Second year - the final push

As of the time of this post going live, second years are now just a week and a bit away form their first exam. Your half term holiday is going to be spent revising. Your social life is over (for a few weeks). Media studies is your life.

Here's some links and suggestions to make your last full week of revision as pain free as possible. Remember: if you need ANYTHING to do with A-level media studies, it's 98% likely to be on the blog already. Use the label bar! Use the search box! Have fun!

Got a question about anything? Click here first!

Can't find the answer on the link above? Email Michael!

Want to know what theories to revise and which one goes with which industry? Click here!

Revise the case studies by clicking here!

Want to know what questions could come up for each industry? Then check out the revision guide?

Want to complete a past paper question? Of course you do! Pick one out by clicking here! There's 41 to choose from and they all have tonnes of suggestions on what to write! 

BONUS SESSION 3 - Les Revenants key scene analysis

I pinched these off Jodie, and thanks to Luce and Sophie too for your excellent contributions!

camille coming home

• character introduced by establishing montage of french alps 
• low-key natural lighting emphasises supernatural genre (not an explicit reference, making it subversive)
• MES of middle class home e.g. photos on walls and suburban exterior- easily comparable to hawkins 
• julie lives a stereotypically working class home
• diegetic knock on door, tracking shot follows mum out onto lowkey lit hallway, see hands gripping onto fridge - convention of horror genre
• reaction shot of mum looking at camille's hands 
• hear a low drone sound
• cuts to long shot of kitchen/living room - binary opposition as they are on different sides of the screen, life and death, reinforces middle class
• 2 simultaneous genres - reaction and soundtrack are horror, camille eating sandwich is teen drama,contrapuntal sound does not match up with what is being shown, unsettling 
• tracking shot walking down corridor positions audience with mum, camille asks to get her bathrobe, soundtrack speeds up (like heartbeat) and emphasises mother's stressful emotion, psychological horror as audience shares the same emotions as mum 
• scene reinforces hegemonic, middle class norms - whole cast is white

julie stalked by victor

• works as a carer - stereotypically female, MES of baggy clothes subverts this
• long shot of julie sitting at bus stop - isolation and lowkey lighting is horror, audience relates to situation, MES of rains connotes misery and isolation (understand her character) 
• victor slowly walks up to bus stop - he is abject (he doesn't below there), repeated soundtrack connotes coming back to life 
• cuts to simon at the pub - appeals to younger female audience
• frequently cuts from narrative to narrative - establishes a number of character arcs 
• cuts back to another binary opposition - opposite to camille, julie getting off bus
• producers make it clear she is working class - walks through rough areas
• lowkey lighting in her flat
• shot of victor standing in garden - her calm response is subversive, shows she is level-headed, lots of characters to identify with 
• clothes are stereotypically masculine and nerdy - subverts feminine stereotypes
• close up of holding hands positions audience with julie - preferred reading is that we find him creepy, maternal, proairetic code suggests that she will look after him, very unconventional 
• the show is exotic for british audience - all stereotypically french and attractive, french alps

simon and lena walking 

• for younger, female target audience
• dead and alive - paranormal romance as lena fancies simon 
• window symbolises barrier between life and death - stereotypical symbolic code
• simon knocks on door - adele reacts by screaming and crying, she is middle aged which provides the audience which relates to her with gratification, as younger man wants to be with her

sex scene

• both shows end on a closing montage which sums up the key scenes, characters and themes
• explains that is it 4 years later
• high-key lighting suggests this was when things were good
• deliberately uncomfortable - whispering 
• relatable for younger, teenage audience
• cross cutting between scenes - shows that the scenes are happening at the same time and makes it clear that they are different people 
• hot and cold lighting - sex scene is red, bus scene is blue
• cut to black is symbolic of death
• 'le petit mort' - link between sex and death, camille gets up and starts screaming because she also feels it, it causes her to die
• leaves the audience with lots of questions so they continue to watch 
• high production values - funded by french alps tourism 

BONUS SESSION 2 - Compare the ideologies conveyed through the representations in these newspapers

Compare the ideologies conveyed through the representations in these newspapers

In your answer, you must:

• consider how representations convey ideologies
• consider the similarities and differences in the ideologies conveyed
• explore how representations are constructed and for what purpose [30]

HINT! HINT! HINT!

Stuck? Check out these key word prompts below:

Bias
Bias through selection
Bias through omission
Lexis
Anchorage
Stuart Hall
Paul Gilroy
Tabloid
Broadsheet
Social class
Right wing
Left wing
Modes of address
Positioning
Copy
Splash
Headline
Masthead

BONUS SESSION 1 - Explore how the representation of America has been constructed in the video to This Is America by Childish Gambino and Formation by Beyonce

How can producers use media language to represent Americans?

Better question:

Explore how the representation of America has been constructed in the video to This Is America by Childish Gambino and Formation by Beyonce 

This question is a little bit shoddy. But hopefully it gives you a rough indication of which groups may come up in C1A! Additionally this post may ramble a bit. Sorry.

(Point - One way in which producers can use media language to represent Americans is through the use of (editing, intertextuality, cinematography...))

1 - What group is being represented?
2 - The media language that constructs this representation?
3 - How does this representation affect the audience?
4 - How could this representation affect the group being represented?

UNSEEN PRODUCT - music video - Childish Gambino, This Is America

• Editing - Long pauses with no action emphasise the pauses in the sound. Allows audiences to consider the extremity of the situation being discussed
• Cinematography -  use of tracking shot emphasises Childish Gambino's status as a celebrity
• Costume - subversive costume suggests laziness, working class stereotype? Highly atypical of celebrity
• Use of black humour creates binary opposition, heightening the importance of the message
• Conventions: Use of establishing shot, loose narrative, choreographed dancing troupes. Reinforces positive stereotypes of black people.
• Sound, music, genre - Gospel introduction uses highly stereotypical positive representation of black people
• CG - Constructs a stereotypical representation of black on black gang violence. CU shot of gurning at camera, confidently swaggering towards the camera, before casually murdering a man with a grey sack tied over his face, symbolic of gang violence
• Reinforces both commonly held stereotypes of black people, and draws attention towards the issue of black on black gun violence
• MES of sack, ropes, chair and gun is a clear intertextual reference to the gangster genre
• Police car functions as a symbolic code, referencing police brutality
• Setting: completely empty and bare aircraft hanger/warehouse/carpark. Symbolic of black people's status as 'other'. Confirms Gilroy's theory that black people are represented lower in hierarchy than white people. Here the warehouse functions by SEGREGATING the black characters from the hegemonically acceptable white ones
• Hair - Loose and messy afro, stereotypically black, and subversive of celebrity status
• For a music video, use of extreme long takes, with only five or six cuts in the entire video. Brings different black stereotypes together, and allows the video to flow from one issue to another
• Lack of cuts force the audience to confront the violence and in turn to view it from a distance, becoming desensitised as the video goes on. Life goes on, and violence is represented as being normal
• Preferred reading: disgusted by violence, and newly aware of a significant issue facing America
• Oppositional reading: might see the video as racist and irresponsible, promoting black stereotypes
• Youth: MES of school uniform. Issue of violence among black teenagers
• Highly unconventional narrative that subverts/ignores Todorov's theory
• Instrumentation: electronic sub bass symbolic of threat and aggression. Sudden genre shift to rap music reinforces representations of violence and aggression

Exam tips and frequently asked questions

If you are viewing this post during the 2021 C19 pandemic, you can click here to view specific info and advice related to working in lockdown and alternatives to exams!

This post is based on generalised feedback given to students who have either completed past paper questions or have asked me questions via email. If you do not see your question answered here, please ask your teacher. We know our stuff, and we're here to help!

This information is not only vital for second years about to sit the final exams, but is also essential reading for first years about to take their end of year mock exam.

This post will be updated as more of you submit answers or ask questions, so bookmark this page and check back often! Some of these questions fit neatly in to every section, so I've tried to put them in the most logical place, but please just read through the entire thing. These are your questions so this is about as useful as it gets.

General advice

How long should I spend on each question?

