Jungle Book - Essay

•Create an essay which discusses the impact of technology on the production, distribution and circulation of the Jungle Book versions (1967 and 2016) version.

•Discuss the importance of technological developments in maintaining audiences

•1000 word essay

The development of technology has impacted the film industry and its many organisations, causing a huge increase in the use of spectacle which ensures that large companies remain dominant as they create high budget productions with expensive set design and post production effects in order to encourage more family viewing for blockbusters. 6 conglomerate companies own the majority of media; the largest of these being Disney. Walt Disney often uses techniques such as vertical integration and synergy to promote their films, partnering with many other companies in order to increase cinema revenue. This has decreased over the years as a result of streaming using Amazon, Sky and Netflix. 

The cartoon adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's book 'The Jungle Book' in 1967 pioneered the use of multi-plane cameras in order to create a better, 3D effect picture. Disney wanted to achieve better ratings than the previous film 'Sword and the Stone', so production techniques and storyline needed to be carefully considered. Cel animation was used, which is a technique that has been developing quickly throughout the years. Originally, a background and the moving character would be drawn separately and placed on each other, limiting the background's detail. This developed into the background being drawn onto every frame, which was tedious and took a long time. Then there was the idea to use a static background and a moving character, which developed into using coloured outlines and eventually CAPS (computer animated production system), partnering with Pixar. These advancements are significant as it meant that the 1967 development of the Jungle Book was able to use visually detailed and appealing animation which is much more successful with audiences, and stands out as Disney were the only company that used coloured outlines for a significant period of time. The crew featured one storyman, Bill Pete (later replaced by Larry Clemmons), a head animator and supervising animators who worked closely with Walt, allowing him to produce exactly what he wanted; a child friendly, fun story. 

In 2016, animation has become even more advanced. Pre-visualisation techniques can be used in order to show voice actors what is happening as they speak, allowing better acting due to a clearer idea of what is going on. ‘Motion capture’ and a blue screen chroma capture enable a much higher standard of visual effects, which MPC are responsible for. Adam Valdez discussed many techniques of production during an interview, such as designing the animals. The crew had to map out muscles that animals have that humans don’t, and make sure the face could snarl and yawn and growl correctly. Then create mouth shapes for speaking, testing until they found a combination of animal and human muscles that felt like an animal who happened to be able to talk. This level of detail in creating live action animals wouldn't have been possible without the technology available, using different layers to add more detail. This is successful, as audiences would likely find animals that had human muscles or actions fairly disturbing. They are aware that these animals are not real, and it is unrealistic of them to be talking, but despite this it needs to be as realistic as possible to keep people intrigued. There are also moments where Mowgli actually touches the animals, which is difficult to create without the high budget of 177 million USD. The animation of riding including the shoulder blades and other complex movement were created before the shot of Mowgli riding, using motion base set up. Hugging moments were done onset with a puppet, built exactly to match digital models of characters that were typically furry and the colour of the animal, which could then be tracked and matched to the digital versions. When Mowgli hugs his mother wolf, Raksha, his arm is digital, so that the fingers and fur could be rendered together.

Another important aspect is the distribution. The 1967 film was released in 1967 by Walt Disney Productions and created at the Walt Disney Studios. Similarly, the 2016 film was produced by Walt Disney Company and MPC, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. This is important as Disney are able to control how the film is distributed and gain more profits by using their own company, as well as using their own media channels to market the films. The film was marketed quite successfully, using dark elements in the trailer in order to appeal to adults who may have previously stereotyped the Jungle Book as a childish film. Favreau bounded onto a 7,800-seat arena at a Disney fan convention in Anaheim, Calif., and showed sneak-peek footage from his film. He hobnobbed with three “Jungle Book” stars on stage, including Neel Sethi, who plays the man-cub Mowgli. Thousands of movie posters were handed out. It is also true that Disney may have a larger female audience; therefore commercials on ESPN portrayed the movie as coming not from the studio that made “Cinderella” but “from the studio that brought you ‘Pirates of the Caribbean.’” An extended 3-D trailer for “The Jungle Book” was attached to “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which had an audience that was 58 per cent male. These techniques are useful because they establish new audiences who may not have initially wanted to watch the film, but also keep the fans of Jungle Book interested. 

