HELLO MEDIA

I HOPE YOU'RE ALL ENJOYING MEDIA. I JUST REMEMBERED THIS & WONDERED IF I STILL HAD IT AND I DO. HOW COOL IS THAT. OKAY. BYE NOW DEARS. SENDING LOVE. GOODBYE. BYE BYE NOW. THANK YOU. BYE BYE.

LETTER OF COMPLAINT

To whom it may concern,

I am writing this letter to you regarding your recent job role application. This letter is going to explain and even quote the legal, contractual and moral issues of what you are expecting, with the hope of changes to your application. 

Let me first explain to you what a contractual agreement is because you seem to be confused, it’s having a voluntary lawful object (so an applicant) who aims to form a legal obligation with a party (your company being the party). There are two main elements of a contract agreement which are to “offer” and to have “acceptance”, I can’t see any of these elements in your application. How can I even try and get an agreement with you if you can’t be any more specific, it’s all ridiculously broad. I will first begin with reminding you that you said “between 10-45 hours per week”. I am unsure on what that means. What is the basis? It is based on experience? I hope you know that this puts a huge opening through the Equality Act (2010) as it varies between paying somebody who is only working part time, to full time. I’m just reminding you that a part time job is anything that works under 16 hours. As a working company, you are meant to have equal opportunities for all of your workers. Another issue that your employees will face is because the hours are variable, the salary will be too. You can’t expect a worker to work full time one year & earn £35,000 and then cut the hours down so he/she earns only £15,000. It is morally wrong to expect that somebody will do that, it’s unfair for the worker as they have a life to live and things to pay for and falls under the Equal Pay Act (1970). I will now turn all of my attention to the salary rate as it now links to Exclusivity Causes. An exclusivity cause is a legal document that only allows the model to work for one agency and not work for other agencies (which you have mentioned in the fine print, but don’t worry, I’ll come back to that later). You cannot pay somebody more or less for doing the same job as a previous employee.

I will now move on to the Employment Legislation issues within your application, although I have mentioned the most important ones in the paragraph above but in case you’ve forgotten (like before, clearly) they are the Equality Act (2010) and the Equal Pay Act (1970). Specifically, the Equality Act fights for equality for all employees, not discriminating gender, race, age etc. This means regardless of who you are, what you’ve worked/will work everybody gets equal pay. You have already discriminated as you have stated you are looking for “male/female (aged below 30). You cannot discriminate age. It is illegal to decline somebodies application or terminate employment due to someone’s age. Doing this, you have broken the codes of practice made by the act. Along with this, you are looking for somebody with Christian religious views. I’m assuming because you haven’t looked into anything legal, of course you haven’t looked into Ofcom’s regulations. Ofcom explains that you are NOT allowed to promote religion, it is illegal.

The content of the proposed video is very explicit. As an applicant, I would not be protected if somebody were to sue me. As an employer, you are responsible for the safety/wellbeing of employees, I am not covered or insured by your company and if something were to happen, I would get in a lot of trouble whereas your company would remain untouched. This links into the health and safety legislations. I will be able to claim compensation if I believed the employer is responsible – please notice the word “employer”, which I will not be. This is something you need to look into. I would now like to talk about Trade Unions who protect the rights of workers. An example of this is BECTU which is a freelance company and a membership is currently £120 which is only £10 a month. I think this is something you need to look into, immediately.

Codes of practice are not legal agreements but they are guild lines that are passed down from legislation to help protect people involved. It is an ethical issue and a social concern for thinking of showing high school students something that isn't acceptable to view at their age. We all must be able to work in a safe/legal environment so we can all be protected.  Representation is another very important factor to look into (maybe I should write you a list?) It's basically how people are portrayed in media and it could be extremely problematic. The audience will always follow the way the media represents it, in your case you have stereo typically used "female victims and male offenders" where there have been cases of it being the other way around - it's wrong to make females feel like they are in danger when males are too.  

The Ofcom broadcasting code which 

particularly has a “protecting the under 18’s” code, which would probably didn’t realise. The BBFC states that “the R18 category is a special and legally restricted classification primarily for explicit works for consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults”. You planned on the applicants to promote the ‘No Means No’ date rape campaign to High School Students. Being a UK Media company, surely you would be capable of figuring out that High School Students are aged between 13-16 which of course means most students are underage, meaning it’s illegal to show them explicit sexual nature. Not to mention involving re-enactments/dramatizations which is nothing less than obscene, which will refer to the Obscene Publications Act that was legalised in 1959. Did you stop to think about how some individuals might be affected? There are legal rights against this and it’s morally wrong as people might find this to be a sensitive subject. Legally the identity of an alleged rape victim must remain disclosed, for the safety and wellbeing of the victim. During this duration of filming this campaign as an applicant, I will not be in my rights as an employee, like I explained before. I will be in the wrong for breaking confidentiality agreements. I also couldn’t help but notice the small print at the bottom of the brief about promoting “the ideals of Christian faith” obviously you haven’t really checked the regulations as it’s illegal to promote religion. Because of the topic of the video, I believe this will be a rating of 15 because of the strong violence, perhaps nudity, sexual nature etc. These are some of the regulations from the BBFC website. 

