Analysis of ‘Our house is dad-less’ by Kid British in comparison to ‘Our house’ by Madness:

0:03 – A panning shot of the surrounding areas, very similar to the video by Madness only several years later.

0:09 – Shot of modern technology (a stereo) which would not have been around in time that the video by Madness was set. The character is also sitting outside, in contrast to the previous video which was predominantly set inside. This could reflect the modern day culture of outside living.

0:13 – Shot of a young boy running out of the house, which implies he has a more complex family, firstly seeing as he is a few years younger (whereas in the Madness video they were all generally the same age) and also of a different race ( whereas in the madness video they were all of the same race). These two factors suggest the changing/more relaxed ways of raising families.

0:31 – Shot of old woman enjoying cup of tea in her garden, seen to be complaining about the noise coming from the house. Suggests he is seen as an annoyance.

0:36 – Elderly lady is seen to be jumping in the air, but it seems this is only in his head as a few seconds later she is back where she was previously. This implies he doesn’t really care for her opinion and wishes she was more relaxed and fun.

0:44+ - shows images of the kids jumping over the garden fences which could be seen as the equivalent to the kids in the madness video visiting all the different sizes of houses nearer the end of the sequence. Again, showing you can have fun in any kind of household.

1:46 – Shows the kids running in and out of the clean white sheet which are not necessarily theirs, this represents their carelessness. Similar to that of the boys in the madness video when they were misbehaving.  

1:55 – Shot of mother cooking, wearing scruffy clothes, similar to that of the clothes worn by the Madness mother. However she seems a lot more laid back and capable of having fun.

2:20 – Shows mother standing her ground when her son tells her it’s too cold. This is in great contrast to the Madness video in which the mother was constantly mocked. Here, she is very much in control and in the end he is the one leaving her kitchen and apologising.

2:28 – Shows a woman sunbathing with hardly anything on, which suggests a certain level of disrespect towards women.

All the way through - In contrast to the Madness video, all the boys are wearing different styles of clothing which suggest the increasing acceptance of individuality.

Analysis of the video ‘Our House’ by Madness:

0:30 – shot of train passing by, background fills with smoke. Sets the scene and time in which the video is set.

0:33 – zooms out to reveal the house, situated very near the railway. A terraced house.

0:34 – zooms into a window, as if you are spying, not supposed to be there. Curtain are closed which suggests privacy but the viewer is allowed inside the house.

0:37 – It’s darker inside the house than outside. Mysterious, man playing piano in shadows which implies loneliness.

0:40 – sudden change to shot of guitar being played in a much lighter setting. The swap from playing a piano in the dark to a much more modern instrument in the light could be a sign of times changing/have already changed.

0:45 – Medium shot of four boys all dressed almost identically, playing brass instruments, shows the era in which the video is set. Along with the wallpaper and general mis-en-scene.

1:31 – Shot of mother and boy in kitchen, dark. Shows a gloomy area for the mum to work in, could relate to the mothers personality. She is standing with her hands on her hips which suggest presence and defence.

1:34 – Zooms in to reveal the mother is in fact a man, admiring herself in a hand held mirror. This is mocking the mother and she is obviously seen in a comic way to the ‘children’ in the video.

1:52 – Shot of mother doing ironing, falling asleep. Suggests she either does too much, or is lazy.

1:55 – Father interrupts mother as she burns his shirt. He is wearing a vest while the mother wears a headscarf. Shows the difference in roles within the house. The fast forward shot shows the panic and annoyance of the father as he is ‘late for work.’

1:57 – Mother almost seen to be throwing the kids out of the house to get to school. She doesn’t take them/walk them there, or see them off. Shows she is slightly selfish? The lyrics contradicts the imagery as it says she ‘see’s them off with a small kiss’ when in fact they are messing around with her at this time and manage to sneak back into the house without her noticing.

2:02 – Shows the mother banging on the door for the children to open it to her. Shows how they could be seen as more in charge of the house than her, possibly influenced by the father seeing as all the kids are male. It shows the role reversal and adds comedy at the expense of the mother figure.

