Key dates for the rest of the year

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MS4 exam help

The following articles will help you revise for the MS4 exam. Remember that the most important thing to prepare is a series of KEY SCENES and EXAMPLES that you can use in the exam. This will involve watching and re-watching the key texts a number of times!

Here you'll find a great rundown of how to structure your MS4 responses.

And here you'll find pretty much the same thing again but in slightly more detail.

This is an example of how to discuss narrative and narrative conventions. Remember, you won't have studied all these case studies, but it will give you some ideas on how to structure your response and to provide an excellent argument.

This is a pretty full on analysis of how Bond films are structured in terms of their narrative. We didn't really get round to talking about a lot of this, so make sure you check it out.

You will (hopefully) be very familiar with this post, which lists pretty much every MS4 past paper question to have ever been published.

This post not only discusses how to use an argument, but also gives some very explicit of examples that you can use. Highly recommended!

You might have missed this recent post about what can come up in industry type questions. Make sure you know what examples to use!

Again, this post uses different examples to the ones that you have looked at, but it's a good example of how to discuss digital technology when talking about the TV industry.

Want to talk about metanarratives in your response? Or just have no idea what they are? Then read this article!

This quick and to the point post discusses how to talk about representation.

Finally, this ridiculously in-depth article answers actual questions from students about the MS4 exam. There are LOTS of examples, suggestions and advice here, so definitely check this one out!

MS4 revision workshops

We will be running two sets of revision workshops to cater to two distinct groups of students. Please attend the session that you feel best reflects your ability and your aspirations. Your teacher may also talk to you directly to suggest you attend one of these sessions.

Tuesday 1st May - G22 - 10:30 - Achieving a C

This workshop is targeted at students who are currently not consistently achieving a C grade in their mock and practice exams. It will focus primarily on textual analysis of key scenes, to allow you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding.

Wednesday 2nd May - G22 - 10:30 - Moving from B to A

This workshop is targeted at students who are generally getting a B grade in mock exams, but are currently not ticking the (very strict) box to achieve an A grade. These sessions will focus on sophisticated use of media language, and exploring the ideological perspectives of the focus texts through presenting a powerful and persuasive argument.

Please talk to your media teacher for further information!

Tyler, The Creator - Who Dat Boy - initial analysis

IMPORTANT POINT FOR MS4 STUDENTS USING THIS AS A CASE STUDY - please remember that the 'text' we are studying is Tyler, The Creator himself, and NOT this video. This video contains many excellent examples of promotion, regulatory issues and subversive genre conventions in particular, but should be considered promotional material for the artist. 

Genre

Horror conventions - many included in the video, for example CU shots of face being removed and the iconography of the stumbling 'zombie walk'.



Opening shot is a long take, and extremely long for a music video. There are a full 33 seconds of instrumental introduction before the first lyrics actually start. This again is highly atypical of the hip hop genre. This initial shot positions the audience in an uncomfortable mode of address.

The video makes explicit intertextual reference to the 1960 horror film Eyes Without A Face, directed by Georges Franju. Hip Hop videos often make intertextual references to films, but they tend to be more popular and well known. By referencing a cult classic, the video to Who Dat Boy reinforces it's outsider status.

Setting - Suburban America, with it's symbolic connotations of white middle class lifestyle. Again, atypical of the usual urban, deprived settings or luxurious settings typical of hip hop.

Extremely atypical editing, with very long takes functioning as enigma codes.

Orchestral instrumental introduction

Mise-en-scene of the Romeo + Juliet poster further reinforces representation of white, middle class lovestruck teenagers.

Narrative

Structure - no clear narrative structure. An emphasis instead on horrifying imagery.

Editing - one long continuous take as Tyler moves to the front door, which is highly atypical of hip hop videos, which generally feature fast paced editing.

Intertextuality - Explicit reference to Tyler's song  911 Mr Lonely. Creates a stark binary opposition, with a sudden shift in genre and tone.

Intertextual reference to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, in particular the iconography of the torn faces.

Birds eye extreme long shot tracking shot of Tyler's escape vehicle, before shock hard cut to a completely different location, off the beat. A frustrating, confusing and completely atypical way to 'end' the video.

Representation

Representation of women - a complete absence of women. Highly atypical of hip hop! An example of symbolic annihilation.

Representation of ethnicity - By having a white person's face grafted on to his own, there is a definite intertextual reference to the concept of blackface. Demonstrates the inequality between black people and white people in America.

