Film industry: Week 1

• The purpose of any media product is to make money.

• Another purpose is to entertain people.

• Films must make a lot of money as they cost a lot to make.

Facts about early film:

• History of film began in the 1890's without sound, sound was then introduced in 1927.

• First movie ever made The Horse In Motion, created by Eadweard Muybridge in 1878.(Roughly 140 years ago)

• The first film was to settle a debate about horses hooves.

• Films were only about 46 seconds long at the start due to the lack of technology.

• The jazz singer was the first film with sound.

• The first film studios were built in 1897.

• In the late 19th century the film makers and producers were mostly females this is because making films were seen as a female, girly job as it's like art and craft.

le jardenier et le petit espiegle (1895):

All done in a single shot.

Key words:

Spatial continuity- the audience always knows where they are at any time.

Temporal continuity- the audience always knows in what order the events have transpired, and any flashbacks and so forth will be clearly signposted.

Films must be realistic and must not make reference to other filmic or popular texts.

The studio system - 

Production - Making a media product

Distribution - Getting the product out there

Convergence - When two separate media industries come together (e.g a music video- film and music come together)

Regulation - The rules and restrictions of a media product

Digital Technologies - Technology made possible through computers

Exhibition - The showing of the media product

Conglomeration - Is a corporation that consists of a group of businesses dealing in different products or services.

Vertical/horizontal integration - Vertical integration where a company buys up other companies involved in different stages of the production and circulation. 

Horizontal integration when other film companies buy another.

ident- Things such as the Universal sequence. They are a film distributer

David Hesmondhalg: The cultural industries

He said that...

horizontal integration is key to the media industry.

Vertical integration involved in different stages of production and circulation.

Conglomeration 

Curran and Seaton:

• Media concentration limits variety, creativity and quality.
• The media is controlled by a small number of companies primarily driven by the profit and power.
• More socially diverse patterns of ownership can create more varied and adventurous media productions.

Universal Pictures

Universal pictures:

Universal Pictures is an American film studio owned by Comcast through the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group division of its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal

Universal Studios was founded by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane^[a] and Jules Brulatour. 

• Early years.
• Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
• Keeping leadership of the studio in the family.
• The Laemmles lose control.
• Universal-International and Decca Records takes control.
• MCA takes over.
• Matsushita, Seagram, Vivendi and NBCUniversal.
• Comcast era (2011–present)

• 4th oldest film studio
• Drastic world is their largest film

Film poster cliches:

• Film posters are down to the distributer to create not the company which makes the film. 
• Film posters are often similar as the audience can predict what sort of film genre they will be- therefore a convention 

Key Assessment 1

Name three of Barthes's semiotic codes [1]:

• Hermeneutic code
• Proairetic code
• Symbolic code

Briefly define 'modes of address' [1]

How the text speaks to and involves the audience.

Briefly define 'lexis' [1]

The choice of language 

• Which two theoretical perspectives have we studied that can be 'credited' to Stuart Hall? [2]
• Theory of representation 
• Theory of hegemonic power 

Media language

How can media language communicate multiple meanings? Make reference to at least two of the following; the Tide print advertisement (1950's), the WaterAid audiovisual advertisement (2016) and the Kiss of the Vampire (1963) film poster.

In your answer you must:

• Consider how genre conventions create meaning
• Consider how audiences can respond to media language
• Consider how media language incorporates various viewpoints and ideologies [30]

Plan:
tide advert:
post war time advert
an american company and advert 
appeals to middle class women
stereotypical 
was well know for the 'house wive' character 
still leading brand in america today as it was in the 1950's
has cultivated ideologies


Answer:

The first text I am going to talk about is the Tide print advert which was realised in America in the 1950's. This advert was realised post war time by an American company to promote a product designed to be heavy duty. The company became well known for their 'housewife' character which featured heavily in their adverts.
Key terms I'll be using through out this answer are, Mise-en-scene which is everything in the frame, different forms of address like direct address which is when the text has words such as 'you' or 'your which engage the audience. 
I am going to argue that the Tide print advert, audience response is influenced by the different media conventions used through the product. This advert's ideology is that women like to and want to clean and that they should do the cleaning.


