1b – Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to the concept of audience.
In order to create a successful product- my A2 music video-which was made to accompany the song ‘Cosmic love’ by Indie artist Florence and The Machine, it was important for myself and producers generally to consider the targeted audience before beginning the task. I considered in detail their age, gender, general interests, social class etc. I decided to aim my music video at the female gender, aged from 17-25 years old, particularly those interested in the indie-pop genre, possibly with inclination to listen to similar artists such as ‘Fiest’ and ‘Kate Bush’. I had to create a music video, digipack and magazine advert which appealed to this audience, so in order to understand and appeal successfully, I began studying similar products. I looked at the music magazine advertisements contained in NME and Q especially those which shared similarities regarding genre and artists. I found that the magazine advertisements in these magazines generally seemed male-orientated using male artists- which made me think that mine would stand out as it contains a female artist with a simple style, compared to the over-complicated, masculine design of many I looked at.
When I was creating my digipack I looked at similar products on the market from the indie pop genre, which related to new modern genres of music growing in popularity thus creating attracting larger audiences particularly in young people. I found that a clear layout accompanied with an interesting use of graphics was successful, as it attracted audiences by grabbing their attention. On my digipack I added in graphic stars using Photoshop alongside my own pictures of sparklers which adhered to the quirky, interesting effect I attempted to create. The use of Laura Mulvey’s theory called ‘The male gaze’ can be applied to my music video as I used close-ups shots of the models’ face which focuses on sexual, seductive features such as the lips and eyes, and then also upon her hair also through the music video digi pack and music advertisement. Mulvey identified two types of the male gaze: ‘voyeuristic’ and ‘fetishist’. Voyeurism refers to seeing women as ‘whores’, whilst fetishism refers to seeing women as ‘Madonna’s. My music video relates more towards the fetishist interpretation of the male gaze as she is dressed modestly and the narrative of the song surrounds her feelings and experience rather than focusing on her appearance or objectification.
Bulmer and Katz’ Uses and Gratifications theory to my music video, which has four reasons as to why audiences consume media texts: entertainment, which is for the purposes of escapism and diversion; surveillance, which is for the purpose of obtaining information; personal identity, which suggests that the audience relate to the characters and situations; personal relationships, which suggests that the audience look to the media text as a way of connecting with those around them. My music video would fall under the entertaining category, due to its pleasurable, aesthetically pleasing appearance and use of interesting mise en scene. It may also be regarded as adhering to Personal identity through the use of an influential female character that might inspire audiences. My magazine advertisement, digipack and music video contains an artist with quirky make-up and dark clothing which stands out from standard, everyday styles – this therefore relates to personal identity again by encouraging the audience to become inspired and influenced by the artists style choices. The style is different, and almost controversial which Is a factor I found to be successful in music videos from my similar product research, particularly Florence and the machine or even mainstream artists such as Lady Gaga who is known for her controversial, exciting outfit choices. When audiences see the advertisement in magazines, or the purchase the CD I intended for them to enjoy it but also feel as though they are part of club, exclusivity almost which is something younger audiences typically crave.
The age of my intended audience begins around late teens towards young adults, which is typically an age of hedonism, self-discovery but ultimately a time when they begin to explore different sources of inspiration through the people they see in magazines and the music they listen to-so in this sense the target audience in regards to age particularly is suitable to the magazine. The social class I aimed my products at was C1-E, because the majority of young people are either students, apprentices or new workers, meaning there’s a high chance of them owning/having access to the internet where they can watch my music video and encourage them to buy the CD and recognise the artists in magazine advertisements which include the website address. This allows readers to again feel ‘part of an exclusive club’ by interacting with the artist’s life and events further.
Stuart Hall’s reception theory focuses upon how audiences consume media, arguing that producers encode meaning into a media text for audiences to unravel. I included this in my media video by metaphorically representing feelings and emotions with actions. For example the theme of ‘dissolving’ or ‘disappearing’ is evident through the use of blown out candles and ink dissolving into water – this concept links to the lyrics which describe the emotions felt during heartbreak such as ‘now it's left me blind’ ‘So darkness I became’. The character in the music video wears a deep red lipstick and dark eye shadow and wears dresses made from delicate materials- this highlight her femininity and ensures that she is perceived as beautiful, which links to attracting a male audience and Mulvey’s concept of seeing women as ‘Madonna’s. Although it could be argued that my music video conforms to the stereotypical woman through the chosen costumes and use of make-up, but also the narrative which portrays her as a weak female, victim to an assumed heartbreak.
