New and digital media erodes the dividing line between reporters and reported, between
active producers and passive audiences: people are enabled to speak for themselves.’
(www.indymedia.org.uk)
Have such developments made the media more democratic, with more equal
participation by more people? (48 marks)
In a sense digital media has made the media more democratic as digital media has given a way for the public to give their say on events they consider newsworthy through various social networking sites like twitter and Facebook Many news website also have the ability for users to comment on them as they seem to want to have a level of interaction with their audience. These commenting systems allow for a level of interaction with the news institutions not previously had, of course, these institutions still have control over what content is posted on their websites and can moderate and remove them if wanted. This still shows them as being the beaugazie <Spell check wasn't very useful here> as they have the ability to affect their audiences say on their articles.
Social media sites like Facebook and twitter are also used to give opinions, these sites are very useful for the general public to participate in the news as they can share and discuss news stories with friends or just post them on their wall to help them get attention. With twitter this has become more prevalent as there is the ability to discuss and post thoughts on topics that are trending and more people will be able to see these opinions through this as they are not only displayed to friends and are therefore able to get more popularity.
Of course, as with all methods of communication on the internet, there are trolls and other unsavoury characters that tend to destroy any attempts at civil conversation. This is very prevalent on sites such as YouTube where users can sign up very easily and not display public information as they have a sense of anonymity and that they cannot be affected by anything they write. This is an instance where maybe maybe the institutions should get more involved with their products as people can just run rampart spreading discord on the internet. The way that people tend not to care about there comments due to being not face to face with people, a good example of this is on twitter where there have been cases of arrests over comments made via the site, even jokingly. One example would be where two UK citizens, Leigh Van Bryan and Emily Bunting, made joking comments about destroying america on a visit there and digging up Marilyn Monroe. These two comments got them detained after landing in Los Angeles where, after being locked up for a few hours they explained that they meant destroy america as get wasted and digging up Marilyn Monroe was a quote from the show Family Guy. This is evidence of authorities taking comments made on social networking sites far too seriously and if the institution themselves were the ones that brought these comments to the authorities attention then they should have to rethink some of there rules regarding comments. Rowan Atkinson made a statement that essentially said that people should be allowed to insult each other after a handful of arrests and fines of comments made on social networking sites. This "Campaign" for the right to insult one another also got the attention of Steven Fry This could be an instance of an institution standing up for those that had been targeted as he himself is a comedian and understands the value of being able to insult somebody, whether it is jokingly or not. These types of issues can be seen as being a form of censorship by institutions as they are preventing people from speaking freely about different topics, Whilst it is important for these institutions to monitor activity made one their media platform it is also important to let people speak freely about what they choose to.
(this is something I did ages ago and never published)
Thursday 20 December 2012
Thursday AS retake stuff
2. Findout about the marketing campaigns for all three of your films and post the details of it on your blog:
The Hobbit/ LoTR:http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/1160525/Microsoft-mobile-ads-star-Hobbit-characters/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH
This one is a little different as it isn't advertising the film per say as it is advertising the windows phone 8 using characters from the movie. Whilst it is not a direct advertisement for the film, it does promote it through displaying these characters and creating some form of recognition in the audience. it is pretty similar to the Star wars car advertisement's that have been featuring Yoda, they create a sense of recognition and association to encourage people to buy it.
300: 300 used the conventional marketing campaign of using trailers and poster to promote the film but there is and example of there being unintentional advertisement for the film. The whole "This is Sparta!" joke became popular across the internet which may have unintentionally advertised the film as it no doubt increased its notoriety through the various parodies that sprang up regarding it.
Priest: Priest didn't really do much special for its advertising, it had the usual trailers and posters etc. but it also had a small competition it ran whilst showing that it had flown 3 students from somewhere like the London college of film or something like that, so that they could work on the films 3D aspects.
The Hobbit/ LoTR:http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/1160525/Microsoft-mobile-ads-star-Hobbit-characters/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH
This one is a little different as it isn't advertising the film per say as it is advertising the windows phone 8 using characters from the movie. Whilst it is not a direct advertisement for the film, it does promote it through displaying these characters and creating some form of recognition in the audience. it is pretty similar to the Star wars car advertisement's that have been featuring Yoda, they create a sense of recognition and association to encourage people to buy it.
300: 300 used the conventional marketing campaign of using trailers and poster to promote the film but there is and example of there being unintentional advertisement for the film. The whole "This is Sparta!" joke became popular across the internet which may have unintentionally advertised the film as it no doubt increased its notoriety through the various parodies that sprang up regarding it.
Priest: Priest didn't really do much special for its advertising, it had the usual trailers and posters etc. but it also had a small competition it ran whilst showing that it had flown 3 students from somewhere like the London college of film or something like that, so that they could work on the films 3D aspects.
Friday 14 December 2012
"It is not the strongest that survive but those most responsive to change."
How and why do media institutions continue to change?
As with all things, media institutions need to change to be able to survive in our constantly developing world. As we create and update our technology media institutions also need to update to "Get with the times" so to speak as more often than not these technological development's can lead to a new way of making money for the institutions.
3D technology in cinemas is perhaps one of the more recent adoptions that film institutions have made. The popularity of 3D in recent years can likely be traced back to Avatar (2009) as it used a stereoscopic filming style that hadn't been used widely and caused the film to have effects that have received high praise from critics. This film then went on to become the highest grossing film of all time and lead to the popularity of 3D films. Despite its popularity, many view 3D as more of a gimmick than a feature that adds to the film this may be attributed to the way that many films have actually used 3D as more of a gimmick and leading to audiences to become jaded towards it. Another more recent development in film is HFR (Or high frame rate). HFR means that the images shown on screen will be displayed at a higher frame rate than films without, this essentially means that films that use this will look as though it is being animated at a smoother an quicker pace. This allows the film to get rid of the motion blur effect that is often used on films shown at 24fps which means that the film should have higher quality picture. The audience appears to have mixed opinions on this effect as some say that they just get used to it or think it looks better whilst others think that it feels less like a film because of the higher frame rate often citing it as looking like a soap opera. Recently James Cameron announced that he felt as though HFR was the way forward and would be filming the rest of the avatar trilogy using it, this may lead to an increase in its popularity much like with 3D when it was shown in avatar.
