Mindmap

Genre
Key Theory 1:
Barry Keith Grant - all genres have sub genres
Key theory 2:
Patrick phillips - Comfortable reassurance
Key theory 3:
Branston and Satfford - makes it easier to market and sell products
Key theory 4:
Rick Altman - genre offers pleasures(1999)
Key theory 5:
David Bordwell - Any theme may appear in any genre(1989)
Narrative
Key theory 1:
Pam cook - enigma resolution
Key theory 2:
Tzvetan Todorov - equilibrium, disrupted,disruption,new equilibrium
Key theory 3:
Claude Levi-Strauss - good versus evil
Representation
Key theory 1:
Laura Mulvey - women objectified
Key theory 2:
Stuart Hall - non - white seen as evil
Key theory 3:
Earp and Katz - men violent

LO6 Essay 2

Discuss the potential problems with media regulation sectors you have studied.

The potential problems with the media regulations for Grand Theft Auto and the film Fifty Shades Of Grey is the fact that it can show various unique scenarios to people under the required age to know about situations that are seen as very extreme. This can lead to copycat crimes. This leading distress and moral panic, making society change in a negative way. In my own opinion I believe Grand theft auto is not that well regulated as the game and its content is advertised on a major scale showing clips of this extreme violence. These adverts not being regulated by OFCOM and W3C as any child to access this advertising and website over the game.

Grand Theft Auto is considered the most extreme realist game in the world. This game has scenes that PEGI claim is gross violence. However many people claim that this game is too far when it comes to the age rating as the most extreme qualities of a PEGI 18 is happening all the time, constantly. This constant violence can lead to copycat crimes, An example of a copycat crime that can be linked to Grand Theft Auto is the crime when a 14 year old boy killed his father and brother with a shotgun. The child when questioned said that "Trevor inspired him to" Trevor being a character being in the game obsessed with killing and being considered mentally unstable. This giving the game the reputation of being a (word that means it bad to the public.) This copycat made people believe that PEGI is not doing enough with regulating as crimes like this are still happening.

Many parents who can be considered as part of the active audience complained about the content within the game in multiple ways e.g social media and game reviews. This was because of the children playing this game can be considered the passive audience who see this game as okay and acceptable. Another reason for them to complain is Bad world syndrome that could have been developed by playing this game. Bad World syndrome is when a person believes what they see and believe it happens in the real world. An example that the parents will thinking about when they complain is the fact is the children will have nightmares of GTA related incidents as a result of 'Mean world syndromes'. As they believe what they see in the game.

Another product that potential regulator problems would be the film based product, 'Fifty Shades Of Grey' Within this film multiple mature and highly sexual activities are performed throughout the film
this lead to multiple complaints about the content within the product.
A problem that arose from this film was the highly dominant sexual activity. This became a problem as it began to link to the desensitisation theory within young people. The scenes show a sexually dominant man overcome and persuade a woman to do unique sexual things. With the desensitisation theory this can link with this content as young People may believe that this behaviour is acceptable and part take in this activities with people who may not want to. This can link to copycat crimes in subjects of manipulation, creating distress and mental pain.

However some people may say that BBFC have done as much as they can as BBFC do not have the power to change the story which is mainly revolved around sex. People will have said they have regulated enough by adding multiple disclaimers and giving the film a 18 rating with reviews claiming that there is strict rules about age with this film. Another group of people would say that there is a lot worse content that younger people can access. For example pornography that is free and easy to access, This also giving the younger people a worse type of desensitisation that the BBFC cannot control and would be down to the W3C which have done part of their job by not letting the websites not be recommended on any site on the internet.

In my opinion I believe at the launch of Fifty Shades Of Grey the regulation of this product was acceptable as the age rating and the content was stated very clearly that the product is only for people of a old nature and is fully understanding of the content and are trusted to not make similar actions in the film. This is in my opinion is a sign of good regulation by BBFC as they clearly describe the age rating to the world.
In comparison to Grand Theft Auto, both products have the same age rating from their regulators of a 18 rated this is because both products highly feature a mature older lifestyle that can be considered extreme which people and myself would claim that will be contained within the regulation. I believe that both products have highly made sure that the recommended age buy the product however in my opinion I believe through time of the products being released we as people have become more desensitised through other forms of content being more accessible and examples of this being pirate and legal websites that allow 18 films to be seen for free not matter the age.

LO6 Media Regulation

Film: Star Wars 3 Revenge Of The Sith
Age Rating: 12

I disagree with this age rating because through the film their are some very graphic violence. This sudden graphic violence was not innkeeping with the franchise as it was seen as  fictional violence. However this film seemed that just more real and painful, as you the demise of the main character leading to a brutal end that is not censored at all.

Example 1


In this example one of the main protagonists, Anakin Skywalker losses his fight with Obi Wan Kenobi and gets brutality cut in half. After being cut in half Anakin's legless body slowly falls towards the lava and eventually gets burnt and the camera does not cut enough whilst he burns and screams in pain. A few seconds later you see him covered in flames losing all his hair whilst still screaming in pain relentlessly. I believe this too graphic for the age rating as the kids who are watching will be scared as they will not experiences this pain portrayed in the film.

