IGNITE presentation

MEST3 Section A: revision task

Task 1: List 10 stories/debates/examples that you could use for the Identities and the Media question. 

1. Orientalism, them and us for identities. Comparing the East and the West or if the theme is  about western media then it could compare different class gaps or western and eastern Europe. This could link to a question about alternative views.
2. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/24/1in5muslims-sun-front-page-muslims-twitter-mocks  shows how Muslims mocked the front cover of the Sun with the help of social media and were able to create a hashtag and unite against the discrimination they were facing.
3. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/dec/22/british-values-and-the-notion-of-identity I identify far more as a citizen of London, or indeed my local borough, than as “British” this quote from the article looks at how diverse the UK has become but also how separated it is
4. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2015/01/qa-marine-le-pen-france-islam-2015113123524709520.html  this interview conducted by Al Jazeera, an Arab funded news agency, was done with Marine Le Pen, the former French NF leader and she gave her views on whether Islam was compatible with French values, 
"AJ: Do you believe then that, at a certain level, Islam as a religion is in some ways incompatible with French values? "
"Le Pen: There are some who believe that secularism and Islam are not compatible. But Muslims should show everyone that this is not the case. It's up to them to show that you can be French and Muslim and still respect secular rules.And for that we have to oppose all demands that aim to shatter secularism - demands for different clothes, demands for special food, demands for prayer rooms. Demands that create special rules that would allow Muslims to behave differently."
5. http://josephlmest3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/identities-feminist-theory-and-blog-task.html  Butler notes that feminists rejected the idea that biology is destiny, but then developed an account of patriarchal culture which assumed that masculine and feminine genders would inevitably be built, by culture, upon 'male' and 'female' bodies.Feminism had made a mistake by trying to assert that 'women' were a group with common characteristics and interests. That approach, Butler said, performed 'an unwitting regulation and reification of gender relations' -- reinforcing a binary view of gender relations in which human beings are divided into two clear-cut groups, women and men. Rather than opening up possibilities for a person to form and choose their own individual identity
6. Post colonial Britain and the stereotypes that have been created, this links to the theorists of Medhurst, who stated stereotypes can be created on short hand and this is done through TV shows and advertisements, another theorist stated that stereotypes are often true and positive, Tessa Perkins. Levi Strauss also said that texts can have dominant and preferred readings as some things are left out and others included meaning representations are formed by ideology. 
7. Laura Bates everyday sexism project, gives people a voice to share with people making them stronger and helping people unite against a cause, mainly for women seeking support for issues with harassment.
8. Feminism and Gender roles, how they are formed, either biologically or through social interaction 
9. Killbourne, how the media objectifies women by placing pressure on them to maintain a certain standard like the women in magazines. The representation of women in the media is so mediated that it provides young women and others a highly over-exaggerated representation of them. For women it makes them believe they to can look like the women they see on TV or in magazines but its just false hope because women in the media and in fashion magazines are took apart and put back together again with impossible features. Killbourne talks about airbrushing in the digital age and how one image of one women can actually be made up of several women and the editors pick out the best features
10. Black lives matter, one of the biggest movements in the 2016 to stand up against police brutality and a cause that shouldn't have to be known in the 21st century.

Task 2: List 10 stories/debates/examples that you could use for the New/Digital Media question.

