning. The colour palette on the online Observer is a royal blue with an accent colour of burgundy, this connotes seriousness towards the online Observer as the colours are quite simple yet effectively symbolise seriousness. Whereas if the colours were bright yellow and green, it might portray a less serious layout and therefore have a younger target audience.

Similarly to this, the Online Observer has a very linear layout and is extremely orderly and has certain groups per category. This connotes seriousness as it is very orderly and may also show that the target audience is slightly older and more serious. 

MOJO MAGAZINE EXAM Q4

Refer to extract 1 in the insert. Analyse the representation of musicians in Extract 1, which is from MOJO magazine.


On this MOJO magazine cover, the main splash is covering the head line, 'MOJO', because it is such a popular and familiar magazine brand, everyone knows what it is called just from the font and a couple of the letters. Because the artist is covering the head line, it is clear to the audience that he is the main splash and is the most important thing on the magazine cover. Supporting the main splash, his name is in big bold writing next to him saying 'RAY DAVIES' this evidently shows that he is very important to the cover, and is the main topic.

Ray Davies is staring up into the distance and not towards the camera which creates him as a figure we should all look up too, it makes him seem sophisticated and a good role model. The colour scheme is black and white with the feature colour being yellow. Because the colours are so monochrome, the colour yellow stands out a lot. The puff is in yellow which makes the readers eye gravitate towards it which suggests there is something exclusive inside the magazine.The cover lines are pushed either side of the main splash. The ones on the left are all pushed towards the side making it look tidy and professional, the same is done on the right. On the right, the writing with the biggest font and size is in a triple deck, making it look smart. Notice how none of the writing is covering the main splash, this connotes that he is the most important and significant thing on the cover.

SCEEN SHOTS OF SOAP OPERA

The title sequence gives us an idea of where Coronation Street is set and what it is called



This image gives us an idea of what these characters house looks like and how they like to live, for example, we can see that they have beer cans everywhere and that it is messy



This shows the women's reaction to something, we can already tell she is a main character as she is on it straight away



This shot reverse shot shows that the man is angry and is in an argument.

QUESTION 3 CUFFS

In this question you will be rewarded for drawing together elements from your full course of study, including different areas of the theoretical framework and media contexts.
How far does the extract try to create a sense that it is portraying 'real life'?

The extract from Cuffs that we see does portray 'real life'. It does this through the use of realism, firstly, the scenes are always set in naturalistic locations, for example, when the police officers are in the shopping precinct, the lighting is very natural unlike some TV shows where it is high key lighting which is very unrealistic and staged. Also, it shows realism because a lot of bad things happen as well as good things, for example, when Jake's sandwich arrives, he can't eat it because he is in a rush and therefore has to leave which shows realism. Finally, their costumes are also very conventional which makes them look more convincing and realistic.

Editing is a key theme to make a show realistic, the use of continuity editing and conventional camera work adds to realism, for example, the use of shot reverse shots makes the series seem less artificial and more as if they characters are just generally talking in their day to day lives. Also, when the PCSO is being threatened, the camera is being hand held as a pose to being very stable and on a tripod, this gives the audience the feeling that she is scared which suggests documentary realism.

The use of generic conventions of the police drama with the young rookie and old hand show a sense of realism as there is usually an older cop mentoring a younger cop, and in the instant it is Jake and his mentor Ashely. There is always also a team of officers, including different genders and ages which fits the audiences expectations and doesn't undermine a sense of reality. Also, they use stereotypical characters to connote realism, for example the criminals are all male which enables instant interpretation which makes the scene appear more real. Contrasting with this, they use deliberate anti-stereotypes like when the female beat officer is in a head scarf, which may reinforce a sense of realism. This helps the audience connect with this character because if you were from an ethnic background that wore a headscarf and they was no representative of this in Cuffs, they may feel that going into the police career isn't for them.

Finally, the extract offers the audience entertainment and diversion for example the visual spectacle of the robbery and the opportunity the audience has to identify with the group of the police officers and how they act like when they were having some lunchtime banter, these mainstream uses and gratifications enhance the realism in the extract.

QUESTION 2 CUFFS

Analyse how far the extract depicts the police's point of view rather than the criminal's point of view:

In this extract, the polices point of view is the one we see the most, there a many points that show this but the first one being that the police are presented in many more close ups compared to the criminals
In the extract the police are presented in many more close ups compared to the criminals who are mainly seen in longer shots where the audience can't completely see their facial expressions, which hints to us that they are just known as criminals whereas we get to know the officers very well. For example, in the dining hall, there are many close ups of the police officers while there are just long shots of the criminals.

Next, the editing is very smart and makes the police officers seem more dominant. When the criminals do something wrong, it immediately follows with the police officers reactions which shows that the criminals are in the wrong and the police clearly think badly of it, however, if the police acted and did something, there would be no closeup of the criminals which shows that they are of less importance.