One last thing, if you are going to use a "popular music soundtrack" you need to be careful not to face any copyright legal issues (you've already broken the law lots of times anyway, may as well not have another one). The soundtrack also would have taken the point away from the campaign, so instead, I suggest using some a piece of music that will fit the theme of the video and manipulate your audiences a little, there are lots of musical sites including Incompetech and more royalty free tracks - just look.

I hope the issues I have raised here will open your eyes a little and you'll research before making such idiotic mistakes. Please make the changes required to the application. Thank you for reading my letter. 

Yours sincerely,

Sam Cattee

UNDERSTANDING DEVELOPING TECHNOLOGIES

Media presentation from Sam Cattee

Jobs in the Media Industry

CAREERS BOOKLET

TASK 1: Make a list of the skills you would be able to take to a job at the moment, and think of three examples to support each one. Focus on your strengths and not on your weaknesses.

Team Work
I think working as a team is my most effective way of working. I like coming up with my own ideas and potentially developing them further individually but I enjoy it more when other people can help develop as I usually prefer other peoples ideas to my own. Here are my own personal skills with working as a team:
- Work effectively and more efficiently as a team member - I think I can get more focused/motivated.
- Well co-ordinated, do what I'm told. Will help develop ideas.
- Give and listen to ideas in the group.

Communication
Communication is vital when working. If you are learning something it will help you understand easier. It also helps build respect/builds trust and creates an environment that you could be happy to work in.
- Good listener
- Good at communicating my ideas to the group
- Help portray ideas by talking/listening to the group

Confidence
I think confidence is a good quality to have whilst working (as long as it's not cocky) I think it means people will find you easily approachable/easy to talk to, alongside I'm not afraid to ask questions for help or ask people if they need any help.
- Portraying ideas with confidence, shows passion
- Motivating other team members
- Not afraid to speak my mind with ideas that couldn't work, help develop

Dedicated
Dedication to a project is another good quality to have whilst working. I think it shows how passionate you can be for for any future projects. It also shows that you are willing to be organised and open minded which I think are also good qualities to possess.
- Turning up to all the lessons
- Potential to develop ideas
- Open minded

Organised
Organisation if one of the key qualities to have. In a workplace that requires paperwork/presentations etc it's key to always be on top and prepared, otherwise it could make you look unprofessional and even cost you your job. Always come to class/work prepared for the lesson otherwise you could miss key notes/points.
- Turn up having everything ready and prepared
- Always ready to start/staying motivated
- Never usually late - it's better to be early than late!

TASK 2: Research, define and explain the following terms by relating them to yourself where necessary.

I am currently studying in East Norfolk Sixth Form College, studying for a BTEC Subsidiary Diploma in Performing Arts and the same level in Film and TV Media. I also have two part time jobs, one being a Receptionist and Character at Pleasurewood Hills and an Actor at Dreamstone Productions.

