Discuss avatars in terms of their social and psychological functions and semiotic meanings

Avatars are used to represent the user, in social networking, games and generally on technological items. An avatar is better known as being a cartoon like character image that an individual creates, which in someway represents themselves and their character. An avatar is most commonly seen as being a cartoon image; however it can be words, as in the name you give yourself on a social networking site or an email address. Avatars are usually chosen by the individual and represent them in some way, however physically they do not usually show much resemblance.

Avatars act as a sort of telephone number, therefore allowing others to find the user; this acts as a social function of avatars, because they are enabling others to identify the individual, through an image, which resembles them as a person. The social function of them, in this context, is that they show others who this person is and enables the audience to understand this person. The avatar creates assumptions about the individual who created it. The psychological function of this is the process of the user creating their avatar, and in what way they create it and the different decisions they make within the process, and how the outcome represents themselves.

When we look at an avatar, we look at its other meanings, as if it were a sign, as they are a form of language and they operate as a sign system that can be read in semiotic terms. This term, is neither social nor psychological. It is based on language, and communication, as when we look at an avatar, we almost look at it as if it were a person, because we try to find meanings and connotations, by just looking at the exterior. The way the avatar, which is the signifier, points to the user; the signified, therefore creating a sign, follows the same concept as above, because they are both linguistic and based on the way we connect and perceive something when we look at it.

Although, avatars are supposed to represent the user, they are very often used in a way that shows the gap between the avatar and the user, because users like that their avatar is very different from themselves. This is a psychological function of an avatar, because it allows people to represent themselves within a social network, or in a game, but not show their real identity, and hide behind an avatar, as if it is an escape from reality, or being someone who they wish they were in reality. Some users, create their avatars in a way that they are totally different from themselves in reality, as an escape and way of hiding themselves, however some decide to instil certain qualities into their avatar to represent themselves in that certain environment, this is a social and psychological function, as you are representing yourself how you chose, firstly so you fit into that particular environment, and secondly in an escapist way.
The use of an avatar creates a way that you, the user can distance yourself from reality, and fictionalise yourself, therefore using the method of pretending to be someone else in a virtual environment, as a way of escaping your real identity.

An avatar, works as a visual representation, which enables you to take part in online activities, therefore it acts as a social tool, however as well as being a social tool, it is also psychological, because you can change the visual of your avatar, to be fitting with the `perfect person`, or how you believe `perfect`, to be perceived.

Although, we believe avatars, to be fictionalised cartoons, they also come in the form of a profile picture; that being an actual image of you, on social networking sites such as face book. It is a way, of showing others certain aspects of you that you believe are valued and inspirational within that society. This is both social and psychological, as it is a way of fitting in with certain social groups because of our appearance and the way we present ourselves and also the way we believe we should look.

“Teens often fabricate key identifying information like name, age and location to protect themselves”, Danah Boyd. This quotation, shows that as teenagers, we will give out key pieces of information about ourselves, in order to protect ourselves. We could give out information like where we live, to protect ourselves, because of how that certain environment is perceived and its reputation.

Storyboard.

Shot one; Close up of the alarm clock, on the girls bedside table and a close up of the watch on the boys wrist. Shot two; Mid shot of the girl in bed, mid shot of the boy eating breakfast. Shot three; Close up of the alarm clock on the girls bedside table and a close up of the watch on the boys wrist. Shot four; Mid shot of the girl in bed, mid shot of the boy eating breakfast.



Shot five; Close up of the alarm clock on the girls bedside table, Close up of the watch on the boys wrist. Shot six; Mid shot of the girl in bed, mid shot of the boy eating breakfast. Shot seven; Long shot of the girl making her bed, Close up of lyrics in the cereal bowl. Shot eight; Close up of the lyrics on the girls bed sheets, close up of the lyrics in the cereal bowl.


Shot nine; Mid shot, of the the girl opening her blind to let the sun shien through. Shot ten; Close up of the lyrics on the shower wall. Shot eleven; Close up of the girl putting on mascara, blusher and lip gloss. Shot twelve; Close up of the girls foot walking, close up of the boys foot walking.



Shot thirteen; Mid shot of the girls back walking into the train station, mid shot of the boys back walking into the train station. Shot fourteen; Mid shot of the train station clock, showing different times for the girl and boy. Shot fifteen; Close up of the train ticket being put into the machine. Shot sixteen; Mid tracking shot from behind of the girl, mid tracking shot from behind of the boy.



Shot seventeen; Mid shot of the boy texting on the train. Shot eighteen; Close up of the girls phone "one new message". Shot nineteen; Close up of the lyrics on the girls phone. Shot twenty; Mid shot of the girl looking out the train window, mid shot of the boy looking out the train window.




Shot twenty-one; flashback scene, with "sunrise" across the screen. Shot twenty two; Mid shot of the boy sitting on the train, showing the passageway. Shot twenty three; Close up of the boys head from behind, walking down the train. Shot twenty four; Mid shot of the boys feet, walking down the train.






