terrible photoshop filters because i'm untalented.

perfume advert photoshoot recap.

I brought in a camera. Harriet dressed up in a Kimono. Preparation done, I guess. I didn't have a solid idea, so I served as the photographer and the modeller. I know I was supposed to have a good idea many weeks prior, but perfume isn't my strong point, and neither are original ideas for products, so put the two together and I'm absolutely stumped. Harriet loves anime and by extent Japan culture, so putting on a kimono and looking oriental works well for her, I guess. We found a good spot by a cherry blossom tree which I never really noticed before, as it's heavily referenced by Japanese culture. It was quite perfect, actually; what other school would have this ideal a photoshoot destination for a product based on Japanese culture? The coincidence is pretty fantastic. My dad's camera took very high quality photos which had really ideal lighting for purpose; late afternoon sun works fantastically well for natural lighting.

So the setting, the costume, the lighting and the equipment are all sorted and work in full symbiosis with each other. The actual photos, however, were (without pointing any fingers) poorly modelled. To get Harriet to not pull a silly face under pressure of a camera is an art that only Mrs. Mann could perfect. I mean, I have all the photos ready to upload, but I'm not sure if Harriet wants them uploaded. Amber did a good job with the modelling bit, putting her in the right positions and such, but her facial expressions were unfit for purpose. Not to say that we didn't get any work done; I learned how to use a camera beyond the simple skill of pressing a button, Harriet (eventually) learned how to dress up in an outfit and be a serious model, and some of the photos I got aren't exactly unusable. It's a learning experience, and this learning in early stages will hopefully transcend into the models and the photographers of the future.

Jet Li's 'Hero' analysis.

Cinematography and Editing

In a martial arts film, where everything is ecstatic and jumping around like electrons in a current, the cinematography is heavily important, especially in Hero's case. In the Chess Courtyard fight, the scene switches perspectives between the meticulously choreographed sword fight (inside of Jet Li's freakin' mind) and two swordsman simply standing still and facing each other. In terms of action, they're polar opposites, but certain cinematographic techniques make these separate sequences flow seamlessly into one and other. When the battle begins, the camera zooms in to both of the swordsman's faces as their eyes close, as Nameless narrates, "We fought the battle in our minds." Between the two close-ups, there is a shot of a water droplet falling into (what appears to be) a traditional Chinese water gutter. That shot alone emphasises the tranquillity of that scene; whereas most modern action films are big on ear-bursting, larger-than-life amplitudes to convey their action, these two soldiers are so stationary and serene that you can hear individual water droplets falling into gutters. It's a very traditional and respectful fight in that regard. 

In the next shot, without fade, it goes directly to the fight with no introduction. It's a two-person tracking shot with the chess courtyard in the background. There's no shaky-cam or incoherent point-of-view shots, it's just a simple, steady shot of the two swordsman fighting in spectacular style. We can see the fight in real time in immaculate definition. It's then followed by a series of over-the-shoulder shots, detailing the immense precision and skill the swordsmen require to be as impressive as they are. It quickly switches back to the two swordsmen simply standing and facing each other in dead silence, then quickly switches back to the fighting as it continues. 

Mise-en-scene

This simple screenshot (below) is a perfect summation of the entire sequence. The two wooden columns separate the two swordsmen, creating a literal and figurative barrier between them. The 'Old Man' is atop the chess hut, playing his stringed instrument, acting as a judge or a mediator of the fight. The structures are oriental too, with the curvy roof-tiling juxtaposed by the square, restrictive columns. The clothes are ancient oriental, with robes of basic colour and texture.

Comparative Assignment

Charlie Walker (xxxxx) Claremont Fan Court School 64680   June 2015

B321 Individual Media Studies Portfolio: Comparative Assignment

A comparison of how women are represented in fragrance advertisements from 1930s, 1960s and 2010s 

Vega (1936, launched in USA)

Unlike other adverts who make women seem defenceless and powerless yet pretty and seductive, an advert almost 100 years old can prove that you can make a feminine figure who also seems powerful and authoritative. She can appear this powerful figure whilst also keeping little touches of femininity, like the red lipstick.

She's positioned highly, dominating the entire image with her presence. She has her hair tied back, looking as if she is in control of herself and not loose or careless; she appears a taut woman. The colour red is a strong, vibrant colour, and is often used to emphasis a symbol of importance and/or power, see the Red Army, the Red Cross, the Chinese flag, and the main colour pallet for 1984. It's a powerful colour, and here it's used to empower the subject of the image: the woman. She's not flimsy or objectified, she has power and dominance. She's not just dominant over the image, she's dominant over herself. She doesn't succumb to societal pressure to be 'pretty' or 'hot', she's her own woman. She is independent. She has power.

I elaborated upon the idea that she is a powerful woman, but she is not an entirely masculine figure, as she still keeps touches of femininity, like her lipstick. This shows that a woman can be powerful and headstrong, but she can also be a woman, as power isn't synonymous with masculinity either. This is breaking the historical societal code that 'Men are men and women are women', in which men are the labourers, the founders and the pioneers, and women were merely an object to them, like a trophy or an achievement. This shows that a woman can possess all of the aforementioned traits, yet still be beautiful and seductive and all the other traits of the average woman. Yes, it is possible to be both, yet most advertisement, film and video games think combining these two characteristics is impossible.

