One of the things that has had most of an impact on privacy in recent years is the internet. The internet has allowed people to communicate in ways that were previously thought not possible through various different websites including social media sites such as facebook or twitter. A large proportion of the population now uses these sites in order to communicate with other users and share content like photos with each other. This leaves many people with a large "digital footprint" meaning that they have a large amount of personal information on the internet and with both facebook and twitter encouraging users to make their their content more available to everyone else, facebook encourages users to use the "everyone" feature that makes posts by the user public. This, of course, can be a problem as it allows things such as identity theft to become easier as all of some users information is public allowing easy imitation and some users may have things that allow identity thieves to steal accounts through posting information that may answer their secret question/ answer combination such as a pets name or a hometown etc..
Britain recently opted out new european social media privacy laws that would allow users to delete their personal information from online service providers, allowing them to essential erase their tracks on the internet. This would not only allow for a greater level of privacy but also mean that around 27 separate laws concerning the issue would be replaced with just the one. Some of the concerns listed as reasons not to use the law is that it would be difficult to enforce as other users can just as easily download data that would be removed, such as photos, if it is made public meaning that there is a bit of a grey area when it comes to who actually owns the file due to its distribution. As the laws are set to be european wide and will created if there is a majority vote, Britain may be forced to comply with the law should it pass.
Friday, 10 May 2013
Friday, 1 March 2013
Media Classwork 1st March
1.) Evaluate how the people who are against the BNP are represented in each product?
In the question time clip Nick Griffin is berated by two members of the audience who are both members of ethnic groups. This shows that the populace are not afraid to fight back against Nick and his party, they do so by saying that other cultures have brought much to the country. The camera shots helps to show the approval of the audience by showing members of the audience, of all ethnic backgrounds, applauding anc cheering in approval of their peers comments. The presenters in both clips are also shown to be against Griffin as they both call him out on his mistakes and mock him for it. for instance, in the first clip the presenter mocks one of his party members for not being able to remember when the election day is and in the other clip for showing him as appropriating the medals of the homeowner where the clip is shot. Griffin did this in order to appear patriotic and is mocked for it by both the presenters and the audience who cheer them for pointing it out. This shows that they have a disdain for Griffin and his parties policies through the way that they ridicule him and even having a member of the audience turn his policies on him saying that people would in fact believe the opposite of his parties beliefs and would rather see them sent away. The audience members are also shown as being well spoken and intelligent giving the feeling that only people who lacked these qualities would support the party.
2.) Why does the media rely so heavily on conflict?
Conflict essentially acts as the heart of the media. in nearly all instances of media there is a conflict, whether it is a tale of good vs evil in a film or books competing to be the next bestseller or the competition between contestants on the X-Factor, conflict is always present in popular media. This is largely because it helps engage an audience by forcing them to pick a side in some instances or interests them by portraying a conflict through the media as these often help make up the backbone of many of our media types due to them being identifiable with the audience and many members have to deal with conflicts, both large and small on a day to day basis. Conflicts also help stir people emotions as it gives multiple sides to arguments and forces people to choose between them due to them having different beliefs and ideologies from some side in the conflict. Conflict also mean drama more often than not when it comes to television. this is highly apparent in shows such as soap operas that feature multiple interlinking characters and storyline More often than not conflicts feature in shows such as Eastenders and Hollyoaks because they engage the audience through forcing them to side with one of the characters engaged with the conflict, this then causes them to watch on as they develop a personal attachment to this character.
