The Big Issue: Media Language and Representations

Location: The cover is set in London, this is shown through the background as Big Ben can be seen in the distance. Linking to the idea of migrants, London is the capital city, therefore migrants are more likely to go there rather than the countryside or other cities as it is a capital icon of England. London is also known for welcoming many different migrants to the city, therefore this cover encourages them to be seen positively. The use of London helps to reinforce the Big Issues ideologies to solve the issue of homelessness. The Big Issue company has made an effort to solve the crisis through providing an employment opportunity to homeless people to sell Big Issue magazines with for £2.50 with the seller gaining half the selling price (£1.25). The use of Paddington therefore promotes the migrant and homeless issues. However it could also convey that an increase of migrant levels may lead to more homelessness in London.

Costume: Paddington is wearing a red hat and a blue coat which could connotate the idea of 'Britishness' due to the fact he is wearing red and blue and the background with snow is mostly white, therefore makes up the colours of the union jack. This could indicate the sense of unity through bringing people together. His attire and colour is also for intertextuality due to that being the clothing that he normally wears but could furthermore signify the fact he is in England due to him wearing a coat as England has been stereotypically known for its bad weather and rain which usually requires the common use of coats. The fact he is wearing a summer hat could also imply or reinforce the idea of him being an immigrant coming to England and looking welcomed due to him smiling and waving. The colours used are primary blues, reds and yellow/gold which is appealing to the audience as the colours link with the intertextuality of Paddington bear.

Props: Paddington has a suitcase and a ticket which supports the idea of him being like an immigrant and seeming foreign, reinforcing the idea that immigrants are welcomed to London as he seems happy there. This also highlights the idea of homelessness in London at Christmas as many homeless people have to live on the streets with their own belongings, just like Paddington visiting with his belongings to feel a sense of unity at a festive time where people come together. This could make those who are less fortunate feel unified as well as migrants feeling welcomed.

Lighting: The lighting is brightly lit via CGI editing of the background's use of a streetlight which lights up the whole scene, making the audience focus on the snowfall and Paddington in the foreground. It also reinforces Big Ben in the background to emphasise the location of the cover being in London. The whole picture is brightly lit so that it is clear what the scene is about to show the main features for the audience to take a glimpse and understand more clearly.

Camera shot/angle: The main focus of Paddington is a full body image, inferring that he has nothing to hide as he is proud to be a migrant in England. Everything on the cover is made via CGI, therefore no camera shots were necessary due to the use of computer generated software. The CGI clearly shows the location and main focus of the cover and the interpretation and idea of how the Big Issue helps those who are unemployed to find a way of making money so that they are able to be safe and feel part of something bigger to give them a chance to make their own way in life through defeating the crisis of homelessness.

Typeography: The large gold capitalised bold font of 'one of us' on the cover is the main focus of the cover other than Paddington. The words 'one of us' could symbolise 

Massive Attack- Unfinished Sympathy Analysis

Massive Attack- Unfinished Sympathy

Massive attack are an English trip hop group formed in 1988 in Bristol, consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall and formerly Andy "Mushroom" Vowles (Mush).

Upon release as a single, "Unfinished Sympathy" topped the Dutch Top 40 and became a top twenty hit on the singles charts of countries including Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The single was accompanied by a memorable music video, directed by Baillie Walsh, featuring a single continuous shot of Nelson walking through a Los Angeles neighbourhood, oblivious of her surroundings. Recognised as a pioneering song in the development of British dance music, "Unfinished Sympathy" was acclaimed by music critics for its distinctive production and Nelson's vocals. It ranked highly on several publications' year-end lists of the best singles of 1991, and has since featured in many polls of the best singles of all time of both music critics and the public worldwide.

The music video uses a single continuous shot filmed on a Steadicam and begins with a shot of a street gang before moving to follow Nelson walking along the pavement unaware or uncaring of her surroundings, which include drunks, bikers, and disabled people. As the video progresses, first Daddy G, then 3D (having finished making a call on a public phone booth) and then Mushroom (pushing a cart) can be seen walking several paces behind her, slightly out of focus. At the end of the video, Nelson walks past the camera and off down the road into the distance.The gang at the beginning with the dog – they were real and lived there, many others weren't actors, they didn't want to move away from the street.