Another recent development for media institutions is on the internet. The internet allows media institutions to interact with audience in ways that were not previously possible. Through social media they can target their audience with advertising, both direct and subtle, for their products as they can announce details or post trailers and links to interviews with members of the cast/crew. The audience can usually respond with comments or replies as well giving this form of advertisement a level of interactivity that was previously not done. This allows a form of more direct targeting as people that follow or like the film or product pages are the one that are going to be interested in the product and since the amount of people that use the internet continues to grow the amount of targeted advertising they can do will also increase.
How and why do media institutions continue to change?
As with all things, media institutions need to change to be able to survive in our constantly developing world. As we create and update our technology media institutions also need to update to "Get with the times" so to speak as more often than not these technological development's can lead to a new way of making money for the institutions.
3D technology in cinemas is perhaps one of the more recent adoptions that film institutions have made. The popularity of 3D in recent years can likely be traced back to Avatar (2009) as it used a stereoscopic filming style that hadn't been used widely and caused the film to have effects that have received high praise from critics. This film then went on to become the highest grossing film of all time and lead to the popularity of 3D films. Despite its popularity, many view 3D as more of a gimmick than a feature that adds to the film this may be attributed to the way that many films have actually used 3D as more of a gimmick and leading to audiences to become jaded towards it. Another more recent development in film is HFR (Or high frame rate). HFR means that the images shown on screen will be displayed at a higher frame rate than films without, this essentially means that films that use this will look as though it is being animated at a smoother an quicker pace. This allows the film to get rid of the motion blur effect that is often used on films shown at 24fps which means that the film should have higher quality picture. The audience appears to have mixed opinions on this effect as some say that they just get used to it or think it looks better whilst others think that it feels less like a film because of the higher frame rate often citing it as looking like a soap opera. Recently James Cameron announced that he felt as though HFR was the way forward and would be filming the rest of the avatar trilogy using it, this may lead to an increase in its popularity much like with 3D when it was shown in avatar.
Another recent development for media institutions is on the internet. The internet allows media institutions to interact with audience in ways that were not previously possible. Through social media they can target their audience with advertising, both direct and subtle, for their products as they can announce details or post trailers and links to interviews with members of the cast/crew. The audience can usually respond with comments or replies as well giving this form of advertisement a level of interactivity that was previously not done. This allows a form of more direct targeting as people that follow or like the film or product pages are the one that are going to be interested in the product and since the amount of people that use the internet continues to grow the amount of targeted advertising they can do will also increase.
Thursday 13 December 2012
The future of cinema
5. The future of cinema: where will it be in ten years?
list of texts: The hobbit (48 fps and the future of HFR cinema), Avatar (Use of 3d and its influence),
Star wars ep. 4 (comparison of special effects and the remastered versions),
The increaseing use of "4D" in films particually recent years mainly 2012+11,
The different versions of how 3D films are made (two camera on set and post production)
as well as the decline in interest in 3D, Buttnumb-a-thon and the increase in cinematic events,
http://www.christiedigital.co.uk/supportdocs/anonymous/christie-high-frame-rate-technology-overview.pdf
Resurgence
list of texts: The hobbit (48 fps and the future of HFR cinema), Avatar (Use of 3d and its influence),
Star wars ep. 4 (comparison of special effects and the remastered versions),
The increaseing use of "4D" in films particually recent years mainly 2012+11,
The different versions of how 3D films are made (two camera on set and post production)
as well as the decline in interest in 3D, Buttnumb-a-thon and the increase in cinematic events,
http://www.christiedigital.co.uk/supportdocs/anonymous/christie-high-frame-rate-technology-overview.pdf
Resurgence
Thursday 29 November 2012
Syrian internet censorship
Figured I should post this as it is pretty significant case of censorship as they have completely closed off the internet in Syria:
http://www.renesys.com/blog/2012/11/syria-off-the-air.shtml
http://www.renesys.com/blog/2012/11/syria-off-the-air.shtml
Do you believe that media institutions should be allowed to gain information through any means necessary to create a story?
- Basicly explain the background of this ieda of media invasion of privacy, referencing the leverson inquiry as it is a recent inssue, and show how there are both benfits and drawbacks to this.. (Such as being able to gather information that may shed some light on the issue or how it invades sombodies private information to foind out about this case.
-Show the negative aspects of this issue, starting with the Millie Dowler case as an example of how the leveson inquiry began and expand on different cases that have emerged because of this.
-Then follow up with what exactly the negative aspects of these cases is (Specifically invasion of privacy due to it being a media debate).
-After, write about the instituion that control many of the perpertrators of the phone hacking (Rupert Murdoch) and say something about his large influence.
-Write about the benefits of phone hacking and other invasiive methods of gaining information.
- Write about an example of where this may have been useful or use a specific example.
-Evaluate the pro's and cons of each.
-Throw in my own opinion for good measure.
-fin.
-Show the negative aspects of this issue, starting with the Millie Dowler case as an example of how the leveson inquiry began and expand on different cases that have emerged because of this.
-Then follow up with what exactly the negative aspects of these cases is (Specifically invasion of privacy due to it being a media debate).
-After, write about the instituion that control many of the perpertrators of the phone hacking (Rupert Murdoch) and say something about his large influence.
-Write about the benefits of phone hacking and other invasiive methods of gaining information.
