Task 2.1: Selected Music Video Analysis: Lady GaGa - Paparazzi

Lady GaGa - Paparazzi

Music Video Analysis

The song 'Paparazzi' was sag by singer/song-writer Lady GaGa, released July 6th 2009. Lady GaGa wrote this song and produced this song with Rob Fusari, who is a Grammy-winning producer/song-writer who has also produced with the likes of Beyonce, Will Smith and Stevie Wonder. The song portrays Gaga's struggle with balancing fame, love and success with influence from the media and how the media portrays her. The song is an up-tempo pop song reaching the top ten in more than 10 countries. The song won the 2009 MTV music video award which makes this an interesting music video to analyse.

The whole music video is 7 minutes 11 seconds long. A lot of narrative abstract music videos now have extended versions. This is due to the change of digital distribution. Music is no longer just about the sound or the sound but now has very many aspects of art and other industries such as make-up, fashion, and film. The extended version allows more product placement such as the use of Dior rings which Lady Gaga wears or the clothes she wears. It also allows for more narrative which fans enjoy. Now music videos have moved from television to a more modern internet such as YouTube and Facebook, meaning more distribution  between medias. The artist will create longer music videos as this entices fans and also creates a certain 'buzz' or  creates a drip feed process before the release date knowing Lady Gaga has created a longer version music video for her fans which is becoming more common nowadays.

Lady Gaga reaches out to many audiences. I used YouGov to generate the actual audience for Lady Gaga which suggested males ages 18-24, from lower class status', who have professions in Media or Fashion. Lady Gaga is known for being a sexual icon which could indicate why there are more male fans of Lady Gaga rather than female. Lady Gaga promotes herself as a rich and wealthy celebrity, who is glamorously famous. However, she is more aimed at lower class status groups as her products such as her perfume is quite cheap compared to leading brands at £12.99 per gift set in comparison to a well named brand such as Marc Jacobs at £50. This may be one of two reasons that Lady Gaga would like to keep her products cheap for her main audience being lower class. Another reason may be as her audiences age range is still young, she don't want her products too expensive so younger shoppers won't be able to buy them. 

Focusing on the music video, Paparazzi opens with a series of shots known as a montage. This gives the audience an essence of where the music video will be set just like a movie opening with establishing shot(s). A large mansion looking rather regal and structured as if it was from a Mediterranean/Greek setting, due to the stone sculptures and clear oceans which we see through the start of the video giving us a hint of where the music video is set. On later research we believe it is set in Las Vegas, hinting at fame and fortune and more understanding of why being set in a regal mansion. 

  

In this shot, a title has been edited over the top with a more 1940's movie style font as seen here. We can also note that a border has been edited onto the shot to look like it is being viewed from an old cinema, sort of like a vignette filter, also hinting at the time era.

Within the first few moments of the music video we as an audience already have established the time era and location of where and when it is set. The flower seen next to her name is a symbol for love, beauty and refinement. This can be analysed as what Lady Gaga wants to be seen as, a beautiful woman who has been refined. Looking further into refinement, we know this means to be manipulated into removing impurities and imperfections. This can be seen as a dig to media due to how the media has manipulated her into a 'perfect' woman, which she agrees isn't correct. 

The next shot consists of the name of the other actor in her music video, posing as the murdering boyfriend. This shot shows the mans personality, by showing a naked statue of a woman. We can annotate this as men being sexist towards women, and showing them as actual objects. However, another analyse referring to Lady Gaga's many music videos shows that she often uses men to resemble the music industry so may be yet another dig towards the media industry saying how men are inferior to woman and aren't abused as much. Another element in this shot is the calm ocean in the background. This may foreshadow events in the music video such as the calm before the storm.

The sound used in the first minute is calm and tranquil with naturalistic sounds such as birds and the wind. This again shows the calm before the storm. The music used is classical piano music which hints at wealth and elegance. 

Here, we see a close up of her possessions. Lady Gaga uses a lot of product placement throughout her music videos to earn her more money from leading companies for sporting their products. We see Beats, by Dr Dre placed here, which she later competes in the sound business herself with her own earphones. On the dollars, we see her own face which could indicate that she sees herself as a leader and role model to her fans.

Again, more product placement of Dior and her own jewelry range. Lady Gaga is known for her work in the fashion industry and by displaying her own products, becomes synergy throughout her work. 