3.) Multi-platform media can allow access to a wider range of views. should the internet be more restricted?As the internet is such an open platform it allows users to submit and access many different types of material with very few restrictions. this leads to people being subjected to content they do not want to view due to the freedom to post anything and access things they shouldn't be able to. A good example of the former would be shock sites. these are sites that of depict an image/gif or a video of something explicit, usually revolving around extreme gore or pornography. These links are often sent to other people as jokes with the link desguised as something else and whilst some people are likely to just shrug it off other can be greatly offended by the content. The only reason these sites exist is to shock people and as this is there only purpose it does beg the question why they exist. On a related note there are instances of sites such as 4chan or other internet groups "Raiding" other websites with offensive content in order to dissuade people from using them, essentially meaning that if a user wants to use one of the target sites they may open it to find it filled with content they find offensive Also the fact that much explicit content on the inter net, like porn or gore, can be accessed by passing a simple age check helps to give a reason for a higher level of moderation for the internet as kids can potentially access this content. The arguments against unrestricted web is essentially that it impacts free speech too easily and as free speech is one of the main draws of the internet it would greatly interfere with it if the internet was to be censored in any way. In truth it doesn't really need censorship but rather moderation to help prevent things such as children accessing pornography or to stop trolls from tormenting people such as in the Amanda Todd case where they drove her to the point of suicide. The only argument against this is free speech but at the same time, giving up some of that could potentially help improve much of the internet. A catch 22 that the internet has answered many a time when fighting against various censorship bills like SOPA in 2011 which was ground to a halt after many internet sites blacked out in protest. Whilst there are arguments for both sides of this, it seems that the internet will always be under fire for whichever route it takes.
In the question time clip Nick Griffin is berated by two members of the audience who are both members of ethnic groups. This shows that the populace are not afraid to fight back against Nick and his party, they do so by saying that other cultures have brought much to the country. The camera shots helps to show the approval of the audience by showing members of the audience, of all ethnic backgrounds, applauding anc cheering in approval of their peers comments. The presenters in both clips are also shown to be against Griffin as they both call him out on his mistakes and mock him for it. for instance, in the first clip the presenter mocks one of his party members for not being able to remember when the election day is and in the other clip for showing him as appropriating the medals of the homeowner where the clip is shot. Griffin did this in order to appear patriotic and is mocked for it by both the presenters and the audience who cheer them for pointing it out. This shows that they have a disdain for Griffin and his parties policies through the way that they ridicule him and even having a member of the audience turn his policies on him saying that people would in fact believe the opposite of his parties beliefs and would rather see them sent away. The audience members are also shown as being well spoken and intelligent giving the feeling that only people who lacked these qualities would support the party.
2.) Why does the media rely so heavily on conflict?
Conflict essentially acts as the heart of the media. in nearly all instances of media there is a conflict, whether it is a tale of good vs evil in a film or books competing to be the next bestseller or the competition between contestants on the X-Factor, conflict is always present in popular media. This is largely because it helps engage an audience by forcing them to pick a side in some instances or interests them by portraying a conflict through the media as these often help make up the backbone of many of our media types due to them being identifiable with the audience and many members have to deal with conflicts, both large and small on a day to day basis. Conflicts also help stir people emotions as it gives multiple sides to arguments and forces people to choose between them due to them having different beliefs and ideologies from some side in the conflict. Conflict also mean drama more often than not when it comes to television. this is highly apparent in shows such as soap operas that feature multiple interlinking characters and storyline More often than not conflicts feature in shows such as Eastenders and Hollyoaks because they engage the audience through forcing them to side with one of the characters engaged with the conflict, this then causes them to watch on as they develop a personal attachment to this character.
3.) Multi-platform media can allow access to a wider range of views. should the internet be more restricted?As the internet is such an open platform it allows users to submit and access many different types of material with very few restrictions. this leads to people being subjected to content they do not want to view due to the freedom to post anything and access things they shouldn't be able to. A good example of the former would be shock sites. these are sites that of depict an image/gif or a video of something explicit, usually revolving around extreme gore or pornography. These links are often sent to other people as jokes with the link desguised as something else and whilst some people are likely to just shrug it off other can be greatly offended by the content. The only reason these sites exist is to shock people and as this is there only purpose it does beg the question why they exist. On a related note there are instances of sites such as 4chan or other internet groups "Raiding" other websites with offensive content in order to dissuade people from using them, essentially meaning that if a user wants to use one of the target sites they may open it to find it filled with content they find offensive Also the fact that much explicit content on the inter net, like porn or gore, can be accessed by passing a simple age check helps to give a reason for a higher level of moderation for the internet as kids can potentially access this content. The arguments against unrestricted web is essentially that it impacts free speech too easily and as free speech is one of the main draws of the internet it would greatly interfere with it if the internet was to be censored in any way. In truth it doesn't really need censorship but rather moderation to help prevent things such as children accessing pornography or to stop trolls from tormenting people such as in the Amanda Todd case where they drove her to the point of suicide. The only argument against this is free speech but at the same time, giving up some of that could potentially help improve much of the internet. A catch 22 that the internet has answered many a time when fighting against various censorship bills like SOPA in 2011 which was ground to a halt after many internet sites blacked out in protest. Whilst there are arguments for both sides of this, it seems that the internet will always be under fire for whichever route it takes.
