Thursday, 6 December 2018

Evolving Media Jungle Book




media industries: how the media industries’ processes of production, distribution and circulation affect media forms and platforms


A Level in Media Studies
most successful films of all time (it has taken over 100 billion US dollars) and followed a traditional pattern of production, distribution and circulation, although it enjoyed a ‘second life’ on video and DVD.
Providing both films for the focus of an industry study will allow learners to consider how the film industry has changed from 1967 to present day in relation to how both set films were produced, distributed and circulated, including considerations of technological change, regulation and the significance of patterns of ownership and economic factors.
Extracts of both films may only be considered in relation to the media industry issues exemplified. Textual analysis is not a requirement of the study or assessment of Film as a media form.
Theories of media industries do not need to be studied. 

The Jungle Book (hereafter JB) was released in 1967 by Walt Disney Productions. It was created at the Walt Disney Studios
in California. Disney’s animation studio had been responsible for developing many of the techniques and ways of working that became standard practices of traditional cel animation,
Pioneered the use of the multiplane camera to create an early 3-D like effect.









Jungle Book Essay 1

Discuss the impact of technology on the production, distribution and circulation of the Jungle book versions (1967 and 2016) version.

Discuss the importance of technological developments in maintaining audiences

One of the reasons the 2016 version of the jungle book was so popular was because it already had an existing audience. Technological advancements over the past 50 years have allowed Disney to reboot the story that was already popular and generate more money.

The 1967 version of the film has taken over $300 million in sales and was also the fourth best performing film in the 1960s box office. Although the 1967 version had a second life due to rerelease on DVD it is still evidently one of the best performing animated films of all time. This is why the rise in technological advances gave Disney an opportunity to reboot the film using modern technology. This allowed them to target the pre-existing audience as well as create an entirely new audience of younger viewers. As the story is for children the film will appeal to them due to its use of humour as well as realistic animal characters, which as made through the use of CGI technology. The entire experience is made immersive and lifelike with CGI as it makes the audience feel as though this universe really exists and makes it easier to connect to the characters of the story. The entire 2016 film was shot in front of a blue screen which allowed editors to use special effects to make the film look as though it is all in the jungle. There were small bits of set and certain props that allowed the actor to interact with them and make the performance more immersive and realistic. The use of pre-visualisation also helped the production team to create an interactive space for the actors to be interactive. This all contributes to making a fully immersive story telling of the much loved family film. The latest technology in the 1960s was the use of cel animation, which allowed animators to create layers and therefore allow the characters to interact with each other and the backgrounds. This technology made the animation flow better however it is not as immersive as the CGI technology that makes all the characters a lot more lifelike. The company MPC that has worked on many different films by large companies engineered the special effects in the 2016 film. The project took 800 different artists. It also won a BAFTA for its animation in the Jungle Book. The 1967 version used the technique of multiplane camera in order to create a basic 3D effect. It created an artificial depth of field, which allowed the animators to make the background a lot less static. It also allowed for the characters to more towards and away from the camera rather than simply moving on a 2D axis. In the 2016 version of the film they used the new blue screen technology, which, with he help of a few props allowed the editors to put the characters into a completely new, realistic, animated world. This, once again, creates the feeling of immersion that draws in different audiences for different reasons. Children are attracted to the storyline and the aspect of an entirely different, realistic universe. Adults that are fans on the previous version of the story are attracted by the idea of bringing the childish animation that they grew up with to life. They would want to see how the story is evolved using the modern technology.

Both films were distributed similarly as they were both produced by the Walt Disney Company and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The reason this distribution process has stayed the same is because it allows disney to make maximum profits, rather that hiring another company to distribute the film for them. In terms of maintaining audiences, Disney use many different techniques especially with the use of modern technology and convergence. Disney played an action packed trailer during the Super Bowl in order to appeal to men who are the Super Bowl's main demographic. However they would have different trailers in order to appeal to their demographic of children and families as well. The creators of the film attended a Disney fan convention in a 7800 seat arena to show sneak peak footage as well as talk about the film with three of the biggest actors in the film.They also handed out thousands of posters. Even though the people that attended the convention were very likely to watch the film anyway, this appearance just boosted the hype around the film and was a big factor in maintaining their core audience. The Disney theme parks had many themed events around the film which would help to create a larger audience for the film due to the popularity of the parks. They also would have shown exclusive clips that create hype around the film. Jungle book toys are a reoccurring thing at McDonalds and this helps the advertising of both the 1967 version and the 2016 version. Disney uses the idea of vertical integration because they produced, distribute and advertise their films. Being involved in all of these production stages means that they are keeping the maximum amount of profits.

