Self Reflection

Self Reflection

Targets

1. To use Media language more extensively and accurately to distinction level

2. Make my production skills up to the standard to produce nearly professional quality work

3. To make sure y pre-production work is up to the distinction standard for all work

Review
I prefer the independence that we get in 6th form media, because i prefer to get on with my work at a pace i feel i can do. I think my Film/TV pre-production needs improving a bit to get a distinction level so i might need some help to improve it. But so far I am enjoying the course.

Single Camera Drama

Task 1

There are many advantages in using the single-camera format one of which is that this gives more control over the shot because he can choose to put the camera anywhere he needs it in the shot. Also it means that in editing the shots just need to be rearranged into the correct order.

However there are advantages in using the multi-camera format, one is that the director would be able to record a variety of angles at the same time and the director would then have the choice of switching between different angles while the program is being recorded. This makes the show more organised and fluent for the actors. Also this method is cheaper to make a television show/film.

Some examples of the two different formats in action would be; for single-camera format it would generally be on a film set because it is the more expensive way of filming and also the more technical, e.g. the opening scene from kill bill. However for the multi-camera format it is generally television shows with live audiences because it enables the director to get different camera angles without stopping the recording.

Task 2

The difference between a TV serial and a TV series is that a series will have a run of episodes and each episode would make sense if watched on its own. However a serial has a continuing story line which at the end of each episode the story stills carries on. An example of a serial is a soap opera like Coronation Street where different story lines will carry on throughout the show and each episode will end on cliffhangers. An example of a series is quiz shows like Mock The Week where each episode will end and it won't carry on in the next episode. An example of a show which is both is Friends because the different story lines will carry on through out all series but each episode will end and can make sense if watched on its own. And finally an example a show that doesn't fall into either genre is documentary shows like 8 year old sex change, which is just a one off show and won't be carried on.

Task 3a

In the popular 80's TV show Dallas the narrative structure, cliffhangers, are used at the end of each series. The reasons that this technique is used is because it creates a lot of suspense for the audience and it is effective because it is an enigma, which makes the audience want to see the next series in order to find out the next part of the story. Also in each series of the show the narrative structure, climax, is used which builds up the story throughout the series and ends up in a dramatic and exciting ending, which is effective as it means you need to watch the whole series, to understand the story.

The "Loneliness" narrative project, non-linear/subjective version has camera shots where we see the characters point of view (subjective) which is effective whenever the technique is used because it possibly shows why a character has done a certain thing, e.g. if someone gets run over and the camera shot is subjective, it could show that they didn't see the car. It being non-linear is effective because it makes the show more complicated to understand, which can appeal to certain audiences because they may like to try work out the plot.

The "Loneliness" narrative project, linear/objective version the camera shots aren't point of view shots (objective) which is effective because it shows the audience what is going on throughout the video and shows, not just what the character sees but also what is going on around the character. Also it being linear makes the video easier to understand because it means that the audience views the show/film as it would happen if it was realistic and actually happening. That is effective because the audience needs to watch the whole of the film/series to understand the story and find out the ending.

Task 4

In the clip of Seven the style of font in the opening titles is blurred and shakes which gives the connotations of the genre of the film which in this case is horror/thriller. Also this makes it start with an enigma which connotes that there may be a confusing narrative, with a lot of suspense. The colour red in Seven is a signifier and it connotes that there could be danger in the clip. Also the effect of the train connotes the setting at the start (a train station) but it also could be a signifier which connotes a metaphorical journey which the audience will go on when they watch the film. Finally the editing of there being a sound effect followed by a scene in black and white connotes that there is a flashback and also the heartbeat gives the feeling of suspense and creates a level of tension.

Task 5

Modern audiences today have a wide range of choices in which they can read, view or listen to almost whatever they would like. This is because of the massive growth of media and how media has advanced and developed new ways of advertising and broadcasting etc. This has made it a lot harder for broadcasters or advertisers to reach a broad target audience.

In America in the 1940/50's when television was really first established, when most states started tv licences, familys would sit down and watch the tv together this is because of the fact that there was only 3 main networks and this made it so there was a limited number of options on what people were able to view on a daily basis. Because there was such a small variety of channels this made it far simpilar for advertisers to reach a broad target audience and therefore advertise their products to almost everybody. However while media has been evolving and more and more channels where being made and more networks were starting up, this made it harder and harderto reach the broad target audience and now it has ended up that in America there are only a few major events that can manage to attract this broad target audience. The Super Bowl in America attracts th largest viewing figures out of any major sporting event in one country, in the world, of around 90 million viewers this year, only the fifa world cup, which had 2.1 billion across the world, has higher figures. This reason therefore has meant that the demnd to put an advert during half-time or to sponsor it is massive and costs around $2.6 million just for a 30 second advert. This is the last real opportunity for American television to advertise to a braod target audience.

Also the creation of the internet was massive in terms of new ways for companys to advertise there products because it meant they could be advertising practically 24/7, which is a great advantage because it means that they may be able to advertise for there primary target audience easier and also advertise for longer. Also the internet provided news ways for television shows or films to be broadcast and viewed by the audience and viewed for free in some cases. Which means that because of the internet people no longer will sit down as a family and watch television because they can watch seperate things whenever they want just through the internet. Also becuase of the intenet, things such as newspapers are becoming less important in terms of reading the latest news because the internet has unlimited space in which to publish all the stories and information, its free and also it is updated far more frequently, however the one advantage that a newspaper did have over the internet was that it was portable but this has now gone as well because of people been able to now use mobile phones for the internet .

Task 6

Task 7

Firstly, we need to get footage, in order to create a film we must use a Panasonic DVX-100-B video camera. These cameras are ideal as they are portable and hand held, which then makes it easier to shoot a variety of shots from all camera angles.