Shot twenty five; Long shot of the boy on the beach, in front of the rocks. Shot twenty six; Close up of the boys face. Shot twenty seven; Mid shot from behind of the girl getting off the train, Long shot of the boy sitting down at the beach. Shot twenty eight; Tracking shot from behind as the girl gets of the train, and walks down sheringham promenade.

Shot twenty nine; Long shot of the girl and boy sitting next to each, looking at each other but not saying anything.



Drawn by; Laura Lewis.

Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah

Upon doing our research into split screen videos, as this is how we intend to make our music video, we done some research into the "Hey there delilah" music video by the Plain White T`s. We have decided, through inspiration from this video to still use our original split screen idea, using an equal half of the screen one for the girl and one for the girl, but to create a seperate window in the corner of the overall screen, which shows the background scenery within that shot, for example the scenes at the beach, the third window will have shots of waves, birds and general landscape shots of the surroundings, but not our characters.

Analysis of audiences of 3 similar artists.

Three artists that are similar to Shannon Hurley are; Ellie Goulding, Laura Marling and Lissie.

Ellie Goulding

Ellie Goulding, only just appeared on the scene in 2009, but since then she has played at many of the big festivals during the summer, and is about to start on her second tour this winter, having already been on tour during the winter of 2009. She is a british solo artist, although her voice is very similar to Shannon Hurley and is the type of artist who have more of an independent audience and than mainstream, however her music is very accsessible and is listened to by a fairly wide audience.

Her first album "lights", which has reached fairly high in the charts, which shows the album is quite mainstream and appeals to a more mainstream audience, for it to be appearing in the commercial charts. The album cover shows that this first album is showing her audience who she is and introducing herself to them, this is shwon by the image of herself on the cover. The title of the album "lights", doesnt really have any connotations over who the audience is, however it does suggest that she is trying to make an entrance within the music industry, as when you think of lights, you imagine something to be very visible and grabbing peoples attention, which is perhaps what ellie goulding wanted to do, with this album.

"you`re just a body i can smell your skin and when i feel it you`re wearing thin"

The above, is lyrics taken from Ellie Goudlings, The writer, which appears on her album "Lights". The lyrics suggest, she is talking about an ex boyfriend, and trying to let go of the feelings she had, which is similar to Shannon Hurleys sunrise, as she talks about wanting to still be and feel loved by an ex. The feel of the music and the meanings within the lyrics, gives the audience something to relate to.

Laura Marling

Laura Marling is a british singer/songwriter from Hampshire, she is a female folk artist, altough she has been on the music scene since around 2008, she is still very much independent and appeals strongly to the folk scene.

She has two albums, "alas i cannot swim" and "I speak because i can", which is her most recent album. Her first album cover "alas i connot swim", has a creative feel to it, because of the colours and shapes, however considering this is her first album she keeps her identity hidden within the album cover, so the audience can not really understand who she is or what sort of style she follows, however in her second album "i speak because i can", it features an image of herself on the cover , which reveals to the audience who she is and her persona. Her second album cover allows her audience to establish who she is and to be able to connect with her,as well as her lyrics and topics she sings about.

"oh naive little me asking what things you have seen you`re vulnerable in your head you`ll scream and you`ll wait till you`re dead"

The above, is taken from Laura Marlings, Rambling man which is from her second album, I speak because i can. The lyrics, have a certain rhythm to them and a poetic feel. They link to Shannon Hurleys lyrics from sunrise, because she is talking about someone and how something has happened to another person who is close to her. They do have a different feel about them to sunrise, but they are still quite romantic like the lyrics in sunrise.




Lissie

Lissie is an american solo artist, who has only just come on the music scene during the summer of 2010. She currently has some tour dates, in england, this shows she is interacting with her fans on a much wider scale, than just in her own country. Her voice is very similar to Shannon Hurleys. Her first album is called "Catching a tiger", the title is quite playful, therefore trying to appeal to a younger audience.

Lissie appears on her album cover, as a main part of it this helps the audience to establish who she is, because she is fairly indepedent. Her general style which is shown on the album cover, will appeal to her target auidence as welll as her songs appealing to them. The image of her, is natural which is one of the characteristics of shannon hurleys target audience, that are dress in a natural manner, with the way they have their hair and make up.

"I tunred my back you were gone in a flash like you always do you`ve always gone off somehwere else"

The above lyrics are taken from Lissies, When im alone, probabaly her most well known and popular song on her album. It is quite similar to Laura Marlings, and still holds the romantic feel of shannon hurleys, sunrise.

How can you use your knowledge of these three artists to strengthen the marketing of your singer and to appeal to the target audience?

I think I can use the knowledge, that I have gathered through researching the three artists; Ellie Goulding, Laura Marling and Lissie, to strengthen the marketing of my artist, because i can make sure that marketing techniques that I use are suited well to our target audience. I can be sure of whom my target audience is, because i have researched the type of interests, aspirations, fashions, social events etc that my target audience would attend or follow, therefore i can tune my marketing in a way that will appeal to this particular market. My knowledge of the target audience, that was contributed to by the research of the three artists will help me to market the singer in such a way that it appeals directly towards the audience that is specfic to the artist. Knowing my target audience, will help me to be able to appeal more directly to them, and make sure I gather a large but, however specific audience to the artist.