1. Marxism & Pluralism: Alain de Botton on the news= he says that there is a plethora of news and that the same stuff keeps being circulated round and round and that we as an audience must recognize this. I also agreed about how with new and digital media that hierarchical structures in newspapers were being broken down, for example on front pages of newspapers and online news sites celebrity news and gossip can make headlines and maybe more political and 'important stuff' is placed further back.
2. http://josephlmest3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/week-12-story-23.html New Zealand newspaper merger,The two largest News organisations in New Zealand (NZME and Fairfax Media) are deciding to merge together to rise up against lower advertising revenues and falling newspaper sales. This would indefinitely give them much more control which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because in a time where the internet is rife with click bait stories and hoaxes it may be beneficial for an audience to start consuming acceptable news. This can be linked to Gramsci’s theory on hegemony as in this case a large media organisation is in control and therefore can influence other classes and groups and especially in the age of the digital revolution where people don’t know what news to trust they may start going back to traditional media platforms like Broadcast and when they do they may accept the values and ideologies as common sense once more
3. BBC sets up team to debunk fake news, The BBC plans to work with Facebook who have also pledged to tackle fake news to help users identify fake news and report/flag it. The team plans to create a fact checking service, they also plan to invest close to £300 million in researching into new languages to expand its data journalism to make news of better quality.
4. Daily Mail publisher turns to price rise to counter advertising slump, This article from the telegraph tells us that early last year the Daily Mail were set to increase the price of their newspaper by 5p. Since then Newspaper sales have gone into further decline and the Daily Mail has decreased it's circulation of newspapers meaning the price increase wasn't necessary because a fall in newspaper sales was inevitable the price increase just sped things up. A reason why prices were increased was because of a 12% fall in advertising revenues, therefore they needed to make up the lost revenue somewhere.
5. Cultural Imperialism Theory states that Western nations dominate the media around the world which in return has a powerful effect on Third World Cultures by imposing n them Western views and therefore destroying their native cultures, this can also be linked to theory by Said on orientalism and the debate of them and us.
6. Newspapers: The effect of online technology, The Evening standard was one of the only top newspapers to increase its distribution and since June 2013 it has done so by almost 27% and this is quite a large jump considering other companies like the Wales on Sunday decreased circulation by 27%. I think that the Evening standard has noticed the decline in the number of newspaper being sold daily and have tried to fill a gap. This may work because if they supply to shops in such abundance then people who don't really have a preference may decide to pick up the most "popular" one.
7. Revenues from TV advertising exceeds $5bn for the first time..., The TV advertising market has once again gotten larger as more companies are spending more money on advertising. It is the fifth consecutive year that money spent on TV advertising has risen. Big spender include companies like Google and Facebook with spending going into the Billions. The figures are based on the UK TV market for last year.Facebook spent close £11mil on advertising
   Sky totalled up around 22bn views on advertisements. Advertising on TV is now 30% cheaper than it was 10 years ago.
8. The effect of NDM on the film distribution and exhibition industry, Entertainment films and the factors involved in looking into NDM as a new platform which helps it find success in the industry but also provides new challenges like piracy. 
9. NDM News: Citizen journalism, how new and digital media has changed the way people share news and opinions with people smartphones and social media work in synergy with each other to create a realistic view of society, people see this as more trustworthy 
10. Marxism vs Pluralism and who is control of our media. New technology has provided the platform, bring in the argument for Pareto's law

MEST3 PPE - Learner Response

Feedback

Q1- Link back to question about being authoritative and trustworthy 

Q2- take points further + more depth and sophistication 

Q3- Answer lacks clarity and organisation as a whole, advise focusing on western media and debates

Q6- Get the right statistics and state where they came from

more detail on counter and alternative arguments

evidence in the points made, e.g. simultaneous release strategy and a field in England

good points but it needs more depth and sophistication 

more discussion of Marxism and pluralism, idea of big corporations always finding a way to survive 

need more on independent case study in real thing

Did you succeed in meeting or exceeding your target grade for A2 Media? If not, how many additional marks do you need across Section A and Section B to achieve your target grade?

No, aiming for an A, achieved 53/80

) Read through the mark scheme. Pay particular attention to pages 6-8 that have suggested content for each of the questions in Section A. How many of these potential points did you make? Did you successfully answer the questions? The original question paper is here if that is helpful.

Q1

I included 4 of the points and only touched on one other briefly. Points included were

use of narrative and voiceover

use of soundtrack to establish tone

use of direct address 
use of interviews
Russel Brand as a celebrity figure 

Q2
Presentation of fact rather than opinion 
values and beliefs
establishing authority 

Q3
opportunities for audiences to express their own values and beliefs 
role of government in democratic societies 

• Question 1 was my strongest, achieving a level 3 with 5 marks out of 8. For questions 2&3 i was awarded a level 2. I did spend the most amount of time on this question and the longest amount of time planning this question in comparison to the others.