We may also then need to include a voice over. This will then mean we need to use a voice recorder, the specific device we will use is 'Edirol R-09 voice recorder' as it works very well and can pick up voices clearly. Also before recording any sounds, we can preview the voice levels on the little screen which helps us then decide if we need to change how loud we speak. It helps me further by allowing me to record in several formats such as wav and mp3. This means that I can upload the sound clips straight into garage band or imovie without having to convert them.

Garage band is a good audio software programme that allows us to edit and cut people's recorded voices so it fits well into our single camera drama as we don't have any professional voices. It also has a wide range of effects available for us to use if we may need to produce our own piece of backing music.

For the visual scenes in our single camera drama we used a programme called iMovie. This is a good software programme as it allows us to add visual effects and transitions to each clip. It is a simple process and is very easy to use, it helps give our film a professional look. Their is a lot of effects we can use, such as; black and white, slow fast/reverse, sepia, aged film, and lots more.

When iMovie first loads you need to click on 'Create a New Project' and then give it a title. In this case its called 'My Great Movie'

This is the list of transitions available for us to choose from. They help give a good effect when jumping to the next clip/scene. And also help give it a more professional look.

Task 8

Our Single Camera Drama






Mind Map









Treatment


In our single camera drama the genre would be a trailer for a teenage comedy drama, therefore the conventions of our trailer are that it introduces the main characters of the show and gives background information on them, which in a way creates an enigma drawing the audience in. The trailer has elements of a comedy genre because it has a sarcastic and ironic voice-over when put with the clips because it describes the characters as the opposite to how they are in the clips. The drama has an un-restricted narrative because it isn't a true story therefore people can't already know the ending and also there isn't a story-line as such because it's a trailer so it is an enigma so the audience won't know exactly what is going on a lot of the time throughout the trailer, which is the point of a trailer.



Our drama will include Propp's theory that there is a hero, helper, villain and damsel in distress, although there would be no helper and two damsel in distress'. Aimee is shown as a helper because she helps Aaron, who is one of the damsel in distress', when he is bullied by Scott, the villain. Also the other damsel in distress is Stacey, as she is the character with no friends and is lonely. There will be 4 normal school kids shown in the trailer to establish them as the main characters of the show, they are each described in a brief way by the voiceover and they are shown in the clips in the trailer. The character's in the drama and who they are won't be very well explained, only giving a brief explanation to keep the drama an enigma which will make the audience want to watch the actual show to find out if there is an explanation to the enigmatic characters.

However it wouldn't have Todorov's theory that there is an equilibrium, disruption and resolution because it is only a trailer, and also it wouldn't be in chronological order because of the same reason.



There isn't necessarily a plot to our single camera drama because it is only a trailer, however it will have variety of clips that will be relevant to the plot of the show and they will also be previews of the show.




There would only be one music bed and no sound effects through out the trailer because, it is a realistic drama, so no sound effects would be effective in our trailer, however there will be a voice-over which will be very important to our trailer as it describe the show and sets an enigma for the audience. For example the voice over will give a breif description of the main characters and setting but not go into too much detail. The music bed will not be as important as the voice over and will fade during the speech, but it stops silences and helps the trailer flow better.

The camera techniques we would use would be a few close up shots on the main characters to signify who they are and that they are the main characters and also there will generally be one and two shots showing clips o certain scenes involving those characters. This creates an enigma into what will happen in the actual shows.



Voice Over Script
Aimee Barker: Are you sick of programmes where teenagers have perfect teeth, perfect hair and perfect lives? Well this one’s set in Leeds so obviously it’s different. Come on, burgers or Yorkshire puddings? Chicken wings or toad in the hole? The choice is obvious! Drop in on Grangefield, meet stop in Stacey – a maths genius who is about to become the hypotenuse in a love triangle. Here’s Aaron, a ping-pong wizard who dreams of becoming world champion, If only his skill with the ladies matched his ball control on the table. Scott – Aaron’s arch nemesis, bully and all round bad egg. But he’s carrying a secret that could ruin his reputation. And every soap needs a bitch – West Yorkshire’s answer to Parish Hilton, Janine Butcher and all 3 of the Mean Girls, Aimee.Come and join us in glamorous West Yorkshire for a soap you’ll never forget…

