Questions	What went well?	What could be improved?	What I am going to do to make the improvements
1	I decoded the image in detail and cultural contexts	Delve deeper into what it suggests about the rest of the magazine	Become more familiar with unseen
2	Lots of detail about the shows and what they entail	My knowledge on regulation and who regulates TV	Look at the blog and revise regulation
3	I applied multiple theorists	Talk more about values and beliefs	Go through the video games power points
4	Lots of information about the specific audiences the magazines attracts	Talk more about the content of the magazines	research different articles in both magazines

Media Language

• Roland Barthes semiotics
• Todorov narrative theory
• Steave Neale Genre
• Levi Strauss structuralism
• Jean Buadrillard postmodernism

Media Representation

• Stuart Hall representation
• David Guantlett identity
• bell hooks, Van Zoonen feminist theory
• Judith Butler gender performativity
• Paul Gilroy postcolonialism

Media Audiences

• Power and Media Industries Theory James Curran and Jean Seaton
• Regulation Theory Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt
• Cultural Industries Theory David Hesmondhalgh

Media Industries

• Cultivation Theory George Gerbner
• Reception Theory Stuart Hall
• Fandom Henry Jenkins
• ‘End of Audience’ Theory Clay Shirky

1)

• Three sets of signs are potentially useful (but this is only 8 marks of work): the signs that constitute the Father Christmas, the signs that combine as words to provide anchorage and the signs that draw significance from this anchored context. 

 • The Father Christmas is fairly crudely constituted (being iconic with low motivation) by colour, styling, positioning to offer instant recognition, reassurance, benevolence, a warm welcome and a clear focus.  

• Here is signification at four levels: reference (denotation), association (connotation), myth and ideology. 

 • The setting suggests an urban, business-oriented, consumerist Christmas. There is warmth here but nothing particularly spiritual unless the audience identifies a star in the east among the white spots in the sky (which may be stars or snow and add either way to the manufactured ‘magic’).  

• The words provide anchorage through a tag-line (“when it comes to Christmas, there’s no place like…Manchester”).  

• This stating of Christmas then sharpens up the snow-covered iconic buildings which add relevance and a familiar Christmas aesthetic.  

• It also draws focus to the pretty lights which draw attention to what most will recognise as a German or continental or merely generic Christmas market. 

• There is a semiotic vocabulary for those who want to use it: paradigm, syntagm, icon/index/symbol, denotation/connotation/myth/ideology. Equally it is appropriate to respond out of the language of composition and framing (size of shot, camera angle). 

2)

• media products and the representations in them can be seen as a product of the economic and political contexts in which they are created  

• issues such as censorship and stereotyping may impact on the creation of products and the way in which representations of power are created and received  

• products must reflect the cultural values of their target audiences in order to be successful but these may be diverse and can explain the differences in representation  

• products may take up particular economic and political standpoints from which to address their intended audiences and ‘the world’. 

• both products inhabit an urban setting that is both realistic and mythic 

 • these products both have political content reinforced by significant economic and political contexts 

 • they are both essentially iconic: what you see, they proclaim, is what you get but this is part of an economic and political discourse which revolves around what can be seen and what can be said about it: the advert operates as if there is nothing to say and nothing to be done: this is how it is, the video wants to be seen as an active challenge to this 

 • in both cases representation is a political act. The advertisement for Manchester: 

 • the appeal here is to a general audience and a particular understanding of the function of Manchester which is predicated on consumerism (no knowledge of Manchester is required)  

• this city scape is The Public Sphere, iconic buildings, the central shopping area, an economic centre: the commercial heart: it is dark and mysterious also ‘promising’ 

 • the representation here may be seen as dangerously bland, as if we are observing a ‘natural’ scene, a kind of Capitalist Realism. Equally it may be seen as ‘gorgeous’: glamour and spectacle 

• this is a classic Barthesian myth, a deliberate confusion of History and Nature: we are to imagine this is what cities are like rather than this is how cities have developed  

