PAPER 1: BEYONCE

BEYONCÉ - PRETTY HURTS

 

The music video I’ve chosen to look at is Pretty hurts by Beyoncé.

 

Style of the Video

 

The music video is largely focused on creating a strong storytelling narrative whilst occasionally focusing on her performance. Her music video showcases the hardship and pressure that young women face in order to feel beautiful and under the harsh judgment of society. Beyoncé also portrays how it’s hard for young women to be comfortable in their own skin as they feel that they have to conform to the stereotypes of being a woman. 

 

 

Star Persona

 

In the music video Beyoncé’s personality is portrayed as an aspirational woman and a role model to society. This is highlighted and is focused on throughout the music video, especially in the opening close up shot of her looking at her reflection in the mirror to portray a sense of vulnerability in the way we see our reflection and view ourselves because of the scrutiny of the media industry. This could also connect with the audience to accept our true self. We see Beyoncé’s aspirational personality again when the pageant host asks her what her aspiration is in life, the music video then shows flashbacks of her thinking back about her participating in pageants and trying to think of an answer. This reveals to the audience her sense of doubt if that’s what truly makes her happy. Moreover, she then replies with my aspiration is life is to be happy,  this shows her as a role model because it influences the audience not to focus on their looks or how others see them but to concentrate on the most important thing which is happiness. She just wants to be happy which demonstrates how she’s starting to realise what these pageants and the  media has done to her emotionally and have stripped her from her true self. This also shows the audience that there is more to life then being pretty which highlights her as an inspirational figure.

 

Themes and Issues 

The themes and issues explored in this music video is the affects of how judgemental society is, the harsh pressure on young women to conform to stereotypes. The main theme is the pressure of society and the pressure it has on women to always look a certain way. 

 

Representation 

 

In the beginning of the video Beyoncé follows the stereotypical view of women by making herself appear “perfect” and to society’s standards to show the audience what it’s like to be a woman. This is seen in the opening scenes of the video when she is weighing herself to make sure she’s a certain weight and whitening her teeth. However, this contrasts  as the video goes on as she represents women as being strong and doing what makes her happy and showcasing that women are more than just their looks but have aspirations too. Beyoncé knows she’s worth more than just her looks and having the perfect body which is seen towards the end when she knocks down all he pageant trophies and she sings the lyric “stripped away the masquerade, the illusion has been shed”  This shows that she finally feels like she can show her true self to society and not care about their judgements and she feels relieved that there’s no illusion to hide herself anymore. There is also the representation of social status, every woman is often viewed by the stereotypes and society’s view of ‘perfect’ but especially when your social status is quite high up for example, celebrities. The public eye is constantly in judgment of them and will feel more pressured to obey what society expects of them. Beyoncé knows her self worth and that just because she’s in the public eye she doesn’t need to pretend to be someone she’s not which is also a great inspirational message for the audience. This  is reflected with the repetitive scenes of her looking at herself in the mirror, knowing that this isn’t what she wants and demonstrates how she’s starting  to being able to be comfortable in her own skin.

 

Technical Codes

Costume – Throughout the music video her costumes are constantly changing to illustrate how important image is to her at the time and shows how the media distracts you to from what’s important. Colours like pink and yellow are used quite a lot which represent happiness, delicacy and femininity. Her sash that she wears throughout is a key part in the video as it represents the title she has achieved as a result of all the pain she had endured. 

 

Performance – The music video is focused more on expressing the narrative of the story and portraying a message to the audience rather than focusing on dancing and a performance. The music video is mostly of her singing on stage and showing the struggles that go on behind closed doors. 

 

Body language – Her body language changes at times during the music video, when she’s at home her body language is lowered and slouched as she appears unhappy and frustrated. However it changes to when she’s on stage, where her body language is confident and smiling with her head held high. This could represent how she truly feels behind closed doors which contrast with how she feels and acts on the stage under the pressure.

 

Camera angles and Shot types – When Beyoncé is alone in her home, she takes up most of the shot and is the focus point of what is important. However, when she’s on stage she blends in more with the other contestants. This contrast could be to illustrate how everyone is unique and when she’s alone she’s able to acknowledge that but when your in a group you tend to forget. Throughout the music video, the camera shoots close ups of Beyoncé, side shots and occasional wide shots when showing her with all the other contestants on stage. Tracking shots are also used to show how all the women are the same through the eyes of men and the judges.

