Pre-production

 Costume- My actors will wear quite baggy hoodies , trousers and baseball caps because they are a key convention of the hip hop genre which is the genre of the song in my music video. It gives it that old school hip hop feel that i am aiming for and that it is a more street style representing the street culture of black people.

Lighting- I will shoot one scene in the classroom in daylight trying to use a sunlight as a direct lighting to set the mood for the achieving student and i will shoot the other scene with the other two actors when the policeman stops the actor in the night and use street lights to create more suspense and give it that eery and ominous effect effect that i am aiming for. On the teacher i will use a artificial light, flash and maybe a bit more spotlight to make the teacher stand out from the student and the audience can focus on the praise the teachers give out to the overachieving student.

Actors/performers- I will have Faisa as the overachieving student in the classroom and will use closeup to make her appear as quite smothered with praise and applaud and the teacher will be Mr apll whereas my other actor, i will feature a wide shot to make the actor appear more isolate and alone in the science to convey the message to the audience that this is a representation of the actors isolation from society due to being an individual of colour. This wide shot also allows the actor to move more quickly and have more space to escape from the policeman which develops the narrative of my video better.

Make-up- I will use a red and brown paint to make it look like the actor in the street has a bruise to match the general identity of a black individual involved in gangs and crime in the UK. I will also use makeup on the student such as concealer t make her look more primp and proper to match up to the title of an overachieving student.

Props- A backpack for the actor in the street which the police will initially think is what he is carrying drugs in and a test paper for the overachieving student , a pen and a  police hat for the policeman .

Setting-One scene will be shot in Mr Palls class , the one on the street will be shot in front of Southall park because it is  a more secluded area.

Shot list

I will first use a long shot to make the slow mo effect of the classroom more effective , i will then use a closeup of the teachers facial expression and and the exam paper , i will then use  panning movement between the teacher and the student to show their facial expressions of happiness. My next shot will be the actor in the street and i will user wide shot to portray their isolation ad how estranged (Paul Girloy) they are form the community. It will switch back to the student walking in the hallway i will use and over the shoulder shot as they are walking so the audience is looking at the video from the students perspective . I will also then switch back to the actor in the street and use a closeup of the policeman and use a panning movement between the two and low angle for the policeman and high angle for the actor in the street to represent the hierarchical structure between the two where the policeman has more power thus making the encounter between the two more understanding to the audience

Paul Gilroy and Diasporic identity

 Paul Gilroy - blog task

Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet 170: Gilroy – Ethnicity and Postcolonial Theory. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets or you can access it online here using your Greenford Google login.

Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks:

1) How does Gilroy suggest racial identities are constructed?

He has consistently argued that racial

identities are historically constructed – formed by colonialization,

slavery, nationalist philosophies and consumer capitalism.

2) What does Gilroy suggest regarding the causes and history of racism?

Race’ [is not] the eternal cause of racism [but is] its complex, unstable

product. I should probably emphasise at this point that neither race

nor racism are the exclusive historical property of the minorities who

are their primary victims.

3) What is ethnic absolutism and why is Gilroy opposed to it?

Race’ [is not] the eternal cause of racism [but is] its complex, unstable

product. I should probably emphasise at this point that neither race

nor racism are the exclusive historical property of the minorities who

are their primary victims.

4) How does Gilroy view diasporic identity?

The classic diaspora is the position from which Gilroy develops his

concepts of diaspora. The classic diaspora considers the originating

place for those displaced as the original source of unity and permanence

for the diasporic identity. The means that the country a group have been

forced to leave will always be the place that defines the cultural or ethnic

identity for those individuals.

5) What did Gilroy suggest was the dominant representation of black Britons in the 1980s (when the Voice newspaper was first launched)?

At the time, the dominant representation of black Britons was as “external and estranged from the imagined community that is the nation.”

6) Gilroy argues diaspora challenges national ideologies. What are some of the negative effects of this?

