Thursday 24 November 2011

What significance does the continuing development of digital media technology have for media institutions and audiences?

What you would discuss in response to this question-
1. How the media used to be

2. How it is now

3. How NME is now- converged- multi platform- 
SYNERGY - shockwaves music awards- upload photos- consumer website of the year,
CONVERGENCE- AUDIENCE- PROSUMERS- RUPERT MURDOCH QUOTE

4. WEB 2.0 - NMT's - Developments- STATS OF MAG CIRCULATION - HAS THIS DROPPED? WEB 2.0/WMT advantage disadvantages!

5. How the consumption is changing- changing audiences-

6. Appealing to more people now

7. How consumers can be prosumers now- how are they allowing consumers to be prosumers- examples from case studys can come into it. - PROSUMERS create user generated content - UGC.

8. How are they printed? really expensive, machines and ink, very outdated as soon as its printed and dated.

9. SOCIAL NETWORKS? twitter, need to give you things above and beyond what twitter can give you.

10. Globalisation. Need to meet needs of what every audience whats

11. Allowed to create fanzines.

12. Portable tablet with it on- phones, iphones, ipads, can happen really quickly.



Tuesday 22 November 2011

Closing Paragraph SECTION B

Draw all of essay together in one sentence, refer back to opening paragraph.

What is the future of the magazine industry?

Personal viewpoint and opinions.

Closing paragraph
Overall it is vital for the magazine industry to converge and keep conversing with their consumers to come up with new ways that upkeep with the ever-more expanding technology. However for survival they must keep their ideas unique and interesting, not simply present an online version of the magazine. In my opinion the magazine industry will survive, but the way in which it exists will not. With print versions of magazines soon fading into history and the use of WEB 2.0 to replace what the magazine industry once was.


OPENING PARAGRAPH- SECTION B

Begin with a clear argument about the new challenges facing the magazine industry incoporating how much audience consumption has changed due to digital technology/new media technologies/ the development of the internet (WEB 2.0)
You must state what area of the media industry you have studied- this can be embedded within your paragraph or state it obviously

'Technology is shifting power away from editor's, the publishers, the establishment, the media elite, now its the people who are taking control'' - Rupert Murdoch COULD USE THIS IN ESSAY- REVISE WORD FOR WORD.

My opening paragraph
As plenty of new digital technology rises, the audience consumption within the magazine industry has dramatically changed. This is impacting the media in the ways which magazines are produced, consumed and distributed. The development of Web 2.0 has allowed consumers to become prosumers and they're even more powerful in shaping the magazine industry than they were before. The magazine industry has had to converge and adapt to these new technologies, to ensure that they don't get left behind.

Thursday 17 November 2011

P-POINT

E-EVIDENCE

E-EXPLAIN



Exemplar response to Section B: Magazine Industry

In recent times the media industry has witnessed meteoric rise in new technologies.  The advancement of the internet, for example, as it entered its second phase enables consumers to access media in new and unparalleled ways.  For the magazine industry, this has presented both challenges and opportunities.

Print media is mostly in decline, a worry of course for producers of magazines.  Therefore they must assess just how important technological convergence is for helping their magazine to survive in the long run.

The Future Plc title Metal Hammer is a monthly rock and metal magazine, that has existed since 1994. In that time, Metal Hammer has built a reputation as a bible of both modern and traditional metal music. It’s publisher, Future, is an independent company with a portfolio of magazines aimed at niche market sectors.  As a whole, Future, has performed well in a declining market, with Metal Hammer and Classic Rock reporting increases in circulation, with Metal Hammer reaching a circulation of 50,269 and classic rock 70, 188 (ABC, Dec 08).  Perhaps Futures strategies involving technological convergence have something to do with this success.  One of their ‘pillars’ of business strategies  is to implore upon their existing convergences in order to further appeal to prosumers.  This is important; Future defines ‘prosumers’ as “young men or young-at-heart men (Future licensing.com). In general this demographic will be one of the most technologically involved, in the know about the latest technologies.  They are also, incidentally the most valuable demographics for advertisers.  In this respect, convergence is extremely important for Future and indeed Metal Hammer in retaining advertising revenue.  Advertising revenue has already fallen for Future, as they already saw a 15% drop in advertising from December 08-March 09 (futurelicensing.com, 2009).  It is therefore, vital that they use technological convergences to remain advanced enough to attract advertisers.

