The document discusses conventions in music videos and other media within the R&B pop genre. It analyzes the author's music video and other products in terms of their use of technical and symbolic conventions for elements like set design, lighting, costumes, and editing. While most conventions were followed to clearly position the work within the genre, some were challenged, such as opening the music video with a rapper rather than the female artist. Overall, the author felt conventions were mostly used to help audiences connect with the work and understand its genre.
A Strategic Approach: GenAI in EducationPeter Windle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies such as Generative AI, Image Generators and Large Language Models have had a dramatic impact on teaching, learning and assessment over the past 18 months. The most immediate threat AI posed was to Academic Integrity with Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) focusing their efforts on combating the use of GenAI in assessment. Guidelines were developed for staff and students, policies put in place too. Innovative educators have forged paths in the use of Generative AI for teaching, learning and assessments leading to pockets of transformation springing up across HEIs, often with little or no top-down guidance, support or direction.
This Gasta posits a strategic approach to integrating AI into HEIs to prepare staff, students and the curriculum for an evolving world and workplace. We will highlight the advantages of working with these technologies beyond the realm of teaching, learning and assessment by considering prompt engineering skills, industry impact, curriculum changes, and the need for staff upskilling. In contrast, not engaging strategically with Generative AI poses risks, including falling behind peers, missed opportunities and failing to ensure our graduates remain employable. The rapid evolution of AI technologies necessitates a proactive and strategic approach if we are to remain relevant.
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
Biological screening of herbal drugs: Introduction and Need for
Phyto-Pharmacological Screening, New Strategies for evaluating
Natural Products, In vitro evaluation techniques for Antioxidants, Antimicrobial and Anticancer drugs. In vivo evaluation techniques
for Anti-inflammatory, Antiulcer, Anticancer, Wound healing, Antidiabetic, Hepatoprotective, Cardio protective, Diuretics and
Antifertility, Toxicity studies as per OECD guidelines
June 3, 2024 Anti-Semitism Letter Sent to MIT President Kornbluth and MIT Cor...Levi Shapiro
Letter from the Congress of the United States regarding Anti-Semitism sent June 3rd to MIT President Sally Kornbluth, MIT Corp Chair, Mark Gorenberg
Dear Dr. Kornbluth and Mr. Gorenberg,
The US House of Representatives is deeply concerned by ongoing and pervasive acts of antisemitic
harassment and intimidation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Failing to act decisively to ensure a safe learning environment for all students would be a grave dereliction of your responsibilities as President of MIT and Chair of the MIT Corporation.
This Congress will not stand idly by and allow an environment hostile to Jewish students to persist. The House believes that your institution is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the inability or
unwillingness to rectify this violation through action requires accountability.
Postsecondary education is a unique opportunity for students to learn and have their ideas and beliefs challenged. However, universities receiving hundreds of millions of federal funds annually have denied
students that opportunity and have been hijacked to become venues for the promotion of terrorism, antisemitic harassment and intimidation, unlawful encampments, and in some cases, assaults and riots.
The House of Representatives will not countenance the use of federal funds to indoctrinate students into hateful, antisemitic, anti-American supporters of terrorism. Investigations into campus antisemitism by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Ways and Means have been expanded into a Congress-wide probe across all relevant jurisdictions to address this national crisis. The undersigned Committees will conduct oversight into the use of federal funds at MIT and its learning environment under authorities granted to each Committee.
• The Committee on Education and the Workforce has been investigating your institution since December 7, 2023. The Committee has broad jurisdiction over postsecondary education, including its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, campus safety concerns over disruptions to the learning environment, and the awarding of federal student aid under the Higher Education Act.
• The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the sources of funding and other support flowing to groups espousing pro-Hamas propaganda and engaged in antisemitic harassment and intimidation of students. The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the US House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X.