However, diasporic identities can also become trapped within a national ideology; diasporic cultural ideologies and practices exist within a national ideology based upon its social, economic and cultural integrations and as such there is a cultural difference with the diasporic identities. This difference becomes associated with minority groups and a cultural tension occurs.

7) Complete the first activity on page 3: How might diasporic communities use the media to stay connected to their cultural identity? E.g. digital media - offer specific examples.

Diaspora as a diaspora is transnational, communication needs to also be transnational. As such, social media is an excellent forum for diasporic groups to communicate with those they identify as part of their group. It is also a way to maintain the links to the place of origin, cultural practices and ideologies.

8) Why does Gilroy suggest slavery is important in diasporic identity?

The experiences of slavery are irreversible and therefore have had a huge impact on the formation of  black identity.

9) How might representations in the media reinforce the idea of ‘double consciousness’ for black people in the UK or US?

In the example of mainstream british media, black britons see the world from a biased perspective of the british people but also see the world through their own eyes due to personal experiences they have.

10) Finally, complete the second activity on page 3: Watch the trailer for Hidden Figures and discuss how the film attempts to challenge ‘double consciousness’ and the stereotypical representation of black American women.

In the hidden trailer the black women are represented as quite dependent and and are in a domestic setting portraying how black women are usually c carrying out unpaid domestic labour because of the racism they encounter in employment which gives them less of a chance of being selected in employment/

mens health language representation

1) Write an analysis of the media language choices on the cover of Men's Health - e.g. colour scheme, typography, language, photographic codes etc.
There is an ongoing colour scheme in the magazine which varies from dark blue, light blue , grey and black to create a systematic dull and sophisticated affect indicating that the magazine is for young productive and working adults. One of the magazines cover consists of a group of men who each have a different ethnic background and different social classes indicating that regardless of race or social class differences, this magazine is for a variety of audiences
2) Identify three specific aspects/conventions/important points (e.g. cover lines, colour scheme, use of text, image etc.) from each page of the CSP that you could refer to in a future exam. Explain why that particular aspect of the CSP is important - think about connotations, representations, audience pleasures, reception theory etc.

Front cover: The front cover consists of a famous male actor, who is quite bulky muscle which represents the hyper masculine or ideal masculine man since they were expected to be strong. The subheading which is outlined bold font is there to give a sense of promise to the audience because the wording makes it seem as it promises to help people lose weight fast and that it can be easily done making an audience more eager to purchase the magazine because they may believe that it will help them live up to the expectations of an ideal man.

Editor's Letter and contents page: 

Feature - True Grit - 'The Marathon Man': This page purposely has put an elderly man on the cover to almost give the audience false hope, that if a man of less ability was able to complete a marathon that a younger audience were capable of achieving this. The text is in a small font to encourage the audience to actually properly read the article rather than just skimming through it. The text is also not a lot which gives the audience the idea that anything can be achieved 

3) Apply narrative theories to Men's Health - Todorov's equilibrium, Propp's character types, Barthes' action or enigma codes.

4) Read the cover lines and the Editor's Letter. Does Men's Health offer a cure for male insecurities or does it create male insecurity?

5) How does the 'Marathon Man' feature page offer an example of Steve Neale's genre theory concerning 'repetition and difference'?

Representations

We have already covered many relevant theories in our work on Advertising and Marketing (for example, David Gauntlett's writing on Media, Gender and Identity). We now need to apply these theories and ideas to Men's Health and specifically the three pages from the Jan/Feb 2017 issue identified as our Close-Study Product.

Representations: applying theory

1) How can Gauntlett's ideas on masculinity, gender and identity be applied to the Men's Health CSP we have analysed?

2) How could van Zoonen's work on feminist and gender theory be applied to Men's Health?

3) How could bell hooks's work on 'corrosive masculinity' apply to Men's Health?


Representations: academic analysis

Read these extracts from the journal article exploring the representation of masculinity in Men's Health magazine and answer the following questions:

1) Why is Men's Health defined as a 'lifestyle magazine'?

