mock rewrite

1. Zoe Ramsdale-Clark – Mock Rewrite
1a)
Digital Technology and the notion of Creativity had a massive role in the production
of my foundation and advanced portfolio’s over the two years of creating my
coursework. Throughout both tasks, one of the most poignant piece of technology
was the internet, allowing me to interactively carry out similar product research for
both my music magazine ‘Sound’ and music video ‘Maps’ by Maroon 5. It also
allowed me to present my work through the website blogger in which I have been
able to show the planning and research tasks which have allowed me to develop
from the print based task at AS level, to the video production at A2.
One of the key pieces of digital technology that I used when I produced my
foundation portfolio was the software Adobe InDesign CS6. As I had used this
programme to formulate a magazine prior to this, I was familiar with the tools and did
not have to use up too much time watching videotutorials. One of the key parts of
the processinwhichI mademy music magazine wasthescaffoldingof the magazine.
The scaffolding refersto me planning the layout and colours prior to inputting things
such as images and text. In terms of this process and creativity, it allow ed me to
decide what colours would make up the general house style of the magazine – teal,
black and white – and then use the pre-set tool to create the coloursI wish to useand
input them into the software. The colours chosen are extremely important as it must
look aestheticallypleasingtomy chosenaudience;thereforethepre-settoolwasvital
in order for me to keep the consistency of colour throughout the magazine.
Through the need to develop my skills from what I had used when producing my
foundation portfolio, I used InDesign once again to produce a vital prop in which
would feature throughout the music video. However, to develop my skills beyond
what I had previously utilised, I was introduced to another Adobe programme called
Premiere CS6. Prior to this, I had hardly used the programme, so in order to grasp the
basics and develop my understanding of editing video footage; I used the school’s
media website and YouTube to view some tutorials. One point that I came across
which I found vitally important in the post production process of editing was the
brightness and contrast tool. When filming the opening sequence – an establishing
shot over London– I concluded that some footage was too dark, therefore I used the
contrast tool to adjust brightness levels to make it seem more aesthetically pleasing,
but also to make it easier for the audience to pinpoint some of London’s key
landmarks.
In reference to the production of my music magazine, probably the most vital piece
of digital technology used was the Canon 550D DSLR camera. This camera was what
I used to take the photos for my magazine’s front cover, contents page and double
page spread. With the camera set on automatic, I used extra lighting to brighten
photos whilst taking the images freehand to adjust angles. For example, I made the
creativedecision to use a close-up mid shot for the front over with the model directly
addressing the camera. I believed this would allow the audience to connect with the
model and respond by buying the magazine. However, I believe my photo choice
would not have been as successful if there were not to be the digital viewfinder
allowing me to view photos. Prior to this, I would have had to wait for images to be
developedbeforeI coulddecide onwhatimagesI wouldhavewantedtohaveused.
Expanding on the skills I gained at AS, I continued to use the Canon 550D DSLR
camera, however, instead of using it to take pictures, I used the camera to film the

2. Zoe Ramsdale-Clark – Mock Rewrite
footage needed to create a music video for my Advanced Portfolio. And rather than
using the automatic settings as done so when completing my Foundation Portfolio,
the camera was set to manual which allowed me to adjust settings such as the
aperture - allowingme to determine how much light is let in through the lens - but also
the ISO, which overall, allows me to heighten the quality of my footage and make it
seem more aesthetically pleasing. For example, when filming the opening sequence
where the camera is positioned above London, the ISO was set to 100 as the large
amount of natural light was allowed into the lens, meaning the footage was of higher
quality than if it were to be set on 400 or 600 ISO. I continued to film the footage free
hand as I had done so when taking the images for my music magazine, however, I
did have the aid of a Steadicam to guarantee the footage was stable. Although, if
need be, I do have the ability to use the warp stabiliser tool to assure the footage
looks clean cut and professional.
In conclusion, I believe that these skills that I have developed over the process of
producing my foundation and advanced portfolio’s has allowed me to make
judgements and creative decisions based on what would best suit my target
audience, but has also allowed me to learn new ways to utilise the camera and
navigate the software available to me.
1b)
Media language is a social construct of language and texts made up of symbolism
and signs which allow the audience to create their own meanings and
understandings. These codes and signs all obtain a broadly accepted interpretation
known as a denotation. As well as a more culturally and socially defined one, known
as a connotation, which will create a number of meanings interpreted through the
eye of the viewer. I will discuss how thesevarious interpretationsof media language is
present in my advanced portfolio.
Regarded as the founder of semiotics, Saussure’s theory initiated the study of signs
and signifiers which are present to inform and manipulate audiences in order to
create passive readers. The signs within the medium I create are presented through
camera shots, angles and movement, and mise-en-scene (MES). He outlined that
everything has some meaning, but one cannot exist without the owner, meaning that
a sign cannot haveasignifier withoutmeaning,but a signifier and its meaning doesn’t
just exist. In terms of my music video, a vital sign that is present is the helicopter
positioned above the city of London. The helicopter signifies this idea of power and
control whilst looking down over the city. However, the imagery of the city signifies a
feeling of being lost and having this inability to find a needle in the haystack. This idea
of there being a sign demonstrates how there are many interpretations which
highlights the idea of these signifiers being a construction of society. Further on in the
music video,theaudiencesareshownthelyricsprintedon to a pieceof a map which
is a representation of the name of the song – Maps. This is a repetition of that feeling
of being lost, however, it could signify that this person is closer to ending the journey
as they now havethese toolsand apparatus to use in order for themto find their way.
Barthesputs forwardanotionby whichnarrativeisportrayed,whichhenarrowsdown
to 5 codes, such as the symbolic or the enigma code. He believes that there is this
galaxy of meanings by which everything is referential to something. In referenceto
the ‘Maps’music videoformedas a part of my advancedportfolio,theenigma code
of Barthesnarrativetheorycanbeapplied. Manyframeswithinthe sequenceconsists