Task 10




Task 11- Health and Safety

Task 12- Production

Task 13

Purpose
Our main purpose was to entertain an audience of people aged 13-19, some may be older. To do this we created a trailer of a teenage comedy coming to E4. In my opinion we succeeded in doing this and we did it by using crude humour in some places.
We played our trailer to a group of people and we recieved mostly positive feedback which included comments such as:
'The music fits really well with the storyline, and the transitions and slow motion effects help to give it a more proffessional look'
'Very humourus & creative. The voice over was comical too which i thought was good'
'I like how it tells a story in such a short time, makes the viewer want to know more, i'd consider watching it'
Not all our feedback was positive, but all the comments we recieved were thought about and discussed and we made the necessary changes in parts. Getting feedback helped us alot, it helped us understand which parts the audience found comical and which parts they didn't like & why.
Audience.
The majority of the audience really enjoyed our product, and reported back that they found it very comical. Although there were some people who commented on how certain parts of it needed editing or changing in their opinion tomake an improvement on it. We noticed that alot of the people we showed it to, laughed at the parts where we'd tried our best to involve the humour, there were some of the audience that didn't understand the points we were trying to make, but for the most part, the audience got the preffered reading.
All of the people we showed the trailer to were between the ages of 15-17, so we didn't get a variety of teenage ages to give us their opinions, it was just a very specific age group. However it was right in the middle of our primary target audience which is 13-19, so it still would of meant that we got the necessary feedback and even though they are our primary target audience because they are teenagers, i'm a little bit unsure if the 13 year olds would understand they jokes in the show as it is more the 16+ year olds.
Representation Issues.
In my opinion, I believe we gave out both positive and negative messages in our product. The negative messages in the show were the bullying issues that were shown mainly in the parts were, Scott 'the bad egg' is bullying Aaron. Also there is a clip of him letting down the tyres of the school bus, which is represented as how not to behave and not as the correct way for teenagers to behave, but we also included positive messages, as Aimee who portraid as the 'bitch' in the trailer does begin to help other people, showing how people can change.
We included both males and females in our product, we discussed this and decided it works better using both as it makes it more realistic and more story-lines can be created. We use two different songs in our single camera drama, our introductory song is Gnarls Barkley - Crazy & our second song is Blue Haley - Don't know much about history. Both songs fit well as the first song is very up beat and typical of the genre and the second song makes you think of school and being a difficult time and teenagers lives being unsure about things, and thats what all our characters are in our film.
All the product was filmed in our school, which is perfect for our product as all the characters are teenagers who are still at a school called Grangefield High and also because it was only a trailer, we wouldn't have used to many different settings, just the main setting to anchor that as the main location for the actual television show. The setting also helped it seem more realistic for its genre, as did the language we chose.
Technical Issues.
When we got feedback from our audience, some of the negative comments we received were about the music levels, because in certain parts the levels were too loud compared to the voices which made the voices difficult to hear. Also, at first when we first recorded our voice over we used an older male voice that was quite deep and not typical of the genre, but once we put it together with the film and got some audience feedback, we decided that to change it to a younger female voice would be more typical of the genre of would suit better which it seemed to do and it worked much better. We showed it to the audience again and they agreed. When we recorded both of the voiceovers we used a handheld voice recorder in a silent, soundproof room which enables us to get a better quality and was made the voice clearer.
Whilst filming our product we attempted to share the work out evenly amongst the group and also we tried to use a variety of camera angles during filming to help improve the cinematography of our trailer, also we used a number of different transitions to make the changes from one scene to another smoother and at a higher level, and the fast/slow/reverse option on I-Movie was used to slow down a clip in the table-tennis scene to add a sense of slapstick humour, which isn't generally typical of this genre however it seemed to work very well and was recieved well by the audience. Also we added titles with the characters name to anchor the meaning that they are the main charcters in our show. The font we used was a curvy font which was used to keep it from being too dull and boring. In our film i believe that there is a wide variety of shots and cinematography to keep the viewers entertained as we split from scene to scene in a number of seconds, we also used scene's and emotions that teenagers can create personal realtionships from and have a sense of personal identity with it.
Conventions/Narrative.
I think that the product we made and a proffessional piece would be different for a few reasons, one of which is that they have the ability to hire proffessional actors/actresses which enables them to show the emotions and the use humour in a more advanced way and secondly they will have highly expensive and capable equipment and also more of the eqipment than we would have. Also they would be able to create the exact locations they want, using propps and television sets etc. Even with these distinct advantages for them i believe that given the same story-line and asked to do the same product they wouldn't be able to make anything too different, and of a lot higher quality. If we were given all the equipment that is available to proffesional company we would be able to make a product that would be near their standard.
We added an enigma to the story when in our voice over it says 'he's carrying a secret that could ruin his reputation' this is describing Scott who is portraid as a villain, however this does give the impression that possibly ther is a side to him that is hiden and he actually is a nicer person than shown, therefore viewers would want to watch the actual show to find out the revalations in the show.
Own performance, Self evaluation.
Most of the skills I used in the editing process I already had some experience doing, so it was mostly just refreshing my memory however one skill that I did learn was how to change sounds or video's into a 'wav' or an 'mp4' format. These will help in the future projects, making it faster to convert sounds and videos without neding help. I believe me and my partner did very well together, we changed our story and idea's a few times but when we'd agreed on the final idea we worked very well and very professionally together and did what we needed to complete on time, i think i was a good team member and did the best i could.
We each had our own individual strengths which were the filming and thinking of the idea's for the show, particularly the comical one, which helped keep it as a romantic comedy genre. But we had trouble in picking a suitable song for the genre and finding someone to record the voice over, but we stayed behind after school and did work in free periods to ensure it all worked well together. My other team member and I didn't argue at any point during the process of making this product, and we both gave eachother time to speak and give opinions which helped save time.

Report So Far

Social & Community Action - Making Documentaries- Local Area

Multi Camera Techniques- Live TV

Tasks 1 & 2 Programme Formats

Task 1

The multiple camera format is used mostly for live television shows and events. The types of shows that would use this technique would be, sitcoms for example Friends, The Cosby Show etc. These programmes would use this because it makes the shooting and editing processes quicker, because they are able to shoot a scene from a number of different angles at the same time, making continuity a lot better and also meaning that once a scene is done to the standard that is required then it would be finished and ready for editing, instead of being single camera where the scene would be shot again and again from different angles consuming more time. Also Multi-camera dramas are cheaper to make as well, this is because, although more equipment is required meaning initially it costs more but the time saved makes up the money spent on the equipment and then in the long term makes the production cheaper.

For a lot of multiple camera shows, there are live studio audiences, even if the show itself isn't broadcasted live. When this is done, the camera's have to be placed at certain areas around the stage, but they can't be obstructing the audience in anyway either, so they must be positioned in specific places, to get the best shots of the show.

Task 2

1. Kraft work- There was a lot of crab shots and panning shots, to show each member individually, which juxtaposes against the static motions of the band members and the robotic type sound of the songs. This also keep the audiences interest by not using the different shots quickly and not staying on one shot. They also used birds eye view tracking shots to give a different perspective on the band. The movements of the shots is used to keep the audience interested because it makes up for the lack of movement in the band. Also the tracking shot, emphasises the size of the room connoting how successful the band is.

2. Fashion-The use of a worm eye view shot on the low part of the tilt connotes power of the models and signifies that they are in control on the runway. To start the video there is a long, low angle shot which looks up at the models as the audience would, this also shows power, and possibley the power that the models and more particularly the clothes have over the audience. Tilt up and down shots, into a mid close up shot is used to gradually show the full outfit.

