Thursday, 9 May 2013
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
Grace's mock
To what extent does digital distribution affect the marketing and consumption of media products in the media are you have studied? (To what extent does selling and sharing music digitally change the marketing of artists in the music industry?)
Digital distribution strongly affects the marketing and consumption of artists and institutions in the music industry, especially now due to the technologic advances. The use of the internet to share and get music has a large influence on this, both positively and negatively. Institutions like LAST.FM, Tumblr, Twitter and Myspace encourage this. Not only does the internet affect the marketing of institutions, it has changed the process in which it is done. Production, Distribution and Exchange have all merged in to one; mainly because of the used of distribution through the internet.
DIY artists use digital distribution to their advance. Instead of producing an album through a record label, Beck shared music using Song Reader, a website that enables the audience to contribute therefore acting as prosumers. He made sheet music which allowed fans from a niche audience to create their own interpretations of his music. This proves he focuses on the music more than the visualisation and his fans are not only dedicated but have to be able to read some form of music. The co-option brought artists together and instead of Beck loosing out on money from illegal downloading over the internet, he was able to profit through fans coming to live gigs to see if he performs their interpretations of his music. This shows a strong bond and relationship between the artist and his fans, meaning digital distribution fuels a relationship.
Digital distribution through conglomerate Major labels such as SONY allows the changes through digital distribution to affect it both positively and negatively; synergy plays a role in this. The fact that Sony are a major label allows them to use media from different areas together to exchange their music to a wider audience. For example, Syco (Sony's record label) uses one of their more popular artists; One Direction's music in video games, they have also produced a Film about the boy band themselves. This is another example of creating a relationship with their fans, it allows them to connect and relate to the artist's as it shows the real-life side of fame. The visualisation of Major record labels plays a large role in the digital distribution. It is said that because of this, music is becoming more stale and bland. The audience in which this music is targeted at are meant to find visualisation more important than sound. This brings me on to X-Factor, a show created to find upcoming talent by recycling music from previously popular artists. Digital distribution affect this is the sense that as soon as a song is recycled, it is exchanged over the internet. Youtube, spotify and Itunes are used for this. Despite making a large profit from audiences purchasing these songs, the total is restricted due to illegal downloading. This is a negative point that comes with Digital Distribution.
Digital distribution has mainly affected prosumers. The access to music over the internet means prosumers are able to make mash ups of different songs. Often, they use songs most popular in chart music, meaning it affects major labels positively as it gives them publicity. On a negative note, only small sections are taken out of the songs, backing up my point that music is now stale and bland. An example of a prosumer is Madeon. He mashed up a selection of songs from the charts and was able to get his fans to create music videos for this. This shows the relationship between artists and their fans is strongly affected through the internet. Because of this, he was able to get more views over institutions such as Youtube and more followers on Twitter, creating a larger fan base. This also proves that visualisation has a bigger importance than the original sound.
Overall, i think digital distribution affects the marketing of institutions and artist both positively and negitively. Not only does it allow artists to create a stronger bong and relationship with their fans it allows them to create an image. On the other hand, illegal downloading and access to music through spotify and Youtube means the artist profit is restricted.
Digital distribution strongly affects the marketing and consumption of artists and institutions in the music industry, especially now due to the technologic advances. The use of the internet to share and get music has a large influence on this, both positively and negatively. Institutions like LAST.FM, Tumblr, Twitter and Myspace encourage this. Not only does the internet affect the marketing of institutions, it has changed the process in which it is done. Production, Distribution and Exchange have all merged in to one; mainly because of the used of distribution through the internet.
DIY artists use digital distribution to their advance. Instead of producing an album through a record label, Beck shared music using Song Reader, a website that enables the audience to contribute therefore acting as prosumers. He made sheet music which allowed fans from a niche audience to create their own interpretations of his music. This proves he focuses on the music more than the visualisation and his fans are not only dedicated but have to be able to read some form of music. The co-option brought artists together and instead of Beck loosing out on money from illegal downloading over the internet, he was able to profit through fans coming to live gigs to see if he performs their interpretations of his music. This shows a strong bond and relationship between the artist and his fans, meaning digital distribution fuels a relationship.
Digital distribution through conglomerate Major labels such as SONY allows the changes through digital distribution to affect it both positively and negatively; synergy plays a role in this. The fact that Sony are a major label allows them to use media from different areas together to exchange their music to a wider audience. For example, Syco (Sony's record label) uses one of their more popular artists; One Direction's music in video games, they have also produced a Film about the boy band themselves. This is another example of creating a relationship with their fans, it allows them to connect and relate to the artist's as it shows the real-life side of fame. The visualisation of Major record labels plays a large role in the digital distribution. It is said that because of this, music is becoming more stale and bland. The audience in which this music is targeted at are meant to find visualisation more important than sound. This brings me on to X-Factor, a show created to find upcoming talent by recycling music from previously popular artists. Digital distribution affect this is the sense that as soon as a song is recycled, it is exchanged over the internet. Youtube, spotify and Itunes are used for this. Despite making a large profit from audiences purchasing these songs, the total is restricted due to illegal downloading. This is a negative point that comes with Digital Distribution.
