Section 1- water aid
Video 1- Rain for Good'
Beginning
-The advert begins with the juxtaposition of the rain that we receive in England and the lack of it that they receive in Africa. Also, this juxtaposition is presented through the use of the house plant in the background of the first shots. The plant has been deliberately placed there so that the person watching will realise the difference of how we water our plants and keep them alive but the plants over in the drier, poorer countries can rarely get watered so often dry out and die: this is represented with the next shots containing images of the dried out plants in Africa and the dusty ground. The severity of the dryness is also represented by the diegetic sound of the girl walking.
-The visual and audio codes work together to construct the narrative of "sunshine", in Africa, on a "rainy day" in Britain. Which associates to the problems in which the charity are hoping to overcome (drought and lack of water supplies in Africa and other countries in the world).
-The rainy weather represents how the stereotypical whether in England is like this and that it is known that most British people complain about the rainy weather. However, to them it is seen as a blessing- helping the audience to realise how fortunate they are and makes them question how they can change their attitudes to life.
-The synchronize diegtic sound to repeat the message.
-The lack of characters at the beginning of the video, suggests how the world is more isolated and people are lonely. However, later on the community spirit is shown.
-The advert also begins with the colour palette containing rather dull colours but that begins to change as the colours transfer to being vivid, when the girl gets to the water pump and becomes united with her community.
-The abrupt cut transition from the wet and rainy England to the dry and dull Africa. Death is associated with the dead plants around. The use of the image of possibly a referral to cotton fields, suggests how white, affluent people have essentially caused this to happen-- causing guilt to be felt.
Next Part - Girl walking along
-Suspense is created through the enigmatic use of the slow motion, medium close up, low angle tracking of Claudia's feet and her swinging bucket and emphasised by the crescendo of the song in the scene at the water pump, which the informative on screen graphic appears.
Feminine representation of girl with pink shoes that cares about her appearance. Her 'pink' shoes allow the female audience to relate or identify with the character.
-Suspense is created through the enigmatic use of the slow motion, medium close up, low angle tracking of Claudia's feet and her swinging bucket and emphasised by the crescendo of the song in the scene at the water pump, which the informative on screen graphic appears.
Extreme close up of the girl creates a more intense atmosphere and the link between the audience and character is a lot stronger.
-Vibrant young female character in her bright clothing, juxtaposes the dry surroundings. The wide shot of only her represents isolation. Long road track behind her shows how far she has had to walk. Has a confident walk where she looks like she carries herself with pride. Doesn't look like she is struggling at all.
- Catchy tune/music impacts everyone. The music is easily recognizable those in first world country- building the relationship further.
- 'I see you in the darkness, I see you in the light'- first world country is the one in the darkness, she is in the light.
- More positive outlook as she sings during the wide-shot where trees are present in the background- which represents life.
-Her independence is shown by the wide-angled shot at 0.18 in which she is denoted by herself on a long and empty dusty road. Close-up shots using handheld cameras (0.16), her open, confident gestures (0.51) and her smiling gesture code (01.09) represent her as the advert's protagonist and a 'character' with whom can associate with.
All girls carrying buckets
-First sense of community is shown as they are all carrying colourful buckets. The buckets further emphasize the positive attitude and life.
- A shallow focus shot is used however we can still see into the background, it is just blurry, but can see the dwellings and places for the community to live and sleep- showing community.
- Shallow focus also used within extreme close up so we can just focus on her face.
-Harvesting crops at 0.37 shows life and how they can grow food and have a positive life there. Pick ace contrasts with the technology (radio) used in the first shot- Primitive props. Contrast between 1st world and 3rd world technology and materials.
-When the girl sings the line "Don't leave me, don't leave me, here alone". It is likely she is directly addressing it to the audience so they feel a personal connection with the girl. This connection can also be made with the use of the girls name being involved with the advert.
Boy running 0.46 and then community (children playing)
- Left- right pan of the boy running and montage of kids playing
-Synchronous sound
-They have the sunshine and we have the rain
-Costume of children show they may be going school- school uniform
Girl walks through her 'village' 0.51
-Buildings in the background show how well the buildings are built (brick and wood)
-Possible housewives watching can relate to the washing scene.
-A wealth of water as they can use it to wash the clothes which isn't necessarily a necessity.
-Extreme close up of her smiling.With juxtaposes to 0.15 where the extreme close up shows her small scars and any imperfections. Now she is smiling, her teeth look nice, white and straight.