• Question 2 was my weakest question and this is because a lack of depth and sophistication to my paragraphs along with some incorrect use of theory. Also need to use words from the question so that my answer doesn't go off track.

Areas covered in section B essay:
Recent developments in new and digital media 
impact upon traditional media producers

Examiners report :
Q1= it was good with some valid points, however i could have distinguished between the wording in the question, "trustworthy" and "authoritative"

Q2= ignored some of the wording in the question and wrote about it in the same way as question 1 the media concepts question, could have had a more theoretical standpoint and looked at how audiences are encouraged to conform to a set of values based on a Marxist and Pluralist perspective. 

Q3=  needed to of read the question more 

Q6= included the way a range of industries had been affected by new and digital media, could have included more about 

LR paragraph Question 2 · ‎

How do media products encourage audiences to agree with a certain set of values and beliefs? You may refer to other media products to support your answer.

An example of a media product that could be applied here to show how they encourage audiences to agree with a certain set of values and beliefs is the Guardian news and more specifically its online website. The theorists Galtung and Ruge came up with a list of news values. This is evident in the Guardians choice news on their site, for example a story stating that 100 Syrians had been killed in a bus attack in Aleppo never made the top story on the Guardian and instead a story titles a "A rocky approach to Gibraltar's sovereignty" was placed at the top of the Guardians website. This shows the news values they carry, being continuity and reference to elite nations, so instead of portraying the more shocking and negative news they are giving the audience what they feel is right, thus encouraging them to agree with their values and beliefs.

Another simpler way media products can encourage audiences to agree with a certain set of values and beleifs is through having a direct mode of address. In media product two this is evident when the celebrity figure Russel Brand is taking to the audience telling them to subscribe to the channel that he was on. One way audiences may be encouraged to agree with the values and beliefs that this channel offers is through the use of influential figures and Russel Brand is one such. As he is a celebrity people may look up to him; making him an opinion leader of sorts, this can be linked to Lazarsfeld and Katz theory of the two step flow model as it is a way of looking at how values and beliefs/news reached the audience. In this case Russel would be the opinion leader spreading his views or the channels views to his followers who in turn spread it to the mass audience.

Case study research tasks

Case study research tasks

The basics

Your chosen industry: Film and distribution industry 

Your chosen case study (i.e. text/institution etc.): Entertainment films, distribution of The hateful eight and other film trilogies (Lord of the rings, Blade and Rush Hour)

Have you received approval for this case study from your teacher? Yes/No

Audience

1) How has new and digital media changed the audience experience in your chosen industry?

New and digital media has provided new platforms on which films can be distributed and shared on. Similar to the news industry where the Internet and computers completely changed the way news was viewed, the internet along with other pieces of new technology like smart TV’s has changed the way people can access films. The industry has had to adapt and meet the dynamic market and make films available. Audiences experience has got much more enjoyable as they can view films in more than one place where they feel comfortable.

2) Has new and digital media changed the way the audience consume your chosen product?

Audiences have more choice and freedom when choosing where to view there film. In the past you either viewed a film in the theatres or on a video tape. After this came the introduction of DVD then Blue ray and with this came the option to view your purchased copy on your smart phone or other. Video on demand came shortly after and everything blew up quickly and audiences suddenly had many platforms to view films on.

3) Has the size of the audience changed as a result of new and digital media?

The audience size for the film industry is growing all the time, regardless of changes In NDM, but because of advancements in technology and NDM more people have access to film trailers and the actual film all around the world. A distribution company can sell the rights to a video streaming site like Netflix which would allow anyone with an internet connection from multiple countries to view the film.

4) What are the positive changes new and digital media have brought to the audience of your case study? (E.g. greater choice, easier access etc.)