Disney are releasing a streaming service in 2019 which will compete with sites like Netflix and Amazon Prime. This is an advancement they have to make in order to maintain audiences. Sites like Netflix make it easier for people to access films from their devices and therefore less people want to go out and buy dvd versions of films which disney usually makes a lot of money from. Due to the rise of the streaming sites, disney had to retaliate somehow because they would soon start to lose profits and everyone starts to use these services.

Thursday, 29 November 2018

Economic Factors of Disney

The significance of economic factors, including commercial and not-for-profit public funding, to media industries and their products.

Curran and Seaton
Power of Media Industry:  In considering media industry and the consolidation into larger companies please  write a response to the following statements. 

The media is controlled by a small number of companies primarily driven by logic of profit and power.

90% of the media in the world are controlled by 5-6 media giants. They make reboots that they know will create profit. They buy large movie franchises like Marvel and Star Wars

Creativity, variety and quality in the media is limited by the amount of companies and products.

Few companies so there will be a lot of similarities. Trying to keep the creativity broad so it appeals to a lot more of the audience than just a segment. Superhero films are very saturated at the moment so most films in cinemas are superhero films

More socially diverse ownership will result in more varied media productions.

Targets more audiences. Larger variety and more creativity within production
Get out- Blumhouse production known for low budget horror films. diverse cast
VS
Black Panther 

You will discuss how the Disney organisation (maintained/grew its market share) for both the 1967 and 2016 films.

The fact that the jungle book is a family friendly film helps Disney to target a larger audience of families. This also helped the reboot as it targeted the newer generation of children as well as the families from the 1967 generation. They also raised the production value for the 2016 film making it a lot more immersive and attracting a large audience. The reboots allow for the company to make films that are guaranteed to make them a large profit, these could be seen as "safe bets". 

BLOCKBUSTERS
Celebrity endorsement
smart marketing
SFX
Big budget


Maintaining audiences

In August, Mr. Favreau bounded onto a 7,800-seat arena at a Disney fan convention in Anaheim, Calif., and showed sneak-peek footage from his film. He hobnobbed with three “Jungle Book” stars on stage, including Neel Sethi, who plays the man-cub Mowgli. Thousands of movie posters were handed out.

Cross promotion- eg McDonalds toys
Virgin made a computer game for the jungle book

Disney rolled out an action-oriented trailer during the Super Bowl to target men

Theme parks exclusives

Reaching out to Hispanic audiences


Film content can be consumed by audiences in a variety of ways and locations 
cinema, 
home entertainment
On the move (in flight entertainment, etc.)

Institutions need to provide films increasingly in digital format

Because film consumption is moving away from cinema towards Home entertainment via Blu-ray, streaming

Sites like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and even youtube allow you to watch Films instantly from your Phone, Smart TV, Computers and Tablets. This is a modern way of consuming films as opposed to having to go to the cinema to watch them. If Disney fails to keep up with the digital age they will soon be in trouble as they wont make as much money as they can.

Increases the risk of Piracy

Easier to download/screen record films if they are all online. Video sharing sites actually make it easier for people to upload these films for their own monetary gain.
 
Large institutions (Big 6) offering cinematic experience in large screen (iMax) format, followed by digital release as DVD, Blu-ray, streaming

This is so that the films can have what is reffered to as a "second life". While the film is only in cinemas they are exclusive and those that really do want to watch the film they will pay to watch it in the cinema and then it will be streamed or watched on DVD by people that were not too interested or loved it so much they wanted to watch it again.

IMAX and 3D make piracy obsolete 

Disney actively growing its business to fend of streaming services such as NETFLIX

Netflix is killing their system as it allows people to watch films with ease rather than having to buy DVDs.