• A part time job is a form of employment where you work fewer hours during the week, e.g. for students it's usually weekends. It's usually under 30-35 hours per week. 
• A full time job is another form of employment where the employer decides a minimum of how many hours you work. The hours are usually based from 9am-5pm on weekdays. 
• A GCSE is a qualification you can gain in specific subjects, usually between the ages of 14-16. The more GCSE's you have at grades A-C means you are more likely to succeed in getting into Sixth Form Colleges that give you the AS/A Level qualifications. 
• AS/A Level: This qualification is one level higher than a GCSE. This is usually taken by students who attend a Sixth Form College, aged between 16-18. An AS Level is like a Pass qualification at advanced subsidiary level, usually gain this through your first year at college taking the course. Completing the two year course will gain you the whole A Level (providing you complete all of the work that has been set)
• Level 2/Level 3/Level 4: Level 2 qualifications are GCSE grades between C-A* or equivalent to BTEC first diplomas. Level 3 qualifications are A Levels/BTEC Nationals and GCE's. Level 4 qualifications include professional certificates/diplomas/awards and HNC.
• Pass/Merit/Distinction: These qualifications are what you receive in BTEC National courses. A pass grade is between E-D, a merit is C-B and a distinction is A-A*. The grading criteria is quite complex for a BTEC, for example, every unit is worth a certain amount of 'points/credits' depending on what you get. If you receive all distinctions in every unit but you get a pass in the final unit, it could potentially bring your grade down to a merit. The good thing about BTEC's is that if you have time at the end you can go back to a unit to make the grade better.
• Vocational is a qualification "that demonstrates competence in a particular job role". This will also allow you to practice in a job/industry that you are interested in. They are not your GCSE/A Level qualifications. 
• A Bachelor's (BA) degree is a 3-5 year degree (depending on where/what you study). It is earned for an undergraduate course. Depending on the course you choose to study, you may end up with a Bachelor of The Arts/Science etc. This particular course is coursework based. A Masters degree is similar but different. There are two types of Masters - taught and research. You can take this course at a University or study at home. It is an academic degree that involves exams rather than coursework.
• Undergraduate is when you haven't received a first yet, this is before you go into University. A Post Graduate is when you are in the field of study, perhaps halfway through the course, as long as you're fully attending. Graduate is when you have completely finished the chosen course. This is usually terms to University students. 

At the end of this year, I will have a Performing Arts Subsidiary Diploma at a Distinction* grade and a Film and TV Media Level 3 Certificate with a Merit grade (hopefully!). This will join my A Level in Drama at a D grade, A Level in Film Studies at a D grade and my GCSE's:

• Social Ethics (C)
• ICT (C)
• Drama (C)
• Maths (C)
• English Literature (D)
• English Language (C)

Ever since I was very young I was always very dramatic and I was also very good at lying & making up characters, so I thought - why not do it for a living? I hope to become an Actor more for films/TV but I do love a good stage show too.

TASK 3: List any jobs mentioned in class or any you may have already been considering. What is the job role? What does it entail? Do you need any specialist training or skills? Is it freelance work or can you be a permanent member of staff?

1. Actors: Playing another character in a media/stage production. Industries: Film, Radio and TV. Actors interpret words in order to bring a script to life. To be an actor you will need the following skills, to be able to learn, memorize and perform lines in a chosen way, to be able to perform different regional accents, assume different body languages, to have clear and concise diction, to be uninhibited and to be aware of how your performance maybe affected.
2. Makeup Artists: Creating makeups/hairstyles that meet production requirements. You must possess hairdressing skills which include cutting/waving/straightening/setting/braiding etc. To be a Makeup Artist you must have a good eye for colours, be highly organised, work effectively in a time limit, acquire a full EU driving license, have good presentation skills and most importantly, have an understanding on the anatomy of the human skull and facial structure/muscle. Usually requested by an Actor.
3. Director: Acting as the crucial link between the production, technical and creative teams. Must be able to make decisions no matter what, must be determined to succeed, keep the team motivated and inspired, must be a strong confident leader. You don't actually need a formal qualification to be a director, just have some experience as a runner on a film set so you know what to expect.

TASK 4: Research, define and explain methods of recruitment in the creative media industries. Try to find examples.

• National Press: Press (Newspapers) that are national e.g. The Sun, Daily Mail, Daily Express etc.
• Trade Specific Press: Specialist Papers - Site and Sound, Music Express, Regional Film and Television etc.
• Internet (for recruitment): UCAS, Monster UK, The Mercury/Advertiser/Guadian etc.
• Trade Fairs: Conventions - Gathering of people who discuss the industries with progression/downgrades. Exchanging Networks: E3 - Gaming Indusrties etc. and Film Festivals.
• Word of Mouth: People talking. Hearing from someone about opportunities. 
• Personal Contacts & Networking: YouTube commenting on each others videos, suscribing and then collaborating. 
• Internal Promotion: Moving your way up. An internal promotion is moving up within the company you are already working with. For example, Best Boys (staging) to Head of Electricity. 

TASK 5: In Word, create a CV and a cover letter for a (media) job that you have found on the internet/in a media magazine.

Samantha Cattee's CV from Sam Cattee

Here is my current and up to date CV.

TASK 6: Research, define and explain the following and relate them to yourselves and past experiences. You should also attempt to create the following if you complete the tasks early.

• Portfolio/e-portfolio: A collection of work you have produced. Not necessarily all of the work, just examples of what you can do - preferably the best bits!
• Showreel: Clips/Compilation of your work. Usually done with visual effects/titles to keep the watchers attention. Between 90 - 120 seconds.
• Personal Website: Your own domain. Something you have created yourself that explains who you are, what you do etc. An example of this is Blogger! 

