Albert Bandura

Albert Bandura is a media theorist on audience. He states the idea that the media can implant ideas in the mind of the audience directly. He also states the idea that audiences acquire attitudes, emotional responses and new styles of conduct through modeling. He also says that media representations of transgressive behavior, such as violence or physical aggression, can lead audience members to imitate those forms of behaviour.
Bandura looks at the way that media texts have a direct influence on its audience. For instance, he argues that violence is prevalent in the media and therefore, exposure in this violence in various forms enables us to perceive violence as an acceptable way to deal with situation. Bandura calls this 'modeling' behavior.

Moral panics - "the process of arousing social concern over an issue – usually the work of moral entrepreneurs and the mass media"


Hypodermic Needle theory - The idea that the media is injecting ideas into the ideas just like a hypodermic needle injects a person with liquid.

Media effects:

Marilyn Manson - On the 20th of April, 1999 there was a massacre at the Columbine High School in America. The shooters were considered to have been influenced by 'violent entertainers' such as Marilyn Manson. This had a huge effect of his career, the entertainer saying that it almost ruined his career and that he had to seek legal action against those who claimed he had influenced the criminals.

Natural born killers - Natural born killers is a movie about two lovers who become serial killers. The storyline goes on to show how they become 'tabloid-TV darlings' because they are young and attractive despite murdering 52 people. The film inspired "copy-cat killers", people who took the ideas and completed them in real life. One of the most famous copy-cat killers were two teens from Oklahoma, Ben Darras and Sarah Edmonson. They murdered one shop owner then shot and paralyzed another. Consequently, there were lawsuits made against not only the teens but also the filmmakers as they had given the inspiration for the crime.

Stuart Hall

Stuart Hall is a media theorist on audience. He states the reception theory - the idea that communication is a process involving encoding by producers and decoding by audiences.
He states the idea that there are three hypothetical positions from which messages and meanings may be decoded:
- The dominant-hegemonic position:the encoder's intended meaning (the preferred reading) is fully understood and accepted. (you agree and believe what its telling you)
- The negotiated position: The legitimacy of the encoder's message is acknowledged in general terms, although the message is adapted of negotiated to better fit the decoder's own individual experiences or context. (You wont do what the ad says but you agree with it)
- The oppositional position: The encoder's message is understood, but the decoder disagrees with it, reading it in a contrary or oppositional way. (You completely decline what the ad offers becasue it is useless or wont work)
*encoder = producer
*decoder = audience

Gillette Advert Analysis

Gillette: A best a man can get
-Language: Technical, visual, Audio codes (Camerawork, Mise en scene, sound, editing), Narrative, Genre....

By starting to advert with the song lyrics, your looking sharp, it immediately catches the attention of the people who are in the room or walking past making them watch the advert. The lyrics continuously are directed towards the intended audience which would be males as they keep saying you. Finally, in the chorus where the song says the best a man can get, also the tag line, it persuades the audience to buy the Gillette product as it says that once they buy it they will be better for it. There is no dialogue and only a small bit of narrative by the characters as the song speaks for it. The narrative at the end adds information about the product. The visual shows the scenes cutting between each other with scenes of positivity and happiness for a family man. The scenes cut to the beat of the song so that they flow together. The mise on scene is quite standard so that it can appeal to everyday men so it is more attractive with simple costume, high key lighting, minimal actors, simple make-up, little props other than the product and the setting is things you would see everyday such as house, park etc. The camera work is simple as it follows the character throughout and his daily life which is better now that he has Gillette.

- Representation: Stereotypes, Encoding/Decoding, Contexts...

The advert consists of a stereotypical family, mum, dad and child. The mum is a stereotypical woman as she does everything for the man, e.g. tie his tie. The dad (The man character) is a stereotypical traditional man, strong, intelligent, role model etc. The child is a stereotypical kid, looking up to his dad, wanting to copy him etc. The context consists of a normal family whose life has changed for the better because of the product.

-Audience: Categories, Mode of address, Response, interaction...

