9. Audience classification

Factsheet

 1) How is audience defined in the Factsheet?

Audience = general term for all the individuals that consume a media product 

2) What does the infographic for Gen Z in the age of Covid-19 suggest about the media Gen Z consumes? 

The infographic suggests that most of the media gen z consumes comes from online videos and the least is physical press.This suggests that gen z has moved away from traditional media such as newspapers and are now mainly using online media sources.

3) How do media companies target and measure their audience in the digital age?

They use information from organisations that collect data on the behaviour of people online in order to find out what their interests/online habits are so they know what audience they need to target.

4) What did the NRS used to do and what does PAMCO do now? 

The NRS used to collect information on the people who consumed newspapers and their social grades which showed producers what social grade consumed what types of newspaper. PAMCO is the newer version which involved the online versions of newspapers not just the print version.

5) How are demographics and psychographics defined in the factsheet?

Demographics are impersonal data collected about consumers in order to predict wider trends in consumption.

Psychographics focus on peoples lifestyles and habits in their media usage which is less rigid and allows for them to be categorised into smaller subcategories.

 

8. Narrative

 1) Give an example from film or television that uses Todorov's narrative structure of equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium. 

In jurassic world, animal experts are sent to an island with dinosaurs on it to take care of them and ensure the. place is safe for the public to visit.Then there's a disequilibrium when the animals escape their captivity and begin to run freely, destroying the island killing people. Then the new equilibrium is created when the animals are captured and everyone returns to their lives however some people are missing as they died in the disequilibrium,

2) Complete the activity on page 1 of the Factsheet: find a clip on YouTube of the opening of a new TV drama series (season 1, episode 1). Embed the clip in your blog and write an analysis of the narrative markers that help establish setting, character and plot. 


In the opening scene of 'Breaking Bad' we can see the main character driving an RV through the desert in the middle of nowhere, the RV then crashes and a man emerges wearing only his underwear, shirt and a gas mask with a camera and a gun. He proceeds to record a video of himself which we can see from the change in cinematography and he films a video saying goodbye to his family which tell us that the plot is centred around a man who lives a secret life away from his family. This secret life is then made clear to be an illegal secret as we hear the police sirens approaching him from the distance and the main character stands in the road with his gun up ready for a showdown with the police.


3) Provide three different examples from film or television of characters that fit Propp's hero character role.

Rapunzel= princess     Flynn Rider= Hero     Mere Gothell= Villain

4) Give an example of a binary opposition.
Good vs evil 

5) What example is provided in the Factsheet for the way narratives can emphasise dominant ideologies and values?

The winners of binary opposition usually represent dominant values as they want to promote them. eg: crime doesn't pay


6) Why do enigma and action codes (Barthes) offer gratifications for audiences?
These codes give gratification to the viewer as it makes them feel like they're a part of the film and actively taking part in figuring out the plot rather than having it handed to them which creates more interest and keeps their attention as they know they need to be actively listening to understand the plot otherwise they won't figure things out.

7) Write a one-sentence summary of the four different types of TV narrative:

• Episodic narrative (the series)- narrative arc is resolved after each episode 
• Overarching narrative (the serial)- narrative continues over multiple episodes 
• Mixed narrative- contains both episodic and overarching as there's a recurring theme in each episode but minor problems are resolved at the end of each episode 
• Multi-strand overlapping narrative (soap narrative)- multiple stories told at the same time 

8) How does the Factsheet suggest adverts use narrative?  

Adverts point out a problem and then offer a solution (their product) which helps them as it gives the audience a reason to buy their product. 

7. Genre blog tasks

 

                              

1) What example is provided of why visual iconographies are so important?

 They use the example of star trek vs star wars which are both sci fi movies however both are set in vey different worlds: star wars = dangerous world and no peace whereas star trek = Utopia. Therefore both are set in the future but they present  the future in different ways.

2) What examples are provided of the importance of narrative in identifying genre?

They use the example of soap operas which usually follow the narrative of a bullying boss that the main character has to deal with at work, the boss is usually presented as a villain who is foolish and mocked and the main character is the victim who eventually stands up to their boss.

3) What are the different ways films can be categorised according to Bordwell? 

Period/country, director/star, Technical process, Style, series, audience


4) List three ways genre is used by audiences

They use their prior knowledge of a genre to decide whether or not they want to watch something because they know it will be similar, use their knowledge of genre to stay away from certain texts/films, gives the readers expectations they expect to be fulfilled by the text. 


5) List three ways genre is used by institutions or producers.

Helps them attract an audience because many genres have a loyal fan base

An understanding of genre is useful for producers as it makes the process of promoting their work much simpler knowing they don't have to explain their work in as much detail, knowing that people will understand either way.

Creates a template for producers to follow and they wont have to come up with entirely new ideas.

1) List five films the factsheet discusses with regards to the Superhero genre. 

X men Superman Batman The avengers Spiderman Guardians of the galaxy

2) What examples are provided of how the Superhero genre has reflected the changing values, ideologies and world events of the last 70 years?

