Audience work

 Teams is b0rked, so here are a few tasks you can work on in the meantime:

1) Click here and watch this video as loud as you possibly can 

Who is this band? Why are they important? What is there unique selling point? What genre is their music? What potential audiences do they appeal to?

And why on earth is a Scottish rock band doing the soundtrack to a French thriller?

2) Click here to watch this trailer  

How does Les revenants appeal to it's potential audiences? In what ways does the content of this trailer differ from the content of the show? Why?

3) Research Les Revenants merchandise

What merchandise can fans buy for this show? How can fans interact with this show? Why is this important?

4) Make sure your cover sheet is completed as much as possible, and is sitting in the correct place in the submission Drive!

What is a magazine?

 Using this image as a prompt, as well as the magazine front pages you used in the last session, come up with the most robust definition of a magazine as possible

Magazine front pages: Examples of generic conventions

 Layout and design

Font size, type, colour and connotations

Images/photographs - shot type, angle, focus

Mise-en-scene – colour, lighting, location, costume/dress, hair/make-up 

Language and lexis

Anchorage of images and text

Les Revenants initial discussion: talking points

Themes and concepts

Semiotic analysis (hermeneutics and proairetics) 

Possible representations

Genre and narrative structure

Target audience

Issues in terms of content and regulation

Newspaper industry remote practical assessment week

Important

You are submitting three pieces of work:

1. 'The role of bias' research task

1. Biased newspaper front page with at least three original images

1. A short evaluation of your newspaper front page

All three pieces of work should be published to your media blog. 

Make sure you screencap your newspaper front page and upload it to your blogpost as an image!

This week's task involves a practical element. Since we are in the middle of a pandemic, it is absolutely essential you familiarize yourself with the health and safety regulations detailed below. If there's anything you're unsure of, just play it safe. If in doubt, don't go out!

This post is subject to be tweaked and updated as the week goes on. If you need any clarification on anything, just let me know!

Brief

Create a biased and potentially misleading newspaper front page story that represents your house/street/town as a perfect utopia or an unlivable hellhole

-or-

Create a biased and potentially misleading newspaper front page story that uses your house/street/town as the setting for either a positive or negative news story

1 - Planning and preparing a biased news report

In this session, you will research how newspapers use bias, and you will prepare and plan your own biased news report

i - Introduction: spinning a story

In media products, particularly in news media, spin refers to presenting a deliberately and often overtly biased representation of an issue or event for the purpose of manipulating the ideological perspective of the target audience. An even can be spun in a variety of different ways, and in politics, politicians will often hire spin doctors, whose sole job it is to spin unflattering events and problems to make them seem agreeable to the public.

Even the most damning and problematic events...

...can be spun in to something less damaging...

...spot the difference!

ii - Discussion: 'the camera never lies'

In what ways can inventive photography be used to distort the truth? What techniques can you use for your own front page? What techniques do you use when taking pictures to create a more flattering and exciting image?

iii - The role of bias

• Bias through selection and omission 
• Bias through placement 
• Bias by headline 
• Bias by photos, captions and camera angles 
• Bias through use of names and titles 
• Bias through statistics and crowd counts 
• Bias by source control 
• Word choice and tone 

Visit the website of a tabloid newspaper (eg The Sun, The Mirror, The Mail Online) and select a news story that interests you, and make screen captures of the story. How does this story use spin to present the ideological perspective of the producer? Run through the bias list above and see how many you can identify, and write notes in your blog post about how the article you have selected is biased

iv - Selecting a headline

A headline needs to address the target audience, and it needs to do it effectively. If the story isn't effective enough, then no one's going to buy the newspaper, and your revenue will fall. Which is why your potentially boring story needs to sound as exciting as possible. Puns, plays on words, and emotive language are the order of the day here. Here are a couple of examples that

Clean and Tidy!: Town jubilant as Impington wins cleanest village award for fourth year in a row

Secret shame: Milton village drags down local profile

Life of Luxury: inside the luxurious mansion of shamed TV host turned tax cheat

Crime town: the inside scoop on 'Britain's worst street'

Write down as many potential headlines as you can, both positive and negative. At least five will really help you here

v - Team talk

You're doing this individually (because there's a pandemic on), but now is a great opportunity to chat to those in your breakout group about what you're going to be doing. Share ideas, steal ideas. But absolutely do not meet up in person!