TASK 7: Research the following presentation skills/methods and explain what you believe would be 'good practice' for each (a list of do's and dont's would be a suggestion).

For an interview, you need to have a variety of different skills and have a good, hygienic self-presentation to be considered as an applicant. You can't expect to get a job if you haven't put in any effort in - you want to dress for success! The different skills and qualities you will need to possess include:
1.Interviewing Skills:

• Body Language - Make sure you are sat/stood up straight, not so you're borderline planking but just don't look like you're bored/tired. 
• Do not use any slang/swear words.
• Don't chew any gum - some employers find that off-putting.
• Most important, do not be late
• Pronunciation and clear projection when speaking 

2. Presentation Skills: 

• Remember to remain positive - smile!
• If you're wearing any nail polish, make sure it's tidy and a sensible colour.
• Try to maintain eye contact.
• Handshakes
• Don't bite your nails - some employers find that off-putting.

3. Self Presentation

- Linguistic Codes:

• Language - what you say/how you say it.

- Dress Codes:

• Smart/Smart Casual.
• Limited amount of jewelry. 
• Manicured nails.
• Portfolio or breifcase
• Neat, professional hairstyle
• All depends on what job you're going for, but it still matters.

- Interpersonal Skills:

• Interaction and Communication
• Verbal and non verbal skills
• How well you communicate with somebody
• How you cope with other people, from communication/listening/approach and manner. Job interviews use these to see how you would interpret working with other people. 

4. References

Previous jobs will write out positive/negative feedback about how they felt you worked for them. It's very handy for job interviews as the new employee's can get an idea of how you've previously worked.

TASK 8: Research, define and explain the following terms.

• Training on the job & continuing professional development: Employee training at the place of work whilst he/she is doing the actual job. Continuing professional development is the means by which people maintain their knowledge and skills related to their professional lives. 
• Self-training: This is where you learn yourself in your own time.
• Sources of information:

1. Trade Union: A trade union is an organisation of workers in a trade who originally formed to protect their rights as workers.
2. Sector Skills Councils: Usually let by employers who work for to improve the quality of productivity. 
3. Career Services are an organisation who provide guidance, give information and help when looking for work/education. They can help you get a job and change a job. 

TASK 9: Identify the opportunities you have had in the courses that you are currently studying for devloping your functional skills (English, Maths and ICT).

Film and TV Media: I can't really tell if my skills have improved or not with writing. I know I am usually grammatically incorrect most of the time so I can't tell if I have improved. I think I am okay with writing a substantial amounts of work because of this course. I think my presentation skills have improved too, even if it's just talking about an idea I have come up with - I put a lot more time into making things look better. I can't say I've used any Mathematical skills in this class, unless counting days till deadlines count! ICT wise, I have definitely improved. I have learnt basic knowledge on a lot more websites/programs which I will take away with me. This includes Premiere Pro, Flickr and even Blogger.

Performing Arts: With performing, I struggled with the theory side of the course, I always have and I think I always will. I think over the course I have improved due to writing evaluations and multiple log books of rehearsals and performances. It has also improved my vocabulary with different key terms that I hope to take away with me. I don't think Maths has applied to me in Performing Arts whatsoever. Although Media has really helped me understand more variety within ICT, I don't think Performing Arts have. I have had to use Google and Microsoft Word mostly. 

IS TV NEWS A WINDOW ON THE WORLD?

If you're wondering what a Window on the World (or a Window on Reality) is - the question above is just basically asking if the News shows us an unbiased/neutral view on important information around the world. When we watch the news, do we watch reality or is the news constructed? "News is a Window on the World. The view through a window depends upon whether the window is large or small, has many panes or few, whether the glass is opaque or clear, whether the window faces a street or a backyard." - Gaye Tuchman in Making News. Does the news show us reality? Does the news think about values rather than importance?

TV news certainly tries to present itself in this way. I analysed a starting sequence of a news report & studio news reporters and it turns out that they are there to present themselves as unbiased and neutral characters that are only on the television to make sure we are delivered the news. Here is a link to this blog post. This idea is backed up by the impartiality laws and regulations. Impartiality basically means to propose both sides of opinions/views to keep it equal. This is to be presented by the news readers with complete accuracy and neutrality. OFCOM is the communications regulator which controls what can go on TV/radio/postal services/mobiles etc. They enforce these rules with parliament. Because of the many different rules/regulations, the news isn't often shown as reality. Another way of restricting what we see on the news is The Code of Practice. The BBC and Ofcom work together on this agreement and have agreed to stay within the regulations. The Code is to make certain that the BBC and any independent producers are to be managed in a fair and transparent manner. All of these rules restrict us from seeing the reality of the event which is happening on our televisions. For example, children's faces are blurred out for security, there are no arguments regarding racism/sexism or any opinions and most of the footage shown during an event is known to be 'actuality footage'. It may be some footage at the place of the event but it could have been shot 20 years ago and saved for if it was ever needed again. This website shows a compilation of all the footage that was taken from the 9/11 attack in America. Some of the footage has been used over and over again in different news reports all over the world.

