Production Portfolio Diary Example

Week 1 Revised representation theory Looked at Stuart Hall’s theory on Encoding and Decoding Looked at examples such as EastEnders Understood how different audiences may get different meanings from media texts WWW – Understood basic theory EBI – Need more examples to help

Week 2 Given portfolio briefs Watched and analysed a number of music videos Discovered race was commonly represented, especially in hip-hop/R&B music Looked at stereotypes and how music videos sometime subvert them WWW – Lots of ideas for analysis EBI – Waiting for background on films to decide

Week 3 Watched and analysed a number of film clips including This Is England and Kidulthood Discussed the representation of young males in the films – were they negative/positive? Decided it would be easier to focus on music videos for comparison as the videos are shorter and more concise. WWW – Happy to have decided to compare music videos EBI – I need to research various videos and decide on an area of representation.

Week 4 Completed portfolio brief Researched a number of music videos including _________ and _______ Looked at Mr. Harper’s example and used it as a template Chose to compare ___________ and ____________ because… WWW – Glad to have made a firm decision EBI – Need to ask for some help on _____

Evaluation Should be approximately 500 words and needs to Show exactly how you have demonstrated your understanding of representation Reflect on what you have done (WWW/EBI) Link to other units in the year – the introduction unit and magazines/advertising

Evaluation of Production Portfolio Throughout the production of this portfolio I have been able to demonstrate my knowledge of Representation through a Power Point/essay and the production of a CD cover. Firstly, my Power Point, which consists of a number of different still images from ‘Poker Face’ by Lady GaGa and ‘Baby One More Time’ by Britney Spears is really effective in showing the different ways in which females are represented in music videos. In her video, Britney Spears is a stereotypical schoolgirl who is bored by school but, when the bell rings, she is able to express herself. The video represents girls as being feminine (the use of costume, dance, the colour pink) and also free and full of life. On the other hand, in ‘Bad Romance’, Lady GaGa expresses herself in a number of different roles, like she is addressing different perceptions of women. There is the shy, sensitive woman, tears in her eyes, bathed in white light. In contrast, there is the animalistic woman, caged and angry. I think the videos work well as comparison points because they offer very different ways of representing women.

Evaluation of Production Portfolio For my practical piece, I chose to represent women in hip-hop by creating a CD cover for a fictional artist _________ and giving her the attributes you would associate with a male rapper. For example, the way she poses is aggressive and the use of font is ________, the same as used by Eminem and 50 Cent. I have used black and gold as dominant colours, which connote power and wealth, again normally associated with male hip-hop artists.

Evaluation of Production Portfolio I enjoyed producing my CD cover and learnt how to use Photoshop. The cover could have been a bit more professional and I could have achieved this by lighting my photograph and using a different background. However, I think it shows that I understand the concept of representation as it does reveal the different stereotypes associated with the genre and gives them to a female, not normally associated with the genre.

Evaluation of Production Portfolio This project was successful because I was able to think about the messages and values encoded in a media text to make it recognisable to an audience. I was also able to draw upon my knowledge of advertising and how stereotypes can be a kind of shorthand. It reinforced and strengthened my knowledge of representation theory.