 Another way she fires at the media is using newspapers at every plot twist the music video takes. The newspapers shape today's world and known well for their corrupted representation and bias to whom they're representing. The fact they are shown as black and white also suggests the time era again, being the 1940's. They have been shown in the music video to show her audiences how she can control the media as much as they control her and that it is easily shaped. 

This scene of the music video is captivating in the sense of the story line. As we see, the camera is in POV from the paparazzi's view, again black and white, showing the time era again. We see that just before the man pushes Lady Gaga off the balcony he looks at the camera. The scene turns from lust and love to abusive and deadly. In my opinion, the man looks at the camera as if he has paid the paparazzi to capture them together, meaning more showbiz for himself rather than Gaga, by being seen with her. This is used as a metaphor for how the media works and how it has corrupted fame. By showing this in the music video, we see the actors intentions and what Gaga is trying to portray, as well as showing women as objects yet again for male amusement. 

2:25

Task 2.1: Documentary - Natural World BBC

Task 2.1: Documentary

Natural World BBC (Oct 2013)

http://bbc.in/1vWIOJd

This documentary I have analysed is featured on BBC (British Broadcasting Channel) and takes the style of a wildlife documentary. There is a narrative structure throughout in the form of voice overs. Editing in this program is key as it adds to stylistic elements of the program and intrigues viewers more, making them more immersed in what they are watching.The documentary follows experts of meerkats and the meerkats themselves as the narrator guides the audience through a learning process of a specie of mammal. 

The title screen features a montage of graphic scores featuring different types of animals eyes. This is done by using an extreme close up shot and in the stage of editing, the transition of a book flipping pages is added. This may dictate that all animals are the same and belong to the same kingdom, uniting them all which highlights the convention of a documentary, with powerful messages. The edges are feathered with a pink tint, adding to the vibrant nature of documentaries. A lens flare has also been added to represent the sun and a stereotype of African animals are that they belong in the sun. A logo of the company BBC is seen in the top left corner. This embellishment reduces the risk of copyright and also brands the company.  

The title screen ends with a close up of an orangutan on the behind layer. This is also a shallow focus as the background of the shot is blurred hinting at a rain forest. This is used to add emphasis on the animals that will be displayed in this showing. The title itself is a white text, with soft qualities. The text itself is easy to read however the 'natural' is hard to see against the colour contrast. The word 'world' is also in bold which again adds emphasis so the audience can recognise what the documentary will include. Again, the BBC logo is embellished onto the screen, promoting the company through product placement. 

The following sequence features another montage of medium shots on the subjects, in this case, meerkats. This montage establishes what type of animal the audience will be viewing as this specific documentary series is sectioned into different animals of the kingdom. The voice over introduces the animals as done by Sir David Attenbourough, a well known TV presenter and broadcaster. Most documentaries have a host or presenter of which uses an editing technique called a voice over. This gives more additional information to the viewers. 

A focus pull is also featured, focusing from the back meerkat to the front one. This allows the audience to look at the one given subject in more detail and adds to the aesthetics of documenting. 

Extreme long shots are used on subjects to allow the audience to see their surroundings and the mise-en-scene gives more impact to the shot. In this shot we can see two people walking across a Serengeti, with bright blue skies and dry ground. This indicates they could be in a dry place such as Africa where the meerkats usually live. The costumes the people are wearing are cargo shorts and tank tops or shirts which indicate hot climate which also allows the audience to get a sense of where the animals are from. Under the voice over, there is low background music playing which is slightly noticeable but not noticeable enough to disrupt attention from the voice over. 

 This over the shoulder shot features a man and the meerkats playing in front of him. The mise-en-scene here again is key, showing the brown and pale colours to blend in with the Serengeti of Africa. The hat adds to the artistic elements of portraying a hot country. The rule of thirds is being used, showing ground, horizon and sky. This enables the audience to get a full view of what is going on in this scene. The over the shoulder shot immerses the viewers into the program by making it look like the viewers are there with the meerkats. After this shot, a long shot of a meerkat pair is shown in slow motion. Slow motion enables the audience to look in detail at the animals as they move fast and also features in many types of documentaries. 

A zoom is used on this group of meerkats. A zoom is yet another feature of documentaries as this shows the audience the same continuous shot in more detail. This is a stylistic element of documentaries. 

The pan in wildlife documentaries usually follows a subject or to show the vast area of the surroundings. This is used to show the dry barren land of Africa and where the meerkats live. The pan travels from left the right, following the thirds ratio, with ground, subject and sky which displays professional camera work. 