• The Committee on Ways and Means has been investigating several universities since November 15, 2023, when the Committee held a hearing entitled From Ivory Towers to Dark Corners: Investigating the Nexus Between Antisemitism, Tax-Exempt Universities, and Terror Financing. The Committee followed the hearing with letters to those institutions on January 10, 202
2024.06.01 Introducing a competency framework for languag learning materials ...Sandy Millin
http://sandymillin.wordpress.com/iateflwebinar2024
Published classroom materials form the basis of syllabuses, drive teacher professional development, and have a potentially huge influence on learners, teachers and education systems. All teachers also create their own materials, whether a few sentences on a blackboard, a highly-structured fully-realised online course, or anything in between. Despite this, the knowledge and skills needed to create effective language learning materials are rarely part of teacher training, and are mostly learnt by trial and error.
Knowledge and skills frameworks, generally called competency frameworks, for ELT teachers, trainers and managers have existed for a few years now. However, until I created one for my MA dissertation, there wasn’t one drawing together what we need to know and do to be able to effectively produce language learning materials.
This webinar will introduce you to my framework, highlighting the key competencies I identified from my research. It will also show how anybody involved in language teaching (any language, not just English!), teacher training, managing schools or developing language learning materials can benefit from using the framework.
Macroeconomics- Movie Location
This will be used as part of your Personal Professional Portfolio once graded.
Objective:
Prepare a presentation or a paper using research, basic comparative analysis, data organization and application of economic information. You will make an informed assessment of an economic climate outside of the United States to accomplish an entertainment industry objective.
Operation “Blue Star” is the only event in the history of Independent India where the state went into war with its own people. Even after about 40 years it is not clear if it was culmination of states anger over people of the region, a political game of power or start of dictatorial chapter in the democratic setup.
The people of Punjab felt alienated from main stream due to denial of their just demands during a long democratic struggle since independence. As it happen all over the word, it led to militant struggle with great loss of lives of military, police and civilian personnel. Killing of Indira Gandhi and massacre of innocent Sikhs in Delhi and other India cities was also associated with this movement.
Unit 8 - Information and Communication Technology (Paper I).pdfThiyagu K
This slides describes the basic concepts of ICT, basics of Email, Emerging Technology and Digital Initiatives in Education. This presentations aligns with the UGC Paper I syllabus.
Digital Tools and AI for Teaching Learning and Research
Evaluation task 1
1. EVALUATION TASK 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
By Saskia Tarn
2. CONVENTIONS
• Conventions in the music industry are essentially signs, which create a
meaning. The conventions in music is what allows them to be put into a
specific genre by portraying stereotypes. Conventions and stereotypes
are crucial as it means an audience are able to identify the genre of
something, in my case a music campaign that includes; a digipak,
website and music video. In relation to music videos, conventions are
generally based around things such as Editing, Set design, Camera
angels and Cast.
3. CONVENTIONS
• Conventions are divided up into two categories, Technical and Symbolic
• Technical conventions are the ways in which the equipment is used to
help tell a story in a media text, for example the camera work in a music
video help show meanings through the different typography that may
be used.
• Symbolic conventions are what is shown beneath the surface, for
example through an artist’s costume or facial expressions there will be
an underlining reason to their actions for instance it will give the
audience an insight into how they are feeling.
4. ALL THE ARTISTS I HAVE LOOKED AT
AND COMPARED IN MY SLIDE SHARE:
• Usher
• Jennifer Lopez
• Ne-Yo
• Beyoncé, Shakira – Beautiful Liar.
• Destiny’s child – Say My name
• Mariah Carey’s – I don’t ft. YG
• Ciara’s Dance like we’re making love
• Brandy’s put it down feat Chris Brown
• Kelly Rowland’s Ice ft Lil Wayne
• Kelly’s Like this ft. Eve.