It brings all the advantages with it as there is now more choice in comparison to the traditional methods of distribution e.g. in Theatres and on video tape. Instead of having just one DVD per film you can pay monthly to video streaming sites like Netflix

5) What are the negative changes new and digital media have had on your chosen audience? (E.g. quality of product etc.)

The pricing and availability of news films on VOD and sites Netflix may be hard to get around for audiences. Newer films aren’t released on sites straight away meaning audiences will have to wait and the prices of new films tend to be quite high.

6) What about audience pleasures - have these changed as a result of new and digital media? 

In terms of the distribution of films, no, however people want films with a bigger budgets and more Hollywood stars in.

7) What is the target audience for your chosen case study? Write a demographic/psychographic profile.

For film distribution, it depends on the type of film that is being distributed and not the audience. Films are marketed in a way to attract the intended audience so there is not one specific target audience I could look at. However with the introduction  of NDM targeting an audience group is not always possible as anyone is free to view it online or stream it anywhere, the audience reach is on an immense scale.

Institution

1) How has new and digital media had an impact on ownership or control in your chosen industry?

Entertainment films formally had a deal with New-Line cinema and distributed their films from 1990 to 2008, notable film releases include The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Since then New line cinema has merged with its parent company Warner-Bros films and no longer holds the deal with Entrainment films. Entertainment films now are The Weinstein companies main UK distributor and have distributed films such as The Hateful eight in the UK. The coming together and merging of companies in the distribution industry shows how un-competitive the industry is. Piracy has caused a loss of revenues and lower DVD sales and other merchandise sales has made profits tight and even though it is one of the biggest industries just like the newspaper industry companies are merging together and increasing control of only a few companies, this can be linked to Pareto’s law.

2) What impact has new and digital media had on ownership in your chosen case study?

The distribution industry is growing in terms of where the films can now be distributed but the number of companies distributing is falling because firms are agreeing to joint ventures, acquisitions and takeovers to survive in this industry which has been affected by the rise of new and digital media. Entertainment films has gone from distributing over 12 films a year to just 1/5. Distributing In the UK has become more difficult because of piracy and the lack of action against it.

4) How has new and digital media changed the way institutions distribute their product?

There are new ‘distribution channels’ available for institutions. This has been created with the introduction of new and digital media. Because technology is advancing and has advanced distributors have found new ways to get their films to the intended audiences. New industries and companies have been created to do this and an example of this is mentioned above Netflix.

5) How might new and digital media threaten your chosen industry?

The biggest threat to the distribution industry is falling revenues because audiences are choosing other ways to access the newest and the favourite films. Online piracy is a problem that has come about with the introduction of NDM. Just how DVD’s and videos were bootlegged, films now days are undergoing the same process, only online. Online piracy is a major threat to the film distribution industry but also to the music industry and the record labels that distribute their songs and also the Gaming industry with games on Nintendo being available for free on torrent websites. As a result of more people viewing films on illegal streaming websites distributing companies are losing out on revenues and are facing lower profit levels. This would then force them to cut back on advertising expenses making the quality go down and they may cut back on where they distribute their films which would lower the availability of them which would be bad for the audience.

6) How has new and digital media changed the way your chosen industry is regulated? 

Industries and companies in these industries have always been regulated so to make the market prices and availability of products fair for the consumers. The CMA in the UK are in charge of keeping UK markets fair and completive. The way this affects film distribution companies is that the CMA (competition and markets authority) have the power to block mergers and takeovers from companies. This maybe a good and bad thing, it may be bad because if companies are unable to merge then because of the changes happening in the industry and the threat to it companies may fail and then audiences would have restricted choice from the biggest and most profitable companies. The good thing is that blocking mergers makes the marker more competitive and allowing mergers means the industry still has the chance to survive.

UGC

1) What examples of user-generated content can you find in your case study?

UGC in this case can be interpreted as people uploading movies possibly illegally to the web; this can be done on file sharing sites or hosted on streaming sites. YouTube could even be an example of how this happens and it is an example how audiences can create their own movies and distribute it themselves.