The shot that follows the small introduction, giving insight for the audience, is a long shot of the meerkat in a low angle frame. A 'fish-eye' lens appears to have been used, giving the appearance of the subject appearing larger than it really would be. The low angle used here shows the animal as being superior and the subject of the documentary. Title screens have been edited into this shot. The heading "Meerkats" refers to the animal the documentary is focusing on as this changes depending on the episode of the series. The underneath heading "secrets of an animal superstar" is the topic the documentation will be focusing on, with this animal. The titles are in a bold white Arial style font. This stands out against the white background and looks more natural, hence being a wildlife documentary. The capitalisation stands out a lot more, engaging with the audiences attention. 

The time lapse of the sunset is also reversed. This is a stylistic technique to display a hot country. Many documentaries feature the weather to depict where it is set, in this case a warm coloured sun is used in the frame to show this is set in a hot climate such as Africa. Time lapses are generic features of documentaries because they show the audience a long process happening in a short time. This is pleasing to the audience as this shows them something they wouldn't normally see without editing and professional camera work. 

Shortly after this shot, a series of natural sounds can be heard. This may either be diegetic or non-diegetic since being filmed in a place full of wildlife. The sound has been used to make the audience feel more immersed in the documentary and like they are apart of it. 

During this pan from right to left showing the meerkats in a long shot, Attenborough gives the audience information about the clan of meerkats. He names one of the meerkats and calls the rest of the meerkats "sons and daughter". This is so the audience can relate to the creatures more by perceiving them as human like characteristics. 

Task 2.1: Short Film Analysis - Wasp - Andrea Arnold

Wasp - Andrea Arnold
Short film analysis

Wasp, released 2003, was written and directed by Andrea Arnold. The film stars Natalie Press, a young single mother living in poverty, determined to not let her 4 children get in the way of budding relationship with her ex-boyfriend, Danny Dyer. The short film is set in Dartford, Andrea Arnold's hometown. 

The first shot is showing the feet of the main characters. We see the mother is bare foot, however the children have shoes on. The following shots show the surroundings of the family and the costumes they wear.

Bare feet shows the mother is facing poverty by not being able to provide even the basic of clothing and materials. We also have insight to what sort of mother she is, by proving her children footwear before herself, putting her children first. We also see this plot twist as we discover this isn't as true as it seemed. Herself and her children are dressed in poor clothing, also hinting at poverty. The location here is important as they leave a shabby flat and step into a rough run down side street. This shows the area is rough and dirty, setting the scene for what sort of protagonist feature here. The camera movements are handheld and shaky. This portrays the more realistic viewing, rather than using equipment to steady the camera, giving a rounded sense of lacking.

The scene before this screen shot the fighting scene is again used by handheld camera shots, featuring only medium shots. This doesn't allow the audience to see all the picture but gives a sense of what is happening. The shot seen above is a medium long shot, featuring mise-en-scene relevant to the economy the actors are in. Rubbish is seen to the left of the frame, showing a sign of lower economy and a less hygienic way of living. The brick work and door are damaged and look rough and shabby, giving the setting a roughed up look, mirroring the actors presentation on the characters 'roughed up' look also. 

The scene here features shot reverse shots, as the two actors have a conversation. The camera uses close ups, showing their expression only, making the shots look raw and undefined adding to the rough affect. The background is also blurred out here, giving the impression the young woman is infatuated with the man, as she forgets where she is and what she is doing while speaking, as insinuated by the blur. 

Here, an extreme close up is used. The close up focuses on the wasp walking across the window. Many connotations are used within this, such as the typical danger theme and foreshadowing theme. Showing the wasp on the window gives more a connotation of being trapped, like the actress in the shabby apartment, trapped in poverty and her way of living, not realising danger which awaits her. The windowpane is cracked and chipped of white paint. This also connotes the purity of the family stereotype is damaged here. The window is also dirty and smeared, showing the family is facing poverty. 

The wall shown in the flat in which they live shows children's drawings and a picture of David Beckham. The children's drawings symbolise the innocence of the children, and their naive minds. The picture of David Beckham, who is well known for his 'good looks', is also situated next to the children's pictures. We assume this picture is for the mother as the children are too young to understand attraction. The stereotypical picture suggests the mother lusting for a wealthier life style with a wealthy husband. 