This all depends on which exam (component one or two) and with section you're talking about. It's different for each section. 

Component one section A - 2 minutes per mark -  This means, for example, that for the 30 mark question you should spend precisely one hour answering it, and for the 15 mark question 30 minutes

Component one section B - 1 minute per mark - nice and straightforward! Spend 12 minutes on a 12 marker, 2 minutes on a 2 marker. 

Component two - 50 minutes for each industry - So if there's a 30 mark question, you spend 50 minutes. If there are two 15 mark questions for an industry, then you spend 25 minutes on each

Wait, why do I spend so long on component one section A and so little time of component one section B when they're worth the same amount of marks?

Several reasons. Number one, because the exam paper will tell you to! Here's a quote from the front of the 2017 sample paper: 

You are advised to spend approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes on section A, including studying the unseen resources, and approximately 45 minutes on Section B. You should use relevant theories and relevant subject-specific terminology where appropriate.

Secondly, for C1A, you will be seeing unseen texts for the very first time. You will need time to gather your thoughts, and then to present a detailed and perceptive analysis. For C1B, it's much more about cold hard facts that you frankly either know or do not. Make sure you're not caught out!

How do I actually get marks in media? Where's the mark scheme?

Guess what? There's loads of ways you can get marks in media studies. Unlike other subjects (for example maths) where there is a right and wrong answer, media students are judged on the strength of their argument, their demonstration of knowledge and understanding, and their ability to textually analyse media products.

So here's a tip. Don't worry about the mark scheme. It's kind of useless for students. Instead, concentrate on strengthening your argument, and practice applying knowledge and understanding. You know, the kind of stuff we do in class every day!

Should I write an introduction?

Yes, for longer answer questions. As a rule of thumb, write an introduction for everything that's 15 marks or higher.

How do I structure an introduction, especially in component two?

Make sure that your introductions for component two always use the DAC structure. Start off by defining key terms (for example ‘it is essential for media industries to not only target audiences, but to construct them. The process of constructing an audience involves reinforcing a set of key ideologies, beliefs and brand choices over time, cultivating the ideology of a common and desirable lifestyle…”). Then demonstrate your argument (“I shall argue that Woman magazine was highly successful in constructing a target audience through the use of singular and sexist stereotypes, and the constant reinforcement of hegemonic patriarchal norms, in order to ensure financial success with a mass market generalised audience”), before then providing some context (“Woman magazine was in an excellent position to provide mass audience appeal, through being published by the horizontally integrated magazine conglomerate IPC, which ensured that Woman had a sizable market share of a very competitive genre”). After you have finished the introduction, move on to your first example. Try not to start analysing in the introduction. You should simply introduce your central argument. The analysis comes later!

How do I write an introduction and why should I bother?

Introductions allow you to address the context and background of what you are writing about, and, more importantly, it allows you to present your point of view/argument right from the start. For introductions, use DAC (definition, argument, context) to structure it. This can be done in any order. For example, for a question like “Explore how the set edition of Woman magazine constructs it's target audience”, you could write something like this: 

(D) Audience refers to the individuals who read, buy and use media products. (A) In order to maximise profit and to maintain power, producers will seek to construct a specific audience to sell the product to. This will ensure a guaranteed and enthusiastic audience, who will not only buy the product, but will engage with it on a personal level. (C) In order to explore this idea, I will look at the 1964 edition of Woman magazine, a British women’s lifestyle magazine published by IPC media, that uses mainstream ideological perspectives to achieve a circulation of 3million copies a week. 

 This way, you don’t just jump straight in to the answer, and it comes across as far more sophisticated.

How do I actually start a paragraph?

Make sure to start every paragraph with a call back to the question. This is why you underline key terms from the question. For example, you can start a sentence with “a further way in which Humans is shaped through specialised production methods is through the use of digital special effects. An excellent example of this occurs in the opening scene of episode one, with the extreme close up of…”

How often should I refer back to the question?

All of the time. Every point of every paragraph. All of it. I should instantly know what the question is just from reading your answer. And I should never forget what the question is, because you keep rephrasing it and selecting examples and facts that specifically refer to it!

How can I talk about intertextuality?

When discussing intertextuality, I would like you to emphasise exactly how important and widely used it is right from the introduction. Intertextuality is used throughout the media industries for a variety of reasons, as we discussed in the recent workshop session. However I would argue the most widespread use of intertextuality is to reinforce the preferred reading of the product, and to clearly put across the ideology of the produce. Just do make sure that when discussing intertextuality, you are as clear and explicit as you can be. For example "one excellent example of how intertextuality and genre conventions can anchor audience expectations is demonstrated in the Times Newspaper. Illustrating the story of the death of a child in Finsbury Park, a low angled mid shot of a police officer has been selected by the editor. The choice of this image has clear ideological and referential significance. For the middle class target audience, the image is a clear intertextual reference to the popular crime drama genre, which in turn anchors the audiences expectations that the story will be both dramatic and will have an exciting conclusion. This highly manipulative mode of address has clear ethical issues..." etc etc!

How do I talk about how audiences are constructed?

Audience construction is an essential media concept. While many consider the idea of audience targeting a pre-existing audience, audience construction is where the producer of the product will use media language and leading ideological perspectives to reinforce and build an entirely new audience. An excellent example of this is woman magazine. If you tell an audience that, from a dominant ideological perspective that this is how women should behave and this is what women should buy, it allows the magazine to sell advertising space for a premium to traditionally 'feminine' industries such as cosmetics and homeware. This allows the magazine to maximise it's profit.

 Stuart Hall’s reception theory would be perfect to use here, as you could write about the preferred reading (accepting the dominant hegemonic representation of women as mothers and generally being less important than men) . Finally, when talking about constructing audiences, you should discuss the idea that media institutions exist only for power and profit (Curran and Seaton), and that by building a dedicated audience by using stereotypical, hegemonically reinforced representations of women, the magazine can ensure that it’s readers will come back time and time again!

I'm lost. What can I do to revise?

The best place to start is by clicking here, picking out a question that looks unfamiliar and then answering it. Send it to your teacher, and then wait for feedback!

Want to revise but don't fancy writing an entire response? Click here and get lost in the many resources of the blog!

Finally, check out the revision guide, particularly the ticklist, to make sure you're ready for any possible question that might come up.

Component one section a

How is C1A structured?

There will be two questions in C1A. One will be on representation, the other on media language/textual analysis. One of these will be 30 marks (one hour!) and the other 15 marks (half an hour). You will not know which one the 'big' question is until you get to the exam.

What kind of stuff might come up if newspapers come up as an unseen text?

First of all, we don't know, for obvious reasons. But we can make some informed guesses.

If newspapers come up in component one section a as an unseen text, it is very likely that it will focus on a big event which is happening at the moment, and which bears a similarity to the US 2016 election results for the set newspapers. AS OF 2019, here are a few examples of events which are likely to be featured:

• Brexit
• Climate protests
• The European elections
• Something to do with the NHS
• Something to do with the representation of a specific group, for example working class teenagers, ethnic minorities, the elderly, etc

However, you will need to continue reading newspapers and online news media to order to get a handle on what's going on in the world.

What can I talk about beyond voyeurism and sexualisation when discussing representation in Riptide?

One really important thing to point out is that Riptide reinforces hegemonic and stereotypical representations of female beauty. Each and every woman in the video is blonde, tall and stereotypically attractive. Additionally, through being situated in positions of threat and through being represented as ‘damsels in distress’, the gender roles in Riptide are largely stereotypical. It is up to you to decide if Riptide is a criticism of these gender roles, or if it simply is a conventional music video using se and violence against women to sell its product to heterosexual men. Naturally, Van Zoonen’s suggestions about the representation of women would work particularly well here.

So Riptide is a postmodern video. But how? How does it break rules, and how does it criticise metanarratives? 

It is essential in the exam that you point out the video for Riptide is postmodern. Postmodernism is a difficult subject to get your head around, but in a nutshell, it really just refers to a media product that deliberately breaks rules. This is usually done to confuse, upset and challenge the audience.

