MTV's Jersey Shore essay

Jersey shore is the most watched television series on MTV with . A series based on four men and 4 women who range from 21-28 years. They go away and live together in a home already paid for, all they have to do is work at a t-shirt store, ice cream parlour etc, spending the rest of their time partying, sleeping around, tanning and fighting with each other.

 Jersey shore is aimed at an audience of people between 12-34 years of age. I believe that this audience would fit into both young hopefuls and the next generation tags. These are people who are big television watchers and have low incomes. People who might not have started a family yet, so they could possibly have more free time on their hands, which other people may spend working full time, with their families or taking care of their children etc.

Techniques used to target this audience include the vocabulary they use in the show. Such as “Doggin’ you out”, “Grenade”, “GTL”, “Juice Head”, “smush”. This appeals to the specific audience because young people want and strive to be “cool” and along with having the newest gadgets, listening to the latest music, I think they feel that talking with the latest slang keeps them cool.

Another technique is the characters in the show. They are all in the age group between 21-28 years old. Because there is quite a range in the ages it appeals to both young teenagers and up to early 30 year olds. I feel that this is because when you look at the people on the screen you see people not far from your age. In some ways the audience might aspire to be like them and have the life they do which could draw them into watching the show. You could look at them and be very unimpressed, find humour in their stupidity or in their slow growing up because maybe you were far more responsible, grounded and settled at their age. This may convince you to watch it for a laugh, or to be surprised by the difference in your lives. You could look at the show and wonder how on earth they got to be in this situation. Either way, there are factors that could bring you to watch the show because of the characters, there are always exceptions in the targeted audience – not everyone in the age group finds enjoyment and pleasure in watching Jersey Shore.

The lifestyle these young adults live may be idolised by a percentage of their audience. The partying and/or carefree looking lifestyle could strongly appeal to people in their age group. Idealism could play a big part in attracting such a large following. They seem to have no problems but petty fights and arguments. There is no struggle to make ends meat, money doesn’t seem like an issue to them with all of their drinking and beauty expenses. They don’t need to worry about finding out how they are going to pay their next bill, well at least it doesn’t seem that way to the viewer. And right now money is very tight for some people which could attract the late 20’s-early 30’s.  Both the young hopefuls and the next generation groups also have a low income.

The fact that Jersey shore has broken records for MTV’s biggest television series, with the largest views MTV has ever had proves that it is obviously doing something right to attract an enormous following and it doesn’t look like that is going to change any time soon with such a strong dedicated audience.

Notes on frontline.

Frontline – The merchants of cool – Notes.

Largest generation ever. With the biggest disposable income. Stubborn. Cool hunters will target the 20% or so who are the trend setters, the people who will influence the rest, the other 80%. They will research those 20% to decide what is cool. “As soon as media discovers cool it stops being cool”. Teens got annoyed with the amount of advertising they were seeing, and began to hate the obvious advertisement. So brands like sprite began to “anti-advertise”, advertising but not being so obvious, but they caught on to it. MTV is a channel full of advertising. For MTV to stay cool they will need to change with the kids, because the kids decide what it cool. And cool will always change. Shows on MTV that plays the most wanted music videos give the audience got to choose what was played. This helped them stay cool, because the show played EXACTLY what the teenagers thought was cool at that time and it would always change. Professional wrestling was the most watched among teenage boys. “Pop” is like a shock and where there is “pop” there is money. WB had aimed to be a channel where families could watch TV together, because other than Disney, they couldn’t do that. But they had to compete with shows more “raunchy” and after about a year they brought in Dawson’s creek, which is about a group of teens and sex. A film was created and listed as aimed at 11-12 year olds, where it was clearly not. So it was investigated by the government. But the director of the film makes no apology, because he knows that no teenager wants to sit down and watch a PG13 movie, so in attempt to be “cool” he falsely advertised it because he knew what teenagers wanted. Media watches kids and sells them an image of themselves; the kids then watch this and aspire to be them.



Jersey Shore.

Are there any ways in which jersey shore is reflective of how teenagers really live?

I think that there are aspects which are similar to some teenager’s lives, the partying – maybe no to such an extent that I know of but teenagers do go out partying and to clubs and bars etc.

In what ways are their lives distorted from the truth?

You would have to be pretty lucky to be paid for working at a t-shirt shop, and for them to provide accommodation. They have life pretty easy over this period of time. Other than their easy, relaxed job at an ice-cream parlour or something, they can basically do whatever they want.

Does this show mirror the way you live? Or is it more like you’re an anthropologist looking in on this society?