 

Lighting – The lighting throughout the music video is very natural and dim at times with shots of low key and high lighting. The low key lighting could be used to express her sadness and anger. For example, when Beyoncé is in the toilet trying to make herself sick, the lighting is dark to emphasise her struggling and not coping well with the stress and pressure she is facing. However, the lighting brightens when Beyoncé comes onto the stage whereas when she’s alone it appears to be dimmer to show her true emotions. The lighting is used to set the mood of what is seen. 

 

 

Pace of editing – The pace of the editing in the music video is quite slow to possibly show the journey she goes through everyday to be “perfect” and up to society’s  expectations. 

BEYONCÉ: DENIAL

 

Style of video: 

 

The video is primarily focused on a story telling narrative from Beyonce’s point of view. Despite being ambiguous, the music video has connotations of her broken relationship with rapper Jay Z. The beginning of the music video starts with Beyonce’s narration of her saying “I tried to change and closed my mouth more, tried to become soft,” this suggests that she tried to become a different person so that their relationship would be able to heal. This highlights how she was gaslighted by the person she loved to the point that she would change everything about herself just to return to how they used to be. It contrasts with her ending line, “Are you cheating on me?” She’s now self-aware of what’s really happening in the relationship and isn’t afraid to ask the inevitable even if it means their relationship taking a turn for the worse. This also links to how usually in relationships when the partner cheats, the fear of asking them and already knowing the answer.  

 

Star Persona: 

 

When Beyonce pushes the double doors open and emerges out of the building with an enormous amount of gushing water, this symbolises her resilience as she’s known for being one of the strongest and independent women in the music industry. Despite all the negative energy, she keeps her head up and focuses on channeling that energy to be strong and fearless. The yellow dress that she’s wearing symbolises how free she feels as yellow has connotations of optimism. She doesn’t let the negative factors in her life destroy her persona as Beyonce.  

 

Themes and issues:  

 

The themes and issues explored in the music video are adultery, broken relationships and power. The main theme of this music video is adultery committed by her partner.  

Representation of gender and ethnicity: 

Beyonce doesn’t follow the stereotypes of a woman having to stay quiet about her relationship issues and lets the world know through the music video that her relationship with Jay Z isn’t perfect and that her social status doesn’t determine that she won’t be treated horribly. Most people who are in broken relationships have a hard time getting back onto their own feet but Beyonce knows her own self-worth which is clearly executed in the music video as she walks around the city with a bat in hand tearing down anything that stands in her way of reforming and mentally growing. Her walking around with a baseball bat and smashing things contrasts in the opening scene of the music video with Beyonce’s narration when she says, “Tried to become soft,” as she now comes to terms that no matter what she changes about herself, she’ll never be enough. 

 

Technical codes: 

 

Costume – Her iconic yellow dress is a symbolism of African goddess Oshun who is a healer that gives life, growth, luxury, change and prosperity. 

 

Performance – The music video captures and executes an artistic narrative rather than a stereotypical music video. The beginning of the video starts off with Beyonce in her flooded bedroom with her underwater before switching to her emerging out of the building perfectly styled and dressed in a yellow dress before she roams the city smashing things with a baseball bat. 

 

Body language – Throughout the music video, her head is held high as she confidently walks through the city. This links to her self growth and how she’s finally come to terms to overcoming her troubled relationship. 

 

Lighting – The start of the music video uses dark and eerie lighting whilst as the music video carries on, lighting from the daylight is used.  

 

Camera angles – The camera shoots from the side and close up. It shoots close up to portray her nonchalant and stoic expression and shoots from the side to show everyday life carrying on despite Beyonce walking past beautifully dressed with a baseball bat that contrasts with her outfit. 

 

Shot types – The shot types used in the music video are medium close ups, full shots and side shots. 

 

Pace of editing – The music video is deliberately slowed down to capture the essence of Beyonce’s growth.

PAPER 2 SECTION B KEY TEXT : Late Night Woman's Hour

 

Format of this is a podcast and the themes and subjects covered in this show is based around gender and lifestyle and topics people can relate to. The structure and content of this podcasts typical episodes  include discussions on key topics and subjects women relate to. 

Emma Barnett, 35 years old and from a Jewish background is one of the presenters alongside Lauren Leverne who is 42. Lauren Leverne has presented numerous television programmes, including 10 O’Clock Live for Channel 4 and The Culture Show and coverage of the Glastonbury Festival for the BBC. Emma Barnett worked for BBC Radio 5 Live for six years, beginning in 2014 after three years working for LBC. Between 2016 and 2020 Barnett presented 5 Live’s mid morning weekday programme.

