RESEARCH INTO STAR IMAGE

Textual Analysis
Lady Gaga - Alejandro

In Lady Gaga's music video to her hit single "Alejandro", we see mixed themes of religion, government, and a group of "evil" people, most likely supposed to resemble the lluminati. The video opens up with men in stockings, heels and police caps, all asleep with guns by their side. In the background appears to be something in the shape of a torpedo. At about 20 seconds in, if you pause the video, you can see that the long gun on the table is actually pointing to an invisible line, dividing two sets of white circles, which can only be seen for a millisecond. The circles appear to be the division of a light hanging overhead, but as Gaga is known for throwing in very obvious but sometimes subtle symbolism in her videos, I'm sure these white circles could represent something else entirely. At first glance, they actually resemble female eggs, or the uterus. The only "cop" that appears awake is a man with an emblem on his chest; I can't quite make out what the emblem is, but I'm sure it's symbolic of something. Then we see different men marching, with one holding a pyramid-shaped object on the left hand side, and one holding a hexagram-shaped object on the right hand side. The hexagram appears to have five bars going through it, which perhaps could be a symbol of the media (hexagram= 6 = an "evil" number.) In this sense, it could symbolize how religions like Gnosticism or Paganism are "restraining" or "enslaving" people (pentagrams have five points, and are closely tied to these religions.) The hexagram could also be seen as representative of the Star of David, so perhaps the bars in front exist to make an anti-Semitic statement (the video does have a Nazi-like feel.)

What's more, the Star of David is essentially two opposing triangles put together; from a Gnostic perspective, these two triangles represent the union of the male and the female Also,, this union of male and female is thought to be connected of the idea of androgyny, and how God is considered to be sexless. In this way, perhaps the hexagram with bars in front is reflecting someone or something being against the concept of androgyny. Of course, the pyramid is the common symbol for the Illuminati. In addition, the man holding the hexagram is facing forward towards the camera, while the man holding the pyramid is marching backwards (you can tell by their shadows.) Depending on Gaga's intentions, this could mean either that the pyramid-concept is positive and should be integrated in our society, but it is moving backwards, or not surviving, OR, this could mean that the pyramid-concept is evil, and she's telling us that we better "wake up", as said in the lyrics, before it's too late. There are ten men total, with the first "line-up" consisting of 7 men in the back and 3 in the front...Seven and three are both powerful numbers in mainstream religion. Next, we go to one of the many versions of Lady Gaga present in the video. She is wearing a heart-shape around her head and huge glasses over her eyes. At this point, this video already appears to have connotations of Alice in Wonderland(Queen of Hearts,). Around the heart-shape are various white lights, some noticeably brighter than others; I can't be sure, but it appears that there are ten white lights total. She then is seen carrying a heart with a pin in it, on a pillow, before she does the "one-eye thing," (where she covers one of her eyes.) The heart itself could be representative of the "bleeding heart" of Christ, or the Sacred Heart, while covering one of her eyes could be symbolic of the "All-Seeing Eye" concept, used by the Illuminati. Next, we see the second version of Gaga walking in front of a coffin, with the Gaga above looking down from her fortress; this is very similar to the White Queen/Red Queen concept from Alice in Wonderland, and if this is the case, then it seems that the good, White Queen is sacrificing her heart to the evil, Red Queen. This also could be resembling the relationship between the Devil and Lucifer (dark and light,) especially when she says, "I know that you love me, but I just cant be like this with you anymore."

Lastly, we see a soldier attached by strings, like a puppet, holding a gun by his genitals. This could be representative of the "mind-control" that supposedly will be introduced by the government in the near future. The last scene of Gaga is the version of her who is in the coffin, and she is held to the coffin by strings as well. Behind her, the strings or wires form the shape of an upside down triangle. The camera goes close-up to Gaga, who's face disturbingly dissolves like acid from the screen, before the video concludes. Overall, "Alejandro" is open to multiple symbolic meanings as it is so complex and diverse in imagery. What is clear, however, is that Gaga undergoes some sort of transformation throughout the video, rejecting one religious belief and embracing another. The question is whether or not she is promoting something evil or something good, and whether or not she herself volunteered to take on this transformation, or if someone else tricked her into "selling her soul" to the music industry, and inevitably the "powers that be." She is basically saying that she is inbetween good and bad, a connotation that is featured in several videos of her, supporting her star image, being mysterious and scandalous but at the same time sending a message.

ADVANCED PORTFOLIO BRIEF

A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

1. A website homepage for the band
2. A cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package) 
3. A magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package)

We decided to go for Number 2 and 3 and design a Cover for a digipak and a Magazine Advertisement.

Audience Feedback

Due to uploading my final product to youtube, the sequence was watched and commented by various users, giving me a general idea of how an possible audience would perceive my Thriller. The majority commented positively on things such as Mise En Scene, Editing, the Casting and the Soundtrack.

Some extracts of the Youtube comments:

nice car..... the music is good, created instant suspence in a scene that could be perfectly innocent. sext red dress, sterotypical gold digga? nice idea with the shot from outside, and then the shaddow across the photo, really creepy!
you did well with the dialoge, it would have been easy to lose the sinister atmosphere with it in but it didnt . goood jaaaab!