2) Why is advertising significant in helping to shape masculine identity?

3) The article suggests that the representation of masculinity in Men's Health is not fixed or natural and is subject to constant change. What media theorists that we have studied previously can be linked to these ideas?

4) What does the article suggest Men's Health encourages its readers to be? What examples and statistics are provided to develop the idea of men as consumers?

5) What representations of the male body can be found in Men's Health?

6) What does the article suggest regarding the objectification of men?

7) What is 'metrosexuality' and how can it be applied to Men's Health?

8) What representation of men in Men's Health is discussed in the section 'Homogenous bodies'?

9) What are the conclusions drawn by the article with regards to the representation of masculinity in Men's Health?

10) What is your own view of the representation of masculinity in Men's Health? Is it a positive representation that encourages men to the best they can be or is it a hypermasculine, consumer-driven representation designed to undermine men's confidence and objectify their bodies?

Teen vogue industry and social media

Teen Vogue: Industry and social media blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Teen Vogue Industry and social media' and work through the following tasks to complete the final aspects of your Teen Vogue case study:

Industry: Condé Nast

1) Research Teen Vogue publisher Condé Nast. What other magazines do they publish and how much money did they make last year?

GQ and Vogue and wired they made 164 million 

2) What are Teen Vogue’s main sources of income ?

Teen Vogue’s main source of income is through selling advertising space online – adverts that are targeted using browsing history. 

3) How are traditionally print-based products like Teen Vogue diversifying to create new inTeen Vogue also makes money through income streams ? YouTube with plenty of 1m+ views on their video content. 

4) Why is sponsored content and ‘advertorial’ particularly important in media linked to the fashion industry?

Both editorial content and advertising is designed to create a strong desire in their audience for products featured.

5) Do you view Teen Vogue’s content as a form of public service media or is Condé Nast simply interested in clicks and profit?

I think it is a form of public service because it brings awareness to social causes that don’t get media coverage however on the other hand they know by bringing something new and challenging the status quo , they would stand out and get more clicks and profit so it can both ways.


Closure of print edition research

Read the following short articles to learn the background to Condé Nast's decision to close the print edition of Teen Vogue in 2016 and then answer the questions below:

BBC: Teen Vogue: How will going online-only affect readers?
New York Times: Condé Nast Ends Teen Vogue’s Print Run
Folio: Your Teen Vogue Hot Takes Are All Wrong

1) Why does the BBC suggest “Teen Vogue’s digital game is strong?

It has Six million Facebook likes ,a huge following on snapchat, three and a half million Twitter followers

2) What does the BBC suggest is responsible for the Teen Vogue website’s success?

They believe the brand has increased  In its political coverage and social activism in recent years while still delivering its entertainment, fashion and beauty content is the reason for its success.

3) How did Teen Vogue justify the closure of the print magazine?

The closure of the print edition is likely to result in up to 80 job losses Which is not that much  and those are not the only changes .

4) In the BBC article, David Hepworth suggests there is a risk to going digital-only. What is it ?Once you let paper go you're just another website. You're just more space junk floating around out there."

5) How do online-only publications make money?

They use the creators fund.

6) What does Sarah Penny suggest regarding audience consumption for print and digital – and how might it be changing for Generation-?

Print is a very difficult medium to sustain, particularly within this Generation-Z readership and that there was only so much money that could be made from print anyway.

7) What does the New York Times say Conde Nast is known for?

It is known for its lavish spending and its visually rich glossy magazines.

8) The New York Times states that Conde Nast expects to bring in less revenue in 2017 than 2016… by how much ?

 $100 million less in revenue than it did in 2016.

9) The Folio article also looks at the switch from print to digital. Pick out a statistic that justifies the digital-only approach.

70%

10) Finally, Folio also highlights some of the aspects we have studied elsewhere. Pick out two quotes from the article that link to our work on the Teen Vogue audience, representation or design.