The mode of address and spoken language is very informal, relaxed and conversational as the presenters discuss topics with each other that the audience can then listen to their points of view. 

The audio codes used is no music and no background sounds so that the listener can focus on what is being said in the podcast. At the beginning of each podcast there is an advertisement for BBC Radio 4.

Audience Feedback - By podcasting and streaming online like late night woman’s  hour, it allows the audience  to chose when to listen, rather than a scheduled time. Active audiences who enjoy the podcast could leave feedback on womens hours social media pages and/or radio 4's facebook page.

Marketing and advertising - It is a non-commercial BBC production, which means that it is not advertised very much. When it first became a big podcast, it began to be shown in other BBC channels. The publicity of the launch appeared in newspapers  and magazines aimed at a similar target audience.

Target audience - The target audience for late night woman’s hour, is for all women between the ages 35 to middle-aged. However, some of the content could focus on a more younger audience such as teens and women in their 20's. The guests featured on the show are typically women, from a variety of different backgrounds. The class is mainly those who fall into middle class. This makes it out to be a more niche audience.

Late night woman's hour fits into Radio 4’s overall target audience as their audience is between the ages 35 and over. Furthermore, BBC’s audience is targeted at an older audience similarly to Late night woman’s hour.  Also, BBC’s audience is mainly female which links to the podcast as they talk about female related topics.

Radio Industry Research

 What is podcasting? 

Podcasting is an episodic series of spoken word digital audio files that a user can download to a personal device for easy listening. 

Podcasting is different from traditional radio blog broadcasts for the audience and producers for many reasons, for example ;

Radio:

•You would have to stick to a schedule as you're only on for a set amount of time per day

•Have to communicate the schedule to your audience so they can listen to the full broadcast

•May need to reintroduce yourself and the topic being discussed or if the audience tune in halfway through 

Podcasts:

•Audiences are able to listen to it whenever they want, as they can start at the beginning and start and stop the podcast when they want to

 •The audiences have a lot more control when it comes to what topics of the podcast they 

want to listen to and when they listen.

Radio:

•Radio producers have to be comfortable accepting past mistakes or moving onto the next subject, as there isn't much room for mistakes or hesitations during live shows

•You can't edit any mistakes out afterwards, as it's live

•You have the time restriction of how long the radio show is scheduled for - can't go overtime

Podcasts:

•Have the ability to re-record or edit out any errors or technical difficulties 

•no restriction of time which allows for more freedom to do what you want to do in the podcast as you have as much time as you need

•Also you can include all of your chosen topic - doesn't have to be cut down

Radio: 

•Radio broadcasts don't last as long because one it’s no longer live you can’t listen to it again.

• It has a smaller window for opportunity because you have to listen at that certain time.

Podcast:

•Have a bigger window for opportunity and exposure as listeners are able to view the podcast whenever they want 

•A podcast will be online forever, so the audience can watch it long after they’ve recorded. 

Commercial Radio :

• A Commercial Broadcaster is a radio station that produces money through the use of advertising.
• The advertising is released by companies that use radio stations as a good medium in order to get their message across
• Examples include Classic FM and Absolute Radio, as they both generate their money through advertising  

Public Service Broadcaster:

• The term refers to broadcasting that is intended for the public's benefit rather than just their commercial interests 
• Includes Radio 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Live and 6 Music
• The BBC is the most know public service broadcaster in the Uk.
• Public service broadcasting doesn't include any advertisements, as they are all funded by license fees, which are paid by the public. 

The BBC

Purpose, Mission and Values:

• The BBC's mission statement is "to act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain" - The statement stresses on the difference it makes in society while fulfilling it's objectives. 
• The vision statement is "to be the most creative organisation in the world" - the BBC isn't happy just dominating the UK
• One of the missions that the BBC has is to have a Global Reach
• The BBC's values are: 
• Trust is the foundation of the BBC. We're independent, impartial and honest
• We put audiences at the heart of everything we do
• We respect each other and celebrate our diversity 
• We take pride in delivering quality and value for money 
• The Purpose of the  BBC 
1. To provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the world around them
2. To support learning for people of all ages
3. To reflect, represent and serve the diverse communities of all of the United Kingdom's nations and regions. 
4. To reflect the United Kingdom, it's cultures and values to the world 

BBC Broadcasts: Locally, Nationally, Globally:

Local Services:

• BBC offer listeners BBC Local Radio, which operates at 39 stations across England, offering speech based services for news, information and debates, which has a strong emphasis on interactivity 

