1B Media Language

Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to the concept of Media Language

Media Language is the way in which the meaning of a media text is conveyed to the audience. The concept of media language played a significant role in my A2 coursework which was to produce a music video. The music video was performance style centred around a young female artist who we named Nova, the genre was pop, therefore we featured her dancing and used mise en scene to create a cool vibe which was modern and would attract out target audience of teenage girls. We used editing, camera, mise en scene and sound to present media language. 

Mise en scene was heavily used throughout the duration of the music video in order to convey the style and meaning of our media language to our audience. Nova is a fun loving artist who is also very stylish and edgy we used multiple costume changes to portray her love for fashion as well as using colourful props such as glow sticks and neon balloons to show her fun side. We used Bathes theory of semiotics which suggests there will be codes to represent a meaning of a text which can either be open or closed. We used his idea of an active audience which is an audience that interprets the media text for themselves. This is because our style of music video is performance and therefore does not carry a narrative story this means its not clear for the audience to interpret. Therefore the audience is left to create their own interpretation through the use of representations. Our performance video did however portray themes of pop through the use of the song and colour as well as Nova dancing. Clearly portraying the media text as modern and pop.

We also used camera angles and shots to help portray the star image of Nova as a strong independent female artist,  this was shown through her being the only person in the video which gave her all screen time and all the attention from the audience. We used low angle shots looking up at Nova which made her look empowering, confident and strong creating a role model figure for her audience. This was an important media language to portray as Nova is suppose to represent a successful young women who is a role model for younger girls as she stands up for equal rights for women and encourages young girls to follow their passions. One shot that exaggerates this media text was a 360 degree shot panning round Nova which gives the sense she is standing her ground and gives her importance as she is the focal point rather than her surroundings, reinforcing the powerful female image. 

The use of sound also significantly contributed to our media language. The whole music video was to the song Nostalgia by NAO which fits into the genre of pop/R&B/Soul. The majority of editing was in time to the song which helped portray the element of pop as the visuals were in time to the music. At the end of the video the song faded out thus showing that the video was coming to an end.

Finally, the process of editing was also used to covey the meaning of media language. We used warp stabilizer to make the shots smooth and consistent portraying Nova was a stable and confident artist. We also used Zoom to make Nova fill more of the screen and come across as bigger than her surrounding again exaggerating her empowerment and star image as the audience has no where else to look other than at Nova. We also used the effects such as reverse and mirror to create a sense of fun, which can reflect Nova’s outgoing fun loving personality. As well as creating the star image we also used colour correction to put a purple/pink tint over the whole video this created a cool retro/ pop feel which helped to convey the genre of music video. 

In conclusion, the significance of media language was very import in relation to our music video as it allowed us to convey messages and representations within our music video such as the genre of pop and the strong female representation of Nova.