Eastenders

This mid shot shows Nick Cotton, a dark character in need of help. The use of the mid shot shows Nick's facial expression, as well as showing some of his surroundings. The mise-en-scene reflects his personality, The hard, low key lighting also reflects him as a character as it is dark and gloomy. His facial expression shows pain and desperation, which may cause the audience to feel pity for him, however as the episode goes on, Nick shows his true colours. This scene humanises Nick, showing that he too suffers and is in a dark place, needing help to get out, but when around other characters we do not see this side of Nick as he manipulates his mother and those around him.

In Eastenders, shot reverse shots are often seen to portray dialogue between characters as it is used to develop the story lines. In this shot, Lauren is talking to Stacey about how she is feeling and also reveals that she may know who killed Lucy. The shot is very much focused on Lauren, with half of Stacey out of shot. The low key lighting connotes doom and indicates the situation to be serious. The blinds connote Lauren feeling trapped, like she cannot express how she is feeling. Her facial expression makes her appeal tired and worried.

This shot is a close up of Dot's face when she finds her son, Nick lying on the floor. The use of the close up shot shows the audience her feelings, as she is shocked and distressed. The low key, hard lighting helps represent the situation, as Dot and her son are in a dark situation. The bags under Dot's eyes show her tiredness and exasperation.

This is a another example of a shot-reverse-shot in Eastenders. Fat Boy discusses when Dot went to buy heroine, trying to make her see sense that he is a bad person. The situation is domesticated, showing Dot to be like a mother-figure to Fat Boy. His facial expression shows his worry for Dot and shows he wants the best for her.

'This Girl Can'

In the advert, 'This Girl Can' women are represented to be empowered and feel that they can participate in sport, not matter their age or body shape. This is represented through the diversity of women within the video, with differing ages, ethnicities and body types.

The use of mid-shots and close ups show that the video is very much focused on what the women, reiterating the message of 'this girl can', showing that no matter who you are, you can participate in sport and be the best you can be. The video starts with a mid shot of a girl, walking out a swimming pool. She does not have the body type seen a lot in the media, she is much more curvy, portraying that you do not have to have the 'perfect' body. Furthermore, the transitions between clips is face paced, which reflects the women's movement. The transitions also allow a wide range of women doing various sports to be shown, varying in age, ethnicity and body type.

The use of the non-digetic sound of the song 'get your freak on' by Missy Elliott is a cultural reference as Missy Elliott is a strong independent woman and represents the women well in the video.

Representation of Age in the Media

TV Programme - Waterloo Road

In Series 10, episode 7, Floyd, Tiffany's brother confronts Justin and Tiffany about their relationship. Floyd and Tiffany have been dating, however Tiffany's family do not approve. When Floyd confronts Justin about them dating, he handles the situation poorly, argues with Justin. Justin then says 'she can't keep her hands off me'. Floyd reacts to this by punching Justin. This is a clear representation of age in the Media as it is portraying teenagers not being able to handle a situation in a mature or composed manner. Furthermore, the mis-en-scene of this scene connotes a school situation, indicated through their clothing of a school uniform and the background of the school. The lighting of the scene is natural lighting to portray that the situation is a natural and reoccurring situation in teens. This shows that the two pupils depicted arguing haven't matured enough to leave the school environment, therefore are not acting in a mature way. The representation of age in this scene is stereotypical as the two teens are portrayed to handle the situation poorly, which is a stereotypical trate of young people. The argument they are having is also very stereotypical as it is an argument expected from the age group.

Music Video - Anaconda by Nicki Minah

In this music video, Nicki Minaj, in her 20's, uses her sexuality to appeal to her audience. She is dressed in very little clothing, dancing provocatively. Furthermore, there are shots of alcohol bottles, which connotes that people within their early 20's like to drink. She uses a stereotypical image of her in an apron in a kitchen to show a stereotype of young women doing cooking within the home. Her facial expressions are also very provocative, she uses a lot of eye contact to appeal to her audience. She is using her sexuality to sell her music and is living up to the stereotypical early 20's women who like to party and use their bodies to attract men. Her facial expressions are also very provocative, she uses a lot of eye contact to appeal to her audience. Within the media, women within their 20's are often sexualised for the purpose of the male audience. This is seen throughout most media forms. The most obvious one is in magazines, when girls dress in little clothing, with the camera focused on them, giving eye contact. In the music video, Nicki Minaj and her dancers within the mise-en-scene very much live up to this stereotype.





