Tuesday, 4 March 2014
Tuesday, 11 February 2014
Uses and Gratifications Gained from the Texts
Peaky Blinders
The text allows the audience to gain escapism through allowing them to be passive and not actively decoding the narrative of the text. This is evidenced in the text when Aunt Polly and Aida are discussing the idea of an abortion and that Freddie may not return to Aida. The text incorporates a somber, non-diegetic soundtrack to highlight the emotions of sadness and fear. The use of the soundtrack makes the emotions appear more obvious and therefore the audience are given the answers without having to decode them. An active audience may take an oppositional reading to this as they may find this patronising if they have already decoded the emotions of the scene without the inclusion of the soundtrack.
The text allows the audience to self-educate themselves through the repetitive references to historical context. This is shown in the text when CI Chester Campbell and Tommy Shelby are in the tea room bargaining a deal and Tommy makes reference to the IRA when discussing who he would give the guns to. Campbell, an Irish policeman's reaction to this threat is negative and is shown by a close up shot of his face looking concerned and threatened. This shows the feelings of people towards the IRA during the period of time that the text was set, in 1919.
Madmen
The text may allow the audience to gain models of behaviour through the representation of the male protagonist, Don Draper. The audience see Don Draper return home from work to a young, slim and beautiful wife.
The text allows the audience to gain escapism through allowing them to be passive and not actively decoding the narrative of the text. This is evidenced in the text when Aunt Polly and Aida are discussing the idea of an abortion and that Freddie may not return to Aida. The text incorporates a somber, non-diegetic soundtrack to highlight the emotions of sadness and fear. The use of the soundtrack makes the emotions appear more obvious and therefore the audience are given the answers without having to decode them. An active audience may take an oppositional reading to this as they may find this patronising if they have already decoded the emotions of the scene without the inclusion of the soundtrack.
The text allows the audience to self-educate themselves through the repetitive references to historical context. This is shown in the text when CI Chester Campbell and Tommy Shelby are in the tea room bargaining a deal and Tommy makes reference to the IRA when discussing who he would give the guns to. Campbell, an Irish policeman's reaction to this threat is negative and is shown by a close up shot of his face looking concerned and threatened. This shows the feelings of people towards the IRA during the period of time that the text was set, in 1919.
Madmen
The text may allow the audience to gain models of behaviour through the representation of the male protagonist, Don Draper. The audience see Don Draper return home from work to a young, slim and beautiful wife.
Thursday, 6 February 2014
How Does Peaky Blinders Target its Intended Audience?
Set in Birmingham in 1919, Steven Knights', Peaky Blinders is a crime drama while follows former WW1 soldiers who have returned home and formed a criminal gang. The text is aired on BBC 2 at 9pm and is a highbrow text that only made six one-hour episodes.
The text is dominated by the almost constant use of non-diegetic sound. The text conforms to features of a mainstream text by using a soundtrack to reflect a character's emotions; this shows evidence of targeting a more passive audience and they will have to do less decoding of the character's emotions. The text uses the upbeat and rocky soundtrack by the White Stripes when the Shelby brothers are working with the racing books and money and this reflects the excitement and chaotic nature of the scene. However, this then contrasts to the somber soundtrack when Aunt Polly wants to speak to Tommy. This highlights to the audience that there is something wrong and adds a worrying tone, which allows the audience to be more passive.
The text helps the audience to gain the uses and gratifications of learning and self-education gaining through the incorporation of historical and cultural context. This is shown when Tommy Shelby explains to the newspaper reporter the reasons for burning the pictures of the King as being due to them not wanting the King to see what happens to their city after how they fought for him in WW1. This targets a more active and perhaps niche audience as this provides additional information to the plot and if it is decoded as it was encoded then the audience may experience retrophilia - reflects stereotypes and the lifestyle of a particular era.
The text has more mainstream features such as the use of well-known film stars. Tommy Shelby, played by Cillian Murphy, has also appeared in highly-acclaimed Hollywood films such as: Batman and Inception. Also, C.I Chester Campbell, played by actor Sam Neil, has also performed in critically-acclaimed films such as Jurassic Park. The use of film stars within the text help to target a more mainstream audience through them being able to recognise actors from the text and judging them on their success from these Hollywood films which would then imply that Peaky Blinders may be of the same quality and so an audience may trust it more and are more likely to watch it.
