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Unit 3 Task 2 Undertake Research

MrsCurranSIS — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 22:02:48 CST

Assignment:

You now need to undertake research into the production you have been asked to pitch a proposal for (either the BBC Three brief OR the CBBC brief).

For this assignment you will produce:

Research Strategy document (see template attached below)
Research Log (see p.48 of the Student Book for an example)
Research Portfolio (your completed surveys, questions & write ups of focus groups and one-to-one interviews, highlighted and annotated .pdf documents and online articles using tools like Diigo, table containing quantitative data such as audience ratings figures, e.g. from the BARB website. This is the evidence of the research activities you have carried out)

Be able to apply a range of research methods and techniques:

Secondary research: quantitative research, eg programme ratings, readership circulation figures, hits on a website, box office figures, sales of CDs and DVDs; qualitative research, eg film reviews, game reviews, fanzine websites, attitudes to media products, responses to news coverage, responses to advertising campaigns, searching internet forums

Primary research: quantitative research, eg questionnaires, surveys; qualitative research, eg interviews (face-to-face, telephone, email), focus groups, participation in internet forums, audience panels; self- generated, eg observations, own video, audio or photographic records of events

Audience research: audience classification (socio-economic, geodemographic, psychographic, ethnographic, age, gender, sexual orientation, occupation, education); media preferences; product preferences; buying patterns

Market research: product market; competition; competitor analysis; advertising placement; advertising effectiveness

Production research: content; resources, eg personnel, talent, finance, suppliers, facilities, locations, logistical support; costs; viability; placement, eg publication, broadcast, webcast, podcast, audience

Interpreting results: collate; evaluate; summarise

ACTIVITIES

You will need to carry out the following research activities in order to cover the requirements of this task:

Research into the requirements of your client (BBC Three or CBBC) including an idea of the channel's identity and tone.
Research into the target audience of your client including their TV viewing habits, their lifestyles, aspirations, media preferences, programme preferences, etc.
Research and define the demographics of your target audience - age, gender, occupation, education, socio-economic group, geodemographic group, pshychographic group, etc.)
Research the market for your product including who your competitors are, what drama programmes they are offering the target audience, how they are attempting to appeal to this group of viewers, how successful they are in this (viewing figures/ratings).
Research successful dramas on your channel or its competitors - do a detailed content analysis including characters, storylines, related online content, use of film language, narrative structure, legal and ethical issues, ratings, etc.
Research the production itself including costs for drawing up your budget. How much does it cost to hire camera and sound equipment? How much will you have to pay each member of your crew per day? What are the possible locations you could use? Will you have to pay for these and/or obtain special permissions to use them?

Working As A Writer Guide

MrsCurranSIS — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:16:46 CST

GUIDE TO ASSIGNMENT 1 - WORKING AS A WRITER

Working in pairs, you will:

● research current practice for the commissioning of scripts
● research contracts and employer expectations
● research the legal and ethical considerations that concern writers
● prepare an individual writer's blog to record your findings.
● give presentation of your writer's blog

CONTENT:

In your Writer’s Blog you will record personal entries written in the first person detailing your knowledge and understanding of the areas outlined above. Use the focus questions below to guide you in your research and in writing your entries:

Commissioning:

What are commissioning bodies? (corporations, independent production companies, independent directors or producers, organisations, competitions) Choose 3 of these. Describe and explain how they commission writers to create scripts for them. Give examples such as the BBC, independent production companies like Tiger Aspect, and an example of a competition that has led a writer to finding work.
What are the job roles within the commissioning process (commissioning editors, producers, directors, script editors, agents, writers)? Describe and explain the roles and responsibilities of at least 2 of these referring to examples.
Once they have been commissioned to write a script, what is the writer’s role throughout the production process? (pre-production planning, script editing, director or producer involvement, shooting script production, page lock-down, adjustment during shooting stage). You can find out this information by reading interviews with writers on the BBC Writer’s Room website or on the Skillset website or the Writer’s Guild website (in particular their Guide to Working with Writers).
How does all of this relate to the project you are currently working on? Add an entry in your Writer’s Blog about this. Which commissioning body are you proposing a script to? What have you learnt about this organisation in terms of what they want, what market they are operating in and what is likely to appeal to their target audience?

Working as a writer:

What is agent representation and how does this benefit writers? How does a literary agent represent writers working for Film or TV? What do they do? How do they help to agree contracts between writers and commissioning bodies? Use the Writer’s Guild website or the Blake Friedmann website to find out more about this.
What are royalty payments? How are royalties paid to writers? As the writer of a drama for BBC Three, where could your royalty payments come from? (iPlayer, DVD release, repeats, etc.)
What is professional presentation? Why is it important to present your script to agents and commissioning bodies in a professional way? How should scripts be professionally presented and what tools do writers use to do this? What are the common presentation errors that put off agents & commissioning bodies? How does this information apply to you as a writer for BBC Three? What software application will you use to ensure your script is presented professionally? Include some screenshots of examples of professional scripts to show this. You could annotate these to indicate the different sections and how they are formatted. Links to published scripts available to download online can be found at the Scriptfactory website.
Why is time management important to writers? What are the time management issues that writers experience? Use the interviews with writers on the BBC Writers’ Room website to find out about real examples.
How does all of this relate to your project for BBC Three? What kind of royalty payments and fees can you expect to receive from the BBC? (see The Writer’s Guild agreements with the BBC over minimum fees and payments for writers) How would you go about finding an agent? (see the scriptfactory FAQs) How are you going to ensure that your script is presented professionally? What software application will you use and why? How will you manage your time to ensure that you finish your script on time?

Legal and ethical considerations:

PLAGIARISM & COPYRIGHT:

What is plagiarism? How can plagiarism effect a writer? What happens if you plagiarise someone else’s work? What happens if someone else plagiarises your work?
What is copyright? As a writer, why would you want to copyright your work? How do you go about protecting your work (scripts) and your ideas (treatments) from being stolen? See the Writers’ Guild website, BECTU’s script registration service and http://www.scriptfactory.co.uk FAQs section.