Use of technology has also impacted film productions in terms of exhibition as the introduction of iMax made cinematic productions much more appealing to audiences. A typical film uses 35mm film limited to 6k lines of horizontal resolution, however iMax format produces approximately 18k lines of horizontal resolution. This means that the quality at the cinema has drastically improved and therefore caused an increase in cinema revenue, despite it still being voted the least favourite method of media consumption. 

Media Industries and Audiences: The Jungle Book

2016 Jungle Book
Voice acting
Sometimes can see an animation of what would be happening
Director observes and explains the scene
Blue screen
Pre-visualisation model for the actor

Jungle Book cartoon
Head animator, supervising animators
One storyman (Bill Pete)
Initially the film was starting to get too dark which Walt didn't like and Bill Pete left and Larry Clemmons took over who created it without reading the original book itself
All worked together and not the most organised -



Information about 2016 Jungle Book --

Technology
JB16 one of the most technologically advanced movies ever made’; as the director noted, ‘I found myself wrestling with the same things as Walt, who used cutting edge technology for his day, but with a different set of tools and technologies.’ (https://
www.awn.com/animationworld/jon-favreau-looks-backjungle-book
JB16 is the result of cutting edge CGI – the animals were created digitally post-production and the one actor in the film (playing Mowgli) acted against a blue screen.
http://uk.businessinsider.com/the-jungle-book-withoutcgi-2016-4/#all-of-the-jungles-animal-inhabitants-werecreated-in-post-production-9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSQcBZcvqpg
scenes for The Jungle Book were first filmed using motion capture. ‘We motion-captured the entire movie before we filmed anything and we cut the whole film together,’ says Favreau.
Using that footage, the effects team then built the film’s sets virtually, a process known as previsualisation (previz). ‘Everything was mapped against the virtual sets. We designed
the sets like you would for a video game.’ (http://www.wired.co.uk/article/jungle-book-jon-favreau-disney-film)
The CGI was mostly created by MPC.
Their website includes an excellent exposition of how the effects were created http://
www.moving-picture.com/film/filmography/the-jungle-book/
The VFX won both the BAFTA and Academy Award. The new film opens and closes using analogue techniques, however, referencing the original film: https://youtu.be/aZOUWQ6iox

Ownership

JB16 was planned by Walt Disney Studios Chairman, Alan Horn, as one of a series of remakes of their classic properties: ‘Hollywood makes lots of films for kids, but

Disney reboots are considered safe bets. They revive classic characters for a new generation of kids, and their parents may be especially willing to shell out for related merchandise.’

Disney have leveraged the technology within the film to widen audience appeal and create spectacle during the marketing e.g. showing film teasers in 3 D

Distribution

Box office 

budget (estimated) $175 Million 

 The Jungle Book (2016) has taken over 1 billion US dollars already at the cinema box office (worldwide)

In 2016 Disney’s productions earned more at the box office than any of the other six majors; Disney ‘amassed $2.56 billion globally

They focus on blockbuster films and their strategy to “reboot” their older animations (Cinderella, JB) helped to guarantee success.

History of Cel animation

-background and character separately

-redrew background on every single frame

-static background and moving character on top of it

-painting of cels, Disney first to hire woman

-Too many cells stacked causes foggy image

-Cels originally made with real cellulose nitrate but was flammable so replaced with cellulose acetate

-coloured outlines

-CAPS - computer animated production system (DISNEY WORKED WITH PIXAR)

ADAM VALDEZ - 

In addition to a great working relationship with Jon and Rob, we worked directly with production designer Chris Glass, DP Bill Pope, animation supervisor Andy Jones, and editor Mark Livolsi. Producer Brigham Taylor, line producer Pete Tobyansen and VFX producer Joyce Cox were all there keeping it all together throughout. This movie required us to shoot with VFX in mind at all times, so having everyone aligned was essential.