Example 2


In this scene in the film the Emperor is fighting Mace Windu and is get hurt by his own force lighting and is getting burned relentlessly. The camera does not cut throughout the pain the emperor is going through and you visually see the effects of the burning showing the lighting enter him and burn his face. I believe this is inappropriate as it is too graphic as 12 year olds are too young to see a old mans face melt. I belie parents would not like their kid to see that scene as it would give them nightmares.

Example 3


In this scene Jedi Mace Windu gets his hand cut off by Anakin Skywalker and proceeds to fall to his death. The camera shows Mace Windu's handless arms burning from the lightsaber strike and hear Mace scream in pain. This may have been a quick scene I believe is too graphic for a 12 year old as it shows pain and suffering and will probably have nightmares from seeing a arm without hands.

Example 4


In this scene the viewers see the death of Count Dooku by the hands of Anakin Skywalker. In this scene viewers can see Count Dooku's head that had just been cut off roll into the background. This in my opinion is too graphic as under 12's would not have seen a head roll off that had just been cut off. This gruesome brutality you would consider in a 15 rated film and would give kids nightmares.

Example 5


The death of General Grievous who was a robot cyborg died in quite a extreme way in this scene. The way Grievous dies is through a electric staff to the hear setting him n fire whilst screaming in a ghost like way that in my opinion can scare 12 year olds as they would be able to hear that noise in their head which could cause distress. Also the flame coming out the eyes makes the robot seem devilish this create a quite disturbing image of a robot on fire from the eyes. This disturbing image could be in a 15 film as real life graphics used in the film makes the pain real for a child to believe.

LO6 Media Regulators

BBFC:

Pegi

LO6 Essay

The product I will be writing about in this essay is a film based product called 'The Interview.' This product was released in 2014, starring James Franco and Seth Rogen, two very well known comedic actors. These actors had been in many highly rated adult films for example 'Bad Neighbours' in 2014. This gives the idea that the target audience is around the same age for this film product I am writing about. I am writing this essay about this media product because it had some highly negative and positive reviews from various people because of similar controversial reasons.

A theory that can link to this media product is the negative effects on a passive audience. This theory connotes that if a person engages with a media product so much that in time the person will allow the media product to adapt the persons personality. An example of this would be the case of a 13 year old boy shooting his dad because he was so influenced by the game Grand Theft Auto he let it adapt his behaviour and allow him to shoot his own parents mercilessly. In the my product 'The Interview' it may adapt peoples feelings on the main character Kim Jung Un. Kim is portrayed as a fun person however with a sense of evil as he has all this power, This could influence people to go along with the politics with different mindsets of North Korea. Or start an uprising with the North Korean Dictator that could ultimately end in conflict. This could lead to a negative impact on the world and for the government as people may have their own drastic opinions and may decide to act on them as they will have adapted their behaviour to the media product.

A theory that this media product can link to is the Hypodermic Syringe theory. This theory implies that media has a negative impact on people claiming that we believe what we see and hear. In this media products case it points out very current and bias issues in the world mostly revolving around Kim Jun Un and his dictatorship or North Korea. Throughout the film we see two Americans point of view of the character Kim Jung Un. However the Character of the dictator is scripted from an American producer thus implying that it will be bias towards the USA as they have had controversy with Kim in the past. This could have a negative impact as people may believe all these exaggerated things mentioned in the film. for example it is shown that Kim goes around in his own tank everyday for fun. This not true however people who have engaged with the so much may eventually believe it.

The Moral Panic theory is very prominent in my product as it demonises a certain group throughout the film. The Moral panic theory was created by Stanley Cohen in 1972. He claims that when the media demonise groups then it becomes a threat to society values. This theory is used a lot for this film as it brought up a lot of controversy. In the film very stereotypical comedy against Asian people and their leader Kim Jung Un. These constant slightly racist references were so severe that the film was banned in Korea as Kim believed it was highly offensive to him and his country. This led to the US government being fearful that Kim may retaliate by the use of his weapons, that he highly shows off. Multiple news outlets blamed the film for causing what was going to be another civil war. However Kim never retaliated and saw the film as a comedic film and not a severe offence. The film had a negative impact on the USA as it was scared of Kim starting conflict. This going against their society values. However nothing came of this that was severely traumatising.

Another theory that can be seen throughout the film is the active audience theory by Stuart Hall where he claims that media goes through stages of encoding and decoding. Encoding and Decoding is the way the TV transfers their message to their target audience. In my media product 'The Interview' the message being transferred to the people watching it is that Kim Jung Un is a harsh dictator and there is elements to mock him. This can lead to the public mocking him and not taking him so seriously. This may have negative impact in a political way as this could count as libel and persuade Kim to engage in conflict or it may be positive and give the people a bit more enjoyment in current affairs.

In conclusion 'The interview' had a negative impact on the target audience as its bias political views could influence them as their age is at the point where they can be easily manipulated. This linking to the hypodermic syringe theory as it has a highly negative impact on the target audience.