CENSORSHIP & WATERSHEDS:

What is censorship? The British Board of Film Classification website (http://www.bbfc.co.uk/) outlines the framework for film censorship in the UK or you can use the Hong Kong system as an example. Explain how censorship is used to protect vulnerable groups of people such as children from unsuitable content. Also, explain how censorship helps to protect people from offensive content. Finally, explain how censorship can be used to restrict content that could be politically sensitive or inflammatory. Dennis Potter’s TV work is often a good example of what causes controversy.
What are watersheds? How do watersheds work to censor the content of television programmes? What is the UK watershed and how does it work? How does the UK watershed apply to your project? How will you take into consideration people’s ideas of good taste and decency when writing your script? Remember, although sex, nudity, violence and swearing is allowed after 9pm there are still quite conservative appetites for this kind of content and still limits as to what would be deemed acceptable by Ofcom and by the law. One recent example is pre-watershed nudity in the Sherlock Holmes series in the UK.

BIAS & LIBEL:

What is libel? How could a writer get into trouble for libel? How do some writers write scripts based on real people but avoid getting into legal difficulties? Give an example, e.g. Orson Welles’ ‘Citizen Kane’. Another useful example for libel and bias might be Peter Kosminsky’s dramadoc ‘The Government Inspector’.
What is bias? How does bias relate to the role of scriptwriter? Is it always necessary for a writer to be unbiased? Why might a someone complain if a writer has been biased in their script? Again, Dennis Potter’s TV work often has a particularly personal bias. See his secular retelling of the Jesus Christ story ‘Son of Man’ (1969).

Script-Writer- Planning

Christopher_Gordon — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 23:36:11 CST

Use professional programming, such as Celtx.

When writing the script, make sure it is practical, able to be filmed, manageable for an IB student. Constantly keep in mind that it must be a short film with a simple narrative.

When initially writing the script, leave out the shots and transitions that you imagine unless absolutely necessary (refer to The Scriptwriter's Bible By David Trotter). These should be discussed with the rest of the group (director, editor and cinematographer) during the script conferences and meetings for shot lists and storyboards. Later on, if you feel that it will be easier when filming, add the shots and cuts after the script has been approved as is going through final drafts.

Make sure to use as many sources of the script when necessary. If using shots from the film, make references to script and your role.

Have multiple save files of the script whenever a change is made. This shows the progress of the script.

Save as much planning as possible. Hold multiple script conferences. Annotated scripts make for good source material.

When using other films or TV shows as inspiration, use the script from that, if possible, if not, then illustrate how this idea developed and how it is in your final script.

Have photos of script conferences, changes which you made while on set and your influence on the final film.

Document time allocations or time spent during script conferences with the director. Do the same with any input used in the final film during editing.

Have evidence of ideas of how a professional script works, even if it is an existing script.

When analyzing your script, take notice of leitmotif, recurring visual motifs, characterization, areas where the dialogue is important to the characterization, etc (places in the script that is important to the final product).

Unit 24 Task 1 The Commissioning Process for Writers

MrsCurranSIS — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:25:10 CST

LEARNING OBJECTIVE:

Know about the commissioning process for writing for television and video

ASSIGNMENT 1 - WORKING AS A WRITER

Working in pairs, you will:

● research current practice for the commissioning of scripts
● research contracts and employer expectations
● research the legal and ethical considerations that concern writers
● prepare an individual writer's blog
● give presentation of your writer's blog

CONTENT:

Commissioning:

job roles within the commissioning process (commissioning editors, producers, directors, script editors, agents, writers);
commissioning bodies (corporations, independent production companies, independent directors or producers, organisations, competitions);
the role of the writer throughout production (pre-production planning, script editing, director or producer involvement, shooting script production, page lock-down, adjustment during shooting stage)

Working as a writer:

agent representation;
royalty payments;
professional presentation;
time management

Legal and ethical considerations:

copyright;
bias;
censorship;
watersheds;
libel;
plagiarism

USEFUL LINKS

ASSESSMENT & GRADING CRITERIA

Unit 3 Research Techniques for Creative Media Industries (10 credits)

MrsCurranSIS — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:55:50 CST

*** Download the Assignment Brief below under Attachments ***

Aims & Purpose

The aim of this unit is to develop understanding of and skills in research relevant to creative media production. You will present your findings in both written and oral forms and will learn how to cite and reference your sources.

Learning Outcomes

After completing the unit you should:

understand the nature and purposes of research in the creative media industries (Task 1)
be able to apply a range of research methods and techniques (Task 2)
be able to present results of research (Task 3)

Unit introduction

Research is fundamental to all aspects of creative media production and is the essential starting point for productions of any scale. It can be used to determine the financial viability of a future production, to gather a range of information relevant to the content of the production, or to assist with the planning of technical and logistical requirements.

There are also media companies which conduct extensive research using a range of sophisticated methods to gather data about audience consumption of media products and services. This has become increasingly necessary in the highly mixed and competitive environment media industries operate in.

Learners who are looking for a job which requires research skills might consider employment in a research agency, or in pre-preproduction for radio, television or film, whilst a knowledge and understanding of research techniques is vital in a number of roles in advertising and marketing. They are also, of course, important in journalism. However, some ability to undertake research is essential for anyone working in the media industries.

Assessment & Grading Criteria

Unit 5 Working to a Brief in the Creative Media Industries (10 credits)

MrsCurranSIS — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:50:51 CST

*** Download the Assignment Brief below under Attachments ***

Aims & Purpose

This unit aims to take you through the whole process of working to a brief from initial negotiations, through the process of developing and realising ideas in liaison with the client to final self-evaluation on completion of the work.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit a you should:

Understand the requirements of working to a brief (Task 1)
Be able to develop a planned response to a brief(Task 2)
Be able to apply a response to a brief (Task 3)
Be able to review work on completion of a brief. (Task 4)

Unit introduction

A good deal of work in the media industries, especially in the case of small to medium size companies and freelancers, is done to a brief for a client. It is, therefore, vital for entrants to the industry to understand the requirements of working to a brief, whether one negotiated by a company or individual with a client, or one set as a competition. Common types of brief would include, for example, one for a corporate or marketing programme, a website, an audio guide, or artwork for a computer game. The client might be a large multinational company or a local small business but whoever it might be the skills involved in producing a media product to a professional brief are broadly the same.

