Theories Which Relate To My Primary Text: Lacan

French theorist Jacques Lacan, an early and influencial theorist of child development, found the concept of the gaze important in what he termed the "mirror stage", whereupon children gaze at a mirror image of themselves (usually an image of themselves but a twin brother or sister can have the same effect) and use this image to derive a degree of coordination over their physical movements. Lacan therefore linked the concept of the gaze to individual human agency. To this end, he transformed the concept of the gaze into a dialect between what he called the ideal-ego and the ego-ideal. The ideal-ego is the image of imaginary self-identification- in other words, the idealized image that the person imagines themselves to be or aspires to be; whilst the ego-ideal is the imaginary gaze of another person who gazes upon the ideal-ego. An example would be if a famous rockstar (a category of identification which would function as the ideal-ego) secretly hoped that the school bully who tormented them as a child was now aware if his or her subsequent success and fame (with the imaginary, fantasmatic figure of the bully functioning as the ego ideal).

We can relate Lacan's theory to my primary coursework text which is "Made in Chelsea"- we can question the reality genre because the stars as so aware of their ego-ideal and the way in which they are represented. They know the cameras are there, and they are aware of what they look like whilst being filmed. They are presenting themselves are the person they aspire to be (and the person they think the audience would want to see) and so the audience are the ego-ideal. The audience are gazing upon the ideal-ego. The females in "Made in Chelsea" are very well made up throughout every episode, and what each of the characters say is most probably planned and scripted to a certain extent, simply because they are so aware of how people portray them. This raises the question about whether the genre is staying true to its name.

Coursework Primary Text: Audience Theory (minus reception theory and hypodermic model)

Gerbner:

• The Gerbner Model looks at how and whether watching TV may influence ideas of what the every day world is like. It is possible that many people may be influenced by watching Made in Chelsea to think that the lifestyle which is portrayed is what every day life is like.

Uses and Gratifications:

• The uses and gratifications theory relates to why an audience might want to access a particular media text. Reasons why the target audience might want to access Made in Chelsea are: social interaction (it uses hashtags on the opening sequence to persuade the audience to take part in discussions about what they are watching online. It creates an online communitiy which will be favored by many, and allows people to bond over a shared interest), diversion (getting an insight into the way of life of upper class Londoners diverts the audience away from the troubles of their own daily life, which makes watching the programme attractive to them) and finally, personal identification (the audience may relate to the personality or life events of a characetr which would make watching the programme more attractive).

Moore:

• Moore is the idea that media texts can create an imaginary community. Made in Chelsea achieve this by using hashtags. These enable those that are watching the programme to discuss it via Twitter, and consequntly, an online "community" is made- the viewer feels like they are part of something, and it gives them a sense of belonging. It is not just Made In Chelsea which this appears in. Every TV show which uses a hashtag has the same effect, as do forums (e.g. the Student Room). In today's society, making these new communities is very important, because sense of community in the real life is being diminished in many places, particularly urbanised areas.

Morley:

• Moreley looks at the idea that different texts are interpreted in different ways by different people. Made in Chelsea is likely to be looked at in many different ways by the different people that are attracted to it. For some it is simply a reality TV show, and a chance to be "nosey" and look in on other people's lives. For others, it is likely to be viewed as more of a TV drama, where they follow the stories which are presented to them, and want to watch the next episode to see what happens next. For others, it is simply a chance to see a lifestyle which they aspire to have themselves, and it is used purely for diversion. For others, all of these factors may play a part in the interpretation.

Cultivation and Cumilation/Desensitisation:

• This is the idea that we become desensitised to what we see in the media. For example, on the news everyday there is a negative story, perhaps something along the lines of: "Today in _____, hundreds were killed". It has got to the point in our society where by this doesn't effect us, and we don't think too much about it. We have become desensitised to negative things that happen in our world. On a lower scale, the same is happening in reality televsion shows. Made In Chelsea desensitises us to a materialistic way of life, and so we see their life styles as normal, when perhaps they aren't. This relates to the idea of the media dumbing down. Furthemore, the actions which are portrayed on the TV show such as a male cheating on their girlfriend, which go unpunished, infleunce others into thinking they are right. This idea was looked into in much detail but with violence in TV shows influencing children between the ages of 12 and 17. They idea of woman being mistreated in soaps was also researched, and this relates closely to what has happened in the most recent series of Made in Chelsea.

COURSEWORK PRIMARY TEXT: Hegemony and Marxism relating to Made in Chelsea

Marxism is based on the writings of Karl Marx, and they were a response to the extremes of poverty and exploitation he witnessed in the years after the British Industrial Revolution.  His most famous book Das Kapital (1867) argued that in a capitalist society the most important and fundamentally antagonist divisions are along class lines and that there are two fundamental classes:

-          The proletariat or workers who have to sell their labour to survive

-          The bourgeoisie who own a range of different types of capital (wealth, factories, shares or property).

There are divisions and frictions between these two classes. Those who follow a Marxist view in a contemporary society would suggest that the bourgeoisie are the middle class who, although they do not own capital, identify and serve the interests of those who do. Marx and Marxists are concerned with how and why the mass population accept a system which is not necessarily right, and is controlled by the minority. Marx suggested that ideology, values and beliefs are important in persuading the proletariat to accept the power of the bourgeoisie.

Marx’s ideas have been applied to modern day media to suggest that the view of the world constructed in most mainstream media contributes to persuading the lower classes to accept that the “upper class” way of life is desirable and what they should strive for. We can strongly relate this to Made In Chelsea, because the stars of the show are social elite from London, and are all very wealthy, living very upper class lives. They are heirs to companies and to a lot of money, and so the audience is transported into this way of life. Those who produce the show have the power to control the way which the audience see the represented lifestyle, and they have the power to persuade the “proletariat” that this is the life which should be strived to achieve. The minority who are in power have the ability to control the thoughts of the majority who are not.