The video to Riptide breaks the rules and conventions of music videos in a few ways. Firstly, it doesn't feature the actual singer in the video at all, which arguably defeats the purpose of the music video! The biggest rule breaking scene is the master shot of the woman performing in the completely dark room. The consistent close up of her face is conventional of music videos and performance, however she is not the performer of the song! This is highly conventional, and deliberately confusing for the audience. Secondly, she is not looking directly at the camera, in a direct mode of address, but gazing to the side. At first she looks bored and disinterested. Again, unconventional. Most performers should look excited and energetic. Finally, and this is most important of all, her lip syncing does not match up with the words being sung. This is further anchored by the subtitles for these shots, which gradually become less and less accurate as the music video continues. This positions the audience in a particularly uncomfortable mode of address, where they begin to question their understanding of the music video. It's a very clever way to ensure that audiences will discuss and share a music video to what is arguably a standard and straightforward pop song.

In terms of breaking and challenging metanarratives: This is a little more tricky. Metanarratives are concepts and stories that help us make sense of the world, for example science, sport and religion. Criticising them and breaking these rules is often done to deliberately upset and confuse audiences. Once more this is something which is often done in postmodern media products. The metanarrative of religion is frequently challenged in riptide. The mise en scene of the ghostly scene in the graveyard, the mise en scene of the Ouija board, and (apologies for repeating myself) the mise en scene of the tarot cards all point towards alternative views of religion and a terrifying world that we do not understand. And once more, this constructs a creepy and upsetting ideological perspective for the audience to decode.

Ultimately, when talking about postmodernism in general and the video to Riptide in particular, it's definitely worth pointing out that its true nature is being weird for the sake of being weird, and creating a cool and strange video that will hopefully go viral on social media!

How can I write about black identity in Formation ?

Formation can be seen to be a celebration of black culture and subcultures through the various and varied ways it depicts Beyonce. Of course, since Beyonce is a pop star, it's highly conventional that she changes costume and hairstyle throughout the video, but here, unlike many music videos, the costumes have socio historical connotations. One of the most important symbols of black identity here is hair. Black people's hair is different to white people's hair, and it requires extensive and painful work to make it straight and kink-free. Yet there is an expectation and hegemonic assumption that black women in particular will conform to normative 'white' beauty standards, despite the pain, cost and time that this can take. Chris Rock made a really good documentary about it a while back, you can check out the trailer here.

In Formation, Beyonce appears as a stereotypical black 1970's working class woman (on top of the stairs) with kinky pulled back hair, a kind of cool braided priestess, and a laid back women spinning in her car and flicking her braids everywhere. In each case, these hairstyles represent a subversion of hegemonic expectations of black women, and a celebration of black identity for the audience. It also marks a radical departure for Beyonce: check out her hair when she was Destiny's Child! 

What's the big hat Beyonce is wearing in the Formation video all about, then?

The video to Formation is filled with iconography referencing aspects of black culture. These include the weave shop, the Antebellum era house, and Beyonce's long flowing braids she sports when she's doing donuts in the parking lot.

There's one particularly striking aspect in Formation, with the enormous hat that she wears as she fervently nods her head, while surrounded with an entourage of elderly black men wearing caps. Once more, this aspect of mise-en-scene is an explicit reference to historical black culture. The hat is probably a symbol of black wealth and power from turn of the century black American culture. This article suggests some possible significations for this particular piece of iconography. 

Incidentally, the hat used as a prop in this video sold for almost $30,000 in a charity auction in 2017. This key fact clearly demonstrates Beyonce's enormous star appeal.

How can I talk about Gilroy when studying Wateraid?

Gilroy’s theory is based around the idea of Postcolonialism. He argues that while the British have returned their former colonies to their rightful owners, there still exist hierarchies of race. For Gilroy, white people are much more likely to be the protagonist, while black people are typically the victim. The Water Aid ‘Claudia’ advert we studied does try to get away from this postcolonial stereotype, often referred to as the ‘white saviour’ stereotype. In charity adverts, black people are typically represented as weak, vulnerable, and in need of the help of white people in order to get out of trouble. In contrast, Claudia seems to be a positive representation of a strong, hardworking and happy Zambian girl.

However, Claudia is still represented as being other, or different from the target white British Audience. A binary opposition is created between rainy ’normal’ Britain and dry ‘exotic’ Africa. Claudia sings a British pop song in English, and, by walking through the empty plains with a water bucket on her head, reinforces a popular stereotype about rural Africans. Finally, while the village are shown to be happy and positive through the mise-en-scene of evening sunlight and the symbolic code of running water, the anchorage of the on screen lexis “give £3 to help more people like Claudia” reinforces that his was only possible through the charitable help of western viewers. For Gilroy, this only reinforces racial hierarchies, and for Hall, this reinforces racial stereotypes.

What kind of stuff can I talk about if genre comes up?

When discussing genre, ideally you should establish early on why genre is so important, right in the introduction. Just to recap, genre is useful for both producers and audiences as a

• Form of categorisation
• An easy way of marketing a similar experience
• A way for audiences to personally identify with a product and to help define themselves (Gauntlett) 
• Etc

 In order to take this further, reference to Steve Neale would be ideal. Using the WaterAid advert as an example, the advert uses much repetition of genre conventions, for example through the setting, the intertextuality of the establishing montage, the typical on screen graphics asking for money, and the MES of water flowing from a well. However, the Claudia advert subverts many expectations of the charity advert, providing the target audience with a subversive and different experience that is refreshing after the brutality and misery of conventional charity adverts. Examples of difference include the iconography of the British pop song, the subversive representation of rural central Africa as exotic and paradise-like, and the subversive representation of a young black African woman as being self-sufficient. Purely from an economic perspective, it is this difference that functions as a unique selling point, providing the audience with a range of gratifications which may encourage them to donate.

What's positioning, and how can I talk about how audiences are 'positioned by representations'?

Positioning is where the audience are 'placed' by the producer. A nice and straightforward way to think about positioning when viewing an unseen (or set) text is "where am I supposed to be? Am I supposed to like it here"? A good way for the producer to communicate that the audience should like the main character is by using a montage of close up and mid shot's to demonstrate their importance, personality and perhaps attractiveness.

Let's apply this to the Wateraid advert. In the initial establishing montage, the target audience are positioned in the familiar setting of a stereotypical British living room. This is further anchored through the mise-en-scene of rain pouring down the outside of a window, and a close up shot of a radio playing diegetic sound of a stereotypical British newscaster. The target audience are therefore initially positioned in a familiar, relatable yet perhaps slighting boring situation before a hard cut to an exterior, stereotypically African setting instantly establishes a binary opposition. The second establishing montage now positions the audience as a voyeuristic outsider, which reinforces the stereotype of central Africa as being different and other and stereotypically exotic. 

Which one's which with diegetic sound? 

The easy way to remember this is that 'diegesis' means 'in the world of the narrative'. Therefore if the sound is 'in the story' then it's diegetic. If it is not possible for anyone in the story to hear it, it is non-diegetic. Most sound is diegetic, though most scores or musical soundtracks are non-diegetic. 

There's a few more kinds of sound, for example internal diegetic sound refers to a character's internal thoughts... but honestly this gets confusing pretty quickly.

By the way, diegesis doesn't just refer to sound. Visuals can be diegetic or non-diegetic also. For example, you might refer to the on screen titles in Les Revenants as being non-diegetic.

How and when should I refer to bell hooks?

The first thing to remember when referring to bell hooks is that she does not use capital letters for her names! hooks is a feminist theorist, but is just as interested in other aspects of identity, including ethnicity and social class. Therefore hooks is an intersectional feminist, and she considers the ways in which black women are represented in different ways than white women. For hooks, a black woman is more subject to discrimination and negative representation, and we should challenge this. The video to Formation by Beyonce is an excellent example of a black woman confirming and reinforcing black stereotypes (through costume, setting, gestures, dance routines etc) in a way that challenges these assumptions, 'owning' the representation and bringing attention to the very real issue of police brutality and discrimination.

hooks isn't all doom and gloom: she also positively asserts that feminism is for everyone. For hooks, sexism against women also affects men.