National Services:

• The BBC broadcast their different channels nationally across the UK, and includes the Welsh, Scottish and Irish versions of some one their main channels, for example BBC One Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Same as their Radio stations, for example BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and Cymru 2 (made for people that speak Welsh in wales)
• They offer these services so that their products can reach a wider range of people

Global News Services:

• BBC world services is an international multimedia broadcaster, which delivers a wide range of language and regional services on radio, TV and online 
• Reaches a weekly audience of around 279 million people around the world
• Operates in more than 40 languages

Content and Style of BBC Radio 4

• Broadcasts a wide range of spoken word genres such as news , drama, comedy , science and comedy
• The target audience for BBC Radio for are people aged 34-54 and the average aged listener is 54 years old
• Out of all the genres they mainly seem to broadcast the news and sports coverage on the radio broadcast
• Example: Woman's hour - talk about important women's topics 
• Example:  Always includes the news at certain points throughout the day - keeps their viewers up to date with current affairs 

RADIO INDUSTRY: initial research

 Initial Research -

Radio 1 

The target audience -

 For radio 1 listeners it is targeted towards people who are aged between 15 and 29. This is because of the distinctive mix of contemporary music and speech which would appeal more to those ages. 

Music genres -

At night, Radio 1 gives different genres including hip hop, dance and indie whereas in the day they usually just shuffle the most popular contemporary music of the time in order to appeal to their  target audience.

Spoken word genres - 

This would include documentaries and information about music artists and genres which would interest the audience. Radio 1 also like to feature podcasts like “Di’s salon” that provide comedy and entertainment. 

Radio 3

Target audience -

The target audience is typically aimed at an older audience  50 years old and above. It is know that older listeners tend to listen for longer. 

Music genre -

Commonly the genre is mainly centred around classical music and opera however occasionally other genres are featured in the broadcast. For example, jazz, world music and drama. 

Spoken word genres - 

Radio 3 includes genres and topics that may appeal to their audience for example real life topics or situations that are going on. Also may include chat segments and lifestyle programmes. 

Radio 4  

Target audience -

The target audience for Radio 4 is between 34 - 51 years old with the average listener being 56 years old. 

Music genre - 

It doesn’t work in the same way as the other radio stations because Radio 4 is viewed as a speech only radio station. Therefore, there are some music focused programmes on Radio 4 such as desert island discs but everyday they use small music clips only. 

Spoken word genres - 

Radio 4 features in depth news and current affairs and  magazine programmes. Also, spoken word broadcasts include drama, comedy, science and history

SECTION 1B FILM MARKETING : Independent Film

 The key elements of an independent film is ; 

- is associated with critical success

- makes you ask questions 

- limited distribution 

- is rarely shown in multiplex cinemas 

- limited star marketing 

- lower production values 

- targets and older audience 

Daniel Blake ( Loach 2016)

The director of Daniel Blake is Ken Loach

What clues are there to why this is an independent film ?

- Unknown actors

- Not shown in multiplex cinemas

- looks like it has a low production value 

-  Low budget 

-Ken Loach portrayed many different messages throughout his other films. He had a socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his films. He treatment of social issues such as poverty in his earlier film Poor Cow made in 1967, homelessness in his film Cathy Come Home in 1966 and labour rights Riff-Raff made in 1991.

Who are the stars of I, Daniel Blake? 

 The main character of this film is Dave Johns; before starring in I, Daniel Blake he was an english comedian as well as an actor. Another main character in the film is Hayley Squires who hasn’t been involved in any wide known or mainstream productions. She is also an english actress and playwright. 

Is this film low budget or high budget? 

I, Daniel Blake is seen as a low budget film because of the way they marketed and promoted the film which was by organising free screenings and talks in community centres across the UK to build local enthusiasm for the film's message.  Moreover, throughout the film it uses basic props and minimalist settings and backgrounds unlike mainstream films which have a higher production value who have expensive props and lively trailers with pops of colour and upbeat music. 

Which companies produced and filmed I, Daniel Blake?

- Sixteen Films, eOne Films, Why Not Productions, Wild Bunch, BBC Films

These companies may be interested enough to fund and support a film like I, Daniel Blake because they believe that the UK system does more harm than good and believe in the message that it has throughout the movie. 

Who do you think ideal target audience for the film?

Although the movie is based in Newcastle with characters who rely on benefits and who are not rich, I think that the ideal target audience for the film are people who are middle class and middle aged. I think this because they are able to make a difference and understand what people on benefits have to go through as it’s quite realistic and relatable . Also, the premier for the film was in London which implies that Ken Loach wanted people with wealth to be able to see this film.