One media convention used to influence the audiences response is the use of layout within the media product. Tide print advert has a strong Z-line in it which influences where the audience focuses their attention. For example they're immediately drawn to the top left to top right of the advert where the slogan is ' Tide's got what women want!' Next their drawn to the bottom left of the page where there is a women or the 'housewife' hugging the product. Then finally their drawn to the cartoon in the bottom right of the page. Therefore by the use of the Z-line is direct the attention away from all the writing of the advert and onto the aspects which will appeals to the audience most. There's also a lot more text in this advert unlike modern day adverts which is why the Z-line is more affective because people don't want to read loads of writing when looking at an advert.
Also a low angle shot is used which gives the impression that the 'housewife' character is more powerful.

Another convention used is the use of language, which is used to appeal to their target audience of women. The use of direct address is shown in the slogan as it says "Tide's got what women want". Through the use of the word 'women' it engages the target audience. Also Tide's unique selling point was that it was loved by women which also influenced other women to go out and buy the product.
During the 1950's most women would stay at home and look after the house and children therefore by using direct address it would make the audience feel as though the product is aimed only at them making them feel important.
Through the use of the 'housewife' character is gives women a sense of community which would also appeal to them as they're at home doing the washing while their husbands are out all day working.
Another use of language is exaggeration of the word 'miracle' because its not a miracle it's only a washing product however it gives of the ideology it will make doing the washing easier for the women.

A third convention used to influence the audience is through the mise-en-scene of colour and font. The use of sans-serif font appeals to the middle class audience as they do their own washing and cleaning however they aren't poor as they're able to afford nicer things and clothes. The colour red suggests that women are only there for cleaning and the washing which objectifies women. However an symbolic code is used through the colour white as it symbolises purity and cleanliness. Overall the colours used in the advert connote the product will lead to a better life for the 'house wife' if she buys this product.
The use of noticeable make-up implies doing the washing makes you feel better about yourself as she has dressed up to do the washing taking away the fact that its often seen as a chore. Also a proairetic code is used to suggest she's about to do the washing.

Finally in the Tide adverts ideologies have been cultivated. For example the ideology that the washing is the females role, the ideology it is the best washing product and the ideology she's the archetypal housewife. Through this advert it is very stereotypical that women are there to do the washing and look after the house.



In the Water aid advert is follows certain conventions of a charity advert. For example the personal pronouns when asking for help, direct address, and the soft comporting voice over.
The purpose of charity adverts is often to make the audience feel guilty however this advert challenges stereotypes by being upbeat and cheerful as it focuses more on the positives. Also water is shown as bringing the community together which would appeal to the working class target audience as it shows they're donations are helping. Also the advert is their to establish a cause and get the audience to agree to the ideology that people all deserve clean water. The target audience is working class people who are at home during the day when this advert is often played.

Another way this advert challenges stereotypes is is doesn't show her as a victim.

This advert uses a linear narrative as it goes through the motions of her journey to get the water.

A convention used in this advert is binary opposition between the dull weather in England and the bright colours at the end when the community are together getting their water.
The use of statistics of "650 million people still need to be helped" bring the audience back to reality that not everyone can experience this yet. 

Save The Children advertisement. Click to see in full resolution.

Representation

Compare how audiences are positioned by the representations in the below Save the Children advert and the WaterAid advert you have studied [15]

One way the audience are

positioned by representations in the Save the children advert is through the use of the child in the glass box as the mise-en-scene of Africa behind him looks rough and scary it makes the audience want to help as it isn't a place for a young child to be. The representation of the Save the children is negative as it's showing the importance and the danger these children have to deal with. Where as in the Water aid advert it has a more positive representation as the children are shown as happy as they're laughing and singing together.