2 - Shooting and producing a biased news report

In this session, you will shoot the highest quality photos possible with the equipment you have available. For most of you, this will probably involve shooting on your phone. This is absolutely fine, and even encouraged. There's lots of awesome stuff you can do with even the simplest of smartphones!

i - Health and safety guidelines

• If you are planning to eave your house, you must do so alone, or with members of your household only
• You are only permitted to leave your house for a few essential activities, including exercise. Therefore, you will take photographs as you go for a walk
• Do not leave the town/village/area where you live
• Make sure your journey starts and ends in the same place
• Do not meet with anyone outside of your home
• Make sure to stay away from other people

As long as you are sensible, there is absolutely no risk from undertaking this work, and it does not breach any government guidelines. If you are in any doubt about any of these rules, then shoot indoors instead

ii - Preparing to shoot

There are absolutely tonnes of videos on YouTube about how to effectively use your phone to take pictures. Some are more... annoying than others. So take your pick. I like this one with an Indian dad showing you five straightforward techniques. You may wish to spend some time on Youtube looking for other videos. If you find a good one, send me a link!

iii - Taking pictures

Take as many pictures as you can which will construct a biased, opinionated and potentially misleading story. When taking you images, consider what you're going to be doing with them afterwards. Are you planning to edit them on your phone? Then you might as well just shoot with the default settings. However, if you want to try out using a program like Lightroom or Photoshop (see next box), you may want to change the settings to RAW by using a mode like 'Pro' mode. everyone's phone is different, so make sure you take the time to learn what your phone can do. 

iv - Writing your report

Check out the newspaper template in the SUBMISSIONS folder. Make sure that you don't edit this file! Instead just click 'file', and then 'make copy'. Now feel free to edit the template to your heart's content!

You probably won't finish this in today's session, which is fine. You'll have time to finish in the final lesson. 

v - Extension: using Adobe Lightroom to edit your images

As a student at our college, you are able to access Adobe Creative Cloud software for free! This includes Photoshop, Premiere, and a nifty little product called Lightroom Classic, which allows you to quickly and creatively tweak the look and feel of your photographs. You can download all this by going to the Adobe website and logging in with your college user name and password. Any technical issues, please email IT. Remember, all this is contingent on if your system can run these programs. 

I made a video on how to use Adobe Lightroom Classic, which you can check out by clicking here.

3 - Evaluating your biased news report

In this session, you will finish off writing your news story, and you will write a brief evaluation of how you used a biased point of view to reconstruct reality

i - Finish your news story

depending on where you are up to, use the time in today's session to either finish or start your news report/newspaper front page

ii - Evaluation

Explore how newspaper producers use representations to construct reality 

Questions???

Do we have to take the pictures during the lesson? For example, can we take pictures at night?

Yes, definitely! I'll be interested in seeing how they come out!

Does the story have to be serious in tone?

It can be less serious if you want, but it must still be appropriate for a newspaper. S you can be tongue in cheek, and you can use puns!

Can we, like, make stuff up? Can we make up quotes and characters?

Yes! Absolutely! Go wild!

Do do they all have to be our own photos or can we use a few from online?

Please use your own pictures!

Newspaper representation mini-mock

 

In what ways do newspapers use representations to appeal to their audiences? Make reference to this front page of The Daily Mail and the front page of The Times you have studied to support your answer (30 minutes)

In what ways does the TV industry use specialised forms of distribution?

