Knowing the criteria - Video 1

During today's lesson, the task involved reading the mark criteria and applying that to real A2 music videos. Below I will show you the videos shown to us, the mark I gave it and why, and then the actual mark given.

I gave this video a score of 35 out of 40 for a number of reasons:

- I thought it had a variety of shot types and sizes and you could tell that they had payed attention to framing.
- I thought they had a variety of shots sizes such as the close ups of the instruments which meant they had to pay close to detail to the mise en-scene.
- There was a good use of editing and a lot of cuts and effects to make the video look better.
- The reason i didnt give any higher was due to the shakiness of some shots and the fact that some shots looked out of place and dragged a little.
- Overall though i thought it was a very successful piece of work.


The piece actually scored 38 which i thought was very generous but after closer loom you can see why it scores that highly and the reasons as to why it doesn't reach top marks.

Audience task - Reception theory

Reception theory

 

Stuart Hall’s reception theory suggests that producers encode their media texts with a meaning. The audience then decodes this message.

However, Hall believes that the audience is more active and either accepts the meaning the producer intended, partially accepts and rejects it or completely rejects it (opposition)

Hall believed that the audience response depended on their culture (age, ethnicity, values, social status, gender etc)

In relation to our music video, the coded message that we are trying to give out could fit into all 3 models. From research and explaining our ideas to other students in the class we found that some students accepted the encoded the message which was to value happiness and memories over material goods. Others in the class partially accepted and partially rejected the message. Then a few people completely rejected the encoded message and believed the video had other connotations and meanings.

Audience task - applied uses and gratifications

 

This uses and gratifications theory developed by two theorists (Blumler and Katz) suggests that audiences uses media texts for various reasons. The reasons are listed below.

In relation to our music video, we believe that there are aspects which will be suitable and aspects that will not. For example, we believe that the audience will use the video as a diversion and a way of escaping everyday life. They will be able to escape due to the upbeat nature of the song. Additionally, the audience will be able to use the music video as a means of relaxation, enjoyment and emotional release because they will be able to reminisce about childhood memories and have an emotional connection with the video because of this.

History of music videos