The intended audience for this advert is a middle aged man who has a family, job (The A, B, C1, maybe C2 category) and a social life. This is shown as the main character fits these boxes. The advert targets this audience by showing them what they could have of they have this product which would be appealing to a man back when this advert was made as it showed the dream lifestyle. The advert interacted with the audience by addressing them with the song lyrics when saying 'you,' 'your.' etc... The intended response would want to make the audience go out and buy this product.

- Application of theorists...

The theory that applies to this advert would be Stuart Hall and his Reception theory as they would want the viewer to be the dominant audience, the theory that they should believe that if they use this product then they will be the best and their life will change for the better. Other parts of this theory include the negotiated audiences where they believe that the product will be good to use but it wont affect their life as drastically as shown in the advert or the oppositional audiences where they believe that the product wont help them at all and there's no point in buying it. The producers of this advert would hope that most of their audience would be dominant viewers. 

Audience tasks

Target Audience: The kind of person you want to target a product to.
Niche Audience: Target a narrow group

Demographic Profiling:

A - Higher Management
B - Middle Management
C1 - White Collar jobs
C2 - Skilled manual workers
D - Semi - skilled / unskilled manual workers
E - Unemployed, students, pensioners

Psychographic profiling:

Mainstreamers - Seek security (Largest population)
Aspirers - Seek Status
Succeeders - Seek control
Resigned - Seeks survival
Explorers - Seeks discovery
Strugglers - Seeks escape
Reformers - Seeks enlightenment

Press Packs: Owners of products put together information of their typical customers in order to give to advertisers.

George Gerbner

George Gerbner is a media theorist on audience George Gerbner stated the cultivation theory - The idea that exposure to repeated patterns of representation over long periods of time can shape and influence the way in which people perceive the world around them.

He also states that media messages aren't directly injected into the passive media audience but are built up by a series of repetition and and enforcing of the message.

Mise en scene of adverts

Mise-on-Scene

 Task 1 - What settings/Props would you find in:

- A Sci-Fi film

Settings; space, another planet, space ship, Parallel universe, in a dream, travelling through time.

Props; High tech computers, ray gun, time machine.

-A Rom-Com

Settings; A city, A park, A café, A festival/fair, on holiday, a wedding, a school.

Props; Ring, umbrella, flowers, chocolate, teddy bear, a Bike

-A Horror Film

Settings; Haunted house, Forest, shack, underground, bunker, school, abandoned place.

Props; Mask, Weapon, Ouija board, Torch, candle.

Task 2 - What meanings/Emotions do the following images convey:

The guy on the left looks like he is in deep thought thinking about what to do next, therefore is feeling confused and maybe worried. The guy on the right looks focussed on something and looks intrigued, therefore is feeling angry and bewildered.

The man on the left looks worried and protective of the other guy, showing feelings of eagerness and also tenseness. The man on the right looks determined but also confused showing feelings of courage.

The soldiers all around look nervous and afraid showing feelings of panic and anxiousness. The guy in the middle looks superior and in charge showing that he is feeling confident, Strong and brave.

Task 3 - What does the positioning in the following images reveal about the characters/Films:

In this image, the characters are in a position which shows that they have maybe had an argument and the man has dine something wrong that the woman was not happy with. This may reveal that the story line may be about the guy trying to fix what he has done to make it up to his wife.

In this image, the axe is positioned into the middle of the screen so is the main focus for the viewer so can imply that maybe the axe will be used, maybe to harm someone. The axe blends in with the wood around it so even though it could be important it may not be easily recognised.

 In this image, the main focus is the two guys in dark who lean on each other maybe implying that they rely on each other and are partners. The other main focus is the weapons they are holding which is very futuristic showing that this could be a sci fi film where these main characters fight alien crime. 

In this image, there are soldiers all around with planets in the background showing that this sci fi film may include a battle between the planets. The main focus is the man in the middle showing that he is the main character and maybe the hero. The soldiers are facing the audience which can be seen as threatening so they may be the bad guys. 

Low Key Lighting - Created by using only the key and back lights, produces sharp contrasts of light and dark areas, Deep, distinct shadows/silhouettes are formed.

High Key Lighting - More filter lights are used. Lighting is natural and realistic to our eyes. Produces brightly lit sets or a sunny day. 

Task 4 - What types of lighting are used in the images?