However TV news cannot, simply 'show' reality in the way that studio news readers are taught to present. News readers must present the news in a neutral, unbiased and impartial but this isn't what happens behind the scenes, although we get our news daily, what exactly decides what is news and why? (Sorry for the extra space!)

 From my diagram, it shows that the news only shows us what they believe has value, although it has some aspects of reality, it's not the reality we perceive. As you can see from the diagram the Event of the news has to go through a process to decide whether the story has any values/budgets/law etc. If it is able to get through this process, it may reach the news - providing their aren't any technical problems. This process of specific selection proves that the news can't possibly be "a window on the world" as it's almost like a process of elimination.
Also, TV news has this way of presenting the events like a 'fictional' story, by using narrative devices/structures and continuity editing. In class, we were shown a interview of someone who was unemployed and looking for work in this difficult economy. During this, we were shown establishing shots of the small house he lived in, pictures of his wedding and shots of his wife and very 
young child, all of these were used for emotional manipulation, to not only understand/sympathise with the situation he is already in but to feel sorry that his family have to go through it too - not to mention the tiny detail that the wife is expecting another. Think about it, some news is also based on popularity, if there was some sort of natural disaster to happen it would most likely make the news if it happened in California than Bangladesh or something along those lines.

I personally think it's wrong to establish the news represents itself as an unbiased/impartial factual program. This is because of the reason I have explained above, the selection process of what gets in the news and what doesn't. Morally, it's down to the people who decided that is the way to select the news - specifically, it's white, middle class, middle age, southern, university educated straight males who control the production of TV news. Because of this, the news is biased and only appeals to certain audiences. If an event has already happened and all of the footage is ready and it has survived the gatekeeping process, it might get to the last stage (the technical run throughs and on air) a "breaking story" could occur which is more interesting and involves more casualties/disaster which will make more people tune in. The event/story beforehand can be saved for another time. These reasons are why I don't believe the the news is a 'window on the world' as the whole gatekeeping process, actuality footage and rules/regulations just restricts us from seeing the reality and narrows the range of stories.



http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/broadcasting/broadcast-codes/broadcast-code/impartiality/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/tv/how-we-work/business-requirements/code-of-practice.shtml
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/about/what-is-ofcom/

http://btecmediaen1.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/tv-news-blog-report.html 

DOCUMENTARY EVALUATION

Here is my 3 Minute Wonder - Gaming with The Cattee's. 

This Documentary is about how gaming runs through our family and how we feel (as a family) about it. I admit, it unintentionally changed a little bit from my first proposal as the shooting went on but I think this is better. 

My Documentary Style was more interactively based. I wanted the audience to be able to hear my voice asking the questions to my family, it had more of an informal atmosphere to it because of all the laughing and giggling. I wanted to make it this style so I felt less nervous and so my family did too. I also like this style of documentary as you get a proper idea of relationships with the interviewee's and the interviewer. 

Gaming means a lot to me. It has since I was a child and it will probably stay with me (as long as the Legend of Zelda series continues) for a very long time. I was influenced by my family with gaming because I know each of them are just as interested in it as I am (maybe a little less). I liked the idea of finding out how my parents grew up with gaming and how it was with them and how much they think it's progressed. My older brothers were the first people who I watched playing games so I was eager to find out a little more on Andrew's experiences, although he was a little blunt at first. I enjoyed finding out and playing Mario Kart with my family again. Beforehand I did want to investigate into the argument "are video games bad for children" but I couldn't actually do it because there isn't a resolved argument - it would be a one sided documentary about my personal opinions which wouldn't have worked with the intended style.

The use of camera was very static. I used a tripod that the college had provided and kept it in one place, occasionally zoomed in on my parents. I personally don't like a moving camera, I want something that the audience can focus on so that is why I kept the camera on a tripod throughout the filming. During the sequences with all of us in the living room, the camera was in a position where some unwanted space was in the shot. The top of the screen just had all of this space that wasn't going to be used so with help from Sean, I was able to zoom into the shot whilst editing - but it looks like I forgot to do it for the first scene as you can see from this picture.