3. Zoe Ramsdale-Clark – Mock Rewrite
of a hand revealing cards with lyrics on in various different locations, however the
audience are initially never shown their face which creates a sense of ambiguity,
causing the audience to question who this person is and what it is they are hiding. The
positioning of the lyrics on the pieces of the map could heighten the curiosity of the
audience, further asking the question of where it is this ‘mystery person’ wants to go.
To some extent, it could be argued that their questions have been answered at the
end of the music video when the frame in which the camera shoots widens to reveal
more of the person and sees a girl sit down and find what she is looking for – a picture.
Although, this could cause the audience to ask more questions – who is this person in
the photo and why was she so desperate to find it. Overall, Barthes narrative code
theory especially that of enigma, applies to the video with the curiosity of where this
journey portrayed will lead to.
To conclude,media languageis a toolthat is ever presentinvariousformsof medium,
allowing its audience to have their own interpretations of the signs existing in the
video.Intermsof my video,I haveutilisedthistoolto highlight the presenceof themes
of curiosity and the character following a journey which overall, is left down to the
audience to use the clues present to establish a decision of what message is being
portrayed.
3)
Postmodernism is an artistic movement that was first seen briefly in the late 20th
century, however, had significantly more influence fromthe late 1900s and onwards.
It displays this idea by which nothing is no longer original, whilst arguing that Meta
narratives no longer exist. Theorists such as Baudrilliard and Lyotard hav e a massive
influence on the postmodern movement and the influence of media texts,
highlighting ideologies fromgeneric blurring, pastiche and hyperreality, as well as the
notion of something being more human than human.
Intertextual referencing is a key postmodern notion by which an author borrows
aspects of another’s work and includes it in their own in a nostalgic way, paying
homage to the original piece. This is evident in Katy Perry’s This is How We Do music
video (2014, directed by Joel Kefali) through the referencing of 1970s comical
character Pee Wee Herman, who featured in various television programmes and a
feature film. This is shown through her back up dancers’ costumes – they are dressed
in the grey suit and red tie as he would with the slicked back hair and dancing
comically – such as them bouncing around on their feet whilst crouching down. This
links back to the postmodern ideology of everything lacking originality and the
inability for artists to form their own ideas.
This notion of intertextual referencing is also similar to Jameson’s theory of pasticheby
which artists duplicate others work. Jameson argues that pastiche is most likely to be
deemed postmodernism’s most significant and important concept. He believesthat
the idea of pastiche and it paying homage to whilst replicating work in a tasteful way
has overtaken Hutcheon’s ideology of parody which he disputes for mimicking and
disgracing the work of other artists. This concept of pasticheis evident in Perry’s ‘This is
How We Do’ when she pays homage to Mondrian’s de Stijl art movement, a very
important concept which has influenced many artists in terms of musicians and their
merchandise. An example of this is in the video where the background they are
dancing against features his artwork, as well as Perry also replicating YSL’s Mondrian
dress – a fashion piece by which the patterned artwork he has produced featureson

4. Zoe Ramsdale-Clark – Mock Rewrite
the dress. This highlights how postmodern ideology is still evident in today’s modern
society as the notion of pastiche exists through the influence that artwork has on
various products that have been produced.
Postmodernists argue that there no such thing as reality with society no longer being
able to tell the difference between what is and is not real. This idea is known as
hyperreality, a concept that is evident in Spike Jonze’s 2013 film Her. The plot of the
film revolves around this idea of a man falling in love with his operating system. During
the film, the operating system – Samantha – discusses with the main character –
Theodore – this idea of herself knowing loves boundaries, suggesting to the audience
he does not. This could be signifying that there is no longer a differentiation between
reality and technology. The term ‘hyperreality’ could be a link to the postmodern
ideology of something being ‘more human than human.’ An idea by which these
various forms of digital technology are becoming more and more human like and
realistic. This is evident in Jonze’s ‘Her’ when they talk about Samantha and her
personality – the OS poignantly states to Theo that “Unlike you, at least I never forget
I am not human.” - Even though her lack of humanness is hardly a limiting factor of
her humanity as she still does have the capacity to be intimate and empathetic.
However, since when do phones and operating systems have names? This idea is like
that of Apple’s Siri and Nokia’s Cortana, highlighting a sense of confusion as to how
technologically developed things have become as to us no longer having to
manually find out the information ourselves on google or in a book.
Furthermore, hyperreality and the notion of something being more human than
human link to the idea of generic blurring. This is an idea which suggests that there is
no longer one clear meaning or direction. For example, Jonze’s ‘Her’ may seem like it
followsthesci-figenrewithitsfuturistic,technologicalfuelledtheme.However,thefilm
is quite eclectic by which is made up of other genres, including Rom-com – evident
through the boy meets girl storyline by which the camera highlights the visual
progressionof Theoand Samantha’s budding relationship.Some of thefilms audience
may find the concept in which a man falling in love with his computer quite disturbing
or illogical, whereas others might be open to the idea of new found love, even if it is
something abnormal.
To conclude, postmodernismas an artistic movement will alwaysinfer some meaning
to other texts. However, postmodernismin itself is slightly self-contradictory in terms of
saying that meta-narratives do not exist, as the theoryitself could be regarded as one
because it is something that people do believein. Furthermore, it must be recognised
that some modernist ideologies will alsofeature, as it could be seen that some notions
within postmodern theory. However, I believe that postmodernism itself as a theory
could develop in terms of it no longer ignoring the past and leaving questions
unanswered, therefore, allowing the audience to feel like there is less ambiguity, as
seen in something that would be considered modern.