HOMEWORK - ANALYZING MAGAZINE COVERS

PREP: Analyse the media language of the MOJO cover below. Use the terms that you have learned. 
Compare and contrast the cover with another magazine cover, drawing attention to the similarities and differences, and saying what the genre codes and conventions are.

The contrast cover can either be your own cover or another professional cover.


Bowie is seen to be in the centre of visual interest which shows us that he is confident and proud of himself. This could relate back to his previous drug issues and by having him in the centre and holding a sort of 'hero' pose shows that he has overcome these issues and is ready to face the rest of the world. The quotes underneath the main splash talk about the 'Berlin years' which can relate to the blue and white motorway sign underneath Bowie. The words are written in German which tells us that something important and significant could've happened for Bowie in Germany. Bowie is also wearing clothes that show him as both casual and smart a small tie can be seen very slightly showing a smarter and more together Bowie but his jeans are shown in more a casual way which shows us he can still be cool and casual but has reached a new decade in his life, a clean and solid one. The bright red colour of the pull quotes underneath are very noticeable, which helps the story to be recognised. 

Selena has been placed in a very bold and interesting position. By having her hands above her head can show some sort of vulnerability like she is being forced into something she doesn't want to do, her clothes also express this as she is showing a lot of flesh which is normally how woman look in magazines.  Although she can be seen as vulnerable her make up is shown to be quite bold and gives us a sense of confidence. The caption to go with the main splash is 'cool, candid and courageous' which draw people in, especially the woman. This is because woman are often seen as very dainty and delicate but the contrast between Selena's vulnerable pose and the caption is very eye catching. She is showing us that woman are and can be strong and confident. The pug at the bottom of the stage is telling us about the eight new designers to watch out for. The mast head tells us that this is a very high end magazine and that  will always have the new a exclusive stories.

SIMILARITIES-

- They are both very well known and interesting celebrities.

-They are both shown as very optimistic and self-confident.

- Both magazines are very high end and well known.

- Both celebs have their hands behind their backs showing Bowie as heroic and Selena as more vulnerable.

- Both have set colour schemes.

DIFFERENCES-

- Selena's clothes show much more of her flesh whereas Bowie's clothes are much smarter.

- The MOJO magazine is more factual and about stories whereas the vogue one is more of a beauty/womanly magazine.

AVRIL LAVIGNE - CODES AND CONVENTIONS

PREP MUSIC VIDEO CODES AND CONVENTIONS 
To prepare for the exam, we look at the media language of music videos, such as their codes and conventions below. For prep, copy the points in colour then add your own points in black.

1. Performance - the singer / band are seen to be singing and playing (including lip synching), to provide authenticity, so that followers believe in the talent and can see their star. Record labels sign stars and promote them  to ensure sales. Avril Lavigne sings throughout the video using a mike and draws a huge crowd of fans around her when she jumps onto a car roof in the street. She sings with great passion, energy and conviction, holding the mike close to her mouth. Close-ups show her every word (lip synching is a feature of music videos.) She performs for her fans and for her 'boyfriend' the sk8er boi who features in the narrative. Screens often feature in music video and the sk8er boi is videoing Avril Lavigne as he gazes adoringly up at her. She returns his gaze as she sings about 'we rock each other's world'. The performance element creates authenticity (fans have proof of her talent) because we see her sing.
2. Star - use of close-ups, sometimes direct eye contact with audience, to build relationship with audience. In this music video, we see a lot of close ups on Avril Lavigne's face. These close ups help us understand her personality and in this video she has quite an attitude and can be very brash. She is portrayed as quite rebellious and cocky. There is an extreme close up of the actual skater boy where she is singing a song about him and the camera moves to his face and we see a extreme close up of him gazing back at her. This shows us that he obviously loves her as well.  
3. The visuals (what the star and other characters are seen doing) illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics (the 'story in the words'). Illustration = the visuals play out the story more or less literally; amplify = the words in the lyrics are only the starting point and the story develops in other directions; contradiction / disjuncture = the visuals do not interpret the words of the lyrics and may even show something contradictory. Throughout the whole of the video we see an occurring symbol of a star which is helping to promote her recent concert, it is also a tag for her gang. The star can also represent more as it tells us that Avril herself is the star and can be seen as more superior to the rest of her gang. When she is singing about the other girl and mocking her and saying that five years from now that girl will be having a baby all alone but as she is singing these lyrics she is doing the complete opposite. She does this as she is trying to make the point that she is independent and can still have fun, unlike the other girl who has a baby all alone.  
4. The narrative usually features the performer in 'real life' situations but often with experimental types of film making such as hand-held, dramatic camera angles, symbolic codes and lighting. A lot of the camera work is very hand held. Like in the scenes with the cars we really feel like we are travelling with them as the cameras are following the gang.  
5. The visuals are usually cut to the beat of the music; the editing is often fast-paced; there is often use of montage, ellipsis and intercutting, stylish effects. the opening montage really sets the speed of the cuts and shows us what pace the rest of the video is going  to be at. The editing is very fast paced because the music and song is also very fast pace so they fit together. It is also marked that Lavigne's gang is preparing for a concert and have left there mark all around town, to mark there territory.
6. Refrain - repeated chorus, sometimes with variations. During he refrain the visuals intensify the pace. We see her and her gang setting up the concerts and plugging in all the amplifiers, the crowd also start to join in very quickly. The refrain helps tie the whole thing together.