3. Formula 1- In the video a lot of panning, close up shots of the car are used, this is to show each components of car and to pan from one part to another showing how many parts the car has. Also a tilt shot of the car is used, where it starts off low, which is to show that the car as a powerful, expensive car, but then the shot ends up high which I think is to show the control that people still have over the car. After that the camera shot zooms out from the car to show the whole car in full and give a better perspective of the car. Lots of quick cut away's are used in order to keep variety in the shots, which keeps a fast pace to some of the video. Also close up shots of different parts of the car, showing in detail each section of the car, possibly connoting how much time and effort went into making each little part of the car.

4. Football- mid shot of presenter, which is just a standard shot and quite formal, which is in a way in the style of a news report and this could connote that the presenter has a lot of knowledge about the sport. Then there are two close up shots used in the same frame to show the contrast in both their faces and also to emphasise the expressions on their faces. Tracking shot of the ball, is a standard shot for use in a live sport event

Task 3- Mind Map.

Task 4- Set Design

Task 5: Create a final shooting script and floor plan for your multi-camera programme.

Task 6: Complete the relevant risk assessment form……

Media Industry

Task 1: Using the questions below to help you structure your essay, answer the following question………….

How have advances in technology effected the TV industry and how have audiences changed as a result?

In this essay I will be writing about how advances in the media industry have affected television and how the changes have affected the audiences.

In the television industry today one of the major and most current advances is the change from analogue TV signals to digital. The channels, which are still currently being broadcasted on analogue, are ITV1, BBC 1 and 2, Channel 4 and Five and these are available to everyone who buys a television set, however some TV's may need ariels to boost signal.

Almost all brand new television sets now come with Freeview built into them and Freeview is a digital TV service in the UK, which is available to buy, but unlike other digital services has no monthly subscription fee. The service providers for Freeview are: BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Five, Sky, Virgin and ESPN. However ESPN is an added extra and can only be received via an upgrade.

Satellite TV is another advancement in the television industry, like Freeview, and it is a television system in which the signal is transmitted to an orbiting satellite that receives the signal and amplifies it and transmits it back to Earth. Satellite TV is becoming very popular in Britain and now "93% of Brits now have at least one TV which receives digital TV, up 3.2% on the previous year, according to the latest Consumer Experience report from regulator Ofcom." (From a report by digitalchoices.co.uk as of December 7th 2010).

By the year 2012 all analogue TV signals will stop in the UK and every station will only be available through digital signals. In the UK the process of changing from analogue to digital was tested in 2007 in Whitehaven, Cumbria and started officially in 2008. (digitaltelevision.gov.uk)

Currently in Britain and across the world there are a number of devices, which enable consumers to record and watch television at a time to suit them rather than the scheduled broadcasted time. These are devices such as Sky+, Virgin+ and Freeview+ which are all set-top boxes which enable the viewers to not only record and re-watch shows at a time of their choice, but also it provides a service to rewind and pause live television. In addition to that there is On Demand TV, which is available on the Internet on sites such as 4od, BBC iPlayer and ITV iplayer as well as on some set-top boxes. However possibly the most advanced set-top box is TiVo which was an American based company started in 1999 but now could possibly be being introduced to the UK in partnership with Virgin media. This box enable you to do all the things mentioned above such as on demand TV and recording shows, but also can make it easier for you to search for the shows you like without scrolling through TV guides and link internet to your television even make recommendations for shows you may like to watch based on the television you already like. It has a terabyte of memory on the hard-drive which means it can store up to 500 hours of television to be re-watched whenever to suit the consumers needs. (tivo.virginmedia.com) (tivocentral.com)

Another advancement of television is the ability for audiences to interact with the shows. This can be done a number of ways, mainly via the Internet or the "red button" on television sets. The things that can be done to interact are things such as voting, ITV is a network, which uses a lot of audience interactivity because it can be a way to not only generate money but a way in which they can generate audiences. With shows like the X-factor which uses phone votes to get the audience involved, has average viewing figures of 12.2 million for the first live show in 2010 and a peak of 13.5 million which is a 51.7% share of the TV audience. Other ways in which audiences can be interactive is on the Internet by setting up forums, using the uses and gratifications theory this can also develop personal relationships from the shows because of the discussions with other fans. As well as the interaction with some music channels where viewers can vote on the song they want to here or choose it using "the red button" on digital boxes.

(whatsontv.co.uk)

Television shows are becoming more and more accessible to everybody and the Internet plays a big part in that because it is becoming easier to watch television on the Internet. TV networks BBC, ITV and Channel 4 now all have their own on demand sections on their websites which enable anybody to watch a selection of their latest shows for free without a subscription. This has become possible because of the money generated from advertising on these sites meaning they still gain revenue from broadcasting online as well as on the television. Another site which will allow people to view their shows online is Sky but they will only allow their customers to view this content by signing in to the website. These sites are free to view television on however there are a number of other sites online where they will charge for the ability to watch shows online. An Internet site called SeeSaw offers a wide variety of television shows to be viewed online, with free broadcasts from 4od and ITV iplayer etc, as well as other content which are only available by rental.

In the past television has produced mass audiences for shows, especially shows such as "Only Fools And Horses" which amassed huge viewing figures of 20.1 million people for its Christmas special in 1992, but these times seemed to have disappeared. Apart from the rare occasions when a special event such as the football world cup final, which in 2010 had viewing figures of 20 million across the UK, shared by BBC and ITV (however nearly 6 times as many people tuned into the BBC's broadcast rather than ITV's). This is due largely to the fact that because of satellite television people are able to choose from a wide variety of channels and shows to suit all people’s interests. According to digitaluk.co.uk Sky Tv offers upto 160 digital channels plus another 240 free-to-air channels, in addition they also offer HD channels, which is the major reason why audiences have become much more fragmented in the modern day. Also other advances in technology such as DVD's and Blue Ray disc's have a major contributing factor to the dissappearance of mass audiences because many people now choose rather than watching their favourite series on TV to wait for the whole series to be released on DVD and watch it when it suits them.