Disney actively trying to make its own streaming service through the acquisition of FOX review the following link and summarise why it is a smart move for Disney to grow:  why would disney buy fox? https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/12/14/16764472/disney-fox-deal-merger

Money
Power
Compete with Netflix





Thursday, 15 November 2018

Media and Advertising Shelter

OCR Spec.
Shelter, the UK based housing and homelessness charity launched an advertising campaign in 2011 that was produced for those at risk of homelessness to point them to Shelter’s free services and guide them to seek advice on issues around homelessness earlier.


How they used to advertise
Is the target audience slightly different

Media Language:
Colour
Dark, low saturation. Red represents danger, fear and warning. Black links to depression, and isolation
•Type of shot
Close up shot of peoples face. worried facial expression and pale complexion
•Focus
Focus on the facial expressions and main text in red
•Depth of field
Complete focus on persons face.
Mise-en-scene
Complete focus on persons face.
•Realism?
Very real as it is using real, ordinary people to convey their message
•Narrative?
These problems are common and can happen to anyone
•Font design/size
Size varies between the detail and the more important and gripping "headlines". Large red font

Representation
Representation of different genders and ages.
D-Not represented
R-Not represented
C-Aimed towards the homless and the lower classes
A-Aimed towards adult and young adults that are struggling with paying for their homes
G-Aimed at all genders
E-Not represented
S-Not represented

Target Audience

Thursday, 8 November 2018

Media and Advertising Lucozade

OCR Spec.
The Lucozade ‘I believe’ campaign poster from 2013 was part of a £4m mass market campaign to educate consumers about how the soft drink brand can help improve people’s sports performance, and features footballer Gareth Bale as a key brand ambassador.
Consideration should be made of media language elements specific to advertising and marketing such as locations, costumes, props, makeup, lighting, choice of camera shot, angle, typography, layout and address of written content to the audience




VINTAGE ADS
Lucozade was previously marketed as a "sparkling glucose drink" for the ill. It was advertised as replacing lost energy. Guilt trip to make people buy the product for people that are unwell as it is meant to help them. "Invaluable in sickness and in health" Says that it can be used in any situation whether your just tired or you are ill.


1998 Advert - Mods
Targeting the younger generation through:
     Trendy people (Mods)
     Lower class dialect
     All young men
     Comedic relief and relatability (mums sandwiches)
     Convenience
     Nostalgia

Lucozade - context
Created 1927 as Glucozade - meant to give energy to the sick
Renamed Lucozade in 1929
1983 rebranded as a sports drink rather than health drink

Lots of sponsorship deals with various sports


Representation:
•Who/What is seen?
Gareth Bale, Sporting Legend
•How are they represented?
Confident and powerful. Ready for battle
• DRCAGES
Disabilty-Not represented
Region- 1998 mod advert represents london boys
Class- Working class, Aspirers
Age- Young people
Gender- Mainly main however there is a female advert also
Ethnicity- Mainly white but there is a black person in an advert also
Sexuality- Masculine phyisical sport thatcould stereotypically exclude non-heterosexual people
• Themes/Messages
Scientific research
Sporting achievements
"Yes" Moment

Audience:
•Who is the target audience for
this advertisement
Young, Male, Sporty 
•How do we know?
Blue, Sports stars, 
•What might other audiences
make of it?
Would be less attracted asit is not targeted at them speci
•How is the audience
addressed/attracted?
• How are values transferred?

Media Language:
Colour
Blue, Masculine
•Type of shot

•Angle
Direct angle. Direct mode of address
•Focus
•Depth of field
Mise-en-scene
•Realism?
•Narrative?
•Use of text/copy
•Font design/size
•Layout
Representation


DRINKS ADVERTS CONVENTIONS

Short slogans
Logo
Saturated colours
Direct mode of address
Sans Serif- modern
Product shots
Humour
Positive




Media and Advertising Old Spice




Analyse how the combination of elements of media language influence meaning.


Photomontage- Different bits of photos placed together
The man and the beach are put together as one image in order to create a meaning. The Bahamas is an aspirational holiday destination and this man in the photo is an ex-footballer and actor (aspirational careers. The advert is trying to convince its audience that its is an aspirational fragrance.
The woman lying on the beach next to a cooler is could link to the theory of male gaze as the stereotypical male would enjoybeing on the beach with a woman and a beer. 


Analyse how developing technologies affect media language.

