Audience theories

When targeting my audience I will need to consider such audience theories as...

Hyperdermic syringe:
Basically, the Hypodermic Needle Model suggests that the information from a text passes into the mass consciousness of the audienceunmediated, ie the experience, intelligence and opinion of an individual are not relevant to the reception of the text. This theory suggests that, as an audience, we are manipulated by the creators of media texts, and that our behaviour and thinking might be easily changed by media-makers. It assumes that the audience are passive and heterogeneous. This theory is still quoted during moral panics by parents, politicians and pressure groups, and is used to explain why certain groups in society should not be exposed to certain media texts (comics in the 1950s, rap music in the 2000s), for fear that they will watch or read sexual or violent behaviour and will then act them out themselves.


Two-step flow:
 The Hypodermic model quickly proved too clumsy for media researchers seeking to more precisely explain the relationship between audience and text. As the mass media became an essential part of life in societies around the world and did NOT reduce populations to a mass of unthinking drones, a more sophisticated explanation was sought.

Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson, and Hazel Gaudet analysed the voters' decision-making processes during a 1940 presidential election campaign and published their results in a paper called The People's Choice. Their findings suggested that the information does not flow directly from the text into the minds of its audience unmediated but is filtered through "opinion leaders" who then communicate it to their less active associates, over whom they have influence. The audience then mediate the information received directly from the media with the ideas and thoughts expressed by the opinion leaders, thus being influenced not by a direct process, but by a two step flow. This diminished the power of the media in the eyes of researchers, and caused them to conclude that social factors were also important in the way in which audiences interpreted texts. This is sometimes referred to as the limited effects paradigm.

Uses and gratifications:

Uses and Gratifications Theory is a popular approach to understanding mass communication. The theory places more focus on the consumer, or audience, instead of the actual message itself by asking “what people do with media” rather than “what media does to people” (Katz, 1959) . It assumes that members of the audience are not passive but take an active role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives. The theory also holds that audiences are responsible for choosing media to meet their needs. The approach suggests that people use the media to fulfill specific gratifications. This theory would then imply that the media compete against other information sources for viewers' gratification

Video examples of different genre types:

Rock

Classical 

Rap

Dubstep

Reggae

Blues

There are so many more genres but these are just a few examples...

Target audiences and Genres

Target Audiences are formed from different different groups, for example: Adults, teens, children, mid-teens, pre-schoolers.

When looking at my target audience I need to pick an genre. 

To market to any given audience effectively, it is essential to become familiar with your target market; their habits, behaviors, likes, and dislikes. Markets differ in size, assortment, geographic scale, locality, types of communities, and in the different types of merchandise sold. Because of the many variations included in a market it is essential, since you cannot accommodate everyone’s preferences, to know exactly who you are marketing to.

A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music. It is to be distinguished from musical form and musical style, although in practice these terms are often used in an undifferentiated way. There are around 600 types of genre.

Music can be divided into many genres in many different ways. Due to the different purposes behind them and the different points of view from which they are made, these classifications are often arbitrary and controversial and closely related genres often overlap. Many do not believe that generic classification of music is possible in any logically consistent way, and also argue that doing so sets limitations and boundaries that hinder the development of music. While no one doubts that it is possible to note similarities between musical pieces, there are often exceptions and caveats associated.

At this point in time I intend to do Don't go by Josh Kumra (acoustic version) which falls under the acoustic genre, due to this I will need to look at my target audience which will be acoustic fans and also the forms and conventions of acoustic music videos, by carrying out these two stages I will be able to have a greater understanding of how to make my video so that it appeals to my audience and also follows some of the forms and conventions of its genre so that it is not random and has a set style that the audience will be able to associate with.

Short Slideshow I made on The Gaze Theory

Mulvey The Gaze Theory

View more presentations from jakeclaridge.