(digitaluk.co.uk)

In considering the uses and gratifications theory as mentioned above it is possibley much more relevant today than ever before when considering the advances of technology because of the Internet and the abilities that provides us. People now can create forums and chat online about their favourite shows the very second they watch them meaning people could create more personal relationships through shows. Also more diversion as even after they have finished watching their favourite shows, people can now go online and continue discussing them or in some cases with on demand they can watch next weeks episodes before it aires on TV. However because there is such a wide variety of television shows it could have an adverse affect on this theory because where as in past years because there was less choice on television everyone will have discusses the same shows and created more personal relationships, in modern day there would be far less people watching the same shows meaning they wouldn't discuss it and create these personal relationships. But on the other hand as there is much more variety in the shows it means that people can create a better sense of personal identity from television because there are so many different personalities on television in which people can relate to.

Films can be accessed through television far easier than ever before thanks to digital and satellite television because it generates a superior quality of picture and sound than analogue and now with HD TV picture and sound quality is even better still. Also as there is a much wider variety of channels which includes a vast selection a movie channels from Sky, with the Sky Movies range and also Film4 from Channel 4 etc, as well as movies that are broadcasted on regular channels it gives a much bigger platform for films to be shown.

The Internet is another advancement, which has made it easier than ever to be able to view films. Sites on the internet such as Youtube has made it possible for people to upload films (in smaller parts) onto the internet for the public to view and while youtube bans certain videos of this type it is still done by many people. Also certain sites online allow you to stream videos of films and television onto your computer which means rather than downloading files to your computer, which could take a long time and is often illegal, you can get a continuous flow of information to your computer and watch it as it is provided. However there are drawbacks to this, which are that it is often a poor picture quality, much worse than television itself, and also it is largely unreliable because of Internet connections.

(new.bbc.co.uk)

Advances in technology over the years have dramatically benefitted filmmakers, from the advances in special effects to the recent advancement of 3D technology. The advances in technology for special effects has been dramatic from Star Wars being the first film to use computer generated special effects to CGI being used in The Abyss in 1989 and in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, every scene in the film featured CGI (computer generated imagery). However some people have the opinion that this advancement in special effects is actually having a diverse affect on the films because film makers are exploiting the effects so much that they are ignoring the worse plot lines. However recent films that have relied heavily on special effects like Avatar have still gone on to be very successful, Avatar became the highest grossing film of all time with $2,779,501,669 beating Titanic by nearly a billion dollars. Also other films towards the top of this list are movies which where full of special effects and new technology such as: Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Jurrasic Park just to name a few. Another way in which the advances in technology have aided the creation of films is through digital cameras, which increase image resolution and create higher picture quality. It is also much easier to edit than analogue film because it doesn't lose any signals during editing. The sound also has similar advantages as it doesn't deteriorate in quality and the resolution is again far better.

(ehow.com)

Task 2: Choose a TV broadcasting organisation, such as, Sky, BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and create a short case study on how your chosen organisation uses technology at the moment and how it is looking to use technology in the future. (P4, M4, D4)

In Britain Sky TV is one of the major broadcasting organisations and a leader when it comes to advances made in technology used in the television industry. In recent years possibly the biggest and most popular advancement has been the introduction of HD (high definition) television to the UK. In March 2005 BSkyB announced that they would be launching HDTV in 2006 and Chief Operating Officer Richard Freudenstein said “More than 600,000 customers already enjoy the control and flexibility of our Sky+ product. Offering PVR capability as a standard in the HDTV arena will ensure that they can continue to enjoy these benefits in association with our highest-quality programming.” High definition is seen as the most impressive and advanced form of 2D television and possibly as advanced as it could be. Also HD television on Sky would require a HD ready TV in order for the customer to fully realise the benefits of Sky-HD. (corporate.sky.com/media/press_releases/2005) Another advancement which is possibly becoming a major technological advancement in the TV industry is the recent introduction of three dimensional television (3DTV) which has been introduced by Sky to its live sports and movie packages. Jeremy Darroch, Sky's chief executive, said: "As with High Definition, 3D is set to transform the way TV is enjoyed in homes nationwide." "Following hot on the heels of the success of 3D cinema, Sky customers will now be the first anywhere in Europe to experience 3D TV from the comfort of their living rooms." In order for the public to be able to view this service they would need to be a subscriber to Sky+HD and have the set-top box. Also they would need to own a 3D ready television which are practically brand new having been released in June of 2010. This is by far the most advanced technological achievement to date in the television industry and Sky is leading in this technology as they are so far the only broadcaster which produces 3DTV. (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Technology)

Task 3: How is the TV industry funded and how does this effect programming? (Include a breakdown of British TV – who are the main players?)

The TV industries are mainly split up into two sections, one is Public Service Broadcasting (PSB), which in Britain is the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and the second is Privately Owned Companies (ITV, Channel 4 ECT…)

The BBC is funded by all TV owners who pay a TV license fee each year, which this year was £145 per household. By paying this fee, it entitles everyone to have their own opinion in what gets shown and also gives them the right to have programmes which will be best suited to them. The fee they receive means they aren’t allowed to advertise during/after programmes, this is how the BBC is able to run and make money. The fee also pays for BBC channels 1,2,3 & 4, as well as BBC iPlayer on their website or Virgin Media, and also the radio stations which they have produced.

Another advantage about the BBC is that because they don’t have to rely on advertising they can take more risks in the making of their shows. This means that they can give opportunities to new unknown script writers/comedians ect... that want the chance to produce a show that will be aired, giving them more variety in their shows and giving them more of chance to appeal to all of the audiences which is their duty as a PSB. Examples of this are with successful people such as Ricky Gervais who before he scripted and produced The Office had never produced ay television work before.

Another thing which the BBC do is attempt to produce a variety of niche programmes in order to reach out to all audiences. An example of this type of programming is Mozart Uncovered, this will be shown at 7.30pm on BBC4. Niche programmes are programmes which don't generate a mass audience and are not a conventional prime time programme, it will appeal to a small variety of people. The reason the BBC aires these programmes is because everybody who pays a TV license has a right to give their opinions and have a show aired which will cater for their interests.

