Class Notes

Class notes                                                                                          

Analogue or digital 

• Ever person and company used digital media. Access everything from entertainment to shopping. 
• The reason it has gotten larger is the rapid increase in digital technology.
• In the 1970s the most advanced technology was a digital watch. Everything has become digital from books to radio. 

Analogue: Devices which record data LINEARLY from one point to another. Analogue devices read the media, such as tapes or records, by scanning the physical data off the media.

Digital: Devices which perform all calculations using ones and zeros. This method of computing is referred to as the "BINARY system." Digitized information is recorded in binary code of combinations of the digits 0 and 1, also called bits, which represents the words and images. Digital technology enables immense amounts of information to be compressed on small storage devices that can easily presented and transported. 

Analogue 
Digital

•  TV 
• Clock 
• Watch 
• IMac
• PC 
• Laptop
• Phones

LO:

To understand the digital media sectors, products and platforms. 

• Games
• Films
• Radio
• Live 
• Websites
• Publishing 

Key terms: 

Sectors: An area or portion of the media thats is distinct from the others. 

Products: The media that is created.

Platforms: A digital way for media to be distributed and accessed.

Devices: Are used to access digital media.

Podcast- ipod 6

Spotify- samsung s8

Call of Duty-PS4

Fast and Furious films- Netflix

Harry Potter-Kindle

Grand Theft Auto- PS4

Game of Thrones- Sky

Stages of Production 

Pre-production 

Production 

Post-production 

Distribution 

Exhibition

GAME: 

Pre-production - Write a script and get actors 

Production - Create the game (graphics, speech, sound effects etc.) 

Post-production - Fix the bugs, make it correct - editing

Distribution - Selling to the platforms

Exhibition - Selling to the public

AUDIO:

Pre-production - Writing the questions or script

Production - Recording the song or other audio records 

Post production - Edits, sound effects, bloopers

Distribution - Sell to the audio companies 

Exhibition - Selling to the public 

EXAM QUESTION: 

The access to the digital media technology has changed the way people use media as you can get instant access to anything, including movies, songs, games etc. Only a few year ago to see a movie you would have to go to a shop or the cinema to hire a movie or watch it, now all you have to do is search the name of the movies and then you can watch it. It is cheap and easy and you don't have to leave your home.

Technological Convergence 

Media technology convergence is the tendency that as technology changes, different technological systems sometimes evolve toward performing similar tasks. 

For example, a mobile phone can now do more than just call or text, it has a number of other functions reducing the need for a bunch of devices.

KEY TURMS

• Immediacy- How slow or fast you get something
• Access- How you can use something 
• Convenience- How reliable something is   
• Portability- Easy or difficult to move around  
• Connectivity- How your connected to the rest of the world 
• Interactivity- How you work with something   
• Personalisation- How you make something your own 

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of technological convergence 

Technological convergence is the mixture of different technological systems being mixed into one item. An example of this would be an smart phone, these phones have different features such as calculator, text and calls, online banking, camera and many more features. An advantage for this is that you can access the internet at anytime for any reason. Another advantage is that you don't have to walk around with loads of items but only one small phone. An example of this is where it helps looking for buses or directions when lost or in a rush, it will be accurate and helpful. There are also a few disadvantages such as it has made people lazy as they don't people go out to buy things but just order it online for delivery. It is also unreliable as if you run out of charge it is just a pointless object. An example for this is that if you are lost and run out of charge you will not be able to find your way back to safety. My overall opinion on technological convergence is that it can be very use full and fun to use but people get too addicted to it them and when the devices fail on them they get to worried and upset.       

Audience Theory 

Individual Consumption: When users engage with digital media product on their own, for solo enjoyment e.g- gamer, reader, DVD, viewer and more.
Group Consumption: When users engage with a digital media product with others, for collective enjoyment e.g- social interaction, competition and many more.


Passive: We blindly accept what we are given/told etc
Active: We have a choice. We choose to consume a media text to fulfil our own needs 

Hypodermic Needle Model: This was one of the first media theories used as an attempt to explain how audience consume media. It suggests that the audience, passively receives information via media text and that they do not challenge or process the information.

Uses and Gratification model: The uses and gratification theory states that we are active consumers of media and that there are four main reasons we choose to consume ant given media product:

• Need of social interaction 
• Need for education/information 
• Need for identity 
• Need for entertainment 

Game: Rainbow 6 siege- Entertainment
Movie: The Simpsons Movie- Entertainment
App: Snapchat- Communication
Audio: Dave-Tequila- Entertainment
Website: Google- Information

Target Audience: A specific group of audience within the target market at which a product or the marketing message of a product is aimed at.
Primary audience: The main target audience of a product
Secondary audience: Any consumers that are outside the primary target audience

Audience Categories: 

• Age
• Gender
• Socio-economic 
• Background 
• Personality type

User-Generated Content

User-generated content is any form of content created by users of a system or service and made available publicly on that system

Regulatory bodys  

Films- Controlled by the BRITISH BOARD of FILM CONTROL (BBFC)

Look at the four different areas- Violence, sex and nudity, context, bad language 

They indentify context and give film an age rating

Games- Controlled by the PAN EUROPEAN GAME INFORMATION (PEGI)
They check content and put an age rating on the game

Adverts- Advertising standards authority (ASA)
The regulatolate the different adverts
They make sure ads are legal and truthal across all media

INDEPENTENT PRESS STANDARD ORGANISATION (IPSO)
Regulate the newspapers, news channel and media

OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS (OFCOM)
Deals with communications, phone companys, radio, televion, internet

Audience research 

Audience statistics: When facts and figures are collected on things like circulation, websites, box office, figures, rating, sales, etc.                                                                                                                

Primary research: Conducted first hand, interview, questionaires you find out the information 

Secondary research: Using other peoples collected information for your research, books, programs 

                                                                                                                                                                Qualitative research: Individual opinions, attitudes etc, psychology behind the choices people make

Quantitative research: The uses of number data, e.g. percentage and charts.