In conclusion I think that my music video and the accompanying products successfully appeal to my target audience which I selected pre-production. I think that my music video would not only be perceived as interesting, but also easily understood by the target audience due to the research, planning and feedback.
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
1b – Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to the concept of audience.
In order to create a successful product, it is important for myself and producers generally to consider the targeted audience before beginning the task, considering in detail their age,gender,general interests, social class etc I considered the ‘Uses and Gratifications Theory’ when creating my magazine, this surrounds the idea that there are four main reasons for the media – to act as a diversion, for personal relationships, for personal identity and for surveillance. My magazine focuses escapism, by using it as a diversion makes the people in the magazine relate to my target audience so they can enjoy it but also feel as though they are part of club, an exclusivity almost
During AS I created a music magazine which could be categorised under the ‘indie-pop’ genre, which related to new modern genres of music growing in popularity thus creating attracting larger audiences paticuarly in young people.
I decided to aim my magazine at the female gender,aged from 17-25 years old, paticuarly those interested in the indie-pop genre, possibly with inclination to listen to similar artists such as ‘Fiest’ and ‘Kate Bush’. Upon studying similar products, NME and Q shared a lot of similarities with my product especially the genre and contained similar artists, but the general content seemed male-orientated- therefore I think that my magazine will be successful in that sense; there is a market for this genre of magazine aimed at women. The age of my intended audience begins around late teens towards young adults, which is typically an age of hedonism, self-discovery but ultimately a time when they begin to explore different sources of inspiration through the people they see in magazines and media generally- so in this sense the target audience in regards to age particularly is suitable to the magazine. The social class I aimed my magazine at was C1-E, because the majority of young people are either students, apprenteships or new workers, meaning they may not have large incomes and therefore the price of the magazine needs to reflect this- the readership of the magazine will decrease regardless of the content quality if the price is too high that they can’t afford to purchase it. My target audience would probably have access to the internet, so the website address is included which allows readers to have a preview of what’s inside the magazine, but also interact with the magazine further.
In reference to audience theory, the readers of my magazine would fall under the ‘ Main streamers’ category even though the genre is more ‘niche’ than others, such as pop or rock music. The content of the magazine would appeal to the audience through the use of competitions which encourage audience interaction and the articles which relate to festivals and music events- these fall under the general interests of my target audience which I discovered during the preproduction stage. Also including artists of the same genre will probably spark a recognition amongst the audience who are aware of who they are already, thus encouraging them to buy the magazine.
During AS I created a music magazine which could be categorised under the ‘indie-pop’ genre, which related to new modern genres of music growing in popularity thus creating attracting larger audiences paticuarly in young people.
I decided to aim my magazine at the female gender,aged from 17-25 years old, paticuarly those interested in the indie-pop genre, possibly with inclination to listen to similar artists such as ‘Fiest’ and ‘Kate Bush’. Upon studying similar products, NME and Q shared a lot of similarities with my product especially the genre and contained similar artists, but the general content seemed male-orientated- therefore I think that my magazine will be successful in that sense; there is a market for this genre of magazine aimed at women. The age of my intended audience begins around late teens towards young adults, which is typically an age of hedonism, self-discovery but ultimately a time when they begin to explore different sources of inspiration through the people they see in magazines and media generally- so in this sense the target audience in regards to age particularly is suitable to the magazine. The social class I aimed my magazine at was C1-E, because the majority of young people are either students, apprenteships or new workers, meaning they may not have large incomes and therefore the price of the magazine needs to reflect this- the readership of the magazine will decrease regardless of the content quality if the price is too high that they can’t afford to purchase it. My target audience would probably have access to the internet, so the website address is included which allows readers to have a preview of what’s inside the magazine, but also interact with the magazine further.