A) High Key Lighting

B) Low Key Lighting

C) High Key Lighting

D)Low Key Lighting

E) Low Key Lighting

F) High Key Lighting

Film poster analysis - semiotics

Ghostbusters film poster,
Denotations and connotations:
- The first thing that stands out is the big icon in the back ground, the ghost in the cross suggests that this film is about getting rid of ghosts.
- The big red cross connotes that the ghost may be dangerous so that is why they need to be captured.
There are 5 actors in the poster showing that these are the main characters of the storyline showing that the one if the centre may be the main character and going outwards, the other characters may not be as vital to the storyline.
-As well as this, there is also a car peering through the people which is in the background, maybe showing that they are kind of like the police but for ghosts as there is a siren on the car.
- The women all are in costume and have machines on their back showing that they may be the ones catching the ghosts and the machine is what catches them.
- The guy on the end does not have a costume or machine so may be an assistant of theirs or a villain or a friend etc.

- The title in bold with the symbol inside shows that there are a lot of ghosts and these characters have to 'bust' them so have to get rid of them.#
- The tag line underneath the title stating 'answer the call' is based on the fact that most people should know the original Ghostbusters film where the original tag line was ' who are you gonna call.' So this is a follow up based on that but if you didn't know that then this could be interpreted that the ghostbusters have a hot line where people call up if they see a ghost maybe.
- The woman all have high tech on them and around them connoting that they may be scientists.
-The man can be seen as quite thick and oblivious based on the way he is standing and his facial expressions showing that he may be confused.
- The woman on the far right is standing a different way to the other 3 women showing that she may be an outsider and they might all be well-known friends and she has just joined. She also looks a bit scared whereas the others look confident and fierce showing they may have had experience in this field before.

First editing video

This was the first video that i edited using premiere pro. The task given was that we had to edit a clip so that the end product would include dancing animal scene with music over the top of them and all the scenes had to flow together using transitions. First of all i imported a video of these animals dancing and the song over the top 'too cold.' After this i used the cutting tool to cut the clips down so that the music went over the dancing. After that i had to use transitions to get rid of the black screen parts that were integrated through the clip. Once successfully doing this i tried out some video and audio effects to put in the final clip and chose my favorites including waves.
I found this task quite difficult as it was the first time that i had used this software. This gave me the chance to try out different effects and transitions and it allowed me to play around with the tools. Now i have a better knowledge of how to use premiere pro and will use this for the next time that i edit a video.

Media Vocabulary

Media Frameworks - LIAR - Language, Industries, Audience, Representations

Genre - A type or category

Genre Analysis - DISTINCT - Describe, In detail, Setting (location, time of day etc..), Themes (E.g. Love, good vs Evil etc..), Icons (significant objects), Narrative (plot), Characters, Textual analysis (Camera, editing, sound, Mise en Scene)

Semiotics - The study of signs - Something that symbolizes another thing - E.g. Red can be seen as anger or love.

Denotation - The literal meaning 

Connotation - What the denotation implies - read between the lines.

Mise on scene - CLAMPS - Costume, Lighting, Actors, Make-up, Props, Settings.

Audience - Anyone who watches the media.

Demographic profiling - putting the audience into categories by age, money and occupation.

psychographic profiling - Putting the audience into categories by what they are looking to find in media.  

Steve Neale

Steve Neale (Genre Theorist)

Steve Neale's theory is that genres are examples of repetition and difference.
He states that in order for a film to be a certain genre it must comply with that genres stereotypes and rules in order to classified in that genre. That is repetition and when he says differences he means that a film must push the rules and stereotypes in order to be individual.