LO6: active audience

other school of thought- we are able to filter and adapt to content in media (Gauntlett, 1995)
We have uses and gratifications(McQuail, 1972)

• escapism
• surveillance
• personal relations 
• personal identity 

preferred reading - accept the most transparent 

negotiated reading - partially agrees with meaning, make their own opinion

oppositional reading - meaning understood but don't agree and think opposite 

encode - to put in

decode - to understand

1. woman fragile and man strong 
2. the way she is dressed
3. the background is high class city
4. model is thin and attractive can be seen as materialist

considered materialist

 

The interview negative/positive impacts

Products used for a negative impact on there audience about different groups

1. Used slightly racist jokes throughout the film towards Asians and only Asians. This can be considered as only targeting the asians as no jokes were made to any other race.
2. It is topically racist as at the time of release, North Korean leader Kim Jun Un was showing off his nukes and being quite controversial.
3. The film was banned in North Korea as Kim found the film offensive to himself and because he rules what North Korea sees, no Korean saw this film as it was like the film was ever created.
4. The film also created tension in the USA as they were fearful for what Kim might do in retaliation as he was known to retaliate.   
5. Nuclear war was slightly edged closer because of this films content.

Positive

1. It engaged political people to see the brighter side of Kim as there is positives in the film of Kim.
2. Throughout the controversy. The reviews for The Interview were mainly positive as the comedy was in some good taste and relatable.  

LO6: Negative Effects Case Study

Xbox TV Advert(2002)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2028725.stm

This advert was put on the UK advert reel in 2002. This meaning that it was seen by a large sum of people, because of its publicity as it was a massive brand named Xbox and the fact it was advertised between large sum of channels, the TV advert was shortly banned. The advert contained a women giving birth and her son being seen shooting out of her in a quite aggressive fashion. Throughout the advert the flying son grew older very quickly whilst still sawing in the air naked, then the child takes a massive violent crash into his grave and it the advert claims at the end that "life is too short" This whole advert caused outrage leading to 136 complaints towards the ITC(Independent Television  Company). These complains inevitably caused the advert to be banned and taken off air. Due to the pregnant theme in the advert the outrage came mostly from pregnant women claiming the advert distressed them and saw it as in bad taste. Microsoft's reaction to these claims did not help the situation as they demanded it to be reshown and said it gave a "positive look on life" However Microsoft may not have got their advert back on TV but it was still to be shown in film trailers and internet adverts. Overall this TV advert is a bad mark on Microsoft's reputation as it caused distress to hundreds of people and forced the advert to be axed. This must have caused a dip in there sales at the time but however not in the long run as Microsoft and Xbox are worth Billions still, 16 years on.

Grand Theft Auto 5 (Game) Inspired Murder(2014)
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/gta-5-14-year-old-boy-kills-father-brother-inspired-by-violent-character-trevor-1442418

Grand Theft Auto 5 is a game released in summer 2013 created by Rockstar. The game involves 3 characters in a Los Angeles setting committing serious crimes for personal gain. In result of its violent nature and its serious popularity it took effect to many people thus leading to unrelating violence in inspiration of the game. Although the game is PEGI rated 18 many under the required age played this game, thus leading to younger more shocking crimes. In 2014  Eldon Samuel III shot his brother and his father in a GTA inspired murder. After confessing to this heartless crime he claimed he was "inspired by Trevor" Trevor being a character in Grand Theft Auto. This character being well known as a unstable mad man that kills passionately. This being a playable character in the game giving Eldon and other kids the sick satisfaction of killing. This game was later shown to take effect on him as detectives tested the murderer and stated that the 14 year old boy had no remorse. This putting Rockstar into a negative spotlight as they can be seen as murderer, because they created this game thus creating the boys choice to kill. This putting the whole mental aspect into light of violent games in general. However with multiple cases including this rather disgusting one, Rockstar still are a multiple billion dollar company and still produces GTA style games.  As for the game, it is still in shops and is cheaper than ever, being the most popular game in gaming history for years and years.


Mumble Rap Growing Criminals(2018)

https://studybreaks.com/thoughts/mumble-rap-abuse/

Mumble rap has taken the world by storm as rappers from America  are bringing in millions of followers and recognition. Multiple rappers under the age of 24 are creating movements with their enticing music around similar subjects e.g sex,drugs and money. Through all this exposure and all these young rappers are also seen as criminals  as many have been revealed to be abusers of a sexual and physical nature. An example of this is rapper "6ix9nine" who is a influencer of the rap community for his unique appearance and unusual attitude was recently revealed to have negotiated  sexual relations with a 13 year old girl. This leading to him being arrested and released from prison. Because his high relevance mothers are scared that their child might think its okay to do illegal actions like this one as they look up to the rapper, this creating bad publicity for the rapper. However through this controversy he is still worth millions and is selling out shows with young audiences. Another example would be Xxxtentacion, a well known rapper which could be considered to be the face of this genre of music. He again was revealed to be a criminal, unlike 6ix9nine he was a creator of physical abuse this being shown by X's ex girlfriend showing multiple bruises that were from him. A few weeks later he was shot dead. Similar to 6ix9nine he was a massive influencer and had a young fan base thus meaning he could influence them and make them think abuse is right, this brainwashing kids. In my opinion the references of this genre are yes explicit and bad to show kids but it can make people happy and relatable in a mental way. However these people who are world famous have terrible pasts and more of these mumble rappers are being created and all being exposed for their pasts thus having a negative effect on the world as their fans will think this sort of behaviour is right.

