THIS GIRL CAN

THIS GIRL CAN

View Video Here

This Girl Can is a  nationwide campaign to get women and girls moving, regardless of shape, size and ability.This Girl Can celebrates the women who are doing their thing no matter how they do it, how they look or even how sweaty they get. Millions of women and girls are afraid to exercise because of fear of judgement.  The "This Girl Can" video is one campaign that fights against gender stereotypes and roles. A variety of camera shots are used to create specific techniques. 

Close-up shots are used to create emotion, for example here, the close up on the women's faces makes the audience feel involved with her feelings as it shows the audience that she is quiet clearly enjoying her form of workout.

Long shots are also used where more information about the character or the situation is required, for example this female here is seen to be kicking a football across her training pitch.

Additionally, the use of camera movements are used to create emphasis and definition on the shot. Tracking shots for example are used when the camera follows the character or the action, the effect is to make the audience feel involved in the action, this can be specifically seen in the scene where a woman is running up the hill towards the camera as the camera moves back, this is known as a reverse track. (0,11-0.12s)

Audio and Visual codes also play a significant role in the scenes for examples, the facial expressions of the women suggest to the audience how much work and effort they are putting into their workouts. The choice of music or the specific song used will convey narrative information to the audience, in this instance Missy Elliot's Get Your Freak On has a fast tempo, and a upbeat pace in reference to the women getting "down and dirty"  in regards to sweating, 

Zuckerberg To Bring Internet To Refugee Camps

This is a news article by Sky News ( who Rupert Murdoch has shares in), written and published on Sunday 27th September.

With the title - Zuckerberg To Bring Internet To Refugee Camps - this article talks about Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO & founder of Facebook, designing the idea of bringing internet connectivity to refugees. The whole talk of refugees is somewhat a hot topic so it's already an attention grabbing headline. The Facebook founder and CEO made the announcement as he addressed the UN Private
Sector Forum. The caption beneath the eye grabbing headline is The Facebook founder and CEO made the announcement as he addressed the UN Private Sector Forum.  

Much further below there is was an image of Zuckerburg and his wife, who is expecting their first child, at the White House at the weekend.  Zuckerburg is also quoted saying "Connectivity will help refugees better access support from the aid community and maintain their links to families"

TV Commercial

Now as part of my recent media assignments, I was told to pick an TV commercial and somewhat pick it apart and analyse the audio, visual and technical codes features. I was torn between two amazing commercials but I eventually decided on one cause not only is it an generally mesmerising advert but the technical side behind it is also very interesting too. 


This 2005 Volkswagen Golf GTI is amazing in so many ways that even BBC News and The Guardian had to write an article on the tech behind it. The very concept of the video is what makes it so very intriguing, it was a modern take on Gene Kelly's Singing In The Rain but instead of Gene Kelly doing that very classic and timeless routine, there was a dancer in the shape and form of Kelly doing some honestly very amazing break dancing moves. The magic behind the tech had many wondering if  that really was a man dancing, or is it all done by computer? Have they somehow manipulated the original film? Or have they really gone to the trouble of rebuilding a set in exacting detail?

The simple answer to whether the advert is computer trickery or an elaborate reconstruction is that it's a bit of both. But yes, the producers did go to the trouble of building an exact replica set, and yes, it is a real human dancing. It is honestly quite amazing what technology can do these days. Dancer, David Elsewhere, was the man behind the dancing with Kelly's face behind mapped onto his. The set for this advert was built at Shepperton Studios, complete with practically everything that would have been there at the filming of the 1952 classic film, including fake cobbles, fire hydrants, shopfronts, lamp-posts, and of course rain (60 gallons of water per second)

 The audio is Mint Royale - Singing In The Rain Remix so it all seems to fit the theme quite well and the dancing in fact. 
So that's the audio and visual codes covered, so what about the technical codes? I was having a little trouble discovering what it was, so I done a little research

Technical codes are all the ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text.

