February 26, 2013
Today we will be working on your “Ad for Nothing”. Get into your groups and grab your iPad and get to work!
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February 13, 2013
Building on the “Ad for a White Towel” exercise, and applying the information covered during this unit, create an “Ad for Nothing”. This can be an individual (print ad) or group (30-60 second iMovie) presentation. Make sure to use all the weasel words and techniques you can.
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January 31, 2013
Today you will create an advertisement for a white towel that targets a particular audience. You will use the handout given to you last X-Block, and a criteria sheet you will receive today.
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January 23, 2013
Media uses codes and conventions to constuct messages. You decode their meaning based on their context, which can be easily manipulated to make you feel or think a certain way.
We always knew people liked to watch ads. At least some ads, like the great ones people talk about after the Super Bowl. Then YouTube came along in 2005 and brought with it the notion that ads can be great content that earn their way onto screens of all types, spread by consumers who vote, share, like, comment, blog, plus-one, or even create response videos or spoofs.
It’s the ultimate meritocracy for video, and advertisers are adapting to this world by creating content that people want to share. Below are the top 10 ads viewed on YouTube over the 2011.
Is entertainment enough? Are there ads that are worth spreading?
Today we will examine the Language of Advertising, specifically with regard to print ads. Advertisers pay close attention to the power of words and images. they have spent years testing our responses and perfecting ways to use words and images to make us spend our money.
Do advertisers lie? Are they allowed? Well, when you look at weasel words, you will understand how advertisers bypass purely telling the truth about their products.
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January 18, 2013
Today you will finish the Keynote of your ad deconstruction, and get ready to present it to class.
December 12, 2012
So far we have looked at basic media literacy concepts. Today we will examine more advanced concepts.
Intermediate Media Literacy Concepts
1. The human brain processes images differently than words. Images are processed in the “reptilian” part of the brain, where strong emotions and instincts are also located. Written and spoken language is processed in another part of the brain, the neocortex, where reason lies. This is why TV commercials are often more powerful than print ads.
2. We process time-based media differently than static media. The information and images in TV shows, movies, video games, and music often bypass the analytic brain and trigger emotions and memory in the unconscious and reactive parts of the brain. Only a small proportion surfaces in consciousness. When we read a newspaper, magazine, book or website, we have the opportunity to stop and think, re-read something, and integrate the information rationally.
3. Media are most powerful when they operate on an emotional level. Most fiction engages our hearts as well as our minds. Advertisements take this further, and seek to transfer feelings from an emotionally-charged symbol (family, sex, the flag) to a product.
4. Media messages can be manipulated to enhance emotional impact. Movies and TV shows use a variety of filmic techniques (like camera angles, framing, reaction shots, quick cuts, special effects, lighting tricks, music, and sound effects) to reinforce the messages in the script. Dramatic graphic design can do the same for magazine ads or websites.
5. Media effects are subtle. Few people believe everything they see and hear in the media. Few people rush out to the store immediately after seeing an ad. Playing a violent video game won’t automatically turn you into a murderer. The effects of media are more subtle than this, but because we are so immersed in the media environment, the effects are still significant.
6. Media effects are complex. Media messages directly influence us as individuals, but they also affect our families and friends, our communities, and our society. So some media effects are indirect. We must consider both direct and indirect effects to understand media’s true influence.
7. Media convey ideological and value messages. Ideology and values are usually conveyed in the subtext. Two examples include news reports (besides covering an issue or event, news reports often reinforce assumptions about power and authority) and advertisements (besides selling particular products, advertisements almost always promote the values of a consumer society).
8. We all create media. Maybe you don’t have the skills and resources to make a blockbuster movie or publish a daily newspaper. But just about anyone can snap a photo, write a letter or sing a song. And new technology has allowed millions of people to make media–email, websites, videos, newsletters, and more — easily and cheaply. Creating your own media messages is an important part of media literacy.
{Created by the Media Literacy Project. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0License.}
We have looked at basic ad deconstruction techniques. Before you finish your keynote, add the answers to these questions on 3 more slides:
1. What kind of lifestyle is presented?
2. What values are expressed?
3. What groups of people does this message empower? What groups does it disempower? How does this serve the media maker’s interests?
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December 7, 2012
Today we will use some of the tools we’ve learned about to deconstruct a print ad. First, find a print (non-video) ad on the internet and put it in Keynote on the iPad. Next, answer the 7 questions on the Deconstructing Media Messages handout while creating a Keynote presentation. Use the Ad Deconstruction example as your guide. Finally, present your ad deconstruction to the class.
We will present on Wednesday, December 12 in X-block.
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November 30, 2012
This video relates to both the discussion we had on oil prices quintupling (x5), and to the copyright infringement we talked about in Rights, Remixes, and Respect.
Media, Persuasion and Ad Deconstruction
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November 28, 2012
After the “end” of The Age of Stupid, we talked about the space junk swarming our planet. This video shows a Swiss idea to “clean up” the mess.
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