The process of facial rigging had a lot to do with mapping out muscles that animals have that humans don’t, and making sure the face could do things like snarl and yawn and growl correctly. Then we did mouth shapes for speaking. We tested until we found a combination of animal and human muscles that felt like an animal who happened to be able to talk. We never attempted to put human qualities into their faces.

Jon was very involved in animation all the way through. As an actor, he had opinions on how beats would play within each scene, and how the individual presence of the lead animals would evolve. There were some scenes where he would pantomime for us and provide his own animation reference.

There are key moments where Mowgli actually touches the animals. Hugging, riding etc. These are case by case solutions. Riding was done with a typical motion base setup. This had one added trick in that the rig was articulated with shoulder blades and other actuators internally which gave a more complex movement for Mowgli to ride on. We animated those scenes first, and then programmed the rig on set with Glenn Derry. Hugging moments were done onset with a puppet, built exactly to match digital models of characters. These were typically furry and the color of the actual animal. Then we’d track Mowgli and the puppet, and match up the digital animal. Often we’d have to replace parts of Mowgli with digital parts. The best example is when Mowgli hugs his mother wolf, Raksha. Here his camera side arm is digital, so that the fingers and fur could be rendered together.

I think the trickiest was when Mowgli escapes a mudslide and rides down a turbulent river. This started with ride-rig shots that were really difficult to make convincing. Then a huge and complex environment with lots of big effects simulations we worked on over the course of a year. Then water tank shots which were very hard to track and modify for the action we all wanted. And in the end all of the water simulations that had to match water tank currents. Then getting the feeling of hand held cameras, the right balance of depth and rain effects, and the final comps with all the FX simulated water splashes and fancy color work. It had all the problems: technical, creative, editorial, digi doubles. How did we do it? Lots of development time, editorial tinkering, hard work and time. It’s all about putting your team on different problems and moving them forward with enough time to give the final look what it deserves.

Economic factors

2016

Budget 177 million USD

Opening Weekend USA: $103,261,464, 17 April 2016, Wide Release

Gross USA: $364,001,123

Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $966,550,600

1967

Budget:$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA: $5,291,670, 27 July 1984, Limited Release

Gross USA: $141,843,612

Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $64,000,000

New technology requires a bigger budget but also allows for more audience interest, which explains the huge financial differences between the films. 

The BIG 6 film studios are increasingly pouring more resources into fewer films offering SPECTACLE but limiting choice. This can arguably decrease budget as Disney do not have to pay many other companies to distribute films, and can do it themselves. It means there is much more control over what films are released as they are 6 conglomerates

. 

A Quiet Place is an independent film, not created by the conglomerates, that was still successful and had famous actors, showing that we are not completely limited to the same companies. 

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

 $50,203,562, 8 April 2018, Wide Release

Gross USA:

 $188,024,361

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

 $332,583,447

Winter's bone was also a successful indie film. However it is clear that these projects are unable to use a massive budget. 

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

 $84,887, 13 June 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

 $6,531,503, 21 April 2011

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

 $13,831,503, 21 April 2011

Producing an Indie film can be a gamble, especially as a loan from a bank may be made for the budget, and this could always have the risk of not earning a profit. There is significant difference in risk-factor, as the 6 conglomerates have a fairly large amount of security and certainty. 

Arguably creativity, variety and quality in the media is limited due to the amount of companies. This can be proved by what is popular in cinema e.g. marvel or superhero movies, Disney remakes etc. I'm not sure that I agree as there is always a wide range of genres to watch. Some examples of the repetitive films released by the conglomerates are Superhero, nostalgic, historical. Saving the world is a common theme in films. 

Quality is subjective. For example Jungle Book has high quality acting, as he is portraying the emotions despite being young and the only live actor in the film. 

Having diverse ownership would result in varied media productions as there is more styles and creators to contribute. It seems that films with dark themes are outside of the mainstream conglomerates.