Dealing with a brief requires a range of skills including the business skills needed to negotiate one, the creative ability to come up with ideas, and the specific technical skills needed to realise those ideas. Good interpersonal skills are also needed, as there is a need to be able to enter into someone else’s mind to some extent in order to get to know what they really want. Moreover, it has to be said, relations with clients are not always straightforward or easy.

Assessment & Grading Criteria

Unit 24: Writing for TV & Video (10 credits)

MrsCurranSIS — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:43:16 CST

*** Download the Assignment Brief below under Attachments ***

Aim and purpose

This unit aims to foster a practical approach to the process of creative television and video writing by developing learners’ skills in background research, pitching, writing proposals and scriptwriting technique. In addition, the unit considers the commissioning and development process and will give learners the narrative writing skills needed to create television and video scripts.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this unit you should:

Know about the commissioning process for writing for television and video (Task 1)
Be able to research, collect and prepare background materials
Be able to produce script proposals
Be able to pitch script proposals
Be able to produce scripts for television and video production.

Unit introduction

At the heart of a successful television or video product lies a well-researched, effectively written and appropriately formatted script. The wide range of script requirements across television and video genres demand writers who are flexible and competent in written and verbal communication.

This unit aims to introduce you to both the skills involved in scriptwriting and the role of writers in the modern television and video production industry. Encouraging a vocational awareness through its coverage of the commissioning process, this unit also aims to give you an overview of the scriptwriting process by adopting a script-to-screen approach, thereby encouraging you to think holistically. Work in this unit also allows you to practise key presentation and pitching techniques and reflect on the broad range of communication skills needed for success in this highly competitive field. However, the unit is intended to be primarily practical and, preferably, production led.

With the notable exception of serial drama the industry is moving away from the traditional commissioning process of ‘writing to assignment’ and now relies more heavily than ever before on writer-led systems such as proposal-based responses to commissions or unsolicited submissions. To reflect this, you are encouraged to generate scripts from ideas of your own, which will mean independent project instigation and management in addition to considering the commission-based approach. The need to present a proposal in an appropriate format, along with the skills to verbally pitch a proposal and format a script in line with industry conventions, are also included to reflect this industry shift.

A script is the blueprint for television or video production and good writers must be able to develop realistic and appropriate products for what is a very demanding industry.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA & GRADING

News Values

MrsCurranSIS — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:35:07 CST

Galtung & Ruge (1981) produced a set of terms (that you need to memorise for your exam) to decide how editors decide what is newsworthy and what is not:
Unambiguity- Is it clear and definite?

This splash is the story of the recent IRA ambush killing two British soldiers seeing as this story deals with the matter of death it is bound to make headlines due to its certainty and clarity regarding the number of deaths caused.

Immediacy: Has it happened recently?

While this image has been uploaded, this had only been released 33 minutes ago.

Familiarity: Is it culturally close to us?

I chose to use this article because I felt that it was something that was very close to the British population and this is highlighted with the headline saying "UK will be stronger". This shows a sort of solidarity amongst the people and it is also a sign of hope for the British population as they will now have a 'messiah' of sorts to rally behind. This article is also very familiar to the British audience as it is something that can affect their lives for the next few years.

EX. 2
"Litterbugs 'trashing lovely Britain'"

It is a good example of 'familiarity' as this article is directly related to the everyday lives of the people in Britain - as this is an issue that they caused and its consequence will affect them in a profound way. Although it is not about international affairs etc., it is still newsworthy as it is familiar to the British audience and affects them in a more personal way.

Amplitude: Is it a big event or one that involves large numbers of people?

Example: The Economic Crisis.
This story is a perfect example of a news story with amplitude as it affects many people and companies all over the world. People can relate to this story as they all depend on their income, and the horrors of the economic crisis could happen to them at any time.

I chose this event because it was one that shock the whole world and was on the news for a long time after and thousands of people lost there lives in it.

Frequency: Did the event happen fairly quickly?

A frequent story in the media that the general public want to follow.

This newspaper article was chosen because the meeting between Gordon Brown and Barack Obama happened very recently. This event is important short-term, but forgettable in the long run, therefore reporters and editors will be keen to print this story while it still has some relevance to our lives. Also, it would be interesting to know what they were talking about. Note the cricket story in a little purple puff at the top of the paper. Daily Express 4/3/09

Unambiguity: Is it clear and definite?

Predictability: Did we expect it to happen?

The story behind the killings and rapists of the Sudanese army didn't have a lot of predictability as it was generally known that some soldiers indulged in such actions on their own rationale but this story was different and shocking because there were a lot of rapists and they were all taught/commanded to do so by their captains, who in turn, were commanded to do so by their president.

Surprise: Is it a rare or unexpected event?

Continuity: Has this story already been defined as news?

The Barack Obama News story has already been defined as news, but since Barack Obama is the first Black American President (Predictability), the Media is going to follow his progress in the White House, especially since he has made promises to change many things. People would like to keep up with this story because they want to see how Barack Obama copes with all his promises.

Elite nations and people: Which country has the event happened in? Does the story concern well-known people, such as celebrities?

I chose this article because it involves the murder of a Harry Potter Star as the murderer was convicted. Harry Potter is well-known movie, therefore drawing people's interest into this news. It is currently the headline of the suns online.

Personalisation: Is it a human interest story?

Negativity: Is it bad news?

In this photo there is only one person with wounds on his head. This is the Sri-lanka terrorism event, it is considered bad news because these cricket players are considered a celebrity and this would be an attack on Sri-lanken heroes

This is an image of the Gaza Strip War in Israel.

