Tuesday, 6 December 2011
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Monday, 5 September 2011
Do we live in a hyper-real world? Baudrillard Discussion:
Jean Baudrillard was a renounced French Philosopher, socialist and cultural theorist whose work is often associated with Post modernism. His best known work is a series of essays called Simulacra and Simulation- these primarily discuss images, signs and symbols and in these essays he claimed that our current society had replaced reality with such things as symbols and signs. This argument is based primarily on the idea that due to our society being completed saturated in images we have not only replaced referents, this being an object in the real world, with their visual representations or images but also with images that make no reference to reality or the referent in the first place, this is called a simulacrum. Therefore Baudrillard’s main argument consists of the belief that due to this complete saturation in images we now ‘consume’ images that are in fact images of images, or simulacrum and therefore no longer live in ‘reality’ or ‘truth’. This in turn leads to the idea of hyper-reality, a condition where reality had ultimately been replaced by ‘simulacra’ and where because such images no longer relate back to their existing referents reality has been substituted. This idea can be demonstrated through the use of an example involving an apple where the genuine apple would be the referent, an image of the apple would be its visual representation whilst the logo of the company apple would be an example of a simulacrum. The meaning of this logo does in no way, except by name, relate back to the referent and therefore we can use this as evidence to support the idea as a society we now live in a hyper real world, were nothing is in fact ‘real’ anymore due to the fact reality and truth in meaning have been distorted and subverted and things that used to represent something now can mean several various, different things. This leads to Baudrillard’s belief that we no longer live in a ‘real world’ but in fact a ‘copy’ world, where as a society we week simulated stimuli and nothing more. To a degree this is a true, the example of the apple portrays how things can have several meanings that do not relate back to their referents or in any way connect to each other and in this way it can be said we live in a ‘hyper real’ copy world however Baudrillard used this argument as evidence for his own extreme belief that didn’t take place and only a ‘simulacra’ of war happened. In this way I don’t believe we live in a hyper real world as though things may not have ‘true’ meaning any more this goes as far to apply to images and some situations however not as denial for war, something which arguably has scientific proof backing it whereas if we believe we live in a world that has been replaced by ‘simulacra’ in terms of images this cannot be proved by scientific means. However I do believe that there are many ways in which we do in fact live in a hyper real world, for example Disneyland, in which theorists such as Baudrillard argued were an exemplar of hyper reality. He believes that it is made to look realistic in terms of the streets and housing however this false reality creates a desirable illusion to people where Disneyland satisfies our, more specifically children’s, imaginations and day dream fantasies in real life. However this is once again an example of how reality has been substituted, the things people see in Disneyland such as the fake animals are available to see in real life, in terms of nature however because they have been given persona’s which in itself is hyper real we, as an audience are ‘sucked’ in by it and in some ways believe it and all the surroundings are real even though they could not be farther from their ‘referents’ or reality in general. Additionally it can be said we live in a hyper-real world due to the technological advances which allow such things for example a television, even though this appears pretty basic in terms of advancements, both TV and film rely heavily on the audience to engage in a creation of a world of fantasy they in fact create and by engaging with such a world for example soap operas and dramas we ultimately live in a hyper real reality as such things, or ‘fantasy worlds’ become parts of our lives: we need to know if Kat will lose her baby in East Enders for example because she is part of our own world in a way and this demonstrates a loss of reality . Other technological advances include the air brushing of models and by ‘enhancing’ such images were are not being confronted with reality but what other people perceive to almost be a ‘better’ reality.
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Lady Gaga- Post Modernism
The following is a powerpoint exploring Lady Gaga in terms of post modernism, specfically looking at her visual appearance and image as well as videos and lyrics.
Saturday, 6 August 2011
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
Analysis of Paramore's Music video-
Misery Business- Paramore
In terms of Andrew Goodwin’s theory, this music video demonstrates genre characteristics such as the stage performance which are often associated with rock music. Additionally there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visual material on screen, for example the lyrics state “God does it feel so good” and this is projected by the antagonists taking pleasure from hurting various people within the narrative. The setting uses intertextual references, in terms of needing to understand the stereotypical American school with all the stereotypes of groups, the antagonist being the typical ‘bitch’ but various stereotypes are evident within the narrative for example the cheerleaders and perhaps Panic present the ‘Goths’ of the school, therefore when considering binary opposites (Levi Strauss) these two are in competition with one another and as part of the new equilibrium at the end the Goths win against the ‘bitch’. Also consistent with Goodwin’s theory there are frequent references to the female body, with part of the attraction of the female antagonist being her body, and this is ‘taken’ from her in the end of the narrative.In terms of narrative structure the music video follows linear conventions, where the story is told in terms of cause and effect, it also follows the conventions of omniscient narratives where we understand as much as the band do, unlike the other characters within the video .