Some pictures from out at the woods, still need to add some film I took

Other Josh Kumra songs

Tomorrow afternoon I haven't got any lessons and in the afternoon I will be going to my woods to pick some spots that might be in my video and try out some different methods of filming, so that when it comes down to production time I will be better prepared.

I think I have found my song...or at least the artist...

Well after listing earlier on today the possible songs I have has a change of mind. I felt that most of the songs lack a certain bit of life in the sound in regard to the sort of song I now want.
I have liked Wretch 32 ft Josh Kumra - Don't Go for quite sometime now, however I don't particularly want any rapping in my video, due to this I thought I would have a look for an acoustic version by Josh Kumra which I quickly found and have had on repeat since.

Song ideas so far........

An idea.......

During toda's lesson we were given a unit giude  and were told to go over them and then do some research. When looking on youtube at music videos I came across a video that seemed very interesting  has inspired me to do my own interpretation of it in part of my project.

I particuarly like the falling from the sky to the sea and I feel this is a realistic task as I live along the coast and there are many places where this can be carried out safely. This is deffinately an option to think about.

Surf Safari

For my work experience this summer I went with one of the year groups on their activities week for which they went on a surf safari. My job was to film the trip and edit the footage into a short video showing the trip and everyone involved. I edited this over the summer and have now got a complete version. I will soon post it on here and analyse it.

Karaoke Task

Over the weekend I completed the short video for the karaoke task where we needed to film an artist on stage using different camera angles and then merger the soundtrack with the video and practice my lip syncing.

Tuesday

Today's lesson focused on making music videos. To start with we looked at some of the history beginning with Bob Dylan's music video for his song - Subterranean Homesick Blues which is considered to be the first modern music video (1965).

 Producers saw an opportunity to show artists on TV to the nation and in 1970 music videos started to appear on TV shows,

Another music video which was considered to be ground breaking was Queen's music video for bohemian rhapsody which was thought to be the first to use advanced visual effects.

It was only in the !980's that music videos became the norm and when an artist/band released a track they were almost expected to release a video with it.

After looking at how music videos have progressed we looked at the technical codes of music videos. The key part that stood out to me was: 'as with any moving image text, how the camera is used and how the images are sequenced will have a significant impact upon the media text. I felt this was important because when watching other music videos I have noticed that there are specific ways of filming carried out all of the time and it is these particular methods of filming that are required to create a professional look, and from this code it has made me consider how I will film my video.

Also in the lesson we talked about things we need to consider when making our videos of which include...purpose, audience, considering technology and the resources required and what we have available to us.

We then went on to look at preparing a story boards and were provided with a hard copy of a blank story board that we can photocopy and use to create our own story boards. Of which I will post a copy of mine whenever I create one. During the lesson we came across a website that sells an animatic (An animated storyboard, often used in advertising, as well as in music video, to give a better idea of the planned project.) software called Moviestorm http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/hub/home which seems very good and allows the producers to view the idea/vision created in an animated movie version before creating a real life video which could be costly and therefore the use of it is wise, however it is rather expensive just for a school project and requires a fair bit of training in the use of the software.

Theory Week

With our timetable this year we have practical lessons one week and theory the following week. This week we have begun to learn some theory.
First of all we were given a Glossary of media related words that will be used throughout the course.
I found some definitions that I had not come across and for good practice I am going to put them on here.

Amplification: In this context, to add to the meaning of the lyrics through a visual interpretation which may be quite removed from them.

Animatic: An animated storyboard, often used in advertising, as well as in music video, to give a better idea of the planned project.

AOR: Adult-Oriented Rock, the dominant, white, mid-America music form in early 1980's.

AVID: A professional, industry-standard digital editing system used by many filmmakers.

Brief: The original requirement from the client given to the creative team, via the commissioning editor.

Capture: The action of transferring footage from camera to computer.

Hybird: A combination of different genres or styles.

Iconography: Specific visual features associated with an artist or genre, such as a costume or style of dress, particular jewellery or other objects such as cars, guns, etc.

Offline edit: The basic edit to be viewed by the artist and record company prior to any effects being added.

