Textual Analysis - Miss Dior Cherie Advertisment

1. Media Forms

What techniques does the advert use to persuade the audience to buy the perfume?

There are various techniques that this advert uses to persuade the audience to buy this perfume. Firstly, the advert stars Natalie Portman - who over night, became a highly well known and sought after actress due to her   iconic and impressive performance in the recent film "Black Swan". The use of elite persons in adverts make the audience want to buy the product as we want something that that star uses to have a feel of their luxurious life styles. This also makes the advert and product memorable as consumers know the person and is a well known name; so they can associate them with one another, this is over an unknown person advertising  the product and not having anything else to associate it with.

Also, this advert has a sexual undertone. For instance, when she is getting dressed, she is bearing some of her skin, suggestively but not being overtly sexual. There are also many shots of her intimacies with her male interest. This gives a line of appeal as "sex sells". 

2. Media Representations

How does this present women?

In this advert women are represented in a traditional view and the characteristics that are ideal to possess. The first shot is of her sniffing a bouquet of flowers, of which we can infer are a gift from a male admirer. This conveys that women are treated like princesses - being surrounded with gifts. In addition to this, when they begin to kiss, it is soft and ingressive. This shows that she is respected by the man. This leads onto the fragility of women. They are usually seen as inferior to men; and so should be treated with "care". The pale, pastel colours (like wise in her parisian style boudoir) suggests this, it also connotes beauty fairness. A characteristic women are expected to possess.

Symbolism is used in order to reflect women. The bouquet of flowers and the worms eye view shot, looking up at the trees with sunlight shining through portrays nature. Therefore woman are presented to be naturally beautiful and again delicate - like leaves. Additionally the fact that Natalie Portman is fair, has clean features and is wearing minimal make up also shows the ideal and traditional way women should be - she has a "damsel in distress look" about her. They shot of the white swan symbolises innocence, purity and respect (as it against the law for them to be killed); these reflect the way women are to be presented.

3. Media Audiences

What type of audience would this advert appeal to?

The primary audience of this advert is women aged between 18-30. This is due to the use of the youthful looking actors used and also the fact that Natalie Portman has now become a style icon for women within that age range. They would most likely to relate to this target audience as they would like to identify with her. Again, the colours aren't mature, vivid, colours, they are very much colours representing youth.

The secondary audience would be men as the message this presents and portrays about women infer that women should be shrouded with gifts and treated specially. Therefore this would make a good - romantic -gift. And they may hope they'll have the loving, caring relationship that is portrayed in the advert.

4. Media Institutions

What image does this advert portray about the Dior brand?

This advert portrays a certain image for the brand. The advert protrays that the brand is aimed at a certain type of person. It is named "Miss" Dior, and this connotes that it is for women who are unmarried. Furthermore, the advert portrays an adoration for elegant, feminine women - the close up shots frame Natalie Portmans face and put all emphasis on her. Therefore we can infer that men may want to give this as a gift. Thus telling us that the brand is prestigious as it is worth something. and would be a well recieved gift. In addition to this, the mysterious shot with the black sunglasses and with her wearing the black dress connotes classiness and wealth and this therefore, it is aimed at people with a disposable income.

Technophobes

The program “Technophobes would appeal to people who can relate to the topic of the program; people who are also afraid of technology but may also appeal to people who love technology and are curious as to why they are scared. The gender this would mainly relate to would be males as they like technology more than women and if they don’t, then they can relate to those who also do not like it. The age group this would be aimed at would be 16 – 25 as this is the primary demography of people who actually watch BBC3.

The assumptions I can come to considering this program will be on BBC3 are that it would be as much of a serious documentary, it will also have simple and easy to understand/relate to language and it will mainly revolve around younger people who do not like technology. This is due to the fact that BBC3 will need to please their target audience and their demography so they will use their normal codes and conventions in creating a program.

When this is broadcasted the type of things I expect to be included in the program are that it will be following a younger group of people, this is due to the fact that it will need to be relatable and also have a fun element. I also expect there to be a background story of their previous experiences with technology. There may also be a form of video diary to track how they are getting on over the course of the documentary. The content will revolve around the rise in the use and reliability of new technologies such as the iPad, laptops ,etc.

The representations the program would give about the Technophobes would be; why are they so scared of such a normal everyday thing. They may portray them in a comedic way as it’s rare to see someone choosing not to use technology.

Analysis of a Documentary DVD Cover

This is a DVD cover of the film “An Inconvenient Truth”. This is a documentary film directed by Davis Gunnenheim in 2006. It is about the former US Vice President’s – Al Gore – campaign aimed to educate the world about global warming and the disastrous effects it will have on the earth in years to come. It premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and overall was a box office success and overall became the sixth – highest grossing film documentary to date in the United States. The DVD cover of this documentary-film reflects various aspects and issues concerning the topic of this film.

Firstly, the colour scheme of this cover is dark and dull – with different shades of grey and black along with earthy tones. The dull colour scheme connotes that the film has a serious tone in it and has nothing to “laugh about”. This reflects the serious issue of the inevitable threat of global warming and that people should actually listen to the warning that people are advising and giving to the public and not just dismissing it and saying they “don’t care” or “it’s not going to happen in my lifetime”, etc.

The cover includes various environmental elements; such as; lightning, tsunami, dry earth and harmful smokes (greenhouse gasses) the collection of these images emphasises the effects of global warming in a clear and brief way. As they are pictures, they are universal – people don’t have to be able to read to see the effects and the impact of what will happen due to global warming. The whole collective image of the cover seems almost “apocalyptic”.

The type used in the heading/title of the film is written in capital letters. This again creates a serious tone and gives and creates more of an impact on people. It makes it seem serious and sets a stern tone towards the person looking at the cover. Additionally, the red text next to the main heading; looks as if it has been stamped on. This connotes a kind of approved status – that global warming will happen and everyone knows about it. Again it’s written in red and in capitals; this again shows warning.

Lastly, the age restriction is quite bold on the front. This shows the demographic of the documentary-film. From the PG rating we can connote that the film is basically aimed at everyone as the only restriction it has that if children watch it - they have to have some form of parental guidance. In effect, this helps the documentary-film get out to a mass audience and is accessible to loads of people.

Documentary

A category of non-fiction motion pictures to document an aspect of reality. (Primarily for purposes of instruction or a maintaining historical record)

Codes and Conventions

• A voice over (Usually authoritative)
• Real/genuine footage of events
• Genuine (natural/unaltered) lighting and sound 
• Achieved footage or still images
• Interviews (With someone who is concerned with the documentary)
• Simple, brief text (Titles, dates, etc)
• Non-diegetic sound (Could be music fitting to the topic)

Styles of Documentaries

1. Observationalist: Observing lived life with a minimum amount of intervention
2. Expository: Speaks directly to the viewer, with a strong point of view or argument. They are rhetorical and try to persuade the viewer.
3. Poetic: 
4. Participatory: Believes it's impossible for the act of film-making not to influence or alter the event being filmed.
5. Reflexive: Draw attention to their own constructedness and the fact that they are representations.
6. Performative: Stresses subjective experience and an emotional response to the world.