The class began by a basic overview of media focusing on the four categories of television, radio, music, and the Internet, depicting how media has evolved from the printing age to the digital age. Other than the history lesson, the first thing we learned was the basic overview of the media's affect on people, which is later described in detail throughout the rest of the semester.
I never knew that the Internet as a whole had different versions, and that people are currently designing Web 3.0, and that everything that's found in this blog is considered Web 2.0. Besides, the obvious of there being different types of internet as society evolves I've learned that media has blurred the distinction between social classes. What once ran and defined society is now blending them together. Tabloids used to be the only chance the lower class had at connecting with the upper class. Now everyone has some sort of social networking page, whether it's a blog, facebook, or myspace. Even my work back in Maine has a facebook page. People get a chance to see more than a political story about someone. They can learn their biography online, or even become famous via the Internet. For example, Colbie Caillat became famous through Myspace.
Music has been ever changing, and evolving. With the Internet, the changes are more likely to occur. Music has changed from big bands, to country, to rock n' roll. Each generation had a signature music genre whether it was disco, metal, grunge, or hip hop, and the amount of music available is increasing as internet increases. Not only are there multiple options to listen to music, but also multiple options to get your own music heard. But with music comes dance.I've learned that dance crazes have been banned through history, from the 1920's dance crazes, to today's version of dirty dancing:grinding. But you can't have dance crazes without the evolution of music. Without radio, Top 40, or MTV how would people hear music, or learn the newest craze. Before people relied on professionals to teach them but today, all that can be done online. You can listen to music online and then look up the videos for how to do the dance. For example, this video is the most watched video on youtube, and the guy put a bunch of different dance crazes into a short little clip. He's even come out with a new one if you want to view it.
There is more to media though than just television, radio, music, and the Internet. It's how society comprehends each of these medias, through four different strategies. In class we've been given short clips and have to figure out how they appeal to us, and make us want their product. The first being how the clip stimulates our brain and in what order. There is always the techniques of persuasion, how it develops the clip, such as production techniques,and what is known as the eight shifts. These include shifts from like personal to participatory, or analog to digital.
This video uses all 4 strategies. The first strategy focuses on the Limbic and Neocortex of the brain. The only text appears at the very end of the piece, but to comprehend what is going on uses your neocortex. The sound effects stimulate your limbic brain in the process, and at the very end of the commercial there are both music and a voiceover. The video uses an aesthetic shift because the piece is essentially a puzzle. It uses all the pieces involved to make a car work in a unique way. The production techniques are basic. It doesn't use text, music, or voices until the end, and uses the same camera angle throughout the piece. The Ownership principle is motivating the customer to buy a Honda Accord, showing that all these pieces are involved to make this one car. The only problem is the ad doesn't show any ratings to make someone want to buy the car.
I feel like the more I use the four strategies, the more I understand the concepts, and are more susceptible to pick on the subtleties in advertisements, shows, or clips.
I understand how this class is related to my major of Professional Writing. Writing is a media and I need to understand how to work with media as it's evolving if I want to keep up in my profession. The issue is, as I stated earlier, I'm very bad with computers. I want to take from this class the ability to be better, and to be able to work, not necessarily with a publishing company, but learn how to get my writing out there, other than in a blog. Specifically, I want to know how to make my own web page.