An oppositional reading could be that this is needlessly offensive. However, it could be that the dominant ideology is to offend the audience!

An exploration of the concept of white privilege, and police brutality

Audience

Debates - The video is deliberately offensive in many ways, from the use of grotesque imagery to the confusing narrative structure. This deliberately challenges audiences, and provides the target audience with the gratification of social interaction through the opportunity to discuss negotiated responses.

Preferred reading - to polarise the audience using deliberately transgressive imagery.



Hegemony - A stereotypical hegemonic representation of white people is constructed throughout this video. A stereotypical american white teenager, with fashionable hair, listening to black music. This reinforced through the stereotypically white setting, suburban, middle, white picket fences.

Fisheye lens zoom shot through the peep hole has definite voyeuristic qualities. As an audience we get to look in to ASAP Rocky's house.


Celebrity - Tyler discusses himself in third person, deliberately breaking the fourth wall by referring to himself and breaking conventional Todorovian narrative.

Industry

Promotion - All the clothes Tyler wears are his own clothing brand, Golf. Additionally his shoes are a collaboration with Converse. An example of synergy.

Marketing - the controversial nature of the video, in particular the exploration of racist stereotypes could function as clickbait for audiences. Designed to entice the audience through it's gruesome subject matter.

Music videos - a synergistic convergence of music and film!

Regulation - The use of strong language throughout, including strong sexual language and frequent use of 'the N word'.  Clearly would be unable to be played on commercial radio, though YouTube bypasses many of these issues through being self-regulated.

Blue Planet II - Targeting and positioning in the walrus scene

Targeting

The ways in which a text is constructed to attract its primary audience.

Eg: The selection of David Attenborough as a voiceover artist targets fans of nature documentaries and Attenborough himself

Blue Planet II targets a family audience. It does this by creating a double mode of address. For younger audiences, an approachable, family friendly narrative is presented. However, older audiences are targeted through the environmentalist ideology which is encoded throughout this scene.

Narrative

• A clear narrative is constructed, with a single mother struggles for a place for her baby to rest. The polar bears function as an antagonist, meaning that this scene has a very conventional and dramatic narrative structure
• Use of anthropomorphisation - "they make a bond that will last for the rest of their lives"
• "But who knows what will happen?"

Genre

• Very high production values will especially appeal to adult audience members. In particular, the long shot establishing montage creates a clear and powerful narrative.

Characters

• Low angled mid shot of mother walrus cradling baby, with natural lighting connoting her angelic, innocent status once more targets a family audience.
• "A herd of hundreds of quarrelsome mothers..." - an appealing characterisation for family audiences.

Language and mode of address

• Attenborough's lexis is simple, straightforward and approachable for younger audiences. No technical language is chosen.
• The use of the words 'our Blue Planet' connotes a sense of ownership and inclusion for the family audience, allowing them to identify with the alien situation.

Visual, technical and audio codes

• Establishing shot instantly reveals bleak setting, targeting young, environmentally conscious audiences
• C/U of sad, almost weeping walrus targets families through invoking empathy for an animal who is represented as being in a similar position. Functions as a powerful action code. Highly manipulative.
• Slomo shots of walruses emphasise not only the hardship of the lives of the walruses, but also emphasises their size. This targets a family audience, allowing the family to empathise and laugh with the walrus family.

Links to websites or social media interaction

• This scene proved particularly popular with social media users, and was live tweeted by many Twitter users. This demonstrates exactly how effectively targeted the young, social media using aduience was. You can check out a range of actual live Twitter responses here. They would be perfect sources for the exam!

Swathes of women across Britain right now wiping away tears and imagining themselves as mummy walrus #BLUEPLANET2 pic.twitter.com/oam2k33eNE
— Leah McDaniel (@LeahMcdaniel18) October 29, 2017

• Polysemic readings - multiple meanings -

Positioning

The ways in which a media text is constructed in order to place an audience in a particular relationship with the text

Eg: The emotive use of Attenborough’s voiceover forces the audience to identify with the plight of the walrus, positioning them in deliberately stressful situation

Preferred reading?

• Dramatic, non-diegetic soundtrack, composed by Hans Zimmer, emphasises that the polar bear is the antagonist. The music functions as a symbolic code, pointing out the bear as a villain. However, unconventionally, the text subverts the audiences expectations, instead positioning us with the polar bear. 'What is a mother to do'. 

