Magazine Advert Analysis

The image of Gwen Stefani is the focal point of the text, with her being the main subject the eye is drawn to. This is important because she is essentially what the text is advertising and therefore the audience need to establish that straight away. Her facial expression conveys the impression that she is relaxed, maybe even that her work is effortless, all boosting her appeal as a star, as the audience can assume that she really does live up to their 'ideals'. Likewise, her costume creates the impression that she is wealthy and sophisticated, which infers that her music is so good that it has made her that rich. The costume is also made to look very royal, with the crown and the throne, all implying she is one of a kind, that she is the queen of music. This also plays on the common dream of young girls, to be a princess, further appealing to her younger audience.

It is very common to have the star dominating the frame in any kind of music promotion because, as mentioned by Strinati, 'Style over Substance' is a common technique, even when the the star has both qualities.

In terms of the typography, there is a very elaborate looking gold font which again, suggests wealth and sophistication, carrying on the thematic elements in the picture. Her name dominates the text, again reinforcing Strinati's concept but also implying that Gwen Stefani is a household name, that if you hadn't already guessed by looking at the picture, there she is again. The finite details of the promotion are included beneath the name, even though they are equally important in promoting the music. This could be due to the fact that if people have already become interested by just looking at the image, then they can decide for themselves if they want to follow up and find out more. However, this isn't forced upon the audience, the information is there if they want it, yet what is being advertised needs to be addressed first and foremost.

Lastly, the details included are vital in bringing in the money in the best way possible. By linking the advertisement to a similarly themed copy of the album cover, the audience will know straight away which songs are being promoted. Likewise, the release date information and the website address allows fans to take the next step in following the artist.

Overall, I think this advert is very effective but does have some faults. Although its boldness promotes the appeal of the artist and gives a positive portrayal of Gwen Stefani, I think it is too busy, and it is unclear as to what to look for. For my own magazine advert, I think I will follow up on the use of image being the most important, but I will probably make it simpler which I find is most effective.

Progress...

In the past few weeks we have been doing a lot of filming! As our film is very concept based, we could only plan so much of it, which we have used in the beginning of our film. We wanted to maximise our ability to get lots of different people, so we had to go out and film in different locations.

In the christmas holidays me and holly went to Walsham because it has lots of different little businesses which we thought may be useful in getting different faces and different situations. We aimed to film at the hairdressers, the butchers, the building site and catch any other people we thought could be of any use to us. Unfortunately, we were pretty unsuccessful because it was a cold day before christmas and everyone was inside so we couldn't find many people at all, let alone those we wanted. In the end we asked a postman, but he was too busy posting christmas cards, but then we managed to get a shot of a builder shaking his bum. Also, we tried to get a builder dancing whilst driving his dumper truck but holly pressed record and I hadn't realised and overwrote it by accident. That was all we got that day, which was dissappointing for us but atleast we got something!

Most recently, we planned a trip to Norwich because we knew there would be loads of people around that we could ask to dance for us. I think we were a bit ambitious with this, as we assumed a lot more people would be up for it than there actually were. We aimed for about 60 faces and ended up with less than 20. However, the shots we have got are of good quality. Throughout the day we had to keep changing our tactic because we realised that passers by were less likely to let us film them than people who were working, as they couldn't escape us! A lot of our filming from Norwich was spontaneous, which is good because we worked with what we had got rather than going with a set plan which might of restricted us. This was proven when we tried to film a group of boys dancing in the glass lift and they went in the wrong one, so we didn't get the shot we wanted and then were asked to leave the mall by the boss person because it was against the rules. Overall though, this was a very productive day and we are pleased with our shots.

Aside from these, we have also filmed a friend dancing in the shower, something that took a long time to film but we have only used 5 seconds of it, and various other odd bits of filming.

We are currently in the editing process, working towards the deadline, and will film any pick-up shots if need be.

Iconic Music Video

Robert Palmer- Addicted To Love

This video was iconic and popular in the 80's due to its use of provocatively dressed and made up women 'playing' the song's accompanying instruments. The women have identical looks which suggests they are objectified, rather than individuals. Furthermore, the singer, Robert Palmer is in the foreground, emphasising the 'power' he has over them. This video presents the idea of a 'male gaze' whereby the audience (predominantly men) will watch the text due to the appealing nature of the objectified women. However the video was also appealing to women, as they could aspire to be like the females in the band at the same time as admiring the singer.
The music video is performance based, and relies heavily on a long shot of Robert Palmer with the female 'musicians' in the background, which was quite unconventional of music videos at this time (which usually featured a variety of shots, locations and people).
The fact that this video style has been copied since its release suggests it was iconic and memorable. An example of this was a Pepsi advert featuring Britney Spears.
Overall, this music video was extremely different to others during the 80's, as it focussed on a performance based video, one setting and the 'male gaze'.

Analysis of a music video.

The video I have chosen is called 'We Found Love' by Rihanna and Calvin Harris. I picked this particular music video because I think it demonstrates an effective visual match on lyrics. The video is narrative-based and reflects the couple's 'hopelessly' in love nature through the use of drugs and partying, hinting that they are a metaphoric drug to one another. It uses the 'male gaze' on the artist and includes her in very scantily-clad clothing. This is very suggestive, much like her lyrics, and matches the boldness of the song. 
The pills also prove a very insightful inclusion in the song as they help exhibit their downfall, starting with them in the bath looking regretful and then onto the story of how they ended up there. The scene near the end shows them in this particular shot and helps the viewer interpret that they'll always stay this way.
Another positive for the video is the speech at the start which leads us into the 'story'. With a scouse accent, it could represent Manchester rave culture.
The only negative I can conjure of this video is it's almost too explicit nature. The tattoo of 'Mine' on Rihanna is very suggestive that women can be seen as objects for men. 

Iconic Music Video

This music video from 1999 is iconic due to its lesbian kissing sequences, something very unusual for a 90's pop video. The video highlights the divide between society and homosexuality, and this is made evident when there is a literal barrier between the people and the girls, in the form of a fence which resembles one from a concentration camp. Also, the people are looking grim faced and somewhat surprised by what they see, which again reiterates the fact that homosexuality was and still is sometimes frowned on, particularly when in public display. Costume plays an important part in this video because it emphasises how exposed the girls are as they are getting soaking wet in the rain, whilst the people looking in are wrapped up in raincoats and holding umbrellas. The rain could be symbolic of the release of kept in emotions, which TATU are embracing whilst the people are sheilding themselves from it. At the end of the video, the girls walk off hand in hand into the sunset, a typical ending to a conventional love story. Whilst they do so, the people are still left watching and holding their umbrellas with dark colour filters of grey and black, this all suggests that it is better to be individual than part of a crowd.