Key assessment 1

Advertising and marketing mock exam

Section A - Analysing media language and representation

Short answer questions

Name three of Barthes's semiotic codes [1]

- Hermeneutic
- Proiaretic 

- Symbolic

Briefly define 'modes of address' [1]

- The way a media text speaks to the audience. The way it conveys the ideologies of the text.

Briefly define 'lexis' [1]

- The language used in the media text.

Which two theoretical perspectives have we studied that can be 'credited' to Stuart Hall? [2]

- Representation

- Reception theory

Media language

How can media language communicate multiple meanings? Make reference to at least two of the following; the Tide print advertisement (1950's), the WaterAid audiovisual advertisement (2016) and the Kiss of the Vampire (1963) film poster.

In your answer you must:

• Consider how genre conventions create meaning
• Consider how audiences can respond to media language
• Consider how media language incorporates various viewpoints and ideologies [30]

Response

Kiss of the Vampire

Genre conventions

Genre conventions are one of the key ways meaning is created in a media text. The 1963 film poster for "The Kiss of the Vampire" utilises the conventions of a Horror sub-genre Gothic Vampire Horror to create meaning for the audience. 

Some key elements of this genre are: Dark 'spooky' gothic castles, bats, dark setting and atmosphere, romance, helpless victims, blood, and vampire teeth. All of these aspects have been shown within the mise-en-scene of the print image which gives the ideology of a Vampire movie which audiences can relate to. 

A hermeneutic code is used in the presentation of the vulnerable mad and woman on their knees (what has and will happen to them?) as well as in the act of the bat biting the woman (will she become a vampire?). This image of the bat biting the woman is also prioretic because it shows she has been bitten and will most likely get bitten again or others will, and symbolic because bats are a key genre convention of vampire movies and is an easily identifiable feature by the audience.

Posters often do not have much of the narrative displayed. This creates a sense of mystery for the audience and means most aspects of the mise-en-scene can be hermeneutic thus creating multiple meanings through the questioning of what may happen in the film.

The positioning of the characters including their body language and facial expression creates multiple meanings from the audience.

Audience response

Reception theory is the different ways audiences perceive a media text.

The preferred reading of this text is that it is a Vampire Horror set in a dark castle from which the protagonists (two central upright characters) will have to escape/defeat the antagonist.

The dominant view is the same as the preferred view but that there is also a subversion of gender role stereotypes because the woman in the centre has a fierce expression and a raised fist standing protectively over a vulnerable male. 

The oppositional view is that it is a vampire film with no substance which will be romanticised and does not actually care about gender role subversion because the woman is being injured and there is another woman who is vulnerable.

The negotiative view is that it is a vampire horror film in which the protagonists will have to escape a vampire and its castle while it subverts gender role stereotypes but also follows them through different ways (e.g. examples of both sexes being weak and vulnerable as well as strong).

Media language 

The title "Kiss of the Vampire" is in bold white slightly serif font. This makes it stand out against the dark muter background and gives it a gothic tone through the use of white colouring and serif details. The word 'Vampire' confirms it as part of the vampire genre but the word 'Kiss' creates multiple different meanings. the word 'kiss' has many connotations linked to passion and romance. This creates a hermeneutic code about whether it is in the horror genre or whether it could be a romance.

The bill of actors and producers follows the typical conventions for a film poster and gives the audience more information about who features in the film and context on the production.

The box in the bottom right saying "In Eastman colour" draws attention to the fact that the film is in colour. This shows it was not standard at the time for films to be in colour because it would not need to feature on the poster just above the actors names if it did. 

Water Aid

Genre Conventions

• Composition
• Images/photographs - camera shot type, angle, focus
• Font size, type of font (e.g. serif/sans serif), colour 
• Mise-en-scène – colour, lighting, location, costume/dress, hair/make-up 

Audience Response

Using Reception theory we can see different audience responses to the text. The preferred reading is to make the audience sympathetic to those in poverty/those in need in Africa and ultimately get them to donate.
The dominant reading is that many people in Africa are disadvantaged and because of our generosity are able to have a happy life.
The oppositional reading is that the advert is disrespecting African people by stereotyping them as poor and impoverished as well as stereotyping black people as happy and able to put up with harsh conditions with help from white people. It also presents Africa as a single country where everything is that way and by using English culture (song and language) instead of African to make it more relatable to English people they are belittling the culture. 
The negotiative reading is that while it may be stereotyping African people and culture it is not done in an inherently negative way. It is okay for this to be done because it creates empathy from the audience meaning they are more likely to donate.

Media Language

• Font size, type of font (e.g. serif/sans serif), colour 

• Graphics, logos etc.
• Language – slogan/tagline and copy 
• Elements of narrative

Editing

• Camera work – framing, shot types, angle, position, movement
• Editing – pace, type of edits, continuity/montage Structure/narrative
• Sound – music/dialogue/voiceover 

It begins by creating a personal reference with the primary audience by showing a clip of a radio in rainy Britain before juxtaposing this with the dry grassland plains of Africa. Lots of closeups are used to establish a connection with Claudia and her current situation as well as lots of long shots to show and establish the place she is in. 

The song is the main focus of this advert and tries to emphasise how happy the people are to have water.

Representation

Compare how audiences are positioned by the representations in the below Save the Children advert and the WaterAid advert you have studied [15]

Response:

The Save the Children (STC) advert is a mid shot which utilises the rule of thirds to draw attention to it's key features. In the first third on the left we see a young boy in a glass case with a plaque at the bottom labeled "Child Soldier" under the slogan of white serif font on a black background. this phrase stands out against the dull, muted colours of the background and draws attention to the young boy positioned beneath who is, with the use of a symbolic code of the layout within museums, being presented as an artefact of sorts.  

This links to the slogan because museums hold artefacts and relics of the past - it is implying we need to make this situation nothing more than a relic in a museum. However, having it out in the open surrounded by guerrilla soldiers with guns in the dusty African Village juxtaposes this idea by presenting it in the context this child would be seen in until the action is taken to make it a thing of the past.

The male soldier holding an upright rifle is in the far left third with salience on the gun which is positioned almost directly on top of the line of thirds. the gun has a symbolic code of danger and threat as well as a prioretic code in that it will be used to shoot someone or something.

The audience is positioned in a slight high angle shot close to the male with the gun and looking on towards the young child. This puts the audience in a position of power which causes them to feel powerful - they can "make this a thing of the past". It could also make them feel guilty because they are standing idly by whilst the soldiers with guns move around this young child trapped in a case of glass unable to escape form his situation.

In contrast to this, the audio visual advert by Water Aid constantly changes which position the audience is in. It begins by creating a personal reference with the primary audience by showing a clip of a radio in rainy Britain before juxtaposing this with the dry grassland plains of Africa. Lots of closeups are used to establish a connection with Claudia and her current situation as well as lots of long shots to show and establish the place she is in.

It places you in the position of one of the African people, singing and laughing around the water fountain. This juxtaposes the conventions of charity adverts depicting poor impoverished children who are close to death to guilt you into giving them money. Then the statement "650 million people still don't have access to clean drinking water" across this happy scene. This creates a feeling of guilt in the audience for having water as a commodity and celebrating it while so many people are not able to access clean water. The next piece of text telling the audience to donate plays off this sense of guilt created by telling them they can do something to help make other people as happy as Claudia and the others presented in the advert.