Balance: The story may be selected to balance other news, such as a human survival story to balance a number of stories concerning death.

From Key Concepts & Skills for Media Studies by Vivienne Clark et al

BACK TO WEB & PRINT NEWS

BACK TO GCSE MEDIA STUDIES

Mock Exam (Jan 25th, 2012)

sallyallan73 — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:12:46 CST

In order to reflect on your mock result and identify areas to target in revision, including time management, devise a table with three columns - the question number 1-4 and 5a,b,c,d, the mark out of ten, and the mark converted to a grade as follows;
3-F
4-E
5-D
6-C
7-B
8-A
9-A*
10-A*
Exam is worth 40% of overall grade and is marked out of 80
A* - 72
A - 64
B - 56
C - 48
In other words, you need at least 24/40 in both sections A and section B in order to gain a C.
Consider the exam as a three fold process -
1 - Identify term/ theory
2 - Define theory
3 - Give an example
Question 1.
1a) Almost all students got 2 marks here. Go for Close up shot and Medium shot. Stick with camera angles that you know of.
1b) In your explanation, try to bring in text, audience and organisation. Rihanna - the use of the CU emphasises her face - promotion via sex appeal is an active gratification that is being met by the web designers. Uses and Gratifications (Blulmer and Kratz) theory states that audiences are seeking active gratifications. One of the reasons you may be a fan of Rihanna's is that you are attracted to her - diversion - this links to the Male Gaze (Laura Mulvey) where the audience is positioned to objectify the female subject. Her hair covers her eye and connotes rebellion. In most of the images, Rihanna is promoted sexually and uses Direct Mode of Address - extra diegetic gaze creating an Illusion of Intimacy, linking back to Uses and Gratification theory - Self Identification.
Fan - loves artist - finds them attractive, like music
Aficionado - has sophisticated understanding of style/genre of music regarding artist (Roy Shuker)
Rihanna is unlikely to attract aficionados. Less influential figure in music industry.
If you are getting Level 1 (below 5) response, this is a common sense response and does not reflect Media understanding. Level 2 (5-6) means you have emerging Media knowledge. Level 3 (7) means that you are using Media theory but it has not been fully explained
Level 4 (8-10) - sophisticated use of terminology, reception theory and connecting understanding to organisations - advertising and marketing.

Question 2 - Normally relates to Genres - if you can talk about generic conventions, in this question, it helps. Rihanna - looking at pallette and colours having symbollic meaning. Rihanna - purples/pinks/oranges/black. Pink is an index of femininity - association with sex role stereotyping. Pink is also being used as an icon (Buscombe) of pop music. Her hair colour - red - association/connotation with danger, sexuality and rebellion. If you are detailing connotation you are going to get 7 or 8 out of 10. There are obvious synergy connotations with the Kodak advert - symbiotic relationship between Rihanna and Kodak - the use of black, therefore, really stands out to emphasise this symbiotic relationship. Kodak and Rihanna work well together because notion of image/aesthetic and beautiful photography being associated with Rihanna's beauty and image. Bear in mind how frequently Rihanna changes her image.
Ellie Goulding - black pallette contrasts with white. Unusual to associate black with pop female, but contrasts well to display artwork. Juxtaposition used on three column approach so that the emphasis is on central images. Bright imagery is an index of popular music - the conventions of the young girl, the youtube video would be hoped to go Viral. The use of the Rule of Thirds. Opportunity to discuss synergy with the association of the Nike swoosh in white standing out against a black background.
Always ask yourself - how can I show off my understanding of the Media triangle.
Question 3 - Representation - could have discussed Beyonce - as a female performer - male gaze - legs as USP - remember you are talking about the website - you are equipped with case studies - talk about her hypersexuality - promoting self through sexuality and a sexualised image - Beyonce as post feminist icon using her choice, her body to promote herself and make money - ownership and control over image. The most sophisticated answers will link to political debate - eg. Beyonce's skin colour looking light in Loreal adverts - is she denying her ethnic roots. Ethnic representation and female identity can be discussed here. Could also talk about 50 Cents, but be careful - he is hyper-masculine, appearing without top and emphasis on tatoos, bling and gun culture, suggesting he has emerged from tough, masculine environment. Do you think 50 Cents is a positive or negative role model for black youths? This could be your way into The Effects Debate - his manufactured persona of black aggression and violence perpetuates a negative role model but continues to circulate sales to youth audiences. You can mention Parallel Narratives here (Richard Dyer). He is NOT Ubersexual - this is a marketing term to describe men who are interested in charities - eg. Bono, George Clooney. Justin Bieber is an example of Metro sexuality - another marketing term - a groomed young man who encourages consumers to go out and buy grooming products and tailored clothing - promoting consumerism. Credit these last two marketing terms to Marion Saltzman - a futurist. These words are examples of Neologism - a new word created by mixing existing words.
Question 4 - Media Convergence - the coming together of Media forms into single items like mobile phones - how does the music industry benefit? By Apps - via Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr - the use of the LIKE button, Viral advertising, spreadable Media. Synergy and Convergence - detail these fully in both responses. Example - Web 3.0, Apps, the marketing opportunities that come from that. The Medium is the Message ( Macluhen) - the internet is the medium - interconnectivity.
Question 5a - Short catchy title - music related/genre related.
5b - Immediacy - spell this correctly - this is a News Value (Gatlung & Ruge) Immediacy means that the story is being discussed NOW - eg. Katy Perry's divorce. Use Surveillance idea (Uses and Gratifications), emphasise idea of Nostalgia, Parallel Narative (Dyer), Triumph over Tragedy.
5c - Make cover striking and colourful appropriate to genre. Should be dominated by annotation - web2, web3, link with itunes, lure, masthead, coverlines, covermounts, connections with media industry - if you get the terminology.....
5d -... is simple because you are explaining terms and linking to reception theory - Uses and Gratifications, Jenkins, Maslow and link to organisations - marketing, symbiotic relationships, synergy etc.
5e - you can talk about super connectors - Malcolm Gladwell - spreading message about particular star, promoting music through links with other organisations - itunes, MTV, VH1 - these are synergy opportunities.

