Generic Research: Language and Digital Convergece

Two questions that we have to ask are:
- How do media producers use language to communicate meaning?
- How do media producers use digital convergence to link their products?
These questions are a way to summarise the codes and conventions I have identified within my research and that theory works to weave in too.

So, how do media producers use language to communicate meaning?
Using language such as colour palette, mise-en-scene, camera shots and editing, media producers can communicate different meanings creating a sense of brand identity for the artist. The use of performance shots with close-ups of the artists, as seen in MILCK's music video for Quiet, adheres to Andrew Goodwin's theory of the Star Persona and is gratifying for audiences to see the artist themselves.

As well as this, intertextuality within media is used in order to allow the audience to notice it and receive gratification from this as it links to another media product that they are familiar with. This idea adheres to Blumler and Katz' theory of Uses and Gratification and allows the audience to fully engage with the media. However, audiences that do not have a level of cultural competency are unlikely to be able to recognise it and, therefore cannot necessarily point out intertextuality. For example, the intertextual references in Radiohead's Daydreaming relate to the other albums they have produced and unless the audience are long-term fans of Radiohead's they are unlikely to spot these Easter Eggs.
   
The mise-en-scene created in Til It Happens To You by Lady Gaga allows the audience to immediately feel the tone of the video with the black and white filter that had been edited over it. It creates a sombre mood and automatically begins to convey the message that this is a serious music video with a serious topic and puts the audience in the right perspective when watching it.

How do media producers use digital convergence to communicate meaning?
Digital convergence is the ability to put different tools, such and phone, computer, watch and many others, into one device. Digital convergence is used all the time by media producers and artists, especially when using their online platforms and website. For example, all of the websites I analysed has direct links to the artists' social media platforms, an obvious example of media convergence. As well as this, media producers use Easter Eggs to link to behind the scenes for music videos, taking the audience to YouTube to interact with the extra media, another example of digital convergence and also adhering to Blumler and Katz Uses and Gratification theory as they audience gets to find these hidden Easter Egg's only accessible through discovery.