Media language is the way which the meaning of a media text is conveyed to the audience. The production which will be analysed in this essay is the music video which we created for A2. This production was focused on one female artist, who we named Nova. The genre was pop/ R&B, therefore we made the music video colourful and focused on Nova and her dancing – the video was a performance video which did not have a narrative.
Media language was presented through this music video product in multiple assorted manners with the use of mise en scene, camera, sound, and editing.
The use of mise en scene in our production allowed us to create media language and meaning to convey to the audience. We used and conformed to Bathes theory of semiotics and structuralism towards an active audience. An active audience is one which creates the meaning of the text themselves, instead of other theories's views of the producer creating the meaning. The semiotics which we used regarding mise en scene were the props and costumes used within the video. The costumes were all coherent with the setting and surrounding props - for example, a red dress in a purple and red lit room. This coherence between the strong colours within the mise en scene created media language of the protagonist (Nova) being a strong female character. This fits with Barthes theory as there is no clear message, it leaves the active audience with the choice to decide the meaning of the scene.
The use of shots and camera work in our production allowed us to portray Nova as a strong female once more. By using a multitude of shots including low shots, sometimes from a worms eye view, it made Nova appear larger than the audience and than her surroundings. This enhanced size effect allowed Nova to appear empowered and confident, which was the message which we wanted to express to the audience through media language. Close up shots which also achieved a fish eye effect were used throughout the music video. One example of this was the establishing close up shot of Nova's mouth whilst lip syncing to the lyrics. This made Nova appear confident as it made her mouth fill the screen where the audience could see the serious expression of her mouth, where she did not coyly smile or laugh. Lastly, another shot which we used in order to make Nova appear a strong female was the 360 degrees shot which circled around her as the focal point. Creating Nova as the focal point allowed her to seem strong and at high significance, compared to her surroundings of an an outdoor street.
With the editing process for the music video, we created the same notion of Nova being of heightened significance. By using the zoom tool to make Nova fill the frame with less background, we achieved the look of Nova being confident and highly significant. A further effect that we used was warp stabiliser. This transformed shaky camera work into smooth footage. This made the whole video seem more confident, with Nova being the centrepiece of this confidence. Furthermore, around 90% of the shots were of Nova herself, with a small use of filler shots which were of other items and scenery. This similarly allowed the audience to recognise Nova's confidence, conforming to Barthe's theory of the active audience.
The use of sound was entirely the song. The song which we chose for the music video was the artist NAO's single named Nostalgia. This song is sang by an independent female artist which exemplifies the notion of female independence and confidence. One sound effect which we used was a fade out at the end of the song, due to cutting it short. This fade effect was conveying the media language of the end to the story and the end to the song. This ending with the fade created a message of finality and strength in the story, which is showing the female empowerment like the rest of the video.
In conclusion, media language within the media production of our music video was at high importance when it came to expressing representations and messages within the video. The use of different camera shots, sound effects, editing techniques, and mise en scene in costumes and props allowed us to proficiently create the desired message of female empowerment.
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