L05: Be able to evaluate research data used by media instructions

Product reach

Media companies often expect that mass media product have a large audience reach. this means the product is more likely to be successful and will make profit through sales numbers. However, the main reason that these companies conduct research to find out how many people consume the product within a given reach. 

Organization such as BARB and RAJAR carry this out for companies in the TV and radio whereas the NRS collect Circulation and readership data for publishing and print companies.

Circulation:

The number of people who purchase a print product. 

Readership: 

The number of people who read a print product as part of secondhand consumption.

Audience feedback:

This allows media companies to identify a gap in the market and create a product from this information. audience feedback is also used to develop an understanding of needs of mainstream and niche audiences. 

social media   is often used to gain this feedback as it is cost effective and usually has a high response rate as it is easy to complete.

Competitors:

research is conducted by media producers to find what audiences thinking about the products and brands owned by competitors. BBC and ITV are constantly using online technology.

Primary:

Primary research is methods that are conducted by yourself for example, making and releasing a questionnaire. the methods used depends on what the media producer wants to find out.

Secondary:

Secondary research is methods using information that has already been released. for example, using the internet to find out information used by theorists' ideas can help us make informed ideas. This c an come books or journals. 

• Internet:anyone can put information up and it doesn't have to be correct 
• books: They good back a long time but the author can twist the information 
• newspapers/magazines: easy accessible\can be biased written  
• television: not difficult to gain information/ can be changed for Entertainment n

Primary research methods:

• Questionnaires: consists of a series of questions 

advantage: lots of people see it disadvantage people won't fill it in. 

• Focus group: A group of people gather to have a discussion 
• interviews: vital part of market research 
• online survey: Like a questionnaire but on the internet

SWOT:

• Strength: what are the advantages?
• Weakness: what are the disadvantages?
• Opportunities: How can they be improve?
• Threats: What could happen because of this?

questionnaire:

S: They are easy to hand out 

W: people don't tell full truth 

O:

T: 

Pest ANALYSIS:

p:OLITICAL, legislation 

E:conomic, eco trends, home/aboard economy 

S:ocial, lifestyles 

T:echnological, technological advancement

Marketing possibilities:

In the industry the most successful products will often have spin off and squeals. however, this is based on audience feedback.

Examples of a media product that has spin offs:

Ru Paul's drag race 

• very high viewing numbers and was internationally popular so fans called for country to show off their best drag talent. 

The web site is very interactive and has a community page that always people to chat this also lets the game makers together feedback 

Trends for development:

this is helpful for compaies to interparta data that is presenteded to them. 

technological convergence:

The coming together of informnation and communication  trchnologies in order and distributing producing and servicews for media audiences. 

Quantitive and qualitative:

Qualitative Data:

typically, descriptive data, useful for studies at the individual level and to find out in depth the ways in which people think about a product.

This is quality data as it show data in depth and what people thought of the product 

Quantitative Data:

Data that can be measured numerically. things that can be measured precisely, such as number of people who listen to radio station or purchase online.

This Data the is numbers so 

Lo6: regulation and media effects

• The question is worth 20 marks
• spend 40 minutes 
• last question on the paper 
• debate answer passive or active audience (positive or negative impact)
• 10 marks is level 2 basic 
• 16-20 level 4 
• Unlikely Q, this will need a quote. we have two argue for or against
• Example  must be resent 

Nicole Scherzinger factor pussy cat dolls performance:

• pre watershed 
• effects on children
• choose of mise en scene(costume/revealing/provocative  and sexual gesture)

Negative:

• Promiscuous  
• young children mimic what she does on stage 
• Children she her as an image of ideal self
• Male gaze Mulvey 1975  
• Unrealistic beauty standards
• 
  

Positive:

• Post feminist woman(she is using it for her advantage)
• Using she image to make money (she knows how she looks)
• Female empowerment all women (inclusive)
• 
  

passive Audience:

Passive audience theory: Dahmer

 
"Dahmer" is a Netflix series based on the life of Jeff Dahmer and his victims. Dahmer was a controversial series as people were convicted if it was telling the stories of the victims and their families or glorifying murder, making it glamorous and turning Jeff Dahmer into a celebrity. The series is very graphic and showed people being beaten, tortured and raped, This is necessary?

 

MORAL PANICS - STANLEY COHEN (1972): 

Dahmer prove Cohen theory as the series draw light issue like male serial killers targeting males, this is often overlooked as men are seen as strong, they can look after themselves. this causes panic because now people have see it happen they believe that this could happen.

 

HYPODERMIC SYRINGE - ADORNO/PACKARD (1979): 

This could be true for Dahmer as an audience watching may believe that all the events in the series are factual and treat the series as documentaries, but it is actual a drama. 

DESENSITISATION - CRAIG ANDERSON 2007: 

The is true for Dahmer as there is graphic and disturbing imager and the repeated and frequent viewing of this may change how a person perceives violence and how they react. It also could make a person think that these acts or ok and justifiable.

 

CULTIVATION THEORY - MEAN WORLD SYNDROME - GERBER AND GROSS (1979): 

Dahmer follows the theory of Gerber and Goss as it shows how ordinary people how don't do anything wrong and live an honest life can have horrific actions committed against them, this cause mean world syndrome because it shows that the world is unfair as terrible thing happen to good people.

 

LAURA MULVEY - The male gaze (1975): 

Dahmer challenger Mulvey's theory as there are very few women in the series and the women that are in the movies and mothers and sisters, they are never depicted as sex symbols but as strong and powerful as they fight for justice for their loved ones who have lost their lives. This theory is challenged because men are seen as the sex symbol and something that can be controlled and owned. 