Direct mode of address

• 'our blue planet', again reinforces ownership, and positions the audience as being one with the animals featured on the show. It also suggests that we as an audience are at fault for putting the walruses in this situation. 

Technical codes

• Establishing shot emphasises the disparity in size between the Arctic and the walruses, emphasising their comparative smallness and fragility
• Underwater midshop positions the audience with the walruses in an exciting and alien situation. 
• C/U of walrus hugging child, anthropomorphisation, allowing audience to be positioned with the mother
• The final shot is a slow zoom out, zooming from extreme close up to an extreme long shot. This symbolises the eradication of the walruses habitat, positioning the audience in a voyeuristic perspective, watching the habitat slowly melt away.
• CU of walrus 'hugging' cub emphasises her status as a single parent. She physically struggles to push the cub on to the melting iceberg in a series of mid shots, emphasising that due to human action, her habitat is not sustainable. This also positions the audience with the struggles of a single parent family. ... "who knows what their further will be?"

Voyeurism

• Audience are positioned in an intimate and intensely emotional situation. The close knit community of the walruses is emphasised by a montage of close and mid shots. 

Information

• Use of facts, '46% of the polar ice caps have melted' reinforces the hegemonic ideals of the producer. The dominant ideology is that we as an audience should look after and respect the environment. 
• Ideologies and values
• Soft, emotional, peaceful music represents the arctic as isolated, beautiful and fragile

Music video production talk with Ryd Cook

Ryd Cook - music video director, filmmaker, teacher, documentarian and former Long Road student! Ryd came in to talk to first year media studies about the process of planning, organising and creating music videos. The following are notes based on his excellent demonstration. You can follow him on:

Twitter - @rydcook
Instagram - @rydcook

You can also check out his website at rydcook.com

The five steps of music video production

There are five steps to making a music video (we're really concentrating the first four steps here, but you will need to consider distribution for the magazine element)

0 - The Idea!!!!
1 - Development - including researching videos for inspiration
2 - Pre-production - storyboarding, location scouting, planning, mood boards
3 - Production - shooting the music video
4 - Post-production - editing, effects, mastering, VFX, SFX
5 - Distribution - essentially how the product makes it's way to the audience

Ryd recommends pursuing a career in being a camera person, runner, sound person or assistant direction if the filming itself is your favourite part of the production.

Shyer - Compliments

Check out the video here!

Typically, a band or artist will dictate the general theme of the video, but a director can still have creative control. It's about walking a line between what the director wants to do and what the band wants to do. In this situation, Ryd's initial idea was to make an experimental and performance based music video. In a meeting with the band, they discussed the meaning of the lyrics. Ryd suggests that for your coursework project, have complete creative control behind your own video!

The song's theme is about pretence and being two-faced. The mise-en-scene of the frogs were suggested by the band. For this video, Ryd shot three different 'versions' of the band, demonstrating three different moods and lighting setups. The video to Compliments ended up being quite different to many of of the band's suggestions, with less 'frog shots' and so on.

It took a day to shoot, with a total of seven hours of shooting, for three and a half minutes. To organise this, Ryd had to meet the band, to contact people to edit and shoot the video. He also had to organise the location, the costume, the lighting setups, the additional props, and to make a plan for the shoot.

Step one - development

It's important to take inspiration from other people's music videos. 'Homage' is fine, 'copying' is not. But it's fine to be inspired by somebody! Look at the specific meaning of the song, by studying the lyrics and considering the mood. You can come up with your own meaning; your own interpretation is important!

Step two - pre-production

Ryd knew he needed a stage, so he enquired at The Portland Arms at the bar as to if it would be possible. Ryd puts down the venue hire success to sending a really polite and nice email. Make sure you thank someone if you're asking for something! Make sure you say exactly what you want right at the top of the message or at the start of the conversation. In this situation, the venue got back quickly, and even gave a discount. One advantage of filming at the live venue was that Ryd was able to use the on-site lights. Always have a back-up plan: it's very possible that the venue or contact will just say no, so don't bank on anything! But make sure to point out the advantages of allowing you to film.

A planning document, for example a shooting schedule will be essential. If you plan stuff to the minute, it will make the process much easier. For the Compliments video, despite being fairly straightforward, NINETEEN separate takes and three different costumes setups were needed. So, make sure that you group everything by costume and lighting setups. Shoot all the wide shots together, shoot all the black and white closeups together. It's all about organisation!