In reference to audience theory, the readers of my magazine would fall under the ‘ Main streamers’ category even though the genre is more ‘niche’ than others, such as pop or rock music. The content of the magazine would appeal to the audience through the use of competitions which encourage audience interaction and the articles which relate to festivals and music events- these fall under the general interests of my target audience which I discovered during the preproduction stage. Also including artists of the same genre will probably spark a recognition amongst the audience who are aware of who they are already, thus encouraging them to buy the magazine.
Monday, 27 February 2012
Post modernism in The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a parody of a middle class American lifestyle, focusing on a family who share the same name of the programme. The family consists of Homer (father figure), Marge (mother), Bart (son) Lisa (elder daughter) and Maggie (infant). The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield and parodies American culture, society, television and many aspects of the human condition, which is a prominent feature of it’s post modern condition.
The show led to a film being made ‘The Simpsons Movie’ which was released in theatres worldwide on July 26 and July 27, 2007, and grossed over $527 million.
The characters have proved to be largely influential, for example the father figure Homer's catchphrase "D'oh!" has been adopted into the English language, and the programme itself has influenced many adult-oriented animated sitcoms such as ‘Family Guy’.
Since its debut on December 17, 1989, the show has broadcast 495 episodes and the twenty-third season started airing on September 25, 2011. The Simpsons is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009 it surpassed as the longest-running American primetime, scripted television series. The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film, wGunsmokeas released in theatres worldwide on July 26 and July 27, 2007, and grossed over $527 million. The Simpsons can be suggested as a postmodern comedy through the; Intertexuality, Hyperreality and Metanarratives.
The decline of the meta-narrative is a frequent theme in the programme , and there is examples of humouring towards religion, government, and well known social figures . Examples of this are, when Homer gives his soul to the devil for a doughnut, when he is killed by some broccoli and goes to the gates of heaven, and is told he cannot enter until he does a good deed. When he does St peter misses it because he was reading the newspaper. Another example is when homer tries to vote for Obama, but the vote goes to Mcain, suggesting that the votes were rigged. The video is available through the link below. The video also shows a specially made "Fat Booth" highlighting the rising problem of obesity in the united states, making light of pressing social issues.
Key Postmodern features include the non linear narrative containing an ambiguous time space/movement, every episode begins afresh and past episodes are forgotten/ unaffecting- this is similar to comedy ‘Family Guy’ This is references in one episode when Lisa says “ohh don't worry, it'll all be alright by the next episode".
The family have been created with an ambiguous age, location and era. Springfield is a made up place, all we know is that it is in America. The period or time setting is also unclear, all we do know is that it is within the postmodern era. In 17 years Maggie has not learned to walk or talk, and still uses her dummy., the entire family do not seem to age at all. It seems that this level of ambiguity has been used in order to broaden the audience relatibility, because in effect the family can represent a lot of different families in America.
The programme contains cultural diversity and acceptance of issues not typically considered the norm, especially in the sit-com genre. There is a level of Diversity regarding Ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and socio-economic status, which is a prominent post-modern feature. Hyperreality is shown through Jean Baudrillards theory in, Simulacra and Simuation. He suggests that what we are left with are not representations of reality in the literal sense but simulations of reality, which are essentially copies of copies. The mass media have such an influence on the public that the information it exchanges is based on copies of copies instead of the original referents.
The Simpson family is in many ways a symbol of the typical contemporary American family, The show’s opening sequence is itself illustrative of TV’s importance in the family’s existence all family members rush through their everyday lives, all the family members rush to the couch in front of their television set, showing how important watching TV is to them. The opening sequence sets the tone for the show’s continual depictions of TV as both a unifying force and an instigator of the family’s actions. TV is what brings these different age groups together as they watch the vast array of recurring TV shows broadcast in Springfield. Bart and Lisa are binary opposite, but these differences immediately dissolve when an episode of Itchy and Scratchy appears on the TV screen. Any conflicts between the siblings are abandoned in order to enjoy the stimulating cartoon world in Itchy and Scratchy together.