Metal Hammer’s target audience is a young audience, interested in music, “converging adults”, according to futurelicensing.com The National Readership survey 08, the latest available, shows Metal Hammer readers to be 64% male, average age 22.  Again, this is an audience that will be interested in many forms of media. So for Metal Hammer to maintain their loyalty they must fulfil their newly evolving needs (Uses and Gratifications, McQuail).

The Metal Hammer website is a demonstration of convergence, and has proved popular with nearly 60,000 individual visitors since starting (futurelicensing.com).  Alex’s web traffic analysis suggests that visitors are mostly male, aged between 18 and 24 and spend around 2.7 minutes on Metal Hammer.co.uk. Therefore the website has apparently targeted the right audience for Metal Hammer.  Users can interact, voting in polls such as “who has the best slipknot mask?”, giving users the sense that they are contributing to a community. They are also educated and entertained with video exclusives, Metallica Live, and Opeth on tour.  In this way convergence maintains interest in the Metal Hammer brand.  Web 2.0 allows users to submit and generate a content, so Metal Hammer has competition in that users can go elsewhere for such videos .  It is up to Convergence in order to provide the best service for users.

Metal Hammer has also had successful synergies created as a result of convergence.  On 2008, Metal hammer.co.uk encourages users to send in photos taken on their mobiles of them playing “Guitar Heroes”, combining the internet with mobile technology.  The guitar hero synergy  combined with a party sponsored by Metal Hammer at the O2 (Metal Hammer.co.uk), Podcasts have allowed content to be sent faster than ever to multi-media formats.

Indeed, distribution is an interesting issue to consider for the magazines industry.  The internet, podcasts and video channels allow readers to access their wanted content within seconds.  Where as hard copies of a magazine must be ordered or brought from a shop. Indeed it could be suggested that the gathering of content from the internet or mobile has replaced the need for buying the magazine itself, as subscriptions for Metal Hammer rose 8% from Dec-march 09 (futurelicensing.co.uk) suggesting there is not the same novelty when buying a magazine. 

However, whilst technological convergence is important for the magazine industry, publishers must consider that the extra content offered to consumers via convergences in technology, could replace the magazine itself.  IPC’s NME is an example of this as circulation dropped 24.1%, whilst its website has been praised for the amount of content on offer.  Metal Hammer has a unique community created by the interacting mode of address; ‘Join the Crusade’ and writing style filled with expletives ‘F*** You!’, readers of Metal Hammer feel a string sense of unrivalled community within the magazine.  The magazine sticks close to its ideologies of anti-establishment , avant-garde by  featuring adverts appropriate to his such as Attitude Clothing and HMV Metal, whilst the website has adverts by O2, Orange and T-mobile.

Overall techno convergence is important as consumers needs alter and change but for the magazine industry to survive they must make any technological advancements not a replacement for the hard copy of the magazine as Future have so far successfully done.  As online advertising reached 18% for future it is important.

Monday 14 November 2011

Section B- TERMINOLOGY

Remember lots of different media terms and statistics


WEB 2.0
is what we know the Internet to be now- a two way communication between the sender and the receiver


PROCUMER
A procumer is a combination of the words:
-Producer
-Consumer
With the advancements of technology it is possible for us all to be film producers and distributors (Youtube).. because of this we ask more and expect more from media texts...
*You will need to be able to discuss how NME and Metal Hammer allow audiences to be prosumers!!*


CONVERGENCE
Technological convergence: When multiple products come together to form one product with the advantages of all of them. Example: NME website- articles from the physical magazine but you can also listen to NME radio station! MULTIPLATFORM approach

Media Convergence:
When old and new media intersect in such a way that the way in which media producers and consumers interact changes.
Magazine example: 'Communities' have been created on websites to share, tips, stories, reviews and expriences of music and upload photographs. Consumers can become prosumers and actuually be part of the construction of the magazine.