• Beyoncé’s Partition
• Ariane Grande’s focus
• Beyoncé – Digpak
• Ciara – Digpak
• Mary J Blige – Website
• Rhianna – Website
5. R&B POP GENRE
• My group produced a product in the R&B Pop genre. This music genre
combines elements of rhythm and blues it is American music that
originated in the 1940’s however R&B Pop is a newer version of soul and
funk influenced by pop music. Artists such as Beyoncé, Usher, Jennifer
Lopez and Ne-Yo have all come to success through the R&B Pop genre
6. MUSIC VIDEO – SET DESIGN
• Overall in terms of set design we mainly used and stuck to the typical R&B conventions
sticking to strong colourful lighting and bright quirky sets as we wanted it to be obvious to our
audience which genre our artist is in. We chose to create a wide range of visual sets in order
to portray the characteristics of the R&B Pop genre. Our video showed many similarities to the
song Beyoncé, Shakira – Beautiful Liar. Both this video and ours shows a simplistic yet
mysterious backdrop in order to shed light on the female artist being the main star, embracing
the R&B Pop through women’s confidence and empowerment the set design in both cases is
simply there to act as a visual attraction for the audience but in reality the artists needs to
stand out and be the main attraction in the video.
7. MUSIC VIDEO – SET DESIGN
• We did at times develop these conventions like when we had our female
artist in the foreground but then added back up dancers behind her to show
she can still star whilst having the benefit of a more visually pleasing
choreography so the audience don’t get bored at any time.
• Both sets then move on to a simple backdrop for the dancing elements, this
is to strip it back and show the sex appeal and confidence of the artists and
dancers to help convey the genre as being bold and out there. The
connotations within each video suggest the artists are strong independent
females who embody everything girls strive to be from confidence to power.
This being an important convention within the R&B Pop genre.
8. MUSIC VIDEO – PERFORMANCE
• Most of the time we followed and used the R&B conventions particularly
when focused on our female performance as we wanted her to ‘star’ in
the video and be centre stage. During the research and planning stage
we found that the particular genre of R&B Pop focuses of bold, striking
dance movements. Our performance therefore enraptured the symbolic
conventions through the meaning of her dance moves. This was similar
to Destiny’s child – Say My name where the artist has many shots where
by it is just her, the narrative focuses on the female artist almost all of
the time.
9. MUSIC VIDEO – PERFORMANCE
• However, we challenged this particular convention as in our
performance we used the rapper to open the video, which subverts to
the stereotype in the R&B genre that the female has to start and finish
due to her being the ‘star’ as shown in Dyer’s star theory. Similarly,
Mariah Carey’s – I don’t ft. YG challenges the typical convention as it also
opens with a rapper, showing that despite the female artist being the
main star; by using the rapper you may be able to expand to a
secondary audience.
10. MUSIC VIDEO – LIGHTING
• Within lighting we used similar conventions to the R&B genre, as we felt the type of
mysterious lighting fits perfectly to help show our artist as mysterious and sexy.
Throughout our music video we used multiple lighting set ups. However, we wanted to
place a large focus on shadows and silhouettes to match the sexy mysterious vibe that
many R&B Pop music videos hold as well as bright clear lights to show our artists face
Cleary as the video progressed this meant our artist could be both inextricably
ordinary and extraordinary for the audience.
• Our video seems to embody both bright and darker lighting, instead of focusing on
one. In Ciara’s Dance like we’re making love there is clear similarities to our video
where by the lighting is dark and therefore forcing the audience to focus on the
women’s silhouettes and see that beauty behind them by only being back lit the artist
is seen like this.
11. MUSIC VIDEO – LIGHTING
• However, our video also links with Brandy’s put it down feat Chris Brown
where the artist sings with clear bright lighting, to portray the power and
confidence of the R&B genre, the lighting we used similar to Brandy’s
meant the audience can see the artists face clearly therefore making it
easier to connect with the audience seeing them as ordinary as well as
extraordinary linking with Dyer’s star theory.
12. MUSIC VIDEO – CAMERA WORK
• In terms of camera work we had to focus on showing our artist in
the best light, we did this through lots of intimate close ups to
show her facial expressions and help portray the sex appeal that
the R&B Pop genre conveys. As well as close ups we used mid
shots to show a more detailed visual to the audience of our artists
we did this as it meant in the narrative we could slowly reveal
more and more of her body to give an element of surprise and
mystery. This is similar to the videos Kelly Rowland’s Ice ft Lil
Wayne and Kelly’s video Like this ft. Eve.