In the music video, the overall message and theme is about poverty and how people grow up living in such conditions, what they do for fun and what they turn to if they can't get a job. Examples in the video include gangs, homeless people and beggars. The mise-en-scene is the most important factor in this music video as the camera uses one continuous shot and little to no editing. This important factor emphasises the idea of poverty and unemployment with people standing around looking bored implying that there is nowhere for them to go. Many other elements reinforce this: a child with a toy gun, graffiti, a biker gang, alcoholism etc.

Dance Music

What makes all of these music videos from the dance music genre?

They all use fast cuts and quick shots that fit within the beat of the music which helps to keep the focus of the audience to keep track of the quick cuts and multiple shots. Multiple angles are also used which creates the feel of how dance is interpreted in many ways. Close up shots of the characters dancing is used to show each individual role for the audience to see a story line that follows with the characters throughout the music video. The use of fast shots connotates the realism of how it would be the same environment in a dance club location in real life. This is also emphasised with full body and or mid shots of other characters dancing as if in a real environment. It is set within a lively atmosphere with multiple things happening simultaneously and usually locations in which the audience can relate to. To reinforce the sense of verisimilitude for the audience, the location may also be filmed at a house party with the typical conventions with the liveliness of a party. Locations usually include a lot of lighting and colours to accompany the audio, therefore the sense of liveliness and fun is given off the the audience. The use of cuts and multiple angles used is so that it gives the audience a sense of euphoria, making them become influenced with the dance techniques of the music video. A lot of slow motion is also used which contrasts with the other fast paced shots which allows the audience to focus on certain aspects purposely created to be emphasised on.  These music videos predominately feature women dancing in unique clothing, appealing to men through the image but women through the music.

Explore how the artists are using representation to appeal to their target audience in these three videos by picking out key frames from the video to analyse.

Sigala- Sweet Lovin':

CamelPhat & Elderbrook- Cola:

MK-17:

What other music videos could you find from the same genre? Outline two and explain why you think they are termed dance.

Advertising and Marketing (Old Spice)

Old Spice Advert:

Explain how and why, with close textual references, how effective their campaign is in attracting a youthful audience.

This old spice advert is part of a campaign to attract a wider audience that now includes the younger generation instead of just an older target audience. They have changed their advert style by including a main theme of different locations in which covers the model's body so signify that he smells like paradise, therefore, if the audience wants to smell as good, they can too if they buy this product. The text used is in bold and capitals to stand out and give context to the product to persuade a wider audience to buy them. 

Evaluating Camera Quality

iPhone camera:

Colour: neutral tones, balanced with background

Sharpness: less focus than with flash or DSC

Lighting: normal tones

Resolution: high

Depth of field: focus on middle of image 

Overall quality: high but has less pixel quality in a large image so seems blurred

Overall, an image taken with iPhone is more likely to give a natural image with a middle focus and high quality but lacks in pixel detail.

iPhone Camera Flash:

Colour: Lighter on face but a much darker background for facial focus

Sharpness: more sharpness focus on the face

Lighting: increases brightness on face with more shadows

Resolution: strong 

Depth of field: Focus on mid photo

Overall quality: high but has less strong pixel quality

This image taken with an iPhone on flash creates a sharper focus on the face as well as a strong resolution but has a much darker background and outline surrounding features as well as a medium pixel quality. 

Nikon Camera:

Colour: slightly darker tones than the others, orangey

Sharpness: little sharpness focus on the overall image

Lighting: slightly dimmer than the others, soft lighting

Resolution: larger quality focus than the others

Depth of field: focus on mid-center image, slight shallow focus of surrounding areas

Overall quality: strong high quality image, more pixel quality

This image took with a Nikon camera has slightly darker, orangey tones than the others and little sharpness but has a large quality focus and a high pixel image quality.

DSC Camcorder photo:

Colour: More pink soft tones, darker than iPhone but brighter than Nikon

Sharpness: strong soft tone, smooth, more focus on features

Lighting: clear lighting balance, soft/smooth 

Resolution: medium

Depth of field: focus on model in the foreground

Overall quality: high quality pixels 

This image taken with a DSC Camcorder includes more soft pink tones and is slightly brighter than a Nikon. It has a strong sharpness with soft/smooth tones as well as a clear lighting balance and a high quality pixel resolution.