Digital distribution has mainly affected prosumers. The access to music over the internet means prosumers are able to make mash ups of different songs. Often, they use songs most popular in chart music, meaning it affects major labels positively as it gives them publicity. On a negative note, only small sections are taken out of the songs, backing up my point that music is now stale and bland. An example of a prosumer is Madeon. He mashed up a selection of songs from the charts and was able to get his fans to create music videos for this. This shows the relationship between artists and their fans is strongly affected through the internet. Because of this, he was able to get more views over institutions such as Youtube and more followers on Twitter, creating a larger fan base. This also proves that visualisation has a bigger importance than the original sound.
Overall, i think digital distribution affects the marketing of institutions and artist both positively and negitively. Not only does it allow artists to create a stronger bong and relationship with their fans it allows them to create an image. On the other hand, illegal downloading and access to music through spotify and Youtube means the artist profit is restricted.
Martin Stewart Mock Answer
To what extent does digital distribution affect the marketing and consumption of media products in the media you have studied?
I feel that digital distribution strongly affects the marketing and consumption of music as it constantly changes the way in which the music is presented and marketed. Through digital distribution the music can now be marketed through sites such as Twitter and YouTube allowing very little budget to be spent on the marketing and achieving a higher fan involvement level that will in cases of some artists such as Beck create a dedicated niche audience. The majority of music now is marketed digitally through the internet in some way and i will be comparing how and to what levels of importance different giants within the music industry use this digital distribution to their advantage.
Major conglomerate labels such as Sony are affected by digital distribution both positively and negatively. I will start with the positive aspects. Digital distribution allows them to create a much wider fanbase for their artists as in the case of the record label Syco and their artists One Direction they are able to market them through internet games, sites such as youtube and social networking sites such a Twitter. Through these abilities they can appeal to a much wider audience and generate a lot more audience feedback through the exchange process allowing them to know what they have to change in the future to allow the band to appeal to a wider audience. Major labels are strongly affected by digital distribution as it allows them to market their artists through music videos rather than the music itself. This is known as visualization and with the increase in digital distribution through sites such a YouTube it is become increasingly more noticeable that the videos and the images of the artists are more important to the audience than the music itself. This is shown again through the major labels use of Synergy, through combining music and television digitally through shows such as X-Factor they can attract a much wider audience and also allow for a increased focus on visualization. This digital distribution not only affects the marketing of music but also how it is consumed. Digital distribution means that the music can be uploaded instantly and this is used to record labels advantages through shows such as X-Factor in the way that as soon as the show is finished all tracks performed are available from the iTunes store, this plays on the audiences immediate involvement with the artist and also allows the labels to see what has received the most downloads so they know how they can shape and mould their future artists. Digital distribution however is not always positive, through the increased availability of music online their is an increase in the amount of music being pirated. his costs the major record labels vast amounts of money and does not allow them to create a strong link with their fan base. Due to this inability to make as much money as they could through record sales they rely on extortionately high live ticket prices to make back their money. This shows how due to the high levels of piracy associated with digital distribution major record labels push emphasis onto live shows and the image of their artists.
DIY artists however are affected by digital distribution very differently to the ways that major labels and conglomerate companies are affected. A key example of this is the artist Beck and his album Song Reader. Beck chose to release this album in the form of sheet music which meant he went against the idea of digitally distributing his music as tracks. He released no recordings of himself playing any of the songs simply a book with 20 tracks written in the form of sheet music and over 100 pages of inspirational artist. Through this he was encouraging is audience to create and distribute their own interpretations of his music for themselves. Through releasing Song Reader as sheet music he immediately targeted a specialist or niche audience for his album showing that to him dedicated fans are more important than being generic and trying to appeal to as wide a range of people as possible. This worked effectively as fans now publish their own interpretations of them performing his sheet music, some even go as far as to create music videos, these videos are published both on youtube and the song reader site itself. Through this fan involvement the fans are acting as prosumers and exchanging something with the artist Beck. They are letting him know which is the most popular way for the song to be performed but they are also doing almost all the marketing for him without him or a distribution company having to be involved. This shows the advantages of digital distribution through a dedicated fanbase as it spreads word and creates a lot of enthusiasm for the artist allowing a pre-prepared audience for his later releases. This is very different to how digital distribution affects the major record labels as whilst the majors tend to distribute and sell their music themselves online Beck would rather sell the classic form of sheet music and allow his fans who he has now created a strong relationship with to spread it themselves and be strongly involved.
Digital distribution has perhaps its strongest affect on the community of prosumers, often teenagers these prosumers use digital technology and sites such as youtube to download songs and create new tracks such as mash-ups themselves. Through doing this they mix together many past hits or tracks that they like to create a song in which they are all mixed together, and then re-publish the song themselves digitally on sites such as youtube giving them a chance to enter the music world and attempt to make an impact. Through sites such as youtube allowing them to distribute music digitally this is increasingly easy and takes only a low level of computer knowledge for any average person to act as a producer through create these mash-up type tracks. Major record labels often allow this despite owning the copyright to many of the songs used as they know that it gains them publicity for many old tracks that may have been forgotten or just for the tracks of any artists signed to them in general. It allows for them to know which songs from their back catalogue they can re-release with current or future artists to achieve the highest sales and interest in the artists. This shows how digital distribution affects the consumption of music as it has reached a stage where record companies often actively allow their music to be pirated in order to know what fans like so that they can shape future artists. This shows a high level of co-operation between major record labels and prosumers whilst still being drastically different to the relationships between the prosumer audience who interpret Becks music. Therefore leading to the idea that digital distribution affects all types of artists in a variety of different ways but all digital distribution strongly relies on a relationship between the audience and the artist allowing for an exchange of ideas.
