Section A: Improvement on Essay

Mise-en-scene
The costumes that the characters wear help to represent their ethnicity and where they stand in terms of hierachy within the hotel. The immigrant staff are wearing uniforms where as the white staff are wearing smart suits. This gives the audience the impression that the white staff are more important and successful than the immigrants as its clear that by their uniforms they are cleaners.

Sound
Dialogue is used to suggest power and imprtance of a character. Throughout the sequence the audience have viewed Jackie to be of a high status within the hotel, maybe some sort of manager position. However this is tested when her and a large group of the immigrant staff are hiding in the cupboard from the immigration officers. One of the staff passes out and Jackie has no idea what to do so another worker steps in and  saves her. He said 'he wasnt always a cleaner', hinting that once he was a doctor but by moving to the UK has left him to resort a much lower job. This re-inforecs status and power as now the audience sees Adam (the immigrant worker) to be in a situaion in which he has more power than Jackie, this is empahasized again through the use of a high angle shot looking down on her from his point of view.

Editing
The use of cut-away shots are used  (form of parallel editing) which shows the audience the vulnerable position Ibraham is in. This technique helps the audience understand who Jackie is talking about and we can link the two shots together and identify that he is in a dangerous situtation. The headphones are a prop used in this seqeuence to show why Ibraham cannot hear the alarm, putting him in a weak and defenseless position.

Camera angles/movements/compositions
A Pull focus is used when the immigrant officers walk out of the elevator and are directly infront of Ibraham. This again creates realsim for the audience as they know that he is danger and we link the immigrant officers to the situation. Reinforcing the fact that he is an immigrant and doesnt have any power when up against the officers.

Alexa's Web Traffic Stats

NME


Who is there core buyer?

• 18-24 year old males who do not have children, mainly college educated and main browsing location is from work. (Alexas web traffic)

Has circulation dropped?

•   Sales of IPC Media’s music title NME fell 14.3 per cent to 29,020 in the first half of 2011 (http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=47732&c=1)

Traffic on website?

Yesterday	0.03	-35%
7 day	0.045	+1%
1 month	0.0449	-12%
3 month	0.0468	+0.3%

Traffic rank for nme.com: (http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/nme.com#)

	Traffic Rank	Change
Yesterday	5,258	+1,560
7 day	3,574	-211
1 month	3,697	+562
3 month	3,483	-132

Web traffic has risen by 107 per cent year-on-year according to the latest round of ABCe figures. The official measure of website traffic was published yesterday (August 5), revealing the big growth: 1.8 million more of you are now looking at NME.COM's news, listening posts, video interviews, blogs and more.  Average load time: (2.55 Seconds), 80% of sites are faster.


 Examples of convergence, synergy, prosuming opportunties?

• Just three titles in the top 10 managed to increase readers this year – Kerrang!, Metal Hammer and BBC Music managed increases of 4.5%, 0.1% and 0.1%, respectively.

Metal Hammer


Who is there core buyer?

• Very similar to NME.com. is visited more frequently by males who are in the age range 18-24, have no children, are college educated and browse this site from work.

Has circulation dropped?

Traffic on website?

• Traffic rank for metalhammer.co.uk:

  	Traffic Rank	Change
  7 day	72,159	-23,957
  1 month	82,079	+12,572
  3 month	71,604	+3,544

Examples of convergence, synergy, prosuming opportunties?

Section B: Common Errors

Feedback on Section B Mock Exam:

• Lack of terminology (up tp 10 marks)
• Using exampls that are from OLD exemplar responses- this is very lazy amd these stats are now out-dated
• Referencing examples
• Focus on both- AUDIENCE and INSTITUTION
• Hardware and CONTENT
• Own opinion
• By far the biggest error was the lack of specific case study examples; evidence to support claims/ arugements!!! These need specific examples about content, statistics, figures (audience circulation)

What is the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences within the media area in which you have studied?
Points that should have been covered:

• positive and negative
• advances in technology-can do more, smartphones, iphones, tablets, technology is more accessible/easily available (audiences can access it on the move 24/7), Web 2.0, synergies and convergence
• Software: Apps-specific examples from each institution
• Fanzines: exist now due to proliferation in hardware and software and their accessibilty- examples: Audience: more demanding; they can prosume through sites such as youtube so they expect more from institutions, impatient
• how have institutions responded to these constant changing consumer/consumption habits?
• Rise in competition due to proliferation of hardware (Twitter, fanzines etc) and how institutions have overcome this?
• Production & distribution; advancements in printing process- has the internet meant a decrease in sale of institutions print products?

