Study Resources- section B

 STUDY RESOURCES

AUDIENCES IN THE DIGITAL AGE

·      Digital media - media created, stored, and/or distributed electronically

·       Digitalization has also created technological advances that allow audiences to construct several types of relationships with media products and producers.

·       me institutions produces media texts, must distribute them to the audience and the method of viewing/reading (exhibition) must be considered

·      Digital media also allows audiences to have a more proactive relationship with institutions, and they can be seen to be more active

SYNERGY AND CONVERGENCE

·      Vertical integration: Is the term used to describe a company owning more than one step in the supply process of a particular product

·      A media conglomerate is a large company that includes several smaller companies (or subsidiaries).

·      These companies may be involved in hugely different areas, but they are all under the ‘umbrella’ of the conglomerate.

·      Vertical integration, to the extent where a company can make a film, do all of its marketing and show it at a cinema chain owned by the conglomerate, is less common now than it was in the past

·      Horizontal integration Is much more common than vertical integration and is when a conglomerate owns several companies at the same level in the supply process (but not necessarily all connected with producing the same type of product)

·      Many of the major media institutions will own several companies that specialize in several types of media that can all be used to distribute a particular product.

·       acquisitions or companies which have been sold. Make sure you check the details of your case study to ensure the information you have for the exam is correct

·      The fact that media institutions are vertically and / or horizontally integrated and the existence of digital media technologies mean that convergence is made possible. Convergence is the term used to describe how technology has brought together previously separate media channels.

·      Convergence can also be seen in the film industry. In the past, film-making involved images being recorded onto celluloid film that would then be physically cut and stuck together in the editing process.

·      The concept of synergy is closely linked to convergence as the ‘coming together’ of the separate companies associated with different technologies within a conglomerate allow for synergy to happen.

·      Synergy is the process through which media products derived from the same text are promoted in and through each other and throughout the subsidiaries of a media conglomerate.

CROSS MEDIA

·      E-media has provided new opportunities for media producers to raise awareness of their products, create positive audience reaction and in turn maximize their potential success.

·      Media institutions are using e-media more as a marketing medium

·      Film and Tv use a range traditional methods of advertising and e-media

·      Viral marketing is ’word of mouth ’promotion of a product is encouraged by creating activities for the audience to take part in that then encourages them to spread the word to other potential audience members.

·      Media producers can use these platforms to arouse interest, create awareness, develop brand loyalty, and generate viral marketing.

VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION

·      Vertical integration- when a company oversees the planning and creation of a product, through to the marketing, advertising, and distribution and then on to the retail of the product to the public

·      Production-this includes writing, planning and the creation of the product

·       Distribution- taking the finished product to the retailer and marketing the product

·      Exhibition- the point at which the product is sole to the customer

·      Vertically integrated companies: Warner Brothers, Paramount, RKO, MGM, 20th century Fox

·      Vertical integration allows studios to achieve control over the entire film industry

·      House style- own way of mass-producing films, Warner Brothers hired a European area director to develop a low-key lighting style for the set

·      Vertical integration and the information it provided allowed the studios to construct texts which met audience needs

·      Uses and Gratifications

·      Horizontal integration- achieving ownership of several different forms of media at once and the studio becomes a multi-media conglomerate

·      Different forms of media work together to increase profits.

·      A horizontally integrated company owns or has shares in lots of different companies and the companies can be used to produce, market and supply products

·      H integrated company involved with different forms of production such as DVD, CD, book, games, so they make a profit form all the formats of the product

·      Films are marketed and distributed in such a way that they can please people in several ways

·      High concept product- aims to construct audiences for a product in different formats and encourages those audiences to cross over into different media formats.

·      High concept helps encourage audiences to experiment with synergy

·      Synergy- the relationship between two or more separate media texts or products that share similar characteristics so that one helps market the other.

MEDIA AUDIENCES

·      Direct effect theories- ideas that view the media as having a direct effect on the ideas, attitudes, and behaviors of the audience

·      Hypodermic syringe theory-makes simplified judgements about the audience, criticism, ideology, attitude or value from text, audience belief or behavior

·      Syringe theory used to scapegoat

·      Scapegoating-when a. Simple reason is blamed for a specific action or event

·      Cultivation theory-the way the media affects attitudes rather than behavior

o   Through repetition attitudes, ideas and values may become normalized

o   Audience may become desensitized

·      Diffusion theory- the influence media may have but concentrate on the personalized way audiences access texts and consider the influence other people may have

·      Two-step theory- we often access media texts with other os if alone we may well talk about our media experiences with our friends and family later.

o   Opinion leader-people who respects their opinion

·      Indirect effect theory- media may affect people but focuses on the fact that people respond differently to media texts and images an the environment we are in may be a part of that

·      Reception analysis-no text has one single meaning

·      Dominant reading-an acceptance of the intended meaning

·      Negotiated reading- broad acceptance of the intended meaning but with some personal modification

·      Oppositional reading-understanding of the Intended meaning but a rejection of it in favor of one created by the individual

·      Pluralism-media institutions as free to present whatever point of view they wish and audiences being equally free to choose from the ideas and representations available

HBO

·      On February 1st, 2011, Sky launched a new channel called Sky Atlantic

·      network broadcasters: These are broadcast and production companies that are freely available across America. They produce their own shows and buy in shows produced by other production companies. They broadcast a range of programs including movies, entertainment, sports, game shows, reality television and news.

