Gauntlett's theory of indentity.

There are two parks to David Gauntlett's theory. The first part is that the audience get a sense of their own identity through the media products they consume in their day to day lives. this can involve films, TV programs, magazines or News papers. His idea is that the person who consumes these types of media get an idea of who they are and who they want to be through how the media presents these things. An example of this is if a young boy watches a football montage on YouTube. that montage may give ideas on how he wants to play football and what skills he wants to try and perfect himself. Gauntlett believes that in the past the media was more simplistic through how men and women were stereotypically presented to the world. Men were usually shown as strong, tall working men while the women were shown as housewives who do things like cleaning and cooking. However, in the modern day and age Gauntlett believes that the diverse through how the way gender is presented has changed. It is more different and challenging for people to realise. 

To a high extent I do agree with this statement because many different movies, TV shows and magazines represent women and men in an ideal way (self-portrayed). David Gauntlett used examples such as Spiderman 3 and Knocked up as evidence to how the media play a role in the shaping of individual self-identities. The whole idea to Gauntlett’s theory is that there is a more openness to gender roles in media. This can involve traditional gender roles now being more diverse than ever before. Many famous male roles in popular UK TV shows. A huge example of this is Doctor Who, through how they have had a male actor as ‘Doctor who’ but in the recent season there is now a women acting as ‘Doctor who’. This highlights that media changes as the years go on. Many shows are now swapping genders to please the media as in the modern day there are many people requesting equality between women and men.  

The difference between sex and gender is that sex refers to someone, whereas gender describes the characteristics that a culture delineates as masculine and feminine. Gauntlett notes that everyday actions reinforce and reproduce a set of expectations. It is this set of other people's expectations which make up the 'social forces' and social structures'. We can use these to construct aspects of our identity, to fit in with other collective identities or feel alienated if we appear different. Gauntlett discusses that it is because of this faith in the way we 'expect'; things to be, that some people are so shaken when others challenge the taken-for-granted consensus about how, for example how men and women behave. This all highlights that the world may not be ready for change through how people portray themselves to the world. 

Comparison of both advertisments.

Compare the ways in which media language elements have been selected and combined in your 2 allocated advertisements - 

In the Shelter advert there are 3 pale looking individuals sort of sighing towards the camera. Shelter are an organisation that help the homeless by seeking donations from other people. In the Shelter advert there is close - ups of all 3 people. they all seem to look like they have tears in their eyes, which may indicate them being pain or even anxious because they are homeless. These people are obviously actors but they way they are presented in the advert is mainly rough and scared. The man has an unshaven beard which may indicate that he is 'living rough'. this connotates that he may be miserable or even depressed from the fact of being homeless. From the use of the word 'we', it may indicate that the women on the far left of the advert may be a single mother caring for her children. This is also a stereotypical view towards a broken family because women are always considered to be the carer of the children if the father leaves. The use of the darkness surrounding the actors may be used to highlight that they are alone, or even that they feel like they are alone because they have nowhere else to go. This is also connotated through the use of 'I' for the women on the far right of the advertisement. Also, the fact that there are no famous people being used in the advert makes the advert more powerful because it shows that anyone can become homeless, even people close to others.

In the WFF advert there are Tuna fish in a dark ocean promoting the fact that the fish are becoming extinct. The use of the darkness surrounding the fish may highlight the fishes future. It connotates that the fish are living in 'dark' times are they are being hunted to extinction. From the use of ‘I’, the advert makes it seem like it’s a personal message from the tuna fish as it uses first person.  This is used to make people feel sad about hunting the tuna fish. This is done as a final attempt to make people feel sad about hunting the fish. On one of the Tuna fish, it is wearing a Panda mask. Panda's are currently an endangered animal. this highlights that WFF are trying to show Tuna fish as an important animal like panda's. This may also highlight that WFF are trying to show that tuna fish are important by linking them to Panda's which are popular animals around the world - maybe to try and make people like tuna fishes even more in order to make people stop hunting them. The problem is that Tuna is a very popular food around the world, therefore people want to keep eating it, which leads to more and more being hunted. Tuna fish usually travel in tribes, but in the advert there are only 10 tunas. WFF have done this to show that the number of tuna fishes are depleting fast. The font for the advert is very bold. This may be done to make it stand out for the audience to be able to see it straight away (eye-catching). 

