MUSIC VIDEO: MUSIC LANGUAGE

PREP Explain how music videos use media language to promote their artists. Refer to the pair of music videos you have studied from the list below in your answer.

Our music videos are Wheatus Teenage Dirtbag Avril Lavigne Sk8ter Boi

HOW TO ANSWER: Media language points to consider:

the prioritising of the star / the group; the privileging of the star / the groups in the frame

authenticating the star's performance / the band's performance to show their skills

the use of close ups; lip syncing to camera; eye contact with the audience

 

• How do they use it to promote the artist
• How much are they in the frame/video 
• Teenage dirtbag - lost eyes, wants to belong, dream world. Everything is delivered on his face.
• Sk8ter boy- 

Music videos use lots of media language to promote their artists. In Avril Lavigne's music video, she is the main splash and there are lots of close up shots of her lip syncing the song. In the video, we also see lots of people following her and going to her public concert on the street which then shows the audience that she is very popular and loved by people. Avril also makes a lot of eye contact with the audience which makes it seem like she is speaking directly to the audience. In teenage dirtbag, we see the band performing the song in the gym of the high school. Seeing the band play the instruments and sing to the camera compels the audience into thinking they have a lot of talent and are driven by their work. There is quite a lot of close up shots of the band singing which makes the audience believe that they are very talented and good at singing.

MUSIC MAGAZINES: MEDIA LANGUAGE

 Look carefully at the front covers of MOJO and RNR 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. 

In the MOJO magazine, there are lots of bright colours and popping images that stand out to the reader. For example, the text of 'Foo Fighters is placed in the centre of the magazine in a bold red font so that it stands out to the reader. David Grohl is also placed in the middle of the magazine and is reaching out to the camera as if he is ready to pounce on someone/something. David is presented as quite aggressive as his face is all scrunched up and he is bearing his teeth at the camera. The cover is very busy as there are lots and lots of different titles, pictures and statements. In the bottom left there is a vibrant green CD cover that pops out to the reader because of its neon colour.  In the MOJO magazine, the lighting is very harsh and bright which presents Dave appear striking and bold to the reader. The quote 'We've been to funerals, we've been to jail...' presents Dave as very hardcore and brave and also shows how devoted Dave is to his music and how far he would go for it.

 

In the RNP magazine, there are lots of neutral colours like brown and white that give a more neutral tone to the cover. Christy Moore has a slight smile on his face and the lighting is very warm and kind presenting him as a heart-warming and loving person. The quote 'These days it's yoga, camomile tea and three Our Fathers' shows that Christy is a very simple and basic man who does the everyday things that most people do. In the bottom left there is a simple CD cover with a slight pun of 'Un-herd' which relates to the zebra in the corner and being 'un-heard of'. This presents Christy as kind and funny. This cover is more simple and boring compared to the MOJO one which has bright colours and popping images that catch the eyes of each reader.

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