- Write about an example of where this may have been useful or use a specific example.
-Evaluate the pro's and cons of each.
-Throw in my own opinion for good measure.
-fin.
1. Many film institutions are using social media sites such as facebook and twitter in order ot reach out to their audiences nowadays. This is largely because a large portion of the population have access to such sites and therefor can be easily targeted by advertisment there is also a level of interaction that this audience can acheive through social media sites scuha as facebook and twitter as they can directly ask members of teh crew for a film questions regarding teh film they may be working on. as people like directors and actors often hae a large number of followers any information they post can then be diegested by anyone that follows them resulting in an alternative form of advertisment that we have only been able to acheive through interveiws and magazine articles in the past.There is also the ability to access this information from anywhere that many people, particually younger generations, use in order to stay "In the loop" with what is happening on these sites, this means that people advertising through these platforms would have to take into account the fact that there is generally a specific generation that will have access to anything they advertise at any time.
2. Whilst there are examples of fan made twitter accounts for fictional characters there also example of "official" characteraccounts that are made by the institution. A good example of accounts like these is the video game company, Gearbox. Gearbox has a history of using twitter accounts based off of characters to promote their video game series, Borderlands. after they released the original game they made a mock up twitter profile for the antagonsit of one of the expansions to be released for the game, using this tiwtter account they posted hints at information regarding the expansion through the characters twitter account in which they mimiced the characters comedicly pessimistic view on life. This advertising campaign created hype for the expansion amongst fans and essentially became an effective advertising method.
3. the majority of film websites post information on them rather than creating augmented reality methods of advertisment such as other website like District 9. this allows the audience to laern more about the film and essentailly serves as an advertisisng platform. some also contain forums in which users can interact with each other after cerating an account on the website. this other method of user interaction means that fans of the product cna interact with each other and discuss the procut or other topics on the forum. this manages to creaet some form of brand loyalty as the user can feel as though they are interacting with the product and its community in a way that without internet would be impossible.
4. Websites can help with the branding of films as more often than not they will use a similar theme and colour scheme to the other forms of promoting the film such as poster advertisment and the banner that is shown on the title of the film that is often shown in advertisments. this constant design theme allows the institution to create a better branding.
5. One type of video that can be used to promote is develouper diaries. these are videos that follow members of the crew working on a product and record there thoughts esssentially acting as a diary, hence the name. A good example of this arethe hobbit director diaries as they contain infromation about the productiong process for parts of the film and the directors thoughts on some sections of the film or finding the background information for it. this allows another form of user interaction as tehy can follow parts of the production of the film and allows them to get an insight onto how members of the crew and cast.
6. Fansitesfor films can be useful in beinga mthod of advertisment without the institutions interaction. A good example of this is wikis. These are small wikis that focus on a specific product or series.
2. Whilst there are examples of fan made twitter accounts for fictional characters there also example of "official" characteraccounts that are made by the institution. A good example of accounts like these is the video game company, Gearbox. Gearbox has a history of using twitter accounts based off of characters to promote their video game series, Borderlands. after they released the original game they made a mock up twitter profile for the antagonsit of one of the expansions to be released for the game, using this tiwtter account they posted hints at information regarding the expansion through the characters twitter account in which they mimiced the characters comedicly pessimistic view on life. This advertising campaign created hype for the expansion amongst fans and essentially became an effective advertising method.
3. the majority of film websites post information on them rather than creating augmented reality methods of advertisment such as other website like District 9. this allows the audience to laern more about the film and essentailly serves as an advertisisng platform. some also contain forums in which users can interact with each other after cerating an account on the website. this other method of user interaction means that fans of the product cna interact with each other and discuss the procut or other topics on the forum. this manages to creaet some form of brand loyalty as the user can feel as though they are interacting with the product and its community in a way that without internet would be impossible.
4. Websites can help with the branding of films as more often than not they will use a similar theme and colour scheme to the other forms of promoting the film such as poster advertisment and the banner that is shown on the title of the film that is often shown in advertisments. this constant design theme allows the institution to create a better branding.
5. One type of video that can be used to promote is develouper diaries. these are videos that follow members of the crew working on a product and record there thoughts esssentially acting as a diary, hence the name. A good example of this arethe hobbit director diaries as they contain infromation about the productiong process for parts of the film and the directors thoughts on some sections of the film or finding the background information for it. this allows another form of user interaction as tehy can follow parts of the production of the film and allows them to get an insight onto how members of the crew and cast.
6. Fansitesfor films can be useful in beinga mthod of advertisment without the institutions interaction. A good example of this is wikis. These are small wikis that focus on a specific product or series.
Wednesday 21 November 2012
More articles
Here is an article regarding the media war in Gaza: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/11/20121119135929987120.html
Quite interesting as it shows the media's role in the Gaza situation.
Another article here which is kind of relevent as we have been doing work relating to internet trolls:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/11/internet-troll-who-exploited-att-security-flaw-faces-5-years-in-jail/
Quite interesting as it shows the media's role in the Gaza situation.
Another article here which is kind of relevent as we have been doing work relating to internet trolls:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/11/internet-troll-who-exploited-att-security-flaw-faces-5-years-in-jail/
Tuesday 20 November 2012
Thursday 15 November 2012
Does the media solve _ problems with censorship
Censoring through the media in regards to social problems can in turn cause more problems in a kind of ironic way. If the social media sites suddenly started to censor what the public were saying there would be uproar. a good hypothetical example of this would be people, possibley jokeingly, discussing starting a riot. should the institution in charge choose to censor this it would increase anger in the population possibley causing a riot itself, although that may be far fetched. Another example of where the media affects social problems could be seen through how news institution present information. an example of this would be a news institution failing to report a story as despite them attempting to prevent some informaiton from being posted it will eventually come to lightand cause public outrage. A good example would be the recent Jimmy Saville case as apparently the BBC were aware of some sort of Savilles offenses, Now that the stories have began flooding in regarding his abuse people have lost trust in the BBC for not reporting these facts until after his death. this has also lead to the very recent stepping down of the director general in which his salary has caused controversy yet again. If the BBC had perhaps not reported at all the impact would have been riculous, it would have likely let to protests regarding the BBC. Yet they did report and receive backlash from the public placing them in a damned if you do, damned if you don't type situation. Another example could be with the Julian Assange case as whilst the media is not censoring directly they are not posting all the facts according to his supporters and are instead trying to misdirect why he is wanted by authorities with accusations of rape.