Also in both adverts there's the representation of black people which is a media bias as it's not just black children in Africa and also it indicates that black people are the ones who are possibly less able to depend on themselves and our country as they're the ones who are shown to need help and support, also there's a heavy representation of males in the Save the children's advert which would effect how the audience perceive the advert.
The atmosphere's between the texts are binary oppositions as in the Water aid advert it's bright and sunny where as in the Save the children's advert is dull and dark which highlights how dull and unfit for children the place is. In the Save the children advert the audience are position to want to help and fear for the children as direct address has been used so the young boy is looking at us, where as in the Water aid advert it's as if the audience are watching the children from further away and not actually picturing what it's like. 

The target audience is British people as they're British charities set up to help what are shown as innocent young lives which would appeal to the target audience as they want to help the less fortunate as we take water and safety for granted.

Hegemonic Power- Stuart Hall Reception Theory

• Challenges hegemonic ideas about gender as she has hairy legs.
• Challenges stereotypes.
• The threats of rape were an attempted to try and re-instate their dominance. 

• Conflicts the hegemonic ideas about gender and sexuality.
• Binary opposition- between his top half (male) and bottom half (female).

WaterAid Advert:

Audience Responses:

• Uplifting 
• Don't really care
• Positive, feel happy for the Zambian villages
• Annoyed
• Cynical 
• Cute
• More positive than average charity advert
• Rewarding, feel good
• Frustration- she wouldn't be singing in English- isn't a real representation
• Felt sorry for her as all she does is collect water and sing
• Expectations are challenged as it's uplifting
• Positivity 

Stuart Hall- Reception Theory/Audience Response:

Dominant Reading: The audience agrees with the dominant values in the text, and agrees with the values and ideologies it shows.

Oppositional Reading: The audience completely disagrees with what they see, and rejects the dominant reading.

Negotiated Reading: The audience generally agrees with what they see, but they may disagree with certain aspects.

Factors that affect an audience response:

• Moral beliefs
• Financial situations
• Personal situations
• Religion
• Ethnicity 
• Age
• Sexuality
• Gender identity 
• Location
• Choice of TV shows
• When the advert is shown

Exam Information-How to answer

(30 marks - spend 45 minutes)

How to answer:

1. Underline key terms whilst reading the question 
2. Plan using bullet points- on exam paper
3. Introduction
4. Paragraphs
5. Conclusion 

Introduction:

• Definitions- Key terms (demonstrates knowledge)

• Context- Background of the advert

• Argument- Point of view ("I am going to argue that... audience response is influence by the time period the media product was released  in")

Paragraphs within the text:

 

POINT:

1) Genre conventions

2) Audience response( z-line)

3) Ideologies 

EVIDENCE:

Very specific examples of the text/advert

Media language- Textual analysis toolkit 2017

EXPLAIN/ARGUEMENT:

Conclusion:

Least important paragraph- just sums up your points

Audience Manipulation

The concept of audience is essential for a media product to exist. 
They also decide on the success of the product.

Albert Bandura - The effects model (The hypodermic needle model/ Brain washing theory.)(Key Theory 15) He experimented on children.
He thought that the producers brainwash people and inserted ideologies. 
A reason it's still believed is because it's a easy and simple theory to understand and it also gives people someone to blame.

Advantages:

• Could get a message across to people quickly and effectively (e.g propaganda)
• Makes people aware that you shouldn't believe everything you see in the media

Disadvantages:

• The theory doesn't work- only in a few cases

• If we watch to much television bias ideology may get accepted. 
• It could also desensitise someone to violence if you watch to many horror films.
• If video games are played to much it could increase someones violence streak.
• Media could change people's point of views.
  

Mass media: Can spread to a mass audience very quickly.

George Gerbner- Cultivation theory:

The idea that prolonged and heavy exposure to T.V... cultivates, as in grows or develops in audiences.

Therefore if you watch a lot of films about men being the stronger sex that's what people  start to believe.

• Television present a mainstream view of culture, ignoring everything else.
• In doing so, television distorts reality.
• Heavy television users are therefore more likely to accept this edited and distorted view of reality.
  

