NRS Social Grading Criteria

Socio-economic Groupings

Developed in the 70's as part of the Nation Readership Survey, created to establish the demographics. The NRS critera was based on social and economic circumstances. This is still applied in mass media today, although it is a really OUT-DATED model.

• Class A - Higher Managerial Profression workers e.g. Civil servant (works for the governement e.g. MP)
• Class B - Intermediate managerial, administrative or profressional e.g. Dentist
• Class C1 - Supervisory or clerical and junior managerial, administrative or professional e.g. a secretary

ABC1 are often grouped to equate to the middle classes

• Class C2 -  Skilled manual worker e.g. Engineer
• Class D - Semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers e.g. Tesco employee
• Class E - Unemployed, pensioners and people who depend on the welfare state for their income (Benefits)

C2DE are often grouped to equate to the working class

Only 2% of the UK population idenitifies as 'upper class', their not included in this classification scheme

An Analysis of Two contrasting newspapers

News of the World (Red Top newspaper)

Target audience: 21-30

GNR

Genre: Newspaper
Narrative: Gossip related news

Representation: Features celebrity and showbiz gossip

Visual codes

·         Features semi-naked celebrity (biggest image on the cover)

·         Celebrity couple, small image in the lower right corner

·         Pop star featured as a selling point for the magazine (offers a free sticker album of the pop star)

·         Celebrity featured (image) in smaller headline after his name in print

·         Two of the England stars from yesterday’s game featured in bottom right-hand corner; accompanying this in the opposite corner there are the respective badges of the competitive sides, broken up by the trophy

o    Sports story features on the front cover (although small)

·         In the bottom left corner is the only picture of a civilian, featured for a related story

·         Contrasting colours throughout the cover

Layout and Design

·         Text is the feature of the page

·         Each story is individually boxed

·         Images are quiet small, with the largest image being a semi-naked celebrity

·         No colour scheme, mismatch of colours

Language

The mode of address is indirect and the register is relatively informal

·         Sensationalist

·         Emotive stories, appeals to people’s emotions

·         One sided view appeal to peoples ideologies and reactant views

·         The grammar is not correct in all places

·         Very small amount of text no more than 200 words, with an indicator to read further into the newspaper for the rest of the article

·         Headlines introducing stories with little to no text to accompany it

The Independent

Target audience: 40-60, perhaps 40+, intellectual readers

GNR

Genre: Global news provider

Narrative: Economic, political or relevant world news. International current affairs

Representation: Reputable news coverage

Visual codes

·         Large image demonstrating the demonstrations against the Governments cuts, image shows that violence broke out in the demonstrations, with three police officers centre behind their riot shields and visors down.

·         Smaller image of man wrapped in a Libyan flag standing on top of a tank, featured next to a relevant headline

·         Again smaller images to accompany relevant headlines

Layout and Design

·         The largest image covers 3/4s of a page from the bottom left side upwards

·         Name of the paper is centred and stretched across the width of the cover

·         Colour scheme:

o    Is in-keeping with the colours featured in the image

o    Genre neutral

·         Ordered, easy to read and accessible

Language

Mode of address: Is indirect and of a formal register

·         Factual based

·         Reliable sources

·         Intellectual read

·         Heading is put in a sophisticated way

·         Reports on International current affairs

Newspaper Analysis

When we analyse a print based media we look at:

• GNR
• Genre 
• Narrative
• Representation
• Visual codes
• Image anaylsis
• Layout and design
• Composition of images and text
• Language
• Mode of address

The Guardian

• Central picture
• Features a heroic rescue serve team saving a women
• Carefullt selected
• Positive
• Making the subject about the people
• Background of title
• Links to cultural story
• Variation of stories
• Small advert
• Headline is less melodramatic, more sophisticated
• Target audience 40-60
• Intellectual reader
• Gender Neutral colour scheme
• Internation current affairs

Our generation don't tend to buy newspapers instead it would be more appropiate to younger readers from 16-25 to catch the headlines from MSN or on their phone.