Make sure you schedule breaks for lunch. You should schedule to finish earlier than the final time you should be finishing, otherwise you might get kicked out of a venue etc.

Ryd decided to shoot in a single location so the audience can focus on the colours and the setups. A music video needs to grip the audience. However, Ryd encourages you to use multiple locations. 

Step three - production

Setup takes a LONG time so make sure you factor it in! It can take hours. Lighting positions camera positions, band positions, experimenting with positioning, and in this case placing a large curtain over the 'Portland Arms' logo. The very first shot will always take the longest of all!

A cinematographer is in charge of everything to do with the camera. For smaller productions, this means she will be the camera operator too.

As a director, it helps to demonstrate dance moves, movements and directions. Remember, your 'band' will be performing to an empty room. It is absolutely essential that your band really gets in to the performance! If they look uncomfortable, your music video will suck. If in doubt, go nuts! It'll look good!

Even if you know that you're only going to be using a single location for a certain part of the song, Ryd's advice is to shoot the entire song for each location. You might end up filming something that looks great, even if you did not initially plan it!

The band or artist doesn't actually play the song live, but mimes to a backing track. It's a weird situation to be in. Drums can be tricky, because even when miming, they make a lot of noise! Miming can be surprisingly difficult. Keep an eye on the camera shots. For music videos, since sound will be added in post, you can talk to your performers as they are performing!

One big piece of advice; make sure everyone's happy. Provide people with snacks! Talk them through the process, and listen to any concerns. One of the most important roles for the director is to motivate the cast and to make them feel comfortable.

Step four - post-production

Music videos will have a significant amount of cuts, far more than other forms of media. So get the filming done as soon as possible, because the editing will take a significant amount of time.

Ryd went through about five rough cuts before the final cut. Ryd suggests showing other people, not just the band. Use the feedback to redraft your cut. Don't get down about the feedback, but act on it. Editing is a long slow process. But it's exciting!

Ryd suggests starting to edit as soon as possible. With just nineteen takes, you can create millions of different versions. When editing, try not to stick to your original idea too much. You might change the concept completely!

The editing for this video took a few weeks, and this was with an experienced and effective editor. Music videos have far more intense editing processes than fiction films, and take a surprisingly long time.

Never have the band in with you when you're editing. They will try and change things. No one likes to look at themselves!

Colour correction - where shots are matched to make them look the same. This is especially important if the weather changes or if you shoot the same scene at different times of day. 

Colour grading - where the overall look of the film or video is shifted to change the feel of product.

Colour correction is the final stage of production, it's essential to follow the order dictated by Premier Pro.

Types of music video

You must decide which type of video you want to make. Music videos can be one or more of the following, performance based, narrative based, completely abstract, or a combination of these types. Remember, when making your own music video for component three, you will need to have elements of performance and narrative, but it's totally up to you how you approach these! The following videos all demonstrate elements of narrative and performance.

Performance type - Wolf Alice - Blush

Use of male performer instead of the band's female vocalist subverts the expectation of the audience. Intense, emotional performance. An excellent performance is essential for an effective music video! An intense montage occurs towards the end of the video, creating a binary opposition between the slow paced editing of the start of the video. This synchronises with the sudden shift in pace of the track. For rock and indie music there tends to be less female singers, so for a band with a female singer to cast an effeminate man in the lead role questions gender stereotypes.

Additionally, the cinematography is particularly atypical and even challenging. The extreme close ups of mouths, clenched fists and the shifts in depth of field functions as a hermeneutic code for the audience

Narrative type - The Armed - Paradise Day 

A long, confrontationally quiet intro is extremely subversive of the function of music videos.After the slow narrative buildup, the 'punchline' of the screaming intensity of the hardcore punk song is a surprising binary for the audience. Demonstrates the importance in characterisation for narrative music videos

Narrative type - Tellison - Freud Links The Teeth And The Heart

A whimsical, tongue in cheek atmosphere is created through the use of period costumes and the elaborate mise-en-scene. A definite storyline, that makes frequent reference to the lyrics, so loosely linked. Construction of character archetypes. Ryd suggests that a narrative video needs the following:

1. A protagonist - in this case the bearded man
2. A goal for the protagonist to accomplish - in this case getting a lovely dentist to go out with him
3. A resolution - in this case the bearded man's failure 

Ryd suggests sitting in the boot of a rolling car for an effective dolly shot!