These Marxist ideas which I have previously discussed were expanded by the Italian writers Antonio Gramsci, who in the 1920s and 1930s first introduced the concept of hegemony.  He used this concept to explain how popular culture contributed to the manufacturing of consent for bourgeoisie power within capitalist societies (translated and published in the UK, 1971).  In more basic terms, it can be suggested that repeated media representation of middle-class people in positions of power, control and leadership, such as reading the news or as experts, suggest that class division in society are ‘common sense’ and natural. Made in Chelsea is an example of repeated media representation of the social elite who have positions of power, and it is an example of repeatedly persuading the viewer that it is normal to have this division in society. Marxism focuses on power relationships based on class; however, it should be noted that the concept of hegemony can also be applied to the power relationships found in gender, sexuality and race. Regarding gender, Made in Chelsea is an example of a media text where gender hegemony is portrayed, with the power and dominance relationship between men and woman. As I annotated in the “Signs and Codes” section of my primary text analysis, in many scenes we can see the male in power and the woman as a passive object. This has become normal in our hegemonistic society, where according to the Male Gaze theory, woman are “gazed at” and men do the “gazing”.

COURSEWORK PRIMARY TEXT: Institution

The institution behind "Made in Chelsea" is E4, a sister company of Channel 4. Other sister channels include: 4 Music, Film 4 and More 4.

As a bit of background, it was launched in January 2001, and it is a digital TV channel. The "E" stands for entertainment, which shows that the institution run their channel around the gratification of diversion, and pride themselves on the fact that they air entertaining programmes for veiwers across the UK to enjoy. The channel is mainly aimed at the 15-35 age group, which is quite a young audience. This is illustrated by the range of shows which they broadcast.

A lot of what they broadcast are American Imports such as the following: The Cleveland Show, Desperate Housewives, Smallville, 90210, The Big Bang Theory, One Tree Hill, and formerly Friends. Importing American shows means that they are wealthy enough to import, but perhaps they are not wealthy enough to fund the creation of such programmes theirselves. They do broadcast many British programmes too, which have proven to be very popular. They include: Made in Chelsea, The Inbetweeners, Misfits, Skins, and My Mad Fat Diary. Some US imports such as Ugly Betty are broadcast up to a week in advance of what they are on Channel Four, and they can pull in millions of viewers. The most successful broadcast to date was in October 2010, when an episode of the Inbetweeners pulled in over 3.7 million viewers.

E4 have a strong presence on Twitter and other social networking sites such as Facebook, and they also have an interactive website. Furthermore, the programmes which are broadcast on the channel are put onto 4OD, which is a catch up TV service online. All of these factors show that the institution is keeping up to date with the technological revolution, and they appreciate the fact that new and digital media is important to their target audience. Many of their programmes, especially Made in Chelsea, use hashtags throughout in order to increase their online presence. It may be argued that these factors lead to the dumbing down of the media, because E4 in particular encourage communication through the internet (many people would argue that communication face to face is much better, and would avoid this situation that we are in). However, perhaps E4 are just giving their audience what they want.

The logo of E4 can be seen above to the right. Dennotations include the colour purple, a chunky number four, and the letter E in the centre of the digit. The colour purple definitely has youthful connotations, and so suggests to the viewers that E4, as an institution, are youthful and entertaining. Many of the programmes which the channel broadcast back this first impression up, as they feature young people or school students. The Inbetweeners, for example, features a group of school boys- the audience (15 year olds plus) would be able to relate to this, and so they would gain the gratification of personal idenitifaction from this. Perhaps we can conclude that the ideaology of E4 is that it is important for viewers to be able to identify with the charcters they are watching. This would explain why we see the shows which we do.

COURSEWORK PRIMARY TEXT: Codes and Signs

In the opening 2 minutes of Made in Chelsea series 5, episode 11, signs include a man stood outside St. Pancreas station in London, on his phone, waiting for someone. He looks excited, and so the connotations which we get from this are that he is meeting a woman which he is looking forward to. The denotations and connotations class as semiotics. This also relates to the theory by Gestalt who says that when we watch a sequence of actions, we fill in the gaps. Barthes suggested that our understanding of many media texts rests not merely upon what the texts portray but on the texts’ relationship to frequently told stories or myths in our culture. We can relate this to this scene in Made in Chelsea because it is starting to tell the frequently told love story which plays a big part in our culture. In terms of the Cinderella myth the cultural meanings or rather the ideologies and values conveyed are that men are active and women are passive, then men are economically powerful providers and a women’s key role is to be sexually alluring. This is definitely portrayed in this scene, because the male is the one waiting for her, on the phone. She is the one coming to see him, and she is the one who, through the mise-en-scene, is represented to be sexually alluring. This means that she is passive and he is passive, and according to the male gaze, she is represented to be gazed at and he is the “gazer”.

COURSEWORK PRIMARY TEXT: Audience Expectations

In this document I will analyse the audience of my primary text which is “Made in Chelsea” (MIC). MIC is a reality television show which is aired on E4, both of which will be important factors in my analysis of the audience. It is described as being about a group of “socially elite twenty-something year olds” and follows them through their relationships, friendships and goings on in Chelsea. It came after “The Only Way is Essex”, which was the first reality show of this kind to be aired on our TV screens, and this fact may also prove to be important when looking at who the show appeals to.