World event = WW2 as in superman we see as he needs to stop European issues which were interrupting the peace in the US which is like the issue with WW2 in real life where the US saw it as an issue for Europe to deal with until it became a problem for them.

In X men the mutants are used to represent the real life problem with racism where people are treated differently for how they look which is shown by how people mistreat the mutants and don't see them as a part of society. This is an example of movies representing real life issues.

3) How can Schatz's theory of genre cycles be applied to the Superhero genre?

Comic books established the codes for the superhero genre. In the 1950s these codes are being made into movies which recreated the comics. Finally, many superhero parody movies were made such as Batman(1966) which deliberately made the genre funnier and made fun of some of the classic codes.

General
1) Why did you choose the text you are analysing?

I chose the film 'Lucy' as I believe its a unique concept: The power of the mind which makes the movie interesting to watch as it explores the idea of what would happen to a person if they had the power to be anything and do anything they pleased.
2) To what genre did you initially assign the text?

Action

3) What is your experience of this genre?

Ive always enjoyed the action genre as I believe it's an exciting genre which can be used in many different ways and works well when mixed with any other genre.
4) What subject matter and basic themes is the text concerned with?

I believe the movie is concerned with the themes of power and control as we see how power impacts the main character and how she uses it after being used and being treated badly. It also explores the idea of human potential and how humans could potentially be using only part of heir brain and their brains are in fact more powerful.

5) How typical of the genre is this text in terms of content?

I believe its quite an interesting take on the genres its been labeled as, I believe its a deconstruction of the genres as it pushes the basic expectations.
6) What expectations do you have about texts in this genre?

I expect them to follow the story of a protagonist who goes through an interesting/challenging journey which is done well in the movie.
7) Have you found any formal generic labels for this particular text (where - try imdb.com if unsure)?

Action Sci-fi Thriller 
8) Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text?

I recognise the conflict which is common in action movies, the use of advanced technology which is used in sci-fi and I also see high speed chases and crime which are common in thrillers.
9) To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?

It stretches the conventions by exploring the science of the human brain

10) Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre?

It departs from the conventions during scenes where we see her brain becoming more powerful as the narrative focuses more on her development rather than using action all the way throughout to push the story along.
11) Which conventions seem more like those of a different genre (and which genre(s))?

12) What familiar motifs or images are used?
Chaos vs peace : In some scenes we see as Lucy's brain develops she struggles to control it which causes chaos however as she gains more control it becomes more peaceful

We also see transformation which is familiar as it symbolises development and improvement 

Mode of address
1) What sort of audience did you feel that the text was aimed at (and how typical was this of the genre)?

I believe its aimed at an older audience as it contains philosophical concepts which are less likely to be of interest to younger people who'd rather see action than learn about the mind.
2) What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity?

There could be an assumption that the person watching is a woman as we see the main character who is a woman move from a place in life where she was undervalued and mistreated to becoming extremely powerful. It could also assume that the person watching is lower class as the main character is seen to be selling drugs in order to make money which shows the struggles of not having money and what some people have to do to get money.
3) What interests does it assume you have?
It assumes that the audience is interested in science and the function of the brain.
Relationship to other texts
1) What intertextual references are there in the text you are analysing (and to what other texts)? Intertextuality is when a media product references another media text of some kind. 

In the movie it references scientists and scientific theories

2) In terms of genre, which other texts does the text you are analysing resemble most closely?

I believe it resembles the movie 'the matrix' quite well as it shares the same idea of a protagonist who transforms and gains knowledge that causes them to develop mentally.
3) What key features are shared by these texts?

A protagonist that goes through a transformation/change in life

Both explore the concepts of reality and control 
4) What major differences do you notice between them?

The movie Lucy focuses on the power of the brain whereas the movie the matrix focuses on the idea of a simulated reality.

6. Blog feedback and learner response

 WWW: Your blog is 100% up-to-date which is brilliant to see – you’ve made a great start in Media. I like the answers to your first blog task – particularly your very honest and blunt response that you didn’t actually pick Media! I hope you are enjoying the course so far and certainly your answers in many of your blogposts show an engagement with the text that is exactly what I’m looking for. A good example of this is your opening two questions in the Semiotics work on the short film English. You’ve picked out the different meanings/interpretations of the two characters perfectly – exactly what I was looking for. I also totally agree with your answer that Israel/Palestine is the big story of 2024 – that is also a very interesting story from a media perspective in terms of how the two sides of the conflict are represented in Western media. Keep up the good work and let’s aim for that B+ grade!

 

EBI: Two areas to improve: firstly, a simple one – make sure you are numbering each task in your blogpost as this will make it easier for both of us to keep track of your work and keep the tracker green. Secondly, if you want to aim for that B+ grade we need to be adding depth and detail to your blog answers. If you take the Reading an image work as an example, you could add more depth to your second advertising text in particular. No need to go back and add to that task but one to consider in the future. The key to top-grade work is being able to discuss a variety of possible responses or ideas.

 

LR: Create a blogpost on your Media 1 Exam blog called ‘Blog feedback and learner response’, copy this feedback in and then complete the following learner response:

 

Reflect on your work in A Level Media so far. What is your strongest piece of work? What is your weakest? What specific skills or knowledge do you need to develop over the rest of the course?