1.05 Water dripping
-Fresh clean water has a lot of significance to them
-After the visual of water, the singing goes from solo to communal singing; reflects the effect water is having on their community
Saturated image 1.07- 1.09
-Reflects how water has brightened their life
-Sunlight is natural and something we all need, like water
650 million people still don't have access to clean drinking water
-Statistic juxtaposes uplifting mood of video
-Brings audience back to reality
Claudia walking home
-Ambient sound as she walks (no singing)
-Walking alone, she has a long walk home. Taken a whole day to collect the water
-She doesn't live near clean water
-Has her back to the audience
Wide shot of the sun-set at the end
-Deliberately left 5 secs of the shot at the end, so that the audience can reflect
-Direct address and digital technology to make it easier for the audience to feel engaged and make a difference
-The dress code of the main character includes a stereotypical knee length skirt and pink tones in her top and shoes. She has similar age to the girl she walks past at 1.00 which could connote how she had to grow up too quickly because of the tough environment she has to deal with.
An interesting intertext to consider would be WaterAids 'No Choice' advert in 2013, which is more conventionally constructed and represents t
he suffering of the main 'character' in a more explicit and emotive way. The stereotypical 'victim' needing our help is an archetype in which the audience would be familiar with, with many other adverts using this style. This more positive attitude might appeal to those who have become immune to the emotive representations conventionally deployed by this sub-genre.
With the song in the background being played the main audience would be for people in the age group of 30's - 40's due to them getting pleasure from the nostalgic value of remembering the original song. Parents could also be an audience that the advert is directed at, due to them being able to sympathise with the young girl more.
Interpretations/Overall Representations of issue
Positive Representations that challenges traditional conventions
-Challenges the stereotype that women are weak and unable to do certain jobs- for example carrying heavy items. However, she is seen to be carrying a heavy bucket of water. She is essentially seen as the 'breadwinner' within her family/community which is uncommon for a women to play this role, as it is usually a man.
-Shown to be able to use water to complete jobs such as washing clothes- which isn't a necessity.
-The colorful buckets reflects the community's positive attitudes towards life, even though they are in such a terrible situation.
- Her vibrant clothing further emphasizes her attitude towards life
-During the scene of the young boy running, it is clear that he is dressed in school uniform. Which shows how much their situation has changed due to people helping
Negative Representations which undermine severity of issue
-The communal attitude is seen to be very positive, for example at the time of when they are all singing in the village. However, it is extremely unrealistic to assume everyone carries this attitude- as they are in such a horrible situation.
-The shot of pouring water is also naive and unrealistic because they would not just waste such large amounts of water, after they have waited so long to be able to gain access to clean water.
-Claudia's vibrant clothing/costume largely juxtaposes her dry surroundings. Her surroundings represent her actual/truthful situation, whereas her clothing is trying to bring unrealistic connotations.
-The uplifting song used throughout, largely opposes the situation that the are in and is attempting to make light of a situation that shouldn't be made light of.
Balance Representation
-Although the advert contains many positive representations, it also ensures that the audience knows the severity of the situation- by the last shot of Claudia turning her back on the audience. And how she has a long walk back home.
-Challenges the stereotype that women are weak and unable to do certain jobs- for example carrying heavy items. However, she is seen to be carrying a heavy bucket of water. She is essentially seen as the 'breadwinner' within her family/community which is uncommon for a women to play this role, as it is usually a man.
-Shown to be able to use water to complete jobs such as washing clothes- which isn't a necessity.
-The colorful buckets reflects the community's positive attitudes towards life, even though they are in such a terrible situation.
- Her vibrant clothing further emphasizes her attitude towards life
-During the scene of the young boy running, it is clear that he is dressed in school uniform. Which shows how much their situation has changed due to people helping
Negative Representations which undermine severity of issue
-The communal attitude is seen to be very positive, for example at the time of when they are all singing in the village. However, it is extremely unrealistic to assume everyone carries this attitude- as they are in such a horrible situation.
-The shot of pouring water is also naive and unrealistic because they would not just waste such large amounts of water, after they have waited so long to be able to gain access to clean water.
-Claudia's vibrant clothing/costume largely juxtaposes her dry surroundings. Her surroundings represent her actual/truthful situation, whereas her clothing is trying to bring unrealistic connotations.
-The uplifting song used throughout, largely opposes the situation that the are in and is attempting to make light of a situation that shouldn't be made light of.
Balance Representation
-Although the advert contains many positive representations, it also ensures that the audience knows the severity of the situation- by the last shot of Claudia turning her back on the audience. And how she has a long walk back home.
Theories
Polysemic Viewing (John Fiske):
We all take different things from a media product
Semiotics (Roland Barthes):
Roland Barthes researched how audiences interpret what they see, he argues that audiences look for signs to help them interpret the narrative. These signs are usually based on the audiences personal experience due to their prior knowledge of old myths and tales. He looks at the relationship between the signifier (the object) and the signified (the meaning), which then produces, what he calls, the sign.