Target audience powerpoint

Target audience powerpoint

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Audience profile.

Above, i have created a spider diagram of ideas, of the type of person my music video will appeal to. I have thought about other they artists they may listen to, the festival they go to, the fashions they follow, their aspirations and their lifestyle. I can take from these ideas that my target audience is female, the gender of my target audience needs to be considered carefully.

As well as using a spider diagram to create a target audience, i have also decided to use Find your tribe which, is a fun way of separating people into tribes and social groups that they idealistically and stereotypically belong to, by asking the individual a series of questions about what brands, food outlets, tv programs, radio, music and social activities they like.

I complete the series of questions, as if i were the target audience, and according the findyourtribe.co.uk, my target audience are, "Rahs".

Although i think Shannon Hurley's, sunrise, would appeal to my target audience of "Rahs", because some of the traits and characteristics, i have included within my spider diagram are evident within this particular social group. I also believe that Shannon Hurley, would not just appeal to "Rahs", as her genre is fairly diverse, and would appeal to varying social groups. I think that she would also appeal to an indie audience, because of some of the traits i have wrote about on my spider diagram, for example the other artists they would listen to.

Within my spider diagram, I created sections, the first section is music, festivals, artists and radio stations my target audience would listen to or attend. I included artists such as ; Ellie Goulding, Lissie and Laura Marling, i believe that my target audience would listen to these artists, because they are all female solo artists, the same as Shannon Hurley, they are all of the same genre being folk and indie. I also put that they would listen to radio 1, because they are heavily involved with unsigned and undiscovered acts,and Ellie Goulding, Laura Marling and Lissie are all fairly new acts who have just been discovered, which i believe would appeal to my target audience because like Shannon Hurley they have just been signed, however they are still not incredibly mainstream. I also decided that they would attend festivals such as, Latitude and Hop farm festival, which are fairly small and local festivals, and their line up usually consists of bands or solo artists who have just been discovered or who are well known but still more independent than mainstream so would not attend festivals such as V festival or Isle of wight festival, where the main performers are well known, mainstream artists who are currently high in the chart. As well as the artists that play at festivals such as Latitude and Hop farm, appealing to my target audience, the vibe of the festival also creates a certain appeal to certain people, such as the above festival are very creative, arts and crafts orientated, therefore appealing to my target audience, because many of them work within the creative industry.

I also came up with places they would shop, fashions they follow, food outlets they eat at and their values. I believe my target audience would shop in places such as; Topshop, charity shops, accessorize, Zara, office and vintage shops, therefore they wear a mixture of high street and vintage, second hand clothing. In these shops they would buy products such as brogues, satchels, nautical themed clothing, high waisted shorts, shirts, knee high socks and would wear minimal make up, have no facial piercings, long hair and a full fringe or a pixie crop hair cut. I think this because, like the artists the brands are well known, however some still appeal to the independent market such as vintage stores, as opposed to the mainstream market. The way they have their hair and make up, is very similar to the artists that they would listen to, their general style is also similar to Shannon Hurley's, therefore would appeal to the target audience. The places they go to eat, are small independent outlets, which as well as being places they eat at, they also treat it as a place to meet friends and socialise, i believe they would appeal to my target audience because it is very in keeping with their lifestyle. The types of projects that my target audience would get involved in would be small charities and organisations such as children's and arts event, i think this because of their own personal aspirations and careers.

The third point of my spider diagram is aspirations and ambitions, i chose to write; careers in the creative industry. Careers such as, designers, journalist, magazine and newspaper columists, photographers, artists and musicians. I thought this because, the festivals, fashions and charities/organisations they are interested in are in the creative industry and very geared towards the arts. In this section i have also included a part about their idols, in which i have included people such as; Audery Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Agnes Deyn and Alexa Chung. I have inlcued these individuals because, of firstly their style is very similar to that of my target audiences`, therefore they will look to these celebrities for inspiration in fashion. The clothing, hair and make up worn by Audery hepburn and Marilyn Monroe, are now being worn by this target group, they are alos interested and inspired by the individuals work.

The fourth sector on my spider diagram shows my target audiences media consumption and the type of media products they like and use on a frequent basis. I believe my target audience reads magazines such as Lula, mainly watch`s E4, BBC3, uses the internet for sites such as; tumblr, facebook and flickr and they watch films such as; The notebook, Revolutionary road, (500) days of summer and sofia coppola movies. I think that my target auidence would consume these media texts because, for example tumblr is as yet not very well known and is not mainstream and flickr is a photo sharing website, which realates to their careers and aspirations, within the creative industry. Lula magazine, is not widely avaliable and is not mainstream, as opposed to a magazine such as vogue, therefore i thikn it would appeal to my target audience. The movies i have listed, use the same kind of techniques as i shall use in my music video, i have also taken research and am suing some of the ideas that are used within the movie (500)days of summer. I think that my target audience are a heavy user, but late adopter of technology, they use technologies such as Ipods very heavily as they are passionate about music, mobile phones, laptops and use cameras heavily and would have the latest camera there is, because of their artistic character.

Costumes and props.