To conclude I think that the combination of typical postmodern features outlined in my essay alongside supporting theorists indicate that the Simpsons can be classified as ‘postmodern’. The narrative and characters themselves seem to lack progression, but in terms of the programmes acceptance and diversity towards various fields (gender,ethnicity,sexual orientation, status) , there has been a great deal of progression which is prominent in the postmodern condition. The show influences a large audience of children because it is broadcast weekly. It also links to baudrillard’s theory of reality, as it’s supposed to represent reality however the events that occur in the programme fail to represent an everyday family and the things that happen to them.
The show led to a film being made ‘The Simpsons Movie’ which was released in theatres worldwide on July 26 and July 27, 2007, and grossed over $527 million.
The characters have proved to be largely influential, for example the father figure Homer's catchphrase "D'oh!" has been adopted into the English language, and the programme itself has influenced many adult-oriented animated sitcoms such as ‘Family Guy’.
Since its debut on December 17, 1989, the show has broadcast 495 episodes and the twenty-third season started airing on September 25, 2011. The Simpsons is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009 it surpassed as the longest-running American primetime, scripted television series. The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film, wGunsmokeas released in theatres worldwide on July 26 and July 27, 2007, and grossed over $527 million. The Simpsons can be suggested as a postmodern comedy through the; Intertexuality, Hyperreality and Metanarratives.
The decline of the meta-narrative is a frequent theme in the programme , and there is examples of humouring towards religion, government, and well known social figures . Examples of this are, when Homer gives his soul to the devil for a doughnut, when he is killed by some broccoli and goes to the gates of heaven, and is told he cannot enter until he does a good deed. When he does St peter misses it because he was reading the newspaper. Another example is when homer tries to vote for Obama, but the vote goes to Mcain, suggesting that the votes were rigged. The video is available through the link below. The video also shows a specially made "Fat Booth" highlighting the rising problem of obesity in the united states, making light of pressing social issues.
Key Postmodern features include the non linear narrative containing an ambiguous time space/movement, every episode begins afresh and past episodes are forgotten/ unaffecting- this is similar to comedy ‘Family Guy’ This is references in one episode when Lisa says “ohh don't worry, it'll all be alright by the next episode".
The family have been created with an ambiguous age, location and era. Springfield is a made up place, all we know is that it is in America. The period or time setting is also unclear, all we do know is that it is within the postmodern era. In 17 years Maggie has not learned to walk or talk, and still uses her dummy., the entire family do not seem to age at all. It seems that this level of ambiguity has been used in order to broaden the audience relatibility, because in effect the family can represent a lot of different families in America.
The programme contains cultural diversity and acceptance of issues not typically considered the norm, especially in the sit-com genre. There is a level of Diversity regarding Ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and socio-economic status, which is a prominent post-modern feature. Hyperreality is shown through Jean Baudrillards theory in, Simulacra and Simuation. He suggests that what we are left with are not representations of reality in the literal sense but simulations of reality, which are essentially copies of copies. The mass media have such an influence on the public that the information it exchanges is based on copies of copies instead of the original referents.
The Simpson family is in many ways a symbol of the typical contemporary American family, The show’s opening sequence is itself illustrative of TV’s importance in the family’s existence all family members rush through their everyday lives, all the family members rush to the couch in front of their television set, showing how important watching TV is to them. The opening sequence sets the tone for the show’s continual depictions of TV as both a unifying force and an instigator of the family’s actions. TV is what brings these different age groups together as they watch the vast array of recurring TV shows broadcast in Springfield. Bart and Lisa are binary opposite, but these differences immediately dissolve when an episode of Itchy and Scratchy appears on the TV screen. Any conflicts between the siblings are abandoned in order to enjoy the stimulating cartoon world in Itchy and Scratchy together.
To conclude I think that the combination of typical postmodern features outlined in my essay alongside supporting theorists indicate that the Simpsons can be classified as ‘postmodern’. The narrative and characters themselves seem to lack progression, but in terms of the programmes acceptance and diversity towards various fields (gender,ethnicity,sexual orientation, status) , there has been a great deal of progression which is prominent in the postmodern condition. The show influences a large audience of children because it is broadcast weekly. It also links to baudrillard’s theory of reality, as it’s supposed to represent reality however the events that occur in the programme fail to represent an everyday family and the things that happen to them.
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