AVRIL LAVIGNE MUSIC VIDEO - CAMERA WORK.

The camera work used in Avril Lavigne's music video, Skater boy, is very interesting and meaningful. At the beginning of the video the camera does a lot of close up shots on Avril Lavigne herself which shows her much closer up which means that we can understand her more and how she feels about the song as reading her emotions is easier when the camera is closer. During the scene when she is singing on the stage there are a lot of low angle shots to show her whole body whilst she is performing. This can help us understand the way that she performs in and how she interacts with her fans during a concert. Lastly, during her performance the audience members are jumping up and down a lot this can make the whole scene more authentic as the camera is shaking in time with the dancers.

EDITING QUESTION-

PREP Analyse how editing is used in the extract from Cuffs to create meaning. Refer to at least two examples from the extract in your answer. (This means that a good candidate will write fully and freely, covering more than just 2 examples, as we practised in class).
Worth 5 marks: write half a side of A4 and post on your blog tonight. If you have DoE, take an extra 24 hours

Slow motion editing is used when a team of police officers, including Jake and Ryan, enter the racists house who had previously attempted to kill and young Asian boy. As two other police officers are fighting off a gang of racists we as the audience see things from Jakes point of view. Everything around him is going in slow motion and Jakes mind is very confused. The editors have done this as it is easier for us to understand how hard a young new police officers job is and as we find out it is very hard for Jake to get his head around what is happening. We can also sympathise a lot more with Jake as we see how much he is struggling as everything has been put in slow motion.

A shot reverse shot is used when DI Kane is talking to a mother who is clearly in despair and her child has been taken by an unstable man. The editing helps us realize that DI Kane is clearly in a very awkward situation and cannot seem to look this woman in the eye. The editors have first placed the shot so we can hear the mother getting very angry but the shot then goes to DI Kane to show his embarrassment it then goes back to the mother who seems to be getting more angry by the minute, this shows us the contrast between a victim of crime and someone who has failed to solve the crime.

Multiple cross dissolves edits are used is the scene when Jake, Ryan and two other police officers are training after hours. As they are all running we see cross dissolve edits which suggest to us that they have been working very hard and have been going for a long time.

There are a lot of hard cuts that are used in the scene where Lauren's dad is on the edge of a hotel balcony debating whether to commit suicide or not. As DI Kane walks onto the balcony everything goes silent and the cuts go back and forth between both faces. This editing is very clever as its shows us how serious the situation is and we can tell by DI Kane's face that he is obviously very nervous and doesn't want to say anything wrong that might make Lauren's dad jump. The editors have also done a close up cut of Lauren's dads hand as we see it trembling, This tell us that it is not only DI Kane that is scared he also is very scared, this further helps up feel sympathy towards him and he is obviously very unstable and needs help.

-

- CROSS CUTS FROM HIS FACE TO THE RECORDING VIDEO. LAST FRAME IS HELD FOR  A LONG TIME SO HE CAN REALIZE WHAT HE SEES IN THE BACKGROUND.

- FOLLOWED BY AN EXTREME CLOSE UP OF THE HOTEL NAME.

- CUT BETWEEN LAURENS DAD AND DI KANE SEEING HOW TRAMATISED HE IS

THE EDITS GO FROM SHORT REVERSE SHOT TO A CLOSE UP OF HIS SHAKING HAND.

- CROSS DISSOLVES OF EDITING WHEN THEY ARE TRAINING.

MISE-EN-SCENE QUESTION

PREP Analyse how mise-en-scene is used in the extract from Cuffs to create meaning. Refer to at least two examples from the extract in your answer. (This means that a good candidate will write fully and freely, covering more than just 2 examples, as we practised in class).
Worth 5 marks: write half a side of A4 and post on your blog tonight.

In the first scene we see the chief superintendent making a speech we can tell by his clothes that he has a very important role for his job, we can tell by looking at his smart white gloves that this is a special occasion as he would not normally wear these. By him standing on a podium also shows that he has an important job as he is making a speech and the podium could symbolize that he is higher up then the rest of his colleagues around him.  The building that surrounds him is very modern which can tell us the time era and that the show in general will be quite modern.  

In a later scene we witness a drug addict who has self- harmed himself. At one point the camera has a birds eye view shot of the drug addicts room we can see a lot of empty alcohol bottle and the room itself is very messy. This mise-en-scene gives a back story of this mans life suggesting that he has been this way for quite a while and hasn't lived or is living in a very healthy life style. As the camera does a close up shot of his face, we can see a lot of marks and scars which could have been from the drugs he was taking and the scars from when he could have self- harmed again. The mise-en-scene in this scene creates a lot of meaning as it shows us that this man needs a lot of help and the police are giving this to him, it also can make the audience more sympathetic towards him as they feel like they know more about him now. 

We later see a scene with an Asian boy who is on the phone to his mother. We get a vague idea about this boys personality as his clothes a very clean and sleek which shows us that he seems like a young boy who knows what he wants. Later in this in scene a gang of white boys enter the same shop where the Asian boy is we can tell by their clothes that they could be a threat and they are wearing hoodies and very low cut vests they all walk with a very confidant manner. They all have very short hair and sharp cold facial expressions. By having this mise-en-scene we can see the massive contrast between the Asian boy and the gang.  

- EMPTY BOTTLE ON THE FLOOR/ CLOTHES/ DRUG ADDICT/ FACE SCARS

- CONTRAST BETWEEN THE ASIAN BOY AND THE GANG WHO ATTACK HIM