Sound wasn't an issue when recording. I didn't use any fancy microphones I just used the microphone that was built into the camera. When editing I added some backing music that had a comical element to it so it would fit the atmosphere. Other than that the sound was very basic along with the use of camera. I think it worked effectively leaving it very basic. The only problem with sound is my mum was quite quiet when she was speaking so I would have to change the music levels so we would be able to hear her speak, which caused a bit of issues and it sounds a little unprofessional.

Editing was probably my favourite part of the production. I had about 2 hours worth of footage of my family playing Mario Kart and it made me laugh selecting and discarding certain clips that I would want in the documentary. When it begins with myself explaining what I want this documentary to include and how gaming has influenced me, I wanted a couple of clips to juxtapose and back my point up. For example within the first 23 seconds I explain how I liked watching my brothers interact with each other when they were playing games then it cuts to a clip of my family laughing at something my mum had said (she was a little drunk so she slurred that's why it's difficult to hear) but regardless, it made all of us laugh. I thought cutting in between shots would be an effective way to transition to next sequences, it's very quick and you're not distracted with wipes/fades. I also liked breaking the clips up into one or two bits and putting other clips before/after it etc so lots of conversations were going on at the same time. I thought it created a comical effect, especially when my parents are talking about how long they have played games and my dad cuts in with "why 30?" and we cut to Andrew. I thought the editing was very effective in most parts, I only wish the documentary was longer than 3 minutes. 

Mise-en-scene is quite important when filming, it's basically everything that's in the scene. I thought about my Zelda posters that were hanging on the wall and I thought standing in front of that would look somewhat effective, so the audience will be able to see the gaming merchandise that I've got. When choosing a place in our home for the family gaming part, I did think about my bedroom at first but it was horrendously messy with clothes everywhere that I just assumed the living room would be effective. The audience can then feel up close and personal in our house. Other than that I didn't really think about anything else that I would need to put in the shots.

I was very happy with the outcome of this documentary. I really did have a lot of fun filming, editing and rewatching with the rest of the class. The feedback was very fair and if I had the chance to redo it, to change the little hiccups I most definitely would. I also picked up on some criticisms that I didn't even notice during the editing - so I have learnt. Some of the feedback included:

• "Love the quirkiness of Sam and her family"
• I looked at the camera when I wasn't supposed to - not during the interview part
• "Brilliant"
• Juxtaposed the shots well
• My dad was the main character
• More cuts/less fades
• Great angle on gaming - with the family, it's positive
• During the interview I was staring more at the screen (at myself) rather than the lense.
• "Very funny"
• "Funny when Sam choked on the drink"

I had some very positive feedback which I was very happy to receive and any of the criticisms were taken and I will learn for next time. I'm very happy with the way it has turned out and I'm glad that people had laughed when we were watching it as that is what I wanted to achieve. I hope I can work on something like this again because I really had a good time doing it!

MEDIA OWNERSHIP

Public Service Broadcasting (PSB)

The BBC began broadcasting in 1926 on the radio and 10 years later began broadcasting on television. The BBC is the purest form of Public Service Broadcasting. Broadcasting as "public service rather than public exploitation" (Lord Reith 1st Director General). Funded by License Fee to avoid commercial pressures. Other TV companies have some public service regulation too. E.g. ITV must broadcast a weekly religious programme, local news programs etc. 

Commercial Broadcasting
A privately owned company in media will broadcast commercials in between the shows. It is based on TV and Radio and used to make profit. There are no commercials on BBC so this applies to ITV, Sky etc. The audience is not 'served', the audience is the product they sell.

Corporate and Private Ownership
Corporate companies basically means that it is not owned by individuals. It can be commercial or Public Service Broadcasting (e.g. BBC, Newscorp. A private company is owned by a (group of) individual(s). Corporate companies have a right to enter into different contracts, can sue or be sued etc, unlike companies that are private. Private is the ownership of company however it does not trade its shares or trade with any other company. 

Global Companies
This is quite self explanatory. A multinational company/enterprise that has a company building in one or more country/location. An example of a Global Company is The Walt Disney Company. Disney has recently bought Lucas Arts (Star Wars) & also bought Pixar in 2006 for 7.4 billion dollars, making Disney the largest shareholder.

Globalisation:

• Bigger audiences to buy products (offer more commercial spaces)
• Exploiting variation - Bigger companies can exploit businesses/smaller companies of their taxes. 
• Economies of scale

 Global Companies own 90% of the Media. 

Concentration of Ownership
A very few companies own almost all of the world's media. This helps knock out any rivalry competition. Concentration of Ownership is fewer people owning numerous media companies. 