It definitely does not mirror the way I live. I don’t go to many parties, and if I do they are definitely no way near as crazy and out of hand as the parties on jersey shore. I don’t go to bars and clubs. I don’t go away for the summer to party with a bunch of friends, get drunk and sleep around. So it is more to me like I am an anthropologist looking in on this group of people and not being able to relate to them but being interested in how different their lives are from mine. Possibly that is why we watch it.

Jessie J - Price Tag music video

·         What are the messages in this video clip? Are the messages the same as the product(s)?

-       That money isn’t important, the most important things in life don’t depend on money, but yet she is wearing the latest clothes and jewellery and she is at the same time advertising her song of course, so you can go and spend money on buying that.

·         What techniques are used to convey the messages?

-       The Props – young girls things like a play house, teddy bears, puppets etc. They convey the message of “fun” towards the young girls watching the video. The outfits – Young materialistic girls want these outfits and clothes, the high heels and the jewellery.

·         Who is the target audience and how do you know?

-       The target audience for this video clip is young girls who come from wealthy families or who have a lot of money to spend, Innovators - Large disposable income, and they are people who enjoy the finer things in life. They are successful and sophisticated.

People Meters

People meter:

A people meter is a device which house holders may have in their homes. It is a box shape accessory that is linked to your television. The people meter with pop up with a “?” On your TV screen when a programme is playing. With a remote, a family member will reply by pressing a number. To represent how many people are watching the show at this time. The distributors of people meters will try and get different families to use these people meters, people of different ages, sex, and different cultures. This will be in their best interest, because that way they would get feedback from lots of different type of people. The people meter is a way to tell how many people are watching certain shows, weather to keep it airing on television or not. 

Slumdog Millionaire - Amitabh Bachchan's autograph scene.

Camera Angles:

1.       The close-up on Amitabh Bachchan’s wrists as he is autographing Jamals photograph shows the jewellery he has and his clean blue and beige clothing. The ring and watch emphasises his wealth and money. This and his clean, neat clothing shows the contrast between himself and Jamal. As Jamal is covered in crap and is very poor. Then, if you think about the end of the movie and Jamal’s money situation at that time you see a huge change. I think this shot works to show how far Jamal has come, by comparing this scene - the place he was in then with money. With the amount of money he has later on.

2.       The low angle shot, where it shows the crowd of paparazzi and security displays the chaos and how hectic this situation is in this scene. This shot also influences the viewer by working to show how someone famous gets so much attention. This may be the type of attention Jamal gets after he wins the money, we don’t know for sure but it is possible, since it is said that all of India is watching him. This shot shows how much chaos Jamal deals with daily, not so much the famous people, but definitely with all of these people, pushing and shoving, not really worrying about anyone else. It shows how Jamal and his brother have to take care of themselves, because they have no one else.

Sound convention:

The noise of the helicopter in this scene is quite loud. It could suggest several different things, like something bad is about to happen, such as a war or an attack, which wouldn’t be surprising in this movie since the film consists of a lot of suffering and harm. But in this case it brings the focus towards the person that is in the helicopter. The sound of the helicopter is fast as the propeller spins, which emphasises on the fact that he has to hurry to get Amitabh Bachchan’s autograph. And although it doesn’t seem that the pace of shots increases hugely, it still makes the viewer feel that there is a rush.

Pace:

The pace of this scene changes in different parts. For example, when they show a few shots of Amithabh’s career in acting. The pace picks up, this may be because he usually works on action films, by the look of the shots he does. The pace also picks up when Jamal realises his brother has locked him in the long drop room. This is because Jamal knows he needs to hurry and he is in a rush. The pace is not very fast when Jamal is getting the autograph and has gotten the autograph, because it shows that he has what he wants and is successful, no need to rush anymore.

Costume:

As said before, the contrast between Amithabh’s outfit and everyone else’s, especially Jamal’s, shows how much higher up the actor is. This displays his wealth, and although it doesn’t mean that Amithabh is a better, more decent person than Jamal, the clothing also shows that the actor is more important to the public, to India. As a child, when Jamal walked around town he didn’t have huge crowds following him, he wasn’t transported by helicopter or have security guards looking out for him. In fact, it was almost the opposite. He was only with his brother and Latika they were the only ones looking out for him when his mother died. He had no way of getting places other than walking, except in the off chance that he scored a ride, like when they travelled on top of a train. The security guards weren’t looking out for Jamal, as you see in the first scene the security guards threaten to kill him. This is just because of the fame, the fame that Jamal doesn’t have as a child, but that may come when he is older. This becomes quite ironic when you watch the film as a whole and look back on this scene.

