Media mock typed up
- 1. MediaMock Exam GeetaGohil Question1A – Digital Technology Digital Technologyhascontributedtomymediaproductioneffectivelyintermsof skills.Withboth foundationandadvancedportfolio’shavingmediaproductionthathasbeenmade throughthe use of digital technology.The proliferation of digital technologyhasincreasedinorderformedia productionsto be more successful,notonlythatbut ithas significantlyhasdevelopedmykillsin editing,photoshoots,equipmentandsoftware usage throughcreatingamusicmagazine in my foundationportfolioandamusicvideoinmyadvancedportfolio. In myfoundationportfolio,one aspectof digital technologywhichimmenselydevelopedmyskillsis incamera. In ASthe camera I usedwasa CannonCamera,550D DSLR withfocuslensfor the outdoor shoot.The camera was setinautomatic, alongside;the synchronisationof the studioflashlights ensuresthe shutterspeedwassetrightsothe image wasnot overexposed.Withusingadigital camera,I can take clearimagesformy product,but notonly that, I can alsoinstantlyview animage afterit has beentaken,thiswasagreat way forme toview whetherimagesare takenwelland determine whetherIneedtotake more pictures. A 16BG SD card was alsousedwhichenabledme to store 800 images. Lookingthroughthe imagesensuredthatmycreativityof typesof imagesI neededtoinclude inmymagazine foraudience appeal. Furthermore,comparingmycameraskillstomyadvancedportfolioportraysthe significantskillsof usinga camera to a newlevel.InA2,ratherthan usingthe camerafor takingstill images,itwas aboutusinga camerato work withmovingimage.Thisitself createdachallengeasittestedmy abilityof takingfootage correctlywithrightsettings.The cameraIusedthis time wasa Cannon600D SLR, alongside a16GB SD card to ensure Ihave I have plentyof space to store all my footage taken. As I wasfocusingmore onblack dropoutsandperformance silhouettes,Ihadtochange settingson the camera so that there wasn’tas much over-exposureof studiolights,forinstance;the ISOsetting was changedtoISO 500 – 600. Furthermore,aprime aperture lensof 1.8mm wasusedas it was suitable forlocationswithlowerlight.WhenIwasshootingthe balletperformance,eventhough there were 4 studiolights used,usingthe lenswashelpful toachieve more of asilhouette.The camera wasusedin many waysto ensure the movingimagestakenwere correct,makinginstant decisionsof typesof shotorwhetherthe footage turnedoutvery well waspartof mycreative decision;howeverthe mosthelpful partof the camerawas the reviewingof the footage,asthenI couldgo and re-shootatthe same place and same time instantly. Goingback to my Foundationportfolio,anothergreatdigital technologywasthe use of software.On my AS,I usedsoftware whichwasnewtome:Adobe InDesignCS6.InDesignensuredthatmusic magazine wasat a cleanand neatstandard alongside makingthe productlookprofessional.Asin GCSE, I createda filmmagazine onAdobe Photoshop,Ifounditharddue to technical abilityto understandhoweverInDesignwascompletelydifferent,itwasmore easiertosetoutand add featuressuchas textandimages.The textflow tool andparagraphinghelpedme intosimplyadding textquickerwithoutanytextbeingcutout.Thismethodhelpedthe processof editing/draftingvery quick.The red plusbuttonunderneaththe textbook,clickandthenclicktoa blankspace,the extra textwhich‘disappeared’wasinsertedthere.Thistool helpedme inmakingadecisionof where I couldput mytexts.AsI knewthe textflow wouldn’taffectthe whole ‘text’itself,Icould’ve placeit anywhere.