LO6:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11570090

The main point of this article is that violent games are having a negative impact on kids


mediation - the media manipulating the product so the public see what the creators want them to see
passive theory - allowing the media to adapt someones behaviour.

The hypodermic syringe theory - implies the media has a negative impact. we believe what we see and hear.

Vance Packard - He believed the media are making people to want products - 1957
Craig Anderson - exposure of negative products thus dampening emotional responses - 2007
desensitisation
Chris Ferguson - found no link long term 2012

copycat crime  - james Bulger crime

George Gerbner and Larry Gross - Cultivation theory: the more time people watch tv the more time they believe its real. - 1979

mean world syndrome - the world more violent on tv, then it should be.

Moral Panic

when the mass media demonise groups, people or products that they believe become a threat to society values and interests it is called 'moral panic'(Stanley Cohen, 1972)

The group/products are referred to as 'folk devils'

people like:

• religion
• foreigners
• extremists
• youth - gangs
• bad behaviour
• white chavs

media bias - media only shown in one representation
sensationalist - top stories exaggerated to make money

All representations are mediated(Hall, 1980)

this man is represented as rude and trashy as he is putting his middle finger up

KTA 5 feedback

did pretty good

LO4 why people engage or use different media

Uses and gratification - Denis McQual (1972)
gratify - enjoying something

• Surveillance - information
• personal identity - style, interests and hobbies and lifestyles form certain things
• personal relationships - media texts builds social skills 
• escapism - entertainment, a break from reality  

Venom

• Surveillance
• personal identity - interests of science fiction and supernatural animals
• personal relationships - can talk to people about the ending e.g Carnage being back
• escapism - be engaged with Eddies unnatural story and see if they beat Drake.

Mock questions

1a
Demographic data is data that is towards the target audience, this includes lifestyle, gender and age.
1b I

• The social grade of people who read the Daily Express is ABC1
• The age of people who read this newspaper is 35+

1b ii

The Daily telegraph has a higher ABC1 social grade of readers

1c
readership is how many people bought the newspaper
circulation is how far the newspaper is going around


2a
One interpretation I can make from the data in fig 2 is that people are reading newspapers on mobiles as mobiles has become more common to be a digital native, this being down to digital convergence.

2b
One reason why more people will access the guardian via a mobile device is because the guardian has a demographic of ABC1 thus implying they have more disposable income to spend on mobile devices

Another reason why is the fact that the social grade that is linked with the guardian are more interested in politics and will more likely pick there phone up to view this information

2c
Radio 1 has a large target audience as it has a mainstream genre of music where the younger generation will instead of radio 4 where it is mostly about the news and current affairs that does not effect them.
Another difference is the people involved with these radio stations. The people at radio 1 are younger and more famous compared to the people seen on radio 4 thus making it more appealing.

LO4 Different Newspapers

Daily Star
C2DE
35+

Daily Mail
ABC1
35+

The Sun
C2DE
35+

The Guardian
ABC1
35+

Terminology

Print and publishing terminology
circulation - how many copies purchased
readership - how many copies read
audience reach - How many people access/read/engage with a product

TV Industry terminology
Viewership - How many people watched a programme or broadcast
DTV - Digital television
video or on demand channel - catch up or streaming services

Radio industry terminology
Listenership - how many people listen to radio programme, podcast or particular station
DAB - digital audio broadcast
Analogue - non digital broadcast

LO5

• Target Audiences
• Data Analysis - organisations that analyse audience consumption
• why audiences enjoy/consume/interact with the product

• men enjoy The Sun most liked because of the Page 3 Model(scantily clad) and the Large sport section. This is because the model is attractive and appeals to heterosexual men, as does sport. (The sun is the most popular newspaper in the country)
• The most popular magazine from this table is Take A break. It is most popular because it is drama filled magazine that can incise both genders.
• The least popular print product is the guardian. This is because the guardian only has a small target audience meaning their words are changed for their target market.
• Least popular magazine was Nuts because the internet had free content like Nuts that is easier to access. 

Tabloid - the sun - gossip

broadsheet - The Times - politics

Target audience

Demographic - Target audience for a product

look at:

• Gender
• Age
• Interests
• Location
• Social Grade
• Occupation

1B)

Publication 1 - The Sun

Justification -

A free holiday would be advertised in The Sun because the demographic of this newspaper are aged between 15-44 and have the most people at this age. Also their demographic are also male and female and a free holiday appeals to any gender.