Component one b

When the question says "you will be rewarded for drawing together knowledge and understanding from across your full course of study, including different areas of the theoretical framework and media contexts", what does it actually mean?

Basically this is asking for CONTEXT, and you can use other examples from the same medium to back up your answer. You can find out loads more by clicking here.

So I need to talk about context. But what other examples did we study in class?

Here's a list! Keep in mind that this will vary depending on your teacher and depending on what year you are in. Also keep in mind this list only contains examples for the industries that might come up in the 'industry' section of component one section A. 

(If the above paragraph made no sense, then go read the revision guide now!)

Film

• The Blair Witch Project (Super low budget film with a ridiculously successful viral marketing campaign)
• Kes (Another Ken Loach film that we watched the trailer for. Stereotypically social realist)
• Twilight (Paranormal romance drama that used a huge digitally convergent marketing campaign, for example fake social media accounts for the main characters)

Newspapers

• We looked at lots of examples of newspapers, and your homework for this unit was to read a newspaper every day. This is why we got you to do that...
• The Mail Online (The most visited newspaper site in the world. Much more informal that the print Mail, and targets a working class female audience. Extremely sexualised representations of women)
• The Sun (we looked at a few front pages of this right wing working class paper)

Radio

• We got you to do a research task where you went through BBC sounds to find radio shows that reflected a range of demographic groups. You can refer to any of these BBC shows to demonstrate how the BBC offers a pluralistic experience for it's audiences. 

Videogames

• Death Stranding (Kojima Productions. Highly atypical marketing strategy. Years from release yet already ridiculously popular through viral marketing)
• The 25th Ward: The Silver Case (Grasshopper Manufacture. Extremely niche genre and game targeting a niche but fanatical audience)
• Dark Souls III (From Software. Another niche game targeting it's specialised audience through extreme difficulty. Tagline: prepare to die!)
• Fallout 4 (Bethesda Softworks. Huge, AAA game that uses an immersive introduction to address both long term and new fans)
• Goat Simulator (Coffee Stain Studios. Tiny independent game that got extremely popular through word of mouth)

How explicit should my examples be for industry questions?

Make sure your examples are explicit. Rather than discussing in general about a newspaper having mass appeal, it would be excellent to make reference to an explicit story, for example How both The Times and The Daily Mirror covered the Finsbury Park murder story in order to appeal to a mass audience and therefore ensure high circulation. This could be further linked to digital technologies, as emotive stories like this are far more likely to be retweeted and commented on. Finally, the explicitly racist and xenophobic nature of the comments for this particular story are a clear example of how digital technologies can allows audiences to engage and to contribute to the production of a story… even if it ends up being very unethical!

What key words might I be asked to define for the industry questions?

Click here for a list of many of the key industry and related terms that you could be asked to define in component one section B. 

What kind of stuff can I talk about for the marketing for Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation?

Rather than just talking vaguely about merchandise and costumes, it’s important to discuss one or two explicit examples of merchandise and explicitly how this might appeal to a niche audience. For example a backpack with the AC logo can provide the target core audience with the subcultural capital necessary to make friends and acquaintances within the fandom. However, most of all, I suggest discussing the front cover. For example, the use of mise-en-scene and the direct mode of address of the protagonist is both highly appealing to a core videogame audience, and given that it looks like every other AC cover, the game is clearly part of the AC franchise. Therefore it can be argued that ACIII:L’s appeal is based on it targeting a pre-sold and pre-existing audience!

What is diversification?

Diversification is where a company expands itself by trying out different businesses and industries. This can be achieved through acquisitions, mergers and conglomeration.

An excellent example of diversification is the newspaper industry. As physical sales of print newspapers have slumped, newspapers have responded by diversifying, for example through websites, apps, digital editions and so on. The Mirror online is a great example of this, and helps

How can I talk about demographics and psychographics?

First of all, we deliberately skirted over psychographics, though we did spend half a lesson on it. They are a way of identifying the ‘personality’ of the audience, and their brand choices. It’s a very old fashioned idea and no one in marketing has seriously touched psychographics in years. Demographics are a straightforward way of categorizing the audience, for example through their age, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, location etc. Your examples must be specific. For example, for Assassin’s Creed as a franchise, the target demographic could be male, heterosexual, white, aged 13-18, and working class. The secondary audience could be female, black, and aged 25-40. You would need to identify explicit reasons how and why this product targets these audiences, for example the mise-en-scene of weapons and the genre conventions of the action adventure genre effectively target the primary audience, while the black female playable character allows the game to attract less traditional secondary audiences .I’m sure you can pick out loads more examples from the game. You can (and should!) also make reference to audience theories here, such as Stuart Hall’s readings, Gauntlet’s theory of identity, and Shirky’s theory of fandom.

Component two

I can't remember anything about Les Revenants. What happened again?

You need to rewatch the episode! Maybe you and your friends could chip in and download the first episode for a couple of quid?

Either way, click here for excellent recap and analysis of four of the most important scenes, that you can use to answer any question that crops up.

I (Michael) also wrote a few example answers for Les Revs, and you (students) did too. Check them out by clicking here and wait for the memories to flood back.

I also wrote some notes on the WHOLE EPISODE, and you can click here to find it.

Who actually published Woman magazine in 1964?

Woman magazine was published by IPC in 1964. IPC is now known as TI Media, and still exists as a highly specialised and horizontally integrated publisher of broadly conservative mass market magazines.

What economic factors are important for the magazine industry?

Sample question: “How significant are economic factors in the magazine industry? Refer to Woman and Adbusters in your answer. [30]”

 First of all, for a question like this you will need to come to a conclusion as to how significant economic factors are for the magazine industry.

The most important thing to discuss when discussing economic factors and the two magazines we have studied is that Woman magazine is capitalist business venture that finds 30% of its total revenue through advertising, and that Adbusters is an anti-capitalist, not-for-profit magazine that features no advertising. All your examples should focus on the completely different economic ideological perspectives. For example, Adbusters deliberately chooses to subvert the idea of having a brand identity by having a different masthead with each edition, while woman magazine has a particularly clear brand identity so as not to alienate their 'mass market' (i.e basic) audience.

Secondly, Woman magazine uses stereotypical representations of women to construct a target audience, to reinforce hegemonic values, and then to sell this cliche to advertisers. However Adbusters targets its audience through presenting a subversive ideology that advertisers would not want to be associated with. This allows them complete artistic freedom to cover whatever controversial idea they want. However, arguably Adbusters is not really that controversial. If it genuinely was transgressive, no shop would ever stock it.

The other really important thing to point out, as your central argument, is that economic (as in financial) factors are just as important for both Woman and Adbusters! Both magazines have a brand identity, business model and clear ideological perspective, even if Adbusters tries to pretend otherwise. The Adbusters Media Foundation must rely on a high cover price to break even on their non-profit publication, but the magazine is also attractive, well designed, and presents a subversive and appealing ideology to the educated middle-class target audience. For both magazines you can back up these points by referring to adverts (paid for in Woman, and culture jammed in Adbusters) to demonstrate their completely different economic perspectives.

Finally, an industry question is always an opportunity to bring out the big guns: COLD HARD FACTS. For example, Woman magazine is/was owned by IPC, a horizontally integrated conglomerate that specialises in publishing broadly conservative mass market magazines. Woman is an example of standardisation: every issue is almost exactly the same (I have a few physical 60's copies of Woman and can confirm this).

How can I apply industry theory to Attitude Online?

Attitude, including the magazine, the website and the "Attitude brand" are all owned by Stream media. Stream media is a horizontally and multimedia integrated organisation that has two areas of specialisation. One is in-house and trade magazines. These kind of magazines are focused on a particular brand, for example Spar or Hertz Car Rental, and therefore target a very niche but often surprisingly large audience. By focussing on such a niche gap in the market, Stream can establish themselves as the market leader, without having to compete with frankly much larger publishers.

