Colour
Colour can determine how a article or picture is presented and it helps the audience relate or understand whats join on in the picture, whether it be positive or negative. The way the text is presented in could add passion or spirit into the story or article reaching out to the audience and establishing an emotional link. For example, the sun uses quite bold, simple text for more simple people whilst the 'Times' uses more formal text aimed at more sophisticated people.
As seen by the image to the right there is the typical Sun logo but the use of black connotes the sinister behaviour behind the story and signals him out amongst the chaos of the layout. The lack of saturation within the face of the man suggests that we are not supposed to see him in a good way and he has done something wrong.
As you see above there is sub sections that are highlighted in various different colours that are supposed to represent the nature of the sections. For example, the sport section is highlighted in green to represent
Colour plays an important role in soap as well as seen by the screen shot above there is various contrasts that would not be picked up if the scene was filmed in black and white. For example, the green plant contrasts with the gash on the young girls head, drawing our attention to the fact that she is hurt, the main factor that affects soap when colour is introduced is the eye path and what each object or person means to us emotionally. If this shot was black and white it would appear to be dirt on the girls head, changing the atmosphere completely.
Language
Language will also emphasis the text or spoken words and add passion of whatever the subject may be. For example, slang could be interpreted as a rough or common style. In clips below you can see the 'rough' lingo that is portrayed for low economic status, it gives a certain demeanour to anything said with a relaxed yet aggressive tone. I've linked the examples of this shown.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
In the extract below you will see a Republican speaking about his causes, and the tone of voice he uses is very loud and rough, even though he is speaking formally. This style of speech is normally aimed at older audiences due to the loud, scary tone of voice used to get his point across.
Language is a distinctive factor in the demographic for newspapers. The type of language that is used for a broadsheet is far different from a tabloid. For example, the Moors murderer Ian Brady has come up recently in the news and the coverage from the Guardian and the Sun have been completely different writing styles, the guardian goes into what illnesses he has and what it is whilst the Sun simply states it as a mental illness, without using using any of the technical terminology that the guardian uses. I have posted two examples below to show the comparisons. the article on top is from the Sun and the article below that is from the Guardian.
The Sun
The Guardian
Text
The text seen in Coronation Street reflects the tradition of the long running years that the show has been on. Even though the show has moved on in various ways in style and content, we are still left with the classic text that resembles Coronation street, giving us a sense of nostalgia, as if Coronation Street owns that text.
Hollyoaks follows a similar path a 'The Sun' goes down, the intro has the title featured within it and it is very thin and simplistic, viewers of this calibre prefer to see such text as this as it appears right in this style of soap, with simplistic story lines, acting skills and production value seems to fit the simple text.
The Guardian has won various awards for the layout of the website, text being a contributor to this, The Guardian is a broadsheet, aimed at sophisticated people so it would be obvious that the online variant translates to the same audience. The use of a very classical type of font that's very similar to coronation streets. The film section in Culture, has a section where there are various links to general articles, these link have icons by them to help differentiate the sub titles i.e. 'hot topics' has a flamed icon next to it.This is also easier to understand the connotation if you're not familiar to English.
The Sun on the other hand focuses more on drawing our attention to the paper with contrasting colours and simple rounded lettering and lots of capital letters for simple readers. This does not seem as intellectual and it definitely reflects that when reading it, the reader is drawn to the text but not hooked onto it with it's lack of details and simplistic words. On the Sun's online page it features this hot bar at the top:
It does not give us a wide range of options and the small bland text does not help, with a boring font and no distinctive colour scheme, we find ourselves indecisive to what we're looking for as it looks as if it was a pallet with one block colour smeared across it.
Music
Music influences the sub culture or the feeling of a video or film, for example if the music is quite angelic, the visual will be of something peaceful and the audience will feel peaceful as well. The use of sharp piano keys is used at a high pitch to create an eerie effect thus making the audience tense. there is a musical notify used for the shark which when its played signifies that the shark is approaching.
