Industries: Ownership and Control

1) Facebook acquired Instagram for the price of $1 billion in 2012. The reason behind this was to cancel out the competition by making money from both, and to also secure their dominance in social media for many years. It was hugely successful and brought a wider audience to Instagram by adding new features, and it eventually grew to have over 1 billion users.

2) The benefits for media companies of vertical integration includes them having the opportunity to earn more money for every stage of production. Having complete ownership over smaller companies means more profit that will over time all add up to equal a large amount of earnings which is beneficial to large mainstream companies.

3) The benefits for media companies of horizontal integration includes companies like these allowing themselves to obtain a larger audience and find different ways to earn money. This also reduces the amount of competition and has increased market share.

4) A subsidiary is a smaller company that is normally owned by conglomerates (major media companies). An example of a subsidiary includes Marvel Entertainment (a company which is hugely known around the world for its assortment of comics, comic-based superhero films, TV series and well-loved characters) which was bought by Disney.

5) Disney is an example of a media company which has used synergy to maximise their profit by making movies yet also releasing merchandise, theme parks, events and stage shows etc. relating to the movies. Disney also owns Pixar, the company that produced all four Toy Story films, and there are many theme park rides and merchandise based on them. Another example includes the promotion of the film 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' which is part of the Harry Potter series, based on the books by J.K. Rowling. The movie was promoted by AOL Time Warner, and adverts for the film were shown on HBO and the WB, both of which are/were subsidiaries of Time Warner. The soundtrack for the film was released on Atlantic Records, also a part of Warner Music. AOL's internet service offered merchandise, and ticket promotions tied to subscriptions for AOL's services.

6) Companies which are owned by Walt Disney include the following: 

• Marvel Entertainment
• Marvel Studios
• ABC Entertainment
• ABC News & Radio 
• ESPN
• Hulu
• Vice
• Viceland
• Pixar
• Dreamworks

as well as so much more.

7) Disney already owns a vast variety of different news, film and leisure companies. However, the media landscape is constantly changing as companies such as Amazon and Netflix attract viewers to new ways of viewing. Disney bought Fox in order to counter a down-turn in its pay-TV business and future threats from these rival companies. It benefits them because if they ever face competition with another rising company, they’ll always have backup well-known subsidiaries which gradually makes them even more powerful and enough to challenge the opposing company.

Audience Effects Theory

A passive audience is the idea that audiences consume information from the media passively and that everybody is affected the same way from it. It means that they do not become involved in the media text, and that they accept the meaning it gives out rather than coming up with their own opinions or interpretations based on it.

An active audience is the more largely supported view that audiences interact and develop their own feelings or understandings and make their own opinions based on the media that they take in, rather than getting fed information passively. It means that they engage with it more and respond to the media text in different ways, that they are capable of making their own interpretations of it and that they involve themselves within the media piece that they consume.

The hypodermic needle theory is the idea that audiences always react to media texts passively and take in the message that the producers intended on giving out as if it were physically injected into their minds. Audiences like these have little to none individual differences within them, as they all believe in the same thing and share the same opinion.

Write down a media product (e.g. TV show, newspaper or video game) for each category of Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory and WHY it fits that particular audience use/gratification. The first one is done for you:

INFORMATION/SURVEILLANCE: The Times Newspaper

⇛ Why: It tells audiences important information about politics, the world and more. It provides information about events happening around the whole world, which expands their knowledge on things going on outside their specific area.

PERSONAL IDENTITY: Gilmore Girls

⇛ Why: Some may relate to this media piece as a lot of it portrays feelings such as academic validation and revolves around high school/university, while also holding onto friendships and maintaining relationships. This part of it is particularly targeted at teenagers or anyone going through exam stress or having trouble balancing their own lives with their social lives. It is also targeted at older people going through work stress or having a dream of opening their own business, both of which are main points portrayed consistently throughout the show.

DIVERSION/ENTERTAINMENT: Avengers: Endgame

⇛ Why: The story-line is hugely compelling and causes the audience to become immersed within the media piece, as if they were escaping from their own world. It carries a feeling of tension and uneasiness throughout, which captivates the audience and makes them respond in different ways, laughing at times and then sitting at the edge of their seat with the suspense; out of fear for the outcome of the characters.

RELATIONSHIPS: Spider-Man: No Way Home

⇛ Why: The protagonist of this movie is a teenage boy who struggles with keeping his normal life separate from his hero life. However, his identity is then revealed to the entire world and he eventually ends up losing everything and everyone he loves all at the age of 17. This causes the audience to sympathise and care for this character, especially as he is young and is still a teenager, making them grow attached to him and grow to love the people around him - especially as they watch his journey and see his life gradually fall apart over the course of the six movies that he appears in.