EARP AND KATZ - equation of masculinity with pathological control and violence’(1999): 

Dahmer proves Earp and Kats point that men are pathologically in need to be in control and violence as Dahmer didn't have control when he was younger which made, he need to control when he was older that came out in violence. This was the only way he could find a way to control men.  

BUTLER (1993): 

This goes against what Butler thought about stereotypes as a series with may gay character such as Jeff Dahmer, being a serial killer is a gay stereotype also the other gay character goes against the theory as they are not flamboyant or feminine. 

 
 

LO3: Representation Theory

Representation theory

1. Gender representations(stereotypical/challenged)
2. Ethnicities
3. Character type(damsel, antagonist, heroic protagonist, Underdog)
4. Class(rich and poor)
5. Locations
6. spirit of the times(zeitgeist)

Representation theory is about how we are re-presented(over and over time again) of people and places. 

Key representation you can use in anything:

• Ideal self/partner (Carl Rogers 1980 Is how character are mediated as role models or attractive to appeal to an audience)

Exam Questions:

6* Analyse how the production techniques are used to Creates meaning in a media product you have studied. (12)

MICRO-MACRO

6* Analyse the concept of "representation" in media product you have studied (12)

• "6*" Is half way though the paper and u answer 6* second
• Spend 20/25 mins answering 
• Analyse: giving example and explaining meaning using the product-the effect of the audience 
• Production techniques/media language example E.G sound, editing, mise en scene, camerawork talk about all 4 techniques 
• create meaning-keywords: Connotes, Denotes, enigma, verisimilitude, tension, empathy, spectacle.

Key theories of representation:

Tim O'sullivan Et al. (1998)

• The people and place have the have shared recognition, all representation therefore have ideologies behind them.
• Ideologies is refers to a set of ideas which produces a partial and selective view of reality.
• Ideologies in the hunger games:
  • The government looking after themselves and the rich
  • The poor being punished for trying to get the basics
  • Lack of parenting/young person in control 
  • Good over coming evil 
  • Under dog coming out on top 
  • Rebellion against authority 
  • Over coming the odds
   

Richard Dyer (1983)

• Audience  should question the representation they see in the media text. stereotypical or challenging 
• Example of challenged and stereotypical representation in the hunger games:
  • Katniss being the hero and saving peta's life by going to fight for medicine 
  • Katniss having to pretend she's in love and be feminine for the media. 

Laura Mulvey(1975)

• The male gaze, that woman are objectified in media text and passive object. Audience are positional to view the woman from the view of a heterosexual male.
• If there is not a sexualised women the character is challenging/ post feminist 
• Costumes, make up 
• dialogue
• juxtaposing when the is a feminine and non feminine are together 

Stuart Hall (1955), Alvarado (1987)

• Western/white culture continue to misrepresent ethnic minorities as in the media due to underlying racist tendencies.
• E.g. Nono-white as "the other", evil, barbaric, pitied humoured.
• The other/ most white cast with little input from the people of colour 
• pitied: a person of colour that we feel sorry for. 

Earp and Katz (1999)

• Men are often represented as having as having tendencies of pathological control and violence (patriarch: all run by men)we live in a society that is post feminist. W e have strong women 

Mise en Scene in The hunger games

 The Hunger games 

The costumes in “picking tribute scene” denote that life here is hard and the people that live here are poorer. In this scene the whole village is gathered together to pick this year's tributes for the games, everyone is dressed in simple and basic formal attire that has little personality and colour. This is a juxtaposition to Effie from a wealthy area who has an elaborate dress, this shows the audience that society has a massive wealth divide. This portraits Katniss and Peter has underdogs from the start Which forms a closer bonded with the views. Katniss is wearing a pale blue in a classic feminine shape, but it does not sexual her this is show that show is still young and innocent.  

The costumes change for TV interview this suggest that the prosses is changing the young people and forcing them to grow up, in this scene Katniss is wearing a tight-fitting red dress that shows her off and makes people look at her u. This could suggest that she has been sexualized to win hearts of men that will help her though the games, it also links to Laura Mullet (1975) “The male gaze” says that females in media are sexualised so males are more likely to consume a media product. This is shown as peter (Katniss's partner) is in a simple suit, this shows that when Katniss ended the media for her TV interview, she was told to be liked that she needed to change. Is prove that changing to impress or liked by new people does not make u happy as this is one of Katniss lowest point and in the end does not help her win.  

The props in the Hunger games such as the weapons in the game itself are primal. They use weapons like swords, bow and arrows and axes, even though the movie is set in the future they do not use weapons like guns or modern technology this make the fights more dramatic and gorier. Even though the weapons are older they all have futurist styles and Modern twists which added to the familiar but futurist energy of the film. One of the main prop in the Hunger games is Katniss bow and arrow, this is one of the main motifs of the film and reoccurs though out the franchise.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Katniss using a bow and arrow in the Games and it being her talent make it her characters symbol with goes against her gender stereotypes of a young woman, Bow and arrows have connotations of knights and Medieval times where traditional the women need to be saved by men. This show a younger audince that it does not allows have to be the man that save the girl but the woman that save the boy this is show by Katniss saving peter and herself. 

 

The other prop in the show such as items inside Katniss's home have a rustic and Victorian style such also fire stoves and wood rocking chairs, this show how the lives of the people who live in district 12 is simple and basic. There is juxtaposing element of the holograph television this remind the audience that this is a futurist society, this also give the impression that the government issues these television, so that everyone knows the power they have over them and want to control the information that the population are exposed too. This also helps the audience sympathise with Katniss's character as it shows the hardship of her life it also emphasizes the wealth dived between district 12 and the capital. This creates meaning by giving the audience a reason to back Katniss and her values, it also give them a common cause which is to hate the government and its beliefs.