The other genre of Magazine that Stream seem to focus on is gay men's lifestyle magazines. Stream already owned the rights to the Dutch English language gay lifestyle magazine Winq. But then in 2016, they bought out Attitude. Why? Simply put, to eliminate the competition. Stream clearly have an area of expertise (trade magazines and gay lifestyle magazines). By sticking to what they know (a process known as 'specialisation'), Stream can ensure that they have monopolised (own all of) a comparatively niche but still lucrative (money making) genre.

By buying out the competition, Stream arguably limit creativity. The website would seem to back this up. Attitude online is very simple and straightford, using a straightforward lexis and mode of address to target a mass market audience. Additionally, the website only really exists to advertise the magazine and to sell advertising space, which is an example of cross-promotion.  Therefore it can be argued that Stream, in purchasing Attitude are solely motivated by profit and power.

Finally, Attitude (and Stream) surrounds itself with popular and influential people. To quote the press release: "It has held those in power to account on matters of equality, supported all manner of campaigns and charities across the LGBT community and continuously scooped all-comers with exclusive cover interviews as varied as David Beckham, Madonna and Take That, as well as, most recently, Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge". This name dropping increases the recognisability of the magazine and boosts it's brand identity. We can argue (a little cynically) that these high profile big names have only been included to raise the profile and the the popularity of the magazine, and allows it to appeal to an audience who may previously not have bought it.

In summary, we can argue that Attitude is solely motivated by profit and power, and it achieves this by:

• Eliminating the competition
• Targeting a niche but dedicated audience
• Adopting a horizontally integrated business model
• Deliberately attracting high profile names to publicise the magazine to new and larger audiences, and
• Using straightforward language and lexis to appeal to a working class gay audience (website only)

How can I talk about theories of identity when exploring online media?

A fairly standard question that could come up is:  "How far can aspects of identity be seen to affect the way in which audiences use online media? Discuss, with reference to Zoella and Attitude. [30]"

Identity refers not only to the identities being represented in the media products, but also how audiences use the media products to reflect their own identities. Just so we're on the same page, the identities depicted are young, working class white women in Zoella, and gay men in Attitude.

When you see the word 'identity' in a question, it's an excellent opportunity to use David Gauntlett's theory. David Gauntlett argues that audiences are not passive, but instead construct their identities through ‘picking and mixing’ the ideologies of the producer in whatever way they choose. Identity is an essential concept in media studies, as we as audiences will respond to texts in a lot of different ways. Through this interpretation there is a lot of potential for the producer to manipulate their target audiences through ideology.

Let's look at a few examples of how audiences can use the online media products we have studied in order to demonstrate their own identities.

In the Zoella Apartment video, Zoella provides the target working class female audience with a range of different identities and ideological perspectives to pick and mix. The best example of this is perhaps the scented candle. The candle, in particular its package, connotes femininity and an exciting lifestyle to the target audience, that can be achieved simply through buying the product! The importance of the candle to the stereotypical female identity constructed by Zoella is reinforced through the almost fetishistic close-ups of the candle and its packaging, reinforcing its status as commodity fetishism.

Therefore, we can see that identity is essential to Zoella's brand, and, more importantly to how audiences use it to construct their own identity.

For Attitude, identity is even more important. For many gay men, buying products and accessing online media might be the only way to truly express their own identity, for fear of being openly gay in public. Additionally, Attitude gives the gay audience a metanarrative or way of living, demonstrating the 'correct' way to by gay'. Gay identity is constructed and reinforced through the subject matter, mise-en-scene, and the repetition and reinforcement of gay stereotypes such as content on theatre, fashion, and the hypersexualised 'boys' section of the website.

However, we can also argue that gay audiences may reject certain aspects of the gay identity being represented in this website. For example, gay audiences may be offended by the hypersexualised representations of gay men, yet may take pleasure in the fact that gay identities and issues are getting visibility in the first place.

Identity is complex, and a good conclusion to reach here is that while audiences may never truly see themselves in the stereotypical representations of gender and gay identity offered by Zoella and Attitude respectively, they still have the power to pick and mix which ideological perspectives they choose to define themselves.

Component three - the coursework

Do we actually get marked for the pre-production PowerPoint, and if not, why bother doing it?

The good news is that you are technically not graded on the work book/PowerPoint. This itself is not submitted to the examiner. However, there is one slide that will be submitted; the ‘aims and intentions’ slide. This will not be submitted as a PowerPoint, but as part of the cover sheet when your coursework is finally submitted. You do not need to worry about this until we tell you.

However, the PowerPoint is super important for two reasons. Firstly, it will help you to write the Aims and Intentions essay. This is short (500 words), but it is worth a lot of marks, comparatively speaking. Again, I will give you more information when it becomes important.

The second reason we ask you to do this prep is because it will help you to make an excellent music video. You are marked on your camera work, editing skills, production values and so on, but you are also marked on your ability to incorporate intertextuality, representations of people and places, your use of appropriate genre conventions and how you put this together to create complex meanings. If you simply walk out of the door, you are unlikely to make something that looks and feels like an authentic music video, let alone a video that challenges conventions. The PowerPoint and the preparation involved in completing it will help you along the way.

First year mock exam: key assessment four

First year students will have a mock exam for each of their subjects in the first week back after half term, and media studies is no different. If you are wondering why we've been quite cool about this, it's because your coursework takes priority. Your coursework is 30% of your mark, and though we give you a substantial amount of time to complete it, you still only get one shot at getting it right.

Some students are under the impression that the key assessment four mock grade is going to be your progress grade. This is not true. 

Your progress grade is based off the following:

• Every mock exam you have done
• Your responses in class
• The organisation you demonstrated in the practical mini tasks
• The strength of your music video pre-production
• The quality of your notes on your blog
• The organisation and design of your blog
• Your behaviour, attitude, punctuality and attendance
• Your KA4 mock

In short, it's everything you have done so far in media studies.

The mock

The mock is still a big deal, and you will need to revise over the half term. 

The exam will be structured slightly differently from the final exam. This is because of time constraints and the fact we've only covered half the course. You will not know the questions in advance, BUT you will know what industries will come up for which question. You will not have this advantage in the final exam. 

Component one section a: representation - MUSIC VIDEOS

30 marks, 45 minutes

Component one section b: industry and audience - NEWSPAPERS

12 marks, 12 minutes

Component two section b - MAGAZINES (media language question)

30 marks, 50 minutes

Remember that the final exam will be structured a little differently. This is an 'abridged' version of the real thing.

You will hand write your response to the exam unless your "normal way of working" is using a computer.

Please let your teacher know if you have any questions about anything media related!

Online media - component 2 section c DOUBLE WHAMMY (U block)

How significant is the role of individual producers in online media industries? Make reference to Zoella to support your argument [15]

Knee jerk 

individual users extremely important for online media industries, and increasingly so as digital media becomes ever more covnvergent. However, while zoella presents herself as an amatuer internet user who is relatable to her fans, in actually she is part of a...

Plan

• Clay shirky!
• Opposite of industrially produced media
• Uses digitally convergent media
• Tanya Burr's lifestyle blog
• James Charles - loss of 2 million subscribers, scandals!!
• Merchandising
• My Little Pony/Assassins creed mashup - Henry Jenkins/Clay Shirky
• Amateur
• Zoella's book ghostwritten
• Clear examples of Zoella collaborating with producers
• Mistakes left in! Hyperreal construction of identity
• £50 advent calendar: hurt her brand
• Both vertically integrated and an example of multimedia integrated industry
• 11 million subscribers!
• Over 1 billion views!
• 50% of 15-24yo have watched a vlog in the last month: a young and digitally active audience
•  - high levels of expendable income
• Second channel: provides target audience with a different brand identity
• Brand endorsement: significant number of blogposts are 'advertorials'
• Curran and Seaton: solely motivated by power and profit
• Paid wage by Youtube: £15,000 a month!! However, a vast majority of individual producers are paid absolutely nothing
• £4000 a month from ads on zoella.co.uk!!
• Motivated by a capitalist ideology, with a massive focus on commodity fetishism, consumerist ideology

To what extent do the representations in Attitude make claims about realism? [15]

• Gauntlett
• Start Hall
• Gerbner 

Knee Jerk

While representations often make claims about reality, it is worth noting that representations can never be real, simply because they are a reflection of the ideology of the producer. However, the representation of a certain group will also affect not only the target audience of a media product, but also the people being represented.