Blue Planet:

The Blue Planet clip offers people with information/surveillance (a large amount of information that they may not have known before), about the wildlife and the things that reside in it; this video specifically being focused on the ocean and what lies beneath it. Many people do not know much about the ocean and the animals inside it, especially as less than 10% of it has even been explored by humans. However, Blue Planet gives audiences knowledge on a range of different species that are known to humans and shows the way they live and survive, which helps the audience understand and provides more knowledge for them on what goes on offshore. It can also be seen as a source of diversion/entertainment as well, as it can captivate the audience by seeing clips of the way other species of animals live, most of which are never seen with the human eye. This entertains audiences as they have the opportunity to see the world from a different point of view. This also links to voyeuristic pleasure, as the camera that films these animals is hidden away and kept there for a long time, in order to obtain a good quality clip. This captures the true essence of documentary making and the outside world, as every single scene shown within Blue Planet is genuine and it creates a sense of realism; which attracts the audience to watch it even more and influences their own knowledge on the world and all the things inside it.

Media assessment learner response

1) Feedback:

Score: 25/30

Grade: 7

WWW: A superb effort, Wajiha. All of that wonderful blog work is really paying off. Fantastic detailed responses with relevant media terminology to support.

EBI: More alternative reasons to explain why charity advertisers use children for advertising - some crossover from Q5 - see mark scheme indicative content.

2) Marks:

Q1: 1/1

Q2: 1/1

Q3: 12/12

Q4: 2/2

Q5: 6/6

Q6: 3/8

3) Question 3:

I got full marks on this question by correctly analysing the product image, and by using a lot of detail and accurate media terminology. I focused on the different denotations and connotations of the image and what they may mean, and also the effect that each aspect of it gives off to the audience by using thorough description throughout.

4) Question 6:

I think I missed out on marks on this question by not using enough indicative content, and I didn't include some key points that the question and mark scheme were looking for. I feel as though I didn't put enough valid or useful points that were relevant to the question which cost me the extra five marks. Also, timing was a big factor too, so I may need to work on equally distributing the amount of time I take on a question.

5) Question 3 - the unseen text 12 mark question:

I already achieved 12 marks on this question.

Reception theory

1) What is the preferred reading of a media text?

The preferred reading of a media text is the ideology or the message that the producers want to give off to their audience. This can be displayed as certain stereotypes or ideas that influences the audience into believing in what the producers make a particular media text out to be.

2) What is the oppositional reading of a media text?

The oppositional reading of a media text is when the person watching (the consumer) takes away a different meaning or belief from a media text that is different to what the producers intended. This is due to their own interpretation of the media text, or it could be based on their own personal morals, teachings, values and their social, political or moral beliefs etc.

3) How does the Harry Brown trailer position the audience to respond to the teenage characters in the film?

The Harry Brown trailer portrays the teenager characters as gang members and criminals, which is a certain stereotype thought by some people that teenagers are rough or violent (specifically boys). It causes the audience to view or respond to the characters in a particular way, some even supporting the stereotype that they're aggressive or threatening.

4) Why might young people reject this reading and construct an oppositional reading of the trailer?

Young people may reject or disagree with this reading and form their own adversarial opinions about it. This is because the "antagonists" of this movie are within their age group, and so it makes it seem like people within that certain age group are all rowdy and hostile people. Younger people are displayed and accused to be murderers even, which further reinforces the stereotype thought by some that teenagers can be a threat.

5) Write a 150+ word analysis of the McDonald's advert using preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings.

Preferred:

The message that the producers intend to give to the consumer with this advert is that it is a new product and is a must-have burger. They do this so that they'd have more people buying and spending money on this new type of burger, which hasn't been done before; especially by a largely known international food chain like McDonald's. Many buy it just because of the fact its new, meaning they just try to follow whatever is trending or what has just released. A way that the producers may try to encourage people to buy their new product is by using short and snappy slogans, for example "A meal disguised as a sandwich." on the McDonald's advert. This may be proven helpful to those who are in a rush, e.g. running late to work or for an appointment; and so by buying this burger it's quicker and serves as a whole ready-made meal instead of them having to make one of their own.

Negotiated:

The negotiated reading of this advert may also come with some issues, such as the targeted age for the product, as it mostly seems to be for children over the age of 12 and perhaps under the age of 60. This is because it would not appeal to younger children as much as it's a large burger which goes beyond the amount a child can physically eat and could just be too much for them. Also, elderly people or people of an older age may not buy this dish as it's a huge and bulky meal which exceeds the amount an older person can eat at a time; it also comes with other queries for example dietary needs, as people of a higher age usually tend to have more limited options on what they can eat and what they can't eat due to their health or condition. This is why it's mainly for teenagers and younger adults, seeing as people within this age range normally are in need of having quick and easy meals in times of school or work, also most of them can eat this dish without having to worry about it being too much or too little.

