Representation Analysis-

Robin Thicke - 'Blurred Lines'

In this essay i will be analysing the music video for Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines', and i will be addressing the different stereotypes, techniques and representation shown also throughout the video. I will be going through the video an picking out certain scenes, camera techniques, post-production techniques and audio codes/visual codes. Firstly, i will talk about the representation shown throughout the video, such as Age and Gender. I will also begin to talk about the main ideas of how both genders are shown throughout the video than il proceed to talk about the more technical aspects of the video.

I'll begin by talking about how men are represented in the video, as in the video all three men are shown to be quite focused on sex, this is the main theme of the entire seen as even the hooks reads ''i know you want it'',  this is extremely sexual during the song as they stare and lust over the under dressed women. This is called the 'Male Gaze' In feminist philosophy, the male gaze is the act of depicting the world and woman in the visual arts and in literature from a masculine and heterosexual point of view, which present women as objects of male pleasure. All the sexualisation in the video with the under dressed women are because they aim to the male audience in the music video, so they made a presumption that it would mainly catch a male audience. Also the male representation is also shown through all three men wearing suits and wearing gold watches which are usually a stereotype of men, to be wearing a suit having a briefcase, always working and having a busy work life, unless that the point they wanted to show to say that there successful, or even boast about there wealth. You could also say that the glasses they wear could be shown to be something that masks there true feelings, almost hiding that insecurities.

However, women are represented much differently throughout the video, firstly, there mainly just shown to be a sex object throughout the whole video, as they have almost no dialogue and instead just dances and almost teases the men whilst being very under dressed showing that they have no agency. The only dialogue by one of the three women was one ''meow'', this has many different connotations, such as women being compared to pets, or showing there animalistic desire for sex. Furthermore, due to there limited agency throughout the video rather than the high and mighty representation of the men suggests that there almost being used by men and even disposable as there shown to have no distinctive features in the actions, again adding to the ideal of them being only objects that you can replace.

60 second video project

For my 60 second video i have decided to talk about myself mainly, such as my various hobbies and activities i enjoy to do in my spare time. I than begin to talk about facts about myself such as my past in rugby, my pets and siblings. I than finish the video by explaining why exactly i chose media to give the viewers an insight into why i thought it would be a interesting subject to study. 

What i used to film my video was my Samsung J5 phone camera, it was all i could use at the time due ti my limited resources however I'm satisfied with the final result. To make my video less tedious to watch, i added an instrumental which i voice-over using non diegetic sound to give the information about myself, as i thought it would make my video more interesting to listen too, which would also represent my creative side.

 For the post production techniques of the music and text i used multiple apps from the google play store, this was due to me having no video editing software as well as little knowledge in video editing, the phone application made it much more simplified and easier to add the music in the background and the different text that appears throughout the video. For the video i used a medium close-up, also known as the 'newsreader shot', i set my phone camera at this distance i thought it would be the best option as i felt as if too close it would uncomfortable to watch and too far would be to disorienting to watch if I'm directly talking about myself to the audience. For the lighting, i used a lamp from my parents room which i than turned over onto its side so the light would be directed toward my face which is the main focal point of the video as when someone is speaking directly to the readers they should be able to clearly see there faces to help the construction of the message i was sending. Also for the visual codes used, colours  for my video where strategically planned as i used a dark background, and for myself a light focusing on me and also wearing a blue hoodie with a bold graphic on it to make me stand out more form the background which would again help the viewers focus more on me during the video.

The audio code i used in the background 'Bank Account' by 21 Savage was used to convey my narrative as the song itself represents my personality in a way, my liking to RnB and Hip Hop gives the viewers a extra insight into what type of person is shown. Also i perform very mild gestures whilst i give the information but i also use some iconography when i make the slight humorous jokes in my text shown to point out my mistakes and also at the end of my video revealing to the audience that i did not edit the video using computer software but instead a phone application further increasing the self deprecating humour, these where some of the language features i used, my informal mode of address.

What is cross-platform advertising?

Erik Manu
A/S Media - Unit 2

What is cross-platform advertising?

Throughout this essay i will be exploring the definition of cross-platform advertising; i will be referring to sites such as Quora, Wikipedia, Degordian Education Hub, Los Angeles Times and The Drum, which will help me determine the real definition and meaning of cross-platform advertising. I will also be analysing cross-platform ads such as Facebook, Google Analytics and a usual business campaign such as subways 'train with tommy' competition.

What exactly is cross-platform advertising? The official Quora tells us: Cross-platform, also known as cross-media, is a reference to the state of your advertising spanning multiple media types, e.g. TV, mobile and paid search . I say "reference" because the phrase out of context doesn't have useful meaning. Anyone with a decent with a decent budget advertises across multiple platforms/media types. Not even a decade ago, advertising campaigns were created specifically for one platform such as TV. But why should we use cross-platform advertisements/campaigns rather than single platform? This is because nowadays, single platform campaigns are slowly disappearing. Advertisers have recognized the advantages of new technologies and are starting to implement them into their traditional TV, radio and print advertising campaigns. Today, more potential costumers spend time on the internet and social media than watching TV or listening to radio. Services such as Facebook or Twitter manage to connect people and provide them with a place to share their experiences and conversations with their friends. With internet being more accessible to a wider audience, social media services can just increase in use and popularity.