The use of contrasting colours in important. There's contrast in the colours in the crown behind her head (black and white), but there's also the duality in the colours on her face. It could symbolise the contradiction in her character; she possesses traditional female qualities (the red lipstick and the plucked eyebrows) whilst being the aforementioned powerful figure. The colours and shades are sharp and precise, which could mirror the characters mannerisms.

As I said as the start, this isn’t like other adverts at the time, as the represents the woman in an independent and . The best a woman could be was ‘a beautiful little fool’, but the 20s saw a prevalence in female independence. There were suffragettes over in England that got the right to vote; thusly women were becoming the free-thinking human beings that they should be. This advert supports female independence, as there was a searing lack of it just a decade prior.

Centaur (launched 1967)

The representation of the woman in Centaur is highly sexualized; by evoking Roman mythology it works counter to feminist values of its time. Where the 60's was a decade of liberal progression and feminism, Centaur counters this with traditional values and history, for better or worse. 

Sexuality is a strong theme in this advert, and how sexual attraction can be manipulated by a product. I don’t want to be mean-spirited or shallow, but this man is conventionally unattractive. The woman is conventionally attractive. Mainstream society follows these conventions, and perfume adverts are geared toward mainstream society. The man is a blank slate on which middle-class men onto which can project themselves. By contrast, the woman is represented as a sexual object. It is not because she is being pressured into being scantily dressed, which is usually the case, but it is because they wore togas in that culture, and that's just how women looked. Its historical and cultural context is more of a 'Get out of Jail Free' card to do whatever they want, rather than for effect. 

The woman is scantily-dressed represented as frivolous. In the advertisement, she has no other desire than to serve the man. Today, this would have been viewed as incredibly sexist, which it is, but it can be exempt from all of these criticisms due to its cultural context. However, it is important to note that historical context of the scantily dressed female doesn't justify sexism, it just explains it. I am rather sure that those who were in charge of producing this advert would name it sexist on reflection, because it is overtly and aggressively sexist. Centaur is representing this woman as if her only purpose is to serve the man, physically and emotionally. She is physically serving the male by applying the massage oil, and is emotionally satisfying the male my dressing provocatively, which we can safely assume is what the male prefers. Intelligent human beings will tell you that the woman's place isn't to serve men, but Centaur disagrees; it's almost as if Centaur is being wilfully ignorant in order to sell. 

The thing about Centaur is that it borrows from Greek Mythology. A Centaur was a mythological creature which has a half-man, half-horse anatomy. Centaurs were ruthless, merciless beings, so is this advertisement enforcing that? Is this advert encouraging the target audience to become so brutish you become beyond human? Well, maybe not that extreme, but the advert certainly is implying the gain of alpha male characteristics after application of Centaur. 

The One (Dolce and Gabbana, launched 2011)

The video (above) is more about what she says and less about what is presented on screen. There are no extravagant and expensive set-pieces, it's all about the likeability and relatability of the main woman of this advert. The representation of Scarlett Johansson is not of glamour of extravagance, but of relatability and down-to-earthiness. 

In front of her face is a light meter, there to improve the white balance of the photo. It's there to improve her appearance on screen in some way or another. What's notable is her complete lack of interest in such things. They can throw whatever volume of make-up they want on her and it would still make little difference to who she really is. She can still talk and be charming and humanly, but she doesn't need any of this technical nonsense to do so. She's still the same person, even without looking like a polished mannequin.

In this still image, the lighting is set up so she looks like a superior being; one that sticks her head above the crowd with confidence. She's framed as a beautiful woman, obviously, but this is after she's given a witty monologue and been incredibly down-to-earth, considering how big a celebrity she is. This screenshot is Scarlett Johansson in celebrity form: beautiful, posing and well-lit. In real-life, you can't be posing and well-lit all the time, and we've seen her be a normal person without such things. It jarringly transitions from relatable, likeable and normal Scarlett Johansson, to beautiful, elegant and model Scarlett Johansson within seconds. She can pull off the high-wire act of being both simultaneously. But how?

Of course, with Dolce and Gabbana's anti-bacteria-smelling fluid in a fancy glass, you can become as fantastic and perfect as Scarlett Johansson within seconds. Right before this, she says 'I'm not looking for a million things, just that one perfect thing: love', and just as she says 'love', she puts the perfume on the table. Is this also implying that the aforementioned anti-bacteria-smelling fluid in a fancy glass will bring you love as well? Is the anti-bacteria-smelling fluid in a fancy glass the 'one perfect thing' or will it bring you that 'one perfect thing' somehow? The truth is, Scarlett Johansson was a good actress years before this perfume came out, so has this perfume increased her ability to do anything in whatever regard? I'm going to say no on this one, but you have the right to spend your money on whatever you like, be it coloured wax in a fancy tube, petrolatum and lanolin in a fancy container, or of course, anti-bacteria-smelling fluid in a fancy glass.

To quote Jean Kilbourne, 'Ads sell more than products. They sell values, they sell images, they sell concepts of love and sexuality, of success and perhaps most important – normalcy. To a great extent they tell us who we are and who we should be.' Vega says that women can be beautiful and powerful, Centaur says that woman only live to serve men, and The One says that you can, nay, you should be impossibly-beautiful but also intelligent and emotionally stable. By understanding more about advertising we understand more about society, culture, the people that surround us, but most importantly, ourselves. By analysing these three adverts, we can learn about how women are treated and represented by the mainstream media, which, sufficed to say, isn't positive in the slightest.