MOJO Anaylasis

The MOJO magazine cover is very neat and packed with information. The banner, saying MOJO, is stretched across the magazine, being very bold. However, it may be eye-catching, but it is not made to be the most obvious thing on there. They do this by covering up one of the letters with the main-splash image and by making headlines almost as big. As it is the company of the magazine they want you to know who they are, so that is why they make it big.

The main-splash image is of David Bowie. They make the image of him stretch over the whole magazine and therefore someone looking at the magazine can see that he is a big feature within it.
Then, the main headline is made massive so that, if you don't know who the person on the front is, you get a good idea. They make the main headline about the main-splash and so on this magazine BOWIE is made massive and spread over the middle of the image.  What actually is in the article is put into little snippets surrounding the word 'BOWIE' which tells the reader that because they surround that particular word, the 'new interviews' are something to do with David Bowie.

There are two puffs on the cover of this magazine. One consists of three different colours, black, yellow and red and so is very bright. The other one also has three different colours, black, white and pink with an image in the centre. Those two puffs of the magazine are the only things that don't follow the colour scheme. The full magazine follows the colours of faded blue, white and black.

Other than the main image, the only other picture on there is very small and only a headshot. It is placed in the right corner of the magazine therefore seeming less important than the rest of the features on the magazine.

Magazine Cover

MUSIC VIDEO CODES AND CONVENTIONS

Wheatus Teenage Dirtbag

MUSIC VIDEO CODES AND CONVENTIONS

Sk8ter Boi (Avril Lavigne)

1. Performance - the singer / band are seen to be playing, to provide authenticity, so that followers believe in the talent and can see their star. Record labels sign stars and promote them  to ensure sales.
2. Star - use of close-ups, sometimes direct eye contact with audience, to build relationship with audience
3. The visuals (what the star and other characters are seen doing) illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics (the 'story in the words'). Illustration = the visuals play out the story more or less literally; amplify = the words in the lyrics are only the starting point and the story develops in other directions; contradiction / disjuncture = the visuals do not interpret the words of the lyrics and may even show something contradictory.
4. The narrative usually features the performer in 'real life' situations but often with experimental types of film making such as hand-held, dramatic camera angles, symbolic codes and lighting
5. The visuals are usually cut to the beat of the music; the editing is often fast-paced; there is often use of montage, ellipsis and intercutting, stylish effects
6. Refrain - repeated chorus, sometimes with variations
7. Intertextuality - references to other media, films, performances, events

Avril Lavigne is shown throughout her video, called Sk8ter Boi, singing and drawing a huge crowd around her. She is shown playing a guitar, singing music with a mike, surrounded by adoring fans, chasing her and screaming at her. She sings with a strong passion, energy and certainty. Different hand movements and facial expressions, shown well by close-ups, give off a happy almost jeering mood and feeling about her. She is performing for her fans and singing (lip-syncing) the words perfectly and confidently.

 Her clothes and actions reflect her personality in the music video. She also makes a lot of direct eye-contact with the camera often, to show a closeness with the audience. There is a moment when there is a slightly softer bit in the song, where she looks into a camera adoringly, which her boyfriend is supposedly holding, and acts all pretty and nice for him . This is  a visual that plays  out with the lyrics, showing Avril Levigne's better relationship with 'Sk8ter Boi'. There is also quite a hard beat which reflects the punk actions and fast cuts from the video. A lot of the cuts would be in time with the music, hard, jumpy and then flicking back to similar images again.

The video ends with Avril breaking a car window, with her guitar, before a helicopter is seen hovering above. The different dramatic camera angles, show her hair flying above her and her dark make-up encasing her eyes, creased with worry. There were only two glimpses of Ballet girl, the one talked about in the song, and it was more focused on the success of Avril herself.

The chorus is different, in a way that the words are altered each time Avril sings it. Each chorus has the same tune but is reflective of the last words from the last verse.

EDITING

PREP Analyse how editing is used in the extract from Cuffs to create meaning. Refer to at least two examples from the extract in your answer. (This means that a good candidate will write fully and freely, covering more than just 2 examples, as we practised in class).
Worth 5 marks: write half a side of A4 and post on your blog tonight. If you have DoE, take an extra 24 hours.

In the first episode of Cuffs, we understand that Jake and his leading officer don't get on too well. However, during a scene in the changing room the editors use a shot reverse shot to signal the sensitive moment between the two. During that moment the shot reverse shot helps the watcher see that they are starting to bond and the fact the leading officer is offering for him to join them with their training is big step for their relationship, as at first it is extremely rocky.

Another example of editing in Cuffs is when the four police officers are training together. There is a dissolve transition used as we see that they do multiple laps and so the characters begin to fade over one another. It starts off where all of them are running from cone to cone before a time laps occurs, showing a more sweaty, tired version of them, over top of the more confident version.