Supersize vs. Superskinny
1.) How are people represented in this clip?
Both women are shown as being outside of the social norms of most peoples dieting styles. Jennete is shown as being highly underweight whilst Rosmary is show as being the polar opposite. The showing of their diets helps illustrate the contrasts between their eating habits between each other and as well as the general public. This combined with their body types helps to draw the audience in through portraying them outside of the standard social norms, this is reflected by Todorov's (?) theory in that the audience takes pleasure from observation and escapism. The lighting used in combination with the colour of the underwear gives off a kind of sickly colour which helps with making the characters seem more different to the average person, therefor enhancing the whole outsider view appeal of the show.
2.) What do you think is the appeal of lifestyle programming such as these?
The appeal of shows such as these are often for the audience to both obtain knowledge through the more informative sections as well as to act as an observer and achieve a sense of escapism. This is achieved by letting the audience gain an insight to other peoples lives through the show and therefore forget about what is happening in their own life. The informative sections help attract the audience as it helps them gain an insight into their own lifestyle and informs them on how they can possible change for the better, this too allows them to gain pleasure through information meeting another of the media theories (Can't remember which one, possibly Todorov).
3.) Do you believe that lifestyle programming creates and fuels negative ideologies?
I feel that lifestyle programmes can create negative ideologies but that it largely depends upon upon the show itself. supersize vs. superskinny is a good example of how it can show both sides of ideologies. on the one hand it givers an insight into the various lifestyles of people featured on the show in order to help better increase understanding of the way that they live as well as giving insight into how to improve themselves. on the other hand it also showcases them in a way that makes them appear as an outsider to social norm without them actually being so. This helps breed stereotypes and distorts people view regarding them causing a negative ideology which is then fed by other media types that portray similar people.
Both women are shown as being outside of the social norms of most peoples dieting styles. Jennete is shown as being highly underweight whilst Rosmary is show as being the polar opposite. The showing of their diets helps illustrate the contrasts between their eating habits between each other and as well as the general public. This combined with their body types helps to draw the audience in through portraying them outside of the standard social norms, this is reflected by Todorov's (?) theory in that the audience takes pleasure from observation and escapism. The lighting used in combination with the colour of the underwear gives off a kind of sickly colour which helps with making the characters seem more different to the average person, therefor enhancing the whole outsider view appeal of the show.
2.) What do you think is the appeal of lifestyle programming such as these?
The appeal of shows such as these are often for the audience to both obtain knowledge through the more informative sections as well as to act as an observer and achieve a sense of escapism. This is achieved by letting the audience gain an insight to other peoples lives through the show and therefore forget about what is happening in their own life. The informative sections help attract the audience as it helps them gain an insight into their own lifestyle and informs them on how they can possible change for the better, this too allows them to gain pleasure through information meeting another of the media theories (Can't remember which one, possibly Todorov).
3.) Do you believe that lifestyle programming creates and fuels negative ideologies?
I feel that lifestyle programmes can create negative ideologies but that it largely depends upon upon the show itself. supersize vs. superskinny is a good example of how it can show both sides of ideologies. on the one hand it givers an insight into the various lifestyles of people featured on the show in order to help better increase understanding of the way that they live as well as giving insight into how to improve themselves. on the other hand it also showcases them in a way that makes them appear as an outsider to social norm without them actually being so. This helps breed stereotypes and distorts people view regarding them causing a negative ideology which is then fed by other media types that portray similar people.
