| Technical Code | Denotation (ie what is it – simply describe what you see / hear) | Connotation (ie what does it signify) |
| Setting | High-End apartment in New York | Luxury, wealth. |
| Clothing | Starts out as plain, becomes expensive clothing as the characters use the product | Implies that the product will make your life better, more extravagant, that it will make you wealthy. |
| NVC | Gold is used throughout the advert | Signifies wealth and a luxury product, makes the product appear more high quality than it actually is. |
| Dialogue | Dialogue accentuates the state of luxury the characters are in. | Reinforces the idea that the product is high end and expensive. |
| Sound Effect | Sound of wands and gold | Implies magic and wealth, and how the product will help the buyer’s lifestyle |
| Music | Upbeat, intensifies as the characters use the product. | Implies that the product is exciting, new and will make life more fun. |
| Camera shot size | ||
| Camera movement | Sways and zooms, slow motion | The camera is abrupt but also elegant during slow motion. Smooth movement implies the quality of the product is high |
| Editing | Gold shine and reflection from the makeup. | Wealth, that the product is of high quality. |
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thEORISTS
| Theorist | What does it mean (in your own words) | How does it apply to the advert (in your own words) |
| Equilibrium | Every story is composed of a beginning, middle and end. Each story starts in equilibrium and then it is shaken up by a conflict which must be resolved. | The characters start out as normal people but when they use the product at the midpoint of the advert their lives transform, and they start to become rich and live a life of luxury. |
| Binary Opposition | The idea that every story is based around opposites such as bad and evil, east and west etc. | There exists many opposites in the advert, the opposition between the bellboy and the influencers, the opposition between male and female presented as neutral, and the opposition between rich and poor where being rich is presented as something to aspire to – and the product is presented as a way to transform your life from poor to rich. |
| Character Types | Stock characters exist, such as the hero and villain, and these are used in all stories that are told | The influencers or product itself could be categorised as the hero as it is shown to improve the character’s lives. The bellboy could be the dispatcher since he brings the product to the characters, or he could be the victim, since he is liberated from his work by using the product. |
That boss life analysis
Theory’s linked to boss life
| Theorist | What does it mean (in your own words) | How does it apply to the advert (in your own words) |
| Equilibrium | Start-middle-end, starts and ends in equilibrium, spikes 1 way in the middle then balances out again in the end. | Influencers are just finding their room, then the product’s brought out and the butler puts it on and gets ‘glamed up’, less excitment more calm |
| Binary Opposition | Always a conflict/opposition in a story. this helps the receivers of the image to come to a conclusion (usually to agree with the message given), because humans like to think and if it was just 1 way then they’d probably be put off of the idea. | -Boring butler life – happy + excited – Plain room (white walls) – Gold product |
| Character Types | There’s always the same TYPES of character (person or thing) in every moving image, eg hero, villain, victim |
Character type relation to advert:
Hero – Influencers (MannyMua + Shayla), Mascara – (product), it makes you feel like a boss and and feel better about yourself
Villain – Money (expensive luxury product)
Victim – Butler – Watching influencers enjoying themselves whilst he’s just doing his job, could fall victim to popularity (following the crowd)
That Boss Life Advert
The changing face of masculinity presentation
theorys
| Theorist | What does it mean (in your own words) | How does it apply to the advert (in your own words) |
| Equilibrium | The theory is that as the story progresses the state of equilibrium can change, | At the beginning the bell boy is dressed inn all grey and at work whereas at the end has a fancy gold suit on showing the change. |
| Binary Opposition | opposing meaning to great contrast | the bell boy character and the tow man characters of the makeup artists who appear more glamorous. |
| character Types | This is a theory on the types of characters used. | The makeup artist represent the hero which saves everything with the massacre products and the damsel in distress is the bell |
THE LANGUAGE OF MOVING IMAGES
| Theorist | What does it mean (in your own words) | How does it apply to the advert (in your own words) |