                                                                                             

Stylistic codes & Denotations and Connotations 

Denotation= What we actually see

Connotation= What you associate with this image

It is important to note that the images have different connotations depending on the reader of the image/text

Written codes=
Slogans
Typeface/font
Headlines
Captions
Style
Choice of words
Emphasis of words

Mise en scene= The use of costume, hair, make-up, props, setting and figure, expressions, use of colour, use of movement, framing and angles, composition or navigation, lighting, editing, sound etc.

In media everything is constructed for a reason. Every shot type, every font choice, every colour has been chosen for a particular effect.


Denotation-
Black and white
Trees
Walking person
Graveyard

Connotation
Solitary
Lonely
Depressed
Sad

This image makes me image that someone has lost everything and has had enough with there life. The black and white makes me think this as i associate this with sadness and depression. If it was in colour i would have though that the person was on the way to visit someones grave. As a whole to me is shows how someone feels when they lose someone they are very close to in there life.

Stylistic codes create meaning for the audience.

Movement- The way the camera moves in a shot is also important in analysing the meaning.

Crane- Refers to a dolly shot taken in the air using a heavy piece of equipment that the camera is        mounted to.
Handheld- Gives the shot a jerky effect that creates a sense of realism.
Panning- A camera movement that goes from left to right.
Slow motion- Showing a moving image more slowly than it was filmed.
Speed- Suggests how fast or slow the movement is.
Tilting- A vertical camera movement that points up or down while the camera is stationary.
Tracking- When the camera is set up on a train track, creating a very smooth movement.
Zooming- A change in the camera's lens focal length will give the illusion that the camera is moving closer. Zoom in/Zoom out.

Lighting- Lighting is used to effect the shot

Realistic lighting- Used so that actors and sets are lit so naturally that the audience do not notice the technology that has gone in to simulate reality.
Expressive lighting- When the director uses light to set the mood or tone for a scene- or even a "look" to a whole film.
High-key picture- Makes the shot look very bright overall with small areas of shadow
Low-key picture- Makes the shot look dark overall with few areas of highlight, there will be one section of the shot which is brightly lit while the rest is in deep shadow.

Sound and music 

Ambient sounds- The sounds of everything going on around the person who is speaking.

Synchronised sound- The words are spoken to match the lip movement of the speaker.

Voice-over sound- Sound that dubbed onto any picture sequence.

Sound effects- Added at the end in post production and can be sub divided into two types.

Diegetic sounds- Sound whose source is visible on the screen. e.g. voice of a character.

Non-diegetic sound- Sound whose source is neither visible on the screen nor has been implied to be present in the action. e.g. narrators voice.

Narrative Structure 

Narrative= Story line

Linear- Beginning - middle - end

Non-Linear- Flashback etc.

Multi-Standing- Several narratives running at the same time 

Open- Cliffhangers, story does not resolve 

Closed- Story ends satisfactory
Point of view- first person(through the eyes of the character), second person (documentary), third person(outside the story- relating experiences)

Tzventan Todorov

He suggested that many narratives, regardless of genre, can be broken down into specific stages.

Equilibrium- The setting is established, key character(S) are introduced and the storyline is set up.
Disruption- Oppositional characters appear and the story takes a particular direction.
Recognition- The lives of characters and events are interwoven. Tensions builds throughout this section, which is the longest.
Attempt to repair- The highest part of tension after which there is a dynamic change.
Reinstatement of equilibrium- Matters are sorted out, problems are solved and questions are answered.

Reception Theory 

The theory states that media texts are encoded by the producer meaning that whoever produces the text files the product and valued messages. 

Dominant or Preferred reading

This is when the text is read in the way the producer intended the text to read. Example: a handbag that looks appealing to a female reader encouraging her to want to go out and buy it. 

Negotiated reading 

The audience accepts the views of the producer but also has their own input and understanding of the text. 

Example: They see a handbag advertised and think it looks nice but could not justify spending the amount of money it would cost.

Oppositional reading 

The audience rejects the producers preferred reading and creates their own reading of text, usually this is the opposite of what the producer intended. E.G. and advertisement for a handbag is rejected completely as the reader believes that advert is sterotyping women and catergporising them on the apperience.

8 mark questions 

If OFCOM regulated the products on the internet there would be many advantages and disadvantages 

The advantages of OFCOM controlling the products on the internet is that it is harder for younger people to access who are vunrible. It stops younger people as there could be a pin or a questionaire to prove that you are the correct age. Another advantage of OFCOM is that it will give you a warning about it before you watch the movie. 

The disadvantages are that it is on at the certain time