Article: 'Reading Rihanna: the burden of representation'

Interesting article by David Buckingham re: Rhianna, her music video for the song 'Bitch Better Have My Money' and representation.

Link: http://davidbuckingham.net/2015/07/14/reading-rihanna-the-burden-of-representation/

Postmodernism and The Media

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Construction of the Female image

Cameron Russell talks about what it is like to be a model, truthfully and honestly. She talks and reveals the secrets behind the female image and its construction.

Useful for when considering ideas of representation and what is perceived, as well as, the ideas of identity and the relationship between people and the media.

Quote!

"Editing is manipulative; it forces us to see what the filmmaker wants us to see."  

Hill, J., & Church Gibson, P. (1998) The Oxford Guide to Film Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

(via Joshua Gray)

[AS] Final Tips and Good Luck!

As you wind up your revision be sure to remind yourself of the chief examiner's advice in these two previously shared posts:

• TV Drama
• Audiences and Institutions

Also, don't forget to use your revision booklets.

And remember! If you don't know it by 6PM tonight you will not know it at 9AM tomorrow. Get a good night's rest and don't forget to bring a bottle of water with you to the exam.

You are in the hall tomorrow. You should be out in the quad ready to go at 9:10AM.

Good luck!

Mr. Michie & Mr. Ford.

Media in Minutes

Not all of the videos in the playlist are relevant and some are name differently to the terms we use e.g. The Reinforcement Theory is also known as Selective Exposure / Selective Perception.

PLEASE NOTE: These videos are just introductions to theories and not an exhausted list. Further research is needed to gain a greater understanding.

Catherine Cronin on Digital Identities at #pelc13

Hey, Josh, Hannah, Alice, Lucy, Danni and Alice, this one's for you...

Enacting Digital Identities from Catherine Cronin

While some of her presentation will be directed towards educators, just glancing at the slides, I can see there will be something for the six of you to take away about digital identity in our postmodern age, not least slide 13 <-- go check it out!

So, I know you all have awesomely exciting lives, but perhaps on this rainy day you can spare a little time to watch the live stream at 12:00 (BST) and listen to what @catherinecronin has to say about digital identities.

*The link to click on is GILL GRAGIE CINEMA (ALL KEYNOTES) - Day 2. Sign up and follow instructions.

AS: Merlin Extract & Essay Question

Here is the Merlin extract, should you wish to watch it again.

And here is the essay question:

Discuss the way social status is represented in this extract from Merlin. Make specific reference to the following technical areas:

• Camera
• Editing
• Sound
• Mise-en-scene

The Fix Factor?

An article on the Daily Mail's website presents an argument whether or not "The X-Factor" is fixed after last weekends result. This would be irrelevant unless we understood mediation and how media control the outcomes and (re)presentation of certain events. This is a small-scale scenario but this can be extrapolated to television and the news channels creating and masking the truth for their own agenda. Well worth a read.

Click here for the article - Daily Mail.

Other article - Unreality TV.

[TV Drama] Primeval (Representation of Gender)

Here is the clip we are currently analysing. It was used for the OCR G322 Exam in June 2010.

Remember your focus is the representation of gender. Use and build your knowledge of camera, editing, mise-en-scene and sound, adding detail to your notes. You might choose to do this on your own or as a group.

You can see all of the past clips from OCR G322 Exam in this playlist.

Semiotics (Homework)

Just a reminder for AS students to work through the pages of this resource on Semiotics:

• Semiotics: "The Science of Signs"

Make notes as you go and come to tomorrow's lessons with any questions that you might have.

---

If you want to push yourself, you could also begin reading through this resource:

• 'Semiotics for Beginners' by David Chandler

It is a degree level text covering the basics of semiotics and beyond, including 'Encoding/Decoding' and 'Intertextuality'.

See you tomorrow...

Mr. M.

Music Video: 2 Presentations and 1 Essay

For those of you considering the Music Promo Brief, the following two presentations and one essay provide a wealth of material to get your research started.

This first presentation provides a detailed guide to music video, applying key concepts including genre, narrative, representation and audience to a wealth of music videos. I recommend for this and the following presentation to have YouTube at the ready, as I would watch the videos that are discussed as you work through the presentation. I would also recommend that you begin to create a glossary of key terms, there are a lot of new concepts that will have to come to terms with.

The second presentation delves deeper into the technical construction of music videos, considering camera work, editing, representation and construction of 'star image'.

Finally, follow this link to read an essay titled: What is Music Video? Audiovisual Poetry or Commercial Salad of Images. It is a highly critical response to the purpose and nature of music videos.

Link: http://www.filmsound.org/what_is_music_video/

Student Presentations (A2)

Genre presentation

Narrative presentation

Representation presentation

Representation - The Exaggerated Truth

Something to chew on, over the weekend...

Postmodern Media - Digital Identity / Digital Self.

"Your 'Digital Self' is your online avatar, internet versions of yourself, the way you represent yourself online."

Questions:

• Do people represent themselves honestly online?
• Are the 'physical you' and the 'digital you' separate? 
• Which version of you is the most real? The 'physical you' or the 'digital you'?

Please reply to this post, providing your answers and your arguments/evidence...

Postmodern Media - Exam Practice

Please complete the following assignment:

“Postmodern media blur the boundary between reality and representation.” Discuss this idea with reference to media texts that you have studied. (50 marks)

You should write this by hand and only spend one hour completing it.

Due Thursday, 15 March.

GCSE Media Studies: Re-sit Revision Sessions

The following revision sessions will be available to those of you who are re-sitting your GCSE Media Studies exam on Wednesday, 25 January.

• Friday, 13 January - 8:20-9:10 - Media 1
• Monday, 16 January - 4:00-5:00 - Media 1
• Monday, 23 January - 4:00-5:00 - Media 1

'Up in Flames: Mr Reeves and the Riots'

Tonight on BBC1 at 22:45, there is a documentary being aired about the 2011 UK Riots. It looks like it will be worth watching.

Even without having seen it, I am positive that by analysing the text it will add to your understanding of media representations and postmodernism.

If you can't catch it tonight, check BBC iPlayer, it is more than likely to be made available online.

More info here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b018cst8

Mediation in action