Publication 2 -





Social Grade - Amount of disposable income a person has to spend on products


PAMCo - The Published Audience Measurement Company(formal the NRS) (online publishing and print publishing media)

BARB - Broadcasters Audience Joint Research
RAJAR - Radio Audience Joint Research
MiDIA - Analysing of online music streaming and use of technologies, video and sports


Timeshiftimg - when we watch a programme later then it was broadcasted.
change in culture
more devices
more services

infographic - information in a picture

LO3: Pre-Production documents and forms

• Shows the person for each role in a production
• to plan organised photoshoots or film sessions 
• informs cast and crew 
• need contingency

• The form that allows the company to use the land for their use
• legal contract - been signed

• Allows the company to use the model and distribute it.
• sign it to agree to be in your product 
• sign it to allow to be distributed

Consent Form:

1. Signatures from both parties  
2. Terms and Conditions
3. Details

The model and people involved would sign it

must be signed to make it legal

must be written down so it is remembered 

making sure everyone is okay with it

make sure people are prepped 

could sue for defamation if detail is wrong 

similarities between consent and location form 

• terms need to be agreed 
• need to be signed
• legal documents
• gaining consent or permission 

who should sign this?

• building managers
• land owner

call sheet used for

• photoshoots 
• films
• all productions
• sound effects for games
• used by cast and crew
• know what they are doing and when 

KTA 5

My media product, Star Wars 8: The Last Jedi has a primarily male audience between the age of 10 and 50. This is because of the overall Sci fi theme throughout the film which can be considered more male friendly. Production technques such as mise en scene, editing work, camera work and sound are used to create apropiate meaing for the stlyle of film.

A action match has been used been used in order to create meaning and help the audiences recognise Star Wars 8 as a Sci fi film. The younger audience members this is recognised as without this specific editing technique they would not feel as excited when this specific scene is happening. In this films case it is the scene when Kylo Ren and Rey begin to fight the red royal guards, as it cuts between Kylo's and Rey's individual battles still happening at the same time. Without this editing techniques details of this iconic battle would not be seen thus creating less excitement for the audience and especially the younger viewers. In this genre of this film is sci fi the use of this editing technique is needed as it is in keeping with the action that is known with this genre. David Bordwell claims 'Any theme may appear in any genre.' In this scene the theme is a thriller theme as there is large amounts of violence however there is a slight romantic theme also as Rey and Kylo work together to defeat the enemies for the first time, This giving the audience a idea that they may be a romance theme between them two.

Mise en scene also is used to create meaning in this media product, most of all is Locations. As throughout the film there is a lot of traveling in space to foreign planets that us humans have never heard before. An example being Finn and Rose go to Canto Bight in search for the Master Codebreaker. Canto Bight is a planet that we do not know and is made up for the purpose of the movie. This foreign planet is in keeping with the sci fi genre as it is made up and supernatural in space, This creates meaning as it helps the audience keep up with story with a change in setting in a classic sci fi way. This is typical for this genre of film. Patrick Phillips claims 'Genre offers audience comfortable and reassurance' This is shown in the film as the people who watch Star Wars a used to foreign planets being explored thus creating a sense of security with the film. This shown in my media product.

Sound both diegetic and non - diegetic are used to create meaning and verisimilitude for example the sound of Kylo Ren's lightsaber and Rey's lightsaber being switched on. This supernatural sound of this weapons are recognised features from other Star Wars films which is in the same genre as this media product this meaning it creates a important meaning as it is recognisable what happens next which is iconic in this genre of film. Throughout the film background music is the same theme and tone throughout the film thus connoting a important scene or a action scene for example the sound when Luke and Kylo fight is increased to create a important meaning for the audience to recognise. Patrick Phillips' theory denoting that this technique gives a pleasure to the audience which this product as it get the audience excited whilst the action unfolds.


Finally the camerawork can create meaning in my product. The establishing shot at the start of the film connotes a continuation from the cliff hanger at the end of the previous film. This shot denotes the location and the slight view of Rey walking up the path to Luke Skywalker. This shot is used to give a nostalgic feel to the last film and is important as it connotes that Luke is at the top of the mountain. This gives the audience a sense of security to the audience because they know where the film will start off and makes them know that the genre of this film is sci fi as it is a continuation of previous film. This links with Patrick Phillips' theory that claims 'Genre offers audience comfortable reassurance' with this establishing shot carrying from the last film this I believe links with this precise theory.

 

LO2 Recap

Traditional advertising methods

• posters
• tv
• newspaper
• radio
• film trailers

new media advertising 

• social media 
• hyperlinks 
• QR codes
• holograms
• youtube adverts
• interactive web adverts
• personalised adverts
• social media personalisation
• pop up ads
• celebrity endorsements
• smart TV adverts

Distribution - How a product gets to a audience(e.g Netflix)

Technological convergence is when technology comes together to provide a service

e.g cameras in phones

impact on distribution - personalisation of marketing, multimedia marketing 

it has had an impact on distribution because we can now stream and download content from video on demand services such as BBC Iplayer and Spotify and Apple Music. 

simulcasting is when a TV show or Radio show is broadcast online at the same time as it airs e.g sports or news

A black dox device is a smartphone

it is linked to the concept of technological convergence because smartphones have multimedia things in it

Above the line advertising  is when a product is advertised to a mass audience using methods that will be widely seen this is a mixture of traditional and new media includes social media campaigns and film trailers

Below the line advertising is when a product is advertised in a 1 to 1 way. It can be individual or small audience. e.g leaflets and flyers, personalised adverting 

LO1 Job Roles in Media

LO1 Recap

An example of a cross media conglomerate is Sony this is because they specialise in creating media products in more than one sector. The sectors they make media products include Sony Music and Sony Pictures.