First, when analysing the audience in it’s most basic terms, we can use the Uses and Gratifications theory, and look at lifestyles and values. According to the Uses and Gratifications theory, people are most likely to watch MIC for diversion from their daily lives, entertainment, and social interaction. With social media, social interaction has become a massive part of the reality TV genre. Hash tags are presented to the viewer at the start of the programme, to form a community online who will discuss the show and indirectly promote it. Regarding values and lifestyles, I believe that MIC would attract those from two life styles backgrounds/socio-economic classes. It could either attract those from a high class similar to that of the “Chelsea bunch” as they can closely relate, or it would attract people from lower classes who watch the show simply because they are able to get an insight into a life they would love to have. This is narcissism.

The audience’s prior knowledge of the genre played an important part in who it appealed to, and the expectations that audiences had of the show. They use their prior knowledge to anticipate whether or not they are likely to enjoy a text, and this helps audiences when they are selecting any media text, whether it be magazines, television shows, or films. This is why the fact that MIC came after TOWIE is so important. TOWIE started on the 10^th October 2010, and has been running ever since. MIC started in May 2011- it came just over half a year after TOWIE did. Audiences would already have had a significant taste of the genre, and so they would expect to see fights, drama and love stories; they would expect to watch the characters going to parties and hanging out in their glamorous houses. This is what was handed to the audiences when Made in Chelsea came along. It was exactly what was expected of the genre. The only things that changed were not to do with the genre at all- they were the class that was represented, the location in which is was set, and the time that the show ran for. Audiences who enjoyed TOWIE were likely to enjoy MIC when it first started, because they had already formed the opinion on whether or not they liked the genre. The changes in audience would only come after a few episodes, when audiences decided which class they would rather watch, and which they could relate to more closely.
This links to my next point.

Genre is used by audiences when they can compare a text through its shared characteristics with another. If you try to describe a TV show to someone who has not seen it, you are likely to define its genre and clarify what other text it is similar too. This would have been the situation with the TOWIE/MIC craze. Those who hadn’t seen MIC would be told that it is similar to The Only Way is Essex, just with a different class of people- “people who are much more posh”. This would attract a whole new audience. I believe that TOWIE played a massive part in the success of MIC, because Made in Chelsea was being created into an established genre.

By the same token, audiences also use their knowledge of a genre to reject a text. For many of us there will be genres we actively dislike and therefore will avoid accessing texts we assume to hold these characteristics.

Summer 2013 Media Analysis: Other News/Media Stories

• "Royal Baby Mania": The Royal Baby was born in the summer of 2013, and it went viral. The media have been working really hard over this time, especially since their wedding, to represent Kate and Will as a normal couple. Hashtags such as #RoyalBabyNames were trending around the birth of the future King, which shows how modernised the monarchy have become, and links to the changing representation of the Royal Family. All of this links to Barthes theory of creating the princess myth.
• Miley Cyrus Social Phenomenom: "Twerking" has become a social phenomeonon, and went viral via social networking.

Summer 2013 News Analysis: ask.fm teenage suicide

One of they key news stories which occured in July and August was the ask.fm teenage suicide.

 

They key debate which has come out of this story is making sure that the people who run the site are responsible for what goes on whilst people are online. They need to be made responsbile for the events which occur as a result of their site.

 

The key issues which this news story raises are: ownership and control, regulation and censoriship, digital media, and moral panic. It relates to ownership and control, because of the debate involving those who run the site. The ownership and control of the site has been made a very important factor following the death of the school girl. It relates to regulaiton and censorship: should what is posted on the site be censored? Should it be regulated so that you can't post exactly what you want, annonymously? It relates to digital media, because social networking sites such as these are all part of the growing new and digital media revolution, and are becoming a bigger and more important part of our daily lives. This is why the opperation of them should be safe. It relates to moral panick from the point of view of the parents- may this news story have created a moral panick, with them worrying about what could happen to their children? A moral panick may be a good thing, as it may spur on change. 

SUMMER HOMEWORK: 5 News Stories to Share

Below are some key news stories from over the summer which have appeared on all three platforms:

• "Royal Baby Mania!"- The royal baby was born, which was a massive news story particularly in the days before and following his birth.
• The news from Syria continues: the most recent development during the first week of September was world leaders from the G20 nations meeting in Russia.
• Simon Cowell is fathering a child with Lauren Silverman.

Our TV Show: Key Concepts

We are creating a new TV show which will avert the stereotypes that are currently around of the Middle East. Below is the introduction to our show.

The idea is: there are two engaged couples. One is Middle Eastern and the other is a British couple. In the weeks before their weddings, they swap lives with eachother. The Middle Eastern couple live as the British couple, and the British couple move to the Middle Eastern couple's house. This will give both couples insights into the different cultures which exist in Britain, and will aim to show the audience that actually, younger Middle Eastern couples are not the same as they are currently stereotyped to be. It will also give the audience the oppurtunity to see that sometimes Middle Eastern people actually stereotype the British, too- it works both ways. Perhaps elder generations are, and we will show this by having inputs from the couple's parents. We want to show how as generations progress, stereotypes are changing. Young Middle Eastern couples are not the same as they have been portrayed to be in the media (TV/Film/News) in the past. They are very much the same as fully British citizens. The couples would already have an idea of what they want their weddings to be like, but then they would swap lives. They would assess whether or not they think that the other couple's relationship will "go the distance", and they would see all the different things that they have done to plan their wedding. This would give them the oppurtuntiy to re-assess theirs, but also see whether or not the other couple's wedding is as they expected.

Here is our show in terms of the key concepts:

AUDIENCE:

From BBC Three Website:

“BBC Three is a mixed genre channel for young audiences.

