MUSIC MAGAZINES

• QUESTION: How far do MOJO and RNR use different media language to create different connotations? (CONNOTATION meaning: an idea or quality that a word makes you think about in addition to its meaning.)

  Answer on your blog. This is a high-value question and should take all lesson to answer. You can use the class blog search engine for more examples of how to analyse music magazines.

• In your answer you should have 2 paragraphs:

• analyse the media language in MOJO and RNR magazine. 'Media language' includes the placement of the main image, the type of photography, lighting, colours, fonts, how busy or restrained the cover is, the layout (such as alignment to the margins), how serious or playful 
• make judgements and draw conclusions about how far the media language is used differently in both extracts to create different connotations. Are there similarities in both covers? What sorts of audiences are they targeting? You could think about MOJO's rock aesthetic of living loud and dangerously compared to RNR's folk, rock, blues vibe.   

The covers reflect the mood of the music genres they write about. For example RnR's cover has a soft brown colour on the background and white text which makes the cover seem relaxed like a blues song. The cover mount is also a soft brown, keeping the theme the same and keeping it organised. The puff has smooth edges and is in the corner out the way of the musicians face making the layout look more organised and not too shouty. Christy Moore's face is lit slightly warmly and he wears a soft smile conveying that he doesn't pose any threat to the reader.

On the other hand, MOJO is a rock magazine and so the cover is a lot more chaotic like the music. The man on the front cover is in a fighting stance and is baring his teeth with the band name Foo Fighters showing he is ready to fight. He has long hair which tells us he is a rebellious rock star and doesn't need to fit in with a short formal haircut. There are many bright colours such as neon yellow, blue and red to catch the readers attention. The cover mount is neon green like toxic waste, with a skull to show that the musicians fight and die for their music.

MY MUSIC MAGAZINE

 

MOJO REPRESENTATIONS

 TASK:  Copy this MOJO 2019 cover into a new blog post entitled  MOJO: REPRESENTATION. Then write 4 points, one each about about the following.

How the producers have chosen to construct a version of reality that represents events, social groups and ideas to fit their purposes:

• MOJO wishes to attract a target audience that shares its reverence for ‘classic rock’ so constructs a version of reality that represents musicians as authentic heroes, striving for excellence

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The messages and values conveyed and issues addressed:

• MOJO’s front cover associates musicians with quest, danger and struggle, celebrating the values associated with rock music of ‘living fast and dying young’
  
• Mojo represents its stars that are on the cover as strong and musculine and that the stars they new when they were young are still heroes.

How and why (e.g. to enable quick interpretation) stereotypes have been used, including anti-stereotyping / counter-stereotyping:

• MOJO’s selection of a cover photograph of a white male may be to fit the stereotype of rock musicians – this will enable instant recognition by audiences
  

• MOJO’s anti-stereotypical positive representation of older people as popular musicians. This may reflect the anti-ageism of an older audience

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Which social groups are under-represented or misrepresented:

• MOJO’s front cover represents predominantly white male musicians in photographs, under- representing female musicians and musicians of colour

POPCORN QUESTION

 What is a focus pull and how can it be used?

A focus pull is when there are two people in frame but the camera is only focused on one, then the focus switches to the other. This could be used to highlight someone's reaction.

LEGO MOVIE POSTER CAMPAING

 PREP You all have a handout with the individual character posters and the ensemble poster.

Analyse how gender has been represented in The Lego Movie poster campaign. Use the written handout to help you answer this exam question (10 marks). 

The first person we see in the ensemble poster is Emmet, he is the main character and so is the main focus of the poster. The main character and first person we see is a male and there are a lot less female characters than male. This mostly fits the stereotype of an action movie where most of the important characters are men and the women are usually not as important. This also reflects how action movies are typically male dominated; out of the four individual posters, only one if of a women (Wyldstyle). 

In Wyldstyle's poster, we see she has a smile and open confident eyes, the tells the audience she is a strong confident young woman. Her hair has pink and blue streaks to show she is unique and doesn't want to conform to Lord Buiness' standards. She doesn't fit the stereotype for a woman in an action movie because she doesn't depend on Emmet, if fact she is a better builder than Emmet and ends up saving him for dangerous situation. For example, when Emmet is about to be melted she rescues him, completely reversing the stereotype of a damsel in distress. On the other hand, she is a stereotypical woman because she is beautiful with long eyelashes and lip stick.Hollywood has made Wyldstyle a role model for young girls by making her a self-sufficient confident woman. This also encourages more equal gender representations in media.

Vitruvius' poster is stereotypically masculine because we can see from his long white beard and hair, robe and glowing eyes he plays the character of the wise old helper who is typically a man. This reflects age and masculinity in wider society and how we associate it with wisdom.

I think Lord Buisness' poster is the most aggressively masculine because of his stereotypical facial expression, stance and hat/clothing. His eyes are wide with wrinkles at the sides and his mono-brow is raised at both sides but one a lot more then the other. His mouth open wide like he is shouting showing his teeth. He takes up most of the poster showing he is very dominant which is a very masculine trait. His large red hat is also very intimidating with teeth like edges. All this makes his a very stereotypical male villain.

Emmet is very much an anti-stereotype because even he is a male hero he is weak and fearful. The typical masculine hero is very strong but Emmet can't even do two jumping jacks. This anti-stereotypical hero is presented in the poster with wide scared eyes with a open mouth looking like he is screaming in fear. He has the same panicked look in the ensemble poster. This is anti-stereotypical because most heroes are brave in the face of danger but Emmet is quite the opposite.

LEGO REGULATION

 Task 3: Go to the BBFC site and research age ratings. Why was The Lego Movie (2014) given a U rating? You need to click on the Ratings info

Go to the PEGI site and research what age ratings are about. Why is The Lego Movie video game classification 7+?

The lego movie was awarded a U rating because of its mild language and non-gruesome fight scenes. In the fight-scenes the blows are not shown, only implied. No swear words are included, instead very mild language is used. For example, butt', 'bum', 'darn' and 'heck'.

LEGO INDUSTRY

 Franchise - A collection of media products (like films, tv shows, video games) all based on one original work. For instance, star wars is one of the most successful franchises of all time.

synergy - the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. so the lego movie uses synergy through linked products like - the superhero cast from DC comics, mini figures.

tent-pole production -  a big-budget movie like the lego whose earnings are expected to compensate the studio (warner) for its less profitable movies.

ensemble cast - a large diverse cast

conglomerate - a corporation made up of several different, independent businesses

vertical integration - where a single company (or merged companies) controls both the production and the supply of a product. So TT fusion owned by Warner Bros, making the video (animations, sound track ect) while warner Bros distributes the product to audiences.