Use WIRED and ADOBE as an example
Refer to Alexa's web traffic

Revision on TV DRAMA

Section A:
30 minutes to watch a clip (4 times) and make notes.
40-45 minutes to write your response.


Construct representations:

• camera shots, angles, movements and compositions
• sound
• mise-en-scene
• editing

Possible Approach to exam response:

• strucuture your notes around the micro concepts (camera,editing, mise-en-scene,sound) to ensure you cover lots of detailed examples
• pick 3/4 key points in the clip and structure detailed analysis around how the micro features are used in those sections of dramas

Note taking technique:

micro	technique	example	Meaning/impact
camera
mise-en-scene
editing
sound

Todorov Narrative theory
Disequilibrium- the period of instability and insecurity in a films narrative.
Equilibrium- a state of peace and calm, which often exists at the beginning of a films narrative.
Enigma- the question or mystery that is posed within a films narrative.
Iconography- the objects within a film that are used to evoke particular meanings.


Keywords:
Realism- do the different techniques used work to make the piece realistic?
Verisimiltude- the construction of a believable world
stereotypes- how we expect people and places to be
Protagonist- is the main character (central/primary personal figure), around whome the events of the narratives plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to identify most with. Alos know as the hero.
Antagonist- opponent, competitor, enemy, rival; is a character/ group of characters, that represents the opposition against which the protagonsit must contend. In other words, ' A person, or a group of people who oppose the main character, or the main characters. Also know as the villain.

'The iconography of the set design such as the space-ships helps to create verisimilitude within the diegesis, this also reflects the genre'



Connotations fit well with mise-en-scene!

Audience Targetting for NME

1)      Core buyer of NME; mainly 25 year old men (73%)

2)      Are they targeting niche/small or mass market?  Mass market

3)      How do they target different audiences?

·         NME classified: 26% full time students

·         72% have broadband

·         59% want to keep up with the latest technologies

·         79% want to listen to new bands

·         52% are interested in a musical course/ qualification

·         NME live: 77% have been to at least 1 rock concert in 2007

·         67% will be attending a festival this year

·         70% of gig goers went for the atmosphere as well as the music

·         NME.com: 93% own a computer

·         56% visit NME.com everyday

·         96% can easily access the internet

4)      What do they offer them in terms of the products they offer/produce? Magazines, NME TV, radio station, award ceremony, night club, merchandise, festivals.

5)      What opportunities do the audience have and how might this satisfy mainstreamers/succeeders etc? Can buy merchandise straight from the store, to follow the popular/ in music.

6)      What is the mode of address? (‘The way a media text speaks to the audience to identify with it?’- the manner, tone and attitude of the magazine) and how does this appeal to the target audience? Straight to the point, informal so feels like they are trying to be our friend, informative, plain and simply put.

7)      How is the brand being positioned?  Quite high up and main stream within their genre of magazine. The leaders of music magazines.

8)      What are their brand values? (If it were a person describe its character) mainstream in the crowd, friendly, keeps up with market trends, informative.

ABCDE statuses

What products / brands would each category buy?

A. Chanel / Dior

B.  Hugo Boss / Waitrose / M&S

C1. French Connection / High Street stores

C2. Benefit / Topshop

D. Topshop / New Look / Asda

E. Primark / Pound Land / Iceland

What magazines do you think they would consume?

A. Vogue / Forbes / Collector’s magazines

B. Grazia / Cosmopolitan / Guardian

C1. Marie Claire / Sun / Sunday Times

C2. Hello / Heat / Sun

D. OK / Closer

E. TV Guides

exam questions

'What significance does the continuing development of digital media technology have for the media institutions and audiences?'

• What impact are technological developments having on music magazines and their audiences?
• How are these developments changing the way music magazines are produced/printed/exhibited and how does this change the way audiences consume them?