Do you beleive that there should be more control over social media.
- To some extenet there is a degree of control over social media in britain. this can be seen through the recent surge in arrests over offensive twitter comments as shown in the linked article regarding the athlete Tom Daley. This shows that already the authorities ahve taken some form of interest in how abuse is handled over the internet as these types of cases have only come about this year.
(More after the page break)
(More after the page break)
Friday 9 November 2012
New and digital media offers media institutions different ways of reaching audiences.
New and digital media offers media institutions different ways of reaching audiences.
Consider how and why media institutions are using these techniques. (48 marks)
The internet has allowed media institutions to interact and engage their audience on a level that has not been previously possible. An example of this would be how the internet is now used by film institituions to promote their films. Before the internet became as popular as it it is now most films were advertised through forms like billboards, posters, magazine articles and advertisments shown on TV and in the cinema. The restriction with many of these promotional methods is that the majority are just static images and there is only so much information the audience can gather from these images compared to the adverts shown on TV as these ads often show key moments from the film in order to attract the audience. The internet has changed this as users can now access trailers online as well as access the films website which can have varying levels of interactivity with the most basic showing trailers and images from the film as well as release dates and other information. on the other end of the spectrum there are promotional sites such as the one for district 9. The district 9 site is more of an interactive product as it works like a mock up of a goverment website, it requres the user selects whether they are one of the aliens from the film or a human before showing a map of an area that shows where there have been alien sitings and other such relevent information. This user inetractivity is more likely to attract an audience to the film as audiences feel as though they are becoming more involved with the film through gaining informatuion such as some background to the storyline through this map.
Consider how and why media institutions are using these techniques. (48 marks)
The internet has allowed media institutions to interact and engage their audience on a level that has not been previously possible. An example of this would be how the internet is now used by film institituions to promote their films. Before the internet became as popular as it it is now most films were advertised through forms like billboards, posters, magazine articles and advertisments shown on TV and in the cinema. The restriction with many of these promotional methods is that the majority are just static images and there is only so much information the audience can gather from these images compared to the adverts shown on TV as these ads often show key moments from the film in order to attract the audience. The internet has changed this as users can now access trailers online as well as access the films website which can have varying levels of interactivity with the most basic showing trailers and images from the film as well as release dates and other information. on the other end of the spectrum there are promotional sites such as the one for district 9. The district 9 site is more of an interactive product as it works like a mock up of a goverment website, it requres the user selects whether they are one of the aliens from the film or a human before showing a map of an area that shows where there have been alien sitings and other such relevent information. This user inetractivity is more likely to attract an audience to the film as audiences feel as though they are becoming more involved with the film through gaining informatuion such as some background to the storyline through this map.
Thursday 8 November 2012
What opportunities and/or disadvantages do new and digital media have for audiences.
As digital media has become and more and more important feature in our day to day lives it has also allowed us as a society to become connected in a way that we have not been able to before. this essay will focus on how our use of the digital media has affected the film industry and its audience.
One example of how the digital media has affected the film industry would be through the audience to have a voice in regards to a film possibley throughs sites such as IMDB and metacritic. These two sites have seen a surge in popularity in recent years as their reputation (Particualy IMDB due to its focus on info as well as reveiws) of having a wide range of information and reveiws from both critics and consumers. these sites allow the general audience to have a voice in what they think of the film whereas before they have not as the both have the ability to post reveiws and discussions about these films. a drawback to this is how open these two platforms are to users as the some users can choose to manipulate ratings through posting a large amount of negative reviews either as a group or through the use of multiple accounts. this can then turn users away from watching a films because of these false reveiws. Of course the ability to critique and share opinions on films may cause people to be more likely to watch a film as they may feel as though if they were disapointed with a film they can advise the rest of the users not to see it. Another example of how the audience can impact a film can be seen in the story of how a user on a website caused a film to be created. a user on the website, reddit, responded to a topic post with their concept of a film regarding modern day soldiers being sent back in time to the roman ages. after the user posted this they were contacted by a producer and the film is now being produced. (http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/03/ff_reddit/)
Another impact the inernet has is the ability for films to be promoted through this media. this can be done on various platforms such as twitter where the one of the cast or crew that works on a film post something along the lines of an "exclusive" photo from off the set which may then cause excitement in the audience to watch that film. Another way to promote a film through digital media is via videos on sites such as vimeo and youtube or even on online articles. this can be done by posting a video onto these sites as video promotional material allows the user to become more engaged with the film than with a static image or text based article that they would find away from the internet.
