Independent Study

GEORDIE SHORE

SEASON 2 ADVERT :

Geordie Shore is a reality television series, now the show is back with series 2 on the 31st January 2012 at watershead timing 10PM on MTVwhich has since largely departed from music programming and is now known for producing mostly teen-oriented programs. The show is set in and around Newcastle and a British adaptation of the American show Jersey Shore.The show follows the antics of eight young Geordies as they live, work aswell as including their drunken, violent and sexual exploits – making it the highest-ever rated series on MTV .

1) Media Form

How does the trailer persuade audiences to watch the TV show

2) Media Representations

How is gender represented in this add

3)Media Audiences On the basis of this add,who are the target audience

4)Media Institution

What does the add tell us about the vaules and ideologies on MTV and how might it raise

issues/criticism?

ANSWERS :

1)

The trailer persuades audiences to watch the TV show because of the following :

Sex appeal which persuades and brings in audiences to gain entertainment aswell as pleasure  ,Sound/Music and the voice tone used - (M&S) seductive tone used just as Marks and Spensers want to tease the audiences to buy their mouthwatering food the simmilar technique is used to seduce audiences to watch and find out more about the characters. The humor is also shown through "ohhhh I could murder a kebab" , Shock taktics of the sexual behaviour which is seen shocking and over exagerated by their actions used . 

2)

gender represented in this add by:

Women seen stong however also seductive and sexual the actions of having the lollypop ,blowing bubbles, licking cakes , pulling out chewing gum all connotes sexual and seductive actions to tease male audience. Gradually this changes and shows a more Femme Fatale side as aggressiveness of  pulling out lollypop- can connote the violence ,jealousy,aggressive behaviour /flip side to women which will also be presented in the show , showing all the girls dont only have a soft side . 

Dismemberment of body parts emphasis body parts - male gaze , voyerism therefore making women inferior and as sex objects.

Men are seen also stong , physically fit and that have "secret weapons" again connoting sex and their ability to use their sex as weaponary tactics cotton buds show their masculinity and the roses show the romantic side but the sneezing and the disgust that makes him throw it away shows the dominance and masculinity to leave and get rid of things that they dislike.

3)

Target Audience would be audiences who know the characters or also teens 15+ to ages 20/25

Primary Audeince = Aspirers -who seek status, materialistic,image,apperance,persona,fashion - most of which is like the characters that are on the show who are also aspirers theirfore the audience can identify and relate to them

Explorers= who seek discovery individualism,adventure ,satisfaction , first to try new things , experiance

4)

The values and ideologies of MTV are shown as the advert proves the point to us that MTV is now known for producing mostly teen-oriented programs as we see this advert is directly aimed at teen audiences who aspire and identify with characters such as these as they are also young adults who are enjoying life and having fun therefore a dream for teenagers to experiance.

MTV could face critisism or issues for its deep sexual refrences used through the advert which could face critism from parents of teens or older secondary audiences who would see this as corruption and digust for their children to be shown as it would affect their behavior.

"TECHNOPHOBES" - BBC3

 AUDIENCE:

- Young Teen Audiences / Family - 16-34
- Socio -C2, D,E
- Male+Female
- psychographics -
Free Spirts - Laid Back people-Intrests in social matters
Funseekers - work,play and spend ...Trendy, latest-love magazines soaps etc

INSTITUTION:

-16 - 34 age demographic

- 7pm onwards most audiences

- Watch Online on iPlayer for repeats
- will be spread through word of mouth

MEDIA FORMS :

What kind of program are you expecting to see when it is broadcast? Include specific ideas about content, along with more broad knowledge of the codes and conventions of this genre
- Observational mode of the lives of each Technophobe -also with hidden cameras
- Expository mode Voice Over -voice of god
-Tv contrived -artificial setting
-Characters will have to spend a week with new technology which they have never used before alongside completing tasks using the type of technology given .
-They would have to eventually have to get over their phobia and learn to enjoy technology, however this is not possible with all contestants .
- Contestants adges between 16-30
- Typical stresseful and angry behavior being not capable to adapt to new technology therefore it will contain explicit language and codes of violence due to their fustrated.
- It will include 8 contestants - 4 boys and 4 girls
For Example :
- Their will be 2 of whom have been brought up without any sort and are studying
- And 2 others who will be working full time and see no point of the technology in their daily lives

 REPRESENTATION:

More negative Reperesentations would be given as, by living in the 21st century it would be seen to be very humerous and un-natural not to know the use the advantages of technology within your everyday life. The contestants will all receive great critisim from audiences that live in the "norm of society  however some audiences may be able to sypathize with their fustration that they are having with the technology. For example the fustration any typical person would have with updating software or with using a new phone without any knowledge of its functions.