LR

I believe that my strongest piece of work in media so far is my most recent work which was the blog task on reception theory as I believe that it was my most detailed piece of work as I put time and care into it, I believe it presents all the skills I've learned in media so far.

I believe my weakest piece of work was my media consumption bog task as many of the questions didn't apply to me so it was very minimal and I didn't put in a lot of detail as I wasn't very sure due to it being the beginning of the year/course.

I think that the knowledge/skills I need to improve on is knowledge on the previous knowledge from Gcses which I wasn't there to learn but would be useful for my learning and help me get a deeper understanding of the current topics. A skill id like to  improve is my editing as I'm not able to use the premiere pro software yet and would like to understand it to improve my work.

5. Reception theory

 

50 Cent advert

Preferred

I believe the preferred reading is that people can be anyone they want to be no matter what past they've had or their background. They use 50 cent to demonstrate this as he's had a criminal past which he's moved away from and become successful.

Negotiated

Some may say that the advert is telling people that all people are equal no matter what they've done as it says "I am what I am" which could show pride in their past and who they really are. This isn't the complete opposite of what the advert is trying to do its just another possibility.

Oppositional

People may see this as new balance promoting criminal lifestyles and encouraging their audiences to take part in criminal activities as 50 cent is an influential celebrity and him being proud of what he's done could be new balance trying to tell their audience they should be like him (if they do crime they can become successful and famous).

Preferred

The preferred meaning could be that food from McDonalds fuels you and makes you feel good which promotes McDonalds as a healthy brand which improves your lifestyle and gives you energy to do better.

Negotiated 

The negotiated meaning could be that McDonalds isn't actually good for you but it still fuels you and makes you feel good because it tastes nice.

Oppositional 

Comparing McDonalds food to something you put in a car could suggest the McDonalds is terrible for you or even poisonous and could kill you which is the opposite of the healthy good for you approach which they tried to take.

Mr Beast 

Sender = Mr beast (creator)

Message= He uses his channel to promote positivity and influence people to do good things for others without expecting anything back. He also promotes charities which he donates to so that he can reach out to his large audience and get them to help out where he can't.

Channel = he does this through his numerous YouTube channels which have subscribers amounting to millions.

Receiver = his videos are translated in to many languages which allows him to reach a much wider audience

Encoding + Decoding 

Encoding is when someone who's part of a culture puts something into terms which only people with an understanding of that culture are able to understand. These people are then able to decode this information and understand it.

Stuart Hall criticised the smcr model because he believed messages are polysemic and can't have only one meaning. He also believed that people can't all understand a message the same way even though the sender would hope so.

Halls circuit of communication model 

Production = producers making assumptions about who's going to view the text 

Circulation = The way the audience sees the texts e.g. media technologies/services 

Distribution/Consumption = When the audience receives the text - this is when they decide how they will understand it/take it in 

Reproduction = What the audience think/feel when they see the work and how it impacts them/makes them want to do 

Reception theory 

Media can have multiple meanings depending on the receivers views and past experiences so there's multiple steps in between the production of a piece of media and the receipt of it which change how it impacts an audience.

It can be criticised because it assumes that all people will be affected by the cultural hegemony and will be able to recognise the dominant meaning.

4. Reading an image - media codes

 

Technical, Written or verbal, Symbolic or non-verbal, Narrative

Technical

The lighting on the main character is lowkey however lighting is used to emphasise the scar on his shoulder which shows how its focusing on his pain and struggles. However his jewellery is also being brightly lit which show that even though he went through things he's still successful which tells the audience that their past doesn't define them and no matter what has happened they can turn things around.

                                                        Written/Verbal code

In the middle of the advert it says "I am what I am" which could be telling the audience to always be proud of who they are and not be ashamed like 50 cent who is showing his criminal past to everyone unlike other celebrities who'd probably try hide it. There's also a quote in the top right of the advert which tells us about his tough upbringing and how he comes from a place where "there's no plan b" which could be him trying to positively influence the audience

Symbolic

In the background we can see fingerprints which are taken when you're arrested which represents the criminal past of 50 and in the text at the top all the os are filled in which could be to represent the time he was shot multiple times and kept trying and didn't give up eve though it was likely to be a traumatising experience which would've taken a huge toll on many people and possibly cause them to give up thinking they've lost everything. However 50 uses this as fuel to do even better which makes him the perfect person to use to represent a brand which emphasises its strong beliefs in hard work and resilience.

Technical

In the advert they use lighting to make their product standout by making the background dark through Lowkey lighting and making the product have highkey lighting which means it's the first thing that the viewer of the ad sees. They also used editing to make it seem like the drink is being poured from a fuel pump which makes it seem like their food is fuel and connotes healthy eating which is good for you and fuels you for the day.

Written code

They use writing in the top right to promote the idea of their food being healthy by saying it fuels you and makes you feel good even though we know it's unhealthy fast food. 

Non verbal 

The advert uses bright colours to attract the audience. The main writing is in bright yellow to make it stand out which makes the audience want to look at the advert.