Teen Vogue has experienced tremendous audience growth across its digital, social and video platforms this past year.

Social media analysis

Work through the following tasks to complete your textual analysis of Teen Vogue's social media presence:

1) Look at the Teen Vogue Twitter feed (you don’t need to sign up to Twitter to see it but may need to log in at home). How many followers does Teen Vogue have?

3 million followers

2) Now look at the content. Classify the first 20 tweets you can see using the sections on the Teen Vogue website: News & Politics, Fashion, Entertainment, Beauty, Lifestyle, Wellness and Homecoming. What does the Twitter feed focus on most? Does this differ to the website?

It focuses more on news and politics and bringing awareness to social crisis to inform the uni student target audience about politics.

3) How are the tweets and headlines written? Can you find examples of clickbait?

They are written as if a celeb or a famous is being featured in the article When the article s actually just based on their story.

4) How does the Twitter feed use videos and images?

The images are quite bold and colourful which engages the audience .

5) Analyse the Teen Vogue Facebook page. How many ‘likes’ and ‘follows’ do they have?  

They have 5 million likes and and followers.

6) Click on the Videos link on the left-hand menu. What type of content do the videos feature? Does this differ to the website or Twitter feed?
It differs to the Twitter because where Twitter focuses more on politics they focus more on Fashion and beauty .
7) Now look at the Events tab to explore past events. What are these events and what do they tell us about how audiences interact with the Teen Vogue brand? 

The teen vogue summit and the Chicago event .

8) Go to the Teen Vogue Instagram page. How many followers do they have on Instagram?

3 million 

9) How does the Instagram feed differ from other social media channels? 

 It does not just focus on beauty and fashion and politics but on everything and is it’s main source of gaining profit and alerting audience when a new article is posted.

10) What examples of digital convergence and synergy can you find on Teen Vogue social media including the Teen Vogue YouTube channel? (E.g. opportunities to engage with the brand across different platforms). 

Twitter the retweets and comments allow audiences to criticise teen vogue and engage with them about the politics they bring awareness on.

Teen Vogue: Background and textual analysis

Teen Vogue: background reading

Read this Guardian feature from 2017 on Teen Vogue and answer the following questions.

1) What was the article that announced Teen Vogue as a more serious, political website – with 1.3m hits and counting?

Donald Trump gaslighting America.

2) When was the original Teen Vogue magazine launched and what was its original content?

 Launched in 2004 as a little sister to US Vogue, Teen Vogue used to focus on the standard cocktail of fashion must-haves and celebrity worship

3) How did editor Elaine Welteroth change Teen Vogue’s approach in 2015?

4) How many stories are published on Teen Vogue a day? What topics do they cover?

This morning’s stories (the team publishes between 50 and 70 a day) present a typically mixed bag of fashion, entertainment and current affairs.

5) What influence did digital director Phillip Picardi have over the editorial direction?

PIcardi’s team watch the latest in the site’s guys read video series, in which young men read sexist comments made by real teachers to girls, to highlight the kind of casual yet systemic sexism that usually flies under the radar.

6) What is Teen Vogue’s audience demographic and what does ‘woke’ refer to?

A slang term, as “a byword for social awareness and audience demographic is 16-24.

7) What issues are most important to Teen Vogue readers?

Stories on cultural appropriation and the new faces of feminism. 

8) What does Tavi Gevinson suggest regarding the internet and ‘accountability culture’ with regards to modern audiences? Can you link this to our work on Clay Shirky?

It is in their best interest to subvert expectations of teen girl magazines,” 

9) What social and political issues have been covered successfully by Teen Vogue?

Racial activism ,Trump's election and gender activism.

10) What do Teen Vogue readers think of the magazine and website?

Paige says the truthfulness and trust it offers is why she reads it because it brought attention to a lot of important issues that weren’t getting as much attention as they should have: women’s rights, LGBTQ community rights, immigration.

