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Media

Exam Theorist and Quotes

Laura Mulvey: ‘Male gaze whenever it directs itself and takes pleasure in women, where women function as erotic object’

She developed her theory of the male gaze and Voyeurism vs Fetishism. My video relates to this as the protagonist is presented by fetishism because she is not objectified yet seen as strong and independent.

Andrew Goodwin:  ‘Music videos are simply an extension of the lyrics’. The visuals relate to the lyrics by illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.

Roland Barthes: ‘Denotations and connotations theory, how the audience interpret the media text. Also the five codes theory, mine relates to two, semantic and symbolic because of the different meanings and connotations.

Sven E Carlsson: Conceptual and Performance based media texts. I have used a conceptual idea which is based more around meaning and visuals instead of the artist.

Stuart Hall: ‘Everything which appears in a media text has been carefully chosen’ Encoding/Decoding.

Kate Domaille:  Every story ever told can be fitted into eight narrative types. My video fits into the Orpheus narrative as my video depicts the journey the protagonist is taking after a loss.

Ferdinand De Saussure: Theory developed around semiotics – which is the study of signs and meanings in media texts.

Media Language Essay

Media language is how a media text communicates with the audience camera, sound, editing and mise en scene. Media language relates to the symbolism, signifiers and semiotics that a text conveys, Ferdinand de Saussure developed his theory on semiotics which is the study of signs and meanings in media texts. My music video relates to this theory as well as theories from Laura Mulvey, Roland Barthes and Stuart Hall.

Firstly my music video has a conceptual narrative and therefore use symbolism and metaphors to signify the metaphorical  journey the protagonist is taking. The semiotics and sings in the video represent the protagonist moving on and signify the journey she is taking in order to achieve solace. This relate to Kate Domailles narrative theory as the video has similarities to Domaille's Orpheus narrative which is the journey after a loss. 

More over Roland Barthes theory discusses the use of denotations and connotations and how the audience interpret what they see. As my video is symbolic the audience are presented with many connotations within the mise en scene as well as the non diagetic sound. The use of the water in my video connotes how the protagonist is cleansing her soul and gaining clarity this is then emphasised by it being presented through the use of slow motion and reverse effects.  As well as this the video is in black and white which signifies how the protagonists life used to be full of confusion and depressing.

Furthermore Start Halls theory demonstrates how encoding and decoding are used in order to understand a piece of media. My music video is intended to portray the message of the protagonist moving on and gaining clarity where as the audience or the decoder may interpret the story differently due to their cultural perceptions. However I believe that my video allows for the audience to receive the message correctly and decode whilst understanding its meaning.

Additionally my music video uses camera, editing, sound and mise en scene to signify its meaning. The camera is used to present a variety of close-ups and extreme close ups these emphasise the protagonist feelings and emphasise her journey. However they could also be considered voyeuristic such as the close up of her chest and neck. Yet the video does not objectify her in order to appeal to the 'male gaze' it relates to Laura Mulvey's theory of Voyeurism vs Fetishism, this is because the protagonist is more idealised instead of objectified because the audience are able to see that she is taking control of her own life, representing her independence.

As well as this the video starts and ends with transition fade edits this is to emphasise the beginning and end of the story and journey is able to find solace at the end. Also the non diagetic sound of the song signifies the relationship between the natural imagery of the lyrics and the simplistic nature of the video such as the minimal mise en scene, to therefore symbolise the meaning of the video.

This overall signifying how the media text I created portrays media language, as it connotes signs as well as using encoding/decoding, through the use of camera, editing, sound and mise en scene. The video also represents theories from Ferdinand de Saussure, Laura Mulvey, Kate Domaille, Roland Barthes and Stuart hall. Also the media language of the video symbolises the journey and story the protagonist is telling which is emphasised by the way camera, editing, sound and mise en scene work together to signify this.

Narrative Essay

For my advanced portfolio project, I created a music video and promotional material such as a digipak and magazine advert. My music video advertised the song 'Feeling Good' by Muse. I used narrative in order to appeal to my target audience by portraying a story that reflected the lyrics to the song.

Narrative describes the story that is being told, which I presented in a music video. Most narrative in music videos are literal and show a clear story, where as my music video is metaphorical. The metaphorical meaning to the video is portrayed as it features the protagonist having water falling on her presented with a black and white filter. The video also uses slow motion and reverse effects to emphasise the narrative it is portraying. As well as being metaphorical the music video I created is conceptual and symbolic. The lyrics use a lot of natural imagery and are emphasising freedom and moving on from past troubles, lines such as 'birds flying high' highlight this because it is as if the protagonist is flying away and moving on.

The mise en scene establishes the setting and relationship between the lyrics, as the much mise en scene is simplistic the viewer can only see the water, what the protagonist is wearing which is all black and the plain background, this emphasising the simplicity of the meaning and how the protagonist does not want complicated things yet simple freedom.

Furthermore my music Video also relates to Kate Domaille's theory that every story can fit into eight narrative types, I believe that my video relates to Orpheus as it suggests the journey which follows a loss. The video represents this because the protagonist is going on a journey to forget about their past troubles and gain freedom, this again relating back to the lyrics and signifying her journey.

Additionally my video conveys Roland Barthes codes theory, I believe that my video portrays two of Barthes five codes. The semnatic code and symbolic code apply to my music video as my video could suggest a range of meanings and connotes different things. Also relating to Barthes theory my video is open ended as there is not an obvious resolution and can be interpreted differently. Similarly as my video emphasises the narrative of moving on my digipak does as well. There is a theme throughout my digipak of symmetry and on the front cover the audience are presented with a bold image of the protagonists face that is symmetrical so it looks like she is looking at herself. This signifies her reflecting on her past self and how she has changed and moved on, this relating to Domailles theory of the journey after a loss.

Overall emphasising how my music video and digipak relate to narrative, as they both clearly represent the narrative of the protagonist and the journey she is on to move on and resolve past troubles in order to gain freedom, signifying the relationship between my advanced portfolio of work and Kate Domailles Orpheus theory.

Key Concepts Theory - Narrative



Music video Narrative.
My music video does to follow the lyrics literally, they have a metaphorical meaning, the video is conceptual. As the lyrics use a lot of natural imagery and are emphasising freedom and moving on from past troubles. My music video represents these as the protagonist is seen having water thrown on her, emphasising how she is washing away all of her problems and cleansing her soul in order to feel free. The mise en scene establishes the setting and relationship between the lyrics as there is not much mise en scene just what the protagonist is wearing which is all black, the water and the plain background, this emphasising the simplicity of the meaning and how the protagonist does not want complicated things yet simple freedom.