• this is a representation of the city as a ‘resort’: a location for consumerist adventure: Christmas as a spending spree with Manchester as a temporary materialist theme park  

• the political here is disguised as if its meaning came from just how things are. Ghost Town:  

• this is more overtly political, a conscious reproach to Thatcher’s Britain 

 • a booming City and South East juxtaposed with the post-industrial collapse of the economy everywhere else drew up lines of opposition across the 1980s 

 • the video provides a guided tour of deprivation anchored by a literate protest lyric 

 • there is also a political message in the multi-racial composition of the band in a Britain beset by the mobilisation of the hard right  

• punk had provided access to expression to the disenfranchised and prompted a new kind of political pop that was articulate and working class. 

6)

• the significance of economic factors, including commercial and not-for-profit public funding, to media industries and their products 

 • how media organisations maintain, including through marketing, varieties of audiences nationally and globally  

• the impact of ‘new’ digital technologies on media regulation, including the role of individual producers  

• how processes of production, distribution and circulation shape media products  

• the impact of digitally convergent media platforms on media production, distribution and circulation, including individual producers.  

 • in the context of declining print sales for all newspapers, the Daily Mail has been relatively successful  

• it has embraced the opportunities of digital technology, adjusting its style to an evolving target readership 

 • the online version has a distinctively different identity which allows the print version to maintain the more ‘serious’ agenda. Shape: 

 • the Daily Mail is a national daily tabloid newspaper that has social and cultural significance. It is a national institution with widely recognised positions on social, cultural and political issues 

 • this style, address and ideological viewpoint sets an agenda for its target audience and is influential in the wider ‘territories’ of public opinion  

• the paper’s position on Brexit, perhaps the most significant social and cultural issue of our time, is a case in point. 

Questions	What went well?	What could be improved?	What I am going to do to make the improvements
1	decoding the signifiers	talk about the santa	look closer to notice more codes and conventions
2	delved deep into political and social contexts of the time	Stuart hall/ any theorist to back up, refer to figure 1, read question properly	revise the theorist more and apply them to CSP
3	talked a lot about male gaze and applied it well to score	mention Judith butler
4	a variety of theorists	relate hybridity to old town road	revise old town road further
5	5.1) 2/3 5.2) 3/3	more revision on postmodern language	look at the postmodern language on the blog
6	lots about advertising and marketing	talk about paternalist v populist	look closer at the daily mail
7	lots of context around the film, talk heavily about diversity	more specific examples and language	look closer at diversity within blinded by the lights

I have chosen to create a music video as it immediately caught my attention whilst going through the briefs and I see it as something that I would really enjoy making. I also want to improve my skills on editing. My aims for my music video are to create a visually capturing concept that appeals to a more mainstream audience, so they return to the song and create a wider loyal fan base for the upcoming artist. I also want to show the artists personality more through the video and display their stage presence to increase sales on tours and increase loyal listeners. I aim to have dancers with catchy choreography in parts of the song which could become a trend on social media, for example TikTok, this would lead people back to my video and it also creates interest. 

During my music video I will showcase my knowledge. Firstly, by using a different range of camera angles, this shows I have read the brief and can understand how to do this. I will have the focus being on my solo artist, showing she is the dominant signifier. This makes sure most of the attention is on them and not the dancers in the background. I will achieve this by using a range of lighting techniques and being selective about the staging throughout the video. I also want to include elements of star power, for example including a surprise guest in my video to entice more viewers.

My video is aimed at a younger audience, roughly between 13-25. I would reach this audience by using vibrant colours to keep them engaged and also using trendy clothing for the artist and background dancers. I would also make sure there is high energy from the performers with catchy choreography that could hopefully become a trend on different social media platforms, specifically TikTok as it is heavily based on music and dancing.