 - MsMustang59

I lke the use of music because it straight away tells us that this is going to be a thriller. So it creates tension as you expect that there is something is something going to happen. I thought the editing was very smooth. Great job!
 - H2squareo

I really like the use of mise-en-scene as it illustrates the family's belonging to the upper class. Dramatic music and the pattern of the slides create a tense atmosphere. Overall, a very impressive piece.

 - oleghurtwood

Use of music was done very well and a lot of suspence & tention created in the right places, making it overall a very successful piece, well done, very nice story line :)

 - joeeyb123  

Very good looking piece, fantastic idea, clearly the best I've seen in the Hurtwood Media Collection. Editing slides very nicely and music fits perfectly to create a very dramatic and tense edge. Very good use of casting as well. You should be very proud of this piece. Well done.

 - hollfinlay

Fatastic work, really great shots, especially at 1:01, the editing made the story flow easily and the story really gripped me the whole way through. Great work!

 - butterfliesg

Careful use of mise-en-scene, especially in the kitchen scene - the childrens board and pictures - this really creates the illusion that they are a couple with young children. The sound used at the beginning and end creates a theme music which works well with the sequence. Overall, a good opening sequence, succesful in creating the suspense, particularly with the use of a shower, which is a common thriller convention. Good work :)

 - LiamandImii

The Hostage - Finished Sequence

[Task 1] Thriller - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

The first shot of the Sequence is an establishing shot of the massive mansion our characters live in. Big buildings and generally houses, are often used in Horror Movies and Thrillers. Due to all the open space available in the building, a scary and in a way claustrophobic atmosphere is created. The viewer feels the tense atmosphere and the thought of the burglar possibly being everywhere. Our Sequence opens with Lionsgate, a film institution which is generally known for creating movies in a similiar genre. This way, early on in our movie, the viewer is informed and aware of what they can expect.

The second shot shows our main character walking towards her house, leaving the ferrari behind with the core theme playing in the background. Helena is wearing a red dress, highlighting her beauty and the sex-factor where as the ferrari and the big house that are both controlled by her, show another side to her, the powerful one. Her character serves as eye candy and also as active protagonist at the same time. These two elements are juxtaposed to each other and reveal at a early stage that the character is vulnerable.

The third shot and the fourth shot establish the main character's relationship status. The close-up of her ring in shot 3 established that she is married and the family portrait in shot 4 reveals the actual face of her husband and the age difference, hinting at her possibly being a Gold-Digger, a woman who marries older men for their wealth and social status. Although this comforms the usual stereotype of a gold-digging woman, the phone conversation between her and "Teddy-Darling" revealts that she in no way answers to him but in fact stands up to him and loudly expresses her opinion subverting the general stereotype of a submissive wife.

The fifth shot contains of someone looking in from outside, creating a typical thriller vibe as an atmosphere of "Not being alone" is created. Up to that point, the viewer does not know that there is another person in the house which at this point, is hinted at for the first time. As the viewer is not yet aware who the unknown person watching is, a rather creepy and atmosphere is created as it is not clear what intentions the person has.


The sixth and the seventh shot are taken from the shower sequence. The sixth shot

[Task 2] Thriller - Representation of Social Groups

In our Thriller "The Hostage", a strong Mid-Twenty Woman who married an older guy plays the main role, representing Women who marry older men for their money and their wealth. The main character, played by Helena Lageder, is a rather selfish, cold but strong woman, almost a Femme Fatale. This is highlighted at several points during the opening sequence.

[Task 3] Thriller - Film Institution

 

I think the suitable Film Institution for our thriller would be Lionsgate. 

Lionsgate mostly specialises in Thriller and Horror Films, meaning that my Thriller "The Hostage" would fit in very well. The genre of most of Lionsgate's movies are similiar or the same to my movie, for example "Hostel" and "The Eye". It's also fairly common that Lionsgate produces low budget films by first time directors such as "My Little Eye" by Marc Evans.

I would like to ask Lionsgate Films to make my film as they already specialise in Thirller and Horror Films.  Lionsgate ahve also made other films in the similar genre and narrative to The Hostage, such as, Hostel and The Eye. Lionsgate also make low budget films, by first time directors, which is the criteria that my film fits exactly. Lionsgate have made films like that such as, My Little Eye made in 2002.

My film could be marketed really easily, as it is aimed at a mass mainstream market. I believe that i would be able to make money from cinema viewings and DVD. As people may go for a cinema experience to be able to really feel all the emotions of a thriller. Although some people nmay prefer to watch films in the comfortability of their own homes, therefore they will choose the DVD option. It will later be released onto Pay Per View. This will all depend on the cinema sales and total grossing.

This could be aimed at a particular audience of men around the ages of 15 to 25, who drag along their girlfriends to the cinema or make them watch it at home. This film would also make the perfect 'date' movie as it covers all genres, thriller, suspense, drama and some comedy. Therefore making it quite appealling.