In conclusion i feel that digital distribution strongly affects the marketing and consumption of music as it puts a strong emphasis on audience involvement for artists such as Beck making it a positive thing, however it also allows for a high rate of piracy causing a influx in ticket prices and more focus on visualizations for artists signed to major record labels.
Martin Stewart
I feel that digital distribution strongly affects the marketing and consumption of music as it constantly changes the way in which the music is presented and marketed. Through digital distribution the music can now be marketed through sites such as Twitter and YouTube allowing very little budget to be spent on the marketing and achieving a higher fan involvement level that will in cases of some artists such as Beck create a dedicated niche audience. The majority of music now is marketed digitally through the internet in some way and i will be comparing how and to what levels of importance different giants within the music industry use this digital distribution to their advantage.
Major conglomerate labels such as Sony are affected by digital distribution both positively and negatively. I will start with the positive aspects. Digital distribution allows them to create a much wider fanbase for their artists as in the case of the record label Syco and their artists One Direction they are able to market them through internet games, sites such as youtube and social networking sites such a Twitter. Through these abilities they can appeal to a much wider audience and generate a lot more audience feedback through the exchange process allowing them to know what they have to change in the future to allow the band to appeal to a wider audience. Major labels are strongly affected by digital distribution as it allows them to market their artists through music videos rather than the music itself. This is known as visualization and with the increase in digital distribution through sites such a YouTube it is become increasingly more noticeable that the videos and the images of the artists are more important to the audience than the music itself. This is shown again through the major labels use of Synergy, through combining music and television digitally through shows such as X-Factor they can attract a much wider audience and also allow for a increased focus on visualization. This digital distribution not only affects the marketing of music but also how it is consumed. Digital distribution means that the music can be uploaded instantly and this is used to record labels advantages through shows such as X-Factor in the way that as soon as the show is finished all tracks performed are available from the iTunes store, this plays on the audiences immediate involvement with the artist and also allows the labels to see what has received the most downloads so they know how they can shape and mould their future artists. Digital distribution however is not always positive, through the increased availability of music online their is an increase in the amount of music being pirated. his costs the major record labels vast amounts of money and does not allow them to create a strong link with their fan base. Due to this inability to make as much money as they could through record sales they rely on extortionately high live ticket prices to make back their money. This shows how due to the high levels of piracy associated with digital distribution major record labels push emphasis onto live shows and the image of their artists.
DIY artists however are affected by digital distribution very differently to the ways that major labels and conglomerate companies are affected. A key example of this is the artist Beck and his album Song Reader. Beck chose to release this album in the form of sheet music which meant he went against the idea of digitally distributing his music as tracks. He released no recordings of himself playing any of the songs simply a book with 20 tracks written in the form of sheet music and over 100 pages of inspirational artist. Through this he was encouraging is audience to create and distribute their own interpretations of his music for themselves. Through releasing Song Reader as sheet music he immediately targeted a specialist or niche audience for his album showing that to him dedicated fans are more important than being generic and trying to appeal to as wide a range of people as possible. This worked effectively as fans now publish their own interpretations of them performing his sheet music, some even go as far as to create music videos, these videos are published both on youtube and the song reader site itself. Through this fan involvement the fans are acting as prosumers and exchanging something with the artist Beck. They are letting him know which is the most popular way for the song to be performed but they are also doing almost all the marketing for him without him or a distribution company having to be involved. This shows the advantages of digital distribution through a dedicated fanbase as it spreads word and creates a lot of enthusiasm for the artist allowing a pre-prepared audience for his later releases. This is very different to how digital distribution affects the major record labels as whilst the majors tend to distribute and sell their music themselves online Beck would rather sell the classic form of sheet music and allow his fans who he has now created a strong relationship with to spread it themselves and be strongly involved.
Digital distribution has perhaps its strongest affect on the community of prosumers, often teenagers these prosumers use digital technology and sites such as youtube to download songs and create new tracks such as mash-ups themselves. Through doing this they mix together many past hits or tracks that they like to create a song in which they are all mixed together, and then re-publish the song themselves digitally on sites such as youtube giving them a chance to enter the music world and attempt to make an impact. Through sites such as youtube allowing them to distribute music digitally this is increasingly easy and takes only a low level of computer knowledge for any average person to act as a producer through create these mash-up type tracks. Major record labels often allow this despite owning the copyright to many of the songs used as they know that it gains them publicity for many old tracks that may have been forgotten or just for the tracks of any artists signed to them in general. It allows for them to know which songs from their back catalogue they can re-release with current or future artists to achieve the highest sales and interest in the artists. This shows how digital distribution affects the consumption of music as it has reached a stage where record companies often actively allow their music to be pirated in order to know what fans like so that they can shape future artists. This shows a high level of co-operation between major record labels and prosumers whilst still being drastically different to the relationships between the prosumer audience who interpret Becks music. Therefore leading to the idea that digital distribution affects all types of artists in a variety of different ways but all digital distribution strongly relies on a relationship between the audience and the artist allowing for an exchange of ideas.