Online edit: The final edit where where effects are added and the tape produced to broadcast standard.

After going over the key words in the glossary we looked at the theorist Andrew Goodwin's identification of the "Key features of music videos" Goodwin stated six key points:

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics ( e.g. stage performance in metal video, dance routine boy/girl band).
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting). 
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals ( either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting). 
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work ( a visual style ). 
5. There is frequently referenced to the notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc.) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
6. There is often intertextual reference ( to films, TV programmes, other music videos, etc.).

After going over this theory we applied it to a textual analysis of music videos of which videos we analysed; 

When analysing the videos the features we looked at were:

• Genre characteristics
• The relationship between lyrics and visuals
• The relationship between music and visuals
• Whether there are close-ups of the artist and star image motifs
• Whether there is a reference to the notion of looking
• Whether there are inter-textual refferences
• Whether it is performance-based, narrative-based or concept-based and how much of each

This use of the theory when analysing music videos had made it much easier to analyse the videos and find out different things and when comparing more than one song by one particular artist it is easier to understand the artists style, which will be useful when creating my own video because I will be able to find out what style I should or shouldnt use to meet or challenge the forms and conventions of the chosen artist/genre.

When looking at videos we talked about the use of stop motion (In animation stop motion animation is a cinematic process, or technique used to makes static objects appear as if they were moving. This technique is commonly used in claymation and puppet-based animation. The objects are brought to life by breaking up the figure's motion into increments and filming one frame of film per increment. Webopedia.) we saw great examples of this in Sledge Hammer by Peter Gabriel and also in the song shown above by coldplay.

Previously I never considered using stop motion but after viewing these two videos I have come to think that it would be a great element of film making to include that would show skill and an understanding of film making and different styles. The main thing I have learnt is that I need to keep viewing different music videos even if they are not the sort of music I like as by watching different videos I will find different elements of music videos that I can use as inspiration for my own work.

Getting it done

Due to the technological difficulties I have taken it upon myself to complete my own edited version on my laptop so that I can complete the task.
This process has run much smoother when working on my own and so far I have not had any problems (touch wood) from the progress that has been made I expect to complete editing the clip by the end of the day.
The only slight difficulty has been trying to lip sync, this was mainly down to having a different version of dog days are over, the version I had to start with was slightly faster than the track we used when filming, once  realised the issue it was easily corrected and the task became much simpler.

Update on todays and yesterdays work

Yesterday we had some trouble with the computers, our editing software would not allow us to play any sound. This seemed to be quite a problem as we are carrying out a lip syncing task

Today we had the same issue to begin with, but in the end we changed computers and solved the issue, the computer still ran slow but we managed to achieve somethingm During my frees today I will be working on the video. Hopefully it will go better this time!!!

Pictures of us working on our project.

    

                 

Problem solved

Alex and I have just got back from the hall after filming ourselves using the lights, varying the speed of the strobe light, from that we have tested the videos on both the media computer and a laptop, the quality is poor on the media computer like earlier on with the other footage, now that we know that the lighting did not affect the cameras and  the problem is just the graphics on the computer we can still use the footage we filmed today.

Today's work

Today we filmed again using different camera angles in different shoots. We seemed to have a much better understanding of how to use the lights and when carrying out the shoot it seemed like we would have some good footage. However when looking back on it in the media room we found that the strobe light affected the recording and caused a bad and unclear image.
we are going to go back up to the stage right now and set up a camera and have a play with the lights and then go over it and see what works.

Todays work

Today we carried out a trial run for our karaoke task, the song that we are using is by Florence and the Machine and is called dog days are over http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGrx6etMl0w&ob=av2n. We have got someone to pretend to be an artist on stage so that we can film her and practice different camera angles before carrying out our main peaces.
We tried to get our heads around the lighting system but it seemed quite difficult. Tomorrow we will carry out another shoot, but the footage will be used for the end result unlike today's.

Camera Trick!