Again, the quote resembles the life the mother longs for. The derogative curse word 'bitch' also indicates the lower class family, as this stereotype typically use terms like these. The fact of this sticker being in sight of young children also hint at the mothers nontraditional nature. 

The dialect and accents used within the diegetic speech are important to this short film as this helps the audience analyse their social class and where they live. The East London accent lets the audience know where the short film is based as there are no establishing shots to determine this throughout. Also, the low register language used by the mother and the children determines they come from a low social class and aren't very wealthy individuals. 

The mise-en-scene of the moldy bread also distinguishes the families wealth. The semantic field of danger repeats throughout the short film, with such as the fight scene, the wasp on the window and now the danger of mold and death. This is also known as a motif in a short film as it also resembles the moral behind the movie. Another mise-en-scene is later in the movie when the family cross a bridge on the motorway, the camera focuses on the young daughter in a close up shot with a shallow focus on the motorway. This also symbolises the danger that lies behind, foreshadowing the plot. 

In addition to the motif of danger, the scene here intimidates the cliche of 'Sugar Dummy'. This is the definition of a man buying a woman's love in hope to receive her affection back. This has been added to the short film again to display the mothers wishes, and this cliche is very common with a standard audience which knows such cliches. 

Following the previous shot, the mother asks the daughter to share out the sugar with the rest of the children. I have analysed this as a metaphor for the daughters following in the mothers steps due to poverty and upbringing. This is another motif of the short film that children see and do, following their parents, not being to avoid the inevitability of how they are raised, where they live and the parents morals. 

The following scene clarifies the children seeing their mother as their role model as the little girl pushes the toy pram next to her mother pushing her baby in her own pram. 

The story follows on to the pub where to mother meets Dave (Dyer) and leaves her children outside. The mother is in an awful situation in which she hopes to court Dave for financial stability but means sacrificing her children to be taken away for negligence which is a big risk for the mother to take. Eventually time passes from day to night, having the children being on their own. This shocks the audience as the oldest of the children is around 9 years old looking after three other children in their mothers absence. The mother decides to refuse Dave and go to comfort her children. This displays how poverty and longing for a better life can put lives in danger. 

The end of the movie, Dave understands the mothers situation and helps them by feeding them and taking the family home. The movie ends on a cliffhanger, initiating a reaction from the audience of emptiness, one of the conventions of short films. 

Task 2.1: Video Game Analysis: Fallout 4 game trailer

Fallout 4 - Bethesda
Video Game analysis

Fallout 4 belongs to the Fallout series of games, which is a new upcoming game for November 2015. The games main platforms are Xbox 360, Xbox One, and newly, PlayStation 4. The trailer lasts for 3 minutes which is unusual for a typical televised game trailer. The game trailer was released after a long tail of teaser screenshots and discussions in the gaming community. As video games has evolved into immersing into audiences lives more and more, the trailers have became longer due to the impact on the internet and the new 'hype' of information age. This sort of game trailer may be posted on gaming websites such as Steam, Bethesda and also on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. The game trailer is far too long for television advertising and was used as an announcement trailer for gaming fans. The television aired game trailer is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQvUww6fQWY 

200 years after a nuclear war, Fallout 4 is set in a post-apocalyptic Boston which the protagonists emerges from an underground facility known as a Vault. The game-play being very similar to Fallout 3 in which players explore an open world with non-linear game-play. Players have quests and battles to accomplish. The trailer was released June 3rd 2015, leaving 8 months of long-tail for the company, Bethesda, to gain more interest from old and new fans. I will be analysing the game trailer in more detail.

Firstly, a fade in is used to show a Pegi 18 logo. This means the game is of mature use, for players over 18 years of age. This is due to the game containing mature themes and ideas, severe violence and bad language unsuitable for younger game players. The 'provisional rating' means this is the estimated age rating, but due to not being released since being a trailer for a game coming out soon, the creators have decided on an estimate and haven't decided on the correct age rating as of yet.  

The load screen for Fallout 4 has remained the same throughout the other 3 alike games. This creates a motif for fans to follow, making those loyal fans more happy due to the fact the game won't be changing vastly, just improving.

This screen is used to depict the time period and the situation. As it is in black and white, we assume it is before the 80's due to colour TV coming out around that time. We also know emergency public announcements use this screen for live broadcasting, meaning something global has occurred, hinting at the storyline and plot.