13. MUSIC VIDEO – CAMERA WORK
• However, we did challenge this particular technical convention by using
extreme close ups on our male rapper this added an extra layer of detail
focusing particularly on his costume and movements, we did this as we
wanted to help attract a secondary audience who may find the male
rapper more appealing therefore tune into our artist’s song with the
goal to attract a wider audience.
14. MUSIC VIDEO – COSTUME, HAIR AND
MAKE-UP
• I feel in terms of costume, hair and make-up we developed the conventions
by having our artist with different looks in different sets, sometimes we stuck
to the overstated look that an R&B female artist has, whilst in other sets we
had her with more natural make-up to help portray a softer side so our
target audience could connect with her on a more personal level. We felt
these areas of mise-en-scene were key symbolic conventions that had to be
done right, in order to show a clear genre. We used beauty make-up that
was natural but striking at the same time and wanted hair that looked slick
and therefore oozed sex appeal and girl power in order to conform with the
R&B conventions. We found Beyoncé’s Partition video captured the natural
yet striking look in terms of make-up and therefore linked similarly with our
product.
15. MUSIC VIDEO - COSTUME, HAIR AND
MAKE-UP
• In terms of costume we wanted to focus on showing our artist as a
strong sexy woman in the aim of reaching out to younger girls within
her target audience. We therefore used striking heels and tight
bodysuits. We found our product is similar to Ariane Grande’s focus
video where both artists are wearing black figure hugging clothing
which appeals to a range of people, widening their target audience
linking with the R&B Pop genre.
•
16. MUSIC VIDEO – EDITING
• As we found editing to be so crucial to our music video, we spent a lot of
time cutting to the beat of the song in order to have the narrative work well
together. We conformed to the R&B Pop genre, by using quick, sharp cuts to
give our video a fast-pace. We felt this embodies the active, energy that the
R&B genre has in Rihanna’s umbrella video where she has lots of quick cuts
to show the energy of her as an artist embodying the R&B Pop genre.
However, we also challenged the conventions by editing our rapper to much
slower cuts to slow the whole pace of the video down when focused on him,
the idea was this would contrast with the energy and pace of our female
artist that it makes her look more appealing and visually stunning.
17. ALBUM ARTWORK – COMPARING FRONT
COVER
• For our own artist we understood she is an up and coming solo R&B
artist therefore thought it was crucial that the consumer knew what they
were purchasing, that’s why we chose to have star significantly all over
the album cover using the typical R&B conventions. We wanted her
striking a pose on the front cover so the audience could feel they can
connect with her, whilst we had her facing mysteriously away from the
camera on the back cover to fit in with Dyer’s theory of her being
ordinary and extraordinary.
18. ALBUM ARTWORK – FRONT COVER
• In terms of the front cover I believe our artist has clearly followed the conventions of the R&B genre, she is striking a
bold pose to show of her sex appeal and confidence. In comparison Ciara has a more natural, intimate look to her
album cover perhaps to show the audience she is relatable and ordinary just like them. However, Beyoncé’s album
cover matches our artists bolder out their posture, which is important as it means consumers stop and are attracted
to the album, as a new artist I think Nand.C had to do this in order to develop a following.
• In terms of colour we put a tint on the photos, and heavily edited the pictures from the photoshoot in order to give
a more synthetic look as we felt the R&B genre is very done up and crisp, unlike the country genre for instance
which focuses on a more natural look. However once again Ciara’s album cover juxtaposes ours despite being within
the same genre and is more natural however still clearly perfected to make the artist appear as visually appealing as
possible.
• When we chose the font we used a striking font for the heading however chose a more relaxed handwritten style for
her signature to show she is not just a social construction but a real person who can connect with her audience.
Beyoncé used a bold big font to show a sassy, over the top look which matches her star image, which once again she
can afford to do as she already has an idealised image that her fans follow.
• Lastly in regarding technical conventions we used a medium close up for the front cover, the idea is that this focuses
the audience in to an intimate level focusing on the artists beauty and means the audience feel they are on the same
level as her and therefore feel they can relate to her. I found in the real media texts I compared my artists to the
other’s all used a medium close up shot therefore we conformed to the idea that the artist needs to appear very
personal towards the audience in order to help fit in with the R&B genre.