We have three key priorities:

·         The channel needs to be disciplined about focusing on the young - its centre of gravity will be 16-34 year-olds: people who are young in spirit and mind-set.

·         BBC Three is ‘Never Afraid to Try new Stuff’ and that’s why we will continue to innovate with breakthrough comedy, stand-out entertainment, brave documentary and intelligent factual formats. Our content needs to have potential to innovate across platforms.

·         BBC Three should provide an environment for the development of new ideas and talent and for existing talent to take risks, becoming a genuine laboratory for BBC One and BBC Two.”

Due to our programme being aired on BBC Three it will most likely appeal to a similar age range, it will mainly be towards females as the programme is around weddings however men may also watch the programme because their girlfriend/partner is watching it or possibly if they feel empathy towards the men in the show. The audience will watch this show mainly for diversion and personal identification if they have been in a similar situation, such as having to plan their own wedding or have gone against the Middle Eastern stereotypes, some couples may also watch it for surveillance if they are planning on getting married and wish to know more or to understand more about how couples of an Eastern background actually are to how they are portrayed in the media.

INSTITUTION:

BBC 3 Institution:

Target audience aimed at 16-34 years olds.  Very focused in comedy programmes.  BBC three focus’s on what is affecting young adults, giving world problems a view from a teenagers point of view. They also show dramas and spin off series, and repeats from BBC 1 and 2. These all  ensure that they  make us laugh from them being a bit silly, but all have a serious point hidden in them, which relates to the BBCs values, informing and educating the audience.  BBC three is the channel in which the BBC is wanting to get teenagers a loyal attachment to the BBC institution.

NARRATIVE:

The narrative of the show will follow a similar structure to most existing reality shows do, and will last for one hour. We found that "Stricly Soulmates" and "Don't Tell the Bride" both last for one hour, and this would be a good legnth. It would enable us to delve into the different cultures in enough depth to show differences and avert stereotypes, but to also follow the narrative of the couple's daily lives which will entertain the audience. The structure for our show may be as follows:

0-10 minutes: Introduction to both of the couples. They would both be assigned five minutes each to introduce themselves, and give a breif over view of what they have already planned for their wedding. They will be shown photographs of the other couple, and be seen discussing what they expect from the other couple and their choices.

10-45 minutes: We see both couples living in the other couples lives. They do what the other couples do in a daily basis, and are seen disgussing whether or not they think they will last. They discuss what they think might be at the other couple's wedding, and how it will be planned. They then get told some of the key elements, such as how the other couple plan to spend their stag and hen do's, and discuss whether or not they want to use some of their ideas in their own plans. It is very much a cameria following the couples, with a voice over, as we see them discussing the other culture and their wedding plans.

45-55 minutes: We see each of the couples go to eachother's wedding. This will show that the weddings aren't what we/they expected them to be like. For example, the British couple might expect the Middle Eastern bride to be wearing a Sahri, and for the day to be very traditionally Middle Eastern with bright colours etc. However, when the British couple arrive, they may see that this is not the case, and they will learn that they should not stereotype different cultures.

55-60 minutes: There is an interview with each of the couples, talking about thei experiences and what they have learnt. Have their perceptions of the opposite cultures changed?

GENRE:

After researching on the BBC Three website, we found that the genres of Dont Tell the Bride (which we are using as our inspiration for our show) are factual, and families and relationships reality. We will show this genre in our show by using the clear codes and conventions of
reality televsion. For example, the close up camera shots used during interviews in the particapants own homes will be used, as well as an introdction sequence at the start of the show to introduce the characters. Below is our research:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p019t6tg

Link above- to BBC Two programme ‘ Strictly Soulmates’
provided for viewers to witness how young, single and religious people find love and their ideal partner.
4 episodes: Muslim, Judaism, Hinduism and Evangelical Christianity.

The basic genre behind all these shows are shown to be:

·         Factual

·         Family & relationships

·         Reality

This proves the TV shows to be a realistic portrayal of what they’re showing. For example; we have chosen to do reality, a TV show of two real life couples to defeat any given stereotypes that exist within our society about Middle-Eastern people. By doing this it means no actors would be used with any risk of doing something based on a poor representation of this minority.
The Genre, although is reality does provide its audience with entertainment and a sense of drama. We could show this in our TV show with a distressed bride facing the expected stress of planning a wedding, instead of something that’s unrealistic and over exaggerated and accidently falling into a stereotype.
REPRESENTATION:

Representation of the Middle East

Middle Eastern people are represented as being adaptable, and are able to make drastic changes to earn money. You can tell this by watching the program Bradford, which has been one of the most popular cities in England that Middle Eastern people move to, this is a place where they can find work, They call it the city of dreams. The program illustrates how they are able to learn new things, for example a women named sahida starting up a business of bridal and make up salons.

 

THINGS WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT:

• Enigmatic Codes
• Detailed Storyboard
• Start to film and plan the filming
• Find actors

Viral Marketing Campaigns for my case study films!

http://www.moviemarketingblog.com/top-five-movie-marketing-campaigns-of-2011/

"2. Bridesmaids (Universal Pictures)
Universal Pictures picked up an international movie-marketing award for Bridesmaids in Australia for their strategic use of publicity and advertising when promoting the film. But what I think really stood out about this campaign was Universal’s ability to tap into the minds of its target market- women. Bridesmaids hosted a Facebook contest where they asked fans to send in pictures of themselves in their worst bridesmaid gowns. 30 bridesmaids were chosen and hosted at the Angelika Theater in New York City where they were treated to a special screening. Women being social creatures by nature were encouraged to tweet, post, and blog during the film. Word of mouth quickly spread that the movie was hilarious and heart-warming and a box office success was born."