1 - Who is being represented?
2 - How is this representation constructed?
3 - What message is presented to the target audience?
4 - How does this representation affect the group represented?

Attitude presents a hyperreal representation of gay, young men to their target audience of gay, young men. By making claims about reality, this raises many issues.

i - Gay people are represented as affluent and young
ii - Gay people are represented as being out, proud and confident

• One way in which the representations of gay men in Attitude make claims about realism is through the representation that gay men are out, proud and confident with their sexuality.
• For example, in the article "TARON EGERTON AND SIR ELTON JOHN TEAM UP FOR BRAND NEW SONG ‘(I’M GONNA) LOVE ME AGAIN’", Elton John is represented as a proud and confident gay icon.
• Flamboyant costume
• Direct mode of address
• Status as a celebrity
• Article creates a sweeping and stereotypical representation of gay men for the target gay audience. Hall considered stereotypes, which through constant repetition can cultivate a self-fulfilling prophecy. Additionally, over time stereotypes can change...
• 70's, homosexuality seen as mental health issue, now homosexuality more widely accepted
• However, there is a discrepancy between the representation and the reality. A hyperreal and perfect 'reality' is constructed for the target audience. Yet this is unlikely to be the reality for every audience member. The front cover of Attitude magazine takes a completely different perspective, and through it's confrontational lexis shines light on the significant problem of coung gay people being bullied at school. While there are more hard hitting articles on the website, the majority of content is focused on positive and normalised stories. The menu bar in particular offers the gay target audience an escapist fantasy, where they only need be interested in 'entertainment' , travel' and 'boys'.

iii - Gay people are represented as being particularly interested in style and fashion
iv - Gay people are represented as hypersexual, and only interested in a very singular and specific body type. Presents an unattainable beauty standard.

Why?

• Escapist fantasy for a marginalised and discriminated group 
• Confidence through normalisation 
• A sense of identity and a way of living your life

First year - next week in media studies: shooting week one/tips and tricks

While second year are preparing for their final exams, first year students are prepping for something just as important: the music video project!

Next week (week commencing Monday 20th May 2019) is shooting week one. While you can use this week to prep and plan and practice, your teacher will push you as much as possible to go out and film this week. This involves booking cameras, tripods and other equipment, following your storyboard or shot list as much as possible, putting on your costumes and makeup and then actually filming your video. Here are some tips and tricks to help you get the best grade possible

1 - Shoot early

There's no way around this. The earlier you shoot, the higher your grade is likely to be. If you keep putting it off, for any reason (including weather, people letting you down, equipment malfunction...) your grade will suffer. So get shooting!

2 - Shoot lots

Each performance should be shot around ten to fifteen times. Even if something works particularly well, shoot it again. Get used to ad-libbing (making stuff up) and being versatile with whatever is thrown at you.

3 - Insist on the best equipment

Make sure that your equipment works perfectly before you take it away. If the tripod is wobbly, or if the AF (autofocus) on the camera does not work properly, take it back to the technician to be services and swapped out. This leads us to the next tip...

4 - Everything is your fault

If your tripod is dodgy, it's your fault. If someone lets you down, it's your fault. If the bus is late, it's your fault. If it rains, it's your fault.

Sounds harsh? Absolutely. But you need to get used to the fact that you are the only person responsible for your music video, and the only person getting marked for it. If something goes wrong, you need to make it right, and fast!

5 - Be flexible

Let's say it rains on the weekend of your big shoot. What do you do? Perhaps you give up and film nothing. In which case you've wasted valuable time and resources and possibly money. But how about you film something anyway? How about you put an umbrella over the camera and try for a little intertextual reference to Singin' In The Rain? You could cover yourself in mud and shoot some bizarre and striking close-up performance shots. You could shoot a miserable, rain soaked establishing montage to form a binary opposition with the sunshine drenched shots you have already shot. Or you could just shoot some interiors instead.

But whatever you do, never waste a shooting day!

The rules

Although shooting week will involve you not attending media lessons at the normal scheduled time, there are still rules you need to follow

• Always email your teacher for every 'missed' lesson explaining exactly what you are doing
• Make sure you give back equipment intact and at the time you are supposed to
• Never, ever get in anyone's way or impede access
• Do not shoot on the guided busway
• Don't be loud or annoying
• Do not break and enter to film somewhere, even if the space is 'abandoned' 

Your right to film in public

You cannot film in private spaces. This includes train stations. However in practice people still do and are fine. Just be cool with it, and do not cause an obstruction.

However you can film wherever you like in public spaces. Public spaces are 99% where you are likely to film. Do NOT be intimidated by people telling you to stop. Be polite, calm, smile. If this doesn't work, just quote this back at them:

"members of the public and the media do not need a permit to film or photograph in public places and police have no power to stop them filming or photographing incidents or police personnel."

The exceptions are if you filming anything inappropriate or indecent (please don't do this!!) or causing an obstruction. So don't get in people's way

Workshop nine - intertextuality

Intertextuality - where one media product makes reference to the content, codes, conventions and paradigms of another media product in order to create meaning for the audience

Intertextuality is one of the most important and useful words in the whole of A-level media studies, and is absolutely vital for understanding how and why media products work.  From a purely exam based perspective, he term intertextuality is comparatively VERY likely to be used. But even if it's not you really should be using it in both component one section a and potentially any question in component two

There are many common synonyms for intertextuality, such as

paying homage to...
making reference to...
a loving tribute to...
outright stealing from...

and even within the ontology of media studies there are a few other ways of talking intertextuality. For example, Roland Barthe's semiotic referential code is essentially an intertextual reference by another name.

But why is intertextuality so important? As the definition above suggests, when a producer utilises intertextuality, it helps to create meaning for the audience. If we have seen and decoded something before, then we will certainly understand it better next time. This allows producers to save time and effort, assuming that audiences will adhere to the prefered reading of the product. Intertextuality can therefore be seen as an effective form of anchorage, allowing the producer to precisely position the audience. It also provides the audience with the gratification of 'getting' or decoding a particularly obscure reference.

The following notes have been pinched from Olivia. Thanks!

LES REVENANTS

• Les Revenants has intertextual references to Texas chainsaw massacre (Julie is watching it on telly) - this would make the audience like Julie if you got it because you like that show. This positions the audience in a place where they can relate to Julie. It is a zombie horror show, but it is not typical. It differs because the zombies don't look like zombies in other shows.
• It doesn't have to be an obvious reference
• Victor makes reference to most horror films with little kids in them.
• Teen flick references with Lena's sex scene (coming of age drama)

RIPTIDE

• Ouija board - Low key red lighting signifies intertextual reference to 1970's Italian horror films. Binary opposition between the things we see and the song. The ouija board is a common thing in horror films. Contrapuntal sound - sound that doesn't belong with the vision 
• Gun 
• Makeup deteriorates and ends up reflecting blood dripping down her face - Woman singing isn't the person singing the actual song
• Shot of woman at the 'dentist' being tortured, anchored by song
• Knife going into woman's hand - hermeneutic code because it suggests something is going to happen as it cuts away to fast for us to see what has happened

HUMANS

• Extreme close up of eye - Terminator (explicit reference to robots), Blade Runner
• Moon - connotations of science fiction, space, the world beyond...
• Establishing montage tries to set the scene and get the audience interested in the show, it needs to be as hermeneutic as possible. We don't see Anita's face but we know she is going to be important to it is a proairetic code. It establishes a key theme at the beginning of the show, it is an intertextual reference to every android robot show.
• Also intertextual references to medical dramas and documentaries because it uses real life footage. They do this to widen the target audience. There is Techno music with drum and bass. All of these things widen to audience. We are unable to differentiate between real life and fiction - hyperreality.
• Then we are suddenly look like a sitcom e.g Outnumbered. Can target a bigger audience again. It gives something to the audience who don't like sci-fi
• Genre hybridity (sci-fi with sitcom)

Online media - component 2 section c - Clay Shirky states “The future presented by the internet is the mass amateurization of publishing and a switch from 'Why publish this?' to 'Why not?”. To what extent is this concept of 'amateurization' applicable to Zoella and Attitude, and to what extent can audiences meaningfully interact with these products?