Thursday, 28 February 2013
Red vs. Blue Case study
(Going to throw a bit of a curveball here and opt for an internet based show rather than TV)
Red vs. Blue is an award winning internet Machinima series based off of the popular video games series Halo. It is an internet based series The first episode of the series first aired on the first of April in 2003 as a download due to the lack of streaming technologies such as YouTube not being available at the time. the base plot was initially revolving around a team of soldiers protecting their base from their opposing team whilst their opposition does the same, this plot-line largely derives from the video game in which the show was produced as it features a game mode in which the two teams must capture a flag from the other base to win. The show began mainly as a comedy that parodied the online antics of gamers in Halo but over time evolved with the game series to become more of an action/drama/comedy hybrid.
Channel And Brand Identity
The company that produces the series, Roosterteeth, is mainly a comedy institution in that the majority of content they produce is comedic, It is also reflected in their company title as it is a euphemism for the phrase Cockbite which is an insult that derives from one of their early productions as well as their logo which shows a pair of wind up comedy teeth; they also have a spin off division within the company named "Achievement Hunter" that focuses on video games whilst retaining the comedic style of the company. Red vs. Blue is often regarded as the flagship product of the company as it is the production that kick-started it and lead to all their other productions.The original series of the show is largely a comedic production as it focuses less on the elaborate plots and fight scenes shown in the later series though this can be due to the technological of the initial series as it has improved with each iteration in the Halo game series until the point where the team were able to use pre-rendering to create the show. The humour in the show tends to vary from low key to slapstick which reflects the institutions style of humour, This series can be seen to be the source of the companies humour style due to it being their original product from which the company grew.
Target Audience and scheduling
Red vs. Blue's target audience tends to vary from teenage to adult, though there are both younger and older fans of the show though. This is largely due to game in which it was created in is aimed at the same audience, but also because this tends to be the typical age of YouTube users which the show happens to be popular with. The style of writing also appeals to this target audience as it incorporates elements that a large range of audiences could enjoy such as the varying comedic elements as well as the fight scenes and the storyline.The The scheduling for release tends to be weekly on the day of the first episodes release in a series and the series release schedule varies greatly depending on overall episode progress. the show does not seem to conform to the gender stereotypes seen in both comedy and action as the female characters are largely portrayed as being stronger and more intelligent than their male team-mates which deviates away from the Barthes theory of each production having specific character types. The show does regularly produce content and has reached a total of 185 episodes including promotion and announcement videos, the very first episode has around 5.6 million views on YouTube alone with many more views on the shows site and in its original downloadable format. Due to the shows popularity, Roosterteeth has been hired to produce trailers and additional videos for the Halo series and many others including the Sims 2 and the Madden NFL series. The shows popularity has also led to some celebrity appearances in the show including high profile actors such as Elijah Wood who played on of the primary characters in the tenth series.
Audience appeals and responses
The main appeal in the show was originally due to its comedic nature but has evolved to incorporate a more cohesive plotline in order to draw a larger audience in. one of the other original reasons for its popularity is that it came before YouTube and internet video were as popular as they are now and provided on of the few online video series at the time. The way that the series has been integrated into the culture of the Halo series also adds to its appeal to the target audience. The show follows an episodic formulae with each series having episodes from 2 minutes to 5 on average in a series of around 20 leading to a variety in episode types with some being mainly dialogue centric episodes and others being action oriented leading to the show appealing to a variety of tastes due to both the pacing and content. Another appeal is that there is very little competition for this kind of Machinima as many others are often just one off's and lack the long series style of production as well as the plots to match their length. The show has also a large fanbase partially thanks to their productions used to promote the halo games due to them being promoted by the company behind them. Roosterteeth also hold an annual convention event in which they can interact with fans helping to appeal to them through personal interaction.
Format and technology
Whilst initially the show was only available as download it has now become more popular to watch it through YouTube or through the companies site. All series are also available on DVD and blue ray with the orginal series having their resolution upscaled to make them more suitable for that formats use. Due to being produced in a video game, the series visuals and animations were limited to the games technology. As of 2009 the show began to produced through prerendering footage as well as animation programs. Also being an internet based production, the series is a good example of new and digital media as it would not have been able to be produced without the internet to distribute it as well as to recruit the various people that have created it.
Thursday, 20 December 2012
Have such developments made the media more democratic, with more equal participation by more people?
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)
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 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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)