This video seems very useful, I need to try the rubber band out and see if this actually works but if it does then its a good trick.

Rick Van Man seems to make a lot..........

As I have already looked at useful pieces of equipment I thought I should look at steadycams. This video seems very good and the process of creating the item seems very reasonable in price.

More useful tips

After looking up a track dolly I looked on Rickvanman's channel which had the previous posts video and came across this gem of a tip that I think I will find useful.

Thinking about ways of filming......

When looking at almost all films it seems that the use of track dolly's are very popular and create a very steady moving shot, I think that the use of a track dolly in the process of making my video would result in a more professional end product, due to this I have decided to research ways to make one myself as the cost for a professional one would be expensive. Here is the best video I have come across.

Research

When looking at the websites that I were provided with to look at I became distracted and decided to research green screens and how to use them effectively as a green screen could be used in my music video.

After watching this clip I have realised the fundamental mistakes I have made in the pass when using the schools green screen, my mistakes have been in the use of lighting and I have now learnt to use them correctly, Iwill when I next have a chance have a go at carrying out the task of setting up the green screen.

Ideas for my music video....

Today in the hall we had a session using the stage lights and in general just familiarizing ourselves with the available equipment, that we can use and will be using for our karaoke video.
Bellow are pictures of the control board for the lights and the lights that we are using.

For some time now I have thought about using a projector to play part of the film for my music video. I will do this by playing the projection in the background of the scene set and will use the projection to run two story lines at once, and being able to cut between the projection and the image being on the screen on its own, when in the hall I came up with the idea of having my artist (unknown at the moment) performing on stage and having another story line being projected behind them.
I think this would be a good use of technology and would bring a different element of film making. I have seen this method carried out in live gigs but never in a music video and I feel it would be a good option. At some point I will test this using a clip of film and a person on stage and see if it works before carrying out this task.

Todays work

Today we have had a class discussion on our coursework, as part of this we were given another article from Media Magazine from September 2011 called Production Tips 2.0 written by Chief Examiner Peter Fraser. The article offers advice on what and what not to do when creating our pieces, from the advice I found a few really useful pointers. First of all he suggests that the best way to create a good piece is by having experience, this can be done by making any sort of films just to get used to the process. He also mentions Music video karaoke which seemes very useful and as a class we are going to carry out this task which involves filming someone sing and syncing the music to it and having a go at using different angle, so that we can get an idea of what works and what doesn't, so when we get around to doing our final pieces we have some experience. Another piece of advice given was when it comes down to editing make sure that you have more film than you need and then be very selective on what clips to use and what to get rid of.

During the lesson our teacher provided us with some links to some good websites to look at, I will be looking at these and will post anything that I find of use on this blog.

www.englishandmedia.co.uk
petesmediablog.blogspot.com
www.longroadmedia.co.uk
rssmediastudio.co.uk/main/alevel
collectiveidentity.posteous.com

Song ideas for Brief 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5LG1ZMIu6M Bombay bicycle club - Flaws
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6D3aexEZIs&feature=relmfu Bombay bicycle club - Rinse me down
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6N3jUDKzq0 Benjamin Francis Leftwich - Pictures
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyue2N1XZ0M Benjamin Francis Leftwich - Atlas hands
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sin9PRz583E Benjamin Francis Leftwich - Box of stones

When looking at these songs they all have a similar style and are all very calm acoustic songs.

First lesson back.

After going over exam AS results we discussed our coursework for A2, after our discussion we were given an extract from Media Magazine from September 2011 called In Defence of Media. The article is written by Nick Potamitis, and the writer tells us of his life and how he has always been a 'geek' when concerning media, the article mentions all of his failed attempts of creating media pieces. The article made me realise that now in 2011 we have more opportunities to do what we want with media and like the article says "Media students need to get their geek on. I agree with the actor Simon Pegg, who argues that 'geek' has been 'reclaimed' in recent years. It used to be an insult, now it just means you're into your stuff."