The text is dominated by the almost constant use of non-diegetic sound. The text conforms to features of a mainstream text by using a soundtrack to reflect a character's emotions; this shows evidence of targeting a more passive audience and they will have to do less decoding of the character's emotions. The text uses the upbeat and rocky soundtrack by the White Stripes when the Shelby brothers are working with the racing books and money and this reflects the excitement and chaotic nature of the scene. However, this then contrasts to the somber soundtrack when Aunt Polly wants to speak to Tommy. This highlights to the audience that there is something wrong and adds a worrying tone, which allows the audience to be more passive.
The text helps the audience to gain the uses and gratifications of learning and self-education gaining through the incorporation of historical and cultural context. This is shown when Tommy Shelby explains to the newspaper reporter the reasons for burning the pictures of the King as being due to them not wanting the King to see what happens to their city after how they fought for him in WW1. This targets a more active and perhaps niche audience as this provides additional information to the plot and if it is decoded as it was encoded then the audience may experience retrophilia - reflects stereotypes and the lifestyle of a particular era.
The text has more mainstream features such as the use of well-known film stars. Tommy Shelby, played by Cillian Murphy, has also appeared in highly-acclaimed Hollywood films such as: Batman and Inception. Also, C.I Chester Campbell, played by actor Sam Neil, has also performed in critically-acclaimed films such as Jurassic Park. The use of film stars within the text help to target a more mainstream audience through them being able to recognise actors from the text and judging them on their success from these Hollywood films which would then imply that Peaky Blinders may be of the same quality and so an audience may trust it more and are more likely to watch it.
Thursday, 30 January 2014
Mad Men - Audience Response
Explore the different ways in which audiences and/or users respond to your chosen text
Viewing Figures
- Series 4 (aired on BBC 4 in 2010 - free to watch) = 355, 000 viewers
- Series 5 (Sky Atlantic - pay to watch) = 98, 000
- Series 6 (Sky Atlantic - pay to watch) = 58, 000
The text was shown on a pay-to-watch channel as this targeted a high brow, niche audience due to not everyone wanting to pay to view the text. AMC placed their text on a niche channel because they did not produce the text in order to gain a profit, they did it to produce a high quality text.
Awards
Won:
- 15 Emmy's
- 4 Golden Globes
- Overall -> 68 wins
-> 177 nominations
The programme received a positive response through its large amount of nominations and award wins. This shows that the audience responded positively to the text, so much so, that they voted for the text to achieve best picture and best actors.
Viewing Figures
- Series 4 (aired on BBC 4 in 2010 - free to watch) = 355, 000 viewers
- Series 5 (Sky Atlantic - pay to watch) = 98, 000
- Series 6 (Sky Atlantic - pay to watch) = 58, 000
The text was shown on a pay-to-watch channel as this targeted a high brow, niche audience due to not everyone wanting to pay to view the text. AMC placed their text on a niche channel because they did not produce the text in order to gain a profit, they did it to produce a high quality text.
Awards
Won:
- 15 Emmy's
- 4 Golden Globes
- Overall -> 68 wins
-> 177 nominations
The programme received a positive response through its large amount of nominations and award wins. This shows that the audience responded positively to the text, so much so, that they voted for the text to achieve best picture and best actors.
Thursday, 23 January 2014
LOST - Audience Response
Viewing Figures
- The first season garnered an average of 15.69 million viewers per episode on ABC.
- During its sixth and final season, the show averaged over 11 million U.S. viewers per episode. - Wikipedia
(As the series progressed, the viewing figures decreased - this may have been due to the amount of enigma codes and the long amount time taken for the answers to be revealed. This may have caused more passive audiences to become disinterested as they do not want to decode the text themselves and rely on the answers being given to them. However, a more active audience will appreciate the enigma codes and will try to decode the text and figure out the answers before they are revealed. Therefore causing them to continue to view the programme to find out the answers and see if their hypothesises were correct.)