As the camera zooms out, with a slight dolly action, we see a wider picture from the TV screen. The television itself is old and rustic, and appears the style being set in the 1950's. The television sits upon a sound system, with iconic 50's font, saying 'Radiation King'. The writing foreshadows the events of the game, thus being a nuclear war. We also see overgrowth of plants up the corner of the wall, suggesting there has been no civilisation for a long time. The rubble on the floor and the rust on the car also suggests abandonment. The sound used is of poor quality for affect, due to being set back when audio wasn't crisp and clear, giving the impression of the music being played from an old vinyl player. The song being played is called 'It's all over but the crying - The Inkspots'. The music suggests the end of something, in this case the end of civilisation. Fallout is well known for using music from the second world war period for most of their soundtracks. 

The editing used in the Fallout 4 trailer is significant to the storyline. The transitions used are disruptions of signal, showing retrospective to present day. This hints at the audience that something has happened for the setting to have gotten this way, to being uncivilised. During this the camera pans around the room as the transitions from past to present happen, showing the audience the severe event that has happened all around them.

The odd mise-en-scene here is the modern 1950's house style setting, however, there seems to be a robot, which obviously didn't exist in the 50's. This gives the idea that history chose a different path, away from the normal. the graphic score used here, is where the dog transitions to the robot, and back again. This may signify how robot became man's best friend instead of the dog. The dog used is a German Shepard, usually used for loyalty, guarding and strength. 

This transition shows the German Shepard sniffing the baby mobile, decorated with red and white rockets. This mise-en-scene could indicate the futuristic theme the game has. The dog also leans onto a blue baby crib. The colour blue signifies the baby is a boy due to stereotypes of the colour. The transition to the small family shows the dog is protecting the family and also knew the family or will do in the game, relating to the plot. 

This long shot of the subject being the German Shepard, uses the rule of thirds. This means the whole area surrounding the subject can be seen. The mise-en-scene here is highly significant. The brown hue and the haze in the sky give a notion of atomic bombs being set off, hinting at the war like plot. The cracked ground and the ruined houses also hint at mass destruction, as well as the lack of civilisation. 

Following this, another flashback pre-war shows a brighter contrast to make the initial emotion more happy. There is also a lot more colours rather than the dull brown hues, showing destruction in the before long shot of the dog. This happens continuously comparing the pre-war and post-war destruction and loss of civilisation. 

The point of view shot here shows the subject emerging from the vault we just saw open. The first person view may also suggest the game is too in first person from this characters perspective. The colour saturation as well as the flare and blur, suggests the suspected protagonist is disorientated and confused. This might link with the plot line somewhat. 

A series of pans framing the run down deserted settings giving the viewers the area in which the game may be set, and after the camera settles on the center subject in the screenshot above after a smooth dolly crane motion towards the subject slowly. The lighting used here appears the subject is key in the plot line. The dark red and brown edges contrast with the blue spotlight which illuminates the central character. This character may be purposeful. 

After many more camera pans, displaying characters and landscapes, presenting perhaps quests and battle modes, the trailer returns back to the German Shepard dog, next to a steam punk genre robot armor. The camera tracks upwards towards the mask, perhaps hinting that the protagonist is either going to be the hero in the plot. There is also product placement throughout this scene with posters of 'Nuke-Cola' and a 'Nuke-Cola' machine, which has been in the previous games in the collection, as a key element of the game. 

The end scene of the trailer is a very cliché cinematic frame. The frame is a medium shot of a man wearing a vault jumpsuit, carrying a gun. Along side him in this two shot, is the German Shepard. This type of frame is seen a lot in similar type movies such as I Am Legend (2007) and The Road Warrior (1981). 

All the heroes use a gun of some variety and wear run down clothes covered in dirt. The dogs all are large breeds of dogs, adapting to the stereotype of guard dogs and 'man's best friend'. 

Following this, the final screen we see before the video ends is the website to the game, creating synergy for the fans, by them exploring into the game further, keeping the excitement alive. On this website, are updates of the game, merchandise, another form of synergy and the choice to pre-order the game, securing the game before it becomes sold out. The website follows the same theme as the game.

The symbols below the website, are the platforms and logos of the games company and what it can be played on. This is informing the fan that the game will only be released on these platforms such as Xbox One, PS4 (PlayStation) and PC Gaming. In addition to this, Fallout 4 is being brought out for the first time on PS4. Before this, the Fallout series was only released on PC and Xbox platforms, but by releasing the game also on PS4, it can reach a more variety of audience, meaning more profit off the game for the companies and more customer satisfaction as there are more available platforms.