Representations

The picture above translates to "This is not a pipe." It says this because it isn't a pipe; it's a picture of a pipe (a representation).

Everything in the media is a representation-everything we see is being represented. The selection process is:

·         The decision over what is chosen to be represented and what is rejected

·         The choices made when organising the representation

·         The options taken to focus the audience in a certain way

A theorist called White (1961) spoke of the gatekeepers – that is the people who are part of the decision making process in the construction of media texts. These can be the directors, the editors, the government or even the audience themselves. If this is the case, then while creating my music video, I was a gatekeeper f what messages i wanted to convey in the text.

A useful way of thinking about representation is that the meanings are created by this relationship between the producers, the text and the audience.

The representation is constructed with a set of ideas and values (producer’s intent/intended meaning).

The context of the representation is part of the representation (media language choices, anchorage, media form, placement/location, genre expectations, etc.)

The audience reads to this representation and this depends on their own personal interpretational context: age, gender, political, religions, nationality, etc. (negotiated meaning).

So my intended meaning of my music video would have been for the audience to feel happy with themselves despite what other influences may say. However, depending on my audiences interpretational context, this meaning could become negotiated or decoded into another meaning that I haven't even thought about.

Audiences Theories

Texts are meaningless until they are read/decoded by an audience. The audience are the ones who watch the texts and therefore generate the revenue by doing so.

The first attempt to explain how audiences react to the mass media was the Hypodermic Needle Model, composed in the 1920's when media was first being understood. This model suggests that audiences are passive receivers to the information given out by these media texts. Governments thought then by the power of the media, they could create a proper gander to make people believe what they wanted. Of course, this model seems to be irrelevant these days, as we are active receivers. We receive the information but interpret it for our own. 


Extending on the idea of active receivers, the Reception Theory to explain how the mass media effected their lifestyles and how they receive and interpret their messages. This was based on Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding of the relationship between a text and its audience. The text is encoded by the producer (me in my music video) and is decoded by the audience. There may be differences between these codings, showing that messages can be polysemic (have many meanings). Using recognised codes and conventions though the producer can position the audience and thus create a certain amount of agreeement on what the code means. This is known as a preferred reading.

Presentation I did about creativity

Here is a powerpoint presentation I did in one of our lessons about the creativity thought processes I went through when creating my AS and A2 coursework. I decided to post this as it does show the creative planning of A2 coursework: 

Messages conveyed to target audience

The messages being communicated to my audience are messages of how you should be happy with who you are no matter what people or other influences may try to tell you. This is a message in the actual song as well, so they both intertwine with each other well. Another message is that people should not passively receive information from the media and aspire to be like the images in the media.


I just feel that in this day and age, more so in teenagers, that people are kind of brain washed by the media in terms of how you should look. Sometimes they’re even unaware that the images or sometimes the people in some cases are fake and have been edited, which was shown with the “inspirational” images of typically bad role models on the girls bedroom wall (e.g. Katie Price, Paris Hilton, etc.) What’s even more worrying is that this has such a negative effect on these people and it can lead to them doing dangerous stuff, as I showed with the point of view shot of the girl’s cuts on her wrist from self-harming.


Even if a person doesn’t listen to these influences, someone else will and may try point out why they’re flawed according to these influences, which I showed in my music video with the bullies at school. This again has a negative impact on this person.


I created this video to show to my target audience that they don’t have to listen to these influences. They should be happy with what they look like and who they are.

Hyperreal vs Real Texts

Wikipedia defines hyperreality: Hyperreality is used in semiotics and postmodern philosophy to describe a hypothetical inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality, especially in technologically advanced post-modern societies. Hyperreality is a way of characterizing what our consciousness defines as "real" in a world where a multitude of media can radically shape and filter an original event or experience. Some famous theorists of hyperreality include Jean Baudrillard, Albert Borgmann, Daniel Boorstin, and Umberto Eco.

My music video was a realist text with one element of hyperreality with the cloning sequence to create another version of Kirsten (my talent). This juxtaposes the social realist aesthetic look I intended on creating.I created this hyperreal element in my music video by pushing the boundaries of budget and experimenting with technology that I had. Because I was limited in technology and budget, I couldn't create a more hyperreal, glossy looking video.

However, I don't think, if I had the budget or technology, I wouldn't have made it look like that. I prefer a more social realistic look when watching videos and films. I wouldn't have wanted glamourous actors/actresses, stunning set locations or amazing cinematography (ok, maybe that last one I wouldn't have minded having), because then it wouldn't have looked real. If it didn't look real, then the message of being happy with who you are and not trying to change yourself would've been lost, and then the music video would not have worked.

Do the people in audience feedback post match my target audience in terms of SAGEL?

SAGEL


Socio Economic Group

• Technically my target audience group should belong into group E, as they are students. The people in my post are students, so therefore fit my target audience. 

Age

• The age range of my target audience is between 12-20 years old. This is because the concepts of the music video are ones that probably only teenagers may understand. For example, there is a point of view shot of the girls slit wrist. The idea of cutting oneself is rather modern and may not be understood by older generations.

Gender

• The gender of target audience will be mainly female. This does not mean that men wouldn't like it either (due to the penumbra effect), but it is mainly aimed at women because are more susceptible to the media. Plus, the video is about how the girl worries  about getting the "perfect" body that is portrayed by the media.

Ethnicity

• I didn't intend on excluded any ethnic groups but because the people in my video are white, and the area I live in mainly white ethnic background, I have unintentionally excluded other ethnic groups. 

Lifestyles 

• Well seeing how my target audience is mainly students, they probably don't earn any income (or very littlle) and do spend some time watching music videos. The people from my audience feedback post fit into this category.