Marxism, Pluralism and Hegemony

1) What would be a Marxist perspective of the impact of new and digital media on your chosen case study?

The distribution industry is growing because more money is being put into films, however there are fewer organisations that are distributing and all may fall under some umbrella company. This means that there is a restricted choice for film makers to go to. Although, there may not be any ideological benefit of choosing what company to distribute a film but since there is a restricted choice for the film makers and the organisation are owned by profit making private individuals this debate could have a Marxist perspective in the form of capitalism.

2) How would a pluralist view the impact of new and digital media in your chosen industry?

Pluralist would also be keen to point out that any organisations that are not state owned can be controlled by authorities so consumers are not exploited.

3) Are there any examples of hegemony in your chosen industry or case study?

No, not from the film distributors/exhibitors directly but from the films yes, this can relate to film distributors if they are vertically integrated with their own production company and create their film in house meaning they wold have control over what went into their films and this could have hegemonic reading.

Globalisation

1) How has globalisation impacted on your chosen industry or case study?

As more films are being distributed worldwide it seems as though this would be good for cultural diversity, however the bulk of these films are American and this may affect cultural diversity as a reduced range of morals and values are being shows and one race in particular is being shown of world wide because of globalisation and the global village which means one world interconnected by an electronic nervous system.

 Important information “Despite the fact that, in the midterm, traditional media will probably continue to have the greatest incidence in the spreading of cultural values, the digitalization of the media opens up perspectives for the distribution of contents which will mean an increase in the cultural diversity of the media. However, there is a tendency towards the implantation of pay media which could mean that access to the contents is restricted for a great part of the society, who do not have sufficient resources.

This tendency must be counteracted especially by the public ownership media. ÿ The digitalization and convergence of the media offer new possibilities for increasing cultural diversity, such as the number of channels, the user’s direct access to the contents, the greater possibility for subtitling or dubbing and the new routes for the distribution of contents. ¨ The Internet is an especially appropriate medium for the transmission of cultural contents, including that for even the smallest minority, given that it notably increases the possibilities for choice for the public and offers immediate access.

The Internet can facilitate the presence in society of universities, cultural associations and other organisations of diverse nature, which develop interesting cultural activities. ÿ In the area of multimedia contents (Internet, DVD and videogames), as well as the digital television channels, the present situation of dependency of European markets with respect to North American and Japanese production, is a serious risk for the restriction of cultural diversity in Europe.

 In order to confront this situation, the European audio-visual sector must be involved as a priority in the development of contents for this medium, especially of those which include interactive applications based on connection to the Internet. Globalisation of the Media Industry and Possible Threats to Cultural Diversity 10 ÿ European leadership in the area of digital television offers favourable ground for the development of home-grown cultural contents which enjoy public preference. This situation can also encourage the development of multimedia contents related to the most successful television programmes.

2) In your opinion, has globalisation had a positive or negative impact on your chosen industry and case study? Why?

It has allowed for some cultural diversity, for example all around the world now industries are getting bigger and film rights are being sold and distributed/exhibited all around the world, e.g. Bollywood and Nollywood.

3) Can you find examples of cultural imperialism in your case study or industry? (The 'Americanisation' of the world)

American films are one of the most distributed and popular films around the globe. It also has one of the biggest film industries that take the majority of revenues. An example from my case study is how American film distribution companies use their subsidiaries from other companies, e.g. The Weinstein company use Entertainment films to distribute their films in the UK.

Social media

1) How has your industry or case study used social media to promote its products?

A big part of exhibiting films is now promoting them on social media. This has been brought about with the rise of New and digital media. Distribution companies can take full advantage of reaching the largest audience possible by setting up a twitter account, Facebook page and others to let audiences interact with their products so that they are engaged and wont loose interest until the film’s release.

2) Provide examples of how your case study has used social media and explain the impact this would have on audiences.

This is the twitter page for Entertainment films. Lion was the last film that they solely distributed and they made a big deal out of it to gain maximum exposure. People that follow this page and who visit recently would definitely be aware of the film’s release and then may decide to pass it on to other people and use the re-tweet function.