One example of how the digital media has affected the film industry would be through the audience to have a voice in regards to a film possibley throughs sites such as IMDB and metacritic. These two sites have seen a surge in popularity in recent years as their reputation (Particualy IMDB due to its focus on info as well as reveiws) of having a wide range of information and reveiws from both critics and consumers. these sites allow the general audience to have a voice in what they think of the film whereas before they have not as the both have the ability to post reveiws and discussions about these films. a drawback to this is how open these two platforms are to users as the some users can choose to manipulate ratings through posting a large amount of negative reviews either as a group or through the use of multiple accounts. this can then turn users away from watching a films because of these false reveiws. Of course the ability to critique and share opinions on films may cause people to be more likely to watch a film as they may feel as though if they were disapointed with a film they can advise the rest of the users not to see it. Another example of how the audience can impact a film can be seen in the story of how a user on a website caused a film to be created. a user on the website, reddit, responded to a topic post with their concept of a film regarding modern day soldiers being sent back in time to the roman ages. after the user posted this they were contacted by a producer and the film is now being produced. (http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/03/ff_reddit/)
Another impact the inernet has is the ability for films to be promoted through this media. this can be done on various platforms such as twitter where the one of the cast or crew that works on a film post something along the lines of an "exclusive" photo from off the set which may then cause excitement in the audience to watch that film. Another way to promote a film through digital media is via videos on sites such as vimeo and youtube or even on online articles. this can be done by posting a video onto these sites as video promotional material allows the user to become more engaged with the film than with a static image or text based article that they would find away from the internet.
Advantages
1. Althoguh opinions can be stated on the internet the sheer volume of users causes many peoples opinions to be lost among the numersous arguments that may have sprung up due to people voicing there opinion in the first place.
2. Whilst there is a wealth of information on the internet much of it is able to be altered by anyone either directly or indirectly such as altering wikipedia articles or skewing reviews by posting negative (or positive in some cases) on multiple accounts.
3. People can effectively influence the ways that people veiw them by posting only hte highlights of their life. Also the fact that many people post large amounts of informaiton people post to a website where anyone can access it, even by possibley masquerading as a freind, can only be a bad thing.
4. People can become obssessed with being the centre of attention even on the internet leading to them spending a vast amount of time posting about themselves and also people can lose self esteem if people dont show an interest in what they have posted.
7. The ananonimty of the internet allows people to post offensive content with no consequences (Although there have been court cases recently over offensive comments made via twitter and facebook in the uk.).
- Easier for the regular person to voice their opinion. For example with trailers and comments on youtube. SPECIFIC EXAMPLE FROM YOUR CASE STUDY.
- find out information more easily eg: views, trivia, information about the films. For example, wikapedia articles. IMDB for miscellaneous information.
- You can share your life with people. For example on Twitter and with photos. Social interaction and discussion.
- Validation of your existence and self esteem booster.
- if you want to be famous it's easier.
- You can share your interests and meet other people who have the same passions as you. youtube posting comments back and forth. Vital BMX - so people with a similar niche interest can easily find groups of likeminded people.
- For some people they may see it as freedom to act in a way that they want and to be able to say what they want. Gives people confidence because they can be anyone that they want.
- Allows another platform to access Media - you can watch things on the internet more easily
1. Althoguh opinions can be stated on the internet the sheer volume of users causes many peoples opinions to be lost among the numersous arguments that may have sprung up due to people voicing there opinion in the first place.
2. Whilst there is a wealth of information on the internet much of it is able to be altered by anyone either directly or indirectly such as altering wikipedia articles or skewing reviews by posting negative (or positive in some cases) on multiple accounts.
3. People can effectively influence the ways that people veiw them by posting only hte highlights of their life. Also the fact that many people post large amounts of informaiton people post to a website where anyone can access it, even by possibley masquerading as a freind, can only be a bad thing.
4. People can become obssessed with being the centre of attention even on the internet leading to them spending a vast amount of time posting about themselves and also people can lose self esteem if people dont show an interest in what they have posted.
7. The ananonimty of the internet allows people to post offensive content with no consequences (Although there have been court cases recently over offensive comments made via twitter and facebook in the uk.).
"The political and media classes of Iran are reportedly up in arms about this fantastically silly retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480BC, co-produced by Frank Miller, author of the pulpy shocker Sin City, and also the graphic novel on which this movie is based. With the kind of tremulous fervour that only prepubescent boys can work up on the subject of war, it recounts how the barbarous invading hordes of Persia were heroically held back by just 300 oiled and muscly Spartan warriors long enough for the Greek armies to regroup and for Athenian democracy - and by implication, all our inherited western values - to be saved for ever more. Iranian commentators, sudden and quick in quarrel, have found the slight intolerable. These people will presumably now redouble their commitment to historical sensitivity with another Holocaust Denial Conference. (Refers to (and partially ridicules) the apparent controversy in Iran over the films symbolism of east vs. west)
It's the Spartan King, Leonidas, who is played by a Brit: the grizzled, masculine, shouty figure of Gerard Butler, like a poor man's Russell Crowe. He's even shown in a rippling cornfield with his lady wife, like the great Gladiator of old. Like the other 299 warriors, he models an unattractive pair of trunks, looking like no one so much as the legendary 1970s English wrestler Mick McManus, although Mick never had those twin slabs of pecs and the kind of ripped abs that come from 1,000 crunches a day - or at any rate a fair bit of digital tweaking in post-production.And anyway, please. The Persians aren't made to look that bad. If they were, they'd be played by Brits. (Typical cynical British humour adds personality to the review) As it is, their leader, King Xerxes, is semi-nude (like everyone else) with loads of ethnic-looking body jewellery and he is played by pert Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro, last seen almost getting off with Laura Linney in Love, Actually and almost getting off with Nicole Kidman in Baz Luhrmann's multimillion dollar Chanel ad.
The biggest laugh comes when Leonidas, while striding purposefully around in his dun-coloured pants, gruffly denounces the culture of Athens as "poets and boy-lovers!" Oh Leonidas! Do you really want to go there, your Majesty? Do you really want to poke the lid of that worm-filled can with your great big Spartan spear? I had a feeling that, whatever the historical reality of the Spartans' sexual conventions, the Spartan armourer here should have been working overtime running up the 300 handbags necessary for the kind of martial contest for which this vast platoon of gym-bunnies is most obviously fitted. The Spartans were historically joined by Thespians, and frankly they are all Thespians in spirit. I don't think I have ever seen a more unintimidating bunch. Were they up against Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and Hyacinth Bucket we would see 300 arses - that is to say 600 tastefully smudged, semi-revealed Spartan buttocks - getting well and truly kicked. The silliest-sounding one is the Australian actor David Wenham, who has a strangulated English accent, as if he is auditioning to be a commentator on Test Match Special.