| Equilibrium | https://prezi.com/y5gvfc_pngwb/todorovs-narrative-theory/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zqdhrdm/revision/3 Todorov’s Theory argues that every moving image follows a structure/plot and includes a beginning, a middle and an end. However, these elements are in equilibrium (balanced) at the end of the film, thus identifying that a resolution has been made. Todorov also mentioned that these events follow a chronological order of a beginning, middle and end. These are the full steps of equilibrium in media: 1) The narrative starts with everything normal and characters follow their day to day lives 2) An event stirs and causes trouble to the character. 3) There is a quest to make everything return back to normality 4) The narrative continues and the quest to normality is found 5) A way to restore normality is found and everything returns back to normal. | In the advert, the beginning is that Shayla and Manny arrive into a penthouse in New York. The event that causes disruption is the bellboy that arrives with loads of suitcases and presents them with a golden suitcase. The quest to return everything to normality is that Manny and Shayla open the golden suitcase and is transformed into a world of luxury, however, reality is restored when they put on the mascara and are transformed to a better world full of luxury. |
| Binary Opposition | https://www.mytutor.co.uk/answers/8161/A-Level/Media-Studies/What-is-Levi-Strauss-Theory-of-Binary-Opposites/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_opposition Straus claims that there are certain elements that oppose to each other in order to thicken the plot and take the narrative into more depth. An example of this is in a superhero film, they include a superhero, who defeats the villain that is plotting to change everything and disrupt normality. The only problem with binary oppositions is that they can create negative stereotypes towards something that might actually have an aim to be regarded as a positive stereotype. Overall, it is very important to identify binary opposites because it broadens the narrative and takes it into more depth. | In this advert, Manny and Shayla are opposite to the bell boy, as they are on holiday/work trip and are staying in this penthouse in New York, whereas the bellboy that delivers the suitcase is working. Another binary opposite used in this advert is the clothing all the characters wear: the bellboy is wearing a dull grey bellboy uniform (before the transformation) whereas Manny and Shayla are wearing clothing that aren’t a uniform and are quite casual everyday clothing. However, at the end of the advert, they are all wearing golden clothes, signifying wealth that goes against the beginning of the advert when they are in plain, everyday clothing/ a bellboy uniform. |
| Character Types | https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zgydhv4/revision/1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Propp Propp had analysed that moving images follow a plot and this plot is determined by the characters included and what decisions they make. Propp also concluded that in an advert there are different types of people in moving images: the hero, the villain, the donor (prepares the hero for what they are going to do), the helper,the false hero, the dispatcher (the person that sends to hero to the event) and the princess. Propp also stated that one character can adopt multiple roles (ie a person might act as both the donor and the dispatcher. | In “That Boss Life” the mascara can be seen as a hero as it creates beauty and gives power to people, whereas at the beginning, Manny and Shayla (before applying makeup) could be seen as the villains because they are not wearing makeup. It can also be argued that Shayla can be seen as a hero for “Bossing up” herself and Manny. |
Theorists –
| Theorist | What does it mean (in your own words) | How does it apply to the advert (in your own words) |
| Equilibrium | Story Structure – All stories follow a certain structure Beginning Middle — disruption End – resolution | Manny meeting Shayla in hotel room Makeup box arrives – putting makeup on ‘Bossed up’ – wearing makeup |
| Binary Opposition | A pair of related items with opposite meanings | Working in as hotel – Staying in a hotel Wearing makeup – no makeup plain colours – gold |
| Character Types | Stock characters Hero and Villain How many stories are there – only one, all follow the same structure. In ‘Bossed Up’ advert the character types are the Bell Boy = victim. MannyMUA and Shayla are the heroes. Makeup is also the hero and the natural/no makeup is the vilian |
explaining 3 storyline theories
| Theorist | What does it mean (in your own words) | How does it apply to the advert (in your own words) |
| Equilibrium | is the balance in the story of 2 oppositions then disupted equilibrium is when the story becomes unbalanced which is considered more interesting | equilibrium is when the set is bland and normal before they get bossed up |
| Binary Opposition | binary opposites helps to thicken the plot and further the narrative since its 2 oppositions agains each other eg good and evil | this is displayed when th story has the further narrative of getting bossed up |
| Character Types | character types is the theory that every story needs 8 types of characters. villain, hero, sidekick, victim…etc | the protagonists of the advert are the heroes and the bell boy is the victim of being saved from his boring job by getting bossed up |
- Todorov’s Theory of Narrative Equilibrium
- Levi-Straus Theory of Binary Opposition
- Propp’s Theory of Narrative Characters Types