SYNERGY
The interaction of two or more forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects
In the context of the media it can be the promotion and sale of a product (and all its versions) throught the various subsidiaries of a media conglomerate. For example, films, soundtracks or video games. To give a detailed example the spider man films had toys of webshooters and figures of the characters made, as well as posters and videogames, this resulted in the creation of more revenue for the creators of the Spider Man franchise than if they had just released the one film.
Magazine example: NME Radio station/sponsorship of festivals and events= Synergised marketing.
The advacement of technoligies has also allowed for greater synery. For NME, the tweets and Facebook updates and RSS feeds encourage listeners of the podcast. The podcast drives subsribers to the website. The website drives fans to the free info. The links among all thse activities become the synergy where activity in one area improves the entire experience


VIRAL MARKETING
A marketing technique aiming at reproducing ''word of mouth'', usually on the internet and through existing social networks. Best form of advertising. Trust friends.


Guerrilla Marketing:
Definition: The use of unconventional and low cost marketing strategies to raise awareness of a product. E.g Putting up 'wanted' posters/comissiong works of graffiti
Need to look whether NME has produced anything unique like that


UGC
Any content that has been generated by the user/consumer.
Magazine example: music reviews; forums; blogging; podcasting


USP
Unique Selling Point
Making a product diffent from a competitor/another product in the same market; making it unique.


POD
Point of difference
Differentiating a product from another; making it unique; the actual way in which a product is different from another in the same market.
Example sentence; the USP and perhaps the POD of NME compared to Metal Hammer is that they offer a multi-platform website that allowes consumers to surf their site; whilst listening to the radio


UPB
Unique Percieved Benefit
What the consumer believe they will get from that product; what do the consumers believe they will gain/benefit from using the product?
This could be linked to mainstream/niche magazines; the community created through forums etc; therefore resulting in loyal customers


TERMINOLOGY
Loyal customers/brand loyalty:
Consumer commitment to re-purchase the same brand/the same magazine; NME consumers are extremely loyal and trust the brand to be truthful and to meet their needs

Proliferation:
A rapid increase in the number of a certain type of product- eg amount of TVS in our house

Multi-platform:
A multi platform series is a form of entertainment where the story is told over a range of media platforms; such as magazines, radio station, videos, podcasts

Vertical Integration:
Absorption of several firms into a single firm involved in all aspects of a products manufacture from raw materials to distribution. For example; Rockstar Games have become a vertically integrated company by buying developers they have previouslty worked with, such as DMA Design who became Rockstar North and Angel Studios who became Rockstar San Diego. By doing this Rockstar have control over development, funding and marketing of their products.

Monday 7 November 2011

Magazine research and notes

Do they have a future both as a product as well as online?
I think magazines still have a future, a study in the US shows that 95% of adults read magazines and 75% of teens do. I think in the future magazines could increase popularity by having online sites, as theses sites contain videos and links to pictures and websites, which would be incredibly hard to show in a magazine. However 'Sugar'- the top selling teenage girl magazine is around the 59 thousand mark in the global rank of sites visited. Whereas as 'Now' magazine has beat it at around the 40 thousand mark. This goes to show that just because they're a popular magazine doesn't mean they can get they're readers to go online very easily.
http://www.teennowmagazine.co.uk/fun-stuff





Questionairre to ask:

Do you still read magazines?

How often? Eg weekly, monthly or a few times a year?

What age group would you say the magazine you read is aimed at?

What type of magazine do you read? Eg sports, fashion

What is the magazine you read?

Have you ever read a magazine online before?

Section B Exam

Need to be able to compare mainstream magazine (IPC MEDIA- NME) with a niche magazine (FUTURE PLC- METAL HAMMER).
This will allow you to produce a comprehensive comparison between how larger and smalle institutions work- this is suggested as a beneficial approach by examiners.


Example of possible questions
How important is technological convergence for institutions and audiences?

With reference to your chosen case study consider how important interactivity is to media institutions?

What has the impact of increased connectivity been on the media production, distribution and exhibition process?

Magazine Instituion

To succeed in this section of the Key Media Concepts exam you need to develop a case study on two music magazines published by two institutions within the contemporary magazine industry and distrubuted in the UK.

The focus will be on how this magazine is produced, distributed (promoted and sold in print format online), exhibited and consumed (suscribef to, purchased or downloaded). The importantce of advertising will be a major feature

Thursday 3 November 2011

Clip that reflects an ethnic representation

Shameless
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFqTw6j6wzk

This is a clip I found that conforms to the stereotype of Asians 'running a corner shop'. However, in some ways it challenges the stereotype, as we think of Asians of having very busy houses with lots of family, so the fact that nobody is in his house and he has a free house, challenges this aspect.