However, in Privately Own Companies such as ITV & Channel 4 ECT… it is a totally different situation. These privately owned companies rely heavily on advertisers money to fund the company and make profits. This means that they will be much less likely to take a risk on new ideas and unknown directors/writers ect… because advertisers will want to advertise on popular TV programmes that they know will have a wide audience.

Also another difference between PSB and Privately Owned Companies is that PSB is funded by the public and doesn’t have an owner as such which means that it is not biased in anyway. However because companies like Fox are owned by Rupert Murdoch they will be very biased towards his political view point. Meaning that the news channels on BBC will be completely unbiased about all issues, but private channels will generally be very favourable towards certain sides of the issue.

Task 4: Write a report on the film industry covering the following points….

The cinema industry is split into two main sections, mainstream and independent. The first of these, mainstream is mainly controlled by the big six main media organisations, General Electric, Walt Disney, News Corp, Time Warner, Viacom and also CBS is the other company in the big six but doesn't control any of the mainstream cinema. The main studios which are controlled by these organisations are 20th Century Fox (owned by News Corp), Paramount including Dreamworks (owned by Viacom), Warner Bros. Pictures (owned by Time Warner), Walt Disney Studios (owned by Walt Disney), Universal Studios (owned by General Electric). This sector of cinema is by far the largest section in the industry with nearly ninety five percent being mainstream and the remaining five percent being independent. These mainstream cinema studios are not only monopolising the industry and controlling the majority of films in production but by doing that they are also manipulating the things which us as a viewer see. Also because these films are so expensive, these organisations are unwilling to take big risks on films making cinema more predictable and contain less originality. The acclaimed Hollywood film director Ridley Scott who directed films such as Gladiators and Alien etc. was quoted saying "I think there's no originality. I think everyone is stealing from everyone else and going back to the originals. I usually go in for 20 minutes and then get up and leave.". Another problem in some peoples eyes is that because these big six don't want to gain a bad reputation or take too big a risk, in some of the more violent or adult films produced, they will make a Director's Cut edition to the film which wouldn't be shown in movie theatres for fear it may be seen as being too extreme for viewers. However this is seen by many as being too conservative and unfair to the audience because it isn't showing the full movie and providing the best experience possible. There are however other major American companies which contribute to the landscape of cinema such as, MGM, Columbia Pictures and United Artists who are all independent companies, showing that there is still some resistance being made to the big six's media control. In addition to these companies there are smaller companies in European countries such as France, Spain and Germany who produce these independent films and show possibly more creativity and more daring production which enables them to be original and take risks. Some of the more successful films that have been created and produced by independent companies and also the European companies are James Cameron's The Terminator produced by MGM which was one of the biggest films of all time, as well as french film District 13 which was originally called Banileue 13 (the french translation of District 13) and many more.

Another rising form of cinema is Bollywood, which is the Indian answer to Hollywood, however they use the Hindi language for their dialogue. This culture of cinema was originally named Bollywood because of the huge impact Hollywood has all over the world and the city where it is based was originally named Bombay. It is now known as Mumbai but the name Bollywood has still stood. Bollywood was formally known simply as the Indian Film Industry and is based in Mumbai India much like Hollywood is based in California. The amount of films produced from Bollywood each year is massive, with around a thousand films each year being produced and released, more than double that of Hollywood. Most of which will be musicals as this is very popular among the Arab nations. However for the majority of films produced in Bollywood, even the films which aren't necessarily musicals, there will still be a musical aspect of some sort with several dance numbers included as well. The typical Bollywood film has a very small and quite limited shooting and casting budget in comparison to the typical Hollywood or westernised films and this is possibly the reason why Bollywood films are all so similar in their themes and format. These movies will be around 3 to 4 hours long and will feature an intermission at some point because of the length of the film, also there will generally be a story along the lines of; boy meets girl, they fall in love and their is always a happy ending. Although despite the mostly romantic themes, there is never any sexual content displayed in the films and if action is ever used in the films, there would be no bloodshed or gory nature to it. The success of Bollywood in India is massive with around fourteen million people going to the cinema each day to watch these films, about 1.4% of India's population of 1 billion. These people will pay the equivalent of 1-3 U.S. dollars, which in India is the average Indian's day's wage. Although despite such a vast amount of Bollywood's films are being seen in India itself, Bollywood is becoming bigger and bigger around the world, largely due to the south asian communities in countries such as Britain and America. The films are seen as a great way for these communities to stay in touch with their cultural heritage and sense of national pride.

(http://geography.about.com/od/culturalgeography/a/bollywood.htm 25/02/2011)

Also in addition to the massive movie industries in Hollywood, Bollywood and the smaller industries in places such as France and Germany etc. the British film industry also contributes in a similar way towards the cinema industry. It has been growing in size and also the standard of productions has been growing as well, especially over the last decade, which is largely is because of the UK film council. The UK film council is the government backed organisation for film in the UK ensuring that the economic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented in the UK itself and abroad. Since it was introduced little over ten years ago in 2000 the council contributed more than four billion pounds to UK g.d.p. which in the economic climate today is not only great for UK cinema but also for the UK economy and government, meaning that it is benefiting the country not only culturally but economically too. As well as that contribution the UK film council supports over 35,000 jobs across the country, which is giving work to vast amount of people but also giving opportunities to young up and coming film makers, editors etc that possibly wouldn't get a chance in places such as Hollywood. Examples of this are that the UK film council has helped launch the careers or directors such as Paul Greengrass, Kevin Macdonald and Noel Clarke, just to name a few. Other massive contributions made by the UK film council are that they have

invested 160 million since 2000 in new British films, which has helped achieve a lot of the great things done by British film over that period such as entertaining more than 200 million worldwide. Also in the same period British cinema has grossed over £800 million, which is £5 for every £1 invested by the council, showing that if companies are willing to take risks and be daring in cinema then there can be great rewards. Furthermore since 2000 the UK film council has managed to bring in over 4.7 billion pounds investment into UK economy. This has been able to provide more money for the new talent in cinema, along with funding for over 300 film societies, independent cinemas and education projects for hundreds of thousands of children across Britain, making a huge impact on not only cinema today but the future of cinema in Britain and across the world.