Xerxes commands a vast force and moreover has at his disposal a number of gigantic beasts, real and legendary, along with weird claw-handed giants whose job is to decapitate underperforming generals pour encourager les autres. He arrogantly sends word to Sparta, demanding of Leonidas some token form of submission: a tribute of earth and water. Leonidas refuses, kicks the Persians' emissary into a well, and slaughters the rest of the messenger's entourage too, apparently reckoning that, in the richness and fullness of time, their non-reappearance back in the Persian camp will tell Xerxes all he needs to know. Yet a corrupt cadre of Spartan priests, given to slobbering loathsomely over beautiful dancing girls, tries to tell Leonidas that the time is not propitious for Sparta to go to war. These hideous misshapen old men - and I have never seen a film go in quite so enthusiastically for the ugly-equals-wicked equation - are in the pocket of Sparta's most duplicitous and corrupt politician Theron, played by Dominic West.
Theron's most abysmal act of wickedness, while the King is away, is to force himself upon Leonidas's queen, played in full spirited-filly mode by Lena Headey. "This will not be over quickly," he hisses malevolently into her ear. "You will not enjoy this." I checked my watch at this stage, and found that on this issue, Theron had a point.
And yet it has to be said that there is a level of cheerfully self-aware ridiculousness, which means that 300 is not entirely without entertainment value. Pundits might be pretty quick to invoke Leni Riefenstahl in connection with this movie, and certainly Nazi Germany did indeed have a belligerent-sentimental soft spot for the Spartans at Thermopylae. But no one could possibly take it seriously, and surely no one in their right mind in the US could find in Frank Miller's homoerotic battle fantasy of Thermopylae an incitement to war against Iran. Apart from anything else, the idea of America having the Spartans' underdog status is not plausible."
Thursday 18 October 2012
Case Study
300: -Was released on march 9th oct and received a box offcie gross of $28,106,731 on the first day and eneded teh north american weekend $70,885,301. this beat the record held byice age for a spring release. In comparison it had a budget of 65,000,000.
- There was a controversy over the sensitivity of the east vs.west in the film according to.
TBC
- There was a controversy over the sensitivity of the east vs.west in the film according to.
TBC
Friday 5 October 2012
Questions
"People have different power levels"
I believe that this is true as there are always individuals that hold authority over others be it the government the authorities or even the media. The media are powerful as they shape the way that the consumer views the world and any bias that they should have often influences their audience by exposing them to the opinions they hold. they are other examples of people in power even inside groups such as the family for instance the father or mother figure often has control over the household and any children they have or in the workplace where the boss holds authority over his employees therefore having a sense of power over them. There are even examples of power in social circles where peer pressure and conformity dictate how people behave around each other. There are also people who have less power, who cannot shape other people lives so easily but even they have some kind of power like the employee for if they do not work then a business would not be able to run.
"There is no longer one representation of either gender"
This statement is more true in the modern days as there is less of a demanding social structure. For instance women can now dress and behave how they want whereas before society demanded that women take care of the household and wore "proper" clothing such as a dress. Men too were expected to conform in a certain way, one stereotype is that they were the only gender suited for manual labour whereas women can now work in manual fields of work as well. There is also a blurred line as some women dress like men now with masculine clothing and short hair as well as people who feel as though they are a different gender in the wrong gender.
I believe that this is true as there are always individuals that hold authority over others be it the government the authorities or even the media. The media are powerful as they shape the way that the consumer views the world and any bias that they should have often influences their audience by exposing them to the opinions they hold. they are other examples of people in power even inside groups such as the family for instance the father or mother figure often has control over the household and any children they have or in the workplace where the boss holds authority over his employees therefore having a sense of power over them. There are even examples of power in social circles where peer pressure and conformity dictate how people behave around each other. There are also people who have less power, who cannot shape other people lives so easily but even they have some kind of power like the employee for if they do not work then a business would not be able to run.
"There is no longer one representation of either gender"
This statement is more true in the modern days as there is less of a demanding social structure. For instance women can now dress and behave how they want whereas before society demanded that women take care of the household and wore "proper" clothing such as a dress. Men too were expected to conform in a certain way, one stereotype is that they were the only gender suited for manual labour whereas women can now work in manual fields of work as well. There is also a blurred line as some women dress like men now with masculine clothing and short hair as well as people who feel as though they are a different gender in the wrong gender.
Thursday 4 October 2012
Violence in the media
Trailer analysis:
Black ops 2 Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3tedlWs1XY
Kill Bill trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-czwy-aVbbU
1.) How do these trailers represent violence?
The black ops 2 Trailer isn't focused mainly on violence and instead promotes the aspects of the storyline. The story has an emphasis on war so it can be seen to show violence as a means to an end rather than something being used just for the sake of making the game look good. The kill bill trailer, however, does have an emphasis on violence and whilst it does not show anyone being killed or injured it does seem to have an emphasis on fight scenes and shows the plot as revolving around attempting to kill someone. The film appears to meet stereotypes of violent action films through its over the top stunts and action sequences. despite it being in a modern setting there is more of a presence of older weaponry such as Katanas as this sort of weapons allows for more intense and violent fight scenes.
Other Questions:
1.) Do you believe that the media promotes violence?
