Thursday 24 October 2013

Photoshop Skills #1

Dodge tool

The dodge tool works by darkening or lightening the image.
How to use it
  1. Select the dodge tool icon.
  2. Select the hardness and targeted area of the dodge tool.
  3. use it as a pen and draw on the image.
Dodge Tool
  • The dodge tool lightens the colour in your photo. 
  • The more you use the item in one area the more it turns white. 
  • It can be used to make a persons teeth or eyes whiter. 
Burn Tool
  • This will darken colors in your photo.
  • The more you use this tool in one area, the closer it will get to black. 
  • You use it by holding the dodge tool and selecting the burn tool. You then use it as a pen and draw over the selected area. 

Tuesday 15 October 2013

Representation on 'Hip Hop Honeys'

Statement
In many rap videos women have no identity except as sexual playthings and "eye candy"

These images do provide pleasures to some viewers. But the concern is that men may internalise the notion that women are nothing more than sexual objects waiting to be used.

These sorts of images are not unique to hip hop. Objectified female bodies are everywhere. They appear throughout our culture in films, advertisements, television programmes etc. However, within music videos, this is virtually the ONLY vision of women available.

I think that in music video girls are shown as sexual objects to a certain extent in the video. Many videos are about the women swooning over the men and that they are just good looking and barely clothed. The men in the videos are dominant towards the females and gives the impression that men can treat a girl how they want. Hip hop videos use this the most but it isn't just hip hop. This style of video is used in many different types of music videos. 
Women are being portrayed like this in more and more videos and it is becoming more popular. The directors of the video are making their videos like this because at the end of the day that is what sells. Lots of men buy the music videos and that is encouraging more directors and music artists to use 'honeys' in their videos. 
However, some women in the industry say that they love doing this job and it makes them feel like they are special. Some girls say that they are using the men to get easy money and that they are only in the videos because they are good dancers. The men in the videos are seen as narcissistic men dominating the women and having a good time. This encourages other men to copy them and wanting to be just like their idols. In the videos it also shows the women trying to be as sexy as possible to win over the men and the men not having to do anything, even if they do look ugly. 
In conclusion I think that in most of the hip hop videos I have seen, they have been portrayed as sex objects and are obedient towards the men. But there are many videos that are just about dancing and not about women in bikinis. 

Monday 7 October 2013

Powerpoint on representation and stereotypes in music videos

Stereotype Presentation 



Evaluation

www:

  • It was clear and well presented. 
  • It showed that we had an understanding of stereotypes and those that were in the 2 videos. 
  • We equally shared out the amount written and presented. 

EBI:


  • We could have included pictures and inserted a video into the power point. 
  • The presentation would be better if we found a unique and different way to present it. 
  • we should have read through it and corrected some of the mistakes we made. 







Wednesday 2 October 2013

Hip-hop video review

Hip-hop video review

Satement 
Hip hop presents a very rigid and narrow version of manhood - one that suggests that to be a "real man" you must be strong and tough, you must have a lot of women and money, you must always be in control, and you must always dominate women and other men.

If you do not live up to these ideals, you will be ridiculed for not being man enough. You will be called names like "soft, weak and wimp".
In the 2 videos they do support the statement and show that if you have the money and the muscles then the girls will swoon over you. It is saying that girls are only interested in money and looks and sends the message that you have to have those things to be successful and liked by people. The candy shop video is about a man who goes to a house with all these women who are sexually promiscuous and are attracted to him. He has expensive clothes and a expensive car. He is the only one there and it is a mansion. At the end it turns out he is dreaming and is in the drive through. This shows you that the video wants you to be like the rich and successful man and that everyone is dreaming about that. 
The second video is about a man who has lots of money and because of that everyone is around him and having a good time. It leads you to think that he can do anything and has a great time because he has lots of money. All the commotion is happening around him and is marking him as the heart of the party. 
I agree to the statement to a certain extent because many hip hop videos are about girls, money and looks. However many hip hop videos are about dancing and you are just stereotyping hip hop because the majority do that. the statement is saying all the negative things about hip hop. There are lots of examples of hip hop that are the complete opposite to what the statement states. Both of the videos supported the statement very well, more so the second one. I think the second video didn't show much of the men controlling the women and they were doing whatever they wanted. However in the first the women were doing what the man wanted without hesitation.