Last year in 2010 the UK film industry had its largest market share in a decade and its total box office figures where over one billion pounds for first time ever, which are both major advances for not only the UK film industry but the film industry as a whole. If the market share can continue to grow it will create much more diversity in what is shown and seen by people across the world and possibly in the future start to at least make a dent into Hollywood and the big six's control.

(http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/ 25/02/2011)

Task 5: Ownership and control – Does it matter who owns the media?

The big six media conglomerates are made up of General Electric, Walt Disney, News Corp, Time Warner, Viacom and CBS. The biggest and most successful company of the six is General Electric with revenue of $157 billion in 2009 and CBS had the least revenue with $25.8 billion which shows how successful these companies are. These six huge companies control the majority of the media around the world with a market share in media of over 70 percent and a market share of roughly 99 percent in America and Canada alone. This could be seen as almost dangerous to the opinions and views of people all over the world, because as these six companies have such control over what we see and hear on television and radio everyday, they can practically influence the publics opinion on certain subjects. The dangerous part about the big six influencing the public is that their views will be biased towards the opinions of the owners. For example Rupert Murdoch, the owner of the Fox Corporation has been allowed to complete a takeover of BSkyB and he now controls 100 percent of the company, he previously owned 39 percent. The issues involved with this are that Murdoch has a very right wing political view and with all the control he would now have over commercial television in this country he could introduce a very biased view in favour of certain political parties. Also because the majority of people would possibly be unaware of the fact that a huge part of media is biased, then they would be inclined to believe what is being said. This could result in their own opinions becoming subconsciously biased and people wouldn't be forming their own opinions, it would be media biased. An example of this issue of bias is in America involving protests for and against political parties, this quote from yahoo news shows how not only the network but even the news presenters for that network can be biased. "Fox's Glenn Beck, indeed, spearheaded the Sept. 12 rally in Washington, D.C., that served as the national coming out moment for the Tea Party movement. The network was also instrumental in publicising the first round of Tea Party protests over the stimulus law, which launched last April 15." Also another quote from the same news website shows possibly that Rupert Murdoch is attacking other people and other companies to get pressure away from his company and in a way to defend himself. "News Corp Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch ripped into the New York Times as a media outlet with "an agenda" focused on "anything Mr. Obama wants." This can not only promote his own companies and his own ideas/opinions which is creating bias in itself, but it will also damage other companies and the other point of view. This is not only dangerous in terms of the media and the competition umong the big media conglamorates but it will be very dangerous again for the personal opinions of the audience becuase they would not just be swayed massively for one side, it would also add hugely to their views against the opposing side of the arguement. Which even if it is towards in certain cases the right side, it is surely still the audiences right to know the full story of both sides. A major way in which these media based companies have become so rich and powerful is the way they have utilised vertical and horizontal integration. The difference between the two being that, horizontal integration is when a company decides to invest in a totally different type of business, for example when a media company builds theme parks and hotels or other unrelated businesses. However vertical integration would be if a company invests in a business which is related in someway to their own, for example when a media company, that produces films, would buy into a chain of cinema's etc. Walt Disney have proved themselves to be majorly invovled in both vertical and horizontal integration, with the opening's of their theme parks and hotels across the U.S. and in Europe which in 2010 generated an extra 10,761 million dollars in gross profit for the company. However as well as that in the U.S. in 2001 they bought the Fox Family network, Fox Kids International and the Saban Library (who had merged with Fox in 1995) which is another great example of both horizontal and vertical integration. The Fox Family network provided them at the time with 81 million viewing homes in America and the Fox Kids International was possibly even more critical in improving their reach because that added another 35 million people worldwide (25 million in Europe and 10 million in Latin America). This integration for Disney was as much about the advertising reach of the channels as about the money that each channel could generate, the deal was for $3billion cash although the aquired channels only generated $150million dollars in the previous year. Thomas Stagg explained the reasoning behind the merger, "That number really isn't indicative of the underlying value of the business. We think once integrated, Fox Family, which generates 75 percent of that cash flow, can drive tremendous growth in the top line, much as a 50 percent increase in advertising revenues over the first couple of years." Since the merger of Disney and the Fox Family in 2001 the gross profit of the Disney Media Networks has risen from around 9,000 to 17,000 million a year however these figures were already rising at a similar rate, meaning it possibly has been a worthwile investment in terms of money. Although it has certainly meant that the control which the big six media conglomorates have over what people, especially children, view everyday throughout the world has grown. www.thefreelibrary.com/Vertical+Horizontal+Integration+Change+the+Face+of+Television 14/04/2011 Also another of the biggest and perhaps most important mergers that has happened recently involving horizontal integration is the AOL/Time Warner merger. This is a massive media entity which in the U.S. includes 54% of internet access, the second largest cable system, 33 magazines which collectively have 120 million readers, 18% of the film box office, the WB television network, the basic cable channels CNN, TNT, TBS, pay services such as HBO and Cinemax, 16% of the music market, TV production and $1.1 billion in book publishing. Although its not only the money side of the merger which was massivley important, in Time Warner's case, this gave them a massive advantage in the fast growing internet market which they previously hadn't had. This enabled them to enter into new markets such as the music market online, which happened when they merged with EMI just 2 weeks after the merger with AOL and the possibilty of selling the majority of that music over the internet with AOL was a major factor in that. All of this again is reducing the competition or the threat of the competition to the big six media conglamorates, making them much more succesful and powerful meaning they have an even greater control over everything we see and hear. Yet another major issue involved in ownership and control in the media is globalisation. Globalisation in many ways is simiar to westernisation as it refers to when cultures from across the world, see things on TV or notice advertisements from big global brands, such as Nike or Coca Cola and want to dress the same way or act the same way as they've seen. This can change peoples views on the world and they may become more biased, also it can in part destroy cultural history and heritage. In the media this can refer to when a huge television show or film is seen all over the world, an example of this would be if a show like 24, a huge American show, produced by Fox who are one of the big 6 media conglamorates, was shown in developing countries in Africa. This in in a huge way can contribute towards cultural hegemony, mainly because it almost shows that the western countries like America are in some way superior to the rest of the world. It perhaps makes them seem at a better standard and a higher class, because it shows their films and television shows to be the best and suggests that nobody can compete with them. But also it could make them seem as though they are helping in a way by providing these shows to less fortunate countries, when they are simply doing it for their own benefit, maybe making the west to be the "ruling class". Another way it can contribute to globalisation is that it could persuade these people to want to buy the brands or styles of clothing shown in the show and even act more westernised and forget completely about their own culture. However it can also have a detramental effect on smaller, independent film and televsion companies from these countries, the companies and workers such as screenwriters and directors who may have great ideas and visions for new and different shows will find it harder and harder to get a chance because of these global networks. The networks in these developing countries would most probably want to choose an established show to spend their money on and show to their audience, than take a much bigger risk and offer young, up and coming people a chance to make a new show. This is because there is such a big risk involved, although the reward if it pays off can be much greater to not only them but to the world, as it not only introduces young directors etc. but it loosens the grip that the big 6 would have and lessens the effect of globalisation and cultural hegemony.