 In what ways does the TV industry use specialised forms of distribution? Make reference to Humans in your answer [15] [25 minutes]

Knee jerk reaction

Humans uses a range of forms of specialised distribution in order to maximise profit

Plan

• Distribution: sharing a product to a number of people: how a media product is 'given out', making a media product available to an audience to consume it
• Channel 4
• AMC
• Failed partnership with Xbox
• Netflix (streaming), channel 4 (TV), DVD (physical media)
• Cult Audiences - smaller yet intensely motivated! Not mass!
• Guerrilla marketing - pop-up augmented reality event on regent street
• Henry Jenkins Fandom theory
• transnational audiences, British and American
• AMC - walking dead, breaking bad, mad men, Preacher, Tenet
• Trailers shown on tv - traditional marketing
• mid budget
• persona synthetics website
• diegetically situated advert
• word of mouth/ social media presence.. maybe?
• viral marketing
• Curren and Seaton: power and the media industries 

Student responses

1

Distribution is making a media product available to audience to consume it. Humans uses a range of forms of specialized distribution in order to maximise profit. This links to David Hesmondhalgh theory about the cultural industry's, he believes every media industry is specialized and every media industry is structured to minimise risk and maximise profit. TV in general is a specialised industry, it has changed considerably throughout the years of digital technology. It has changed through production, distribution, and consumption by new digitally convergent technologies. The show was realeased in June 2015 and is in a sci-fi, alternative present genre. It was originally a Swedish show but was remade in English.

One way 'Humans' uses specialized forms of distribution is that it is a co-production between AMC (American movie channel) and Channel 4 meaning this gives them an advantage for distribution and money because it is not just a British show but a transnational show. However this was not always going to be the case, originally the series was announced in April 2014 as part of a partnership between channel 4 and Xbox entertainment but then Xbox entertainment studios closed down. It has also been distributed in a number of different ways, for example, Netflix, which is a streaming service, Channel 4 and AMC are TV channel. There are also catch-up services and physical copies like DVD's and blue-rays which released 'Humans'. This is a wide range of distribution meaning they can attract a wider audience to watch the show however this show is targeted at a more niche cult audience who are more motivated and fans of the sci-fi genre. Fans are different from audiences as they are heavily invested in and motivated by a product, this is something the theorist Henry Jenkins said as part of the Fandom Theory. Fans are much more likely to engage with the TV show, following fan accounts on social media and buying merchandise. 

Marketing was an important part of the making of 'Humans' and would have helped with the distribution alot when it came down to it. They made a spot advert which is an advert that comes up between TV shows. This advert was atypical and subversive and broke many of the rules but it only made people more interested and intrigued as to what they just watched so this would most likely make them look it up on social media and then this creates viral marketing. Once they have got a wide number of people interested into what the persona synthetics is all about, this will bring on more circulation when they come to distribute it they are more likely to get more views and streaming which will boost the profit and as Curran and Seaton suggest; all media companies are driven by profit and power. They also used Gorilla Marketing through a stunt taken place on Regent Street London where there was an interactive shop front for Persona Synthetics where passers-by invited to create their own sythns using interactive screens. Guerrilla Marketing is an advertisement strategy in which a lot of companys use surprise or unconventional interactions in order to promote a product or service. 

This all links back to the specialized TV industry and how there are many ways to promote, distribute, and circulate a media product. And in the series 'Humans' especially they have used a range of specialized forms of distribution including using digitally convergent technologies which we now have around today to attract their targeted audience. 

2

Distribution is how a company shares its media product out to make it available for an audience to consume it. Humans is a British TV show that is a remake of a Swedish show called real humans. It was announced in April 2014 as a collab between Channel 4 and Xbox entertainment studios. However, Microsoft closed Xbox entertainment studios so, in turn, AMC joined Channel 4 as partners. Humans use a range of forms of specialised distribution in order to maximise the profit of the product.

One form of specialised distribution that Humans used was by Channel 4 joining AMC as partners for the production of Humans. AMC is an American Channel that are the producers of cult classics like The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad. By Channel 4 joining AMC as partners Humans was then distributed to an American audience as well. This meant the Humans became a transnational media product enhancing the shows audience reach and maximising the profit of the show.

Another way in which the TV industry uses specialised forms of distribution is through Guerrilla marketing. Guerilla marketing is a strategy used by many industries which makes use of typically unconventional tactics to raise awareness of their new media product. One way humans used guerilla marketing was through their use of a pop-up augmented reality event on regent street. This event didn't particularly showcase the media product however it presented the key concepts that are evident within the product with the use of Synths. The use of this specialised distribution is key for attracting cult audience and fandoms of the specific genres which in this case is Science fiction. This type of distribution maximises profit because although these cult audiences are smaller than broad audiences they are more intensely motivated about the product meaning they will be more actively engaged with the purchasing of related products such as merchandise.