Underline

Clay Shirky states “The future presented by the internet is the mass amateurization of publishing and a switch from 'Why publish this?' to 'Why not?”. To what extent is this concept of 'amateurization' applicable to Zoella and Attitude, and to what extent can audiences meaningfully interact with these products?

Plan/discussion

Amateurization - the process of making something that was once professional the domain of amateurs and those who are inexperienced

Online media is prone to the notion of amateurization, as it is an open platform resource, both universal and inclusive and DEMOCRATIC

Zoella presents herself as a relatable amateur for her target audience

However Attitude Online is a carefully curated and maintained website serving a valuable purpose

Zoella and Attitude both sell an ideology and a LIFESTYLE to their specific target audiences

Comments, response videos, (PO Box), email, Instagram, Twitter, subscriptions

Reception theory

Rather than being a shining light of an alternative system, Zoella is a straightforward capitalist, existing only to make money

Audiences are not producers when interacting with zoella, but marketers and distributors

Targeting

Modes of address

Online media presents a move from broadcasting to narrowcasting

David Gauntlett - pick and mix. Allows audience to construct their identity

Possible knee-jerk reactions

Many opportunities for meaningingful interaction

Offers limited opportunities for meaningful interaction

"Far from the utopian and democratic potential that the internet claims to offer, both Zoella and Attitude online offer their audiences limited opportunities for meaningful interaction. Both Zoella and Attitude Online deliberately limit the opportunities for audience interaction in order to maximise profit and power, targeting niche audiences in order to do so. However, while there are limited opportunities for audiences to create, there are opportunities for audiences to reflect their identity. This essay shall explore..."

Content

with a question this ridiculously full-on, we ended up excluding Attitude entirely from our discussion. However, we make a similar statement: Shirky's argument regarding 'the end of audience' isn't very compelling and Gauntlett's theory of identity offers a much more convincing way in which audiences can interact with media products, particularly one that presents the ideological perspectives that Attitude does!

• Youtube is a closed system, self-regulated by Youtube themselves, and motivated solely by power and profit. While it seems to give users the opportunity to create products and become their own boss, only very few users actually meet the criteria for monetisation.
• Zoella constructs and presents a fake and hyperreal persona to her target audience, meaning that audiences have little idea of who she really is.
• Zoella uses a business model based on algorithmic knowledge and understanding. Each of her preview thumbnails provide the audience with a carefully selected close-up image of her with a hyperbolic expression of joy that resembles a cartoon character as opposed to a real person. This confirms and reinforces zoella's status as an 'amateur' presenting a compelling and hyperreal wold to her target audience
• Utilization of commodity fetishism in order to provide her audiences with a capitalist escapist fantasy
• Ability to comment on video for likes... however this again offers the audience limited opportunities for interaction
• However allows audiences to construct their own identities through her products and output. Audiens can identify with Suggs, and can take pleasure in the inclusive relationship she has with the 'gay best friend' archetype, and also provides a metanarrative of friendship and inclusion. Her frank discussions of anxiety can give her

A bit of theory...

19 - ‘End of audience’ theories - Clay Shirky

(newspaper, radio, videogames, online media)

• New media, as in the Internet and digital technologies, have had a significant effect on the relations between media and audiences

• Just thinking of audience members as passive consumers of mass media content is no longer possible in the age of the Internet. Now, media consumers have become producers who ‘speak back to’ the media in various ways, creating and sharing content with one another.
• This can be accomplished through comments sections, internet forums, and creating media products such as blogs or vlogs

However...

...this theory can and should be criticised. Arguably the media industries are just as exclusionary as they always have been, and audiences are less 'producers' than 'unwitting advertisers'., promoting pre-existing products through retweets, fan accounts and derivative vlogs that could never be financially successful without aggressive monetisation!

Online media - component 2 section c - explore the extent to which emergent digitally convergent technology has allowed producers to communicate complex meanings. Make reference to Zoella and Attitude.

Underline

Explore the extent to which emergent digitally convergent technology has allowed producers to communicate complex meanings. Make reference to Zoella and Attitude.

Knee jerk

to a great extent! However, the primary purpose of these products is to maximise profit...

Plan

Digital technology: any technology involving computers
Hypermodality
Algorithmic marketing
Clickbait
Advertorial
Mid shot Close up Long shot...
Zoella
Identity!
Capitalist ideology
Social media, especially Instagram!
Interaction (including oppositional readings)
Symbolic codes
Proairetic codes
Binary oppositions

Zoella

• Gesture of pulling opening pyjamas has SLIGHT connotations of sex and sexuality. Hermeneutic code, creating sense of unresolved conflict for the audience. This is emphasised through oth the symbolic code of the love hearts and the costume. However, a complete lack of explicit reference to sex and sexuality
• Layout of blog: adopts the conventions of a lifestyle blog, allows blog to appeal specifically to 13 year old girls
• Cultivation of a representation of innocence and purity, emphasised through the symbolic code of the high key lighting
• Binary opposition between Zoella's age (at this stage 27) and the age that she appears. Reinforced through the themes and colour choices of the website.
• Teenage girls far more likely to relate to the mode of address of a lifestyle vlogger, identifying with it's codes and conventions
• MES of fairy lights further reinforces child like aspects of Zoella, constructing her as a relatable figure for her audience
• Essentially an advert for ASOS. High production values contradict with the intended atmosphere of reality and relatability. Manipulating an easily influenced and naive target audience for the purpose of power and profit
• "My wardrobe consists of quite a substantial collection of Pyjamas". - cultivation of a desirable lifestyle
• Utilisation of hypermodality. Each and every blog post has links to products, apps, and other blogs, allowing young female target audience the gratification of interactivity
• Comments: users can pretend to be her dog and threatened to "shit in [her] bed", again allowing the audience the gratification of interaction
• Zoella is a hyperreal construction designed to make money off teenage girls

Attitude

• Top of each article includes social media icons, for example Instagram and Twitter, allowing audiences to use hypermodal technology to explore and relate to the brand identity. Helps to differentiate it from other gay lifestyle websites like pink news
• Hyperlinks at bottom of each articles link to a variety of exciting and exploitative clickbait, using algorithmic marketing techniques to manipulate and to entice their target audiences with promises of illicit and illegal content
• Arrangement of thumbnail images are stylised and easily accessible for the target gay male audience, cultivating a stereotypical ideology.  Allows producer to create targeted and specific content by constructing a stereotypical and rigid target audience.
• Allows extremely specific targeted advertising, for example for gay friendly package holiday, exploiting the idea of the 'pink pound'

Online media - component 2 section c - Jean Baudrillard suggested that “We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning.” Evaluate the extent to which this postmodernist statement applies to Zoella and Attitude

Underline

Jean Baudrillard suggested that “We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning.” Evaluate the extent to which this postmodernist statement applies to Zoella and Attitude

Plan

HYPERREALITY - a representation of nothing, where the representation is more 'real' than the real!!
'more style than substance'
Zoella's 'mistakes' are left in. More real, more relatable. A hyperreal representation!
Zoella's picnic: intertextual references to Disney princes movies, wooden platters, glass bowls, professional, fake
Shop house, Zoella apartment:
Candles: commodity fetishism: focus on packaging
Sexless, virginal, innocent, pure, chaste, hegemonically 'perfect'...
Old tweets - "gay men spitting", "tramp" "are they honestly letting a tranny in a policeman hat...", "lesbo" - use of deeply offensive homophobic and transphobic slurs completely at odds with her cultivated and hyperreal representation
Simulacrum: a representation of something that doesn't exist
Extremely stereotypical and idealised representation of gay men on Attitude
Theatre tabs: a perfect, constructed representation of gay identity
'Boys' - sexualised, diminutive, condescending
Significant amount of actually straight models,presenting a voyeuristic and hyperreal fantasy to the gay audience
Escapism
Stuart halls's representation theory
Roland Barthes - proairetic, semiotic, symbolic, hermeneutic
Binary oppositions
Web 2.0: presents an easily accessible version of perfection