*  *  *  *

 

The below film is not actually part of my case study but it may be a good film to have in my knowledge for the exam because it had a hard time marketing itself, but the below information relates to viral marketing. It would also fit in with the idea of art house film marketing which I Have tried to discuss with Vicky Christina Barcelona.

 

"Martha Marcy May Marlene (Fox Searchlight)

Movies like Martha Marcy May Marlene are the hardest films to market not only because they often have virtually no budget, but also because there isn’t a clear target market. Or sometimes the content of the movie is so specific or obscure that it can be hard to convince the general population why they want to see the film. I nominate Martha Marcy for campaign of the year because it had the impossible task of marketing an independent movie about a cult without any big-name actors and a title that no one can remember. This was also the first time a studio released movie trailers exclusively through QR codes. I think the movie’s website has a creepy cool vibe as well."

* * * *

 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/universal-wins-movie-marketing-award-227678 - This website relates to Bridesmaids because of winning a marketing award.



"Is the media dumbing down?" - how can we apply theories to this?

Below are a few ideas of points I would make in the question: "Is the media dumbing down?"

• Male Gaze theory (the assumption that it is a hetrosexual man behind the camera)- the media is dumbing down to the point where it portrays the idea that only appearance is important, disregarding intellectualality etc. In my case study this might link to the way that woman are portrayed on posters, but Bridesmaids would contradict the idea that the media is dumbing down, because they try and focus more on woman's other qualities such as comdey, rather than emphasising looks. Some of the main characters are purprosely made through the mise-en-scene to look less attractive, which suggests that some media products aren't actuallydumbing down. Bridesmaids challenges perceptions and stereotypes in society and therefore it could be seen as an intelligent film.This contradicts the question and I could argue against it.
• I Give It A Year- is this an example of dumbing down in relation to the reception theory?-
• Media is dumbing society down because with new and digital media, we do much more of our communication through e-media and social networking, as oppose to old fashioned discussion and face to face conversation. The Bridesmaids facebook page has over 14,000 likes.
• The media is dumbing us down because it dictates what we talk about, rather than us creating our own conervsation topics. What is spoken about in daily life is often what we have seen on the news/in a film/in a music video. We are spoon fed opinions through reviews and podcasts of films (Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo podcasts of I Give It A Year and Bridesmaids), rather than constructing our own.
• Marxism- what are our ideologies and how are they changing? They are become much more shallow, perhaps.

In what way do the institutions involved in your films try to connect with and empower their audience?

In the modern day media, all marketing and other products are split into the three very distinct platforms of e-media, broadcast and print.  E-media is the most current of the three platforms, but all three are still very important and provide the user with different gratifications such as social interaction within e-media or diversion within broadcast (uses and gratifications). The three films which I have chosen to study for my case study are Bridesmaids (high budget American film); I Hive It A Year (2013) (high budget British film); and Vicky Christina Barcelona (low budget film). They are all narrowly connected by the idea that they all represent woman from romantic comedies in a different way.

There are many ways in which the films in my case study use e-media very effectively to connect with and empower their audience. Social media is a very large part of this. For example, I read an article called “Twitter saved my movie”, and it was an interview with the director of Bridesmaids, Paul Feig. It spoke about how Bridesmaids was gaining negative publicity pre-release, and its target audience were skeptical about how good the film was going to be. It was said that the film would be just another stereotypical romantic comedy (although this was not the case), and this was not going to suit the demographic. Consequently, Feig took to twitter to interact with the target audience, and gain opinions on how the film was actually going to perform, as oppose to the online backlash that it was receiving. This is a really useful example of how those involved in Bridesmaids connected with the audience. They used this social networking opportunity to their advantage and it definitely paid off, because the film went on to gross well over $200 million in the US. This is also a great example of how those involved can help to empower their audience, because the audience are likely to be empowered here if they feel as though they have played an active role in making  a film a success. Without twitter, the film may not have been so good because the demographic could have put off watching it/buying it due to the negative reports that it had even before it was released in June 2011. I Give It A Year has also taken advantage of social networking to connect with their audience, particularly through Facebook. They have a Facebook page which gives audiences a range of gratifications such as social interactions and surveillance, by allowing them to leave comments and look at products for other films which are to be released with the same actors/actresses/directors. A connection is consequently built between the institutions and the audience, which leaves the audience feeling empowered. Social networking sites promote the ideology that with advancing technology and idea, audiences are taking a more active role in media texts.

It is not just social networking in the e-media platform which help audiences to become connected. The interactive official websites of my movies also do this job, and connect with a wide range of people all the way from E class (students for example) to the upper A and B classes (according to the classification of employment). Bridesmaids and I Give It A Year both have very interactive websites with links to external websites, but Vicky Christina Barcelona does not. This film has not been so successful, and has had a much lower profit, which suggests to me that through the institution not taking full advantage of this e-media oppurtunity, they have jeopordised the film's success. It proves how important interactive websites can be in the marketing of a film.

Pod casts are also a vital part of the e-media platform. Bridesmaids was reviewed in a podcast by Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode, where they described the film to be an "anti-bride wars". They went on to say "it is funny, and I did laugh". This provides the audience with an alternative view point on a film, and will empower them especially if critics agree with their viewpoint. Reviews are a very crutial part in the success of a film; a bad review may completely ruin a film's success chances. They also provide a controversy and discussion which can increase the film's sphere of influence. Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo also reviewed I Give It A Year, although their review wasn't as good as their Bridesmaids one was. They said that a "major fall is that I didn't believe in the characters in the first place".