Cross-platform advertising also increases reach and engagement, this is due to advertisers integrating campaigns. advertisers can dramatically increase the reach of their campaigns , as well as the engagement of potential customers. Increased reach and engagement produce better results which are relatively easy to track and analyser. For example, Facebook's ad platform enables easy tracking of conversions through Facebook, while Google Analytics enables integration of conversion tracking into any web site or application. To find out more about conversion tracking on Facebook. Subway recently ran a 'Train with Tommy Competition' across INM (Independent News and Media). The competition allowed rugby teams, schools and tag rugby teams the chance to win £872 for their club and a training session with Irish International rugby player Tommy Bowe. This multi-platform campaign was driven through native content, display advertising, print advertising and a strong social strategy. The completion attracted entries from over 100 rugby teams across Ireland. In addition to running on Independent. i.e., this campaign ran across our regional titles online and The Herald newspaper. By using the right advertising placements, we ensured we reached Subways target audience.

Campaigns that integrate multiple platforms in their implementation are called cross-platform campaigns. Such description of an advertising campaigns will have to be cross-platform in order to reach relevant audiences. Nowadays, it is not enough for an advertiser to create a TV spot or place an ad in the daily newspaper and expect miracles from their advertising campaign. It is necessary to adapt the campaign and its communication across multiple channels in order to achieve the best possible results in terms of brand awareness.

A 2014 Tribune company study recently discovered that consumers are 75 per cent more likely to take action when they've viewed an advertisement on more than one platform. This includes both print and digital formats. For those who follow the advertising niche (denoting or relating to products, services, or interests that appeal to a small, specialized section of the population) closely, this isn't too surprising. Why do combination print and digital campaigns work? Todays society are very tech-savvy and like knowing what's happening now. They're still reading the print newspaper over breakfast, but might check the evening edition on their tablet later in the day or might look up the latest news on their laptop over lunch. But what's crucial about this is that they are fully committed to using two sources to get the information they want which is print and digital.

Intro to Representation -

Sexuality/Race/Religion:

In the media through platforms such as music, you are able to send a message, this is how the young artist 'Logic' presents his views and also societies views a a whole in his song latest song: '1-800-273-8255', as shown above. This song has been known to resonates with peoples views for equality for all races, gender, religion and sexual orientation and to also mental health. This is demonstrated through the music video of a student attending high school, first to be seen acting like any other student would however it is soon revealed he is homosexual and the story then takes us on his efforts to succeed as well as everyone else, however due to his sexuality he is ridiculed and bullied presenting how fast some people can judge and discriminate against someone who's not the same as them or don't share the same views/opinions, even if he's still the same student he knew before his reveal. Only in this video it is shown to focus on sexuality however many more factors are presented as a whole from just the song alone. The song has three main choruses that all tell somewhat of a story through an untold person perspective, most likely representing those who are battling discrimination. Firstly, this is shown as the first line of the chorus one reads '' I don't wanna be alive'' this tells as that this is the point in where the depression has consumed them and no longer feel the need to live. Secondly, the first like of chorus two reads ''i want you to be alive'' and this is meant to be representing the person supporting them through there hard times and Lastly, the first line of the third chorus reads ''i finally wanna be alive'' this is meant to show the listeners the resolution of there hard times and how they can persist through them if their willing to be confident enough to find their self worth; despite what others say, either through themselves or support from the people around them. The producer has used media language to encode this message through representation in this music video to the audience so they can decode it to also attempt to change there perspective on the situation on depression and discrimination.

Age/Youth:

In most recent times social media has became some sort of an essential and incredible tool for millennials, its has been used to achieve Internet fame, exposure/promotion for organisations and simply the ability to easily communicate with one another on the Internet due to platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Sound Cloud, Twitter etc. These platforms are highly popular amongst people in today's society with millions of users and they have found many ways to use this new found tool to benefit themselves or others. Social media is a way for people to express themselves or just find general entertainment. This high use of these platforms results in companies wanting to sell and promote their products through a sponsorship or ads and therefore create income for these young people off a free social media platform. Social media has created a completely new way of achieving success through the Internet sometimes with minimal effort. Although it could be argued that the negative effects of social media such as the need for attention to prevent depression and to reassure confidence can overwhelm the positive effects, its undoubtedly true that social media does provide more opportunities for young people. From the video i have shown above ''How social networks have changed the world''. It also reflects my point of view of how social media has become highly useful for today's society however somewhat risky also. Here the producers of this documentary encode the message sent to present the view of the negative and positive sides of social media, allowing the audience to decode the message to get an insight on how they can become more careful/mindful when being on the internet.