Zoella 

• Content creation, vlogger, beauty and fashion vlogger, 12 million subscriber and over 1 billion views. Presents an outward appearance of a normal and relatable teenage girls. Starting her blog in 2009, she is long established. However, she is nearly 30. A hyperreal simulacrum of perfection for her adoring 13 year old female fanbase.
• Instagram: filters create a hyperreal symbolic representation of femininity.
• Zoella picnic: reinforces representative aspects and Zoella's character archetype
• Selling a personality, selling a lifestyle: M/S high angle, of hyperreal perfect picnic. Use of pastel colours encodes stereotypical notions of being 'female'. Eye is instantly drawn to branded pillow with big 'Z'. Entire hyperreal construction is absolutely without meaning, and exists only to make money off her vulnerable target audience.
• Zoe is accompanied by Poppy, the 'best friend' archetype, who presents an aspiration for teenage girls. High key, perfect natural lighting constructs a simulacrum of a perfect day.
• Bottom of article makes use of hypermodal nature of the internet by presenting the audience with a series of hyperlinks, giving the audience the illusion of choice

Cheers Erin for the below notes!

Attitude

•  'BOYS' stereotyped and idealised representation of gay men appearance. Diminutive and condescending term. Half the men on that tab are straight, presents a voyeuristic and hyperreal fantasy to the gay audience
• Theatre tab. Perfect, constructed, representation of gay identity
• Stuart Hall representation theory
• Roland Barthes - symbolic, proairetic, semiotic, hermeneutic
• Boys article - Tom Ellis 'Ass-ets'. Tom Ellis is straight. They took images from show Lucifer and represented them to show his body in a sexual light to appeal to gay men. Sexualised. Homosexual male gaze? Positions male audience in an escapist fantasy of voyeuristic pleasure.
• Gay men then aim to fit in so they can have access to a lot of gay specific media by living up to gay stereotypes.

The revision master list of example approaches to pretty much every question that could come up has been updated again! Either click here, or click the 'new! revision and workshop links' post on the top right. While you're at it, complete some of these questions using the examples given. It's the best possible form of revision!

Magazines - component two section b - "all media products are purely created to ensure financial success". To what extent do you support this statement? Make reference to the set editions of Woman and Adbusters

Curran and Seaton 

 POWER - The media industries are motivated by power and profit. Power is concentrated in the hands of a few extremely wealthy corporations.Makes it hard to individual users and independant corporations to compete.

Livingstone and Lunt 

REGULATION - Media industries are regulated in a variety of different ways. However, there are serious flaws in each method of regulation, primarily due to digital technologies.

Underline

"All media products are purely created to ensure financial success". To what extent do you support this statement? Make reference to the set editions of Woman and Adbusters

Possible argument

Most magazines are driven through profit and power, for example woman, however Adbusters is a clear exception to this rule

A response like this would typically ping-pong between examples, demonstrating how Adbusters and Woman are practically diametric oppositions. However, it would also be possible to create an argument stating that Adbusters too is driven through profit and power, considering it's high cover price, 'edgy' brand identity and examples of commodity fetishism through the luxurious cardstock of the magazine, the cultural capital tat buying it provides its niche target audience and the fact that the website sells a range of fetishised products based on their 'subcultural' value. This might be the focus of a great 'however' paragraph. For this essay though, we're sticking to the clear and simple argument: Woman is driven by profit and power, and Adbusters challenges this capitalist paradigm!

Industrial contexts/plan/***facts***

WOMAN

• Cultivates hegemonic capitalist ideological perspective
• Founded in 1937
• 7d cover price (approx 80p) - cheap cover price for a mass mainstream audience
• Target demographic: 30-50 year old working class, housewife, heterosexual, white
• Singular stereotypical representations
• Reflects the social historical context of the time
• Circulation 3 million copies sold each week: big market share!
• (12 million women's lifestyle magazines sold in UK each week)
• IPC also owned several other women's lifestyle magazines
• Published by IPC, a horizontally integrated corporation
• IPC buys out rival magazines, reducing competition and increasing specialism
• Lack of creativity

ADBUSTERS

• Not for profit
• Anti Capitalist
• First published in 1989
• Broadly left wing ideology
• £10:99 UK cover price - expensive cover price targeting a niche and middle class audience
• 120,000 readership/circulation
• Bimonthly frequency
• Self published: Adbusters Media Foundation
• Complete lack of anchorage, and a complete lack of commercial intent
• Culture jamming/detournement/brandalism
• Ill defined target audience
• Lacks brand image - masthead changes every issue
• Lack or corporate intervention leads a less restricted, more creative magazine 

Content

(Michael will see if it's possible to come up with an example paragraph without using the word 'hegemony'...)

I pinched the notes for the next two headings from U block!

Creatively stunted Woman!!!

Woman is creating a standardised product for a standardised audience. Woman ensures its financial success through constructing an audience that it can immediately appeal to. By constructing a singular and specialised audience, Woman magazine is able to sell this audience to advertising which will appeal to the specific target audience.
The fashion presented within the magazine is conservative and conformist to stereotypical 1960's style.

Creative and independent Adbusters!!!

Within Adbusters the copy occupies very little of the page, while the main of the page is used by a white gutter for both aesthetic and ideological reasons. Most of the pages of adbusters look damaged in some way, presenting their ideology of the damage we have done to our earth. To a mainstream audience this would be unappealing due to the defaced appearance.

Sexualised gender stereotypes to sell magazines!!!

One clear example of a magazine driven purely by financial success and the concentration of power is Woman magazine. Throughout the edition, we see examples of how dominant ideological perspectives are cultivated and reinforced to construct and maintain a target audience. In the 1964 set edition, we see a clear ideological perspective being constructed which is highly appropriate to the sociohistorical context of the time it was made. This is typified by the relentless promotion of a hegemonically acceptable heterosexual, working class lifestyle. An excellent example of this is the advert for Breeze soap, which features a mid-shot of a stereotypically attractive young woman wearing no clothes. Her body is emphasised through the mise en scene of soap suds, and the bath itself has been removed to provide the target audience with the voyeuristic pleasure of seeing a hegemonically attractive nude woman. This clear example of sexual objectification is included as means of manipulating a singular and mass market audience. The advert reinforces and cultivates the ideology that woman purely exist to be the subject of a heterosexual male gaze. By reinforcing a patriarchal hegemonic ideology, the producer encourages the primary mass audience to take on this role, ensuring that they adopt a subservient lifestyle. This is a clear construction of a mass audience, and a key way in which producers can use power and profit to ensure financial success.

Adbusters deliberately lacks anchorage and seeks to be as uncommercial as possible!!!

However Adbusters subverts the commonly held perspective that all media products are solely motivated by power and profit. In fact Adbusters is a resolutely anticapitalist magazine, that seeks to break the standard conventions of commercial magazine. In the set edition's front cover, the coverline 'POST-WEST' encodes the ideological aftermath of decades of terrorist attacks on the western world. The cover is splattered with a 'digital mud' which partially obscures the masthead, further reinforcing the ideological perspective that Adbusters is not motivated by profit. While a conventional magazine may present an ideological preference (for example criticising global terrorism)Adbusters routinely lacks anchorage. There is nothing on the front cover to explicitly suggest any preferred reading, leaving the audience facing a particularly uncomfortable direct mode of address. Instead, the audience are positioned in such a way that they must form their own conclusions. This makes Adbusters highly unconventional and goes against the notion that all media products are solely focused on profit and power. This anti-commercial ideological perspective is only made possible through Adbuster's ownership. Self-published through the Adbusters Media Foundation, Adbusters does not need to please shareholders or make vast profits, but instead must only break even, freeing up the potential for presenting thought provoking and unpopular opinions.

Further paragraph ideas:

• Niche vs mainstream audience
• Major conglomeration owned vs independent ownership
• (differences in regulation practices - save the planet kill yourself)
• Ethics of being purely motivated by profit: lack of creativity