Realistic Acting:

Throughout the film the acting comes across as being realistic to me, in this scene it is the same. I personally thought it was very realistic. This may have been because the whole film seems realistic, the situations they’re in are very possible as a child without parents in India. The places, the disgusting, dirty places these children had to live in. The way they were treated by others seemed possible too.  Maybe that is why I felt that the acting was realistic in the film.

Opinion on the scene’s importance towards the movie:

I feel that this scene played a big part in showing the audience how much Jamal’s life had changed, or was about to change. When watching the first time the audience wouldn’t see the irony in how different his life would be, but after watching it once before you can see how opposite his lifestyle will be.

A scene from - Remember The Titans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaoA3vReynk&feature=BF&list=FLCnh-NZrHQ0Q&index=4

• Two camera angles: what they are and how they are used.

1. The second shot you in the clip see is a long shot which shows the setting. The team practicing in the dark on a field with only a few lights. The team is training at night which suggests they have been working non-stop and are working hard on their goal. And that the coaches are pushing them hard. 
2. Extreme close-up shots were used when showing a close up of only the players faces, just before they started playing. This shows their concentration towards the game and the sweat on their faces also shows that they have been working hard.

• One sound convection

1. The background music at the end of the scene sounds triumphant, which allows the viewer to believe that the team is really coming together.

• Pace - count the shots and give this info meaning

46 shots within 1 minute and 42 seconds. The scene is not such a fast paced scene, but it seems that when they start playing the game the shots become shorter and quicker. The pace picks up when they are starting to play, the shots get quicker because it is a fast game. And this shows the excitement and the speed of the game.

My own, personal opinion of Slumgod Millionaire

I hadn’t seen this film before, and to be honest it never really interested me or stood out. I felt no desire to watch it. Maybe because this genre of film doesn’t particularly grab my attention. But after watching this film my opinions changed. I found that some parts weren’t enjoyable at all, such the scene where they harmed the children in order for them to get more money from begging on the streets. Or the scene where he jumps down the long drop. They were quite disgusting actually. And hearing that this movie shows things that happen now, in this time. The way people are treated in the movie resembles how they are treated in real life, really got to me. I was shocked because I had no idea it was that bad. But other parts were reasonably happy, well, hopeful. Like the scene where Jamal tells Latika that he will be waiting at the train station every day at 5pm for her, and then, she turns up. For a moment, there is hope that they can finally be together. It doesn’t last long.

Because of the way the movie was honest about what it is like in some areas of India, like the, basically torturing of children so that people will have more sympathy and be more inclined to give them money because they feel bad. I would say I am not the only person who wasn’t aware of how harsh it is over there. And I do believe that it opened people’s eyes and shocked them. Not just the way people were treated, but the way people lived and the conditions they were in.

It isn’t my favourite movie, and not in my top 10. But it was a good movie. At the start of the film I wasn’t sure what I was going to think of it. I really didn’t think I would like it at all. But I ended up finding it pretty decent, I’m  probably bias because this type of movie usually wouldn’t interest me at all. So I wouldn’t incredibly enjoy it because it’s just not what I normally enjoy to watch, so my opinion was slightly made before I viewed the film. I was pleasantly surprised though. But the fact that this movie was realistic and horrible, depressing in some parts but hopeful in others was nice because it gave you a break from all the sadness in their lives and tried to focus on the good.

All in all, I feel that this movie was about hope, and how sometimes, even when everything it against you, you can still find happiness and your luck can change. I feel like this movie was also a big eye opener for many people.  

Settings, props and motifs.

Settings:

A setting is the physical location of the film. Where it takes place. The setting can add to the mood, for example, by the weather. Rain would create a sad, depressed sort of mood. Changes of the settings can indicate new starts, loss, success etc.

On location is when the film or scene is shot at the actual place. Eg, a playground.

In the studio is when the scene/film is shot inside a studio with props, lighting and more to make it seem like it is actually shot outside or at the actual place. It is much cheaper to shoot in the studio rather than on-location.

Props and motifs:

Props are things on the scene, like a book, chair, desk, cell phone that give you clues about the character. If a prop is used again and again in different scenes it becomes a motif.

A motif is something that is repeatedly used in the film, helping to describe something about a character without actually telling you. Sounds or musical phrases also count as being a motif. You assume things by these motifs. Such as a cell phone or brief case may suggest that the character is a work-aholic.

Vocabulary

·         A shot:

A shot is a piece of filming from where the camera is turned on until when it stops.