·      Syndication is the term given to the sale of the rights to show network productions to other broadcasters (also called affiliates)

·      cable broadcasters: These are production and broadcast companies that are only available in the US by subscription. Cable broadcasters do run advertising, but their income is supplemented by subscription feel

·      network shows are more comforting and reassuring

·      cable shows take commitment and demand loyalty

·      network shows can get a new audience while their running

·      cable shows have an audience that must be prepared to buy DVDs or watch reruns

NETFLIX

• Netflix is available across a range of devices, including smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and internet enabled television.
• Example of technological convergence, where two or more technologies combine in one new device/platform/application
• Netflix technological convergence gives greater pleasure to the audience through increased accessibility and convenience for the user
• VOD: video on demeaned, the on demand streaming of moving image texts
• On demand streaming media is a constant transmission of data via the internet. Data is available for immediate playback instead of being a file download. Much faster consumption of data as long as internet is fast.
• Netflix used to rely on user rations for personalized recommendations, but the algorithms did not take into consideration that a wide-ranging audience of differing tastes, ages, and interest uses one login.
• Netflix wants to offer greater individual personalization instead of household.
• Personalization is a key element to the success of Netflix, as they need to keep existing users happy as well as attract new users.
• Offering audiences the increased personalization offers the gratifications of personal identity and social interaction.
• The profiles will enable Netflix to gather more detailed information about its subscribers and their viewing habits. Enable institutions make more informed choices about films and tv programmed to offer.
•  Netflix has led the way in developing VOD services through their acquisition of original content for distribution.
• Original drama was produced and distributed through tv networks and institutions.
• You cannot maintain the episodic nature of a tv series on a broadcast if you are premiering all episodes online at once, but Netflix does not have the constraint of multi-platforms, so there’s freedom. To exploit the immediacy of E-MEDIA
• Binge-watch is to watch multiple episodes of a television program in rapid succession. Used since 1990 but was really used since 2013
• Horror thriller engages the audiences’ desire to resolve the enigmas, so they are likely to watch 2 or 3 episodes at once.

SUPERHEROES

• The superhero film has proved to be one of the most financially
  lucrative genres in modern Hollywood
• Superhero films p as reactionary and conservative
• Genres provide a clear framework for production, so institutions find them useful. Genres use codes and conventions, and so institutions can write their stories and create the look and feel of their products with an awareness of what has gone before.
• If the codes are repeated and followed too closely, audiences may find the product clichéd and boring. On the other hand, if the institution subverts the codes and conventions to provide the audience with something unexpected, they could fail to meet the audience’s expectations and cause disappointment
• genres exist within the context of ‘economic relations and practices’ so institutions are always tying to find a balance between familiarity and innovation when creating genre texts. This is to try to maximize the possibility of success. This creates a relationship between institution and audience and the way a genre is approached by the audience and the institution is based on a negotiation between the two.
• Genre is a key concept within media language that should form the bedrock of your analysis. At A2 you should begin looking at genre critically, linking it with other theoretical approaches, such as structuralism
• The superhero genre must fit in with the dominant values of the day if audiences are going to be able to relate to such a fantastical story
• Superhero’s comics first became popular in the 1930’s. Superheroes appeared in animated and live action serials at the cinema as early as
  the 1940s
• Genres replicate cultural myths and fears and by addressing them within stories a culture is able to play out those fears and concerns
• Genres offer ideological reassurance when the narratives offer a resolution that addresses these fears and especially when the fears are overcome.
• Conventional superhero texts tend to show the hero defeating the enemy, so this is often seen as one of the more reassuring of genres

• Schatz says that during the innovative and classical parts of a genre’s development, genres are ‘transparent’ - that is the audience does not see the genre, rather they ‘look through it’ to the story being told. During the parody and deconstruction phases genres become ‘opaque’ - audiences look at the form itself. They are aware of the genre rather than just the story being told. Deconstruction is a crucial time because if there is no successful deconstruction of the genre there cannot be a return to innovation and the genre may (sometimes temporarily) disappear as it cannot move beyond parody, Sometimes a genre disappears for a while and then comes back at the innovation stage (horror has done this many times). Sometimes a genre struggles to re-innovate itself and then it can struggle to find an audience.