Our Conventional Advert- the close up on Jake's face as well as the slow motion movements when the shot is on his face creates suspense. Also the shot of Jake in front of a sign that says Noah's Ark, creates irony and represents the juxtaposition. This is due to, obviously, Noah's Ark connoting water and the struggle of there being too much of it but for the harsh reality, Jake has no clean water to drink and is in desperate need for it. This could help the audience to pity him as they would want to help him after feeling their own guilt of taking their water for granted and for just expecting it as a norm.
Our Non-Conventional Advert- The close up of the swinging legs at the beginning, coupled with the image of the sun in the background helps to connote the hope that is present as well as the happiness that previous donations have brought to people.
Structuralism (Claude Levi-Strauss):
The idea that texts can best be understood through an examination of their underlying structure
The idea that meaning is dependent upon (and produced through) pairs of oppositions
The idea that the way in which these binary oppositions are resolved can have particular ideological significance
Narratology (Tzvetan Todorov):
The idea that all narratives share a basic structure that involves a movement from one state of equilibrium to another. The idea that these two states of equilibrium are separated by a period of imbalance or disequilibrium. The idea that the way in which narratives are resolved can have particular ideological significance.
Genre Theory (Steve Neale):
The idea that genres may be dominated by repetition, but are also marked by difference, variation, and change
The idea that genres change, develop, and vary, as they borrow from and overlap with one another
The idea that genres exist within specific economic, institutional and industrial contexts
Postmodernism (Jean Baudrillard):
The idea that in postmodern culture the boundaries between the ‘real’ world and the world of the media have collapsed and that it is no longer possible to distinguish between reality and simulation
The idea that in a postmodern age of simulacra we are immersed in a world of images which no longer refer to anything ‘real’
The idea that media images have come to seem more ‘real’ than the reality they supposedly represent (hyperreality).
Theories of Representation (Stuart Hall):
The idea that representation is the production of meaning through language, with language defined in its broadest sense as a system of signs.
The idea that the relationship between concepts and signs is governed by codes.
The idea that stereotyping, as a form of representation, reduces people to a few simple characteristics or traits.
The idea that stereotyping tends to occur where there are inequalities of power, as subordinate or excluded groups are constructed as different or ‘other’ (e.g. through ethnocentrism).
Theories of Identity (David Gauntlett):
The idea that the media provide us with ‘tools’ or resources that we use to construct our identities.
The idea that whilst in the past the media tended to convey singular, straightforward messages about ideal types of male and female identities, the media today offer us a more diverse range of stars, icons and characters from whom we may pick and mix different ideas.
Feminist Theories (Liesbet Van Zoonen and Bell Hooks):
Liesbet Van Zoonen
The idea that gender is constructed through discourse, and that its meaning varies according to cultural and historical context.
The idea that the display of women’s bodies as objects to be looked at is a core element of western patriarchal culture.
The idea that in mainstream culture the visual and narrative codes that are used to construct the male body as spectacle differ from those used to objectify the female body.
Bell Hooks
The idea that feminism is a struggle to end sexist/patriarchal oppression and the ideology of domination.
The idea that feminism is a political commitment rather than a lifestyle choice.
The idea that race and class as well as sex determine the extent to which individuals are exploited, discriminated against or oppressed.
Theories of Ethnicity and Postcolonial Theory (Gilroy):
The idea that colonial discourses continue to inform contemporary attitudes to race and ethnicity in the postcolonial era.
The idea that civilisationism constructs racial hierarchies and sets up binary oppositions based on notions of otherness.
Reception Theory- Stuart Hall
The use of handheld cameras and indirect mode of address made by Claudia connote that the audience is following her story. The fact that she is named will allow the audience to feel more personally connected with her and allows them to realise she is a real person and that so many people go through this on a daily basis.
Cultivation theory – George Gerbner
Structuralism-
How texts are constructed through the use of binary opposition at 00.47, the songs title " Sunshine on a Rainy Day", is used over shots of children running and playing and the more positive connotations of this section of the advert are highlighted by the high key lighting used.
A conceptual binary opposition is created though the on screen graphic " 650 million people still don't have access to clean drinking water"- between Claudia's positive story and those of others. Its this opposition that mostly encourages the audience to donate the money to charity.
David Gauntlett's theory of identity- Claudia acts as a role model for the type of lifestyle changes that the audience could be responsible for if they do not donate money to WaterAid.
A feminist's response would be that Claudia is breaking the traditional roles that she should be playing in society and instead is taking more of a productive role.
We all take different things from a media product
Semiotics (Roland Barthes):
Roland Barthes researched how audiences interpret what they see, he argues that audiences look for signs to help them interpret the narrative. These signs are usually based on the audiences personal experience due to their prior knowledge of old myths and tales. He looks at the relationship between the signifier (the object) and the signified (the meaning), which then produces, what he calls, the sign.
