Thursday 24 October 2013

Photoshop Homework.2 Hazy Lights

Photoshop Homework. 2
Hazy Lights

Step 1: Under the channels palette on the image press cmd+click on the RGB channel to load the brightness levels as a selection.

Step 2: Return to the layers palette and create a new Curves layer. The selection will automatically be loaded as a mask.

Step 3: Afterwards press Alt+Click on the mask icon on the Layers palette. A black and white representation of the mask will come up over the image. Once you have done that press cmd+m to bring the curves adjustment. This is adjusting the mask you just loaded. Drag the leftmost point on that curve you want to edit to the right, this will black out the brightest white parts of the image. Then click the eye icon on the layer to view the layer as normal. 

Step 4: Select the layer mask icon and blur it by clicking on filter then blur then Gaussian Blur and choose 5 pixels because this looks very professional. 

Step 5: Put a point at around 80% on the curve you want to alter and pull it up this will brighten the area around the light and then the blurry layer will add the hazy factor to the lights or sparks.

Grading


1/12

GREEN

This is a really good piece of work and you have a step by step guide. It is missing a little clarity though, without any print screens.



T: Use print screens to show the process & perhaps consider showing an example that you have made using this tool.


Wednesday 16 October 2013

Representation Homework 2

Representation Homework 
First statement : 'In many rap videos women have no identity except as sexual playthings and "eye candy'

I agree with this statement because in many videos such as Blurred Lines, Gold Digger by Kanye West and Still DRE by Dr DRE many of the women are there because they look good and would attract younger men, therefore they are seen as eye candy. Furthermore this will teach young men that girls are just sex toys as the videos get worse and will make them represent the women like this till videos become less sexual. Also having girls in videos doing sexual things will be influenced on the younger generation, this is already happening when Miley Cyrus started to twerk, many young girls are now starting to twerk and it is now seen as normal. However this is not normal for an 11 year old girl to do because most men only come across twerking when they become an age such as 18.

Second statement : 'These images do provide pleasures to some viewers. But the concern is that men may internalise the notion that women are nothing more than sexual objects waiting to be used.'

I agree that the women in the videos give please to some viewers - these are negative images probably being viewed by secondary school students. Therefore, it says that women are nothing more than sexual objects. Therefore an image is created and it could be stereotypical that women should have a perfect body, good looking and is pretty much a man's sex object. In this day and age the concern is that the videos become pornographic because in this modern era with very sexual videos young boys and girls between 7 years old to 10 years old are learning about sex too quickly. Therefore as the videos get worse by 2018 the representation for women would become different from when MC Hammer had video girls. They used to be classy and elegant and now you could call them not classy, fake and flash their body for money. This is all influenced by the Media and most children these days are surrounded by Media. For example, 'Nuts Magazines' have been criticised because they are to accessible for young children because they have not stopped children from looking at their front covers, Music videos are easily accessible on YouTube, there would be no stopping these younger teens and children perceiving the negative approach/representation because the videos are becoming worse and worse.

Third statement : These sorts of images are not unique to hip hop. Objectified female bodies are everywhere. They appear throughout our culture in films, advertisements, television programmes etc. However, within music videos, this is virtually the ONLY vision of women available.'

I disagree that these sort of images are not unique to hip hop. Because in the film Horrible Bosses, Jennifer
Aniston in the film plays are part that she is very sexual towards men, her movement is seductive and provocative and this film was on a 12 rating. Therefore many young children would be able to see what a stereotypical women is now. In the new Gilette advert there are two women in small clothes giving another stereotypical and negative representation towards women. In the programme Geordie Shore the girls are always wanting to pull men and have sex with them, this will tell the younger audience that girls just want to have sex and that to men they are just objects. This shows many different ways where young men can see what women are now represented as. Also, good looking women are now the only vision in Men's music videos because sex sells. The more money the artists make the more girls they will use therefore Hip Hop Honey's will become worse over time till there will be action taken but there is none at the moment.
Will it be to late for when the children become influenced by the negative representation of women and how they should be treated and used?


Grading

1/11

B2

What you have here is really good and you have responded well to the statements. You have used your examples well even exploring other media texts.



T: Try to use key terminology (see VCOP Blog). Pick out some of the technical aspects (Mise-en-scene, editing, lyrics etc) and how they help you come to your conclusions.