Responses:

• convergence has lowered the consuming rate of printed magazines
• audiences are getting younger as new market trends are more online products/information
• costs for printing have risen so they feel they need to move the the changes
• the new market trends have forced the industries to develop new media technolgy
• sales and producing magazines may decline as by the time the consumer has brought the magazine, the information will already be online in half the time and half the price -WEB 2.0(massive impact)
• some small/niche magazines may go corrupt as they only target a specific audience-not a wide maret segment-less consumers
• accessibility: wherever and whenever we like and portability: phones, tablets etc - Convergence
• convergence: NME- radio & website (form of synergy if they were seperate) - MULTI-PLATFORM
• SYNERGY- award shows, NME tour,
• UGC (user generated content)- podcasts, forums, upload your own pictures (nme), upload videos of your band (metal hammer)- PROSUMERS
• prosumers- far more likely to be loyal if you give them the oppotunity to be a prosumer
• NME and Metal Hammer have both won awards
• FANZINES-websites made by consumers/fans becuase they have bias views on how others proudce theirs/ content so they have in effect became competition
• nme and metal hammer HAVE to produce both online website and print magazine: financial burden is greater but online may give them more advertising
• social networks- facebook- can converge with nme and metal hammer- like pages, fan groups
• Twitter can be a threat, as you can directly follow the celebs and get the information staright from their page rather than wait for it to be distributed (loyalty if they have perks that twitter dont give)
• PROLIFERATION- so much choice
• future of magazines- my opinion, statistics etc....
• rupert murdoch quote
• music creates a community, can interact with other consumers with similar likes

Opening Paragraph

• Begin with clear argument about new challenges facing the magazine industry, incoporating how much audience consumption has changed due to digital technology/new media technologies/ the development of the internet (web 2.0)
• you MUST state what area of the media industry you have studied- this can be embeded within your paragraph or state obviously
• "Technoogy is shifting power away from editors, the publishers, the establishment, the media elite, now its the people who are taking control." (Murdoch 2006)

my opening paragraph: (advancements of media technology and the effects)
Over the recent years, media technology has rapidly evolved with advancements within the way a consumer can access their information, this has had major effects on media industries especially magazines . The magazine industries are finding that in order to keep up with latest in new media technology they need to converge, they have to respond as best as possible to their customers and give them what they want in order to survive. For example NME have mixed the old with the new to stay on top of the changing trends, they have websites and radio stations in which the audience can get involved with. Today the internet is a two way communication where we can give and recieve information from where ever we are. Technology will carry on evolving and becoming more advance ,"Technoogy is shifting power away from editors, the publishers, the establishment, the media elite, now its the people who are taking control." (Murdoch 2006).

closing paragraph: (draw essay together in one sentence, refer back to opening paragraph. what is the future of magazines?)
All in all, technological convergence is essential in the survuval of magazine industries. With continuos development of ways to access information, the extent and potential of Web 2.0 is unknown, so will magazines be able to keep up to date with latest technologies and survive? In my opinion online magazines will be more likely to survive as the average British teenager spends arounds 31 hours online per week and access to the internet is easier than ever. The launch of online magazines was after sales dropped 60% in 2002, they realised they needed to respond to the latest craze and adapt their product to make it more appealing and saleable. However, i dont think the taditional glossy front covered magazines will never die out completely, to me there will always be something that makes people go back to them and like Jason Docj said, new technology will never replace old technology, we generally find a purpose for 'old tech'.

Exam question example :
'Discuss the issie raised by an institutions need to target specific audiences within a media industry which you have studied.'
Reworded- What issues are raised within the magazine industry when trying to target a specific audience?

• new market trends
• stereotypes
• way in which audience consumes - accessing the product
• new media technology (nmt)
• niche (Metal Mammer- bespoke, cant synergies but can create huge loyalties with their customers, ONLY heavy metal-small audience) VS mainstream/mass (NME-appeal to wider audience - can synergies - Reading Festival-versatile, helps create awareness of their brand, potential to meet them-customer loyalty-)
• Loyal customer-  mode of address, their language, meet their needs-current- 'front runners' (print/online)
• online can be up to date faster than print as doesnt go through the whole publishing and distributing proccess
• social network- facebook likes/friends, twitter (convergence & loyalty)
• website- buy tickets, clothes, merchandise, UGC- loyalty.
• UGC- NME-upload pictures of yourself at gigs or festivals and Metal Hammer- can upload videos of yourself.
• advertisement!!! (1/3 of profits come from advertisements)
• design and layout of magazine, navigation of website-time it takes page to load (loyalty)

Essay Strucuture (example):
introduction
prosumers, UGC, uses and gratifications theory

FUTURE PLC

FUTURE PLC

Who are they?  Future PLC. is an international special-interest media group that is listed on the London Stock Exchange (symbol FUTR).  Founded in 1985 with one magazine, today we have operations in the UK, US and Australia creating over 180 special-interest publications, websites and events for people who are passionate about their interests.  We hold market-leading positions in games, film, music, technology, cycling, automotive and crafts.

Are they British/European/American? Future todays employs 1200 people in offices in London, Bath, San Francisco, New York and Sydney. Future was founded as a UK company in 1985.