Broadcast media is most common in modern day film marketing through film trailers. Vicky Christina Barcelona had two trailers released: the first was a teaser and the second was the officially recognized one and much more effective. As with other trailers, these provide the audience with intellectual pleasures and the chance to solve the enigma codes they are presented with. This engulfs the audience with the intrigue and could propel them to create blogs, buy into the merchandising, or take part in online forums and social networking which could in turn increase the film's success. The I Give It A Year trailer was not only promoted through sites such as YouTube and in cinemas, but it was given some television air time too, broadening the demographic and deepening the audience pool. Trailers not only empower their audience through the intellectual pleasures they provide (curiosity may be the relating category according to Maslow's hierarchy of needs), but they connect with the audiences in a different way to e-media products. The connection the audience feels when accessing e-media products (such as a Twitter page) is very much to the institutons and the film's success (or not, as the case may be). However, with a trailer, the connection is with the story and the characters. The trailer is often the first chance the audience has to engage in the story, and so if they connect to it or personally identify with the characters, they are much more likely to go and watch it.

Print media must not be forgotten. With changing times and advancing technology, e-media is fast taking over, whilst print can sometimes be ignored. However, it is still a vital part of modern media, and can be very influential. Bridesmaids had an article written about it (a double page spread), in Media Magazine. It connects with the audience in an intellectual way, because it was critical about the film and the stereotypes which it challenges. They describe the film to be "the hangover in heels", and say that it "boldly goes where no other chick-flick has gone before". They also say that "Bridesmaids offers an alternative selection of witty woman". Overall, this article sings the praises of the film, and empowers the audience by giving them the ability to see deeper meanings to the film which may not otherwise be noticed. Simple feature articles such as Total Film or Empire articles can offer audiences excitement and anticipation for the text by correlating photographs and camera shots of the film with superlatives such as "the best" or "the newest". The I Give It A Year Total Film review credits the writer for challenging the usual movie wedding days that go wrong, creating an excitement and want to go and watch the film when it is released.

Regarding synergy, the films compiment the form of DVD's with bonus features well. Audiences may select and reject ifferent sections of the narrative or even recieve the ultimate pleasure of watching it all. The idea of audiences selecting and rejecting texts is a rather recent idea in response to on demand broadcasting. Subscription based SKY has services such as SKY Movies, allowing audiences to watch films when they want. Apple products take this idea one step further, providing the audience with the chance to watch the film when they want, but how they want to- on a phone, iPad, iPod, computer etc. Synergy is also present in soundtracks which have been released for all three of my films. Furthermore, gourmandbreaks.com introduced a "Vicky Christina Barcelona Tour" in recent years, giving audiences the opportunity to take a trip around Barcelona, visiting all of the sights and filming locations that we see in the movie. This allows audiences to connect with the film very deeply, by actually seeing the location and being part of it. This is also an example of post-modernism, where the boarders between fiction and reality are blurred; reality has been copied so many times that we loose sight of the original.

In conclusion, with the technological revolution and the welding of different media platforms, audiences now have a much higher chance of being able to connect with the institutions behind their favorite films. They are consequently given the opportunity to feel empowered by the media products which they are accessing. In my opinion, e-media is becoming progressively more important, because it not only stands alone, but provides another way for audiences to access previously broadcast or print products. Institutions who do not take full advantage of this through social networking, communicating with their audience, and creating a website, risk allowing their film to not be successful on a large scale. It is much harder to make a film into a brand that involves audiences without e-media.

In what way do the instsitutions involved in Trance try to connect with and empower their audience? (answer)

There are many ways in whicb the institutions involved in Trance try to connect with and empower their audience. These can be split into e-media, broadcast and print.

The social networking sites Facebook and Twitter allow audience to be empowered because they gain an active and important role in the success of the product. Trance has a very successful Facebook page already, even though it hasnt been out very long. It is also trending on twitter with '#trance' which means that the institutions can connect with the audience. They can gauge opinion and work with the audience to stregnthen their product. These social networking sites will also add longevity to the success of the film.

I also found an exclusive interview on MSN with Danny Boyle, James McAvoy and Vincent Cassel which spoke about the making of the movie. This connects with the audience because they are able to personally identify (uses and gratifcations) with those involved. This doesnt usually happen because a distance is created between directors/actors and the general public due to their celebrity status. The audience feel empowered because they become much more involved in the film.

Various views (such as on www.thelondonfilmreview.com) provide audiences with an alternative veiwpoint to the film which means they become more involved through their ability to form opinions on whether or not they agree.

In what way do the institutions involved in Trance try and connect with and empower the audience?

• www.thelondonfilmreview.com Film review of the Trance Movie. This connects with the audience because it shares opinions with them and allows them to form their own opinion on whether or not they agree. It may also attract a wider audience.
• Trance Exclusive Interview with Danny Boyle; James McAvvoy and Vincent Cassel. (http://video.uk.msn.com/watch/video/trance-exclusive-interview-with-danny-boyle-james-mcavoy-and-vincent-cassel/2scylqgh?cpkey=fa4c0e91-5402-459b-86ce-204025433a77%7C%7C%7C%7C&sf=Relevancy) The audience can personally identify with the director and the characters. They feel empowered because they can feel involved and closer to the people involved who are usually distanced from the general public.
• Digital Spy website, provides and map with locations of where it was filmed.
• Twitter
• contactmusic.com explains how he hired and started working with omeone who made all the music for Trance.
• MSN- Danny Boyle Biography where he discusses Trance.

Finish these sentence starters:

Finish these sentence starters:

1. Do you believe that the products in your case study are being marketed in a range of imaginitive ways?
2. Do the products in your case study make full use of the constantly changing e-media platform??
3. In your opinion, and based on your case study, do you think that audiences are becoming more acive and influencial?
4. In what way do the institutions from your case study market their products over a range of platforms?