Experimental type - Aphex Twin - 4 - fan made by David Firth 

Beat matched analogue glitching and a collection of frankly atypical imagery. Grainy time lapse, suburban housing estates. Hard to grasp, with no conventional narrative. Lo-fi grain emphasises a rough and nasty aesthetic. Variation of shot length, some shots significantly longer than is conventional for a music video.

Does Blue Planet II target a global audience?

"Oops! There he goes again!" - the comical use of lexis provides gratification for even the youngest of audiences

Production values

Budget - The sophisticated use of colour grading connotes a luxurious paradise. Demonstrates the extremely high production values.

Soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer provides emphasis on the determination of the fish, allowing even non-English speakers an opportunity to enjoy the narrative.

C/U of fish allows audiences the gratification of knowledge and understanding, to demonstrate exactly what the tuskfish looks like. Additionally, provides audiences with the gratification of escapism.

Celebrities

David Attenborough himself, who will be familiar to audiences from Planet Earth, The Hunt, Blue Planet I, Wildlife on One. He is an icon, an idol, an institution

Exotic countries

The clearly flowing montage editing allows the audience to focus on the extravagant setting and mise en scene of The Great Barrier Reef.

Anthropomorphisation

The tuskfish is cute, with the whimsical soundtrack anchoring this reading. Additionally he is "determined" and clumsy (C/U of fish dropping the shell, followed by reaction shot of fish's gormless face). Intertextual reference to slapstick comedy, popular around the world.

Verisimilitude

Lexis - The casual mode of address, "some fish are cleverer than others" allows audiences to identify with the unimaginably posh Attenborough. His clear and well spoken voice is easily understood and recognised around the world.

Simple, straightforward dialogue allows those with even a basic knowledge of English to understand.

Positioning techniques - "It's not easy if you have no hands", positioning the audience with somewhat ridiculous looking fish

Work experience account - My morning at BBC Cambridgeshire

On Wednesday November 1st, I was invited to BBC Cambridgeshire to work alongside the producers and to speak to Dave Harvey. Dave was someone who is very high up in the BBC Cambridgeshire company and was someone who I was in contact with for many weeks, discussing what I wanted for my future and the experiences I could gain from spending the day there.

When the day arrived, I was really excited. I had to be at the radio station at 06:15 to sit alongside the producer of the early morning shows. He showed me all of the equipment and spoke me through the morning itinerary. I got to see how they got everything to work, and run as smoothly as they do on morning radio. Most of the sections were actually pre-recorded and phone calls were always directed to the producer before they made it live on air. For me this was a learning process, it took awhile to get my head around how it all actually work. Radio being a sector that a would love to get into in the future, it was incredible to be a part of the production of it, even if it was just for a morning.

When the early morning news show, with Dotty, was finished I was sent upstairs to speak to Dave. Before I got to meet him officially, I was given a tour of the studio. The studio is so much bigger than you'd think. There was a lot of recording rooms, technical rooms, and meeting rooms. For such a broad building there was only a handful of staff, which was the biggest surprise of the day for me. I met around 20 people, all very friendly and welcoming, all incredibly informative too.

The main part of my day, the sole purpose of me going was my introduction to Dave Harvey. Dave gave me little activities to do, to discover potential news stories for the following day. When all of these were complete I was able to sit in on the daily meeting, where they discuss all of the stories they are covering over the next couple days. This was really interesting for me to watch, as it was more of a huge brainstorming activity. They bounced ideas around until they had a full plan. After this Dave sat with me a went through what I should do to get into broadcasting journalism/media. He gave me some proper sound advice which completely changed all plans I originally had for after leaving Long Road. Because of the advice he gave me, I am now applying to university which before meeting him, I had not even considered.

This opportunity was only given to me because I contacted them myself. It was super easy to speak to someone who could help me. If you know which area of media you would like to go into then I can recommend contacting local places who could help you. Because of this experience It really helped me personally as I now know what needs to be done to improve my chances of getting into that area in the future, and what opportunities are out there to get experience and qualifications.

Thanks Jamie for this excellent write-up. Remember, if any of you get involved in anything media related, in, out or after leaving Long Road, I would love to hear about it!

How is Blue Planet II entertaining for its audiences?