Disney was highly aware of how to build and maintain audiences nationally and globally, from the shaping of the original product to appeal more to a family audience, the marketing and distribution by its own company, merchandising etc. Disney was an early master of synergy, persuading companies to tie in with their film’s release, running a character merchandising department. ‘In addition to pioneering synergy, branding and merchandising beginning in the 1930s, Walt Disney also developed the idea of synergy between media consumption and theme park visits in the 1950s. The producer of animated films used the popularity of his famous cartoon characters for a weekly show on ABC that served as an advertisement for his theme park. In turn, visiting Disneyland helped secure customers’ brand loyalty to the Disney trademark for the future. This strategy of cross-promotion… has become a basis for the Walt Disney Company’s rapid growth.’ 4 Thus Disney constantly renewed films.

‘Disney leads the world in the production and distribution of popular culture.6 What’s more they can use their incredible back catalogue of production and re-present it for new audiences: To have this incredible vault of content that they can go back to and reimagine, retool and recreate for today’s audiences just gives them a depth and breadth of films that is almost unparalleled.’ As noted above JB16 was planned by Walt Disney Studios Chairman, Alan Horn, as one of a series of remakes of their classic properties: ‘Hollywood makes lots of films for kids, but the Disney reboots may be one of the few safe bets. They revive classic characters for a new generation of kids, and their already smitten parents may be especially willing to shell out for related merchandise.’ With DVD sales declining and digital downloads on the rise, studios can’t just reissue old films in 6 Lee Artz in Budd. M (Ed) & Kirsch, M. (Ed). (2005) 

‘There used to be a re-release of a classic film every seven years..Now re-imagining them is what’s hot.’ However, the production process of JB16 was highly dependent on other companies, such as MPC, and so was not fully made in-house, as JB had been. The 2016 was distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

• Synergy and merchandise beginning in 1930s, theme park visits in 1950s 
• Reboots is a safe bet for kids and parents (who may buy merchandise)
• Re-release vs re-imagine 

The impact of digitally convergent media platforms on media production, distribution and circulation, including individual producers

- Film content can be consumed by audiences in a variety of ways and locations

•cinema,

•home entertainment

•On the move (in flight entertainment, etc.)

Institutions need to provide films increasingly in digital format

•Because film consumption is moving away from cinema towards Home entertainment via Blu-ray, streaming

Many people feel cinema is too expensive and would prefer to use streaming such as Netflix. This may be why Disney has cancelled its relationship with Netflix, and attempted to start its own.

•Increases the risk of Piracy

Movies are easily copied onto illegal websites which are consumed by people all the time, often a replacement of cinema. 

•Large institutions (Big 6) offering cinematic experience in large screen (iMax) format, followed by digital release as DVD, Blu-ray, streaming

This is a method to get box office revenues to increase, preventing people using illegal streaming. 

•Disney actively growing its business to fend of streaming services such as NETFLIX

Netflix likely has an affect on Disney's profits as they may have to pay Netflix for a relationship (or receive it, but lose money regardless due to less cinema visits). Disney would make more money if Netflix didn't exist. 

Disney actively trying to make its own streaming service through the acquisition of FOX review the following link and summarise why it is a smart move for Disney to grow:  why would disney buy fox? 

This allows Disney to reduce the amount of companies that they work with, and stop competition. Disney buying fox is a clever idea as it gives Disney more control over how their films are consumed, whereas with Netflix they may be stuck. They are also able to profit from FOX streams in this way and earn more money. 

Media Language and Representation: Burn the Witch video

Radiohead - Burn The Witch

does not feature the artist(s) but celebrates the power of narrative and signification and a postmodern emphasis on intertextuality. The video contrasts clearly with the representations featured in Heaven

Burn the witch
diegetic bird singing
cartoon-ish
fade in and from black transitions
red cross on doors
a noose for public hanging
hesitant
at end someone is burnt unexpectedly (plot twist)
society is being observed and judged by a man/officer and at the end he is burnt
trumpton style 
utopian representation but some bad undertones

Theoretical framework

Learners will develop their understanding of the media through the consistent application of the four areas of the theoretical framework:

•media language: how the media through their forms, codes, conventions and techniques communicate meanings

•media representations how the media portray events, issues, individuals and social groups

•media industries: how the media industries’ processes of production, distribution and circulation affect media forms and platforms

•media audiences: how media forms target, reach and address audiences, how audiences interpret and respond to them and how members of audiences become producers themselves. 