The TV industry also makes use of digital distribution. They do this through the use of many media platforms such as Netflix which is a streaming service and Channels which are shown on Tv and also DVD's which is physical media. By the industries making use of all these types of distribution, they maximise their profit as they are able to reach all kinds of audiences that aren't just their target. For example, Channel 4 originally distributed their product Humans just on their channel which limited their audience as it was only available to those who were available at the time it was being shown. However, they widened their distribution by making it available on the streaming service Netflix which gave them a wider audience, in turn, maximising their profit.

3

Distribution is the process of sharing a media product with an audience.  Humans uses various specialised forms of distribution in order to reach is target audience and make a therefore maximising profit.

Humans was originally released on the 14th of June on Chanel 4 and the 28th of June on AMC, and episodes continued to be released on a weekly basis from then on, the partnership between Chanel 4 and AMC allowed humans to reach transnational audiences, increasing profit and creating a bigger fan base which helped the show gain regular viewers.  As the show has now ended; it is available on various online streaming services such as Netflix and All4, meaning it is now available on demand, as well as on DVD, making the program much more convenient for people to watch.

Humans used multiple forms of marketing to increase it's distribution, in particular guerrilla marketing which is where a company uses unconventional marketing to advertise a product.  Humans used dietetically situated marketing to position the audience with the characters and create enigma, convincing people to go online to find out more, they also had a pop-up event in regent street along with a website and various social media sites, this helped to draw people in with viral marketing, and create more of a community for the fandom, further increasing the potential distribution reach.  Curran and Seaton's power and media theory talks about how companies owned by large conglomerates lack originality and this theory could be applied here, as the program was released on Chanel 4 it conforms to a lot of the same conventions as their other shows, as its a gritty British drama, this helps the distribution as Chanel four can cater to their target audience and therefore maximise profit by creating a show that they know their audience will want to watch.

How have economic factors shaped Humans?

How have economic factors shaped Humans? 

Knee jerk reaction

Economic factors have shaped Humans to a significant degree

Plan

• "every media product exists for the sole purpose of making money"
• "Humans is a unconventional sci-fi drama"
• Mid budget show
• Channel 4
• AMC
• Transnational co-production, with a transnational audience
• Specialised industry
• Channel 4: commercial/public
• Relatable setting
• Persona synth trailer
• Themes of feminism: controversial themes, issues, and problems
• Sam Vincent Jonathan Brackley: creators
• £12million s1
• Postmodern themes! Hyperreality
• Innovative advertising campaign 
• Curran and Seaton - Power and profit
• Ideology: controversial
• Niche audience
• Diegetically situated marketing: augmented reality
• Appeals to a wider, yet fragmented audience
• Fandom
• Regulation: Sonia Livingstone and Perter Lunt
• Shown after watershed, with a BBFC 15, stops younger teenagers from watching

Example student answers

1

The only reason why every media product exists is to make money. Therefore, every media product must do what it can to be financially viable. Humans is a science fiction, alternate present TV show that was released by channel 4 in 2015. It conforms to this, being clearly influenced by the need to be profitable. This can be seen in a number of ways.

Firstly, it can be easily seen through the themes and ideologies that are encoded into it. Humans stays relevant to modern audiences by tackling pressing ideas such as robotics, sex work and slavery. These themes are current and relevant to modern audiences. This is shown off to its full extent when the older daughter watches an interview which is led by Krishnan Guru-Murthy - an actual journalist. The interview is about the synths and whether we should be concerned about them. This clearly demonstrates that Humans is trying to appeal to a modern audience by tackling relevant issues. Another way it does this is by setting the show in an alternative present. This is designed to make the audience feel that the world of the show is close to reality. It therefore makes it seem like a more pressing topic. This is done in order to draw in a larger audience than it might otherwise might have, and therefore it's able to be more profitable. By maximising profits, they are able to invest some of that money into the show, which will help it grow further. Humans was already a transnational production, with the backing of AMC (a powerful American conglomerate). This partnership allowed humans to be broadcast to a much larger audience, and make more money. This ties into Curran and Seaton’s theory of power and the media industries. They say that the media is controlled by a few large corporations, and that this limits their variety. 