Disadvantages of the theory:

• Not everyone is the same
• Doesn't take into account the complexity of the human mind.
• There are many different ways we can now challenge the idea that any ideology can be mainstream
• The theory is outdated 

Ideologies that are cultivated: 

• Ideology that the washing is just a female role
• Ideology that tide is the best washing product
• Ideology that women do the cleaning shown through that only females are in the advert it is cultivated
• She's the archetypal housewife.
• Another ideology that's been cultivated is that women love cleaning as she is hugging the cleaning product and smiling

Hegemony: Where one group wields power over another, not through domination, but through domination, but through coercion and consent. 

Hegemonic rules:

• Doing as your parents ask
• Stopping at a zebra crossing 
• School system
• Don't drink bleach
• Don't do drugs
• Don't become an addict
• Queuing 
• Giving up your seat for an elderly or disabled person
• Girls wearing make-up

Hegemonic ideologies within this advert:

• Thin women are beautiful 
• Skinny unclothed women are attractive
• That coke in a seasonal drink which is drunk in summer
• That coke is linked to relaxation
• The light colours symbolise connote purity and innocent  

Introduction To Audience

 Audience Identification and Groupings:


Component 1 Section A: Analysing media language and representation.

Component 1 Section B: Analysing media industries and audiences.


Media studies is so preoccupied with audience because there's no point in media without the audience. Also the audience fund the media product.
Also the audience effects the producer.

Target Audience: The audience who the producer is aiming the media product at. Target audience is often very specific. 

Primary Audience: First specific audience that the producer aims the media product at.

Secondary Audience: The rest of the audience that the product is aimed at, which may not be who the product was intended for but still appeals.


T.A.P: 

T- Text

A- Audience

P- Producer 

Key Words:

• Targeting: What the producer wants to get/aiming to get

• Attracting: Giving the product aspects of appeal/ how the producer draws in the audience

• Reaching: The producer promotes their media product to a certain group of people and obtain a wider audience

• Addressing: (like mode of address) How the producer/media product talks to the audience

• Constructing: The audience will be constructed so the product appeals to them

The last of us (PS3 advert):

Primary target audience: Young males, male gamers, young adults, heterosexual  

We know this because...

Dark gloomy mise-en-scene appeals to young men

Use of guns and background shows it is based in a run down area implying its a survival game

Challenges stereotypes of women as the female on the front cover is holding a gun, the female isn't sexualised

Implies more of a family relationship between characters

Secondary target audience: Teen males 

We know this because...

Symbolic code with camera angle as its suggesting something is going to go wrong

Direct mode of address as the character is facing the audience which involves them

Hermeneutic code, The setting, What happened? Who are they? Are they father and daughter?

Breaking down of audience:

• Gender
• Age 
• Sexuality
• Stereotypes
• Interests 
• Statistics preferences 
• Hobbies
• Social classes- Middle class, Working class
• Social status 
• Demographics 
• Beliefs 
• Religion 
• Culture 
• Ideology of the audience
• Location

Demographics- A way of classifying a group and identifying people.

Issues: 

Change on a daily basis 

Misinterpreted 

Can overlap

All based on money 

Not well defined 

Reductive 

Stereotypical

Tells us very little about the audience 

Psychographics- The classification of people according to attitudes, aspirations and other psychological criteria.

Pickle advert (Mcdonalds):

• Lower middle class
• C2,D
• Strugglers
• mose-en-scene is dark- implies lower class based in a suburb 

Kiss Of The Vampire

Gothic horror film 
1963
Target audience: male heterosexuals 

Generic Conventions:
 Paretic code shows something is about to happen.


Connotative Features:
Females wearing revealing clothes= attraction 
Black-death
Red-blood
Foreign antagonists

By 1963 standards is this is them barely wearing any clothes(underwear).