Burn the witch

only the whites

red x links to plague

another intertextual link to 1984 totalitarianism

link to the hot fuzz movie  (facade of perfect society)

idea of a cult (woman and 5/6 masked men with swords)

historical links to old torture methods (finding witches)

paganism   - burning man festival 

produced by trumpton shire , older generation can watch and like it. intertextual link.  model town

man and woman on the see-saw , decorated which can show them trying to seem normal? chair on the see-saw 

lyrics 'abandon all reason, avoid all eyecontact, do not react, shoot the messengers' 1984 book reference. listen to the mayor 

slogan 'burn the witch', women being manipulated social context. men have the most power hegemonic

'cheer at the gallows' being forced to be happy and enjoy where they are.  

https://www.slideshare.net/jphibbert1979/media-and-collective-identity-theory-revision?next_slideshow=1 theories to use

Burn the witch analysis

Media Language and Representation: Shelter Advert

OCR Spec.

•Shelter, the UK based housing and homelessness charity launched an advertising campaign in 2011 that was produced for those at risk of homelessness to point them to Shelter’s free services and guide them to seek advice on issues around homelessness earlier. 

Taglines are somewhat relatable to the audience as these situations could easily happen to them. 

Red eyes can relate to fear and crying. 

Font -- “The famous homelessness charity had changed what it did, but no-one had realised. They were now concentrating on the bad housing that wrecks lives, hence the pitched roof on their 'h’.” – johnson banks

 21p spent on fundraising and 79p on helping 

Services -- 

Face-to-face services

Our advice and support services across the UK give people one-to-one, personalised help with all of their housing issues.

National helpline

Our free emergency helpline is open 365 days a year and is often the first port of call for people facing a housing crisis.

Online advice

You can find expert information about everything from reclaiming your deposit to applying as homeless, and you can talk to an adviser over webchat.

Legal support

Our solicitors provide free legal advice and attend court to help people who’ve lost their homes or are facing eviction.

Article --
'Each advert depicts an ordinary person in distress because they are facing a serious crisis, such as sudden job loss or mounting debt. They carry a headline which shares the desperation the person is feeling. The aim is for the combined impact of the headline and image to tap into the concerns of the people experiencing these problems, driving them to seek advice on Shelter’s website.'
Kay Boycott, director of campaigns, policy and communications at Shelter, said: “In these tough economic times, more and more people across the country are struggling to keep their heads above water and are in desperate need of our help.
“50% of people don’t seek external advice when they encounter housing problems, so our priority in this campaign is to increase the number of people coming to us for help and reaching a positive outcome.
“Visitors to our online advice pages have increased by over a third in the last year, proving that there’s a growing demand for digital guidance. We hope the campaign will have a significant impact in showing people who have been hit by difficult times that help is just a click away, while raising the profile of housing issues further.”

Founded in 1966 during the “Swinging Sixties” are the stuff of legend, three million people were living in slums. Shelter was born out of the belief that this appalling injustice must be put right.

Fifty years on, the country is in the grip of another housing crisis. A huge range of people are affected by our current housing shortage, from a generation of young people who can’t afford a home to those struggling with sub-standard housing.

As we enter our 50th year, 100,000 children are homeless. So, while we will reflect on our achievements, we will only celebrate when everyone has a place to call home.

Important effects -- 

'We are not always successful. We failed for too long to get the need for more homes back on the agenda. We also weren’t able to convince governments to replace homes sold under Right to Buy, and many people’s homes today aren’t as secure as they once were. Today, the safety net which Shelter helped to create is also under threat.

However, despite the challenges we face, we are always confident that we’ll prevail eventually.

For example, in 1980 we helped to convince the government to give social housing tenants the same security of tenure as private renters. This legal change was fiercely opposed by local authorities, but provided protection for families facing eviction at short notice.