Oppositional:

There are certain groups of people that may reject or dislike this product, and not spend their money on it. This could include vegetarians or vegans especially, as this meal would not appeal to them seeing as they do not eat meat and the advert clearly portrays a pack shot of the burger, establishing that it is targeted at meat-eaters only. Also, it could go against certain religions for example Islam, as Muslims can only consume meat that was bred from some specific animals and cooked in the right way. Many large food chains, like McDonald's, do not offer halal types of meat within their dishes and so it would be of no use to a follower of Islam. This speaks for other certain religions too, who follow similar principles. As well as this, some may not buy this product as they prefer to have healthy home-cooked meals, and not meals that come from a fast food place, as meals such as the Big Mac, are not as nutritional or healthy as opposed to other alternative foods.

Demographics and Psychographics

1) What information do media companies use to create a demographic profile of their audience?

Media companies create demographic profiles by categorising different types of people into different groups, to find an overall target audience for their media piece. The demographic classification they use to gather information of their audience consists of: age, gender, social class, education, race/ethnicity, job/earnings/profession, home (and whether it's in the city/village/countryside).

2) Why are media companies and advertisers increasingly using audience profiling and not just demographics?

Media companies and advertisers use audience profiling as well as demographics in order to ensure that whatever they are trying to sell or attract audiences with best suits the likes of their target audience. This is because specific things, like a product for example, are more useful in certain places and to a particular group of people. It is essential for companies to use audience profiling so that they have a clear image of their target audience and engage with them on a deeper level, also so that they can determine who will use it daily and who will spend the most money to purchase it.

3) What psychographic groups fit YOUR own interests and lifestyle? Explain your decision and remember you may fit into two or three different groups.

I personally feel that I fit into "the aspirer", "the explorer", and "the succeeder". I think I'm an "aspirer" because I can be easily influenced by other people's opinions and perceptions rather than my own. I also care about where I stand within society. I believe I'm an "explorer" as I am open to challenges and I always want to discover and learn about new and interesting things. I try to live life to the fullest and make the most of every moment, by also striving to try new experiences. Moreover, I reckon I'm a "succeeder" as I always have a strong goal that I aim for and are willing to do a lot in order to achieve it. I am also a generally organised and well-collected person and seek higher roles in specific things, when I feel that it's what best matches my ability and that it's what I rightfully deserve.

Camera movement and editing

 1) Camera movement:

The camera movement at the start of the scene is very quick-paced and adds a level of suspense, which sets the scene for the action that comes after it. The whip pan shot of two characters hastily exiting out a room (at 0:13 - 0:15) shows the audience that an action-packed scene is yet to come, following the fast movements and the way the characters rush out the door, as if they've seemingly found the location of person that they're after. The scene then progresses to an interrogation scene, the crane shot (at 1:45) gives the audience a visual of the type of setting it takes place in. From this, it implies that the movie is quite dark and tense, given the overcast surroundings. There's a sudden change in pace at 2:09, which shows a handheld camera shot, quickly adding a more suspenseful and edgy touch to the scene. This makes the audience feel uneasy or nervous, perhaps excited even to see what comes next; the specific handheld shot makes it feel as if it's before their very eyes and creates a sense of realism from their own perspective. The scene continues on with the same shot throughout, communicating to the audience that something dangerous is about to take place.

Nearing the end of the clip, the camera is still handheld but not as shaky and vigorous as it was in the previous scene. The action then comes to an abrupt stop as the two characters crash (at 4:15) into a young boy's bedroom while he was minding his own business playing a saxophone. This restores the feeling of normality to the movie, as all the action and fighting scenes have come to an end in a what seems to be a regular and innocent setting. This even adds a little touch of humour to the scene, after the man casually leaves the officer unconscious on a random boy's bed and turns to walk out as if nothing happened, with the kid staring up at him lost for words.

2) Editing:

The quick cuts between the scenes (at 0:49 - 0:52) communicates a sense of juxtaposition to the audience, by comparing a troop of officers with what is quite literally the opposite, a vigilante on the run- both facing each other. The parallel between these two types of characters is distinctly highlighted through this scene. Later on in the clip, there are a series of more quick cuts during the fight scene at 2:11 which adds an increasingly large amount of tension and rapidly fastens the pace of the movie, captivating the audience's attention and makes them curious as to what comes next.

3) Camera Shots:

The medium close-up shot (shown at 0:37) suggests to the audience that the man is an intimidating and dangerous character, following the angle of his fierce, deadly stare. It perhaps implies that he is aware that the passenger reading the newspaper is suspicious of him, and so he frowns to make him feel uncomfortable, which makes the other man look away. The two shot at 1:20 clearly contrasts the two different types of characters; the criminal and the officer that is after the criminal, which enhances the audience's understanding of the roles both characters play within the movie. This also creates a sense of tension between the two characters.