Teen Vogue: Factsheet Part 1

Read Media Factsheet #200 Teen Vogue - Part 1. You can find the Factsheet in our Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive in school or download it here using your Greenford Google login. Answer the following questions: 

1) The Factsheet suggests Teen Vogue has successfully made the transition to an online, social and participatory product. Why? What platforms is it now available on?

It is available on Instagram , Twitter and Facebook and it has made the transition because they post most of their articles online and have a huge social media following.

2) Look at the screenshots and details on pages 3-4 of the Factsheet. What does Teen Vogue offer its audience?

It offers fashion, lifestyle, female empowerment and social activism articles, entertainment and current affairs

3) Who is the typical Teen Vogue reader?

The target audience or typical teen vogue readers are millennials with an interest in popular culture, current affairs and issues of identity and lifestyle.

4) Read the content analysis of the Teen Vogue website on page 5 of the Factsheet. Pick out three key examples of how meanings are created in Teen Vogue and what is communicated to the ?

The use of headline and standfirst with striking images , the combination of news and lifestyle webpage conventions.

5) Finally, look at pages 6-7 focusing on representations. What range of representations can be found in Teen Vogue and what does this suggest regarding Teen Vogue's values and ideologies?

It’ takes a feminist appproach and brings awareness to social problems which are not usually aired in the media.

Teen Vogue textual analysis and example articles

Work through the following tasks to complete your textual analysis of the Teen Vogue website and read notable Teen Vogue articles to refer to in exam answers. 

Homepage analysis

Go to the Teen Vogue homepage and answer the following:

1) What website key conventions can you find on the Teen Vogue homepage?

Menu tabs, masthead, Pop out menu ,header image.

2) How does the page design encourage audience engagement?

There are quite bright colours to capture their attention and make it homely so that they feel more welcome to write something in the comment section .

3) Where does advertising appear on the homepage?

Right at the top to capture the audiences attention .

4) What are the items in the top menu bar and what does this tell you about the content of Teen Vogue?

Politics , culture , style , identity, summit 

5) How far does the homepage scroll down? How many stories appear on the homepage in total?

Scrolls down quite a but implying that there is so much for audience to learn from and read.

Lifestyle section

Now analyse the Lifestyle section of Teen Vogue (in the Identity section) and answer the following:

1) What are the items in the top menu bar for the Lifestyle section?

Beauty, shopping , prom and shopping .

2) How is the Lifestyle section designed to encouragement audience engagement? Think about page design, images, text and more.

The text is quite large and colourful which gives a welcoming feel and the images are mainly of the teen vogue crew smiling which could evoke confidence in the audience to write a critical comment in the comment section.

3) What do you notice about the way headlines are written in Teen Vogue?

They are quite bold 

4) What does the focus on education, university and ‘campus life’ tell you about the Teen Vogue audience demographics and psychographics?

The audience must be 18 to 24 because they are usually uni students .

5) Choose one story featured in the Lifestyle section and explain how reflects the Teen Vogue brand. 

Teen vogue seems to be performing activism towards LGBTQ when they incorporate stories about the famous makeup guru James Charles .

Teen Vogue: Five key articles

Read the following five notable Teen Vogue features then answer the questions below.

Donald Trump Is Gaslighting America

The new face of teen activism 

Black Teens Have Been Fighting for Gun Reform for Years

Netflix and strong female leads 

How to Break Away From the Gender Binary

1) What do you notice about the content and style of these articles? What do they have in common? 

They all bring awareness to the social crisis that is occurring and challenge the media and status quo.

2) How do the articles use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible - what makes the reader want to click or read more?

They incorporate famous celebrities that the target audience can relate to .

3) Pick a quote from each article that illustrates the political, 'woke' ideology of Teen Vogue and paste it here.

4) What effect on the audience are these articles hoping to achieve?

To inform the audience about  social issues which don’t gain coverage in the media .

5) How do these article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?

They incorporate the feminism approach and incorporate modern fashion trends and celebs they can relate to .