31.1.13 - Micro elements

Today as a class we looked into the 5 main micro-elements that have influenced our work so far. The micro-elements are based on stereotypes which therefore allows the producer of the media product to generalise what their target audience will want however some stereotypes are not correct or are a negative generalisation over certain people for example blonde people are immediately assumed as stupid or dumb. Through the using of the micro-elements a producer of the media product can encode their media product how they wish, each micro-element has its own enigmas or criteria which can influence the encoding. The 5 micro-elements which we looked at are:

1. Use of the Body: Is it active or passive? Shape or position in the image. Style of dancing?
2. Facial Expression: describing the facial expression(s) e.g. rough, warm, smiling, frown
3. Mise-en-scene: Code of dress - items, colour, style. Props - items, colour, style. Location - geographically and more specifically e.g. club, room of house
4. The Gaze(s): Influenced by Laura Mulvey: Who is looking at who? What types of 'looks' is the person given? Locate what or where the main person's focus is.
5. How the Camera Frames the Body: Is there a focus on a particular body part? e.g. face, legs, chest. What type of shot is used? e.g. low angle, extreme close up, long shots. What is the effect of this type of shot?
Once we were all familiar with the micro-elements we watched a video and were each assigned a micro-element which we would specialise in; I was in a group with Naomi the video was: Technology - by 50 Cent ft.Justin Timberlake.

In my group we were looking at The Gaze from this we were able to clearly identify how men and women are perceived, whether it follows a stereotype and if we as the audience see the portrayal of each person or character as positive or negative. Here is a mind map below of the influence The Gaze has on this music video:

From this we were able to feedback our ideas on each of the micro-elements. We then went off individually and were able to analyse our own work in conjunction with the micro-elements. I was able to create the table below based on my music video:

Tool Kit Foci:	Evidence in music video:	Meaning presented to the audience:
1.       Use of Body	Artist = active – range of locations and shots Male= passive – close up of removing hand, low angle shot of him on bed	Artist= audience can see that she is trying to make the relationship work Male = appears lazy, negative connotations
2.       Facial Expression	Artist = meaningful – close ups Male = not bothered – close up at dinner date	Artist = creating connection with target audience as they can relate Male = increasing negative attitude
3.       Mise-en-scene	Artist = multiple colour symbolisms e.g. purple = royalty/ insecurity and gloom, props rose flower motif	Sympathy for artist as the relationship although was equal is now becoming one sided.
4.       The Gaze(s)	Range of camera shots. Code of dress in suitable in creating a sense of verisimilitude. Women are not objectified.	The female gaze on men in not sexual but negative towards the amount of emotions they put into relationship which follows conventions as stereotypically females are more emotive in the majority of things including relationships
5.       How the camera frames the body	Music video is from the female perspective therefore the male is cast as the villain through the camera shots e.g. low angle shot of male