Film Trailer - The Fault In Our Stars

The film trailer for The Fault In Our Stars goes very much against the stereotypical idea of a teenager, When we think of the health of a teen, they are represented to be healthy and happy. However, in the movie trailer, this stereotype is very much challenged. Hazel is a teen suffering from cancer and she isn't living what she considers to be a 'normal' teenage life. Her daily routine is different to most teenagers, she goes to support group, hospital appointments and spends her time at home. This is seen in the scene where she is speaking to her parents about being a teenager. She says that her parents need to give her a fake ID so she can go to clubs and take pot. To this, her Father says 'you don't take pot''. This portrays that she believes she is not a stereotypical teenager and she wants to be. However, as the trailer goes on, we see that she meets Augustus and seems to become a more stereotypical teenager, falling in love with him. The love story of teenagers within the media, especially in movies, is stereotypical. Therefore, within the film we see a non-stereotypical teenage girl become more stereotypical, but her experience of teenage life will always be different to others because of the cancer. This play on the non-stereotypical character adds emotion to the film trailer.

Double Page Spread Textual Analysis

This article in Vogue, actress Felicity Jones is being interviewed. However, It is not a question and answer style article. Key quotations from the interview carried out by the journalist writing the article are included while they explain what happened during the interview. This style of article gives it a more sophisticated and high class feel, as the questions asked are insightful to the actress' life, rather than pointless questions that are sometimes included in more low end articles. A capitalised letter used at the beginning which also adds to the sophisticated feel of the magazine and it is a very recognisable style of Vogue magazine. A key quotation from the interview enlarged, breaking down the text slightly. Other than the main image on the right side of the article,  the quotation is the first thing you see. The image is a mid shot of Felicity Jones. The image is very simple and shows her looking quite natural but flawless. The image is in colour and is bright which may be trying to reflect her personality and maybe also the season in which the article appears in the magazine. The pop of colour gives a nice contrast to the black and white page on the left. However, even though the colour is bright on the image, it still looks very sophisticated as there are only to main bright colours which complement each other well and reflect a very fresh look, also portrayed though the actress' make up. The image is very much based around her and nothing else which may connote that the focus in the acting world is currently on her. On the side of the image there is a brief description of her clothing. The clothing she is wearing is from Burberry, which is a familiar designer brand often seen within Vogue. The name of the journalist is listed at the very bottom of the article. The page number also appears below the text.

Production Textual Analysis

Looking at a Vogue double page spread about Victoria Beckham, it is evident that the style is very simple and sophisticated. There is a simple black and white images which reflects the simplicity of the article layout. Key quotes have been extracted from the article and made larger to stand out from the main text. The first letter of the article is enlarged and capitalised which makes the text interesting and looks modern. Furthermore, the article is formal and is detailed. This portrays the audience of being in the A and B grouping, therefore are well educated and prefer articles with more reading. The layout is simple and easy to follow, again portraying the sophisticated feel.  The image used is very simple, showing Victoria Beckham to look quite natural and simple. The columns are clean and are all the same size which makes the writing easy to read. The font is simple and small, meaning more space for detail.

November Homework

After conducting my research into high end fashion magazines, I have found out various things that will influence the way I precede with my pre-production. I have found through my questionnaire that my target audience 16-30 like to look at high end fashion, their favourite type of magazine to read is fashion and beauty and they are most likely to read magazines such as Vogue and Elle. This influences me to create a high end fashion magazine, much like Vogue, as this seems to be a very popular magazine amongst my target audience. Furthermore, I found that the majority of my target audience are more likely to spend £2-£3.99 on a magazine; therefore I will price my magazine during pre-production at £3.99. This pricing fits with my magazine genre as Vogue and Elle are both priced at £3.99.

I also found in my textual analysis that fashion magazine covers have different conventions depending on the time of year. For example, I looked at two December and June issues of both Vogue and Elle and found they contrast greatly. Even though they stick to the rule of thirds, various things about the magazine covers are noticeably different. The colours used on the magazine depend on the time of year. December issues use festive colours, such as gold and red, connoting Christmas. Moreover, on the June issues, colours such as pink, white and pastel blue are used as these colours are associated with summer as they’re bright. They also portray the target audience as they’re colours that connote the female gender. The message this gives to the audience is that the magazine is up to date and on trend for that time of year and it also portrays that the contents of the magazine relate to the time of year. The masthead colour also changes with the colours of the cover lines. This shows that these magazines are so well known, they’re easily recognisable, even if the colour of the masthead is different. The main image also portrays the time of year. The clothing worn by the woman in the main image connote the time of year. On the December issues, the clothing is glamorous and also fits with the colours of the season. They look like clothing for the party season. Whereas, the clothing on the June issues is more summer-like. Furthermore, the women on the covers are current and are respectable women in the public eye, again showing the magazine is current. The cover lines portray what is in the magazine and also connote the time of year. For example, on one of the June issues of Vogue it says ‘Sensational Summer’ which indicates the contents of the magazine relate to the time of year. All of this has led me to create a high end fashion magazine, one for December and one for June. My research has helped me find the connotations used for the months and how they portray the season. This is helpful for my pre-production as I know I need to base the cover around the season. 

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