Regional Identity

What is regional identity?
Regional identity is identifying a persons identity which is rooted not only to the setting of the film but also speech, costumes etc and in the region they live in.

How can you identify regional identity?
-Setting
-Accents
-Dialogue
-Props
-Make up
-Class of characters
-Costumes
-Etc

Representation of Ethnicity

Stereotypes

Asian:
Rich, business people, religous, they're often portrayed as terrorists or making curry. Own cornershops. Big families all in one house with lots of relatives. Either portrayed as really positively (business, rich) or the other extreme negatively, (terrorists).

Travelles (Gypsies):
Are typically Irish/foreign. People associate them with fun fairs, living in caravans, taking over peoples land and destroy it. Make a mess an steal. Lacking in education. Wear vests + jeans, mess everywhere, sometimes long hair. Women wear big dresses and hooped gold earrings. Tell fortunes.

Polish people: cheap labour. Poor. Have young families. Own kebab, chicken, pizza shops. Take all of our jobs. e.g builders.


Examples of stereotypes

Gypsies:
In waterloo road, they moved their caravans onto the school grounds, many people were unhappy and they confronted them with conflict. Caused many problems and the police got involved.
Also in the Simpsons, Homer's house got taken over by gypsies, had to fight way in a drive them out.
These two examples only represent a small number of gypsies, but these stereotypes paint a negative picture when realistically we know they are not all bad.

Polish people:
In Coronation street, two polish girls who Carla employed. Both illegal immigrants and one of them died so Carla covered it up and hid her body. Other one, caried on working, no one liked her. She was a good worker, tried to make friends. After a while people began to like her and she was then treated like everyone else.
Show stereotypical views can be changed.

Asian people:
Masoods in Eastenders have their own business which is typical of a Muslim family. Own a curry place and are good at making it, which is a typical representationof an Asian family. They speak in a typical Indian accent.
Indeed the Masoods have recently been praised as one of the most realistic 'ethnic' families to have ever inhabited soap land. Subjected to typical storylines; being subjected to racist ttacks
We also have seen one of them realsie he is gay, bends the stereotypical view on Muslims.

'Brown race'
General term used to describe the category of South Asian races, though there are several countries who make up most of this area. Indians are stereotyped.
Indians are the 'comic relief' for dominant white culture, including ridiculing other countries such as Sri Lanka or Bangladesh



Bend it like beckham
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsmbObwStSQ
Emphasizes the overarching patriarchal structure of Indian people, stereotypes it
Indian people are portrayed to be culturally backward, as compared to Westen sensibilites
Cannot escape the illusion of typical Indians


Tessa Perkins
She said that all stereotypes have a BIT of truth, which makest them plausible. Eg: she said that most terrorists are muslim BUT; not all Muslims are terrorists.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivd0oXr5f-g&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFhzFRoiM3Q&feature=related STEREOTYPE- NORMALLY VIEWED NEGATIVELY
Positive representations called- corrective stereotypes, where NEW ideas are created about a previous group to change our view about them.


Race:
-Typical asian woman- 'doctors or accountants/not artists'
-Black man- 'being lazy, promiscous, bad fathers and obsessed with rap'

-Black women were obsessed with how much money a man earned and were 'straight laced' compared to white women when it came to sex.

Asian people- perceived as invaders or karate experts

Hispanic people- comics, banditos or gang members
Native americans- Savages, victims, cowards, or medicine men

Middle east- seen as terrorists or oil sheiks. In video games 79%shown verbally and physically agressive compared to 57% of white males.

''On TV, black people are depicited as poor nearly twice as much as often as their true incidence''
''Black people tend to be stereotyped as criminal''
''Black people are stereotyped as late arrivers''
''White people can't dance''.


Black people
Usually linked to black men, Crime, Living in slums, On welfare, Need help from community, Less intelligent ,Over sexual

White people
Dumb blondes, Greedy, Materialistic, Businessmen , Middle/upper class, Posh/ well spoken

Asian people
Doctors, Engineers, Mathematicians, Newsagents- small businesses – entrepreneur, Ignorant, Extremely smart people, Men are threats to white women, Insensitive, Disrespectful towards women