We faced a critical moment in 1996 when the Housing Act threatened to erode some of the rights established in the 1977 Housing (Homeless Persons) Act. We successfully made the case to the government that the Act should include the Right to Appeal in a county court, which made it harder for local authorities to turn people away.

This was key to softening the backward steps of the 1996 legislation and it gave individuals the power to challenge decisions made against them. Once again, our lobbying strategy had been informed by our experiences on the ground.'

Some emphasis on families as there are pictures of these which are also black and white in documentary style. 

Representation and Media Language

There is diversity in terms of gender but not in race, as they are all white. It can be argued that gender representation is fairly unconventional as a man is shown to have been made homeless which is arguably a 'weak' situation, especially as he shows emotion. He does not conform to stereptype ideas put forward by McRobbie. 

There seems to be some differences in age which targets a wide range of audiences. The target audience seems to be homeless people themselves but also people who could donate to the charity in order to help as there is a high level of sadness presented in an attempt to gain sympathy. It attracts this audience through the saturated red compared to low-key lit backgrounds of sad people and use of taglines that portray very possible situations. 

Surprisingly there isn't any disability representation even though those who are disabled are a large proportion of the homeless population. (In 2009, 40% of homeless people in the US were disabled). 

Personal elements such as sexuality are also not obvious or mentioned, only by assumption, though LGBT youth are very commonly homeless. 

Media Language and Representation: Lucozade Advert

OCR Spec.

•The Lucozade ‘I believe’ campaign poster from 2013 was part of a £4m mass market campaign to educate consumers about how the soft drink brand can help improve people’s sports performance, and features footballer Gareth Bale as a key brand ambassador.

•Consideration should be made of media language elements specific to advertising and marketing such as locations, costumes, props, makeup, lighting, choice of camera shot, angle, typography, layout and address of written content to the audience.

Isotonic drinks contain similar concentrations of salt and sugar as is found in the human body. These drinks quickly replace fluids and electrolytes lost through sweating and give a boost of simple carbohydrate.

 Lucozade used to be marketed as a medical or healthy product which could help with sickness or lack of energy. Instead of celebrity endorsements, there were medical endorsements which assured people that medical professionals used the drink whenever it was needed. 'Refreshes and sustains' is a glittering generality used on most of these posters to promote it. It was referred to as a 'glucose' drink as part of its brand which can be beneficial in terms of medical advertising as it is a scientific term which is arguably medical or nutritional jargon (technical term). It essentially just refers to sugar so in this way it is arguably similar as it was still an energy drink as it is now. There may arguably be a guilt trip technique here as people associate the product with wellness and therefore want their children to get better by drinking lucozade.




Techniques in Video advert to sell Lucozade (rebranding 1998)

• working class representation
• 1960's setting
• bikers and masculinity 
• dialect is informal (not rp)
• young people (embarrassing mum)
• personal identity needs
• Britain colours at the end may make it patriotic 'made in britain'
• Lucozade fire packaging 
• comedy
• peripheral advertising by emotional appeal 

Techniques in Video advert to sell Lucozade (2013)

• 'construction of real tests'
• glittering generalities 'better than water'
• sport
• men 
• claiming that lucozade soirt is better for exercise and proved
• the advert was banned for these claims that it 'fuels better than water'
• Kinvara Carey, general manager of the Natural Hydration Council, said the ruling would help to clarify the significant "confusion" over sports drinks claims. "There is already much confusion over the role of sports drinks, and for the majority of people participating in exercise and sporting activities water is all that is needed for effective hydration," she said. "The majority of sports drinks contain calories and may only have a positive contribution to make to professional athletes and those participating in high-intensity, endurance activity."