2:15+ - shows the kids playing their instruments individually, the shadows on the back walls is significant as it could be seen as a bigger version of hem playing live to thousands of people.

2:38 – a quick shot of a zoom out from the window of the house, almost the opposite of the shot at the beginning of the sequence. It explains the next part of the sequence as they are characters outside of their own house, in a building far bigger and more impressive.

2:58 – shows the father ‘wearing his Sunday best’ whilst drawing in pink on the mothers face. This shows a lack of respect and he is perhaps influenced by the children’s misbehaviour. The significance of the colour pink is prominent as it is seen to be a very feminine colour.

3:00 – The sliding of the salt down the long table, ending with the ‘dad’ supports my earlier point that he is the head of the household and even respected by the mischievous kids.  

3:10+ - The end shots seem to conclude that no matter what type of house you live in, you can have fun.

The representation of men and women in consumer magazines focusing on ‘men’s health’ and ‘health and fitness’:

Both of these magazines share similarities and differences which are not always picked up by the target reader. Aspects of each of the magazines such as the front cover and content of advertisements aim to appeal to their target market, and therefore they differ as each magazine is targeting a different gender, which have very different ideas of what and who they want to read about.

The front cover of both magazines share numerous explanation marks within the subtitles. This is to highlight the emphasis on certain articles within the magazines and grab the attention of shoppers. Both magazines also contain bright, colourful writing, drawing the shopper in to find interest in the magazine. The women’s magazine appears to seem more inspiring and relaxed, whereas the men’s health magazine seems more intense and powerful. The significance of the bold red and black writing, as well as the majority of upper case lettering shows they are putting a statement to the reader which is bold shows a masculine sense of authority. This is in contrast to the women’s magazine which has mainly lower case lettering with regards to the subtitles which gives off a slightly more laid back, easy going vibe.

The types of advertisements within both of these magazines vary greatly. While men’s health has the majority filled with watches and various new technology gadgets, ‘health and fitness’ mainly consists of clothing and ways of altering or improving a female’s appearance. I feel this highlights the magazines similar stereo type readers, while the men reading ‘men’s health’ have priorities in looking expensive and desirable to women, women reading ‘health and fitness’ have almost exactly the same aims in trying to attract men (by working out, eating well etc).

Similarly, there are many articles in both magazines about improving or altering the male/female face, as well as body. By flicking through the pages, i can see the percentage of these types of articles must be at around 80%, and this shows how the self obsessed the men’s health/health and fitness magazine editors perceive the readers to be. Whether the consumers live up to this image-obsessed stereo type is controversial, as there are a wide range of people who by these magazines, for different reasons. However it is obvious that the type of person the magazine makers are targeting (and have in mind to sell to) are certainly this shallow.

Media Conference summary

On the 21st of October i attended a media conference in London. We got the train fom Denham and we were soon in the city. The conference was held at the institute of eductaion, and we listened to several main speakers. The first of whom was Professor David Buckingham, who explained to us why media is worth studying. This was interesting and highlighted some points i had come across when discussing the subject of media. The talk proved to me it was a qualificaion just as commendable as an a level in science or maths. 

Our first task was to brainstorm a completely new TV talent show idea. Our idea was one which involved gymnastics, however the eventual winner was a great idea involving rap stars battling to win a contract.

After this Dr Julian McDougall spoke to us about 'The Cowell Factor' and 'Celggmania'. I found it really enlightening to hear about the power certain individuals can have over the entire population simply through the use of media.

We then had a talk about how to 'perfect your production work' which was very helpful and i picked up many tips from the speaker. I also found it useful to watch others work and annalyse thier projects as i was able to see where i could improve, (or aim to achieve) when i create my own production.

We then had lunch and after this we listened to Pete Fraser and three pannelists, Lindy Heyman, Paul harding and Edward Stern speak abou thier current jobs within the media. I found this part of the conference especially inspiring as it showed me the diverse range of jobs that can be achieve through studying media.

I Pod ads

This is a link to the I Pod adverts i found helpful when thinking about what to do for my coursework:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3axFuKIOhI&p=6654671D56DDC6B2&playnext=1&index=3

I really liked the style and the way they use recent music to connect to their target market.