Overall, although both the adverts are presented differently, they are actually quite similar. Both adverts ask for help to stop either homelessness or extinction. Both adverts use similar methods as well, such as surrounding the people and the tuna fish in darkness, to create a dramatic affect. Both the fonts are very similar as well - bold and eye-catching. This is done in order to catch the eye of the audience, so that they will read the message portrayed in the advert more easier. This is done as an attempt to encourage people to help those in need - and in this instance, the people who have became homeless and the close to extinction Tuna fish. 

Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy.

1) 1 second into the video there is an extreme close up on Chinese stress balls in a gang members hand, which is quite ironic because gang members are mainly considered as dangerous and brutal individuals. 11 seconds into the video there is then an Ariel shot of a Hispanic gang. This could be done to represent different gang cultures in America during the 1990s. The Ariel shot then pans towards a child playing with a toy gun. This may represent violence in the young community of America. The child is also standing on a dirty street which could highlight that the child may live in a rough area. This could all link to the gang culture surrounding him because stereotypically gangs mainly control rough areas. The area is also covered in graffiti which also shows that the area is an rough area. 26 seconds in the camera tracks towards the moving singer as she walks down the street. There are many people standing around which may indicate that they do not have jobs because they are standing around in the middle of the day doing nothing. All the people are wearing clothes from that time swell. for example people are earring baggy khaki trousers and vests. This highlights mis-en-scene in the video. The camera also seems to be carries by one man instead of on a piece of expensive equipment. This could highlight that Massive Attack did not have a large budget for the video. However, that could be the whole style of the video because it is based in the 1980s, so the camera man may have been told to make it seem less professional to make the video more interesting.  Also, at 1 minute and 15 seconds into the video a man with no legs is riding around on a skateboard which does indicate that the man cannot afford to get health insurance. This again highlights how broken the area is.
2) Throughout the video African American men, women and children are presented in the rough area. This may have been done highlight that African American people live in rough areas throughout America. However, this could be done to indicate that even though these people live in a rough area, they do still matter. Considering this is based in the 1980s, there is no racism presented in the video. Many of the African American people are wearing smart clothes like shirts, jeans and proper shoes. This is done to show that even though they live in a rough area they still live good lives. This is great use of Mise-en-scene because the clothes the people are wearing sort of tells a story about these people, making the video more realistic because it shows the real world instead of only showing specific parts if the world. Hispanic Gangs are also presented in the video wearing stereotypical clothing of gang culture from that time. For example they are wearing the black coat with edges on it with a vest underneath with the baggy trousers. This is most likely done to keep the people in the time period for the purpose of the video. This is again a great use of Mise-en-scene because the directors obviously thought  of what the people should be wearing from that time period to kind of create an image for the audience watching. Also, the way the camera quickly pans away from the Hispanic Gang may show that they aren't really important to the video, highlighting that they may not of been that important in that time period. The main protagonist in the video is an African American woman walking don the street. The camera tracks in front of her throughout most of the video which highlights that she is important and a significant person in the video.
3) The main character is an African American women. This could highlight that the artist is trying to show that even in the 1980s when racism and sexist views were still an occurring thing, that she is still as important as any other person. In my eyes, this is incredible. Also, from the fact that the camera is tracking this African American woem throughout the entire video, again shows that she is important.

Roland Barthes Semiology work - Media essay.

Roland Barthes’s Semiology theory – Media work.