Example: In the black swan where she is on the wings of the stage is one shot, crying. It lasts from when she is there until they show the instructor/director coming towards her, across the stage.

·         Edit:

An edit in a film is where one shot ends and another begins.

Example: An example of this would be where the shot of her crying ends and they move on to show you him walking across the stage.

·         Scene:

A scene is a collection of shots, arranged in order to make sense.

Example: A scene in black swan could be showing her dancing on stage, they show her from the audience’s point of view, and then the show another shot of her up closer, and then they might show everything from her perspective, what she can see.

·         Frame:

The frame is the boarder or edge of the screen. People walk into the frame and out of the frame. That is how you would see them in the picture and then they would just walk out of the frame, out of sight.

Example: When they show a scene (cafe, bar, a park) And people are running across the grass (in and then out of the frame) or when someone gets up form their seat and leaves the cafe. They leave the frame.

·         Framing:

Framing is when they choose what images the audience gets to see on the screen.

Example: If there is a scene where they are showing a telephone conversation, and they’re only showing one end of the conversation, you cannot see the other participant.

·         Diegesis:

The diegesis is everything in the world of the film. From the noises the characters herd, the events in the film that the audience doesn’t see.

Example: In Shortland Street when the doctor guy is in the car park underground and he thinks he hears someone walking towards him, but he can’t see them.

·         Mise-en-scene

This is basically the props used. Clothing included.

Example: for example in home and away they have cups, plates, chairs, tables etc at the diner.

·         Cinematography:

Cinematography is the art and technique of film making.

Example:

·         Editing:

Editing would be taking out the scenes not needed, the incorrect ones. Voice over etc.

Example: There are always scenes that don’t get put into movies. Ones that don’t seem necessary, or just scenes that have been filmed several times, only the best one will get used.

·         Sound:

Sounds are very important in cinematography as you would know. Background sounds like the birds chirping or wind. Then you have the actors talking. Or noises that are meant to be herd like a door knocking.

Example: In a car accident scene you may be hearing the car screeching to stop.

·         What is a narrative:

A narrative is basically the story being told, in either writing or by voice.

Example: At the start of ‘The series of unfortunate events’ Lemony Snickett is narrating. He is describing a bit about each three of the children, while you see shots of each.  

·         What is a genre:

A genre is the style of a film or the category it falls under. Such as horror, romance, comedy. Etc.

Example: The movie remember the titans might fall under the drama genre.

·         What is Intertextuality:

Intertextuality is when the film makes reference to another, makes you think of a certain story line, character, and situation in another film. It is also what a parody does.

Example: The motion picture “Epic Movie” makes reference to several films such as Narnia by the costumes, characters, story line, etc.

Review - Black Swan

I have recently been to see the movie 'Black Swan' I wasn't sure what to expect, I hadn't spoken to anyone who had seen it, or read anything about it. After seeing the movie I'm still not sure about what my opinion of this film is.
The film was definitely interesting, surprising, in some places i laughed and in others it freaked me out. I think it may have been the craziest movie i've seen. Part of me feels like it was amazing and then part of me thinks it was just silly. I don't regret going to see it at all. For me it wasn't one of those easy watch movies. It wasn't too confusing, but you had to think about it to be able to understand it. You had to use your head in some places, to realise what was happening and why it happened.
I think the reasons why I like it were how it made you think, made you think to understand what was happening. It wasn't one of those story lines that you see all the time, it was different to the movies I've seen, so you had to pay attention I guess.
I can't really think of any reasons why I personally didn't like it too muchm but it's just not what I would usually watch. Most of my favourite movies are ones based on true story, sport films. Those are the types of movies that I walk away thinking 'man, that was good'.
That isn't really a good reason not to like the film 'Black Swan'. I can't really explain why I didn't totally like it. I couldn't put my finger on it. And now that I realise I have no reason not to like the film my opinion of it is changing. Now I guess my opinion of the movie was that it's actually pretty good. Quite interesting.

Media studies - Why I've chosen to take this subject.

Well I've been interested in media studies from the time I saw I could take it in school. Didn't fully understand what media studies was going to be about or involve, but what drew me towards taking media studies was that I'm not certain of what I want to do for a career later on in life. Either architecture or some sort of design. But the a job involving some sort of media also appeals very much to me. I am really interested to give it a go at least. Even if I do decide it's not for me, there is no harm in trying things.

Although I'm still finding out what this class will be like, I'm very excited to continue with it, to see if I love it so much to include it in a career for myself.