In terms of Andrew Goodwin’s theory, this music video demonstrates genre characteristics such as the stage performance which are often associated with rock music. Additionally there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visual material on screen, for example the lyrics state “God does it feel so good” and this is projected by the antagonists taking pleasure from hurting various people within the narrative. The setting uses intertextual references, in terms of needing to understand the stereotypical American school with all the stereotypes of groups, the antagonist being the typical ‘bitch’ but various stereotypes are evident within the narrative for example the cheerleaders and perhaps Panic present the ‘Goths’ of the school, therefore when considering binary opposites (Levi Strauss) these two are in competition with one another and as part of the new equilibrium at the end the Goths win against the ‘bitch’. Also consistent with Goodwin’s theory there are frequent references to the female body, with part of the attraction of the female antagonist being her body, and this is ‘taken’ from her in the end of the narrative.In terms of narrative structure the music video follows linear conventions, where the story is told in terms of cause and effect, it also follows the conventions of omniscient narratives where we understand as much as the band do, unlike the other characters within the video .
Monday, 27 June 2011
Definitions applied to my media coursework-
• Skill development- Any work-related activity that results in enhanced skills, knowledge and aptitude to perform a specific job.
• Digital technology-Digital electronics are systems that represent signals as discrete levels, rather than as a continuous range.
• Research and Planning – Part of the pre production stage where you begin to investigate materials and sources in order to establish facts and new conclusions on the process of planning something.
• Post production- occurs in the making of motion photography and digital art.
• Media conventions- These are rules that direct how you write or shoot a media piece, they discuss various things such as angles, language, colours etc.
• Creativity: The use of the imagination or original ideas in a specific type of work.
o Skill development- In terms of my AS coursework it helped to widen my technical skills in terms of mastering Adobe Photoshop as well as other software that I had never used before like Adobe after effects. This not only helped me in the context of my coursework but has also given me skills outside of this that I can use later in life. My skill development throughout the course is evident when looking back at my preliminary task and directly comparing it to my final product.
o Digital technology- When creating my coursework I had to use various means of technology in order to make my magazine look more professional on the whole for example in the photo shoot I used an SLR camera as well as professional lighting, this aided not only in making my magazine look professional but helped me when using Photoshop to cut out my model from the background. Throughout the whole process I used many programmes like Adobe Photoshop and Premier, specifically when creating my voice over I had to use a recorder and then edit any mistakes I had made on Adobe Premier, as well as arranging the slides and adding effects to the voiceover.
o Research and planning- It was vital before doing my coursework to research and plan in order to not only help me come up with a suitable idea for my music magazine but also to help me understand the vital and generic elements of magazines on the whole. Some examples of the research I did before my coursework are similar product research and examples of planning is the first drafts of my magazine, which allowed me to see what I needed to improve. The similar product research gave me profitable ideas which influenced my own magazine whilst allowing me to see the conventions of a good magazine.
o Creativity- Though the majority of my magazine follows the generic conventions of music magazines on the whole I was able to be creative with some aspects of my magazine for example making the contents page, contents pages usually be very minimalistic, quite busy and more vivid. I believed that the layout of my contents page was much more successful in concisely portraying information while the use of individual sections divided up features making them easier to find while still allowing me to briefly introduce the feature, contents pages can often be boring as well and by making it more compact I feel I also made it more exciting. Additionally unconventionally I decided not to feature any plugs on my magazine front cover, and though plugs are successful in catching reader’s attention to important sell lines I decided against it in order not to deter any attention away from my main image, which was my primary selling point of the magazine. Though many elements of my magazine did follow common conventions of music magazines I did experiment with a range of fonts, colours, texts as well as camera angles for my photos and therefore the coursework did allow me to express individual creativity.
o Post production- This was the work I did after creating my magazine and included creating an evaluation in the form of a voice over, I used Adobe Premier to create this. In this I had to answer 7 key questions about the whole process of creating my magazine such as how my research and planning helped me and when reflecting back on my preliminary task how much did I think I had accomplished, the whole evaluation allowed me to reflect back to specific elements of my work and see how at each stage they helped me.
• Media conventions- I decided that it was necessary, in order to increase my target audience profile across a wider span, to develop the typical forms and conventions of existing Indie magazines rather than challenge them in anyway. Therefore in many ways my magazine follows a similar format to those used in existing Indie magazines such as NME however some ideas in particular I developed in order to make my magazine inimitable and personal. I followed the typical conventions of my chosen magazine genre in terms of my front cover where I used a bold, brash masthead in order to entice readers to buy my magazine, in my research I found that bold colours like vivid blues and reds where principally used therefore I adopted such colour schemes and chose my masthead to be red. I also used generic features of magazines like strap lines as well as using bold fonts and texts. My contents page however did not follow the typical conventions of contents pages, explained previously. For my double page spread I recognised the importance of having a main image that encompassed the overall stance of the genre and therefore all my image choices portray the artist in a way in which many Indie magazines portray there models, as laid back and careless which aids in encompassing the overall stance of this genre. I also stuck with media conventions by creating a double page spread with just a picture of the artist and a quote, this attracted my audience to read on.