In conclusion i feel that digital distribution strongly affects the marketing and consumption of music as it puts a strong emphasis on audience involvement for artists such as Beck making it a positive thing, however it also allows for a high rate of piracy causing a influx in ticket prices and more focus on visualizations for artists signed to major record labels.
Martin Stewart
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
Question 2
Global institutions dominate media production. These institutions sell and distribute their products to national audiences. To what extent do you agree with this statement.
We agree strongly to this statement, an example of a major production company is Sony with Syco. Syco promotes future artists through XFactor, allowing them to attract a wider a audience through globalisation. However, DIY Artists like Beck distribute their work to a niche audience allowing prosumers to distribute and get involved. Overall, Global institutions dominate music industry to a worldwide audience where as artists like Beck focus on a smaller audience who are not only dedicated but play a huge role in distribution of his music.
We agree strongly to this statement, an example of a major production company is Sony with Syco. Syco promotes future artists through XFactor, allowing them to attract a wider a audience through globalisation. However, DIY Artists like Beck distribute their work to a niche audience allowing prosumers to distribute and get involved. Overall, Global institutions dominate music industry to a worldwide audience where as artists like Beck focus on a smaller audience who are not only dedicated but play a huge role in distribution of his music.
Friday, 26 April 2013
300 Word Translated Question Answer
Homework
Exam Question
Digital media technology continues to develop. How is this significant for media institutions and audiences?
Translated Question
As resources for music and video editing and downloading continue to become more available. How does this allow Prosumers and upcoming artists to create music tracks such as mash-ups?
As music and editing resources as well as ways to publish their tracks/videos such as YouTube become more widely available and easily accessible more and more audiences members are becoming prosumers. Meaning that they not only consume music but also produce something from it as well creating feedback for the artist through the process of exchange. The media institutions have learnt to adapt to allow these mash-up tracks despite the people creating them not owning rights to the songs because they have realised unlike record label EMI which no longer exists that they have to move with the times and use these prosumers as part of the distribution of their artists music. Through the advancement in digital media technology the audiences can create a stronger relationship with the artist making them more dedicated and involved in future music products.
Exam Question
Digital media technology continues to develop. How is this significant for media institutions and audiences?
Translated Question
As resources for music and video editing and downloading continue to become more available. How does this allow Prosumers and upcoming artists to create music tracks such as mash-ups?
As music and editing resources as well as ways to publish their tracks/videos such as YouTube become more widely available and easily accessible more and more audiences members are becoming prosumers. Meaning that they not only consume music but also produce something from it as well creating feedback for the artist through the process of exchange. The media institutions have learnt to adapt to allow these mash-up tracks despite the people creating them not owning rights to the songs because they have realised unlike record label EMI which no longer exists that they have to move with the times and use these prosumers as part of the distribution of their artists music. Through the advancement in digital media technology the audiences can create a stronger relationship with the artist making them more dedicated and involved in future music products.
Sunday, 14 April 2013
Tuesday, 26 March 2013
Madeon Research
- French
- 18 Years Old
- House Music
- French People
- No particular gender targeted through his music
- DJs, community of people that do what he does
- Not a professional artist when he made the song
- 160,000 followers on twitter
- 300,000 on Facebook
- 418,000 followers on SoundCloud
- Online based audience
- Fans can collaborate with each other and the artists
- Marketed through YouTube, Sound Cloud, Facebook and Twitter
- Madeon fans are "Prosumers"
- 18 Years Old
- House Music
- French People
- No particular gender targeted through his music
- DJs, community of people that do what he does
- Not a professional artist when he made the song
- 160,000 followers on twitter
- 300,000 on Facebook
- 418,000 followers on SoundCloud
- Online based audience
- Fans can collaborate with each other and the artists
- Marketed through YouTube, Sound Cloud, Facebook and Twitter
- Madeon fans are "Prosumers"
Monday, 18 March 2013
Production, Marketing, Distribution
Production:
- Creation of the media product
- Includes Pre-Production, Production and Post-Production processes
- Finance is necessary for the production of any product
Distribution:
- Record labels are responsible for prints and marketing
- Prints: Producing physical copies of an album and finding the retailers to sell the album
- Marketing: Raising audience awareness and anticipation for the albums release
- Distributors are often parts of the same company as the production company
- Have a long term arrangement with a production company
- Acquire a record after it has completed production
- Albums may have different distributors for releases in different countries but also for different methods of distribution such as iTunes
Exchange:
- Home: The distributor is paid by the company who is selling the product
- iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, YouTube. Limewire, Torrents
- An album is often exhibited through non-profitable means
- This is how the audience are driven to buy the product e.g Radio, YouTube, Music Videos
Exhibition to Exchange:
- What was previously known as exhibition is now known as exchange due to the many different ways in which the music has been made available. there is no real exhibition of the music anymore as although it is present in some retailers such as HMV online services such as Spotify take away any physical evidence of the music in the same way that iTunes do. In this new system you are now exchanging money over the internet in exchange for no physical product meaning that throughout the entire exchange you neither give away or receive any physical money or products.