The more recent adverts can be more complicated due to the production through photshop. The old adverts only have 3 layers (Picture, Product and Text) whereas the new advert has alot of layers. (photomontange). 

The old adverts show men being stereotypically manly with references to sport. In the 1980 advert the man is holding the woman as if shes a trophy which is suggesting that with the product you will get women. The new one contains many elements the surround the idea of manliness.

Compare the 2011 version of the advert against the historical examples.
Analyse the dynamic and historically relative nature of genre and
the processes through which meanings are established through
intertextuality.

The older adverts appeals more to the classic, old-fashioned man through its language "SOLID" and "HIGH ENDURANCE" and it also shows men either doing something phyical suggests it. 
The new advert appeals more to the younger generation of males who care more about appearance. They do this through using ex-athletes and actors who have the ideal male body. The use of humour and celebrity endorsement also helps to appeal to the younger generation.

Analyse how audiences respond to and interpret the above aspects of media language
4C's
Age
Psychology

The advert uses a peripheral route to appeal to itsaudienceas rather than facts and logic it uses visual cues in order to trigger a reaction from the audience. The advert uses cues that trigger a positive affect from the audience (rapid and involutary response) as it makes people feel joy as well as pleasure through its use of humour. 

It also features many things that will appeal to the aspirer, such as the Bahamas and the celebrity endorsement from an ex-athlete and actor. These are cues that will make the taerget audience want to purchase their product.

The product is targeted at young adult men as it uses young actors and it also uses humour. It also references appearance alot more which is linked more with the younger generations. Bringing in new audiences. 

Colours are used as a visual cue as they provoke emotional reactions.


Analyse the significance of challenging and/or subverting genre conventions

Black models
Mode of address
Humour


Analyse the significance of challenging and/or subverting genre conventions



Analyse Media representation : the way events, issues, individuals (including self- representation) and social groups (including social identity) are represented through processes of selection and combination

Celebrity endorsements (sports men)

Race representation : use stereotypes associated with race
Counter-stereotypes
Black male advertising a mainsteam product
The use of sexualisation (female gaze) to attract audiences
The combination of surreal elements with black male representation in what way might this  subvert conventional stereotypes of the black male (use alvarado theory)

Isiah Mustafa~ ex-athlete, black male, actor
Celeb endorsement
Black stereotypes- aggressive, comedic
Uses of sexualisation for female gazeto improve their man
Surreal elements

Blumler and Katz- Escapism and Entertainment
We gravitate towards the things we most want so you many buy things because you want to escape for day to day life. eg Bahamas 

In what way was the use of sports celebrity Isaiah Mustafa considered a good choice?

Black male
Ideal Body
Comedic
Celebrity endorsement
Aspirational Career
Young


Consider how celebrity endorsements involving black sports men (Lewis Hamilton Santander, Isaiah Mustafa Old Spice have challenged negative stereotypes associated with Black Racial stereotypes.
Is this a positive mood that reflects societal views
 Alvarado- Black people are pitied is challenged
Black people are dangerous is challenged

Thursday, 18 October 2018

Music Video Analysis



Theoretical framework

Theoretical framework
Learners will develop their understanding of the media through the consistent application of the four areas of the theoretical framework:
Lmedia language: how the media through their forms, codes, conventions and techniques communicate meanings
Imedia industries: how the media industries’ processes of production, distribution and circulation affect media forms and platforms
Amedia audiences: how media forms target, reach and address audiences, how audiences interpret and respond to them and how members of audiences become producers themselves.
Rmedia representations how the media portray events, issues, individuals and social groups

Designated videos
Emily Sande – Heaven
feature their respective artist(s) and are a mixture of performance and narrative, and raise a number of similar representational issues surrounding ‘street life’.
Emily Sande – Heaven
Radiohead - Burn The Witch
does not feature the artist(s) but celebrates the power of narrative and signification and a postmodern emphasis on intertextuality. The video contrasts clearly with the representations featured in Heaven
Radiohead - Burn The Witch




OCR Spec:
Learners should investigate how the elements of the theoretical framework for media language are used to construct representations that appeal to particular audiences, including a consideration of the influence of historical, social and cultural contexts. Consideration should be made of media language elements specific to music videos such as camera shots, angles, lighting, settings, locations, costumes, props, makeup, editing and sound as appropriate