Examples to of things to talk about in your response could include... Storyline and plot... Genre conventions... Uses and gratification... Celebrities

• Size and scale of the whales emphasised by the use of extreme long shots, and further anchored by the pleonastic and bass heavy sound of the humpback whale entering. The MS of the herring parting functions as an enigma code (aka hermeneutic code), asking the audience to guess what is about to arrive. 
• Non-diegetic soundtrack gets progressively louder and more intense, especially at the appearance of the humpback whale. The intense soundtrack and swirling mise en scene of the fish is a convention of the action/adventure genre. 
• Attenborough's voice, in particular his soothing, awed whisper allows the audience to position themselves with his experience
• The binary opposition between herring and whale. The use of long shots emphasises the difference in size between these two characters creates conflict for the audience. This is a further example of anthropomorphism. 
• The emergence of the humpback whale, combined with the intensity of the bass signifies a disequilibrium for the audience, further creating a thrilling and involving narrative. 
• 'POV' shot from whale mounted camera spins with great intensity, yet another convention of the action genre

Hans Zimmer's musical score to the humpback whale scene helps to anchor the audience with the prefered reading that nature is both exciting and dangerous. 

How can audiences use or take pleasure from Blue Planet II?

Terns vs giant trevally

Anthropomorphisation - human qualities used to position the audience with the animal protagonists

Narration gives the birds feelings and emotions. "they are taken to the training ground". Training ground reference also an intertextual reference to athletes and perhaps even the Rocky franchise. Terns are represented as babies - fragile and defenseless. The use of MS's emphasises how small and fluffy they are, creating an emotional response with the audience, positioning us with the birds.

Verisimilitude - how a 'respective reality' is constructed for the audience

Submerged shot (50/50 in water and above water) demonstrates to the audience the divide between the licves of the fiash and the birds, and also functions as an action code, connoting the action and violence about to happen. Reinforces the fact that nature is violent and scary.

Education - the use and pleasure that the audience derives from the knowledge the text imparts

Audience made aware of name of fish through the use of the extra-diegetic narrative

Intertextuality - where a media product makes reference to the features and iconography of another media product

Contains conventions of action films. A conventional narrative is followed, where the protagonist manages to beat the antagonist. Use of CU of tern with slo-mo shot of trevalli stalking the bird, creating a thrilling and nostalgic for the audience, as the scene strongly resembles the Spielberg film Jaws. Iconography of piranhas also reminiscent of films like Piranha and Sharknado.

The iconography of the giant trevally scene makes intertextual reference to a range of horror films and monster movies. This allows audiences to engage with the documentary, providing them with a range of uses and gratifications

Using the music industry examples to answer industry questions

The MS4 exam appears scary, because technically any question could come up. You will need to be resourceful when applying your own knowledge of the text and media theories, as well as your own argument and point of view. While it cannot be guaranteed what will come up, it must be said that over the years the same key words crop up time and time again. Here are all the industry related key words from the last five or so years, and the kind of things you should be talking about when applying the music industry to them.

“Digital technology”

• Recording
• techniques
• Websites
• Videos
• Social networking
• Youtube
• itunes, spotify etc
• Live performances
• Production techniques.
• Distribution.
• Use of social media –twitter etc.
• Marketing – via website, youtube,
• Listening formats

“Marketing”

• Band/performer websites
• exposure – magazines, celebrity endorsement etc
• fan sites
• music press articles
• social networking sites
• viral campaigns
• iTunes etc.

“Distribution”

• Financial – ownership, budget, etc
• Industry – size, scope
• Placement, marketing strategies
• Internet.
Distribution may be interpreted widely here and discussions on performances, videos and music releases are all valid. Other factors may include star person and music genre. 

“Advantages of the internet”

• Internet develops audience engagement (e.g., through points noted below)
• Sites directly linked to the selected texts e.g. band websites, label websites,
• newspaper/magazine on-line
• Blogs
• Twitter (ultimate in uses and gratification!)
• Use of YouTube
• Social networking sites e.g. MySpace, Facebook, Bebo (lol), etc.

“Stars and celebs”

• Clearly important !
• Websites (official)
• Fan sites and fan fiction
• forums
• Videos
• Social networking
• Chat shows
• Magazines

“Regulation”

• Largely self-regulated
• Legal constraints in areas of copyright, licensing, downloading
• New threats such as peer to peer and torrent sites
• Parental advisory stickers
• Radio edits
• Censorship