Categorization of Cards:
Production:
- CD Manufacturer
- Audience Research
- Producer/Writer
- Studio
- Music Video Director
Distribution and Marketing:
- Web Distributor
- Music Magazine
- Retailer
- Merchandising
- Distribution Company (Logistics)
Exchange:
- Music TV Channel
- Venue
- A&R
- Radio Station
- Artist Website
How has the industry responded to combat online music piracy?
- To combat online music piracy the industry has to charge higher prices for merchandise, concerts and the albums themselves. Attracting a live audience is the only way that they are guaranteed money anymore because whether or not the individual chooses to download this artists music illegally or to pay for it when seeing the act live they must pay for a ticket. Piracy is a tough problem for the industry to face as to combat it prices must be hiked upwards but as the media gets more expensive more people will turn to piracy to save themselves money this makes it a vicious circle with which no proper solution can be resolved without the stopping of piracy.
- Creation of the media product
- Includes Pre-Production, Production and Post-Production processes
- Finance is necessary for the production of any product
Distribution:
- Record labels are responsible for prints and marketing
- Prints: Producing physical copies of an album and finding the retailers to sell the album
- Marketing: Raising audience awareness and anticipation for the albums release
- Distributors are often parts of the same company as the production company
- Have a long term arrangement with a production company
- Acquire a record after it has completed production
- Albums may have different distributors for releases in different countries but also for different methods of distribution such as iTunes
Exchange:
- Home: The distributor is paid by the company who is selling the product
- iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, YouTube. Limewire, Torrents
- An album is often exhibited through non-profitable means
- This is how the audience are driven to buy the product e.g Radio, YouTube, Music Videos
Exhibition to Exchange:
- What was previously known as exhibition is now known as exchange due to the many different ways in which the music has been made available. there is no real exhibition of the music anymore as although it is present in some retailers such as HMV online services such as Spotify take away any physical evidence of the music in the same way that iTunes do. In this new system you are now exchanging money over the internet in exchange for no physical product meaning that throughout the entire exchange you neither give away or receive any physical money or products.
Categorization of Cards:
Production:
- CD Manufacturer
- Audience Research
- Producer/Writer
- Studio
- Music Video Director
Distribution and Marketing:
- Web Distributor
- Music Magazine
- Retailer
- Merchandising
- Distribution Company (Logistics)
Exchange:
- Music TV Channel
- Venue
- A&R
- Radio Station
- Artist Website
How has the industry responded to combat online music piracy?
- To combat online music piracy the industry has to charge higher prices for merchandise, concerts and the albums themselves. Attracting a live audience is the only way that they are guaranteed money anymore because whether or not the individual chooses to download this artists music illegally or to pay for it when seeing the act live they must pay for a ticket. Piracy is a tough problem for the industry to face as to combat it prices must be hiked upwards but as the media gets more expensive more people will turn to piracy to save themselves money this makes it a vicious circle with which no proper solution can be resolved without the stopping of piracy.
Thursday, 28 February 2013
Tuesday, 26 February 2013
Monday, 25 February 2013
Martin Stewart Mock Response
At the start of the clip we are presented with the character of Merlin, he is obviously poor as we can immediately see from his costume he is dressed in browns and other un-exciting colours, his clothes appear to be tatty as well, immediately ruling him out of the upper or middle class categories. When Merlin is in the room the music starts to pick up and climaxes as he rushes to hide what he had been doing as a woman enters, this shows that he should not be where he is showing him to be working class as all areas of the castle he is placed in are not available to him or people of his class. We are shown with an over the shoulder shot from Merlins perspective a brief conversation between him and the lady who enters, she speaks "What are you doing in hear" in a commanding questioning voice showing that she has obvious power over Merlin and is of a higher class than he. Her dress is also a much more vibrant purple colour and is expensive putting her into the upper class Social group.
When Merlin leaves the castle and enters the street the tense music that has been present throughout the entire opening of the scene ceases and the sounds of worklife outside pick up. At this point Merlin stands tall and stops moving with uncertainty, this shows that he is in his element in the working class areas rather than the upper class grounds which are the castle. He is however disrupted by a blonde male named Arthur, Arthur is dressed in armour immediately showing that he has power over Merlin because although Merlin does not seem at all frightened by him the armour makes arthur much less vulnerable than Merlin himself. the two men that stand behind arthur represent the connections and power he holds as an upper class citizen whilst as a working class boy merlin relies on his wit to stay safe and protected. Arthur is clearly upper class as he has a strong sense of his own importance and abilities which is obvious throughout his ffight scene with Merlin. as Merlin falls Arthur breaks everything in his path as if it does not matter to him whatever damages he causes to those around him. Throughout the fight scene low angles are used on Arthur to portray his power over Merlin as high angles are used on Merlin himself to show his weakness compared to Arthur.As Merlin begins to use magic the camera angles change bringing Merlin and Arthur up to the same level. Merlin is shown as the dominant figure during this part of the fight as he has more screen time and more prominance over Arthur. When the fight scene ends Arthur chooses to allow Merlin to stay free showing his power as an upper class stereotype, during this short discussion the camera is steady in comparison to the fight scene showing the contrast between the manical violence and the calmness of the upper class. the music in this scene however is very tense as we view merlins face which shows the upper class character of Arthur still holds the power over him.