 

REPRESENTATION

• Before the 20th century, woman had lower status in society, most media would be made by men, desires and pleasures of male audience were prioritized in media even if target was females, and representation of women fell into categories that focused on relationships to men and they were placed in a domestic sphere
• Gender theory has begun to research the way men are represented and the impact of the ideas of masculinity
• Masculinity is the dominant set of values that define the ideals of male behavior.
• Key masculine traits of early 20th century include head of household, family depended on him, responsible and reliable, breadwinner, etc.
• In the Uk in 1972 a law was passed that made it illegal to pay women less than men if they were doing the same job became illegal to discriminate against women
• 1960s-1970s: divorce became more popular, contraceptive pill became more available, women have active social lives, traditionally masculine working practices declined, and economy started to rely on service industry and technology.
• Modern culture has been called feminized because of factors like feminine traits being seen to have more value and it is argued that masculinity is in crisis in modern culture.
• Since 1980s Action Genre been very popular with audiences. The action hero is a specific representation of masculinity
• Characters depicted by actors such as Stallone, a Schwarzenegger etc.
• Representations of masculinity in modern films can be seen as reactions to changes in masculine society.
• In some modern texts the idea of masculine identity is challenged and questioned
• Conventional action films attempt to reinforce the binary oppositions of ideas of gender identity

GENDER IN FILM

·      Women in society had/have lower status

·      Masculinity-the dominant sets of values that define the ideals of male behavior

·      Masculinity dominants -the action hero

·      Representation of masculinity in modern film texts can be seen to be reactions to changes in masculine society in the wider social and economic context.

 

 STUDY RESOURCES

Media production, distribution, and exhibition

·      Films can be both” high art” and” mass entertainment"

·      Average Hollywood film in 20l7 was $70 million

·      Film comes from imagination and hard work of filmmakers, complex machines that record image and sound, companies and individuals that pay for them

·      Production-making a movie

·      Distribution-releasing the movie

·      Exhibition-showing the movie in theatres, DVD, etc

·      Production-scriptwriting and funding, preparation for filming (preproduction), shooting, assemble (postproduction)

·      Producer deals with financing and organization, scriptwriting, obtains financing, arranges to hire personnel, arranges distributions, promotions, marketing, pay backs investors

·      Screenwriter writes screenplay, conducts revisions and rewrites

·      Production details shape the final form of a film

·      studio-company in the business of creating films

·      Stars and staff are no longer under contract; each film is its own distinct packsge

·      Exploitation films are low budget and tailored to a particular market

·      Exploitation production forces people to double up on jobs

·      Independent films-made for the theatrical market, but usually without major financing

·      Pros of independent filmmaking; more creative control, treat subjects major studios would ignore, more personal/controversial, less viewership

·      Cons; difficult to finance, distribution not guaranteed, low prospects for raising massive profits

·      Small scale production- single person or small groups may plan, finance, and produce the whole film

·      Very little division of labor, filmmaker assumes most roles

·      Small scale production can be collective

·      YouTube and Vimeo have made small scale production more popular

·      The way a film is produced can affect its categorization

·      Modes of productions affect how we grant authorship for a film

·      The director is considered the author of a large-scale film

·      Auteur is a term generally applied to a filmmaker with a distinctive vision

·      Distribution companies are the center of economic power in the film industry

·      The major distributors are so powerful because they have the capital to endure financial risks

·      90% of the first week's gross, dropping eventually to 30%

·      Distributor takes about 35% of the ticket sales

·      Producers must usually wait until ancillary proceeds to earn their share

·      Platforming - the film opens in a few big cities, then spreads if successful

·      wide-release- the film opens in many cities and towns

·      Distributor provides a marketing campaign

·      Merchandising is another form of revenue

·      cross-promotion-allows a film and product line to be advertised simultaneously

·      Theatrical exhibition-screening to a public that pays admission

·      Nontheatrical exhibition- home video cable streaming etc

·      A theatrical exhibition alternative to movie theatres is the film festival

·      Films make more money from ancillary markets

·      25% of their revenue from ticket sales, 70% from home video, and the rest from merchandising

·      Internet also democratized film exhibition

 

Media Buying Habits

·      The media industries are groupings of organizations producing both physical goods (magazines, DVD,  video games) and live experiences (film screening)

·      Subscribing to any news apps

·      Buy CDs

·      Have a television set

·      A media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, theme parks, or the internet

·      Operate across national boundaries

·      Owned by shareholders and managed by managerial business class

·      Media conglomerates seek diversification operating in as many different media industries as possible

·      Operate across media sectors and perhaps other industrial secotors

 

 

 

Representation in media

·      Representation- how media texts deal with and present gender, age, ethnicity, national and regional identity, social issues and events to an audience

·      Media texts shape and audiences understanding of these topics

·      Construction, the way a media text is put together, editing, camera angles, mise-en-scene

·      Selection-refers to what has been selected to include in a media text

·      Stereotypes-simplified representation of a person, groups of people or a 0lace through basic or obvious characteristics

·      Ideology- ideas and beliefs, held by media producers, which are often represented in their media texts