What other magazines do they produce?  They produce T3, Total Film, Classic Rock, Guitar World, and Official Xbox Magazine (Metal Hammer). Future is the biggest music-making publisher in both the US and the UK (Future PLC, 2011).  Metal Hammer on Planet Rock and Metal Hammer 25th Anniversary show (

Why is it important for the institution to evolve and follow market trends? To keep on top of what their audiences want, they need to be able to offer exactly what there after thus resulting in no loss of customers/viewers. The more magazines evolve and offer more products, the more things their customers can get involved with and may appeal to a wider range of people. (Same as IPC Media)

Do they produce products other than media texts? They organise events, (sporting events), music and film industry and have websites for gaming and technology.

How important is convergence for your institution?  Convergence is what gives these two magazine institutions unique selling points which attract more customers. By mixing the old with new, more customers are able to get involved with the product. For example, Future magazine allows the customer to subscribe to them on an iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

How do they target their audience? Do they offer a variety of magazines for different nationalities and ethnicities? Our online advertising growth in the UK – some 44% - more than compensated for the continued decline in demand for print advertising. Overall advertising revenues grew year-on-year, with online proportions up from 22% to 31% (Steve Spring, May 2011).

‘Advertising patterns continue to change and in the UK, the internet advertising now accounts for a greater share of advertising expenditure than is allocated to television, radio, billboards, magazines or newspapers’ (Interim Report, May 2011).

Consider the use of NMT (New Media technology); how does the institution communicate with their audiences’ through the use of the internet/mobile phone applications. . Mobile phone apps and Metal Hammer has more than 100,000 Facebook followers.  They allow you to sign up to receive frequent newsletters, podcasts, forums (fans can communicate and share with each other). Most magazines allow the audience to write and contribute/ leave a comment(s). They allow you to sign up to receive frequent newsletters, podcasts, forums (fans can communicate and share with each other). Through the Future PLC website, you can register to get email alerts/ updates and twitter updates

IPC MEDIA

IPC MEDIA MAGAZINE:

Who are they?  IPC Media produces over 60 iconic media brands, with print alone reaching almost two thirds of UK women and 42% of UK men – almost 26 million UK adults – while our websites collectively reach over 20 million users every month

Our mass market women's division (IPC Connect) comprises famous women's weeklies including Look, Now, Chat and Woman; TV entertainment brands including What's on TV, TVTimes and TV & Satellite Week and, online, the goodtoknow network.

Are they British/European/American? British

What other magazines do they produce? Our men's portfolio (IPC Inspire) comprises a wealth of leisure brands including Country Life, Horse & Hound, Rugby World and Decanter, as well as lifestyle brands including Nuts, Mousebreaker and NME. NME has become a truly unique multi-platform media proposition. Across the magazine, nme.com, NMETV, NME Radio and the brand's live events and awards, NME reaches over one million music fans every week. NME is the longest published and most respected music weekly in the world. Every week it gives its readers the most exciting, most authoritative coverage of the very best in contemporary music, including award winning features, the latest releases, live reviews, the definitive guide to the best new bands in its Radar section, as well as a regular look back through the magazine's incredible 58 year heritage.

Why is it important for the institution to evolve and follow market trends? To keep on top of what their audiences want, they need to be able to offer exactly what there after thus resulting in no loss of customers/viewers. The more magazines evolve and offer more products, the more things their customers can get involved with and may appeal to a wider range of people.

Do they produce products other than media texts? They only produce a wide variety of magazines, some websites but always media texts.

How important is convergence for your institution?  Convergence is what gives these two magazine institutions unique selling points which attract more customers. By mixing the old with new, more customers are able to get involved with the product.

Consider the use of NMT (New Media technology); how does the institution communicate with their audiences’ through the use of the internet/mobile phone application. They allow you to subscribe to their magazines so; ‘it’s the perfect way to guarantee receiving your favourite magazine regularly’. They have the option to email them on feedback you have, creating a sense that the consumer can contribute in making their website as good as it can be, and they’re interacting. NME let you have an account on their website in which you can get regular newsletters (email).  You can now get super-fast music news wherever you are, with the all-new NME.COM smartphone site; fully optimized for: IPhone/iPod, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Palm Pre, Nokia N900, Nintendo Wii, and PSP. Access to their website/ information seems to be easier than ever as the portability of ways to access it is at the end of our fingertips.