WEB BLOG REVIEW 

 The BBC3 program was shocking and quite funny to see such people in the 21st century still behind and confused with the technology, dont really know why some of them are so  aggressive and emotional towards the technology its not like its going to bite them . It was quite stupid seeing the reactions of some of the contestants especially Kim who completely seems as if she'd entered a new world .
Well its about time that they finnaly getting a sense of what the futures all about.
By Sasha :)

800 word analysis of documentary DVD cover

Filmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's  gun violence,
he learns that the answers of easy availability of guns, violent entertainment and americas crime Michael Moore takes on examination of America's culture of fear, and violence in a nation with widespread gun ownership.

Our eyes are firstly attracted to the bright yellow-orange colours, this would make the DVD cover stand out from all the rest of the documentaries which are stereotypically seen to be either in black and white or in the 20^th century. The bright colours could firstly connote fire and violence as the area of Columbine High School and America itself is seen to be full of guns and violence across the country. The fire like colours could also connote that the American society is burning down due to the violence and issues.

The image is of Michael Moore people who may not have seen his previous movie may think that he is the main protagonist/ character within the movie, therefore this is suggesting that the documentary is a “participatory documentary” – that will include the director of the movie as we can get a sense of how he can alter or change the situation whilst his presence is there.

His posture is very strong however the image of a high angle shot makes him look inferior to us however him holding up the globe can symbolise how society is the one that is more important and they should be the one making the change as he is only one person therefore he is bound to be weak and not capable of making much difference.

The Globe can also ironically be seen as a bowling ball relating back to the title of the movie the irony can sense that the movie will include some type of humorous aspect to it.

His facial expression is neutral on the front cover and seems quite serious about the situation however on the back cover the image of Michael Moore is more humorous and is directly giving a certain look to audiences as he is facing the globe towards us, it can almost connote that he is in the position to roll the bowling ball toward the audience.

Behind the writing and images there is a faded image of a map on which it is hard to tell the names of the places however the town of “Littleton” is clearly shown below this could connote the significance of the location therefore foreshadowing and giving clues on that the movie could be based on that location or somewhere near it – which is seen to be true as Littleton is actually close to Columbine, where the event of the High School is taken place.

The Title is in Black /Bold therefore contrasting with the background and clashing colours help it stand out more just as the rest of the text. The quotes praising the film and the Awards won are along the side to help promote the movie and generally show how successful and well critiqued it was.

Documentries

Documentary films contain aspecsts of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record.Viewers should feel like eyewitnesses to events shown in the film.documentaries typically have far lower budgets which makes them attractive to film companies "a factual film which is dramatic "It can also be something that stands out from the other types of non-fiction films for providing an opinion, and a specific message, along with the facts .Not all documentary films are factual . During times of war and other and other periods of social stress, film-documentary was often used as propaganda.

Documentary mode ; is a scheme developed by American documentary theorist Bill Nichols that distinguishes conventions of various documentary filmno styles. Nichols identifies six different documentary 'modes' in his schemes Which are : poetic, expository, observational, participatory, reflexive, and performative.

6 Different types of Documentary Modes  

Poetic documentaries-

The poetic mode of documentary film tends toward personal perspective/ own interpretations of its subject. documentaries in the poetic mode show traditional narrative content: individual characters and events remain undeveloped, in favor of creating a particular mood or tone. This is particularly noticeable in the editing of poetic documentaries, consisting of unrelated shots linked together to illustrate a rain shower in Amsterdam.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPD2C0K38jY
Appeared in the 1920’s,  moved away from continuity editing and instead organized images of the material world by means of links and patterns, both in terms of time and space. Well-rounded characters—'life-like people'—were absent; instead, people appeared in these films as someone of real existance, just like any other, that are found in the material world. . Their disruption of time and space—a favored by the fiction films of the day—can also be seen as an element of the cinematic narrative.