• Production experiences outside of school- I’ve always taken an interest in the media and I created a video last year on Windows movie maker for a history project as well as watching various Photoshop tutorials two years ago to ready myself for the coursework and using the software.
• Digital technology-Digital electronics are systems that represent signals as discrete levels, rather than as a continuous range.
• Research and Planning – Part of the pre production stage where you begin to investigate materials and sources in order to establish facts and new conclusions on the process of planning something.
• Post production- occurs in the making of motion photography and digital art.
• Media conventions- These are rules that direct how you write or shoot a media piece, they discuss various things such as angles, language, colours etc.
• Creativity: The use of the imagination or original ideas in a specific type of work.
o Skill development- In terms of my AS coursework it helped to widen my technical skills in terms of mastering Adobe Photoshop as well as other software that I had never used before like Adobe after effects. This not only helped me in the context of my coursework but has also given me skills outside of this that I can use later in life. My skill development throughout the course is evident when looking back at my preliminary task and directly comparing it to my final product.
o Digital technology- When creating my coursework I had to use various means of technology in order to make my magazine look more professional on the whole for example in the photo shoot I used an SLR camera as well as professional lighting, this aided not only in making my magazine look professional but helped me when using Photoshop to cut out my model from the background. Throughout the whole process I used many programmes like Adobe Photoshop and Premier, specifically when creating my voice over I had to use a recorder and then edit any mistakes I had made on Adobe Premier, as well as arranging the slides and adding effects to the voiceover.
o Research and planning- It was vital before doing my coursework to research and plan in order to not only help me come up with a suitable idea for my music magazine but also to help me understand the vital and generic elements of magazines on the whole. Some examples of the research I did before my coursework are similar product research and examples of planning is the first drafts of my magazine, which allowed me to see what I needed to improve. The similar product research gave me profitable ideas which influenced my own magazine whilst allowing me to see the conventions of a good magazine.
o Creativity- Though the majority of my magazine follows the generic conventions of music magazines on the whole I was able to be creative with some aspects of my magazine for example making the contents page, contents pages usually be very minimalistic, quite busy and more vivid. I believed that the layout of my contents page was much more successful in concisely portraying information while the use of individual sections divided up features making them easier to find while still allowing me to briefly introduce the feature, contents pages can often be boring as well and by making it more compact I feel I also made it more exciting. Additionally unconventionally I decided not to feature any plugs on my magazine front cover, and though plugs are successful in catching reader’s attention to important sell lines I decided against it in order not to deter any attention away from my main image, which was my primary selling point of the magazine. Though many elements of my magazine did follow common conventions of music magazines I did experiment with a range of fonts, colours, texts as well as camera angles for my photos and therefore the coursework did allow me to express individual creativity.
o Post production- This was the work I did after creating my magazine and included creating an evaluation in the form of a voice over, I used Adobe Premier to create this. In this I had to answer 7 key questions about the whole process of creating my magazine such as how my research and planning helped me and when reflecting back on my preliminary task how much did I think I had accomplished, the whole evaluation allowed me to reflect back to specific elements of my work and see how at each stage they helped me.
• Media conventions- I decided that it was necessary, in order to increase my target audience profile across a wider span, to develop the typical forms and conventions of existing Indie magazines rather than challenge them in anyway. Therefore in many ways my magazine follows a similar format to those used in existing Indie magazines such as NME however some ideas in particular I developed in order to make my magazine inimitable and personal. I followed the typical conventions of my chosen magazine genre in terms of my front cover where I used a bold, brash masthead in order to entice readers to buy my magazine, in my research I found that bold colours like vivid blues and reds where principally used therefore I adopted such colour schemes and chose my masthead to be red. I also used generic features of magazines like strap lines as well as using bold fonts and texts. My contents page however did not follow the typical conventions of contents pages, explained previously. For my double page spread I recognised the importance of having a main image that encompassed the overall stance of the genre and therefore all my image choices portray the artist in a way in which many Indie magazines portray there models, as laid back and careless which aids in encompassing the overall stance of this genre. I also stuck with media conventions by creating a double page spread with just a picture of the artist and a quote, this attracted my audience to read on.
• Production experiences outside of school- I’ve always taken an interest in the media and I created a video last year on Windows movie maker for a history project as well as watching various Photoshop tutorials two years ago to ready myself for the coursework and using the software.
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Post Modernism Definition Powerpoint
Post Modernism Pwwpoint
http://www.slideshare.net/anniapple/postmodernism-1523222- useful website on Postmodernism- OCR media studies on Slideshare.net
http://www.slideshare.net/anniapple/postmodernism-1523222- useful website on Postmodernism- OCR media studies on Slideshare.net
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