For example the video above is from a scene in jaws that shows a suspenseful scene without the orchestral music and plays it again with the music and you can really hear the difference, the scene lacks emotional value and will not fill the viewer with the amount of suspense that it would if the music was included.
Eastenders features many cockney characters and within the theme tune (whether you may not know) the aspect of cockneys is connoted. To be classified as a cockney you needed to be born within the sound range of bow bells and if you would listen carefully, the eastenders theme tune is actually a series of bells, this connotes the whole aspect of the show without you knowing.
Music is also featured in print as a type of fishing hook to obtain more readership, the image on the left is a screenshot from the guardian website where is showcases new music and even has music videos that you are able to steam straight from the site.This is done to branch out to listeners of the associated musicians that are featured and there is even an app on Spotify to showcase the featured songs/ albums. This then has the potential to draw users in that have accounts on spotify, which is a large audience.
Images
In soap images can play an important role in what they are trying to portray in a compiled number of pictures. Single images on their own does not always convey an entire issue. The various images of Phil Mitchell drinking and down in the dumps is a compilation that shows that this man has spiralled down into this sort of hole of depression. Below are only a few of those images.
Simple things have an impact on the audience of a piece of media such as images whether it be of a dying child or a group of puppies, most viewers need a guideline on what the article is about. The nature of a picture can effect the perception it is viewed in and the context of the text can vary depending on whatever the image is.
For example, the image above is obviously showing a boy who has become a father at the age of 13 years old, simply reading only the text does not fully demonstrate the seriousness of the situation, but seeing the 'baby faced' father next to the baby shows the comparison that they could be brother and sister. The 13 year old boy is seen in a crawl position showing his child like exterior, this goes along side his baby face which is still infant like and hi9s small size, showing that he is on the same scale of the baby. These factors help us understand how found and irresp
baby face
size
In the broadsheets there are also articles where the image changes the overlook of the story all together. Broadsheets are intellectual papers and the images aren't as used as tabloids but just as important. Above, there is an article about 'News of the world' hacking a missing girl's voicemail. The story itself is disrespectful but the image of the girl next to the article reinforces the readers emotions for sympathy and adds to the impact of the story.
Sounds effects can be the key element to a feature film or a short video, they emphasise certain movements or actions in the piece, most feature film's raw footage looks no where as good as when it is polished off by the editing crew. Most common sound effects used are normally to do with violence as they would not want the actor to get hurt.
The scene above (ignoring the bad quality recorded) is a scene from Hollyoaks and is the scene where Texas dies from falling out of a window. During the beginning of the clip there is a soft angelic noise followed by individual piano keys, this makes us understand the seriousness of the situation and attracts out attention to every word they're saying as we know that this is a heart to heart conversation and the soundtrack reinforces that. Then in a struggle the woman 'Texas' slaps the man who I presume is the groom, this tells us how upset and distraught the character is and reinforces the emotion we feel upon their pending relationship, and we wait in anticipation for what reaction is to come. It then cuts to another woman who is burning the bride placement card that is in the dining area, during this the soundtrack morphs into a eerie high pitch sound to have an impact on the audience that this lady is deranged and is out for mayhem, then when the actual shot of the card burning is featured, the soundtrack changes to deep and scary and this reinforces our emotions that she is a evil character who is now treated to be suspicious. There is then a photographer directing a group of people that are casually talking among themselves, this gives us a sense of peace and normality. We then hear a glass smashing this reinforces the chaotic mood that is set in this scene and is then followed by the angelic soundtrack that is heard, this is a contrast to the scene as the music is peaceful and the maddening death . Although I say this, the music makes the death elegant and majestic, making us feel shocked but interested and eager to see more at the same time.