Vertical Intergration (owning stuff in different sectors)
When a parent company owns other companies in each sector of the industry. (e.g. the diagram below - it also covers Horizontal Intergration/monopolisation. A single firm(s) involved with the same level of production and sharing resources at that level.

For example - The Walt Disney Company:

Sources of Funding

A License Fee is the way the BBC is funded. Whoever owns a TV must pay a total of £145.50 every ten years. The government sets the level of the license fee, it includes TV, computers, mobile phones etc. Without this license, you are breaking the law.

Subscription is paying in advance, paying for packages. An example for this would by Sky. Although you have to buy a Skybox, if you want anything extra such as sports/movies is approximately an extra £60. The regulations with Sky are a lot looser than a License Fee.

One-off payment to own product is quite self explanatory. You buy a product and it's yours to keep forever, this includes DVD's, games etc. 

Pay per view is basically a service that requires you to pay to watch a particular program through different networks. An example of this would be Wrestlemania. You spend a certain fee to watch for a certain amount of time.

Sponsorship is what you see before specific programs. For example before watching The Following on Sky Atlantic, you always get before and after a sponsorship from Nissan. Not an advert but it's still getting the companies name out.

Advertising is promoting products on a commercial term. It changes the nature of the media producers. You watch adverts in between programs on ITV, Channel 4, Sky etc. But NOT the BBC. 

Product Placement is paying for products to feature in films and television. For example, James Bond drives BMW cars which could appeal to the younger male audiences to buy a BMW.

Private Capital is friends/family/people you know that are happy to invest in your idea/project.

Crowd Funding is similar to Private Capital but is different because you post your idea online with a target goal of what is needed and people who are interested can chip in. Eventually it could total up to the funding that is needed. A example of this is the Blair Witch Project.

Development Funds is lottery funding. Another example is the BFI (British Film Institute) they lend money to film makers who have an idea for feature filming. 

THE NATURE AND PURPOSES OF RESEARCH IN THE CREATIVE MEDIA INDUSTRIES

Primary Research is usually undertaken when the researcher has established a subject worth investigating. This particular type of research can range from detailed background/similar topics to interviews with specialists or a group of selected respondents just to find out some opinions. Simply, primary research is gathered information from various sources, including experiments, tests & investigations.

I believe creating surveys/questionnaires are the easiest to collecting data. When gaining information I needed for my documentary, I created an online survey using Smart Survey. I asked various types of questions that related to my proposal & idea to my documentary. Making the questions short & to the point increased my response rate. I believe this is a necessity when asking people questions. I had a total of 46 people answer my survey.

Secondary Research differs from Primary. Although they are both as necessary, secondary research already has a base which can be driven from. Primary research is almost always started from scratch, gathering information & collecting data. Secondary research basically looks into background concepts of the chosen subject. For my chosen subject of family gaming, I looked into a lot of different websites about gaming itself, how gaming affects us & different opinions on gaming - this ranged from the game players to the families. When using secondary research in my project, I used opinions based on what my family has been through with gaming, I didn't really use any research from books or newspapers etc, so secondary research didn't really apply to what I was doing, although it's necessary for most media based productions.

Quantitative Research is a much more structured & numeric way of collecting data. Methods of quantitative research often includes surveys - whether they are online or not. Together, all of the collected data comes together to create statistics revolved around attitudes and opinions. To collect data for my production, I used a website called Smart Survey and had a variety of different people answer my questions that I had set up for them. I also put this in my primary research as this was the only way I had collected data. Qualitative research usually follows quantitative research, this type of research provides insights into different hypothesis for later research. Usually, the particular type of research gathers data about human behaviour. The method of this is similar to the rest, using pictures, group discussions and other materials. I paid a lot of attention to the stereotypes of gaming, especially looking on online websites that explained family video gaming wasn't healthy etc and it was mostly revolved around younger males. I wanted to change that and revolve it around females - so I made myself a central character so it was more female orientated.

Data Gathering Agencies. A lot of websites upload data that has been collected over the time periods of weeks/months and sometimes years. This data can range from almost anything. BARB is an online source where you can view television figures in the UK. When thinking about Factual Programming, it's good to first research about your audience (who you're planning on targeting). Looking on this website, I was able to see the figures for documentary's that were shown on Channel 4 (I chose this Channel because research showed it previewed the most amount of documentaries. IMDB is an online website which releases information about Movies, TV Series and even Video Games. This site actually lets people log on & change/add material - providing it's right. It allows Actors to post resumes, providing they pay a fee.