Ghost ship

Connotations:

• Starts with happy, upbeat music and pink writing which misleads our emotions as they think everything is going to be alright which makes people more shocked when they get cu in half.
• Lights are a significant focus and the boat is straight which foreshadows the straight wires which cut everyone in half . The boat looks like the Titanic which can tell us that there will be a bad ending. This would be prior knowledge of the audience.
• Direct mirroring of the end shot (Birds eye view) with the beginning (Foreshadowing).
• The singer is wearing red, symbolising danger, blood and death.
• Violin strings - Foreshadowing the straight lines.
• The music puts the audience into a false sense of security.
• There is communication (E.g. eye contact) between the singer and waiter showing that they may be connected - could be the bad guys.
• The singer leads everyone to dance on the top deck, so that the wire can kill more people. She says 'belato' which encourages the passengers to get up.
• The singers gestures when singing symbolise the future.
• There are harsh lines everywhere which cross the screen.
• Music echoes and is slower above deck creating a ghostly atmosphere.
• There is a statue in the background with no arms showing the future where their limbs are cut off.
• The camera circles the but then there are sharp camera cuts into the different areas.
• The young girl is singled out, the fact that she is the only child that is shown may show that she is the only one left.
• Flowers are the first thing cut - Her childhood being cut.
• The girl is wearing white showing innocence.
• Lights slice across the screen - showing the harsh lines again.
• Music is drowned out by loud sounds and bangs.
• The pace of the scene speeds up.
• The shots alternative from quick to slow motion movements.
• Horror show sounds drown out music.
• There is a change of focus to the wire which makes our eyes focus on the bloody wire.

posters and semiotics

Semiotics of this series poster:

• The teacher on the left is laid back and smiling showing that he may be the good teacher.
• The teacher on the right is wearing red and sneering showing that she may be the bad guy. Also she is pulling the power plug showing that she may be out to sabotage the good guys.
• The cheerleader in the back is also wearing red showing that she may also be a 'bad guy.' Also she has her hands on her hips showing she might be angry with the jock.
• All the other students are wearing blue showing they are the good guys.
• The woman in green on the left has her hands on her heart showing that she might have a crush on the male teacher. Also that she is neutral as she is wearing green. She may also be an assistant as she is not as young as the others.
• The boy and girl in the middle are staring into each others eyes showing that they may be in love.
• The jock and girl may have forbidden love as they are from different cliques in the school but are still part of this club.
• The group are all considered social rejects so maybe this club is for them to feel included.
• The main themes that this poster presents are - Love, competition, Equality, Diversity and theatrical.

Camera Angles

I was with Jen and Emily. Jen was put in place to what angle we were filming. Emily was in charge of the camera and filming and i was the voice over reading out the different types of shots and what they were usually used for and what they represent.
The following shots, angles and movements were from the following sheet.

Roland Barthes

Roland Barthes is a media theorist about language. He is one of the leading theorists of semiotics, the study of signs.He states that every sign have also have connotations, further meanings, that is implied. 

The idea that texts communicate their meanings through a process of signification.

The idea that signs can function at the level of denotation, which involves the literal or common-sense meaning of the sign and at the level of connotation which involves the meanings associated with the sign.

The idea that constructed meanings can come to seem self-evident achieving the status of myth through a process of naturalisation. 

Exam Breakdown

Exam 1 = 2 hours
Exam 2 = 2 hours 

Exam 1; section A (45 marks)	Exam 1; section B   (25 marks)	Exam 2; section A  (30 marks)	Exam 2; section B  (40 marks)
Newspapers; Guardian & Daily Mail Front covers	Magazine; 2 front covers of The Big Issue Advertising & marketing 2 music videos	Film; Jungle Book 1967 & 2016 Radio; R1BS Video games; Minecraft	Mainstream television series Vs Indie television series
LIAR & Theory	Language & Representations  No theory Only 2 topics out of 3	Industries & Audiences Only 2 topics out of 3	LIAR

Genre picture analysis task

The genre of this photo was action. To show this we positioned ourselves crouched down with our hands in the shape of guns to show the typical position so it was obvious that we were showing action. We also looked away from the camera to show a mysterious side of us.

The genre of this photo was Rom - Com. To show this we showed the romance side of the story so made a proposal photo so it was obvious. To improve we could have added the comedy side of Rom-Com as this photo doesn't really show that side.

The genre of this photo was fantasy. To show this we showed these two supposedly having wands so it imitates Harry Potter which is a famous fantasy movie as it revolves around the use of magic. To improve this we could make it more obvious that they are holding wands.