 I would make my video accessible on all social media platforms. I would publish it on YouTube and create Tiktok videos with a catchy dance using the song to attract people to watch the full video on YouTube. Additionally, I would copy the link onto an Instagram story and make it easy to just tap the link and just watch the video. I would use star power again here and have other famous people who aim their content at a similar audience to me to generate more viewers.  

By using all these techniques to create my music video I will demonstrate my knowledge and understanding of media and my ability to create a successful and entertaining music video for youths.  

I am designing and promoting a magazine cover about makeup and beauty.  This magazine promotes natural makeup and natural beauty to make people feel more confident in their skin, one of the reasons it’s called ‘SKINS.’ My inspiration for this was the magazine ‘Cosmetics.’ My model is a fictional model ‘Evie Walker.’ In this front cover i am promoting a new product of lip oil. 

Walker is purposely wearing little to no makeup in this picture to try and change societies view of women. To make people love themselves and stop society believing they need makeup to be pretty. This also makes the lip oil get more attention as the readers aren’t distracted by anything else. By her holding the lip oil it also makes people intrigued and get drawn to the packaging and aesthetics of the product. The model is also representing herself as an advocate for this idea and she supports it. 

My target audience for this is predominantly women of 16-30. The reason it is targeted at these younger ages is because people who are influencers on social media can change girls’ views on beauty as they are all over social media. The model Evie Walker also reposted this on all her social media platforms promoting the new lip oil, increasing readers and buyers.  

 In my magazine cover you can see it says ‘clean beauty issue’ this demonstrates a no makeup; makeup look which is a lot more realistic and achievable for young women and girls. The background is also a beige colour promoting the minimalistic idea, along with subtle white writing on one side. By having the product in the photo just underneath her lips promotes the product and intrigues people to buy it to test it out. I took the picture horizontally and left space on the left side to write information and market the magazine, so it is clearly seen and easy to read. It is a close and intimate photo with a direct address. This entices the viewers and links nicely with the theme of the magazine and the clean look to it.  

Magazine front cover

• include credit information
• use the gentlewomen or GQ
• make sure the format is right
• more detail about the ratings etc
• closely use the style model
• spend plenty of time refining, adapting, editing, changing, altering my work to ensure the fine details are completely covered in my work and not just the main elements.

I am promoting the film ‘Just one chance.’ It is a film about a pair of best friends in a small town who want to make something of themselves but where they live, and their backgrounds make it difficult. Their school doesn’t really bother with them even though they are incredibly smart. They are hit with many obstacles along their journey but one day they are discovered by a big producer who comes to the school to give a speech to the children. They are in a drama class as the director walks past and he suddenly sees their potential. They have one shot to make it, but they must leave everything behind, their family, friends, and their whole lives for this chance. I have promoted this by making a film poster and Instagram posts to advertise.  

My target audience for this film is young/teenage girls. This is because the protagonists are both girls at it shows a relatable insight into secondary school and how females in society are treated. These posters will be in Teen Vogue as a huge population of my target audience read these magazines. In terms of VALs Psychographic descriptors, these posters and posts will be targeted at the “Seekers” and “Achievers”. These people are hardworking and determined; they want to do something in life, they look for self-improvement and success. These are the type of people who the promotional material is aimed at because (especially with the Instagram posts) they encourage active thinking and problem solving which becomes an important theme in the movies.  

My film poster shows two girls in a school running away from the camera. This symbolizes them running away from their boring, unfulfilled lives toward a better future for them. The title of the film is clearly shown in bold white writing so it’s clear and outstanding. There are lists of quotes about the movie to make it intriguing and promote the film in the best possible way. It also features the release date of the film to create anticipation and a large audience as soon as it comes out in cinemas.  

The Instagram posts show each protagonist with a short background about their acting career and their names in bold black writing. It includes films they have been in before which is a good marketing technique, as if anyone has watched those films and enjoyed it would interest them to see this one.  

The motives for the audience I am exploiting through these posters and posts is giving them hope and letting people live through the characters. The materials explore different themes such as identity, self-improvement, luck, happiness and most importantly hope.