3) Is social media an opportunity or a threat to your industry and case study?

Social media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat are all opportunities for my case study Entertainment films and the whole industry because this is a new way for them to attract especially the younger viewers as they are the ones who use this platform the most. Threats include people sharing links to pirated copies of films, this would share It to a large audience and would make the success of the film appear worse (in terms of the revenues and audience viewing figures).

Statistics

1) What statistics can you find to illustrate the impact new and digital media has had on your industry or case study? For example, in news, the UK newspaper industry sold more than 12m copies a day in 2001 but in 2014 it was below 7m.

·         http://www.bfi.org.uk/education-research/film-industry-statistics-research -BFI research notes

·         UK cinema admissions in 2016 were 168 million, 2% lower than in 2015

·         UK box office revenues were down 1.1%

·         Lion was 4^th in the rankings n its opening weekend. Its weekend gross was £1,265,282, it was beat only by films from the US, in its second week, box office sales were only down 13% and it moved down to 6^th place.# http://www.bfi.org.uk/film-industry/lottery-funding-distribution/insight-reports-case-studies-audience-research/new-models-awards-insight-reports looks at different and intricate distribution strategies

·         Lion is still grossing £32 K 3 months into its theatrical release, although total revenues were less at £11.6 million, in comparison to Trainspotting which was released later has already past maturity and is grossing considerably less at £3.9 K. This shows the Entertainment films release strategy was more effective and they have been advertising better.

2) Looking at these statistics, what impact has new/digital media had on institutions in your chosen industry? 

In a way it has had a positive effect as it allows the companies who distribute the films to reach a wider audience and advertise for longer at a lower cost when using social media. However, box office figures are down and this is because of piracy as people are watching films online for free as soon as they come out in cinemas.

3) What has the impact been for audiences? These may be positive and negative.

Overall it is positive for audiences as they can view movies anytime they like, however theatre tickets may soon rise because of the fall in revenue. This may further decrease sales however going to the cinema Is still a popular option and this would then come down to the sensitivity of the demand for a cinema ticket in relation to a change in price.

Theories

1) What media theories can you apply to your chosen industry and case study? Select THREE media theories and explain how they are relevant to your case study. Note: these can be ANY of the theories we have learned over the whole of Year 12 and 13. - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0i5diL3vrEiV3NaWlg2X05HVHc/view

·         Audience theory- audiences are passive or active in their pursuit of media products, Hypodermic needle model and Uses and gratifications theory.

·         Not necessarily a media theory, but for distribution companies they may wish to look at a product life cycle model which follows the success of their film.

·         Dominant ideology/hegemony, advertising in the way they see fit (applies to the distribution companies who produce their films).

·         Synergy, companies integrating and sharing resources.

Issues/debates

1) What media issues and debates can you apply to your chosen industry and case study? Select THREE media issues/debates and explain how they are relevant to your case study.

·         One of the big issues which I can cover is the piracy issue and how NDM has provided a platform for people to share illegally downloaded movies for free and this damaged the industry because nothing is going back into the film industry to make more films, similarly this is happening in the news industry as nothing is going back into it because it is being made free.

·         Declining box office sales and DVD sales, shows traditional media platforms that were used to distribute films are falling, although this may not be the case for individual films the majority of the industry is slowly falling.

·          

Wider examples and secondary texts

1) What other texts or institutions are also relevant to your case study? What would be good secondary texts or examples to use to support the findings of your independent case study?

Another aspect to look at when looking at film distributors would be their distribution and exhibition strategies. This can be linked to a previous case study done and it will compare Ill Manors distro strategy by Revolver Entertainment and a Field in England which was distributed by Film 4 productions. The Hateful 8’s distro strategy could also be mentioned as even though NDM has had its impact on the industry The Weinstein company still reverted back to technique used in the 1950’s. Comparing the distribution strategies will be interesting to see how NDM has influenced them and  how they differ because of it.