Tuesday 1 November 2011

REPRESENTATION OF SEXUALITY

Stereotypical representations of gay men
Flamboyant
Camp
Dramatic
Fashion orientated
Get on better with girls
Outspoken
Bitchy
Care about their appearance
Pet names
Dialogue- wise about relationship
'Social worker' 'Gossip' 'Nosy'- of the office
Hairdresser
Make up artist
Fashion designer
Receptionist
Air hostess

Heterosexual men
Stern
Strong
Muscly
Angry
Physical job of a builder, firemen

Stereotypical representations of gay women
Butch
Short hair
No make-up
Wear manly clothes
Mechanic
Sports teacher
Don't tend to wear dresses
'After any women' assumption

Hetrosexual women
Glamorous
Pretty
Attractive
Make up
High heels
Office job
Marketing director
Teacher
Housewife
Positioned in the family
Or opposite ^ represented to be very sexual

PEE, STRUCTURE ESSAY

POINT- your comment about the area of representation
e.g Youth is represented through diegetic sounds

EVIDENCE- your micro element that tells us this
e.g The dialogue is colloquial

EXPLAIN- link the two
This conforms to a stereotypical view of young teenagers, that they are rebellious in speaking their own language.

REPRESENTATION OF AGE

Positive and negatives of youth and old age


Positives & negatives of old age:
Positive
Caring
Family orientated
Sweet
Lots of time to do what they want
Pensions
Seats given up
Help to cross the road
Help with shopping bags
People generally nice to them
Own freedom
Wisdom
Unsuspicous of old people
Trusting

Negative
They're Frail
Weak
Be very Forgetful
Often ill
Be disrespected
Underestimated about abilities
Health
Vunerable
Scared for safety
Set in their ways
Easy target for crime
Victims
Fragile
Sometimes mentally incompetent
Not in control of old body
Lonely
Dependant


Positive & negative of youths
Positive
Whole life ahead
Long future
More of a social life
Active
Strong
Physically able
Adventurous
Free willing
Less of  a sense of danger

Negatives
Less respected
Less freedom
Naive
Shown as very dangerous
Can be very rude
Lazy
Hormonal
Vunerable
Dependant




MISE EN SCENE
Elderly- Bland clothing for old people, covered up, grey hair, glasses, walking sticks, comfortable shoes, shawl, talcum powder, perms.
Middle age- Bit more scruffy if they're a mother, would be represented in suits, looking proffessional, look like they care about themselves.
Youth- school uniform, fashionable hair, lots of make-up. Wear brands like Adidas,Topshop, Primark.


CINEMATOGRAPHY
Elderly- Play with depth of focus to reflect their eyesight. Shallow depth of field.
Close ups might be used to show all the wrinkles on thier faces.
Youth- Canted angles to show drunkness, or drug abuse. Over the shoulder to show gossip or following them to mug them.



SOUND
Elderly- shuffling feet on floor sounds, grunting. Dialogue that reflects their aches and pains. Tutting at young people. Slower old music. Lots of quiet, foley sound could be used, to suggest peace and tranquility.
Youth- Slang dialogue. Verbal abuse. Cursing. Music is going to be much faster.


EDITING
Elderly- Editing is going to be slow paced, quite boring, reflect on their lives, more likely to get reaction shots from older people- more important/wise.
Youth- Short sequences, jump cuts to show lively active life



SKINS CLIP

running active
in pubs having fun, excited at everything
sqwaring very giggly
demanding for more drink, drunk
getting looks
[;aying cards
hazy behind them- canted angles
out of focus
violence- bloody nose- what the enjoy doing
thrown through glass
police officers
youth on the run
lots of smoke following them
everyone looks at them when they walk in, gives them dodgy looks0 shows theyre being looked down, shallow focus, only focusing on them,
he's kissing her in an alleyway, don't care where they get it on, almost like animals- no shame
Diegetic sound of things smashing and sirens, and chaos, shows that that is what takes over a teenagers life, things you're going to hear when teenagers are around.


There is diegetic sound of bottles and glass smashing and sirens and chaos (though this is probably foley sound), over the non diegetic music. This shows that this is what is most commonly found in a teenagers life and these are the negative sounds you're going to hear when teenagers are around. It also shows how unpredictable teenagers are, going from laughing one minute and smashing the place up the next minute.
The camera angles are canted, to show they're on drugs and drunk, which gives the connotation of how irresponsible they are. A lot of the cuts are in shallow focus, focusing on the teenagers with the background blurry, to show how un-aware they are of everything else going on because they're so drunk.