Some types of media are more likely to promote violence. One media type that often promotes violence is moving image (both film and TV). a common genre of moving image that promotes violence is the horror genre as many horror films depict death and violence in all manner of grisly and over the top ways in order to increase the impact of a characters death and inspire fear and dread in the audience. another genre would be action as the vast majority of action films and TV programs involve fight scenes that glorify violence by making it look "cool" through using spectacularly over the top violence in some cases. Another form of media that can be seen to promote violence is video games. This is usually because many video games reward the player for fighting and therefore adds an incentive for the player to commit violent acts. The more people are exposed to violent media the more desensitised they become towards it causing them to care less about violence portrayed by the media leading to a possible problem of desensitising towards violence in real life.
2.) Does the media promote violence in young people?
As younger people are more impressionable it would seem as though the media does promote violence towards them. As video games are popular amongst young people they can be seen to promote violence as they are a form of media that is made to be interacted with. This increases the likelihood that this kind of media would promote violence in them as they are in control of the situation rather than institution. Games t such as call of duty or grand theft auto that encourage violence can be seen as therefore promoting violence in a young audience as they are giving the player the power to commit these acts and then rewarding them. another form of media that can encourage violence in young people is TV and films. These forms of media show protagonist and antagonists alike committing acts of violence in a more structured way. because of the show or film sticking to a structure they are more likely to show violence in a more detailed way as each character interaction is more unique and therefore encourages violence to be shown in many different ways. With TV and film media becoming more accessible through the internet it is more likely that young people will be exposed to this kind of violence.
3.)Why do people play video games?
One reason people may play video games is escapism. This is because video games allow players to take on another role where they are in charge of a world where everything they do has no consequence an encourages them to do what they want. This allows a sort of freedom for the player to choose from as they could choose a racing game or a shooting game in which to interact with a fictional world. The lack of consequences causes players not to worry about anything going overly wrong in a video game. another reason may be for some kind of social interaction as many video games these days incorporate some form of on-line play that allows players to play with friends in this virtual world that the video games create.
Black ops 2 Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3tedlWs1XY
Kill Bill trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-czwy-aVbbU
1.) How do these trailers represent violence?
The black ops 2 Trailer isn't focused mainly on violence and instead promotes the aspects of the storyline. The story has an emphasis on war so it can be seen to show violence as a means to an end rather than something being used just for the sake of making the game look good. The kill bill trailer, however, does have an emphasis on violence and whilst it does not show anyone being killed or injured it does seem to have an emphasis on fight scenes and shows the plot as revolving around attempting to kill someone. The film appears to meet stereotypes of violent action films through its over the top stunts and action sequences. despite it being in a modern setting there is more of a presence of older weaponry such as Katanas as this sort of weapons allows for more intense and violent fight scenes.
Other Questions:
1.) Do you believe that the media promotes violence?
Some types of media are more likely to promote violence. One media type that often promotes violence is moving image (both film and TV). a common genre of moving image that promotes violence is the horror genre as many horror films depict death and violence in all manner of grisly and over the top ways in order to increase the impact of a characters death and inspire fear and dread in the audience. another genre would be action as the vast majority of action films and TV programs involve fight scenes that glorify violence by making it look "cool" through using spectacularly over the top violence in some cases. Another form of media that can be seen to promote violence is video games. This is usually because many video games reward the player for fighting and therefore adds an incentive for the player to commit violent acts. The more people are exposed to violent media the more desensitised they become towards it causing them to care less about violence portrayed by the media leading to a possible problem of desensitising towards violence in real life.
2.) Does the media promote violence in young people?
As younger people are more impressionable it would seem as though the media does promote violence towards them. As video games are popular amongst young people they can be seen to promote violence as they are a form of media that is made to be interacted with. This increases the likelihood that this kind of media would promote violence in them as they are in control of the situation rather than institution. Games t such as call of duty or grand theft auto that encourage violence can be seen as therefore promoting violence in a young audience as they are giving the player the power to commit these acts and then rewarding them. another form of media that can encourage violence in young people is TV and films. These forms of media show protagonist and antagonists alike committing acts of violence in a more structured way. because of the show or film sticking to a structure they are more likely to show violence in a more detailed way as each character interaction is more unique and therefore encourages violence to be shown in many different ways. With TV and film media becoming more accessible through the internet it is more likely that young people will be exposed to this kind of violence.
3.)Why do people play video games?
One reason people may play video games is escapism. This is because video games allow players to take on another role where they are in charge of a world where everything they do has no consequence an encourages them to do what they want. This allows a sort of freedom for the player to choose from as they could choose a racing game or a shooting game in which to interact with a fictional world. The lack of consequences causes players not to worry about anything going overly wrong in a video game. another reason may be for some kind of social interaction as many video games these days incorporate some form of on-line play that allows players to play with friends in this virtual world that the video games create.
Thursday 27 September 2012
Reception Theory H/W
Breaking Bad season 4 trailer:
Preferred Reading: There is an emphasis on action is very prevalent in this trailer that is shown through the acting and various action sequences as well as the fast paced rock-y soundtrack. The editing also adds to the action aspect as it uses quick cuts to showcase various sections from the show. There is also an emphasis on drama as shown by the sample of the storyline shown in the trailer as well as the whole criminal aspect of the characters that differs to many other shows.
Negotiated reading: The show can be seen as a generic criminal drama that has various action sequences, on the flip-side this may also appeal to other people with different tastes as it incorporates aspects of different genres allowing it to have a broader audience.
Opposite reading: This trailer can be seen as a stereotypical crime drama that uses too many action sequences that are not relevant to what is shown of the plot. It can also be shown to promote drug creation and use by glamorising it through showing the profit the two anti-heroes make, this could be seen to influence people into becoming like them.
Monday 24 September 2012
Media Studies 24/9
Racialisation:
Race is a social construction and does not exist outside of representation. Historical formation of race occupies structurally subordinate positions.