Sound effects also feature in online newspapers, there is dedicated videos towards the specific sections of this online paper. The screenshot to the left shows a video that features in the 'Arts & Culture' section of the online Guardian. The intro sound effect sums up the fact that this is an online Broadsheet, it is a shutter sound followed by a synthesised noise. It is very formal and neat to portray the intellectual side to this newspaper, you wouldn't find this sort of intro in a tabloids website video like 'The Sun'. It makes us feel as if we're watching a intellectual video and that we are going to learn something.Performers
Performers are a vital part to a performance or a video, all depending on whether they meet the expectations of the director, the whole production could rely on whether the actors create an emotional connection to the scene. The thing with actors is that they could make the best written scene terrible and the worst written scene amazing. A performer that is featured all the time in a soap racks up a certain reputation and when there is an interesting story that they are inked into is taking place, the viewers are more attuned to watch in anticipation. For example, in 1999 Bianca Jackson, from Eastenders (played by Patsy Palmer) left the show and when the return of her was announced in 2002, the anticipation raised dramatically for fans of her awaiting the moment she strolled into the square once again.
Peter Bradshaw (left) is a well known film reviewer for the Guardian and is popular amongst their readers, not quite a performer but is liked for his particular style and content and seems to appeal the readers, he has many review that are in video format.Richard Littlejohn (right) is a reviewer and journalist who features in the Daily Mail, he has became a figure for writing review and articles in a frequent format so in a way, hue . . is the closest thing that the print has towards a performer.
Mis en scene
Mis En Scene creates meaning because it leads us to believe that we are looking at a real piece, not an act. Everybody knows that it's all in the details and mis en scene fills in this gap perfectly as it is the props, costumes etc that make a audio visual believable. For example, if you were watching a soap about the police and the actors were not in police uniforms you would feel as if there wasn't a sense of verisimilitude. Again, with the image above to the right, these youngsters are meant to appear intimidating but it is mostly due to them wearing hooded jackets but if you were to imagine, these three individuals, wearing t-shirts and shorts then it does not portray the rough exterior as well, and this is vital in creating realism in visual pieces.Props
Props, like the costumes are vital in sustaining the viewers belief in the television show or movie. Movies typically SCI-FI and horror are vital genres to require props but any genre can just as well be needing the visage of props. For example, the film 'Full Metal Jacket' wouldn't be as believable without the military equipment it would almost have no impact on the audience.
Soaps are frequent users for props and they are just small details that complete the scenes and link the connection from fiction to non fiction. frequent props are used on the smallest scale from cigarettes to phones, soaps are full of them. For example, in this image of an Eastenders character called Dot Cotton who is seen smoking, we find ourselves fully gullible to the visage that this woman is run down and putting her health on the line. I found that this character would not have as much of an impact if she was to be sitting alone with no props. the list goes on for props such as kettles, stoves and even beer dispensers.
Props are often used within photo shoots in newspapers normally to connote the story or a certain message. For example the image to the left consists of Helen Flanagan holding a prop gun to her head, this caused controversy as there was a school shooting around the same time and the Corrie star had to apologise on t.v.However, the Sun and the Guardian covered this completely different below is the Sun's coverage (but there's not much covered) they purposely included the breasts of the star for their simple minded audience and has very little on the matter.
Now below this paragraph there is the Guardians coverage, they covered the breast area and have included much more information on the matter at hand, this is what a simple prop in a picture can do to a star and what a stir it can make upon the audience.
Connotation
Connotation helps a piece of media become more intellectual because it gives a word or phrase a back meaning that you have to think about for example, a cross is a symbol of a religion. Connotation relates to anything that may be associated with the word or phrase for example, an implied judgement feelings or value.
Connotation is featured in soap frequently as they usually rely on small aspects to justify meanings in what is going on. For example, below there is a picture of phil mitchell drinking heavily, the connotation here is that he is undergoing tough times and the only way he thinks to solve these 'problems' is to intoxicate himself.