Roland Barthes was one of the earliest structuralists theorists of culture. His work helped develop ideas of structure and signification which have come to underpin cultural studies and critical theory today. Semiology is the study of signs. Signs can consist of a signifier which is mainly referred to a word, sound or an image, mainly things we can read. Signs can also consist of the signified which is the signs meaning. However, the Denotation of the sign is its literal meaning. An example of this is the ‘cool’ because the word can refer to different meaning. For example, the word ‘cool’ can refer to the temperature being ‘cool’ or it can also refer to the style of someone or something. Like a connotation of the specific word. There are also 3 different types of signs – Iconic signs ( where the meaning is based on similarity or appearance). Indexical signs ( have a cause and effect relationship between the sign – there is a direct link between the two). Symbolic signs (these sigs have a arbitrary or conventional link). A sign, in this context, refers to something which conveys meaning – for example, a written or spoken word, a symbol or a Myth. A Myth is the organisation o meanings into commonly repeated forms that express ideology. As with many semioticists, one of Barthes’s main themes was the importance of avoiding the confusion of culture with nature, or the naturalisation of social phenomena. Another important theme is the importance in being careful how we use words and other signs. An example of this is traffic lights because automatically whenever someone sees the red light they stop their vehicle and if people see the green light, they automatically go. It’s an action people do without thinking about it. This is known as a sign of cultural convention because this sign has been passed down through generations. Everyone learns this at the very early ages of their childhood.

Massive attack/Ya Mama

Naturalistic - Derived from or closely imitating real life or nature / Based on the theory of naturalism in art or literature.
Linear - linear narratives follow a straight line — starting at the beginning, moving to the middle and proceeding to the end of the story.

1) In the video 'Unfinished Sympathy' by Massive Attack, why would you describe the Mise-En-Scene as Naturalistic? Why would you the describe the Mise-En-Scene in Fatboy Slim's 'Ya Mama' as Less Naturalistic.

 'Unfinished sympathy' by Massive attack is described as Naturalistic because the whole videos seems to not be planned and to be just people going on with their lives. However, the video was staged and people had specific roles in the video like when to appear in the video, where to go, where to look and when to disappear from the video. Everyone in the 'Unfinished Sympathy' video seems to be wearing 1980's clothing which indicates that the video was planned because the video was made in the early 1990s, highlighting that the directors had to get clothing that was fashionable 10 years before the video was made in order to make the video work. this makes the video seem more realistic and to seem like people are just going on with their day like there is not a camera even there. 
On the other hand, 'Ya Mama' is considered to be less Naturalistic because it seems more staged and seems to be more planned than 'Unfinished Sympathy'. The main Protagonists in the 'Ya Mama' video are obviously Hillbillys. this is obvious because of how they are dressed in their western sort of hats, boots and from how dirty they seem. This is obviously planned because the video was made in the early 2000s, and Hillbillys aren't very common in the modern world. People can argue that the 'Ya Mama' video was based in the 1980's because of how the Hillbillies are dressed and of how one of them uses a cassette player. If the video is based in the 1980's then Hillbillys are very appropriate for the whole they are playing in the video by living in a hut sort of home covered in dirt. Also, there is Tom and Jerry Cartoon on the TV which was a popular cartoon during the 1980's and 1990's. Although, this would just mean that the Hillbillys are just backwards people because the video may not be based in the 1980's. Overall, the video does seem realistic, it mainly seems staged for the audience whereas 'Unfinished Sympathy' seems to not be staged because of how 'normal it seems. 

2) In the video 'Ya Mama' by Fatboy Slim why would you describe the narrative as Linear? Would you not describe the Narrative in 'Unfinished Sympathy' by Massive Attack as Linear?

In the video 'Ya Mama' the narrative is described as Linear because all the protagonists in the video seem to have a beginning, middle and end. At the beginning of the video one of the Hillbillys are painting ornaments while looking at a picture of a sunny seaside. Arguably, this could mean that the Hillbilly has a dream to go to that place in the future if he gets enough money. This could mean he plans to sell the ornaments for money to get to that place. However, the video sort of escalates to chaos as soon as the Hillbillys receive the music tape in the mail. The video quickly changes from the characters relaxing to trying to get money off the tape. This ends in one of the main protagonists getting arrested and put in prison. In the 'Ya Mama' video there seems to be a kind of story for the characters through how they change as the video progresses. 
However, in the 'Unfinished Sympathy' from Massive Attack video, there is no sign of the narrative being shown as Linear. Throughout the video there are no scenes. All there is, is the camera tracking in front of an African American woman while she lip sinks the song. There does not seem to be any organisation in the video either as people just seem to carrying on with their day as women walks does the long street. This shows that there is no story to the video, making it a non-Linear video because there is no beginning, middle or end. There is just one constant scene that last the vast majority of the video. 