As with all things, the media institutions control how we see race and third world countries. They can then use this to control how we feel about them for instance the way that they show charities affecting third world countries is done to make us feel as though we are making a large positive impact on the country.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/asia:- this webiste shows the east as being a place of a well preserved ancient culture. It focuses on displaying examples of this culture by showing landmarks such as the great wall of china.
http://www.destinasian.com/:- This website focuses more on showcasing the cities and attractions they contain as this is a website for travel in asia. this website is a good example of how the institution controls how we perceive something as the website perceies the website as being a great tourist destination with many attractions and hotels whilest not saying anything about anything else. this benefits the company as it may peursuade more people to use their services because of what they have seen on the website. this also helps fuel the stereotype of asia being a "perfect" travel destination.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/asia/:- This website is focused on showing veiwers a mainly unbiased set of news relevent to asia. Of course, as many people use this site to learn more about asian news, this website controls how people see the countries current events and they can even censor events if they so choose, altering the perception of asian news and events.
Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Race is a social construction and does not exist outside of representation. Historical formation of race occupies structurally subordinate positions.
As with all things, the media institutions control how we see race and third world countries. They can then use this to control how we feel about them for instance the way that they show charities affecting third world countries is done to make us feel as though we are making a large positive impact on the country.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/asia:- this webiste shows the east as being a place of a well preserved ancient culture. It focuses on displaying examples of this culture by showing landmarks such as the great wall of china.
http://www.destinasian.com/:- This website focuses more on showcasing the cities and attractions they contain as this is a website for travel in asia. this website is a good example of how the institution controls how we perceive something as the website perceies the website as being a great tourist destination with many attractions and hotels whilest not saying anything about anything else. this benefits the company as it may peursuade more people to use their services because of what they have seen on the website. this also helps fuel the stereotype of asia being a "perfect" travel destination.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/asia/:- This website is focused on showing veiwers a mainly unbiased set of news relevent to asia. Of course, as many people use this site to learn more about asian news, this website controls how people see the countries current events and they can even censor events if they so choose, altering the perception of asian news and events.
Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Thursday 20 September 2012
Bad Education.
How does the trailer use media language to engage the audience?
The majority of camera angles used during conversations between characters are close-up shots that clearly show who is participating in that conversation. This close view of the characters makes the audience feel more engaged in the conversations and give it more of a personal feeling. during some conversations the shot changes causing it to become non-diegetic, the shots then usually show visual content relevant to that conversation often with comedic effect, this then gives the viewer a sense of instant gratification as they are being given a visual indication to a possible punchline. Quick cuts used in the trailer allow more visual content to be shown and along with the similarly paced music it creates an exciting atmosphere around the trailer. The mise-en-scene is stereotypical of a high school creating a possible sense of familiarity in the audience therefore increasing immersion. The majority of teachers are shown as being stereotypical with their formal attire but all but one of them are shown as being immature through the dialogue, this would attract the audiences attention as it goes against conformity and increase interest.
How does the trailer represent young people?
The trailer depicts the students fairly mature in comparison with some of the teachers. This is shown through the teachers mainly as they are for the most part depicted as being childish and immature while some of the students show the opposite traits such as the one slapping the teacher in order for him to snap out of it and think clearly whereas it would stereotypical be the other way around albeit with a bit less slapping. They still show typical teenage traits such as excitement at the sexual dance shown in the trailer as well as the two stereo typical "chav" characters bickering over the others sisters sexual orientation and how going to university apparently affects it.
The majority of camera angles used during conversations between characters are close-up shots that clearly show who is participating in that conversation. This close view of the characters makes the audience feel more engaged in the conversations and give it more of a personal feeling. during some conversations the shot changes causing it to become non-diegetic, the shots then usually show visual content relevant to that conversation often with comedic effect, this then gives the viewer a sense of instant gratification as they are being given a visual indication to a possible punchline. Quick cuts used in the trailer allow more visual content to be shown and along with the similarly paced music it creates an exciting atmosphere around the trailer. The mise-en-scene is stereotypical of a high school creating a possible sense of familiarity in the audience therefore increasing immersion. The majority of teachers are shown as being stereotypical with their formal attire but all but one of them are shown as being immature through the dialogue, this would attract the audiences attention as it goes against conformity and increase interest.
How does the trailer represent young people?
The trailer depicts the students fairly mature in comparison with some of the teachers. This is shown through the teachers mainly as they are for the most part depicted as being childish and immature while some of the students show the opposite traits such as the one slapping the teacher in order for him to snap out of it and think clearly whereas it would stereotypical be the other way around albeit with a bit less slapping. They still show typical teenage traits such as excitement at the sexual dance shown in the trailer as well as the two stereo typical "chav" characters bickering over the others sisters sexual orientation and how going to university apparently affects it.
Friday 14 September 2012
X-Factor
Here are a couple of links discussing some controversy regarding the X-Factor:
1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/x-factor/8538109/Why-was-Cheryl-Cole-fired.html
2. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/simon-cowell-why-cheryl-cole-was-fired-from-x-factor-20110808
These article goes into detail regarding Cheryl Cole being fired from the X-factor in the US, The second of which gives Simon Cowell's reason for her being for fired.
3. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/x_factor/3922033/Frankie-Cocozza-kicked-off-X-Factor.html
This article talks about Franki Cocozza being kicked off the X-Factor for openly admitting Cocaine usage. Despite being disappointed with him, his mentor, Gary Barlow, wished him luck.
5. http://new-magazine.co.uk/latestnews/view/34314/X-Factor-2011-Ceri-Rees-audition-causes-controversy/
This article is about the X-factory being criticized for letting Ceri Rees audition on the show for the fourth time, making her seem like a joke to the audience.
5. http://www.cinemablend.com/television/More-Controversy-X-Factor-Time-Over-Lip-Syncing-36723.html
This article is about how during a group performance, the contestants of the US version of the X-Factor were lip syncing rather than actually singing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)