Connotation is also featured within print content, how it is displayed is completely up to whether it is a tabloid or a broadsheet newspaper, below there is an image of the Sun's front page when were informed that bin laden had been executed during a raid. If you only take the main heading 'BIN BAGGED' and analysed this then you are aware that he has been killed without it directly telling you, 'bin bagged' connotes his body being like a bag of rubbish that has been thrown out, if you read on then you would find that his body had been thrown into the sea as if he was dumped like a bin bag.
However the guardian uses emotions more than anything to connote feelings when looking at that front page to the left, I instantly feel as if this child is the innocent victim in this article. The big eyes that are featured are also part of the reason why this is eye catching, we seem to naturally look upon the eyes first of all and this entices us to read on as we have the backstage emotion of sympathy for this child all because of this picture.
Denotation
Denotation does the opposite to what a connotation does, it literally gives you what you're looking for or at. It sometimes helps if the audience isn't capable of understanding the connotation. For example, a simple cartoon hearts denotation is an actual heart, as the connotation is love and affection.
The image below is from Eastenders and contains the character 'Phil Mitchell' he has an angry expression on his face and this literally shows us that he is furious with that blonde haired lady.
Denotation in print is often featured to simply determine what is going on within pictures and to identify people, for example, in the image to the right the policeman are dressed in police uniforms which mean that they are part of the police force. this is equally seen within tabloids and broadsheets and is as equally effective.
Signification
Signification sets its purpose to help the audience know certain things without them literally being in sight, to signify something with another action. For example, if a character is having morning sickness, it suggests that she is pregnant.
In soap this is popular with showing the worst side in people, normally in hard times with use of drug consumption or alcohol intake. To put this in visual terms, to the right there is an image of Dot Cotton, played by June Brown, she is frequently seen smoking but seems to always whip them out in times of distress, this signifies her stress levels art the time and informs us of what is going on in her head, at least the basis anyways.
Signification is equally as effective within print as it allows the article not to be direct with the story, tabloids are not usually a good example with this as they like to hit the point of the story straight on. To the left there is a bad example of what I'm talking about as they discuss it with the anchorage. But for example, without looking at the text, you see Jade Goody who is now bald and this is an obvious signification that she is under medical treatment of some sort, typically it is chemotherapy that creates hair loss and chemotherapy is normally used due to cancer, and that is how signification creates back information.
In broadsheets there is far more use of signification as the audience they target at is far more intellectual than tabloids audience, therefore they can understand the signification used with imagery and articles. For example, we see to our right an image of Barrack Obama with his wife Michelle Obama, their hands are grasped with their own hands and are side by side formally looking at the floor, showing that they are clearly in mourn of something that they are thinking about publicly, typically would be about a tragedy that was is in the past.
Iconography is usually used to gives characters iconic attributes and helps the audience figure out what type of person or place it is although this can be seen in print as well as soap. For example, in the old westerns, if someone rode in on a black horse wearing all black, it is trying to tell us that this type of person is bad.
In soaps there is frequent use of iconography as characters outcome to the audience is mostly determined on how they appear to us, for example, to the left we see an image of Derek Branning who features in Eastenders and played by Jamie Foreman. His character is pure evil and his character preference reflects this. He gives off the 'hard' stereotypical mobster look and carries it off well, with bold features and a grizzly voice he fits the 'villain' very well in Eastenders.
Although you might think this is only valued in soap, you're wrong! In print Iconography is used all the time to back up the story and the viewers feelings towards the photograph related to the story. For example, in the image to the right we see our Prime Minister David Cameron who is portrayed from a lower angle to represent his authority, and the caption 'HOPE' reflects the message that he is our hope. The colours also signify the nationality that he is as it is red blue and white, the colours of the union jack.Anchorage
Anchorage is used in media to attach meaning to something through either the juxtaposition of two images which construct a meaning or the matching of words to images.