Awards and Nominations
- Lost was the recipient of hundreds of award nominations throughout its run, and won numerous industry awards, including:
-> The Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 2005
-> Best American Import at the British Academy Television Awards in 2005
-> The Golden Globe Award for Best Drama in 2006
-> Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series
- 61 wins & 265 nominations. - IMDB
- In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked Lost No. 27 in its list of the 101 Best Written TV Series of All Time.
Criticisms of the Text- "Producers found many fans disliked the character of Ana Lucia. Her "tough girl" attitude turned many people off, along with her accidental killing of Shannon." - Lostpedia
- The first season garnered an average of 15.69 million viewers per episode on ABC.
- During its sixth and final season, the show averaged over 11 million U.S. viewers per episode. - Wikipedia
(As the series progressed, the viewing figures decreased - this may have been due to the amount of enigma codes and the long amount time taken for the answers to be revealed. This may have caused more passive audiences to become disinterested as they do not want to decode the text themselves and rely on the answers being given to them. However, a more active audience will appreciate the enigma codes and will try to decode the text and figure out the answers before they are revealed. Therefore causing them to continue to view the programme to find out the answers and see if their hypothesises were correct.)
Awards and Nominations
- Lost was the recipient of hundreds of award nominations throughout its run, and won numerous industry awards, including:
-> The Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 2005
-> Best American Import at the British Academy Television Awards in 2005
-> The Golden Globe Award for Best Drama in 2006
-> Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series
- 61 wins & 265 nominations. - IMDB
- In 2013, the Writers Guild of America ranked Lost No. 27 in its list of the 101 Best Written TV Series of All Time.
Criticisms of the Text- "Producers found many fans disliked the character of Ana Lucia. Her "tough girl" attitude turned many people off, along with her accidental killing of Shannon." - Lostpedia
- "Michael's frequent screaming and obsession for his son was noteworthy and frequent enough for it to grate on the audience." - Lostpedia
"After the first season, many viewers of the show began to grow tired of the flashbacks. They were perceived by some to be repetitive and recycling information we were already aware of; flashbacks have gotten less important than they were in the first season, taking away from the on-island storylines." - Lostpedia
- "Many complain that Lost moved too slowly and there is a lack of answers in the show. This has turned many people off, even Lost fans over time." - Lostpedia
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
LOST - Audience targeting
I believe that the intended audience for this ABC's Lost is a wide, mainstream audience. The text is written by JJ Abrams and is produced to target both, a passive and active audience by it's conventions. The American TV series first aired in September 2004 and concluded in May 2010. The series is based on a aeroplane crash causing a group of survivors to be stranded on a deserted tropical island and they must find a way to escape.
The first convention present that makes me believe that this is a mainstream text is the use of a non-diegetic score as the young boy is walking through the jungle to find his dog. We see a tracking shot of the boy walking, while the composer (Michael Giacchino) builds the timbre to create an eerie atmosphere and to create suspense and paranoia. The use of a score allows the audience to feel the character's emotions, this could suggest that the audience is passive as they put themselves into the character's emotions and believe what they are watching to be real. This is a common feature within many mainstream texts as it doesn't require the audience to decode the texts and work out characters' emotions as they are highlighted by the score.
Another convention that suggests that the intended audience for this text is mainstream is the repeated use of enigma codes. The technical conventions shows a close up shot of a pair of handcuffs lying on the ground in the jungle. This could imply that the intended audience is active so that they then question who's handcuffs are they? This shot is constructed to be shown before an advert break, so that the audience is enticed to continue watching in order to have the answers revealed. This will cause curiosity and therefore an active audience will want answers and therefore the producer achieves their aim of convincing an audience to continue watching the programme.
The text uses narrative conventions of Binary Opposition to emphasise the different lifestyles of Kate and Sun. Kate is a Western Woman, shown liberated, as a mid shot shows her dressed in just her underwear exposing her body. This is then compared to Sun, a timid Asian woman, who appears very reserved to the audience as we see a scene where she is forced, by her husband, to do up the top button of her cardigan. This is a common feature of the a mainstream text and allows the audience to be passive as they do not need to define character types as they are given to the audience and are exaggerated by positioning them next to their opposites to make them more obvious to the audience.