Another way that this show maximises its profits is with it's diegetic advertising campaign. The persona synthetics adverts are designed to place the audience in the world of the show. They do this by advertising the synthetics as if the audience could actually buy one. They don't mention the TV show or show any characters or settings from the show. This approach was not limited to the trailers, however, as they set up a website, social media accounts and even eBay listings for synths that further heighten the realism. This is a postmodernist approach. Jean Baudrillard’s theory of postmodernism essentially says that the simulated and augmented version of reality that we see in the media has replaced reality, and it's no longer possible to distinguish between them. This is all done in order to peak the interest of people who might not have really responded to a more typical advertising campaign. 

The final way that Humans has been shaped by economic factors is in relation to its distribution. Distribution refers to the way in which media products are made available. Humans is made and distributed by channel 4, which is a very large and powerful company. They are well known for making unusual shows with adult themes. Humans fits this description very well, so it's clear that this was a typical production from that company. Therefore it's easy to argue that by building their reputation in this way, they've created a way to target their audience. If an audience member enjoys shows like Big Brother, Peep Show or The Inbetweeners then they are likely to continue watching the shows available on channel 4. They even have an app called All 4, which shows how this is compatible with digital convergence. This is designed to garner loyalty from consumers in order to maximise the amount of profit they can get from them.

In conclusion, Humans has been significantly shaped by economic factors. They have shaped what themes it tackles, making them relevant to modern audiences. They have shaped how it was marketed so that it could draw in a particular audience. They have even shaped how it's distributed so that the target audience has easiest access to it. Humans was made as a way of making money, like all media productions, so it's not at all surprising that economic factors have shaped it so heavily.

2

Every media product exists for the sole purpose of producing profit, and Humans is no different. The media industry is controlled by an increasingly small number of companies who are driven by profit and power, relating to Curran's and Seaton's theory of power, which argues that by concentrating media production into the hands of so few companies, there will be an increasing lack of variety, creativity and quality. However, the success of any piece of media relies strongly on its economic budget, as producers can freely create their products without the limitations on budget, leading to the end-production being of higher quality, increasing the chances of their work becoming economically successful. I shall be discussing the economic factors which have shaped the television program 'Humans' and explaining how these factors have either positively or negatively affected the series.

The series was announced in April 2014 as part of a partnership between Channel 4 and Xbox Entertainment Studios. However, after Microsoft closed Xbox Entertainment Studios, AMC came abroad as partners to Channel 4. Filming commenced in the Autumn of 2014, with the series premiering on the 14th of June in 2015, with a production budget of £12,000,000. The decision of partnering with the company AMC lead to Humans becoming more economically successful for several reasons. Firstly, Humans was a co-production between two different companies, which means that the risk was significantly lowered, as the production cost was split. Secondly, AMC is an American production company, which would make Humans a transnational-production, allowing for a transnational audience. This allowed for the show's viewership to significantly increase, which ultimately leads to more profit.

However, Humans came to a close in July 2018, due to the show losing audience attention. I personally believe that Humans budget was to blame, as the £12,000,000 budget would make the series a mid-budget show, meaning multiple limitations were put onto the producers. Firstly, the actors used for the characters of the show were not massively famous, actors such as Katherine Parkison (Laura Hawkins) or Collin Morgan (Leo Elster) do not attract celebrity fandoms. This relates to Richard Dyer's Star-theory, where celebrities are commodities manufactured by institutions and are used to relate to audiences and to sell the product. Secondly, Humans is a non-conventional science fiction series, which stereotypically should involve space exploration, advance science, and parallel universes. Humans takes place in London, an area audiences are already familiar with, leading to the lack of hermeneutic codes within the show. However, Steve Neale would argue that this would boost Humans successfulness, as he believes that producers rely on the audience's desire to see both repetition and difference of genre conventions, seeking out the familiar, while also seeking something vaguely new and different.