For example in advertising, an image alone is polysemic- open to a range of interpretations. To clarify what the image means and so to make the image relevant to the purpose of the advert, text can be added to give the viewer a better understanding towards the image. For example, in print we can find an image of the Sun's coverage of Michael Jackson's death. The photograph is of michael Jackson looking tired and run down. It is only then apparent what happened to him in the anchorage, it says 'JACKO'S AUTOPSY' this indicates he's dead obviously, then in bulletpoints it has listed the actual treatments used on Michael. We wouldn't of known what had happened unless the anchorage was there.
Anchorage in Broadsheets is normally not as in your face and consists of smaller writing. For example the image on the right is from the Guardian and consists of two fighter jets soaring through the sky and we don't quite understand what is happening, we understand that it is most likely to do with war but the anchorage fully determines what it is about. We wouldn't of known that this article was specifically about without the anchorage, although i found that it was more clear than the Sun. The text immediately below the photograph states 'Tornado GR4 fighter jets take off from raft in norfolk. Britain, France and the US say a military force could leave for libya very shortly if a no fly zone is approved' we could not have known at all without the use of anchorage.
Anchorage in soaps is rare to find as it is not conventionally used upon. The form it is presented in is as followed, in the Eastenders theme tune there is the title 'Eastenders' in white lettering, the Eastenders title is rather clever as the show is set in the East end and that fits into the title Eastenders.
Meaning created through techniques
Cropping
Cropping is used to sharpen clips if they are too long and make them flow thoroughly. This helps the audience feel as if they was watching a realistic film. For example, if there was a few seconds at the end of a two way conversion for every time someone spoke, it would seem really artificial. When cropping a shot, it is normally due to there being something in the shot that the creators don't want to be there, to draw attention to the subject at matter.
In print, photographs are cropped all the time to support the focus of the image and what the story is about, it is hard to find a image that has been cropped in a newspaper but if you take the image above of the Eiffel tower, you can see that the cropped image focusses on
Sizing
Sizing is important if you are making a particular type of audio visual content, the size will depend on what is is you are doing. For example, a film will be around 1hour 30minutes whilst a documentary will be around 45-60 minutes. You get the sizing wrong you might end up putting in too much information or sometimes not enough. There have been instances, normally in americanised television where they have discovered something of importance like a relic and have been given an hour time slot so they have to fill it up with a lead up to what is normally a disappointment for the outcome at hand.Camera angles
Camera angles can be tricky if done wrong, when you create a piece of audio visual the camera angles and shots are important to give the right feel to the type of video you're making. For example, if you had a close up shot in a car chase would prove useless unless followed up by a tracking shot, . . because you wouldn't know what was going on.
In print, it is vital to capture the correct camera angles when they are showcasing a photograph for the necessary article, for example the image below is of a 15 year old girl who was attacked with acid this shot captures the affected areas of her burn and shows us what we need to see, although if this was a long shot, it would prove more than useless as we wouldn't see the damage done which is the main consensus of the story. Theme Music
One of the most important elements to a drama or a film is the theme music without this, the code is sometimes not understood. For example, if a character was to walk into a bar without any music it would be hard to distinguish what the deal is with him/her, but if evil, eerie music plays it tells us that this character is bad.
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Captions
Captions are used to add another message to usually pictures, normally in newspapers you will find added information underneath telling you more about whatever is going on. For example, if there was a picture of just a boy, the captions could say "Boy killed at age thirteen".
Font helps distinguish the way you mentally read a passage of text. For example, 'The Sun' has quite bold rounded text for a more eye-catching look but 'The Times' has quite formal text for quite sophisticated people.
Stars can prove to be viable in certain pieces, mostly due to the fact that some actors are especially good at playing certain roles. For example, Jason Statham is always playing a killer, because his acting abilities and appearances are suited to the role. Jason statham has a fan base that will watch the films that he is in, so that they will mostly have a reasonably sized audience that are more likely
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