Unit 1 - Media Products and Audiences

Psychographics is a way of profiling audience members based on personal beliefs, values, interests and lifestyle.  Below gives you a comparison between this and demographics.

  When we talk about a  mainstream  audience we are usually referring to the audience of a product that has mass appeal and a large audience, such as blockbuster  films etc. When we talk about a  niche  audience we are usually referring to a media product that has a small/specific audience.  A magazine for something like model railways would be for a niche audience. Mainstream: Mainstream as so many people watch TV and it's a very common occurrence in everyday life. Each magazine is £2.40 Niche: Classic Bike as not everyone are into bikes. Each magazine is £2.83

Four common misrepresentation of ethnicity Dangerous: Exotic: Pitied: Humorous:  

• Misrepresentation of ethnicity is common. • Theorist  Stuart Hall  argued that representations often focus on ‘otherness’,  for example, emphasising difference or foreignness.   A Problematic representation of race: A Positive representation of race: A Problematic representation of gender: A Positive representation of gender: A Problematic representation of age: A Positive representation of age:

 

 Zombie Horror conventions in the clip: - Tight community of protagonists - Isolation - Contrast editing (slow and fast) - Urban, but deserted, locations - subverted - Survival - Focus on head to kill a zombie - Less well lit / low lighting Comedy conventions in the clip: - Usually suburban setting - Well lit and natural We can see that the film 'Shaun Of The Dead' is a hybrid of a horror and a comedy film. We see this in the 'Don't stop me know scene' as a convention is the use of lighting as the  lighting is mixed with many places in the scene being darker than others, applying a sense of contrast between the two genres that can change very quickly. The darkness shows the tension of a horror film along with the shadows of the zombies. The scene features a lot of jump cuts making the pace of the scene feel faster along with the timing and use of the diabetic sound of 'Don't stop me now' by Queen. Another micro feature that is used in the scene to show h...

 

  Genres develop over time.     The change is split into stages: • Classical -  original piece developing the initial codes • Experimental – moving beyond the expectations from classic and introducing new, but logical elements. • Parody – Using comedic elements to change the tone, these were often used in the most unexpected places • Hybrid – fusing with other genres

  Neale believes that films of a type (genre, like romance or horror) should include features that are similar, so the audience know it is a horror film or romance, but also include features that are different, to keep an audience interested.   Audiences like genres because:      •  Allows them to make informed choices      •  Allows them to understand a text more readily      •  Offers familiarity and comfort Producers like genre because:      •     Guarantees a degree of success      •  Easier to target an audience      •  Provides a tool box for them to experiment with Call of Duty: Zombies has repetition and difference. The repetition is the first person shooter but it does something different by introducing a game mode where you have to survive rounds of zombies; the zombies also includes different wonder weapons, perks and ...

Genre offers audiences ‘a set of pleasures’, such as: If you think about a genre such as horror, this will offer audiences visceral pleasure of both excitement and fear, whereas crime or thrillers may offer an intellectual puzzle. •Emotional pleasures – does the text make the audience happy, sad, nostalgic, etc? This video is emotional pleasure as it induces happiness •Visceral pleasures – ‘gut’ responses, such as excitement, fear, laughter. This is visceral pleasure as it may induce excitement and potentially fear •Intellectual puzzles – Does the text make the audience think? This is intellectual as it makes the audience think about what Baby is doing and the music is timed with door slams etc

  "Using a media product you have studied, explain how one of the production techniques (either camerawork, sound or mis-en-scene) are used to support the narrative of the product" The 'GLOW' episode, 'Freaky Tuesday' uses a few editing techniques to create a narrative. The first 2 minutes are a gradual montage, the pace quickens as it shows her days as a wrestler. It uses straight cuts to show how repetitive her daily routine is. We see equilibrium of her wrestling daily and the preparation that is entailed using Todorov. The disruption is her having immense back pain, this gets noticed by her and she temporarily resolves this by taking painkillers. However, when she sneezes her back goes.

Camerwork: - Pan down to close up - focuses on Tamme's face - establishes her as main character (at least for this episode). - Static close up on tablets and wine - establishing that Tamme is in pain and using tablets and wine to numb it - Several Mid Shots - Tamme wrestling - this  is what is causing her pain - Extreme close up - Tamme's eyes - pain and stress; she's struggling Sound: - Non-diegetic music - introduces the scene, is full of repetitive musical phrases which mirrors the nature of Tamme's repetitive work - doing the same wrestling show over and over - Pleaonastic sound - tablets and bottle noises are emphasised in post-production - draws attention to them as Tamme's coping mechanism - Sound bridge - wrestler screams over scenes with Tamme getting ready - suggests that the screams also link to Tamme's pain - Diegetic sneeze - this cuts the music and is followed by Tamme swearing - draws emphasis to the pain and lets the audience know she...

 Todorov: Equil: Tamme's daily routine of wrestling  Disruption: Back Pain (already taken place) Recognition: knows she's in pain (already taken place) Attempt to repair: Self-medicating with wine and pain killers New equilibrium: injured back, following gradual deterioration and a sneeze Editing Techniques Straight Cuts: a transition from one shot to another, with no effects . Jump Cuts: a jump cut is  an edit to a single, sequential shot that makes the action appear to leap forward in time . After the cut, the subject may appear in a different position or attitude, or the camera position may be slightly different. 1. Montage 2. Pace of Editing 3. Continuity Editing 4. Straight Cuts 1. Todorov 2. Propp Discuss how editing techniques contribute to creating narrative with references to a digital media product and theories you have studied. Use examples to support your answer The 'GLOW' episode, 'Freaky Tuesday' uses various editing techniques to create a narrativ...