Humans is a non-conventional science fiction series, which limits the viewership as these genres appeal to a small percentage of individuals, making Humans a niche program. I believe that this was the main cause in the program's downfall and eventual cancellation, as the less audience attention and smaller fandom leads to less profit being generated. However, there were several reasons for the lack of audience attention. Humans was first broadcasted after the watershed, which would prevent younger audiences or early sleepers from watching the series. This relates to Sonia Livingstone's and Peter Lunt's theory of Regulation, 'regulation' referring to the rules and restrictions which every media industry has to abide, in order to protect vulnerable audiences from being exposed to harmful or offensive material, which strongly relates to Humans, as the series contains many adult themes from racism, sexism, rape and slavery.

In conclusion, I believe that the economic factors have significantly affected the outcome of the series Humans and that the show would become more successful if producers received more of a budget to produce the series.

Newspaper front pages Monday 11th January 2020:

Who is the target audience for each of these front pages?

How do these front pages appeal to their target audiences?

What ideologies are cultivated by these front pages?

Lockdown FAQs

Here's a list of questions and answers specifically related to working during the C19 pandemic. 

We totally recommend clicking here to check out this FAQ too, which goes over pretty much every non-covid related question you may have. It's super useful!

I am totally lost and I have forgotten everything we've ever done in media. Where do I even start revising?

First of all, remember that these are extremely stressful times, and absolutely everyone is in the same boat. It is normal to be stressed out and to feel lost, even when we're not in the middle of a pandemic. 

When starting something huge, it's best to start off small. I recommend starting by clicking right here to access 'the cheat sheet' which has five bullet point facts for literally every question which could come up. Read through it, and you'll be surprised by how much you actually remember. 

There, you've just started your revision. And you feel a little better!

Why are we bothering with exams when they've been cancelled?

While it seems that exams will not be going ahead for A-level students this year (2021), you will still be assessed. This is really important to understand. Your teacher will need to make a judgement about you, and will need to back this up with as much information as possible.

What can I do to improve my chances of getting the best possible grade?

I will give you the exact same advice I would give to any A-level student wanting to improve in the run-up to exams: complete additional past paper exam questions and submit them to your teacher.

How important is coursework this year?

VERY. While we don't know exactly what is happening with the submission of coursework, it really doesn't matter: coursework is extremely important to you lot. Make sure you get it completed to the highest possible standard, where possible, and make sure to complete the cover sheet and the Aims and Intentions essay as fully as possible.

What is our center number?

It's 22151!

What's the best way of getting in contact with my teacher?

Email, please. Teams has a message function, but we check our email more, and emails are way easier to respond to. Always email. Cheers.

Considering representations

Representations are...

Representations are not 'real'

Representations are a reconstruction of reality

Representations reflect the ideology of the producer

Representations reflect the dominant ideology of our society

Representations are a way in which those who are in power maintain their power

Writing about representation

1- Which group is being represented?


2 - How does media language construct this group?


3 - What message is being presented about this group?


4 - In what way might this impact the group being represented?

Newspaper front pages 07/01/2021: representation of an ongoing event

How are events represented through a combination of media language?

In what ways do the representations in these front pages make claims about realism?

Online learning: feedback and suggestions

 After the Prime Minister's announcement on Monday 4th January, it seems that we will be continuing online learning for some time now, at least until the February half term. As any teacher will tell you, online learning is not a patch on in-class learning. But we as teachers want to make the experience as enjoyable and useful as possible. 

Your teacher will ask you to discuss in small groups the following prompts, and you will share your feedback with your teacher. Hopefully we can use this feedback to improve the online experience and to create the very best lessons possible!

• Types of lesson - group work, individual work

• Use of video - YouTube resources

• Group discussions, class discussions

• Short group tasks (up to ten minutes) vs longer group tasks (30 minutes or more)

• Research tasks

• Group collaboration tasks over a series of lessons

• Quizzes

• Past paper questions

• Practical work: using mobile phone camera and other available resources

• Anything else?