Audience theories

 Audience needs:

Personal interests-  Personal interests are a need for audiences because it evokes excitement in the viewer. Target Audiences are all based upon personal interests. Personal interests has an element of escapism in it since it allows a viewer to get lost in their interests

Escapism-the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy. Games, Films, Music are all examples of this

Personal identity- Personal identity is an audience need because it allows viewers to find themselves. This happens when there are certain themes in a media product, this could be song lyrics or characters in tv or films.

Surveillance-Ganing interest on how others live

 Intertextual references

Parody

- An imitation of a style or particular  writer, artist or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect

Pastiche

- When an artist work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist or period

Homage

- special honour or respect shown publicly

Allusion

- When a text refers to another to text to help the audience understand something

Plagiarism

-illegal copying of anothers work

Why use intertextual references

Additional meaning- helps audience make sense of the text 

Fee Smart-The audience gets pleasure from connecting what they see on screen to what they already know

Fills in gaps-Media creator doesnt have to explain the whole situation from a scratch

Representation theories

 Representation- the way aspects of society(gender, age, ethnicity) are presented to audiences

Stuart Halls representation theories

Stuart halls representation theory-Original subject has a single fixed meaning. The media creates the meaning of a subject- this could be based on personal views. 

Societies understanding of the world is based on the media representation 

Stereotypes narrows societies perception of the reality of the subject

Audiences should interrogate a text and look at deeper meaning

Hegemonic- ruling or dominant in a political or social context

Mediation

Mediation is a process everything goes through before it reaches an audience

Richard Dyers theories

1 What sense of the world is it making

2 What does it imply? Is it typical of the world or deviant?

3 Who is it speaking too? For whom? To whom 

4 What does it represent to us and why? How do we respond to the representation?

Walter Lippmann coined the word stereotype

O'sullivan- details that a stereotype is a  label that involves categorisation

Laura Mulveys Male Gaze theory 

Refers to the way women are objectified by the camera lens and suggests they are. Mulvey wrote that women are characterised by their "to be looked at ness". Women are a spectacle

Doo Wop(That thing)- Lauren hill detailed analysis

This shot from the start is extremely important to the overall video since the idea of having 2 timelines not only simultaneously but in the same shot is very important to the music video. This could be considered an establishing shot to set the idea of the change in an urban area changing over time in the views mind.

This shot from the early stages of the music video is again setting out the general idea of the music video. This medium 2 shot shows the singer twice in two different outfits to embed this unconventional technique into the viewers mind.

This shot is used in the early stages of the video is used by the director to show the power difference between a person of colour and a white male. This shot is purposefully low angled and only shows the bottom half of the white mans outfit however simultaneously shows the black man fully due to him being sat down. This is used by the directors to show how black people will never have as much power as white peoples.

This shot is used by the director once again to portray the differences from the two different time periods on show. This shot is interesting because there is multiple meanings behind it. On one hand this shot could be saying that there has been a decline in quality of life. This is shown by the people in the left shot are dressed in suits and dresses whereas in the right shot the man is wearing a wife beater. On the other hand there is a clear demonstration of the technological advances shown by the radio/ CD player. As well as this the expressions on the faces of the people on the right hand side of the frame vs the left. The person on the right of the shot has a pretty happy expression however in contrast the person on the left side of the frame the person has an emotionless expression on his face.

This wide shot at the beginning of the music video is somewhat out of place in this video since wide shots are conventionally used as establishing shots. This is used by the director to throw the viewer off, this purposefully makes the reader confused which helps conform to the overall ideas of the music video and the message its trying to convey.

Once again wide shot is used however in my opinion it is used in a different way. Unlike previously this wide shot is used in the opposite way. This is used to establish the idea once again a similar way to the 2 shot at the beginning of the music video. This shot however since it is wider and shows more people it emphasises the sense of community that the 2 shot didn't show. This shot tells us that the community in both of the time periods are very strong and friendly which challenges the common stereotypes that assume these places in New York would be dangerous

This ultra wide shot is used by the director of the music video to convey the idea that there is not a huge change in the two time periods. In this shot there are people tightly packed together, this forcefully merges the people from the two time periods together, so they are right next to each other. The potential reason behind this shot type is to show that despite the change in time the sense of community has continued.

This 2 shot is similar to the shot at the very beginning of the music video. This is potentially used by the directors to bring the original feel of the music video. Bringing the original shot back is used to create a sense of comfort for the viewer. This is useful because the concept of the music video is relatively abstract and using this shot comforts the viewer. 