Movie Marketing Madness sites for my films:

BRIDESMAIDS: http://christhilk.wordpress.com/2011/05/11/movie-marketing-madness-bridesmaids/

I GIVE IT A YEAR: dont have a site as it is quite new.

VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA: http://christhilk.wordpress.com/2008/08/11/movie-marketing-madness-vicky-cristina-barcelona/

Consider the role of new technology is your case study. How has it enhanced audience engagement and activity?

In this essay question I would include the following:

• E-media: UGC: fan sites and youtube videos which have been created. There are fan pop sites for both I Give it a Year and Bridesmaids, and there are various user generated videos on Youtube, particularly ones which review the film. There are also bloopers videos created by the audience. This enhances audience engagement and activity because it allows them to socially interact, and they can put their own stamp on the film. They can become inviolved in the brand and the product.
• E-media: Social Networking: "Twitter saved my movie" article. Quotes and character accounts on twitter: @BridesmaidsQuotes, facebook pages for IGIAT and Bridesmaids. Bridesmaids page has ____ likes and IGIAY page (most popular) has _______ likes. This enhances audience engagement and activity because they can socially interact, and they can also take on a role of helping the institution to release the best products they possibly can.
• Broadcast: trailers
• Broadcast: Love film and netflix: This enhances audience engagement and activity because they have much more control on what they want to view and when they want to view it. They are more likely to engage in the product and show an interest in it if they arent constricted in watching the film in a certain way at a certain time.
• IPhones: Watch films at any time you want.
• Synergy: More recent links between conglomerates and instituions mean that audiences can engage in the film's brand much more by buying products. For example: interiors, stationary, clothing.
• Apps: on the apple store for example. games and other apps increase the films longevity and increase audience engagement. Their activity shifts from just viewing to 'doing' and 'playing'. They are much more part of a brand.
• Print still exists but it has had to adapt to cope with the competition from e-media which is progressively more popular. There is a recent shift from print media to digital, so most magazines now publish their articles online to in order to keep up with demand. Interviews do exist
• All new technologies have to exist together for them to be able to work well and enhance audience engagement as much as possible. I believe that e-media is the most important media platform nowadays, because it enhances audience engagament and activity the most. I can also tell this from one of my case studies: VCB didnt have much online presence, and as a result, was the least successful film. The facebook page has minimal likes and users, showing audiences didnt feel engaged with the film due to the instsituon not taking adnavantage of new and digital media.

In what way has new and digital media has impacted on the products in your case study and how they are received by the audience?

In what way has new and digital media has impacted on the products in your case study and how they are received by the audience?  

1. Introduction to this question would be: what is new and digital media? General examples in a list of this: eg social media, love film etc
2. What are my case study films? When were they released? UK or USA? Large budget or low budget?
3. Firstly paragraph would focus on social networking.
4. Bridesmaids (social networking)- - speak about news article I read which is about how the director using twitter impacted the success of the film's release. The director said: "twitter saved my movie". http://www.blackbookmag.com/movies/bridesmaids-director-twitter-saved-my-movie-1.41733# This has had a massive impact on the films success. How is this recieved by the audience?
5. I Give it a year (social networking)- There is a facebook page for I Give It A Year with over 13,000 likes. There are over 1000 people "talking about it". Advertises the film, people leave comments, post pictures and clips etc. http://www.facebook.com/#!/IGiveItAYear?fref=ts This is recieved by the audience because: they are much more actvie, they feel much more involved, recieved through emedia, uses and gratifications is social interaction.
6. Vicky Christina Barcelona also has a facebook page even though it is much more low budget and less mainstream. Not used nearly as much as the other two so this suggests that new and digital medias cant always make a film succesful on their own- perhaps they need traditional media and technuqies such as trailers and posters to back it up.
7. Second paragraph on facilities like "love film" and "netflix"
8. These sites and services are very modern. They mean that the audience have much more freedom. They persuade more people to watch the film because they ahve freedom as to how they access it. Keeps the film "new" for much longer- released on these sites after they have been on at the cinema. This means they are "new" on these sites months after they are "new" in the cinema- they are advertised twice.
9. Bridesmaids and Vicky Christina Barcelona are available on these sites, but I Give It A Year is not yet because it has only just been released.
10. Third paragraph: fan sites
11. Bridesmaids has a fan site on Facebook, and numerous separate dedicated fan sites. The most prominent is on "fanpop". People leave questions, pictures, videos, votes, comments etc. Example of poll is: someone left a question saying "Who is your favorite character?", and people leave their answers. We can see who the favorite character is amongst fans! How is this recieved by the audience?
12. Fourth paragraph: synergy.
13. merchandise etc. more and more companies involved, particularly those underneath the conglomerate or owned by the conglomerate.
14. Fifth paragraph: interactive website.
15. Bridesmaids: what does it allow you to do on the webiste? Uses and gratifications- the website means that there are much more reasons why the audience might access anything to do with the film. Surveillance, competition, diversion, social interaction and personal identification are all available. Links to social networking- means the film has a more viral impact on the internet.
16. I Give It A year also has an interactive website: http://www.igiveitayearmovie.co.uk/. Has the trailer and ratings for example.
17. Sixth paragraph: conclusion.
18. New and digital medias definitely increase profits of films, and make them much more well known. Even save films from being a "flop" as we saw with Bridemaids.
19. Can new and digital media be successful on its own? Does it need the traditional methods of marketing to back it up? Perhaps yes, as we saw with Vicky Christina Barcelona. New and digital media are likely to be more successful for gaining repuation and fans if the film is mainstream and it can be done on a large scale.
20. In this question I would use theories throughout, particularly ones relating to audience. For example: uses and gratifications; stuart hall, classification of employment, maslows hierachy of needs?