 

Exemplar response to Section B: Magazine Industry

In recent times the media industry has witnessed meteoric rise in new technologies.  The advancement of the internet, for example, as it entered its second phase enables consumers to access media in new and unparalleled ways.  For the magazine industry, this has presented both challenges and opportunities.

Print media is mostly in decline, a worry of course for producers of magazines.  Therefore they must assess just how important technological convergence is for helping their magazine to survive in the long run.

The Future Plc title Metal Hammer is a monthly rock and metal magazine, that has existed since 1994. In that time, Metal Hammer has built a reputation as a bible of both modern and traditional metal music. It’s publisher, Future, is an independent company with a portfolio of magazines aimed at niche market sectors.  As a whole, Future, has performed well in a declining market, with Metal Hammer and Classic Rock reporting increases in circulation, with Metal Hammer reaching a circulation of 50,269 and classic rock 70, 188 (ABC, Dec 08).  Perhaps Futures strategies involving technological convergence have something to do with this success.  One of their ‘pillars’ of business strategies  is to implore upon their existing convergences in order to further appeal to prosumers.  This is important; Future defines ‘prosumers’ as “young men or young-at-heart men (Future licensing.com). In general this demographic will be one of the most technologically involved, in the know about the latest technologies.  They are also, incidentally the most valuable demographics for advertisers.  In this respect, convergence is extremely important for Future and indeed Metal Hammer in retaining advertising revenue.  Advertising revenue has already fallen for Future, as they already saw a 15% drop in advertising from December 08-March 09 (futurelicensing.com, 2009).  It is therefore, vital that they use technological convergences to remain advanced enough to attract advertisers.

Metal Hammer’s target audience is a young audience, interested in music, “converging adults”, according to futurelicensing.com The National Readership survey 08, the latest available, shows Metal Hammer readers to be 64% male, average age 22.  Again, this is an audience that will be interested in many forms of media. So for Metal Hammer to maintain their loyalty they must fulfil their newly evolving needs (Uses and Gratifications, McQuail).

The Metal Hammer website is a demonstration of convergence, and has proved popular with nearly 60,000 individual visitors since starting (futurelicensing.com).  Alex’s web traffic analysis suggests that visitors are mostly male, aged between 18 and 24 and spend around 2.7 minutes on Metal Hammer.co.uk. Therefore the website has apparently targeted the right audience for Metal Hammer.  Users can interact, voting in polls such as “who has the best slipknot mask?”, giving users the sense that they are contributing to a community. They are also educated and entertained with video exclusives, Metallica Live, and Opeth on tour.  In this way convergence maintains interest in the Metal Hammer brand.  Web 2.0 allows users to submit and generate a content, so Metal Hammer has competition in that users can go elsewhere for such videos .  It is up to Convergence in order to provide the best service for users.

Metal Hammer has also had successful synergies created as a result of convergence.  In 2008, Metal hammer.co.uk encourages users to send in photos taken on their mobiles of them playing “Guitar Heroes”, combining the internet with mobile technology.  The guitar hero synergy combined with a party sponsored by Metal Hammer at the O2 (Metal Hammer.co.uk), Podcasts have allowed content to be sent faster than ever to multi-media formats.

Indeed, distribution is an interesting issue to consider for the magazines industry.  The internet, podcasts and video channels allow readers to access their wanted content within seconds.  Where as hard copies of a magazine must be ordered or brought from a shop. Indeed it could be suggested that the gathering of content from the internet or mobile has replaced the need for buying the magazine itself, as subscriptions for Metal Hammer rose 8% from Dec-march 09 (futurelicensing.co.uk) suggesting there is not the same novelty when buying a magazine. 

However, whilst technological convergence is important for the magazine industry, publishers must consider that the extra content offered to consumers via convergences in technology, could replace the magazine itself.  IPC’s NME is an example of this as circulation dropped 24.1%, whilst its website has been praised for the amount of content on offer.  Metal Hammer has a unique community created by the interacting mode of address; ‘Join the Crusade’ and writing style filled with expletives ‘F*** You!’, readers of Metal Hammer feel a string sense of unrivalled community within the magazine.  The magazine sticks close to its ideologies of anti-establishment , avant-garde by  featuring adverts appropriate to his such as Attitude Clothing and HMV Metal, whilst the website has adverts by O2, Orange and T-mobile.

Overall techno convergence is important as consumers needs alter and change but for the magazine industry to survive they must make any technological advancements not a replacement for the hard copy of the magazine as Future have so far successfully done.  As online advertising reached 18% for future it is important.

 Analysis, Argument

Example

Terminology