The final character we are untroduced to is an old man who starts shouting at Merlin for using magic in the fight agasinst ASrthur telling Merlin that it is not safe and that it must be learnt. This character is dressed in clothes equally as dull and ragged as Merlins showing that he is from the same working class as Merlin. this is why during their discussion the old man although telling Merlin that he has done wrong does not seem to have any power ovber him as the two of them are on the same level of class. this is very different to when Arthur had previously been speaking wit Merlin as it had been obvious after the fight tat merlin had to respect Arthur and his wishes. The old mans clothes are somehwate more ragged than Merlins and during their conversation which consistently uses shot reverse shot merlin is given muchmore dialogue, and much more screentime showing his rominance giving the idea that he may be able to go up a class as he is alreasy more important than this man much older than himself.
The upper class stereotype is reinforced as Arthur obviously has power over Merlin from when we meet him to when he exits the clip, he is obnoxious and does as he pleases because he knows that he is of greater importance than all of those around hi as he is royalty. the character of Merlin however somewhat challenges the stereotype of working class as Merlin is evidently clever and although he has to take orders from upper classes and wear ragged clothes he is often throughout the clip in positions of greater power than those who should be easily above him in terms of social class. Merlin seems confident in his blatant disregard for the orders of Prince Arthur which is the main factor in why he challenges the stereotypes of a working class character.
When Merlin leaves the castle and enters the street the tense music that has been present throughout the entire opening of the scene ceases and the sounds of worklife outside pick up. At this point Merlin stands tall and stops moving with uncertainty, this shows that he is in his element in the working class areas rather than the upper class grounds which are the castle. He is however disrupted by a blonde male named Arthur, Arthur is dressed in armour immediately showing that he has power over Merlin because although Merlin does not seem at all frightened by him the armour makes arthur much less vulnerable than Merlin himself. the two men that stand behind arthur represent the connections and power he holds as an upper class citizen whilst as a working class boy merlin relies on his wit to stay safe and protected. Arthur is clearly upper class as he has a strong sense of his own importance and abilities which is obvious throughout his ffight scene with Merlin. as Merlin falls Arthur breaks everything in his path as if it does not matter to him whatever damages he causes to those around him. Throughout the fight scene low angles are used on Arthur to portray his power over Merlin as high angles are used on Merlin himself to show his weakness compared to Arthur.As Merlin begins to use magic the camera angles change bringing Merlin and Arthur up to the same level. Merlin is shown as the dominant figure during this part of the fight as he has more screen time and more prominance over Arthur. When the fight scene ends Arthur chooses to allow Merlin to stay free showing his power as an upper class stereotype, during this short discussion the camera is steady in comparison to the fight scene showing the contrast between the manical violence and the calmness of the upper class. the music in this scene however is very tense as we view merlins face which shows the upper class character of Arthur still holds the power over him.
The final character we are untroduced to is an old man who starts shouting at Merlin for using magic in the fight agasinst ASrthur telling Merlin that it is not safe and that it must be learnt. This character is dressed in clothes equally as dull and ragged as Merlins showing that he is from the same working class as Merlin. this is why during their discussion the old man although telling Merlin that he has done wrong does not seem to have any power ovber him as the two of them are on the same level of class. this is very different to when Arthur had previously been speaking wit Merlin as it had been obvious after the fight tat merlin had to respect Arthur and his wishes. The old mans clothes are somehwate more ragged than Merlins and during their conversation which consistently uses shot reverse shot merlin is given muchmore dialogue, and much more screentime showing his rominance giving the idea that he may be able to go up a class as he is alreasy more important than this man much older than himself.
The upper class stereotype is reinforced as Arthur obviously has power over Merlin from when we meet him to when he exits the clip, he is obnoxious and does as he pleases because he knows that he is of greater importance than all of those around hi as he is royalty. the character of Merlin however somewhat challenges the stereotype of working class as Merlin is evidently clever and although he has to take orders from upper classes and wear ragged clothes he is often throughout the clip in positions of greater power than those who should be easily above him in terms of social class. Merlin seems confident in his blatant disregard for the orders of Prince Arthur which is the main factor in why he challenges the stereotypes of a working class character.
Descriptive words for Social Classes
Middle class – average, normal, educated, happy
Working class - lazy, undereducated, dumb, loveable
Upper class - rich,
well educated, powerful, posh
Underclass – careless, uncontrollable, uneducated, violent
Class Stereotype Mock - By Grace Cuthbertson
After watching the Merlin clip, I identified Merlin as an underclass
stereotype. The mis-en-scene makes this most obvious to the audience. His
clothing are neutral colours, showing a clear class. The camera pans across and
follows him in the first shot; this shows the importance of him in the clip.
The pan is smooth and relaxed showing he isn’t out of control; this is against the
typical stereotype as the underclass are seen to cause trouble. The stereotype is
then made clearer when he enters the room. The sound is quite empty and airy,
this could be a sign of the characters personality and the fact that he is
going to be up to no good. The next character to be shown is the women, she is
wearing a elegant purple dress – this colour symbolises royalty, mystery and
magic. The fact that she speaks first shows her importance too. The contrast
between two characters makes it clear she is upper class. She almost looks down
on him. A shot reverse shot is used to show their conversation. Low angles are
used on her to show her power and dominance whilst high angles show Merlin as a
weaker character because of his class. Merlin has more prominence, this tells
the audience his character is important and the narrative is told from his
point of view. As the female enters the room, the non-digetic sound gets more intense
and the piano used builds up tension, this also shows that he might fear her.