Youtube clip

The YouTube clip I have chosen is a music video by Logic called 1-800-273-8255 ft. Alessia Cara, Khalid. I have chosen this because I like the song and the music video portrays a good message. Also the lyrics are really relatable and the video tells a story where you can relate to the characters as they feel isolated. The song portrays the message that there may be times where you feel pain and depressed but the good and happy times can pull you through this and you forget the pain and that life is worth living.
Lyrics:

[Pre-Chorus: Logic]

I've been on the low
I been taking my time
I feel like I'm out of my mind
It feel like my life ain't mine
Who can relate?
I've been on the low
I been taking my time
I feel like I'm out of my mind
It feel like my life ain't mine

[Chorus: Logic]

I don't wanna be alive
I don't wanna be alive
I just wanna die today
I just wanna die
I don't wanna be alive
I don't wanna be alive
I just wanna die
And let me tell you why

[Verse 1: Logic]

All this other shit I'm talkin' 'bout they think they know it
I've been praying for somebody to save me, no one's heroic
And my life don't even matter, I know it, I know it
I'm hurting deep down but can’t show it
I never had a place to call my own
I never had a home, ain't nobody callin' my phone
Where you been? Where you at? What's on your mind?
They say every life precious but nobody care about mine

[Pre-Chorus: Logic]

I've been on the low
I been taking my time
I feel like I'm out of my mind
It feel like my life ain't mine
Who can relate?
I've been on the low
I been taking my time
I feel like I'm out of my mind
It feel like my life ain't mine

[Chorus: Logic]

I want you to be alive
I want you to be alive
You don't gotta die today
You don't gotta die
I want you to be alive
I want you to be alive
You don't gotta die
Now lemme tell you why

[Verse 2: Alessia Cara]

It's the very first breath
When your head's been drowning underwater

And it's the lightness in the air
When you're there
Chest to chest with a lover

It's holding on, though the road's long
And seeing light in the darkest things

And when you stare at your reflection
Finally knowing who it is
I know that you'll thank God you did

[Verse 3: Logic]

I know where you been, where you are, where you goin'
I know you're the reason I believe in life
What's the day without a little night?
I'm just tryna shed a little light
It can be hard
It can be so hard
But you gotta live right now
You got everything to give right now

[Pre-Chorus: Logic]

I've been on the low
I been taking my time
I feel like I'm out of my mind
It feel like my life ain't mine
Who can relate?
I've been on the low
I been taking my time
I feel like I'm out of my mind
It feel like my life ain't mine

[Chorus: Logic]

I finally wanna be alive
I finally wanna be alive
I don't wanna die today
I don't wanna die
I finally wanna be alive
I finally wanna be alive
I don't wanna die
I don't wanna die

[Outro: Khalid]

Pain don't hurt the same, I know
The lane I travel feels alone
But I'm moving 'til my legs give out
And I see my tears melt in the snow
But I don't wanna cry
I don't wanna cry anymore
I wanna feel alive
I don't even wanna die anymore
Oh I don't wanna
I don't wanna
I don't even wanna die anymore

Favourite Media

Summer prep work

Task 1: Analysis of film poster

                Task 2 – Use of colour in the Wonder Woman trailer.

In the Comic Con “Wonder Woman” trailer, the colours that are used are a very key aspect of the trailer because it can portray to us what might happen in the story. For example at the start of the trailer where we see Diana (Wonder Woman) on her home island with the other Amazonian warriors, the colours are very bright and there are a lot of different colours as we see the beaming sun shine on the island. We see the aqua ocean, the green grass, the golden sand which all stand out with their bold colours. However, once we see the arrival of the American guy on the island we see a change in colour as they go to London and the war zone. The colours change from bold and bright to dark and gloomy. The sky is now grey and the London streets are filled with browns, blacks and navy, the war zone is filled with smoke and ash grey and as Wonder Woman goes over no man’s land, we see the bright intense orange and yellow from the firing guns on the other side as they shoot across the glum, bland wasteland that she runs through dodging each of the bullets. Once the trailers goes from showing us this part to another part back on the island, the colours change dramatically as we see her in a scene where she is in a cave with the American and even though it should be dark it is lit up by the shimmering water that falls into a pool at the corner of the cave. The shining aqua fills the cave with light. Everywhere the Amazonian warrior seems to go, the bright colours follow her as she is usually shown in her ruby red and dark blue costumer with her aluminous crown. When she fights, we see her with the glowing whip among the dull coloured enemies that she takes down.