2012 Exam- The Music Industry

nepaliain — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:13:37 CST

Welcome, pop pickers! 40% of your overall mark in GCSE Media Studies is determined by the exam. In January or June 2012, you will sit a 2 and a quarter hours long exam in which you will answer five questions. The first four questions (Section A) will be on Music Websites (Official) and the final question (Section B) on Music MAGAZINES.

Section A will begin with a textual analysis task. The first part of the exam involves print-related stimulus material (Probably a home-page and supplementary pages) which will be used for you to answer Question 1 & possibly Question 2. Questions 2 and 3 will test you on 2 of the 3 key concepts, which make up this GCSE course. This will be on representation, narrative or genre. Question 4 is based on media organisations and in particular, the idea of media convergence. Question 5 is a practical task in which essentially, you will be asked to design a music related magazine...probably a front-cover.

We would advise the following 10 step approach to your revision:

STEP 1- Read your own notes...highlight important notes in bright colours...make notes and shorten onto cards...ask parents/peers to test you...the vocab & theory is KEY...
STEP 2- Use the wiki...read through all the pages...check the notes on the mock exam...try to remember your teacher's voice as you revise. How would they express analysis, concepts etc...The JANUARY MOCK notes should also be revised.
STEP 3- Go to the glossary of terms...general theory...music website terminology...magazine terminology
STEP 4- Revise reception theories...how are texts received by audiences...Uses & Gratifications, Participatory Cultures, Maslow etc
STEP 5- Have 1 or 2 music websites analysed in detail and in your notes
STEP 6- Choose 1 genre (soul or rock perhaps) and revise your notes on sub-genres, the influence of genres, why they are important etc
STEP 7- Be ready to discuss representation...again, have 1 or 2 case studies ready...check out the forum we ran on this
STEP 8- Choose 1 star and revise how they are marketed and promoted
STEP 9- Be an expert on one music related magazine...practice deconstructing front pages (Use the glossary to help you)
STEP 10- Design your own page and annotated it...read the feedback from your teacher!

SECTION A- INDUSTRY WEBSITES (MUSIC ONLY)

Q1- TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF INDUSTRY WEBSITES

Q2- INDUSTRY WEBSITE GENRES

Q3- REPRESENTATION/NARRATIVES IN INDUSTRY WEBSITES

Q4- MEDIA CONVERGENCE IN INDUSTRY WEBSITES

SECTION B- MAGAZINES

Q5- MAKING A MUSIC RELATED MAGAZINE

MUSIC INDUSTRY THEORIES & DEFINITIONS (You will need your VLE password to access)

WIKINOMICS & POST-MODERNISM

(Kate) Guide to Working to a Brief

kateomeara — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:05:47 CST

Structure of Briefs

-Contractual
This is when a written legal document which is written up with all the details such as the job specifications and budget. This document ensures that both the client and you get everything that was said you would recieve.

-Formal
A meeting could be organised to outline the requirements

-Negotiated
This will allow you to make negotiations with the client, it allows you to work with them collaboratively, discussing and agreeing the terms and conditions

-Informal
This could be a call or email to discuss the requirements. You can have issues with getting payments etc. if there is no formal documents.

-Tender
Some briefs are sent to the company in which they will decide who’s idea they like best compared to the other pitches.

In reality, a brief could come to you in one of these ways or 4 of them.

Constraints

What are the bbc editorial guidelines?
The BBC have 11 editorial guidelines in which have to be followed.

- Trust: their aim is to be completely honest and not mislead the audience and achieve the highest standard.
- Truth and Accuracy: they try to be truthful about everything and accuracy when weighing up facts and information to get the truth.
- Impartiality: this is a big commitment of the BBC to their audience, it ensures that nothing is knowingly unreflected or under-represented. The BBC aims to be fair and open-minded when weighing material facts.
- Editorial Integrity and Independence: The audience of the BBC should be aware that their decisions are internal and are not influenced by any outside interests. (outside interests, political or commercial pressures or any personal interests).
- Harm and Offence: the aim is to protect children from offensive scenes or programs. They balance out the content of programs so that it challenges content but doesn’t cross the boundaries.
- Serving the Public Interest: They will connect with their audiences and ensure that the audience is enjoying the programs that are being broadcasted.
- Fairness
- Privacy: privacy will be respected however BBC want the audience to understand that throughout programs will be brought into the public domain unless there is an objection otherwise.
- Children: the content which is scheduled is appropriate for children viewing and in the daytime the programs are appropriate of the age watching.
- Transparency: they will inform the audiences about the suitability of children watching.The BBC will also be transparent about the content they offer online.
- Accountability: The BBC will be open in acknowledging their mistakes as well as being accountable for them. They will deal with their audiences fairly and openly to maintain a sense of trust.

How do those restrictions apply to your production?
There are a quite a few of these restrictions that apply to our production. Firstly, truth and accuracy, if we are not truthful without client about the time in which we can finish our product as well as what is possible for us to do then it could leave the customer unhappy. As well as this, independence. We can’t take other peoples ideas and have them influence the decision in which we decide to do the product on. Finally, it has to be appropriate for the target audience of 16-34 year olds, mature yet having a balance so that it doesn’t cross the boundaries.

What are the possible consequences if they ignore these regulations?
There are three levels of handling editorial complaints:
Stage 1: Handling at point of initial contact - a complaint sent to a production company, BBC Information, or the BBC commissioning contact.
Stage 2: The complainant can appeal to the Editorial Complaints Unit, which is independent of the commissioning/program making areas.
Stage 3: The complainant can appeal to the BBC Trust Editorial Standards Committee.

The problem should always be resolved at stage one if possible. If this stage is not effective, you go to the commissioning department and discuss whether it is necessary to move onto the next stage, this would be an appeal to the Editorial Complaints Unit.

If the complaint is upheld it means that the judging panel says that it is upheld.