REPRESENTATION

This seems to predominantly aimed at males with only one female advert - which seems like a 'token' in order to prove that they are not a sexist brand. This could also be argued in terms of race, as the majority of the models/athletes in these posters are white. Despite this, it seems Lucozade have tried to have a variety of representation, but their posters are reflective of society in that they are using popular athletes and unfortunately this is predominantly white. Despite this they are all similar in age range which is young adult, therefore this likely will appeal to aspiring young people who want to be athletes. This conforms to 'personal identity' needs (Bulmer and Katz) as well as the aspirer. It is clear that this doesn't represent disabled people as they are all active, which may cause insecurity. In terms of class it isn't clear in the poster adverts however it could be assumed that as a result of a branded drink, it would be people of middle class. According to McRobbie, males are presented stereotypically as they are arguably strong, masculine and sporty. It could also be argued that they are also a countertype as the female advert doesn't show her as stereotypically feminine or weak. It attempts to appeal to logical audience through advertising as it claims there are scientific evidence. However, there is a large amount of emotional response in regards to associating the product with certain ideas, such as strength. The focus on the face is sharp which emphasises the focus of the 'game face'. We can only assume the athlete's sexuality based on stereotypes however it is not entirely clear - though mainstream audience would most likely assume heterosexual. In terms of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the advert pretends to be a basic need such as food or water though we know it actually fits as an esteem need. 

Conventions


These are some examples of other energy drink adverts. A lot are blue and bright which can relate to the colour psychology of blue relating to intelligence, trust and men. It makes the product reliable and sometimes masculine. The drinks are usually edited larger and as a separate layer which makes the advert more surreal rather than just a picture of a model holding the drink.




Conventions of these adverts possibly include
Complementary colours (bright) saturated
An enlarged image of the product itself
Capital letters in anchorage
Blue sometimes?
New adverts are mostly sanserif 
Direct mode of address 
Simplistic

Media Language and Representation: Old Spice Advert

Old Spice

Old spice from elleguyan

MEDIA LANGUAGE

analyse how the combination of elements of media language influence meaning
The composition of the advert may have used the rule of thirds as it seems as though the man's head and body is in place with a vertical grid line.
There are a few examples of Barthes' semantic code in the poster; for example the volcano on the head is surreal and doesn't make a whole lot of sense to the audience, yet contributes to the idea of the Bahamas which is an ideal holiday location. Many other elements contribute to this, such as Poseidon and the Shark that is being fished.
Certain aspects contribute to the idea of masculinity such as use of the colour red (Barthes' symbolic code) and the visual idea that he is part of the beach and the Earth, making him extremely powerful. This supports McRobbie's idea of men being shown as powerful.
The advert itself has also used anchorage to make humour out of the 'false claims' and almost parodies other adverts by stating that the 'fact has not been fact-checked', highlighting it as untrue as every other product advert is.

analyse how developing technologies affect media language

 In the 1980s (left) the photo seems very simple as it is a photo with an added layer of the product and text. The editing is very minimal (there may have been colour editing) - and he is shown to have a 'prize' of the female.

In 1990s (right) the photo has had slightly more editing, as it seems the man, bike and background could have been edited together, however the general idea is still quite simple and is possibly only made up of 4 layers. It emphasises the masculine nature of the product to a greater extent, highlighting ideas of 'sport' which also conforms to McRobbie. They are much more simple than the Bahamas Old Spice advert and therefore this shows how developing technologies can be used to create parodies in adverts, causing a better relationship with the audience as a result of humour. 

Old Spice was founded in the 1930s as nautical themed. In modern day they started using more NFL players who are younger, which targets a younger audience also - this is different to 1980s and 1990's in which the men appear older and perhaps married. The brand has changed to target younger people in a comedic way, which is more effective in modern society as people are aware of the lies or exaggerations within advertising and prefer a realistic approach, especially if they are younger.

Advertising and Psychology

Analyse how audiences respond to and interpret the above aspects of media language.

Audiences will likely find it funny which acts as a form of synthetic personalisation (fake friendship) and influences the audience to consider the product. It may be refreshing to see that they are not lying about effects of their product but instead making a parody of other adverts, making the brand of the company appear authentic. 

What age demographic is the product now targeted towards (2011)

How does this compare to the 1980/1990 brand

What attracts the age demographic the brand

This is targeted towards a younger audience whereas it was previously older people. In the past it may have been bought by the older men themselves as it presents ideas of masculinity and gaining a prize from buying the product. In recent years it seems like it may be advertised as a gift, particularly as some video adverts are targeted at ladies to buy this gift for another man. The younger actors can attract a younger audience as a result of personal identity needs, which allows the audience to relate or connect with the actors in the advert.