When he leaves and enters the town centre, church bells are
ringing, this could show Merlin is from a religious environment. The other boy
verbally attacks him. This is a typical stereotype for upper class, he is shown
as quite full of himself and in control. The armour he wears could resemble the
fact that he is unbeatable and untouchable because of his class. The fact that
he is accompanied with two other people could also show that he is incapable of
individuality or independence where he has been given everything needed since
birth. The weapons he is holding can be seen as a falic object. Compared to
Merlin who isn’t carrying anything, Arthur is seen as the stronger masculine stereotype.
This shows that money can be a huge impact on masculinity along with class. Another
shot reverse shot is used to show conversation between two characters. The
proximity between them allows the audience to see their hatred for each other. When
they begin to fight, the music is quite adventurous and heroic, it builds up
tension and excitement. The use of high and low angles changes when Merlin uses
magic to gain power. Close ups are used to show emotion on the characters
faces. It also uses on to show that Merlin is using magic. At this point
another character is introduced, Merlin fears him as he looks disappointed in
him for using his magic. The camera is hand held for the fight, showing it as uncontrollable
and quick cuts are used to make it more dramatic. When he falls over, a high
angles is used to show his as being looked down upon by upper class. Foley
sounds are used during the fights, like the use of the rope pinging and the
whip sounds. After the fight, the camera goes back to being on a tripod showing
a more relaxed situation.
The last stereotypes visible were working class. This is all
the other characters in the clip, who watch them fight. Their costumes are also
mutual colors and are very poor and old. It shows working class as a group,
this could convey the stereotype without individuality and instead as all the
same. The sound of them talking about work shows them as very unhappy with
their lifestyles.
I think overall, the upper class stereotype is shows as most
dominant and powerful, whereas underclass is shown as the weaker class, who are
looked down on. I think the stereotype of upper class is reinforces because
they are seen as quite full of them self and important as well as powerful. I
thing the stereotype of underclass is challenged to the extent that Merlin doesn’t
fear King Arthur and is quite confident towards him. It is also reinforces the
extent that he wears old clothes and is seen as a weaker character.
Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Thursday, 31 January 2013
Summary of Class Notes
Framework for Analysis
- Significance of...
- Relationship of Power
- Difference
- Reinforcing or Challenging Stereotypes
Sexuality Stereotypes
- Victim
- Threat
- Promiscuous
- Romantic/Romance
Ethnicity Stereotypes
- Exotic
- Dangerous
- Pitied
- Humourous
- Sexualised
- Unified
- Conflict
Stereotypes of Disability
- Hero/Brave
- Villain/Freak/Abnormal/Scary
- Ugly
- Victim/Vulnerable
- Significance of...
- Relationship of Power
- Difference
- Reinforcing or Challenging Stereotypes
Sexuality Stereotypes
- Victim
- Threat
- Promiscuous
- Romantic/Romance
Ethnicity Stereotypes
- Exotic
- Dangerous
- Pitied
- Humourous
- Sexualised
- Unified
- Conflict
Stereotypes of Disability
- Hero/Brave
- Villain/Freak/Abnormal/Scary
- Ugly
- Victim/Vulnerable
Thursday, 24 January 2013
Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Grace and Martin Mentor Pairs Essay Plan.
Our Targets
Martin: To use more terminology all over and to include more information within the area of editing
Grace: Use more terminology in the field of editing
Example question, how is the character of Maxie represented in his confession scene in Skins?
- Explain clip, which characters we are focusing on
- Is this character straight or gay, if gay what stereotype is this character (use terminology, which stereotype)
- What is the gender of this character, what is the relationship between this character and the others on screen (usage of shot types, terminology)
- How does editing reinforce the stereotypes of this character (prominance, screen time)
- In conclusion what stereotype is this character, and how does the editing and camera work back this up
- Make point about character, e.g dress appearance
- Does the dress express sexuality, how does the dress/location fit into stereotype
- Support judgement with evidence from the Mise-en-Scene, use specific terminology
- What sexuality is portrayed through this character, how is this reinforced by the Mise-en-Scene
- What is the characters position in the scene
- How do you film a straight/gay character?
- Does this make him abnormal?
- How does this sexuality create drama or conflict?
- How is drama/conflict created through the sexuality of the character, and how do you film a straight/gay character in conflict
- What qualities does this character have?
- E.g if 'changeable' this is a feminine quality
- How do these characteristics reinforce/challenge the stereotypes of this particular stereotype of sexuality?
- Use terminology related to camera
- How does the camera feminise/masculate the character, how do these characterictics reinforce stereotypes?
Conclusion.
- What stereotype does the character fall under
- Is this a negative or positive representation
- How is conflict created through the sexuality
Martin: To use more terminology all over and to include more information within the area of editing
Grace: Use more terminology in the field of editing
Example question, how is the character of Maxie represented in his confession scene in Skins?