Guide to Working to a Brief

There are many different ways in which a brief can be structured. Firstly, contractual, this is when a written legal document is written up with all the details such as the job specifications and budget. This document ensures that both the client and you get everything that was said you would in this contract. A contractual brief is always a good idea as it ensures that everyone gets what they deserve and if these terms are not met their is evidence in the contract. Many companies such as the BBC use these contracts to make sure that the companies deliver their side of the contract. A formal meeting is another way in which a client could outline what they would like in the final product, target audience, ideas etc. During these formal meetings, it is very likely for people to take notes or possibly record the client discussing what they want so that the company can play it back and ensure they don’t miss anything.

As well as the formal, there could also be a negotiated brief which would allow you to work collaboratively with your client being able to discuss and agree on ideas, aims and objectives. This way in approaching a production leaves the customer feeling satisfied because they had their own input and have been able to work closely with the company producing the product. An informal briefing can be held by a client and company as opposed to a formal meeting, this could be as casual as a phone call to discuss their wants and requirements, it could also be over dinner etc. There are potential problems with an informal briefing in the way that people might not get what they deserve in either a finished product or on the other hand, a payment to the company. Sometimes, after an informal it is good to write up a contract stating everything that is required and get the client to look through it and make alterations where needed.

Finally, a tender. In some cases, briefs are sent to the companies and they will decide who’s idea they like best, they are sent “by post or email and you are invited to respond with your ideas”. In a way, a tender is a ‘competition’ between other production companies to make sure that you get this job. In reality, a brief could come to you in one of these ways or even four!

Upon receiving a brief, it is vital for a company to be able to read it properly and pick out the necessary points. To start with, the brief provided by the client should be broken down and you should outline exactly what is required of you for this task. It is vital in situations like this that the clients wants and needs are exactly what drive your vision, this should be in the back of your head the whole time when working with the brief given to you. In a brief there are mostly explicit and implicit requirements made, this means that sometimes you will receive a brief that states exactly what the client wants and you must stick to this to ensure customer satisfaction. On the other hand, you may receive a brief that has implicit requirements which means that the client has implied ideas that you may have to interpret in your own way. In some ways it can be quite risky getting a brief with implicit requirements because you may interpret the brief in a way that the client doesn’t like. It is extremely important that if something is not made clear in a brief you approach the client and ask exactly what they mean.

There are times in which you need to consider negotiating a brief, whether it be the client negotiating or yourself. It is important to keep in mind that the client or producer could change their mind as they are shown your work in the ongoing viewing process. To make sure that your client is satisfied you should be willing to change or adapt your work depending on what the client suggests. So that you don’t produce something that the client doesn’t want, you have to make sure that everything is clear and you have made an agreement with the client before completely the final product. Sometimes it is possible for the budget to change unexpectedly when it comes to making the product. Before starting out on the project, always set aside 10% to cover any unexpected events that may happen in terms of spending money. Finally, it is very possible that you may need to negotiate the time in which you can complete the product, often companies think that these projects can be made a lot faster than possible, make sure that you negotiate to a timeframe that is realistic. As well as this, negotiations may need to be made in terms of the payments schedule and of course the amount that you are being payed, make sure all these negotiations have been made and written down before undertaking the work.

In terms of opportunities, there are many times in projects when you are working in a team that you can undertake new jobs that will help you to establish a wider set of skills. This is very relevant to our group pitch to the BBC about the brief on dangerous addictions. There are many of us in the group that will be assigned different jobs and will have to develop our skills throughout the project. To make sure the project gets done it is important to take opportunities to work to your full potential as well as setting goals to work towards. Overall, it is important for you, and us as a team in our project to ensure the customer is satisfied, we pay attention to our outlined brief and ultimately, manage our time effectively.

(Molly) Guide to Working to a Brief

mollyodonnell — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:55:56 CST

A brief can be presented in many different ways, depending on what the client wants. There’s contractual which is where the deal is written in a contract which is between the producer and the writer. The contract will include, how much money the writer is getting to write for the client, what exactly they are asking to be produced, and small things such as the genre, the target audience and the proposed budget. There’s also a formal meeting, which is where the client will “outline their requirements” and make sure that what you’re doing, and you’re idea of what the client wants is correct. This meeting is where they may ask any queries they might have, and also for the write the do the same. There is also an informal meeting, which is where the client could call up over a telephone conversation, or at a cafe somewhere. It means that the client could feel more relaxed with you, and are more likely to trust you and your ideas. Another client brief that is differently presented, is a negotiated brief. This brief is for them o ask for your expert opinion on what you think about the idea that they’ve put forward, if you will be able to do the project in the time that they’ve given you, to give a rough idea of when the project will be finished, and to talk about budget, and what you’re going to be spending the money on. Finally there is a client brief called tender. This is when the clients requirements is sent to several companies, and they compete with each other to see what the best idea is. For the client they want to know about the budget, and what you’re going to spend it on, and give your best expert opinions.

NOTES

Contractual

Written in the contract
Things are there such as money, budget etc

Formal - A meeting can be organised so that they can tell you what they would like in their project
Negotiated - A brief that is open to negotiation.

To negotiate the fine details
To ask for your expert opinion on what you think about the idea
To create a time frame, and how long the project will take
What you are able to do within the time that they’re giving you
Talk about a budget and what you will be able to do with that cost

Informal

A casual conversation about what they’d think think they want
Discuss requirements over the phone or something
Sometimes it means that people might not think that you have to pay, because when you were discussing it, it seems like a group of friends

Tender - When it’s sent to several companies, and they compete with each other to see what the best idea is

What are the background details of the client? Don’t do research that the client has already done
Constraints
What are the guidelines, codes of practice or legislation that is outlined on these websites relating to Broadcast media for television?