The camera work in this particular advert is used to tell a very unique story here. The lighting here is very lowkey and low contrast with very selective focus on 'Gene' as too much focus would make it much easier for the audience to identify the dancer as 'Gene' although it's all an technical illusion.

Gender Equality

Firstly, what is gender equality?
the state in which access to rights or opportunities is unaffected by gender.

Now the second question is, does today's society uphold the idea of gender equality in media or is it all a misconception? And if so where does it stem from?

It can be quite clear to see that gender equality in today's media is quite far from existent.

Let's take a look at some recent magazines.

GQ, for example

We see a young, successful, black (wow) man by the name of Lebron James all suited and booted on the cover of the February 2009 issue surrounded by sub heading and titles that not only empower him as a man but do not degrade him, or men in general, in any shape or form. We see words and phrases such as King  and only 24 and just getting started suggesting to the audience great masculine authority here while the rest of the headings talk about your general manly stuff - cars, food, suits etc. He poses wearing a sharp suit and a very subtle smile. Nothing wrong with this, right?
Now let's look at a female magazine;

Cosmopolitan, for example

The first word we see is not even the title but the word SEX  in big capital letters and this already gives readers the general idea what the selling point of this magazine is. 21 Mind Blowing Sex Moves.  Crazy Sex Confessions. Best Birth Control Tips Ever.  It is very clear to see that this woman's magazine revolves around the idea of sex. We see a model in the middle of the cover sporting a very skimpy black and white dress while showing her ridiculously gorgeous long tanned legs. The model oozes sex appeal and although sex sells, doesn't she deserve more? Doesn't she deserve a magazines cover that shows her sex appeal but also advertises how strong and powerful she is as a women?


These are the most clearest examples of gender inequality in  the media. Why is the women's magazine full of sex and half naked women but the men's magazine advertises strong and masculine men with not one mention of sex? The women of today are downgraded as nothing more but sex objects when they have so much more to give. There are plenty of beautiful and successful women in today's society who are in touch with their sexuality who are seen as sex objects as if to say women aren't any good for anything besides sex.

A company who has repetitively been criticized for their ads is American Apparel.

 
This ad was banned in the UK because the Advertising Standards Authority thought the model's pose was "gratuitous… overtly sexual and that they demeaned women."

The panel on the left side of the ad is overtly sexual and only tangentially sock related. And the gender of this model? Female. In comparison to the men's ads in AA, they are nowhere near as sexualised.  
American Apparel is never too far from controversy as seen in this article.


Overall, gender equality is a belief women have been fighting for decades dating way back to the late 19th Century( and ever further) with the Suffragettes campaigning for suffrage which eventually came for us 1928 after many losing their life during hunger strikes and Emily Davidson being trampled by the King's Horse. We are no different to the men around us so why the labels " whore", "slut" and "hoe" stick with females and not with males while they engage in the same sexual activity as us is just another example of gender inequality. Hopefully,we won't have to go to such drastic measures like the Suffragettes to get gender equality in the media as it should be something we should be entitled to from the day we are born. 

Horny Spiders Invasion??

Horny Spiders Home Invasion

This story comes from The Sun, a tabloid newspaper which is known for 'comical' articles and sensational stories, and written by Alana Moorhead
Headline of the story - Giant horny spiders will soon be invading our homes – gives the slight scare factor and even funny element to the story with 'Giant' and 'Horny' drawing in readers and shocking them with such a comical headline. The address of 'our homes' shows how it's directed towards us, the readers/audience.

The caption underneath the last image describes the insects as an 'eight legged creepy crawlies” showing a very clear element of informality in this news article. The intention of this article from the perspective of the journalist is clearly to warn readers of said 'horny spiders' entering our homes but writer, Moorhead, added a comical element to the story to make it more light-hearted instead of alarming by comparing the 7.5cm spider to the size of your 'little finger'.

Amani Chambers  

Introduction

A short and sweet introduction about me.