This shot from the middle of the music video is very different to some of the shots from before. This works well at this point in the music video it may get a bit repetitive or boring, this new shot type adds a new feel to the music video to keep it interesting.

This shot is very representative of seeing, this is used not only to once again show the advancements in technology as well as this the symbolism of "seeing" advertises the artist.

 

This shot similar to the previous one shows the advancements in technology. This shot is very near the end of the video and it is used to paint a final picture in the viewers mind of how life has changed extremely over time.

Representations

This music video contains a good representation about women and black people in late 90s New York. This video shows the divide in

Trends the Beatles pioneered

 

Help

This music video contains many different shot types. For example there is side shots containing multiple band members, this is used to better show the performance. As well as this there is a heavy use of close ups, this is likely used by the label to show the members of the band which would greater advertise the band and increase profits. This music video is in black and white mainly to save money since colour filming in the 60s was extremely expensive.

Penny Lane

Music video style

 Performance- these music videos include a solo artist or a band lip syncing to the song in front of a camera. Shot types included in these music videos are close ups of instruments, wide shots to show the full band and medium shots of the main singer.

This music video is a performance because it only features the band performing and has

Concept- these music videos have little to no connection to the music or lyrics. These music videos have multiple storylines.The visuals are usually abstract. These feature a whole range of shot types shot types such as, wide shots, close ups, mid shots

Narrative- these music videos have a narrative , the lyrics and visuals are mostly connected. These have probably the largest range of shot types since there is a story line.

3 Music videos of interest

 

HEY YA- OUTKAST

According to Andrew Goodmans book- Dancing in the Distraction Factory, this music video follows multiple of the 7 conventions listed that music videos must have. For example, his 4th topic which says that the label often asks for close ups of the artist is very true for this video since the main inner Andree from Outkast being multiple members of the band. The representation in this music video is pretty poor once looking at it one way. However, in this music video, the representation could be considered as a parody because the shots of women screaming in the audience seem deliberately done and are used with close ups with stereotypical female screams. This representation is creating a world where women are typically obsessed with the artist in an almost lustful way. This representation is used in a parody way to make fun of that world and saying that it is stupid. This video is speaking to men and women as a way to make fun of the stereotypes, this implies that the way the media typically portrays women in music videos is stupid. The target audience for OUTKAST would likely be the explorer, the reason the explores would like OutKast is because the feel-good nature of the song links well with their high energy and individualism. This music video would solve the audience needs of escapism since it provides a way for an audience to relax.

STAN -EMINEM

Directed by Philip Atwell in 2000, this fits into the narrative category of music videos since it has a story line that links to the lyrics of the song. Some visual techniques used in this music videos are different shot types such as close ups and over the shoulder shots. These shot types links Stan with the artist Eminem since they show how physically similar the two are. The lyrics in this song links perfectly with the music video and is very descriptive. For example, when the lyrics talk about Stan driving whilst drunk with his girlfriend in the boot it shows this in the music video. This song is a rap song however it is relatively unconventional. In terms of representation, this music video displays the issue and dangers of mental health and obsession. Some may argue that this music video is an ego stroke for Eminem where he creates a world where he is seen as an idol and many people obsess over him, for this reason some people may believe that this music video is a poor representation of mental health. This music video implies that artists are the main focus of obsession. As well as this there is a positive message behind the music video in saying that mental health is dangerous if left untreated, this likely is the main reason behind not only the song but the video and it therefore has a positive message behind it. This music video is mainly directed at people who suffer with mental health as a way to reassure them. Most people would agree that the representation in this music video is positive and necessary in order to raise awareness for mental health.

Supersonic- Oasis

This music video falls into the performance category of music video. This video conforms well to Andrew Goodwin's theories, mentioning that the lyrics have a connection to the video in the form of lip syncing. As well as this there is many close ups of band members playing their instruments, this is used by the label as advertisement to develop their iconography

About Me

Thomas Mason

I chose to study creative media at A level due to large interest in the subject making me want to pursue a course at University. Across my studies, I have been proud of the work I have created such as the creation of a music video with detailed planning and pre production work needed. For the music video, I learnt the planning skills and necessary camera and editing work needed to produce a short film. The Unit 21 course of the A level where I came up with an idea for a TV drama for BBC 3 which I eventually presented to a client and took in feedback which allowed me to understand storytelling. As well as this, in my studies I learnt scriptwriting and wrote an extract for the TV show idea I came up with and then went on to advertise for the TV show.