Postmodernism Theory:

Postermodern theory challenges the moderinst's beliefs. Postermodern persepectives are present in most contemporary art, film, television and media. The word "postmodern" is a wide term, and it is largely a reaction to efforts in media which explain reality. It stems from a recognition that reality is not just human understanding of it. Postmodernism relies on the individual/viewer knowing that their experiences and interpretation of reality may be falliable and relative, rather than universal for everyone and every culture.

A leading theorist of postmodernism is Jean Baudrillard. Baudrillard posits that we are living in a word of “hyperreality” constructed largely of surface media images that challenges and undermines modernist notions of reality and truth.


I have found that there are various features of postmodern films. They are:

Pastiche	Self-referential, tongue-in-cheek, rehashes of classic pop culture
Flattening of Affect	Technology, violence, drugs, and the media lead to detached, emotionless, unauthentic lives
Hyperreality	Technologically created realities are often more authentic or desirable than the real world
Time Bending	Time travel provides another way to shape reality and play "what if" games with society
Altered States	Drugs and technology provide a darker, sometimes psychedelic, gateway to new internal realities
More Human than Human	Artificial intelligence, robotics, and cybernetics seek to enhance, or replace, humanity

Where I am so far with my case studies:

My films are 1) Bridesmaids, 2) I Give it a year, and 3) Vicky Christina Barcelona

All of the information which I find is put onto a word document as I find this easier. I will then print it off use it to revise once all of my information for every film is on there.

 

1.  Analyse the trailer Done for Bridesmaids and I give it a year but not VCB

2.  Analyse the website Done for Bridesmaids and I give it a year but not VCB

3.  Analyse a fan site Not done yet but I know which fan sites I am going to use, so I will get this done ASAP.

4.  Find a few twitter comments about it I have done this for bridesmaids but not the other two films.

5. read a few articles from different websites about it. Not done for any in depth but will add this to my word document ASAP. I have found an article for Bridemaids which I will look at in more detail about the relationship between the films success and the director's twitter activity.

6.  Find out how much it cost to make Done for all

7.  Find out what awards it won. Done for Bridemaids not IGIAY or VCB

8.  Find out if there are any additional things being sold like posters/other merchandise. I have looked but struggled to find any sites solely dedicated to this, or any official merchandise. The official websites dont clearly advertise merchandise either. I could look at sites like amazon for unofficial merchandise, although this would not then relate to synergy.

9.  Know who was producing it and what else they had produced.  The same for directing. Done for all.

10.  Find out about the marketing campaign and how they did it. I have looked at the marketing techniques for all three films across all platforms, but will do this in more depth.

11.  Look at what fans were saying about the film, perhaps watch some interviews with the cast and director. Done.

12.  Find out what impact winning awards had on the film and its' box office takings. Not done for any, although have looked at overall profits and box office takings, just not in relation to awards.

13.  Think of theories to apply to the film and what sorts of questions they would be good to use in. Not done.

14.  Look at old mark schemes and see what sorts of things they are looking for and what the questions were. Yes, I have done this.

15.  Practice answering questions and think about what I felt I should have known but didn't and how I could find out that information.  I have saved numerous past exam questions and made notes on how I might answer them. I need to write some more practise qurestions out in full though, as my answers have been largely based around Bridesmaids and there's been little about the other two films.

Synergy is the process by which media institutions use a range of platforms to promote, sell and distribute their products. Assess the impact of synergy in your cross-media study.
Support your answer with reference to a range of examples from three media platforms. (32 marks) 

As mentioned in the question, synergy is the process by which media institutions use a range of platforms to promote, sell and distribute products. To elaborate on this, this may come in the form of selling merchandise like clothing and interiors with the same design as the main film marketing (poster and website eg).

My case study films are Bridesmaids and I Give It A Year. I Give It A Year was released in February 2013, and so is very recent and has many examples of this, as does Bridesmaids.

Bridesmaids was released in corporation with a variety of different institutions, the main ones being Universal Pictures and Relativity Media. They have a variety of different websites (e-media) working in corporation with them to sell clothing merchandise, and this is a perfect way to advertise and promote their film. When conducting my research I found a variety of websites, but one in particular seemed to be very successful. Not only will it remain much longer than the television or print advertising (consequently encouraging more people to watch the film in the future), it will make the brand much more money. Fans are likely to spend money on merchandise which will make much more than the film alone would. Consequently, clothing merchandise has a very significant impact for Bridesmaids.

Synergy also occurs within e-media in the form of social networking. The institutions behind the films (Universal Pictures and Relativity Media for Bridesmaids, and Working Title for I Give It A Year) set up Twitter and Facebook accounts. These are a free way of making lots of money. They are using the new platform of e-media to indirectly sell, promote and distribute their product. It quickly promotes the brand in a different and interactive way to a very wide audience, who are using these sites for social interaction. The ability to leave comments and discuss opinions on the films in question is exactly what the target audience wants, and so this method of synergy also has a very significant impact. Not only does it reach the target audience, but it reaches a much wider audience who aren't necessarily primarily involved. Both "I Give It A Year" and "Bridesmaids" are both promoted through Twitter accounts. For example, Bridesmaids are promoted through Universal Pictures, and this account has over 200,000 followers. It is also promoted through fan made twitter accounts such as "BridesmaidsQuotes", although this doesn't count as synergy as it is not organised by the institution themselves. 

Overall, synergy can be very effective in promoting a film to a much wider audience, as well as making more money in the long run for the institution.