- 2. MediaMock Exam GeetaGohil Comparedtomy Advancedportfolio,using software’s wastakentoanotherlevel.Eventhough InDesignisa popularsoftware tocreate documents,anothersoftware IusedformyAdvanced portfoliowasAdobe Premier,whichisusedcommonlyinthe industry.Withthissoftware,Ihadto workwithmovingimage ona continuoustimeline.Iimportedall footage Itookformymusicvideo and thencreated layersforeachtake as there were manydifferentshotsineachfootage clip –e.g One footage wasa highangle,anotherwasa steadicamshot.Thenwiththe processof cuttingparts and deletingsome parts,the clipsare mergedtogetherinone layerinorderfora consistentviewing. Furthermore,effectsusedinPremierincludedthe three-waycolourcorrectorwhere Iaddedaslight sepiatone tothe whole clip,and itwas usedonthe timeline through‘adjustmentlayer’.Another great effectwasthe brightnessandcontrasteffect,thishelpedme tospecificallyadjustthe brightnessof aclipif itwas toodark in a studioshoot.The warp stabiliserwasanothereffectused howeveronlyacertainclips.The warpstabiliserensuredthatclipswhichhave slightshakinesscan be adjustedwithwarpstabiliseraddedontoanadjustmentlayer. As youcan see,digital technologywasagreat contributiontoproduce 2 successful mediaprodcts whichhad a range of skillsrequired.Skillsincameraandsoftware have developedovertime from watchingtutorialsof howto use Adobe Premiertobeingaconfidentindividual whocansuccessfully create a smooth,consistentmusicvideo. Question1B – MediaLanguage Medialanguage isthe methodof communication,whetherit’sthroughstructural,ideologicallyor visually.Medialangueattemptstogive aclearmessage tothe audience.MediaLanguage hasbeen usedconsistentlyinmymusicvideofrommyadvancedportfolio,throughmicro-featuressuchas camera,editing,mise-en-sceneandrepresentation. Levi Strausis one theoristinwhichhelpsme evidentlyshowcasedthe use of medialanguageinmy musicvideothroughthe use of binaryopposites.The binaryopposite inthe musicis‘weakvs strong’,itportrays the mainprotagonistandthe ballerinaasweakinthe beginningthroughthe use of bodylanguage,slowandsmall balletstepsandtechnical skillssuchastime remappingandslow motionandthroughlyrical meaning,howeverasthe music videoprogressesalongsidethe song,the mainprotagonistsbodylanguage while singingismore openandconfident,portrayingeventhough she was weakandhurt and portrayedemotional,she isbeingstrongandshowcasingsignsof moving on.Furthermore,the balletperformance getsbolderandmore complicateddance stepsare introduce,depictingthisstrengthof womanpower. Laura Mulveyarguesthat the viewpointof a male gaze iscreatedthroughthe whole ‘Madonnavs Whore’theoryandthat femalesare gazed uponthe male audience throughthe enticingclose-ups and verystereotypicalfemale traits.Inmymusicvideo,there isawhole representationof the ‘whore’personaasthere isa portrayal of mymain protagonist beingclueless,howeverit’salsothe representationthathasbeencreatedthroughthe mise-en-sceneandstereotypical femaletraitsof redlipstick,eye make-up,clothingthatrevealssome skin.Inadditionthe use of close-upsandslow motionmovementsupportsthe whole ‘whore’personahoweverit canalsobe challengedagainst the ‘Madonna’persona,where the mainprotagonististhinkingaboutthe pastand future,andthe lyrical meaningisveryemotional andaboutlove andheartbreak.Towardsthe bridge of the song, the lyrics‘forgive me now’displaysthe pleadingandinnocentpersonality,whichcompletely challengesthe wholeLauraMulveytheoryof the male gaze.