RECEPTION

What type of audience could have oppositional reading of the film?

The Guardian is known as generally being a more mainstream left wing on British political opinion. When discussing and writing about I, Daniel Blake, they described it as "a battle cry for the dispossessed" which highlights their approval of the movie and its meanings .To add, they also believe that the system is corrupt. However, a newspaper that has an oppositional reading of the film is The Mail who is known for being right wing on British political opinion and traditionally is a supporter of the Conservatives and has endorsed this party in all recent and general elections.

BLACK PANTHER: MARKETING CAMPAIGNS

- MARKETING CAMPAIGN - 

Black Panther had a strong marketing campaign which was large and wide reaching, this is why it was such a great success. Disney was distributing the film which meant that they had a large budget and resources to create a detailed marketing campaign. To maximise profit they also released merchandise such as action figures, posters, trailers and social media pages to allow the audience to become more familiar with their film and to maximise audience appeal in order to sell the film. Action figures and toys were a great way of targeting young children and family audiences which helped their marketing campaign. 

The lexus partnership was a way of targeting an adult male audience, interested in technology and status as the partnership with Lexus created 2 Black Panther themed cars. This meant everytime the cars got marketed, the film got marketed too. Disney also produces many trailers which were released in cinemas, on television and online. These trailers were also used to emphasise that the film was part of the Marvel Franchise targeting their pre - sold  fans. It was also broadcasted in the ad breaks of the Superbowl  in America which is one of the most expensive advertising slots which would result in targeting a global mass audience which was a great marketing technique to spread awareness of the film. 

Black Panther was released during Black History Month meaning that the release was marketed as a ‘cultural event’ to celebrate black culture. Some people took this a step further and started crowd funding site online which were set up to raise money to make sure that young black people could go to the cinema and see this film.These crowd funding sites were shared online and in the media which was great for the Black Panther film as it acted as an official marketing campaign.

Disney also did a partnership with New York fashion week and did a show using clothes inspired by the Wakandan clothes in the film. This would’ve attracted a lot of media attention and publicity which helped their marketing strategy hugely and targeting a huge female audience. Another Global marketing technique that was used was the use of Youtube which allowed audiences to share, comment and like the trailer, as YouTube is a global platform it allowed the  Black Panther to receive huge publicity. Social media was also a core part of their marketing campaign as Disney used Twitter to market the film by using hashtags, posts and film teasers. This resulted in the film becoming the most tweeted about film of the year which was a huge success. Twitter was also used to livestream Q & A sessions with the cast and crew, creating anticipation for the film and allowing the fans to get involved. 

The actors took part as guests on chat shows and other tv programmes was a great way of marketing the film to older audiences. The actors and crew appeared at Comicon which is a huge globally recognised event for fans of big franchises in film, gaming and tv. They had a panel at Comicon in which they spoke to fans and answered any questions which was a good way to target ‘super fans’ of a franchise or shared universe, ensuring they spread the word. Later on there was even an exclusive Black Panther Snapchat filter which was a method of targeting a younger audience and spreading the word of the film. 

The use of sequels and prequels helps to reduce risk and maximise profit. This reflects Hesmondhalg’s ideas about companies striving for maximised profits. Black Panther could have been seen as a part of Disney’s strategy to improve its reputation for the way it treats ethnicity/ gender in the film. 

The various use of posters which each one featuring a different character from the film which is also a great way of targeting different audiences. 

FILM MARKETING: BLACK PANTHER

 Summary of the following:

Oscarssowhite - OscarsSoWhite is a hashtag used to call out the lack of diversity—especially people of color but also women and the LGBTQ community. This is could link to Black Panther as this could be the expectation of a mainstream film but Black Panther uses a black cast which could appeal more to an audience and have what’s expected.

Afrofuturism - Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic that combines science-fiction, history and fantasy to explore the African-American experience and aims to connect those from the black diaspora with their forgotten African ancestry. This links to Black Panther as the film manages to portray and imagine a futuristic alternative uncolonised Africa which shows a more positive portrayal of Africa other than the usual stereotypes. Although the film is based on science fiction and fantasy it includes many historical and true experiences. 

The Black Panthers - The Black Panthers, also known as the Black Panther Party, was a political organization founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale to challenge police brutality against the African American community. This links to the film because it demonstrates true historical views and shows an insight into the culture of black people.

istic and alternative uncolonized Africa