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Task 7: You are a special guest on a radio programme and you are on the show as an industry specialist. Choose a specific job role, preferably a role that you are interested in pursuing in the future and research the role. You will be asked the questions that are listed below and you are expected to give comprehensive answers. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRiNLnya4hE

Task 8: Explain some of the different types of jobs and contracts that are being advertised currently at the BBC. Explain the notion of confidentiality and exclusivity agreements and provide relevant examples.

There are a number of different types of contracts available in the media, these contract types will differ depending on the different job role. A major employer in the UK of this variety of contracts is the BBC. The range of different contracts offered includes: attachment, fixed term, casual, flexi, freelance, secondment and voluntary.

An example of a job offered with these contracts in the BBC is a Digital Media Lawyer. When this job was advertised at the BBC the contract type offered was an attachment/fixed term contract. The fixed term part means that the employee would be working for the company for a set period of time only, in this case 12 months, which would be specified in the contract. The attachment section simply means that only that company will employ the employee for the duration of the contract.

Definitions of other contract types:

Casual- Employees are employed on a non-permanent (temporary) basis, they would have less security with their job and also the length of service with the company is unknown.

Flexi- the contract will have set working times however due to assignments needing to be completed, company working hours and individual availabilities these hours are flexible and can be changed.

Freelance- Self employed workers; they will possibly work for a number of companies at a time if required without a long-term contract. May have many projects going at once, although may have none.

Secondment- the employee may be assigned to work in different departments within the company or even with a different organisation for a set period of time. May be done to develop their career by gaining new skills and experience.

Voluntary- non-paid workers, working purely for the experience they gain usually in the industry they are perusing.

Task 9: Fill in a PGS Media Risk Assessment  or create a hyperlink to a form that you have filled out for another unit.

http://scottglynnbtectvandfilm.blogspot.com/2009/09/multi-camera-techniques-live-tv.html

Task 10: Provide definitions of and examples relating to the following terms of Media Legislation…….equal opportunities; Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006; employer’s liability; employee rights; belonging to a trade union; Intellectual Property: copyright; trademarks;

Equal Opportunities can be defined in a general sense by saying that, "positions must be open to all applicants no matter what race or gender they are or if they have a disability and it is fair to everyone." An example of this in the media is if there maybe positions in the industry such as a director/producer but a candidate was turned down because she was a woman.

Employment Equality (age) Regulations 2006 is a piece of secondary legislation in the UK, which prohibits employers unreasonably discriminating against employees because of their age. An example of this in the media industry would be if an actor was not hired because they were too old/young in the casting departments opinion, despite meeting the requirements of the role. However if there is suitable reasoning, such as the actor not being age appropriate for a role because of sexual nature etc. then that would not be against this act.

Employer's liability is sometimes compulsory by law and it means that the company must provide insurance for their employee's to insure against liability for injuries at work. In the media industry, an example of this could be if a company backing a film didn't have this insurance and an actor was injured or harmed during filming of their scenes, then the backers of the film could have to pay compensation to the actor.

Employee rights are basic rights which workers are entitled to by law, whilst doing their job, such as breaks, minimum wage etc. Although in some situations, the employee must be with the company a certain amount of time before they gain some of these rights. Certain examples of this involved in media could be the contracts that employees would have with different companies, meaning for example if a presenter has a contract with BBC and gets fired he must be paid the money he is entitled to, however if he breaks a rule of that contract he doesn't automatically get paid.

Belonging to a trade union means that you and all other workers in that union will receive help with problems such as pay, disciplinary or legal actions etc. involving your work. The most common trade union in the media industry is possibly the Screen Actors Guild and they would handle a majority of actors and actress' and aid them by paying benefits to help out of work actors and other problems such as that.

Intellectual property such as copyrighting refers to when somebody copyrights an item that they have created and this makes it legally theirs to sell and claim profits and royalties from, it lasts 100 years before it must be renewed. This applies to the media industry when referring to productions that have been created and the company making it will copyright that production meaning they are entitled to a certain amount of money made from cinema viewings, DVD sales etc.

A trademark however is similar to a copyright but it refers to a symbol or slogan, which is used only by your company and is used to recognise that particular company or brand. This is used in the media industry with both slogans and symbols, for example with Nike, which is a global brand, the Nike tick is a trademark symbol of that brand and also "Just Do It" is a trademark slogan of that brand. Neither of these are permitted to be used by any other company in any way.