The first convention present that makes me believe that this is a mainstream text is the use of a non-diegetic score as the young boy is walking through the jungle to find his dog. We see a tracking shot of the boy walking, while the composer (Michael Giacchino) builds the timbre to create an eerie atmosphere and to create suspense and paranoia. The use of a score allows the audience to feel the character's emotions, this could suggest that the audience is passive as they put themselves into the character's emotions and believe what they are watching to be real. This is a common feature within many mainstream texts as it doesn't require the audience to decode the texts and work out characters' emotions as they are highlighted by the score.
Another convention that suggests that the intended audience for this text is mainstream is the repeated use of enigma codes. The technical conventions shows a close up shot of a pair of handcuffs lying on the ground in the jungle. This could imply that the intended audience is active so that they then question who's handcuffs are they? This shot is constructed to be shown before an advert break, so that the audience is enticed to continue watching in order to have the answers revealed. This will cause curiosity and therefore an active audience will want answers and therefore the producer achieves their aim of convincing an audience to continue watching the programme.
The text uses narrative conventions of Binary Opposition to emphasise the different lifestyles of Kate and Sun. Kate is a Western Woman, shown liberated, as a mid shot shows her dressed in just her underwear exposing her body. This is then compared to Sun, a timid Asian woman, who appears very reserved to the audience as we see a scene where she is forced, by her husband, to do up the top button of her cardigan. This is a common feature of the a mainstream text and allows the audience to be passive as they do not need to define character types as they are given to the audience and are exaggerated by positioning them next to their opposites to make them more obvious to the audience.
Tuesday, 10 December 2013
Fish Tank - How typical is your chosen text of its genre?
Fish Tank is a Social Realism film starring Katie Jarvis, an underclass teenage girl who isn't an actor.
The text adheres to the Social Realism genre as the theme of a non-nuclear family is represented, however, when Connor is present there is an element of a nuclear family. This is shown by the point of view shot from Mia's perspective of Connor playing with Tyler. In this shot, the audience see Connor tickling and picking up Tyler as she is laughing - as a father figure would to their child. The audience see that Tyler is blocking the front door in effort to prevent Connor from leaving which suggests that she has instantly become attached to him, reiterating the fact that they don't have a father/male figure in their lives. The point of view shot connotes a calm atmosphere as the shot is still and it implies Mia's reflection and appreciation that he is making the family happier than when he's not around. It could also connote that Mia is jealous of the attention that Tyler is receiving from Connor and therefore she cannot help but watch them.
The director adheres to the narrative theme within Social Realism films of desiring a lifestyle. The editor uses a mid shot of Mia, in her kitchen, watching a music video and attempting to dance in the style that the girls do. In the shot, we can see a side view of Mia dancing with the TV in the shot and a shallow depth of field as the background of the working class kitchen is not in focus. This connotes that she has been influenced by what she has seen on TV and as she doesn't have any experience of middle-upper class so it implies that she assumes that they have an aspiration lifestyle.
The text adheres to the Social Realism genre as the theme of a non-nuclear family is represented, however, when Connor is present there is an element of a nuclear family. This is shown by the point of view shot from Mia's perspective of Connor playing with Tyler. In this shot, the audience see Connor tickling and picking up Tyler as she is laughing - as a father figure would to their child. The audience see that Tyler is blocking the front door in effort to prevent Connor from leaving which suggests that she has instantly become attached to him, reiterating the fact that they don't have a father/male figure in their lives. The point of view shot connotes a calm atmosphere as the shot is still and it implies Mia's reflection and appreciation that he is making the family happier than when he's not around. It could also connote that Mia is jealous of the attention that Tyler is receiving from Connor and therefore she cannot help but watch them.
The director adheres to the narrative theme within Social Realism films of desiring a lifestyle. The editor uses a mid shot of Mia, in her kitchen, watching a music video and attempting to dance in the style that the girls do. In the shot, we can see a side view of Mia dancing with the TV in the shot and a shallow depth of field as the background of the working class kitchen is not in focus. This connotes that she has been influenced by what she has seen on TV and as she doesn't have any experience of middle-upper class so it implies that she assumes that they have an aspiration lifestyle.
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