The director of the trailer has done this to portray how the story may go. He starts the trailer showing their tranquil lives so that is why there are bright colours because everything is good. But when the American comes and takes her back to London that is where the trouble starts to occur and that is why the colours change to dark and dull to represent the trouble that London is in because of the war. During the fighting, Wonder Woman always stands out because she is dressed in bright colours and this is so the viewers can follow her and not get confused with who she is fighting. Throughout the trailer, it flicks to and from her life on her home island and her adventure to London and throughout her time in war showing the comparison of how good her life was and how it is now, now that she is in trouble and has to defeat the enemy.

In Conclusion, the colours used in the trailer are very important in making the trailer portray the films story as it helps tell the story and shows Wonder Woman as the hero.

Task 3: Today's Media

Task 4: The big Six

When talking about media, the ‘Big Six’ are the six corporations that own almost all of media. The big six include; Comcast, Disney, National Amusements, News Corp, Time Warner and Sony.

National Amusements (owned by Sumner Redstone) own companies such as CBS, MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Paramount etc.

Disney (CEO: Bob Iger) own companies such as ABC, Disney, Marvel, Pixar, ESPN etc.

Time Warner (CEO: Jeff Bewkes) own companies such as Cartoon Network, CNN, HBO, Warner Bros, Looney Tunes etc.

Comcast (CEO: Brian L. Roberts) own companies such as CNBC, DreamWorks, NBC, Universal etc.

News Corp (Executive Chairman: Rupert Murdoch) own companies such as Fox, Nat Geo, ITV etc.

Sony (President: Kazuo Hirai) Own companies such as Sonypictures, Tristar, Animax etc.

Media projects made by each of the big six:

National Amusements own Paramount movies. This year paramount made Baywatch the movie based off of the original TV series. This film included big names such as Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron, The films budget was $69 million and at box office got $177.4 million. Its release date in the UK was 29^th may 2017. Since Baywatch had already been a series. Many people knew what the background of the movie was and what was probably going to happen, therefore this film had a lot of advertisement as people already knew what it was. As well as this, the film had posters, trailers, billboards, adverts etc.

Disney produced a new version of Beauty and the Beast featuring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens. This film was based off of the original story of Beauty and the beast so viewers knew the basic storyline. The films budget was $160 million and at box office got $1.263 billion. The film’s release date in the UK was 17^th March 2017. Since the story is a classic, it had a lot of attention and advertising was key. The film was advertised everywhere using trailers, posters, billboards, adverts, previews etc.

Time Warner owns Warner Bros movies which produced The Lego Batman Movie, based off of the idea to use Lego from the Lego movie. The film had a budget of $80 million and at box office got $311.8 million. The film was released In the UK 4^th February 2017. Since the film had well known characters such as Batman, Robin and the Joker, Many people wanted to watch the film also as it had the same writers The Lego Movie which was a big hit and was very funny so the Lego Batman Movie had a good representation before it came out.

Comcast own universal pictures which produced Despicable Me 3 which was the 3^rd despicable me film following the two very successful movies. The film’s budget was $80 million and at box office got $975.4 million. The film was released in the UK 30^th June 2017 and featured Steve Caroll as the main character. Since the film had two previous movies, many people were excited and waiting to see the new movie.

Sony pictures Co produced the very popular film, Spider-man homecoming. Since the character of Spider-man is very popular, fans always await new films to be made about the character. This film contained big names such as Tom Holland and Zendaya. The film had a budget of $175 million and at box office got $737.9 million. The film was released in the UK 5^th July 2017. Since Marvel also helped produce this movie, it was very popular and successful.

News Corp own fox movies which co-produced War for the Planet of the Apes. Since these films are very widely known, many people awaited the new film with great intentions. The film had a budget of $150 million and at box office got $360.1 million. The film premiered In New York 10^th July 2017. Since the background of the movie is very well known, people were excited to see how the story continued. The film was publicised all over the world with posters, trailers and adverts.