An example of a independent company is Warp This is because they only specialise in producing films. To make their This is England product successful they had to enter a joint venture with Channel 4 to  distribute the product.  

A vertically integrated company is the conglomerate example 21st century fox this is because its subsidiaries such as Fox News that produce products, subsidiaries such as  sky news can distribute products such as fox entertainment is marketed on which is also owned by this company.

A horizontally integrated company is the conglomerate Disney this is because it has subsidiaries such as Marvel Studios that can market and distribute. An example of a product they produce is Iron Man and is marketed on Disney XD which is owned by the same company.

synergy is when a media product is marketed across a range of platforms to gain maximum exposure. The branding and house style is similar across all the products marketing. An example of this is the product Venom, this is marketed in magazines and in film trailers. it featured the same colours and logo.

Another example of this product is Star Wars 8 ,this is marketed in games and magazines. It featured the same celebs and logo. 

LO1: Mock questions

• Need to remember to use terminology in my answers e.g commercial company, 
• add examples to get the extra mark - warp films
• and say why those examples are e.g independent - it is independent as it is not owned by any company.

KTA 3 feedback sheet

KTA 4

6* - analyse the concept of 'representation' in a media product you have studied



In this essay I am going to be discussing the digital media product Venom. I will discuss how the concept of representation and examples to support my answers. Tim o'sulivan et al(1998) said that for the recognition to work, there has to be shared recognition of people and places, therefore they have ideologies. This means that for the film to be recognised then scenes of places that everyone knows to allow people to recognise the type of film and what is happening. I agree with this idea because Mise-en-scene shows the establishing shot which tells the audience the setting and shows where the action will take place in the whole of the film. In my products case which is Venom(2018) at the start of the film an establishing shot is taken of San Francisco's tall city buildings which tells the audience where Eddie Brock lives because after the establishing shot we see Eddie. Because of this shot we recognise the setting and we link it to stereotypes we hear about the location this makes us recognise the film more and feel more involved with film. Another example of this is the science labs in the film testing the people and the science labs are seen as ire and not a nice place. Sound shows the they are ire as the slight musical changes are introduced, for example when a patient tries to attack Eddie there is a loud rawr and the tone is changed from the happy city to a creepy science lab.

Laura Mulvey's theory(1975) involving re representation is that women are objectified and seen as not as powerful, she also states that women are seen in the view of homosexual males. An example of this being a male looking at a woman he likes and it zooms into her face in slow motion to show he love for her. In my product which is Venom one of the main heroes in the movie is a woman named Anne Weying who helps Eddie defeat Drake who is the leader of the main evil company. This example is why I disagree with this statement as women recently are getting their own movies and also becoming more important characters, not for just sex. An example could be the up and coming Marvel film 'Captain Marvel' a filmed based around the life of Marvel superhero Captain Marvel who is played by a woman and in the film shows how she is very powerful.

Another theory that links with Laura Mulvey's theory is John Berger's theory in 1976. His theory was that men act and women only appear in films. This rather sexist comment is not apparent in Venom as just like Mulvey's theory the women in Venom is a very strong character, this character being Anne Weying. Taking that into account I will have to disagree with Berger as women are actors as well so they act and multiple films like Venom and Star Wars 7 where the main protagonist is a female called Rey. However I can see where he got that theory from as films like James Bond where women actors are only seen as Bond's lovers and are only in the one scene. People could consider that as not acting. However in my opinion recently films like Captain Marvel show that women are true actors and work well alongside men.

LO3 re-presentation

How the media shows us things about society - but this is through careful mediation.
e.g: War

theory 1: Tim o'sulivan et al(1998)
for recognition to work, there has to be a shared recognition of people and places. therefore they have ideologies

• New York city is sunny 
• science places are seen as creepy

theory 2: Richard Dyer(1983)

audience should question the representations they see in the media.

• Atypical

theory 3: Laura Mulvey(1975)

Male gaze

Women are objectified by the media texts and passive objects

audiences are positioned to view women from the point of view of a heterosexual male.

• Anne weying is a powerful woman character. so it goes against it.

theory 4: Stuart Hall(1995), Alvarado(1987)

western white cultures continue to misrepresent ethnic minorities as the media due to underlying racist tendencies

non-white as evil and barbaric

• non white evil man

theory 5: Earp and Katz(1999)
men are violent

• Eddie is not violent and against violence.

theory 6: John Berger(1972)

men act and women appear

theory 7: Edward Said(1981)

first person to be known as a seminal theorist.

LO3 Narrative Theory

Story - a sequence of events - the plot

Narrative - the techniques used to tell the story how its structured.