- Explain clip, which characters we are focusing on
- Is this character straight or gay, if gay what stereotype is this character (use terminology, which stereotype)
- What is the gender of this character, what is the relationship between this character and the others on screen (usage of shot types, terminology)
- How does editing reinforce the stereotypes of this character (prominance, screen time)
- In conclusion what stereotype is this character, and how does the editing and camera work back this up
- Make point about character, e.g dress appearance
- Does the dress express sexuality, how does the dress/location fit into stereotype
- Support judgement with evidence from the Mise-en-Scene, use specific terminology
- What sexuality is portrayed through this character, how is this reinforced by the Mise-en-Scene
- What is the characters position in the scene
- How do you film a straight/gay character?
- Does this make him abnormal?
- How does this sexuality create drama or conflict?
- How is drama/conflict created through the sexuality of the character, and how do you film a straight/gay character in conflict
- What qualities does this character have?
- E.g if 'changeable' this is a feminine quality
- How do these characteristics reinforce/challenge the stereotypes of this particular stereotype of sexuality?
- Use terminology related to camera
- How does the camera feminise/masculate the character, how do these characterictics reinforce stereotypes?
Conclusion.
- What stereotype does the character fall under
- Is this a negative or positive representation
- How is conflict created through the sexuality
Monday, 14 January 2013
Explain/Justify - How is Sexuality used to create drama in the sequence (Power/Threat)
Explain/Justify - How is Sexuality used to create drama in the sequence (Power/Threat)
Across the five clips very different representations are given of the character of Jim Moriarty causing him to fall under various stereotypes whilst that of Sherlock stays the same throughout. In the first two clips Moriarty is presented to be shy and shows no threat to Sherlock, we are explained in clip 2 that he is well groomed, wears brightly coloured underwear and left his number to Sherlock showing all his gay traits that cause him to fall under the typical 'gay stereotype'. Sherlock however through these first clips is calm and controlled, ignoring all words Moriarty speaks to him other than when he says 'gay'. This calm leader like manor accompanied by Sherlocks smart black dress shows him to be the dominant character and the typical presentation of an alpha male as he is both smart and stronger than the other men present.
In the last 3 clips however Moriarty is presented in a much different way to how he was in the first 2. He is now dressed in a black suit matching that of Sherlock and is speaking in what we are led to think is his 'real voice'. This change in clothing and speech takes him from being a weak homosexual stereotype to a strong male who rivals Sherlock. When Moriarty shouts in a clip he is shown to be powerful, this contrasts with his shy timid voice he supposedly put on in the first two clips where he is 'gay'. We are left confused in the fifth clip though as when Moriartys phone rings he has a very feminine ringtone which you would not associate with the strong alpha male character he has become. This makes the viewer wonder which of the two personas is an act, is Moriarty really the timid 'gay' man or the alpha male who rivals Sherlock Holmes.
The apparent switch in Moriartys sexuality across the clips creates drama as it leaves the viewer and the character of Sherlock unsure as to which of the two personas is the truth. The threat however only comes when Moriarty is dressed smartly in a black suit speaking in his natural voice to Sherlock Holmes. Through this the clips give the idea that men can only be powerful if they are straight as Sherlock did not even acknowledge Moriarty when he believed him to be a homosexual however now that he is straight Sherlock confronts him and is caused many problems by him. Giving the idea that straight males are dominant over homosexual males, and homosexual males hold no true power in social situations or society.
Across the five clips very different representations are given of the character of Jim Moriarty causing him to fall under various stereotypes whilst that of Sherlock stays the same throughout. In the first two clips Moriarty is presented to be shy and shows no threat to Sherlock, we are explained in clip 2 that he is well groomed, wears brightly coloured underwear and left his number to Sherlock showing all his gay traits that cause him to fall under the typical 'gay stereotype'. Sherlock however through these first clips is calm and controlled, ignoring all words Moriarty speaks to him other than when he says 'gay'. This calm leader like manor accompanied by Sherlocks smart black dress shows him to be the dominant character and the typical presentation of an alpha male as he is both smart and stronger than the other men present.
In the last 3 clips however Moriarty is presented in a much different way to how he was in the first 2. He is now dressed in a black suit matching that of Sherlock and is speaking in what we are led to think is his 'real voice'. This change in clothing and speech takes him from being a weak homosexual stereotype to a strong male who rivals Sherlock. When Moriarty shouts in a clip he is shown to be powerful, this contrasts with his shy timid voice he supposedly put on in the first two clips where he is 'gay'. We are left confused in the fifth clip though as when Moriartys phone rings he has a very feminine ringtone which you would not associate with the strong alpha male character he has become. This makes the viewer wonder which of the two personas is an act, is Moriarty really the timid 'gay' man or the alpha male who rivals Sherlock Holmes.
The apparent switch in Moriartys sexuality across the clips creates drama as it leaves the viewer and the character of Sherlock unsure as to which of the two personas is the truth. The threat however only comes when Moriarty is dressed smartly in a black suit speaking in his natural voice to Sherlock Holmes. Through this the clips give the idea that men can only be powerful if they are straight as Sherlock did not even acknowledge Moriarty when he believed him to be a homosexual however now that he is straight Sherlock confronts him and is caused many problems by him. Giving the idea that straight males are dominant over homosexual males, and homosexual males hold no true power in social situations or society.
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