19. ALBUM COVER – BACK COVER
• We had our artist face away from the camera Initially we felt we might
have been challenging the convention by having her turned away from
the camera on the back cover however looking into other artists such as
Beyoncé’s 4 album and Ciara album ‘Jackie’ we realised this is a popular
decisions in the R&B genre when marketing I believe this is due to the
fact it shows a sexiness whilst being intriguing, however I do believe for
a new artist such as Nand.C it is risky to not show her full body the
whole way through, as she is not yet in popular demand with a
following, compared to someone like Beyoncé who has a reliable
audience and therefore within their marketing can afford to take risks to
increase demand.
20. WEBSITE – OVERVIEW
• When creating our artist’s website, we felt it was important to have her
featuring everywhere that was possible as we want her to get exposure
and have the aim that her target audience sees her website and are
immediately enraptured and intrigued by her star image as a whole.
Despite Mary J Blige and Rhianna already having a large fan following
they seem to have chosen the same style as us to help get the artist
seen as much as possible.
21. WEBSITE – HOMEPAGE
• In terms of the homepage Mary J Blige and our Nand.C both have an eye-catching
image of themselves, in comparison we have challenged the stereotype by having
photos on a loop, which change every 5 seconds or so we did this in the hope to show
off her image, and attract an audience. In comparison Rhianna clearly has a support
group therefore her homage included pictures of herself as well as her latest
endeavours whether it be her latest charity work or single she immediately lets her
fans know what she’s up to.
• All 3 websites are similar in their advertising. All three artists have placed their social
media links in a clear spot on the homepage. This is crucial as Nand.C holds a young
target audience therefore they will most likely keep up to date on her latest albums
and news through social media, all 3 artists understand how their website needs to be
a best platform for advertising their image and creating awareness and demand.
22. WEBSITE – TOUR DATES AND
MERCHANDISE
• In terms of advertising tour dates and merchandise all 3 artists including
my own have the tabs to these areas clearly marked on their homepage.
This is so important as it’s the primary way artists can make money
through their shows. Therefore, all R&B and other genre artists have to
have dates and venues clearly marked and accessible for fans to
purchase tickets. Once onto the tour dates page they are clearly marked
so its easy for anyone to select their proffered dates and book the
tickets.
23. WEBSITE – COLOUR SCHEME
• When choosing the colour scheme, we felt it was important to have clear links between
the other products in our campaign therefore we chose bright neon pinks and blues
that matched our music video, as well as darker natural colours for the homepage
which also links to our album artwork. Our website fits in with the general R&B
conventions similar to Mary J Blige who uses crisp clear colours on her homepage then
focuses on brighter colours towards her tour dates and advertising for her tour.
However, Rhianna’s website is the one that probably challenges the R&B conventions
the most as it goes for a more edgy look. The website is black and white in its entirety
and gives of a more indie look which she can afford to do as she is adapting and
growing with her audience, when she was a young female artist just starting out you
can see from older products she was more synthetic like Nand.C in order to create a
star image for herself and fit in with the R&B pop genre.
24. CONCLUSION:
• Overall I felt our music video mainly used the typical R&B conventions you’d expect to
see, the reason for this is because we wanted to conform to the stereotypes in order to
attract a target audience whom straight away felt like they could ‘connect’ and
‘understand’ our artist. This was so important in order to successfully market her and
bring in a large consumer base. However we did at times develop these conventions
like when we had our female artist in the foreground but then added back up dancers
behind her to show she can still star whilst having the benefit of a more visually
pleasing choreography so the audience don’t get bored at any time. We only
challenged the R&B conventions once, when we opened the song with the rapper,
which we felt was important as otherwise our music video was repetitive and if
anything the rapper helped build climax so the audience were excited to watch on and
see Nand.C our main artist make her entrance. Overall I felt we made the right choice
to predominantly use and follow the conventions as this left our target audience with a
clear understanding that our music video is part of the R&B Pop genre.