Plot of Venom:

Eddie is a news reporter living in New York.

Eddie goes to obscorp to interviews Carlton Drake who is the leader of the company which keeps venom and experiments on people.

Eddie gets touched by venom and begins to be taken over by venom.

Eddie is made to do what venom wants.

Theory one: Tim O'Sulivan et al(1998)

All media texts tell us some kind of story

Through careful mediation, media texts offer a way of telling stories about ourselves(as a culture) - these are ideologies.

 ideologies - values and beliefs.

• advancements in technology and science

Theory two: Pam Cook(1985)

The standard Hollywood narrative structure should have:

Linearity of cause and effect within an overall trajectory of enigma resolution

a high degree of narrative closure

a fictional world that contains verisimilitude especially governed by spatial and temporal coherence 

• The use of venoms DNA for science.

Theory three: Tzvetan Todorov(1977)

stage 1: point of equilibrium

stage 2: This stability is disrupted and creates disequilibrium

stage 3: action against disruption

stage 4: restoration of equilibrium

• Eddie living in San Francisco and is a journalist
• Eddie becomes venom and causes chaos
• Eddie and Weying take down Drake with venom
• venom is secretly bonded with Eddie and they taker down crime and he goes back to journalism.

Theory four: Claude Levi- Strauss(1958)

Binary opposites - good versus evil

• Eddie vs Drake 
• Eddie vs Venom 
• Venom vs Drake

Theory five: Vladimir Propp(1928)

all narratives feature stock characters and that audiences understand stories because of such features.

villain/antagonist

hero/protagonist

helper/sidekick

princess

• Carlton Drake
• Venom and Eddie 
• Anne Weying

Theory six: Roland Barthes(1977)

enigma codes work to keep up setting problems or puzzles for the audience.
action codes informs the audience in terms of what is happening in the next scene.

• Eddie being chased on his motorbike 
• Eddie switches his motorbike on

LO3 Genre

genre - a tool that is used to analyse media.
genre example
sci-fi
horror
fantasy
crime
comedy
thriller
social realism
children
drama

Venom is a sci fi film that includes supernatural things like venom.

Sub Genre- Alien genre

Barry Kieth Grant - "all genres have sub genres"
examples - venom costume 

• sounds - animalistic screams
• dark setting
• science laboratory

Patrick Phillips - "Genre offers audience comfortable reassurance"
provides familiarity

• violence - guns 
• CGI
• Darkness
• science labs  

Branston and Stafford - Genre makes it easier to market and sell products
marketing material

• iconic character
• font - uneven stringy font - grey and dark - serif font - danger
• low shot connotes power

Rick Altman - "Genre offers pleasure"

• gut response - shock, excitement - story line
• emotional - sad and happy

David Bordwell - "Any theme may appear in any genre"
Theme = ideas and concepts and 'myths'

• Thriller theme - bike chase scene
• Sci fi theme - Venom a fictional animal
• horror theme - scary venom taking over scene
• comedy theme - Eddie makes jokes

LO3 Editing

editing involves:

• changing it
• adding special effects
• making something better
• apply SFX and transitions
• Arranging footage to create a narrative
• taking out footage that is no longer needed 

Continuity editing means it creates a narrative that we understand, invisible editing

Shot reverse shot structure - buts two images together in order to create a link between them

Action match - continuous action between two or more shots

Cross cutting - 

Cutaway

Insert shot

Eye line match

Shot Reverse Shot structure example

• over the shoulder shot - aggressive Joey 
• medium close up - single person talks at coffee house
• Master shot - shows Joey and woman eating in restaurant
• establishing shot - starts Phoebe and Joey talk in coffee house

Action match example
Han Solo chases stormtroopers
cut one - solo begins to chase stormtrooper
cut two - running still form a different angle
cut three - medium long shot of solo's sudden stop.


crosscutting example
master shot - Luke gets out and sees the other people
over shoulder shot - Luke talks to Obi Wan
medium close up - Obi Wan's face
wipe transition - they now are moving
shot reverse shot - Luke and Obi Wan talking


crosscutting/parallel action
crosscutting or parallel action refers to an editing sequence that cuts between two or narrative events that are occurring in different events , usually simultaneously.

1. a lot of cross cuts
2. bond, money penny, M - to show them as all communicating with each other
3. female driver is independent 

Cutaway

• A cutaway shot is the interruption of a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else.
• usually followed by a cut back to the first shot. cutaway edits relate to the main action, or provide more information.

soundbridge 

sound editing technique working with cutaways to give more information to the audience.