Our Conventional Advert- the close up on Jake's face as well as the slow motion movements when the shot is on his face creates suspense. Also the shot of Jake in front of a sign that says Noah's Ark, creates irony and represents the juxtaposition. This is due to, obviously, Noah's Ark connoting water and the struggle of there being too much of it but for the harsh reality, Jake has no clean water to drink and is in desperate need for it. This could help the audience to pity him as they would want to help him after feeling their own guilt of taking their water for granted and for just expecting it as a norm.
Our Non-Conventional Advert- The close up of the swinging legs at the beginning, coupled with the image of the sun in the background helps to connote the hope that is present as well as the happiness that previous donations have brought to people.
Structuralism (Claude Levi-Strauss):
The idea that texts can best be understood through an examination of their underlying structure
The idea that meaning is dependent upon (and produced through) pairs of oppositions
The idea that the way in which these binary oppositions are resolved can have particular ideological significance
Narratology (Tzvetan Todorov):
The idea that all narratives share a basic structure that involves a movement from one state of equilibrium to another. The idea that these two states of equilibrium are separated by a period of imbalance or disequilibrium. The idea that the way in which narratives are resolved can have particular ideological significance.
Genre Theory (Steve Neale):
The idea that genres may be dominated by repetition, but are also marked by difference, variation, and change
The idea that genres change, develop, and vary, as they borrow from and overlap with one another
The idea that genres exist within specific economic, institutional and industrial contexts
Postmodernism (Jean Baudrillard):
The idea that in postmodern culture the boundaries between the ‘real’ world and the world of the media have collapsed and that it is no longer possible to distinguish between reality and simulation
The idea that in a postmodern age of simulacra we are immersed in a world of images which no longer refer to anything ‘real’
The idea that media images have come to seem more ‘real’ than the reality they supposedly represent (hyperreality).
Theories of Representation (Stuart Hall):
The idea that representation is the production of meaning through language, with language defined in its broadest sense as a system of signs.
The idea that the relationship between concepts and signs is governed by codes.
The idea that stereotyping, as a form of representation, reduces people to a few simple characteristics or traits.
The idea that stereotyping tends to occur where there are inequalities of power, as subordinate or excluded groups are constructed as different or ‘other’ (e.g. through ethnocentrism).
Theories of Identity (David Gauntlett):
The idea that the media provide us with ‘tools’ or resources that we use to construct our identities.
The idea that whilst in the past the media tended to convey singular, straightforward messages about ideal types of male and female identities, the media today offer us a more diverse range of stars, icons and characters from whom we may pick and mix different ideas.
Feminist Theories (Liesbet Van Zoonen and Bell Hooks):
Liesbet Van Zoonen
The idea that gender is constructed through discourse, and that its meaning varies according to cultural and historical context.
The idea that the display of women’s bodies as objects to be looked at is a core element of western patriarchal culture.
The idea that in mainstream culture the visual and narrative codes that are used to construct the male body as spectacle differ from those used to objectify the female body.
Bell Hooks
The idea that feminism is a struggle to end sexist/patriarchal oppression and the ideology of domination.
The idea that feminism is a political commitment rather than a lifestyle choice.
The idea that race and class as well as sex determine the extent to which individuals are exploited, discriminated against or oppressed.
Theories of Ethnicity and Postcolonial Theory (Gilroy):
The idea that colonial discourses continue to inform contemporary attitudes to race and ethnicity in the postcolonial era.
The idea that civilisationism constructs racial hierarchies and sets up binary oppositions based on notions of otherness.
Reception Theory- Stuart Hall
The use of handheld cameras and indirect mode of address made by Claudia connote that the audience is following her story. The fact that she is named will allow the audience to feel more personally connected with her and allows them to realise she is a real person and that so many people go through this on a daily basis.
Cultivation theory – George Gerbner
- This theory might suggest that audiences have become used to the conventions of this sub-genre of advertising and perhaps somewhat ‘immune’ to pleading, earnest non-diegetic voiceovers by well-known voices and black and white, slow-motion, emotive representations of people suffering.
- The target audience’s likely liberal political perspectives will have been shaped by exposure to previous, generically similar adverts, shaping their world view that the suffering of people less fortunate than themselves can be alleviated by charitable donations.
Structuralism-
How texts are constructed through the use of binary opposition at 00.47, the songs title " Sunshine on a Rainy Day", is used over shots of children running and playing and the more positive connotations of this section of the advert are highlighted by the high key lighting used.
A conceptual binary opposition is created though the on screen graphic " 650 million people still don't have access to clean drinking water"- between Claudia's positive story and those of others. Its this opposition that mostly encourages the audience to donate the money to charity.
David Gauntlett's theory of identity- Claudia acts as a role model for the type of lifestyle changes that the audience could be responsible for if they do not donate money to WaterAid.
A feminist's response would be that Claudia is breaking the traditional roles that she should be playing in society and instead is taking more of a productive role.
Analysis of our own adverts
Non-Conventional Advert
Conventional Advert
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