How the story is told: 

• Through the use of colours
• Vampire Costumes- Gothic horror
• Blood- someone will get hurt
• Two in white/lighter colours symbolises purity and the innocent characters
• Symbolic code- the red on the vampire jacket- audience assume there will be death,blood or romance.
• Character archetypes- Damsel in distress
• The representation of women in this poster is that there objectified.
• Male characters aren't objectified or sexualised in this poster unlike women.They aren't standing around barely dressed unlike the females.
• Binary oppositions- light/dark, evil/innocent, kiss/vampire, male/female, power/helplessness.

Objectification- the process of representation an individual as an object. Takes away someones humanity.

Sexualisation- The process of representing an individual for sex.

Yellow: often used in horror films- meant to make someone feel hungry.

Narrative

A narrator is the one who tells the story.

A narrative is the way in which a story is told.

Narratology Theorist: Tzvetan Todorov- Narrative Equilibrium

Equilibrium- State of balance/state of things that don't change.

• Suggested a story starts with the state of equilibrium.
• Then something happens to unbalance is (disequilibrium).
• Partial restoration of equilibrium- Things don't get quite back to normal however they could become better.

Narrative for Todorov is moving from one state of equilibrium to another.

Liminality- A period of transition 

Single Strand Narrative- Follows a single narratives

Multi Strand Narrative- Follows many isolated narratives

Linear Narrative- Chronological narrative

Non-Linear Narrative- Non-chronological narrative 

Other building blocks of narrative:

• Genre conventions 
• Character archetypes 
• Mise-en-scene 
• Barthe's codes
• Binary oppositions

Learning Conversation

• What do you think has gone particularly well so far this year? What are your strengths?

I think a strength has been having done media for GCSE not all context has been new so I haven't felt completely clueless. Also I have been punctual and attended all media lessons.

• What is stopping you from achieving your goals? What threats might you face, (for example not enough time, lack of organisation, pressure from other subjects...)

One thing that could stop be achieving my grades is not having a day off a week as at the weekends I have loads of homework from other subjects and then work.

Also I need to become more organised.

• Identify 3 specific targets for yourself for the rest of this year. They can be both academic and organisational goals.

1. Write revision notes to make it easier to revise
2. Minimise distractions while doing homework and set times for each subjects 
3. Don't get behind with class work

• What grade do you want to achieve in media studies?

          B

• Do you have any suggestions about the course

    A suggest could be that not all notes are made on blogs as i find it hard to revise and use a blog for my work, or he ability to print off all notes that we make.

Homework

Compare advertisement genres

With the Gucci advert it's target audience would be upper class people, therefore the advert is aimed to appeal to a different target audience than a charity advert. The mode of address in this advert is very sophisticated especially with the uncluttered layout. Also the colour purple connotes sophisticated and class which would appeal to the target audience. This advert uses connotations of colour to catch the target audiences attention, also the uncluttered layout appeals to someone who lives a simple and uncluttered life stereotypically someone with a successful career. This advert also uses symbolic codes as the audience feel that if they buy this product they will be able to achieve their ideal lifestyle like the models.




With the Water Aid advert the producer uses proairetic codes which suggest that unless the public donates money to help the children they won't survive, which is a hard hitting advert. This advert also uses direct address which involves the audience as they feel as though its speaking directly to them, therefore making them feel as though its their responsibility to save the children. This advert conforms to stereotypes of children in third world countries, that they're poor, skinny and unable to support their families. Also a sad tone is used with distressing music and camera footage. This adverts also follow the conventions of a charity advert, for example direct address and distressing images.

Steve Neale- Theorist

Steve Neale- Theories around genre

He believes that genre is essentially instances of 'repetition and difference'. He suggested that texts need to conform to some generic paradigms to be identified within a certain genre- but must also subvert these conventions in order to not appear identical.




Genre exists so we can differentiate between different media texts

Benefits of generic classification:

• The audience understands 
• Producer benefits 

The advantage of genre is that we can as an audience be able to clearly identify different media text. It also gets films and t.v series made.

Disadvantages of genre is theres sub genres and hybridity of genres which makes it harder to differentiate and gives the audience expectations that the audience feel they have to conform to. Another disadvantage is its syndical and manipulative.