In the flashback to Mozambique gives Johnny's and the councillors view on what happened in Mozambique. They explain what happens whilst what they are explaining is taking place on the screen, sometimes coming back to them back on the bed in the present.

insert shot

can be seen as the point of view shot.
Eye Line Match


4 cuts between maul and Obi Wan

KTA 2 feedback sheet

LO3 use of sound

Diegesis - story world
verisimilitude - realism/ relatable
diegetic sound - sound that appears that it is coming from within the story
tone - shout = angry
accent - how we pronounce certain words
dialect - come from specific place
sound effects - foley
foley - sound that is made from objects
foley artists are responsible for sounds that only certain things can do
e.g creaking door, smashing glass, waves at sea, turkey noise
added in post production

Non- diegetic sound - sound not coming from the story world, theme music
incidental music - music added to place emphasis over important scene
non - diegetic sound effects - unrealistic sound to emphasise the important scene
Sound Motif - sound badge -

The Avengers
foley sounds - the hairs on spider mans arms standing up - noise of thanos portal - captain America catching the trident - black widow stabbing something - captain America pushing some aliens - Spiderman getting thrown to a stone ground - thanos punching iron man - bucky reloading his gun

new knowledge - all of it is new, so yeah
 

KTA3 - Venom film

Product - Venom

Genre - Fantasy
Sub Genre - Thriller

Location - New York city, scientist labs
costume - casual clothes, scientist clothes, CGI venom outfit.
Props - chemicals, bikes
acting gestures - serious and upset and pain
lighting - low key connotes danger and pain
colour - black and white

Camerawork:

Close up

it connotes Eddie turning into venom in a science lab.

Establishing shot

It connotes the location where the characters live, which is New York City.


Editing:

Cutaway

This scene the cuts between Eddie ridding the motor bike.
Also the cuts go between the machines chasing him.
And cuts to the explosions whilst he's still being chased.
This gives a sense of tension to the audience.
Shot reverse shot

over the shoulder shot - over venom's shoulder at the start of the convocation.
Master shot - sees Eddie and Venom talking near the city.
This creates a uncomfortable meaning towards the audience because they don't know what venom will do.

Sound:

Diegetic sound is created when Eddie turns into venom and that transition sound is created. This is seen that the sound is within the story. Another sound type that can be linked with the transition sound is a non - diegetic sound which is a non realistic sound effect which gives this sound a sci-fi effect. This gives a unrealistic sci-fi meaning to the audience.

Camera work starter work

narrative - the story

spectacle - excitement

4 different camera work categories

• Shot Types - framing and distance
• camera types - low angle, Dutch angle
• camera movement - how the camera travels and follows actions
• composition - framing and focus

extreme closeup example;

the picture denotes a close up of tony stark experiencing a shocking thing when he is being shot. This connotes his emotions to being shot.

Wide Shot example:

The shot shows the location of where Rey and BB8 are. this shows the conditions on the planet Jakku at the start of the film.

Low angle shot - shows power
High angle shot - shows venerability


High Angle Shots

avengers look little to big alien ship

Low Angle Shots

avengers look tough cause bad guy is on floor 

dutch angle - tilted angles - connotes unease,disorienttion, adds to the spectacle.

high angle characters - strong people

low angle characters - weak people

LO3 Codes And Conventions

Genre - Means certain types of group.
Narrative - Story, plot
Representation - How the media shows different groups
all known as Macro meanings
Macro ideas are made of micro elements
4 micro categories

•  mise- en - scene - what we see e.g location, props, costumes, lighting, acting gestures, iconography and colour
• camera work
• sound
• editing

code and conventions are the ingredients to a specific genre of product.

Fantastic four task - sci-fi
Location - New York,space
props - space weapons, not normal objects science tech
costumes - unusual costumes like brick man and long man superhero clothes, army costumes
lighting - dark and mysterious or bright beaming light
acting gestures - dramatic and mysterious, relatable gestures
iconography - set in space, America tall buildings
colour - mystical blue colour and dark colours

KTA 1 Feedback Sheet

KTA2

1.  Product - Friends Tv Show
2.  Warner Bros TV which is a conglomerate however it was also produced by Bright/Kufman/Crane Productions with is independent.
3. Warner Bros Tv would advertise friends in a trailer before one of their films or on social media or in newspapers and posters and in TV adverts. Warner Bros would advertise friends from their subsidiaries like in telepicture products. 
4. traditional marketing methods could be. Newspapers and posters.
5. How friends would be distributed is through copies of the product being sold to the consumer through retailers at local shops. Another way of distribution would be the episodes being shown on TV. They would be distributed on TV channels like Comedy Central and most recently Channel 5.
6. In the new era of technology it is easier to distribute products. So with the example of friends, the product can be distributed by the use of social media and streaming sites like Netflix and it does not cost the producers much more money to distribute it.
   
7. New Media distribution channels can include retailers advertising the companies product, also the company will pay distributers to distribute their product in a number of ways like with social media and film trailers. In this case Warner Bros TV distribution. Another  way that friends would be advertised is through memes that fans have made to engage other fan. this ultimately engages more fans and income.
   
8. Tv shows do this by the use of their conglomerate to vertically integrate with their other companies to advertise the product. Also companies joint venture to advertise on different media platforms. Friends is produced by Warner Bros TV which is a subsidiary to Warner Bros and Bright/Kufman/Crane Productions is independent.
9. The elements of synergy that were evident across all platforms when it came to friends was the logo the font and the colour was unique and became instantly related to friends. Images of the cast or any off the setting also was evident across platforms as if you saw a picture of Matt Le Blanc, you would relate that to friends thus creating more income for the producers.