•Does the advert work by appealing to logic – (the central route)

•Does the advert appeal to the peripheral route (affective advertising)

What superficial cues are associated with the advert (2011)

It seems that the print advert may be using affective advertising and the peripheral route as there is no direct information about the product, and therefore it is left to assumptions by previous knowledge and the semantic code in the advert. Some of the superficial cues include the whole setting of the Bahamas, the strength and power presented in the man and also the subtle intertextual links such as Poseidon. 

Analyse the significance of challenging and/or subverting genre conventions

• Black actor
• Humour
• Less body image focus
• Less perceived realism 
• Mode of address has changed
• No persuasive slogan or text, instead it is funny

1. Discontinued women's fragrances
2. In the 80s it stagnated, 17% market share but not growing
3. 1990 Proctor and Gamble bought Old Spice, and replaced the colonial ship with a yacht
4. Image crisis when 25 year olds didn't want to buy what was seen as their father's deodorant (nautical) so rebranded and targeted to high school teenage boys (using Brian Urlacher to appear on TV)
5. 2003 second best selling men's deodorant
6. Hired ad agency Wiedon and Kennedy
7. women were responsible for 50% body wash purchases 
8. Old Spice advert went viral when addressed at ladies and humorous so they began to rebrand with strange funny acts
9. Became official wash of NFL
10. Expansion to hair care in 2014
11. Sponsored a successful ALS ice bucket challenge and responded to people and celebrities in videos

MEDIA REPRESENTATION

Analyse Media representation : the way events, issues, individuals (including self- representation) and social groups (including social identity) are represented through processes of selection and combination

Recent adverts have used black NFL players which has increased the level of representation since using white men. These players endorse the product which can encourage men who enjoy watching the NFL to buy the product as somebody they like is helping with advertising.

There is some use of male gaze in the poster as a female is in a bikini however this isn't very negative and instead seems to enforce the surreal idea of the Bahamas instead of sexualising. 

According to Alvarado there are certain media stereotypes of black people and it doesn't seem that the actor fits into these easily however perhaps it could fit into humorous and funny as this is the whole brand of the advert, though this isn't intended to be negative. 

Analyse Media representation :

• the way the media through re-presentation constructs versions of reality

•the way in which representations make claims about realism

I feel that the audience know that what is being presented is unrealistic and therefore they do not expect the advert to be true to life unlike in previous adverts which have much more subtle 'rewards'. This can allow the audience to trust the advert as there are no false claims or promises. This relates to Blumler and Katz in which audiences like to be entertained or escape through the Bahamas. 

Digital technology and montage creates meaning as there are many intertextual links to things such as Poseidon which represents strength as well as being a God. These ideas relate to fiction and can be entertaining as people find it amusing to look at this, particularly due to the lack of realism. 

Analyse Media representation the processes which lead media producers to make choices about how to represent events, issues, individuals and social groups

The brand was rebooted to be relevant to younger years as 25 year olds didn't want to buy what was seen as their dad's product, particularly as it was nautical themed which may not be relatable for younger people. There was a pause in market profits which meant immediate action had to be taken - main examples being rebranding to 'swagger' and competing with other companies that consider younger audiences and addressing women who buy gifts for their husbands

Uploading to YouTube created a lot of traffic and increased followers 

•In what way was the use of sports celebrity   Isaiah Mustafa considered a good choice?

A lot of adults will know who this is, particularly the men who want the product or the wives of these men who want to buy it as a gift. He is also entertaining which appeals to the younger audience and this therefore causes a new influx of audiences. 

Analyse Media representation how media representations convey values, attitudes and beliefs about the world and how these may be systematically reinforced across a wide range of media representations

Younger generations seem very accepting of other people especially race and this is important as this means representation doesn't bother many people. The increase in representation of athletes such as Lewis Hamilton shows that tolerance is getting better, particularly in this generation.