MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENTS

This Jessie J magazine advertisement features a lot of attractive qualities which would be primarily used to draw in an audience. Once drawn in, the audience are made aware of all the crucial details of the advert which give them the information they need to purchase the single, album and where to go for anymore information. 

The gold is the first thing that is noticed, it is a very rich colour and the metallic artwork makes you think of real gold, very precious, very rare, almost like this is a way of describing Jessie J as being an original artist.

 The black connotes a darker side to the artist and the album which is emphasised by her choice of black eyeliner, lipstick, nails and hair.

I think these qualities are supposed to make you think she isn't your stereotypical feminine pop star. The font is the same as the official Jessie J logo for her brand so there are visual and subliminal connections being made to ensure the brand of Jessie J is recognised as a whole. It is very important that Jessie J herself is featured on the advertisement because it connects a face to a name for people who either don't know what she looks like or have seen her and been unaware of her name.

There is a perfect balance with the fonts because of the simplistic writing style used for the writing at the bottom of the advertisement. The font isn't overpowering so it can easily be read that her album "Who You Are" and the "International Smash Price Tag" are available now.

White is a very neutral colour so it makes sense that the names of the song, album and featuring artists are in white to make sure they stand out against the black background and can be taken in. "Smash" itself is a very powerful word to use to advertise the song and implies it has smashed its way through the charts all over the world. The onomatopoeia creates a sense of power and gravitas to the song which helps market it.

OTHER STUDENTS MUSIC VIDEO

This student music video has some amazing qualities that really inspire me. However there are also some negative parts of it which could do with improvement. 

Visual Codes

The setting used for the couples meal isn't that extravagant. It is clearly set up for a student music video and doesn't have a very convincing background. 

There's actually a step ladder that can be seen in the background of the restaurant/ dinner shot. However this in mind, the scenes with the paint are incredibly shot and designed. 

The brick wall has really good graffiti, street art ideology which merges with the powder paint idea well. I like the use of all the different colours to make the scenery and the actions bright to match the fast pace of the song. 

During the rave scenes occasionally there is a cut to a close up on one of the characters in the video. I don't entirely understand the relevance of this because the the theme is the two main characters who are a couple but I like the editing style and the effect of the shots. 

Technical Codes

This shot I particularly like because it shows a faded image of the people who were dancing with the chalk/paint in the background so it shows some form of connection. Also the angle of the shot looks down on the female character whilst she is arguing with her boyfriend, perhaps showing she is being broken up with or that she is vulnerable in some other way.

I really like this shot of the two characters who were originally having an argument around the dinner table having fun in the paint-perfomrnace scenes. I think it is meant to displays when the couple are happy and demonstrates a lot of care-free attitude that I think matches the song choice perfectly. 

The fast pace of the song means that all the cuts are standard instant cuts rather than transitions or extravagant effects. I think this works really well because there is so much going on already in the video that fades or ripple effects would create a gimmicky feel to the video. 

Genre 

The genre of the song originally is primarily Pop but because this is a remix it may shift the genre towards electronic music also. I think the use of paint and chalk dust is perfect for the genre of music because ultimately it is supposed to be a positive song about rekindling a relationship. 

This kind of random, positive energy that is extended by the use of colours and lighting is exactly what would be expected in the genre of music and the video to accompany it. I really like the way it works and would want to do something similar. 

Narrative

The narrative back story of a relationship is expected in the genre of Pop, with an equilibrium ending showing the couple getting back together and having fun together (Todorov) I like the narrative of the video because it doesn't impose too heavily on the rest of the performance clips and there is a good balance between the two. It isn't too emotional of a narrative and it can be quickly sorted out to keep with the slightly more positive theme of the song. The narrative shows the couple having a conversation and within the conversation the lyrics are "I need to know now can you love me again?" so I believe that the conversation they are having is about getting back together, matching with the lyrics. 

Audience

The audience for Pop music is both genders from ages 10 upwards. There is no real limit due to Pop being the most popular genre of music all over the world. Audiences for this song however would be teenagers and young adults because of the content. Uses and Gratifications theory suggests that the audiences of this age group could relate to the video because they may have experiences or be experiencing a break up. 

The audience for this video in particular would be males and females from the ages of 14 - 28, in my opinion. This is because I believe this to be the ages of dating and partying, two things which are clearly seen in the video. 

Representations

The representations of gender in this video show a dominating female, slapping her male partner and being seen as equal, if not stronger. 

Representations of relationships are also seen in this video. However they don't appear to be as serious as expected. The couple do end up getting back together and joining in the colourful dust fight after reconciling their relationship. I suppose a more emotional ballad would feature a more heart-wrenching relationship issue. 

Doing this analysis has really helped me. It is the first video I have analysed that students like myself have produced. It has given me inspiration and also shown me what is possible for student videos and given me an idea for our limitations. I would really like to incorporate some of the ideas used in this video into my own like the use of colours and chalk-like materials.