You need to complete the documents and forms that they give you to help make sure that the production can run smoothly. There’s forms for “Prior to commission”, “prior to tape delivery”, “on delivery date”, and “after transmission.”.
Trust
Truth and Accuracy
Impartiality
Editorial Integrity and Independence
Harm and Offense
Serving the Public Interest
Fairness
Privacy
Children
Transparency
Accountability

Which of these restrictions apply to your production and how? There are some that apply to us. A big one that should definitely apply to us is truth. We have to be able to gain the trust, and trust the client in what they want, and make sure that we produce what they require. We have to gain trust with the people that are working with us, to make sure that they do what they are told. We also have to serve the public interest. The public is what we’re providing a service for, and if we fail to do that, then our whole production will not work.
What are the possible consequences if you ignore these guidelines? Stage 1: Handling at point of initial contact - a complaint sent to a production company, BBC Information, or the BBC commissioning contact. Stage 2: The complainant can appeal to the Editorial Complaints Unit, which is independent of the commissioning/programme making areas. Stage 3: The complainant can appeal to the BBC Trust Editorial Standards Committee. The BBC will then take all of the material used to create the programme, including rushes etc, for about 90 days, so that if OFCOM complain, the broadcaster can give all of the relevant information.

(Eden) Guide to Working to a Brief

edenruddick — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:28:15 CST

Understanding the requirements to a brief...
There are 10 things you have to consider when understanding a brief:

1. Who is the client?

2. What is their intention?

3. Who is the target audience?

4. Outline what you've been specifically asked to do.

5. What are the explicit requirements? (e.g.Specifically says that is must be a series: of 6-8 episodes with a running time of 60 minutes, with a 16-34 year old target audience).

6. What are the implicit requirements?

7. Is anything left open to interpretation?

8. How could you begin to approach the brief? Start outlining some initial ideas.

9. What have been successful shows of the channel? e.g. BBC3 - 'Gavin and Stacey', 'Being Human' etc.

10. Who are the competitors?

(Aimee) Guide to Working to a Brief

Aimee_Farmer — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:19:18 CST

(Aimee) Research in Creative Media Industry

Aimee_Farmer — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:17:50 CST

(Eden) Research in Creative Media Industry

edenruddick — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:17:20 CST

(Quentin) Research in Media Industry

Quentin_Liu — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:16:46 CST

Research plays an important role in the creative media industry, it allows people involved in production to decide whether a potential creative media product can be successful or not. There are three main areas of research; Market research, audience research and production research.

-Market Research Market research is vital in gaining an advantage over competitor's produts. You Identify and research into the state of the market to evaluate whether the product will do well. When conducting market research, you look at current products in the market and their success/failure, economic factors and competition.

-Audience Research Audience Research is research in to the target audience to evaluate whether the product will appeal to it by looking into current trends in the audience, viewer habits such as when they watch or how often and where they watch (e.g. television or internet). Audience research may vary depending on where the product is aimed.

-Production Research Production research is looking into the resources you will need to produce a creative media product. Both in equipment and human resources. You should look at the viability of filming locations, available equipment, production crew and if the product can be made with technology that is available to you.

Research Types

-Quantitative Research Quantitative research gathers numerical data that can provide statistical data. The raw data is normally processed into tables or charts so the data can be evaluated. Examples of quantitative data are video hits, box office takings, program ratings, poll results etc.

-Qualitative Research Qualitative research is research where people's personal opinions, views and preferences are used rather than numerical data and statistics. Qualitative research normally focuses on small groups of people, examples of qualitative research include interviews, focus groups etc. Focus groups can be used to get feedback on a product before it is released. Qualitative research can also be used to find gaps in the current market.

Research Methods and Sources

-Primary Research Primary research is research where you gather new data and information yourself. This is called primary data. Examples of gathering primary research include conducting surveys, questionnaires, interviews, customer feedback, product trials and website data.

-Secondary Research Secondary research is research using information or data that has been gathered and processed by other people. Information can be gathered from journals, research articles or from organisations likeRAJAR.

RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research Limited)is an organisation that provides a measurement system for UK radio user statistics. Below is a section of a RAJAR chart.

Station/Group	Survey Period	Population	Reach 000s	Reach Percent	Average Hours Per Head	Average Hours Per Listener	Total Hours 000s	Listening Share In TSA %
102.1 Bay Radio	Y	458000	43	9	0.4	4.6	198	2
102.4 Wish FM	Y	465000	79	17	1	5.6	443	5.1
102.4 Wish/107.2 Wire/107.4 Tower FM	Y	1113000	194	17	1.1	6.5	1259	6
102.5 Radio Pembrokeshire	Y	96000	48	50	6.2	12.4	592	22.5
102FM Touchradio - Warks Worcs Cotswolds	Y	291000	51	18	1.3	7.4	382	6.2
105-107 Atlantic FM	Y	454000	71	16	0.8	5.5	386	3.6
106 JACKfm (Bristol) (was Original 106)	H	614000	108	18	1.1	6.1	653	5.2
106 JACKfm (Oxford)	H	501000	71	14	0.6	4.3	304	2.9
106 JACKfm/Star Radio (Bristol)	Y	615000	121	20	1.2	6.2	756	5.8
106.1 Real XS (was 106.1 Rock Radio)	H	2280000	131	6	0.4	7.2	939	2.2

(Justin) Research in Creative Media Industry

11chanj6 — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:16:33 CST

Research Techniques for the Creative Media Industry
The two main types of research that can be used in a research project in the creative media industry. These will include Quantitative Research and Qualitative research. Quantitative Research is researched based on measurable facts and information that be counted, procuring numerical and statical data. Qualitative Research is research that is based on opinion, attitudes and preferences.
Methods and Sources
Primary Research consists in research to collect original data. Primary Research can be through numerous forms, including questionnaires, telephone interviews, email interviews, etc. Advantages of Primary Research is that it allows the researchers to focus on specific subjects. Another advantage of primary research is that specific questions can be asked by researchers. However, there are also disadvantages of Primary Research as well. The disadvantages of Primary Research is that there might be a low response rate and compared to Secondary Research it takes longer to get information.Secondary Research is research using existing information that has already been gathered by other people or organizations. An example of Secondary Research is like when people get information on the internet, books, magazines, etc.
Purposes of Research
There are different purposes of research which includes, Audience Research, Market Research, Production Research, Niche Audience Research, Mainstream Audience Research. Audience Research is when information about target audience for a particular media product has been collected, this will benefit the researcher because they know what the audience is interested in and can based their product based on the larger audience thus increasing their viewers. Market research is important, this is because researchers will make good decisions based on their information that they get about the market, for example the person that is going to write a script for kids should research about the TV shows for kids and see which TV show gets most attention from the kids the most, which will help the script writer what to write about. Production Research is information for the content and production of a media product. Niche Audience is a small group of people that have a very unique interest, getting information about Niche Audience will be helpful because this will allow the researcher to concentrate on a specific type of audience.