3)At what point in 'Ya Mama' is there a Narrative Disruption? Explain the event and how this disrupts the initial equilibrium of the scene.  

The Narrative Disruption in 'Ya Mama' occurs when the Hillbillys receive the music tape in the mail. Before they receive the tape, the protagonists are calm and normal going on with their day, but when they receive the tape the mood changes from calm to more chaotic. This is shown through how the Hillbillys go from doing their own thing in their hut, to running from the police for causing chaos in a market. This is shown as a narrative disruption because of how quickly the scenes escalated from calmness to becoming more and more crazy. This is perhaps done to make the video more and more weird, which is usually how Fatboy Slim's videos are portrayed. This is most likely done to make the video more interesting and unique for the viewers of the video. 

media terminology.

Glossary Of Moving Image Terminology

Aerial Shot 


A camera shot taken from an overhead position. Often used as an establishing shot.


Close Up 


A head and shoulders shot often used to show expressions/emotions of a character. Also can be a shot of an object, filmed from close to the object or zoomed in to it, that reveals detail.


Extreme Close Up 


A shot where a part of a face or body of a character fills the whole frame/dominates the frame. Also can be a shot of an object where only a small part of it dominates the frame.


Establishing Shot 


A shot that establishes a scene, often giving ther viewer information about where the scene is set. Can be a close up shot (of a sign etc) but is often a wide/long shot and usually appears at the beginning of a scene.

Master Shot

A master shot is the recording of an entire dramatized scene, from start to finish, from an angle that keeps all the characters in view. 


Medium Shot 


The framing of a subject from waist up.


Two Shot 


A shot of two characters, possible engaging in conversation. Usually to signify/establish some sort of relationship


Point-Of-View Shot (POV) 


Shows a view from the subject’s perspective. This shot is usually edited so that the viewer is aware who’s point of view it is.


Over the Shoulder Shot 


Looking from behind a character’s shoulder, at a subject. The character facing the subject usually occupies 1/3 of the frame but it depends on what meaning the director wants to create (for example, if the subject is an inferior character, the character facing them may take up more of the frame to emphaise this)


Reaction Shot 


A shot that shows the reaction of a character either to another character or an event within the sequence.


Camera Angle 


The position of the camera in relation to the subject of a shot. The camera might be at a high angle, a low angle or at eye level with what is being filmed.


High Angle 


A camera angle that looks down upon a subject or object. Often used to make the subject or object appear small or vulnerable.

Low Angle 


A camera angle that looks up at a subject or object. Often used to make the subject/object appear powerful/dominant.


Canted Angle (or oblique) 


Camera angle that makes what is shot appear to be skewed or tilted.


Pan 

Where the camera pivots horizontally, either from right to left or left to right to reveal a set or setting. This can be used to give the viewer a panoramic view. Sometimes used to establish a scene.


Track 


A shot whjere the camera follows a subject/object. The tracking shot can include smooth movements forward, backward, along the side of the subject, or on a curve but cannot include complex movement around a subject. ‘Track’ refers to rails in which a wheeled platform (which has the camera on it) sits on in order to carry out smooth movement.


Crane 


A crane shot is sometimes used to signify the end of a scene/ programme /film. The effect is achieved by the camera being put onto a crane that can move upward.


Steadicam 


A steadicam is a stabilising mount for a camera which mechanically isolates the operator's movement from the camera, allowing a very smooth shot even when the operator is moving quickly over an uneven surface. Informally, the word may also be used to refer to the combination of the mount and camera.


Tilt 


Where a camera scans a set or setting vertically (otherwise similar to a pan).