Audience and Market Research. Market Research consists of 3 different researching methods, this includes Quantitative, Qualitative and Hybrid. The purpose of Market Research is to reach out to your demographics to see if the media product will be accepted. When thinking about creating something that needs to have strong background research to help with statistics, it's best to think about who you will specifically target in the audience. Demographically, I thought my best age range would be towards younger viewers (teenagers/young adults), but then I thought it may have been too broad & widened it for all gamers of all ages who specifically play games with families. I thought this would be best as it's the audience that I could mostly relate to.

Production Research. "The collection of and analysis of information for the content". Production Research collects everything that you will need before the media production. For example, most media productions think about a variety of different releases that they will need approval of before filming. The same as a game producers need to think about factors that include pricing, distributions and promotions. Before I could start shooting for my documentary I had to get permission from every family member that would be in the documentary. Usually I would fill out a budget sheet, this wasn't needed for this particular media production as it took place in my house with equipment borrowed from the college.

Once the data has been collected it's time to start Assessing the Data. Doing this, you will have to review over all of the questionnaires/surveys results and start identifying. I used Smart Survey and once I had collected everything, I began going through and assessing the data that I needed. This was done by going onto my results & just scrolling through the answers which would help me find out if my target audience would want to see my documentary & if they thought it was interesting etc. Some problems that were identified was that some people did not take the survey seriously, which resulted in some answers having to be taken out of my overall result - I had enough answers so it wasn't a major problem.

Validity. I can't be certain if the answers were 100% truthful, I'm hoping they were. For example, some people could have just put what I wanted to see when the time came to evaluate my answers. I did have some that were not interested but that still helped me shape my results. I can't prove anything as it was all done online without my influence.




http://www.quirk.biz/resources/article/4274/market-research

TV NEWS INTRODUCTION ANALYSIS

Before I begin analysing, please skip to 1:50 seconds on the video. I will be analysing China News (CCTV4, China 2014). This video is a Compilation of different starting sequences for News all over the world - watching most of it will only prove our points as a class, further.

During one of our classes, all of us analysed what we thought the iconography was of TV News starting sequences. We came up with these results:

• Clocks and Time
• Rushing graphics/visuals/camera movements
• Things that connote Technology (e.g. Space)
• The world from space
• Landmarks from Cities
• Satalites
• Fast, beat-driven, music
• Transparency/Eyes
• Colours

We decided that these were the iconography because after watching different introductions, all of these were included with most.

China News Sequence:

This introduction begins with the world, quickly rotating accompanied by music that is playing String instruments. Already a second in we are getting an overview from space, looking over the world as if this particular broadcast will let us know everything that is happening all around the world. As the sequence continues we fade to large yellow/golden blocks that come together to create the title China News. This part of the introduction involves the graphics, although these are not rushing really. When the writing is in gold, we discussed that it's connoting that it has a sense of value to offer for the audience and that the broadcast is trying to rush the opening sequence so it can give us the news. The writing is also very bold which immediately catches our attention. The news starting sequence itself only lasts around 15 seconds, but it's quick, punchy and loud - it grabs our attention right from the very beginning which is something that most news introductions plan to do - it will always have a sense of urgency to it. The music helps it announce its importance from the very beginning and when it all comes together with the bold writing, the world in the background and the music, it has a sense of precision. Colours are very important with news introductions, notice how it's usually the colours of business, it's never usually colours you'll find in your home. They are very bold, reds/blues/yellows which capture your attention. 

I especially like how at the end of the sequence, we still have this overlook of the world, connoting that we are witnessing this from space & we have this technology to do so - proving that we are in a High Tech Industry. Although this particular sequence doesn't include ALL of the iconography from the list above, it contains enough to prove a point. 

But what is just as important as the opening sequence of the news broadcast? The Newsreaders. Unfortunately, this particular sequence that I have analysed stops as soon as it's finished and I can't find an extract of newsreaders without a blooper or a fart noise edited in, so I will explain and use photos. The newsreaders are basically presenters of the news - although they do NOT present it. Portraying the news takes a lot of technique. Newsreaders must remain professional, in the sense that they must remain expressionless. This is so their personalities can not shine through and express any opinions that they share about the topic on the news. Another form of Neutrality is the way they deliver the news, it is always spoken in "Standard English" there isn't usually an accent from Liverpool or Manchester. The newsreaders are always addressing the audience too, (we know they are reading from a prompter) but they stare towards the camera, addressing us at home, keeping communication and informing us about the importance around the world. This is usually presented as the newsreaders are almost, always waiting for the camera and when the camera hits them, we can see them sitting behind the desk or waiting, ready to give us the news. If you rewatch some of the footage from the video above, you can see little extracts of the newsreaders ready and waiting.