(Molly) Research in Creative Media Industry

mollyodonnell — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:14:49 CST

The reason for doing research in the creative media industries is important because you would need to find out things such as what the target audience wants, how much money they are willing to spend, what the most popular item on the market is, and most of all, will it succeed.
There are many different types of research, for different things. There’s quantitative research which is based on facts with numbers, and can be displayed in things such as bars and charts. It’s normally used for ratings on a certain programme, or in this case, it would be used for how many people a particular genre appeals to, or how many people are will to spend over $500 for a game. Another type of research is qualitative research, which is opinions on specific things from the public, and different from quantitative research because it fins out exactly what the public want, and their feelings towards other specific things. These are normally used in surveys, questionnaires and focus groups.
There are two types of methods of research, primary and secondary. Primary research is what qualitative research is. It’s about getting new research, on the most up to date information and is normally done in focus groups of surveys, which are normally used so that they don’t waste a lot of money and time. For example I am going to be making a drama for the 18 - 25 age group, so we’d have to research the most popular type of drama. Secondary research however, is not new information and is already existing from places such as books, newspapers and magazines. People normally use it to help support their primary research in order to have more information to help with their research. An example that we will use secondary research when doing our project is seeing what the television channel BBC 3 has previously aired on their channel, and seeing what the most viewed one is. With that research we can then verify and use it to support out primary research is they have similar outcomes.
The three main purposes of research in the creative media industry are audience research, market research and production research. Audience research is seeing what the target audience would like. It’s seeing if they would watch or buy a particular media product, and how they would use it. Market research is seeing what products are already of the market to find out what the competition would be, and if they have a high amount of ratings or what revenue would be available. The last type of research is production research. This research is about the actual product. It get done because it then sees if the materials for the product are available, and if and where the suitable filming locations are.

(Kate) Research in Creative Media Industry

kateomeara — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 09:14:14 CST

Research is vital within the creative media industries. There are many different types of research techniques that can be carried out to find out various information whether it be audience research, market research, production research and many more. It is important in the creative media industry that the research you are undertaking is valuable and successful otherwise it can waste precious time in the production process of whatever project you are working on.

As I said before there are different types of research that help to find out varying types of information. Firstly, quantitative data is research that is normally found with numerical figures and is displayed in charts, graphs, tables etc. Examples of quantitive research would be, Program ratings, box office takings, readership and circulation, website hits, counting and measuring of items etc. Below is an example of research done to find out how many views a movie has had and how much money the movie is generating.

On the other hand, research which is based on peoples attitudes, preferences and personal opinions as opposed to information that is just based on the sheer facts and figures is called qualitative research. Although having statistics and factual information is important for the creative media industries, qualitative research gives them a different perspective on the information they are receiving. In an industry like this qualitative research allows companies to find out what different groups of people or indeed individuals think about a particular product. This ‘product’ can be television programs, advertisements, video games or a film. Once industries have this information, they can tell where there is a gap in the market to make a new program, movie or game that audiences’ enjoy. As well as this, it may help them to improve on a sequel of a product. Finally, qualitative research can be done by using questionnaires, interviews, surveys etc. The questions in these questionnaires or surveys can be open or closed, these open or closed questions will provide the company with varying answers depending on how much detail they would like. An example of an open question in this case would be ‘What is your favourite T.V. show and why?’ whereas a closed question would be ‘Do you like to watch T.V.?’.

There are two types of methods of research, secondary research and primary research. Secondary research is when a company uses existing research which has already been carried out by other people. Secondary research is usually used by companies to support their own primary research or in some cases replace their research. This method usually consists of using magazines, newspapers (such as The Guardian, Daily Mail etc.), books, journals, searching the internet, archives, photo libraries, or websites.

On the other hand, primary research is when a company goes and gathers research by themselves with methods such as questionnaires, surveys, focus groups and forums. A focus group is when you get a group of people from your target audience and interview them. Another way of doing a focus group is showing them a pilot and hearing their feedback,

This is original information to the company that is new information to them. This research may then be used by other companies as secondary research. There are many different ways in which you can approach getting this research done. The sources for retrieving information is endless in many cases. Questionnaires and surveys can provide companies with information that is more personal to their target audience this also applies to focus groups. On the other hand, secondary research is less personable but still gives companies valuable and useful research to back up their own research or indeed to replace their research.

Throughout the media industry, research is conducted for different purposes, the three main purposes are audience research, market research and production research. Firstly, audience research. Audience research is all the collection and analysis of data that helps you to find out about your target audience whether it be about a certain product or part of the media industry. An example of audience research would be a questionnaire or focus group, these methods help to find out what your audience like so that you get a greater understanding of their wants and needs. Audience research also helps you before you release a product for example a t.v. series, if you show a group of individuals a pilot of an upcoming t.v. series and get feedback it will give you a good idea on whether or not it may be successful.

Market research is mostly to do with gathering information that gives you a good background on competitors and whether it will gain good revenue for the company. This type of research will involve asking questions such as
What does the market look like?
who are the other competitors?
what are their products like?
economic factors --> what is the potential revenue?

Finally, production research. Production research allows industries to gather information about the content and production of a certain product. Questions that may be asked to gather this information for analysis would be Is their an audience for your product?
Will it succeed in a very competitive market place? These questions are vital in ensuring that the product will be successful and make revenue. You need to provide content and gather material in order to develop the new product and this research will give you a purpose.