Zoom 


Using a zoom lens to appear to be moving closer to (zoom in) or further away from (zoom out) a subject/object when in fact the camera may not move (so, strictly not camera movement). Can be used for dramatic effect.


Continuity Editing 


The most common type of editing, which aims to create a sense of reality and time moving forward. Also nick named invisible editing referring to how the technique does not draw attention to the editing process.


Jump Cut 


An abrupt, disorientating transitional device in the middle of a continuos shot in which the action is noticeably advanced in time and/or cut between two similar shots, usually done to create discontinuity for artistic effect.


Cross Cutting 


The editing technique of alternating, interweaving, or interspersing one narrative action (scene, sequence or event) with another – usually in different locations or places, thus combining the two: this editing technique usually suggests Parallel action (that takes place simultaneously). Often used to dramatically build tension and/or suspense in chase scenes or to compare two different scenes. Also known as inter-cutting or parallel editing


Cutaways 


A brief shot that momentarily interrupts continuous action by briefly inserting another related action. Object, or person (sometimes not part of the principle scene or main action), followed by a cutback to the original shot.


Freeze Frame 


The effect of seemingly stopping a film in order to focus in on one event or element.


Eye-line Match 


A type of edit which cuts from one character to what that character has been looking at.


Flashback 
A scene or moment in a film in which the audience is shown an event that happened earlier in the film’s narrative.


Graphic Match 


An edit effect in which two different objects of the same shape are dissolved from one into the other.


Linear Narrative 


A style of storytelling in which events happen chronologically.


Montage Editing 


The juxtaposition of seemingly unconnected images in order to create meaning.


Parallel Editing 


A type of editing in which events in two locations are cut together, in order to imply a connection between the two sets of events.


Visual Effects 


Visual effects are usually used to alter previously-filmed elements by adding, removing or enhancing objects within the scene. (see Cross Cutting)


Match on Action 


A shot that emphasises continuity of space and time by matching the action of the preceding shot with the continuation of the action. (For example a shot of a door opening after a shot of a close up of a character’s hand turning a door handle)


Diegetic Sound 


Sound that can be heard by the characters within a scene/ sound part of the imaginary world.


Non-diegetic Sound 


Sound that the characters cannot hear and is not part of the imaginary world of the story. This includes a musical soundtrack or a voiceover (however this excludes a narration by a character within the story – referred to as an internal monologue and is diegetic).


Score 


The musical component of a programme’s soundtrack, usually composed specifically for the scene.


Sound Effects 


Sounds that are added to a film during the post-production phase


Mise en Scene 


Mise-en-scene, a French term meaning “place on stage,” refers to all the visual elements of a theatrical production within the space provided by the stage itself. Film makers have borrowed the term and have extended the meaning to suggest the control the director has over the visual elements within the film image. Four aspects of mise-en-scene which overlap the physical art of the theatre are setting, costume, lighting and movement of figures. Control of these elements provides the director an opportunity to stage events. Using these elements, the film director stages the event for the camera to provide his audience with vivid, sharp memories. Directors and film scholars alike recognize mise-en-scene as an essential part of the director’s creative art.


Costume


Costume, or clothing and its accessories, is also an important visual element in film. Directors concerned with verisimilitude (historical reality) often go to great lengths to research clothing style, textile, and dye likely to be used by folk of a certain era, for costume is an indispensable means of establishing authenticity. Costume as an aspect of mise-en-scene in film, however, gains even more significance when directors manipulate costume so that it functions in special ways in the film as a whole. Costume can serve to enhance the narrative, or story, for instance, by suggesting social position of characters. 


Setting


Setting, as an important visual element of film, includes all that the viewer sees which informs time and place apart from costume.


Lighting


To the film director, lighting is more than illumination that enables the viewer to see the action. Lighting, like the other aspects of mise-en-scene, is a tool used by the director to convey special meaning about a character or the narrative to the viewer.


Properties (props)


These have to be sourced and provide another aspect of verisimilitude - creating a sense of reality and believability for the viewer.