Music is a huge role of creating 'goodies' and 'baddies'. The criminals are often portrayed onscreen with non diegetic sinister and suspicious music which connotes that they are the villains as appose to the police being the bad ones. This once again shows that the extract is from the polices point of view.

The criminals have a very stereotypical costume which hides any characterisation for the audience to see so that we can't find out about their true personalities. Whereas the audience have a chance to really relate to the police officers. For example, we see a lot more individuality of all the officers like when the new, younger officer has to leave his food and lunch early because the criminals have done something we get to see his facial reactions and how he feels. We get to relate to these characters more as we see way more of them. This connotes that the officers are the ones we should support purely because it's in their perspective.

The narrative mainly follows the world of the police, the only time the criminals are showed is when the police are also present (because of the criminals mistakes). When Jake was eating lunch we saw a lot of close ups of him and how he felt however the audience would never see the criminals eating their lunch.

Finally, a narrative is also constructed, in which the relaxation of sympathetic characters is then disrupted by lesser known characters like the criminals. There is a lot of cross cutting of this when the officers are eating lunch in the canteen and when the criminals are robbing a shop. The cross cuts connotes that the police are the good ones in the situation while the criminals are in the wrong completely.

QUESTIONS 1 CUFFS

Analyse how sound is used in the extract to create meaning. Refer to at least two examples from the extract in your answer:

The use of diegetic sounds in the extract such as the vehicle smashing into the glass connotes the amount of violence and action that is going on. Similarly, the diegetic sound of the sirens creates a sense of fear and danger for the audience while it also immerses the audience into the life of the programme.

Next, there is a use of background sound, when they are in the cafe there is a lot of chatter and diegetic music which makes it seem more realistic and surreal. It is very effective when we can hear them speaking on their radios, yet we can see something different, this use of off screen speech is effective as it gives depth to the narrative.

Finally, non-diegetic music was added in during the robbery and car chase which connotes a sense danger and it exaggerates the experience even more and adds tension.

QUESTION 8

The Observer uses a lot of methods in media language so readers can interpret the newspaper in their own way. The dark blue colour at the top shows importance of the Observer and their name. The burgundy colour symbolises the importance of certain news articles and that they are the ones most people want to read. The online observer includes ads, famous people, brands and companies for their advertising sake and also for these brands and people to get known of. The observer is quite modern as it doesn't have the typical font of a old fashioned newspaper and font is sans serif which gives it a modern feel. The typeface of the Observer implies ideas of importance. The lines are very short which catches the readers eye and then when they click onto it, it goes into more depth. The use of other peoples views in first person allow the audience to relate to the newspaper, it makes it more relatable to the reader as other people may be experiencing what is happening and by using the comment section people can discuss their views. The Observer uses a lot of hyperbolic, emotive and sympathetic language that drags the reader in. For example "Can I forgive the man that raped me?", this is showing female empowerment and how women can stand out for themselves, the image also conveys that the genders in this story are equal as the are just standing back to back instead of the man overpowering the lady. Viewers now a days are more intrigued on what happens in other peoples lives as a pose to actual news so by having a headline like that, drags the viewers in.

FILMING

For our groups beginning of our movie, we chose to use the reversible St Lucia doll. We immediately decided to base it on a voodoo doll so if the doll gets hurt so does a person. We wanted the scenes to be dark and scary so we chose the tunnel to do all the filming, it was quite hard because it was dark we struggled to see how it turned out. The videos were quite shaky because we didn't have a tripod but in the end when we watched the footage back it didn't look bad, it just added to the scary effect. Firstly, we hit the doll on the wall and then a person had to do that too in a way that looked realistic and not fake. Although we haven't edited it yet, I think the footage turned out well.

INDUSTRY AND AUDIENCE QUESTION

Analyse the media language to create meaning in the online Observer home page:

Once way in which the text communicates to its readers is by using stories and opinions that would then form the readers to have conversations with other people who have read these front pages too. Visuals will accompany the story which attracts the readers eye and makes them won't to read the story. They first added stories so that strangers could create conversations with each other when sitting next to each other on public transport.

Surveillance is a huge part of newspapers, viewers like zooming into other people's life. So if the story and its photo is about someones personal life, people will be more likely to read it. Also, if a famous persons name is on the front cover and has a story about them, if you are interested in that person you are very likely to go on and read what has happened to them recently. The Observer, for example, will put something for everyone on the home page, from personal stories, to food, to famous people, to sports and even countries, there will be something everyone wants to read. Short and simple titles for each story is what the Observer has done which is what will bring the readers into the newspaper.

PHOTOSHOP

This is my photoshop experiment, I used polar co-ordinates to make my image into a 360 circle. Then I added my production name and said that the skyline was London.