Expository Mode-
Documentaries speak directly to the viewer, either using voiceover or titles, showing a strong argument and point of view. These films are rhetorical, and try to persuade the viewer. (They may use a rich male voice.) The (voice-of-God) commentary often sounds ‘objective’+ omnicient.. The rhetoric makes us read the images in a certain way. Historical documentaries in this mode deliver an ‘objective’ account and interpretation of past events.
 The expositional mode is the term of visual practice and story-telling devices,emphasis on rhetorical content, and its goals of information/ persuasion.
 Film features, news stories, and various television programs rely heavily on its utility as a device for transferring information clearly.


Observational documentaries-  observational docs date back to the 1960’s; the technological developments which made them possible include mobile lighweight cameras and portable sound recording equipment for synchronized sound. Often, this mode of film includes voice-over commentary, post-dialogue and music. The films includes of individual human character in ordinary life situations. documentaries attempt to simply and spontaneously observe lived life .

Participatory documentaries- believe that it is impossible for the act of filmmaking to not influence or alter the events being filmed. What these films do is to approach the participant-observation of the life of a group by sharing in its activities.  Not only is the filmmaker part of the film, we also get a sense of how situations in the film are affected or altered by her presence. Nichols: “The filmmaker steps out from behind the cloak of voice-over commentary,(Almost like any other because the filmmaker retains the camera, and with it, a certain degree of power and control over events.)” The meeting between the filmmaker and subject becomes a critical element of the film.

Reflexive documentaries-  draw attention to the constructedness of documentries, and the fact that they are representations. How does the world get represented by documentary films? This question is central to this sub-genre of films. They make us “question the  general realness of documentary in general.” It is the most self-conscious of all the modes, and is highly full of ‘realism.’ It may use Brechtian alienation which prevents the audience from losing itself passively and completely in the character created by the actor, and which leads the audience to be a consciously critical observer.
Overall to summarise it is to...
“to aid the audience in their understanding of the process of construction in film so that they could develop a sophisticated and critical attitude.” (Ruby 2005)


Performative documentaries-  stress subjective experience and emotional response to the world. They are strongly personal, unconventional, perhaps poetic and/or experimental, and can be events designed to make us experience what it might be like for us to possess a certain specific perspective on the world that is not our own,
e.g. that of black, gay men in
Marlon Riggs’s Tongues Untied (1989) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103099/ or
Jenny Livingston’s Paris Is Burning (1991). This sub-genre might also lend itself to certain groups (e.g. women, ethnic minorities, gays and lesbians, etc) to ‘speak about themselves.’
Performative docs often link up personal accounts or experiences with larger political or historical realities.
Perhaps the most famous filmmaker currently working in this documentary mode is Michael Moore.


HISTORY OF DOCUMENTRIES

Cinéma vérité, or direct Cinema, is a important style of documentary film making that makes us use hand held cameras to record true events in as uncensored a way as possible. The style is made by there being little evidence of the film maker's presence.There is also alot of use of voice over narration.
The style includes following a person during a crisis with a moving, often handheld, camera to capture more personal reactions. There are no sit-down interviews, and the shooting ratio (amount of film shot compared to the finished product) is very high.  The filmmaker's intention was to represent the truth in what he or she was seeing .

Newsreels short subject segments covering specific topics. Voice over narration frequently used.
 indicated the development of divergent styles in longer form
re-enactments of events that had already happened, not attempts to show events as they were in the process of happening. E.G , battle footage from the early 20th century was staged; the cameramen would usually arrive on site after a major battle and re-enact scenes to film them.i.e
. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev6FIlexpsE

Mockumentary is a type of film or show in which events are presented in a documentry format. These are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fiction made setting, or to make humor of the documentary form .They may be either seem like comedy or in a dramatic form, although comedic mockumentaries are more common. Mockumentaries are often presented as historical documentaries, or with people discussing past events, or even cinéma vérité pieces following people as they go through various events.  E.G .A  early example was a short piece on the (("Swiss Spaghetti Harvest" ))that appeared as an April fools joke on the British television program Panorama in 1957 - it told a strory of a family in Switzerland harvesting spaghetti from a spaghetti tre