Certain Organisations supply the newspapers with images of the current affairs:
AP- Associated press
Reuters
EPA
Getty Images
Rex images
AFP 

Music Video Theory - Andrew Goodwin

Goodwin’s Theory

Voyeurism – Granting the viewer access to their idol or idols - especially females

Need to establish a star – Close ups, costumes, lip sync

He identified a number of key features which distinguish the music video:

·         Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics

·         Relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics

·         There is a relationship between music and visuals

·         Record companies demand a lot of close-ups of the main artist or vocalist

·         There is often intertextual reference e.g. to films, TV programmes.

An analysis of Adele - Rolling In The Deep (Music Video)

Genre

·         Soul / Rhythm and Blues

·         Focus on voice

Narrative

·         Mini narratives within each separate settings conveyed in metaphors

·         Story of break up

Representation

·         Sophisticated, mature women – reinforces the image of the new album 21 to show she’s grown from her first album 19

·         Talented – focuses on her voice

Micro Analysis

Visual Codes

·         Movement – Panning towards and away from the subject (usually Adele)

·         Star is the focus, she’s sat solitary in a room

·         Close up and wide shots

Editing

·         Edits are controlled by pace of music

o    Faster pace during the chorus

o    There is a very strong beat in the song which is massively influential in the editing shots and pace

Mise-en-scene

·         Muted colours, natural browns, but primarily the contrast between black and white

·         Other character dressed in a samurai suit

·         Contrast of light and dark throughout

o    This relates to the lyrics and message of the song

§  The connotations of this is the good and evil

·         Star stays routed on her chair throughout

·         Metaphors in props and set

o    Chairs covered over as if about to be moved she’s sat in one representing defiance

o    The broken cups and plates represent the frequency of fights and how regular they are

o    The powder being stirred into the air to represent the distortion in the relationship

o    The stark nature of the set is very powerful (perhaps linking to the power of Adele’s voice)

§  All of these relate back to the lyrics

In Relation to Goodwin’s theory

·         There is a relationship between music and visuals

·         Record companies demand a lot of close-ups of the main artist or vocalist

o    Adele is focused on a central figure and close ups are common

·         Relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics – It is not blaringly obvious that it links as the messages are told through metaphors

In Relation to Uses and gratification

·         I feel that as the artist in this video particularly allows the audience to form a relationship not only with the product but allow the viewer to form relationships with others who have watched this video.

·         Perhaps also personal identity would come in it as the primary audience for the video may feel that they can relate to the artist and position themselves in society; Adele is portrayed as an elegant, mature, sophisticated women this may allow the audience to reflect on themselves.

Analysis of Britney Spears - Hit Me Baby One More Time (Music Video)

·         First five seconds diegetic sound (classroom noises)

·         Dance routines in each setting

·         Lots of light used

·         Close up and wide shots used regularly

·         Mixture of individual shot and group, Britney always centred

·         School uniform

·         Femininity – pink and white outfit, short skirt

Pop Genre

·         Dancing/ routines

·         Lively – fast paced

·         Universally acceptable

·         Busy

Narrative

·         Fantasy/daydream – signified by flashbacks

·         No links from visuals to lyrics, tiny micro narratives

·         Separate scenes

Representation

·         School girl

o    High school, massively culturally significant to primary audience

§  American teenagers

o    Textual reference with ‘Grease’

Micro Analysis

Visual Codes

·         Star is centre stage

·         Soft focus – to represent dream

·         Close up and wide shot

·         Movement – panning

Editing

·         Fast paced edits

·         Music dictates the edit/cuts, dictated by the beat

·         Jump cut – used to convey a passage of time e.g. from mid shot to close up.

Mise-en-scene

·         Vibrant colours

·         Costumes reinforce editing

·         Suggestive

·         Large scale sets

Sound

·         Diegetic sound

o    Contrasts reality from fantasy

Close ups of the star (Britney) - Voyeurism - Andrew Goodwin

Key Concepts & Key Theories

Key Concepts

M - Media language (terminology, connotations, dennotations)
I - Institution (Who made the product)
G - Genre (Codes and Convention)
R - Representation
A - Audience
I - Ideology
N - Narrative
E - (Just to remember as an acronym)

Key Theories

• Audience Positioning
• Todorov narrative theory
• Propp Character Types
• Strauss Binary Opposits
• Uses and Gratifications
• Hypodermic Syringe Theory
• Mode of Address