- 3. MediaMock Exam GeetaGohil Medialanguage isconstructedthroughthe use of manymeaningful momentsintehmusicvideo. The slowspeedballetperformance inthe beginningcreatesthiswholeideasof ‘weakness’,however incontrast throughoutthe musicvideo,there are constantclose-upsof the performerswithdirect addresswhichsupportsthe ‘whore’personaof beinganon-innocentgirl,howeverthe representational isstereotypical forinstance the redlipstick. Question2 – Postmodernity Postmodernmediaiswhere mediasuchastelevisionsitcoms,film, magazines,comics,gamesand musicvideosare influencedbythe nature of otherinfluencessurroundingthem.Postmodernisin manyways the afterphase of modernity.Postmodernmediahasbeencreatedthroughinfluence of original workintootherworksandso and so forth.Itbasicallymeansthere isnooriginalitytowhat’s beencreated,howeverthe approachhasbeentakenina differentkindof way. In one of my case studies,wasbasedona filmwhichisstronglyinfluencedunderpostmodernity. The movie I chose to lookat was‘Teenage MutantNinjaTurtles’,itwasreleasedinAugust2014. The movie itself issocalledpostmoderndue tothe conceptof itcomingfrom a verypostmodern background.The TMNT movie isalsonamedaftera franchise whichthismovie helpre-bootagain. Furthermore,itrehashedthe popculture where the teenage mutantninjaturtleswasoriginallya comic bookfranchise andextremelypopularinthe 80’s and90’s generation.The movie was directionwasJonathonLiebsmanwhoisalsoknownfordirection Battle:LosAnglesandWrathof the titans. The ‘teenage mutantninjaturtles’movie hasgotmanypostmodernfeatureswhichstronglymakesit postmodern;there isthe use of pastiche where there are similarcontextual links.Suchasthe plotof where the journalistAprilO’Neil discoveringthose turtles.Thisstronglydepictsthatpastiche isused throughthe original comicbookplots.Anotherfeature of postmodernmoviefeaturesishyper reality.Inboththe comicsand the movie,the turtlesare livinginabigcity – New York, howeverin the sewerwhile eatingpizzaandbeingraisedbyarat whoisan sensei.It’stoofake forthe real world.A huge hyperrealityiscreated asit overexaggeratedthe ‘realness’of the situation.The idea of postmoderncomesfrompostmodernliterature asthe theme of transformationiscreated alongside the separationof the populationinthisfranchise whichare;the mutagens,the evil mutagens,the scientists,the animalsandthe humans. The franchise hadmany re-bootsinorderfora successful franchise,howeveritdidn’tseemtowork out,howeverwhichthisrecentTMNTmovie,the audience wouldfeel more interactedasit’snotan animation, it’safully3D,CGI effect/animationmovie toemphasise the detail lookof the turtles,in orderfor the audience tobelieve the turtlesdoexistsinNew Yorkcity,thisishyperrealityitself. Reffeirngtoanothercase studyismusicvideo.The music videoIcbhose was‘ArianaGrande – Break free’asthere are veryobviouspostmodernfeatureswhichare veryeasytospot. Firstof all,the whole musicvideoisbasedonparodyandconsumerism.The singer,whoisalsothe mainprotagonistinthisvideois portrayedtobe a superhero of space,thiscanbe seenevidently thoughmanyaction sequences,one example iswhere the mainprotagonisttofighting‘evil aliens’ witha lasergun,thisis reference tothe Starwars franchise.
- 4. MediaMock Exam GeetaGohil In the beginning,the clipstartswithadramaticepilogue whichisverysimilartothe infamousStar Wars crawl at the beginning;the use of intertextualitycanbe portrayedhere asthe audience would immediatelyknow whatthemethe musicvideoistryingtobe created. Furthermore, herlookissimilarto‘barbella’whichwasafamoussci-fi fictionmovie aboutafemale superheroandhersavingthe world.ArianaGrande simplyfollowsthatlookof a metallicoutfitina particularscene where she isfloatinginthe airandanotheroutfitwhichissimilartobarbella;thisis once again hyperreality. Anotheraspect,partof postmodernthatisincludedinthe musicvideoisconsumerism.Towardsthe endof the musicvideo,the singerisadvertisingalipglossbrand,anda close up shotof her applying the product shown.Inaddition,while inthis‘startrek’inspiredspaceshipdrivenbyZedd – playing musicmakesitdrive isanotherform of intertextuality,ArianaGrande andZeddare seenwearing ‘Beats’headphonestoadvertise the product.Aswell asBeatsPill thatshowsthe songbeingplayed on a smartphone towardsthe end.Consumerismisabigpart of postmodernasitshowsthe whole ideaof everythingbeingincludedinanew way. The future of theorywill be completelydifferent,theorieswill change asideasthatare contributed for postmodernwouldhave changeddue tothe perspectiveof upcominggenerations.However supportingtheorieswilldemonstrate more of the analyticapproachtothe mediatextsratherthan the entertainmenttowardsit.