LO4 Task 5 - Audience effects, Representation, Legal and Ethical and Regulation issues for This Is England

Active and passive

Two schools of thought:

Hypodermic syringe (Theodore Adorno 1930s) - Media has a negative impact cause audience will believe everything they see/hear

Copycat - video nasty's which children got hands on and people getting hands on technology and the media caused a fear which is a 'moral panic'

Copycat - someone copying what they have seen in a film and then going into real life and doing it

Mass print came out and radio was very popular

Media is powerful and audience believes everything that it sees and media has a big impact on us

There are a lot of issues about violence in This is England like in the scene where Milky is beaten to death by Combo which we can see clearly as the audience is because he’s a different colour and Combo is racist. This scene would have a very strong impact on a lot of the audience because they will see that what he did was wrong, as we can almost see the look of regret and sadness from Combos face and especially sadness from the other characters that watched and witness it happen.  Combo in two other scenes is shown threatening children with knifes because they have different beliefs and are a different colour and he also threatens a shop keeper with a weapon and robs his shop taking whatever he wanted which a lot of the audience will realise is wrong. For some of the audience they could follow the hypodermic syringe and may even be provoked and encouraged to do things like this because they’re racist like Combo.

There isn’t any sexual content shown in This is England but there are references to it between Shaun and Smell where she asks him to do more than kiss her. This scene would impact the audience in two different ways, for an older audience watching the film they would see that there is a big age gap between them and she is almost taking advantage of Shaun. A younger audience would see this as some sort of achievement that someone at his age and got himself a girlfriend who is a lot older than him.

In the film This is England the character Woody is a positive role model in the film because he tries to guide Shaun and keep him away from the wrong people like Combo who was a very violent and racist character who committed many crimes and Woody didn't want him hanging around with him.

b. Representation

All representations are mediated (Hall,1980)

Is there use of stereotypes/countertypes (Perkins, 1979) not all stereotypes are negative.

Representation of women - are they objectified (Mulvey, 1975). Representation of men (Earp and Katz, 1999) - 'Equation of masculinity with pathological control and violence'.

Representation of gay people (Butler, 1993) - are they stereotypical

Alvarado (1987) - Ethnicity 'exotic, dangerous, humorous, pitied'

Shaun is represented in This is England as a child with all these problems which he faces and trying to fit in and have friends. He is represented as being a figure which people around his age should take notice of and realise that hanging out with the wrong people can be a bad choice and we learn that we should stick with the good crowd and not the bad which will lead us into trouble.

The gang which followed combo were represented as being these big tough guys who agreed with everything that Combo said and did. In the end we start to learn that the bang were shocked with his actions against Milky and they’re in fact anti-racist with a lot of them not being violent as they didn’t retaliate to Combo and not racist at all.

c. Legal and Ethical

In this film industry there are many worries with illegal downloading with a lot of sites offering to show the film this is England for free with no download needed at all. This may be because of the fact that the only place you can buy it is from iTunes or off another person whereas it would be a lot easier to watch it online for free.

The only offensive material shown in this is England is the violence towards the end of the film where Combo kills Milky with his bare hands. The film doesn’t show some hits which are thrown at Milky but there is blood appearing everywhere and it is clear to us as the audience that he has killed him which was been done in a very violent way.

Regulatory bodies

BBFC is the British Board of film classification who decides what age is suitable to see the film which is shown. They have a number of ratings for different films such as U (suitable for all) , PG (parental guidance) , 12A (cinema release suitable for 12 years and older) , 12 (video release suitable for 12 years and older) , 15 (suitable for 15 years and older) 18 (suitable only for adults) R18 (adult works for licensed premises only). This is England was given an 18 rating by the BBFC because of the violence which was shown in it but many people argued against this and said it should be for 15 year olds with some places actually showing the film to 15 year olds which is because people didn’t believe the violence in it was too bad and that a lot of teenagers could learn something from this film about the right and wrong ways.

CAP is the Committee of advertising practise which lay down rules for advertises agencies and media owners to follow. They have set a number of rules and regulations which everyone must follow like misleading advertising, harm and offence and political matters. These codes decide what can be displayed on posters which this is England stuck to by just displaying the characters on their posters.

LO3 Task 4 - Advertising and Distribution of This Is England

Convergence - When two things come together - Could be more than two things even three but it means coming together - / joining

Institutional convergence - When companies work together and produce a product

How the film gets to us

- DVD

- Cinema (Odeon. Vue, ect...)

- Television - (Film 4 ect...) - Television providers - on demand

- Internet (Polly streaming, Netflix, YouTube ect...) - all pay per view

(Laptop, Tablet, Mobile phone, Consoles) - Viral places can stream from

- VHS - Video Tape

Streaming through Wi-Fi / 3g

Technological convergence is when technologies come together and this provides new services for the audience (smartphone – phone, computer, and web)

Video recorder, Camera, Voice recorder,

Digital native - Somebody who has grown up with technology

(Someone who was born post 1995)

World wide web anyone who doesn't understand internet coding can use

Word Wide web - Different to - Internet

The internet is an overall service which allows us to understand this

1991 Sir Tim Bernard's-Lee invited the world wide web

Distribution

How does the product reach the target audience?

The film this is England reaches the audience in many ways like in the cinema where it was released at the cinema on the 27^th April 2007 which was then shown at later dates across the world. The film then was available on dvd where is released on 20^th November 2007 in Germany which was then distributed to other countries where it was then sold in various shops in many different countries. The film was then available to download and watch on the internet with some sites even allowing you to watch the entire film online for free which are sites like bmetv.net from your tablet, computer or device. You can also buy the film and download it on your tablet or phone on sites like iTunes which is £4.99 which allows you to watch it as many times as you want and only requires one payment and can be accessed anywhere at any time with you not needing internet to watch it once it’s downloaded. This is England is produced by a company called Warp; the company has many supporting organisations to help it with a film which has been produced with one of the supporting organisations being film4. Film4 owns its own television channel as well as owning channel4 and many others which allows them to show the film on their television programmes which allows the product to be distributed to the audience through television. Another way in which the film was distributed was through sites like Netflix which can be watched in a variety of ways like on a console, phone, tablet or computer offer a variety of films for free but they only pick some good films which people want to see.

All ways a film is marketed

-Television Advertisement

- YouTube Adverts

-Billboards (Near roads,) (Bus billboards)

-Magazine - Magazine adverts (Empire magazine)

-Newspapers (Independent, ect...)

-Cinema trailers (Before the film you're going to see starts)

-Movie Premieres

-Actor interviews on TV (Like they say you're in the new film ....)

-Apps that carry film reviews

Rotten Tomato.com ect... (for reviews and top dvd& streaming films ect...)

-Film festivals

-Promotional events where press are invited

-City wide promotions - Like Paddington there is a big bear representing Paddington in London

-Merchandise - Frozen - that much merchandise that it is known everywhere

-Product Placement - the way in which real companies pay film producers to put their product in the film

- Film websites & Film banners - Which we are directed to

-Social Media - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram (Peoples favourite actors posting pictures from the set of that film

-UGC

How is the film marketed and promoted?

This is England was advertised to the audience in many ways like handing out brochures at many different film festivals like the Cannes film festival in 2005. Posters were also distributed and put up around local areas where the film was being shown to promote it and attract more people to go and watch it, which were both ways of old, media. The film is advertised is many ways using new media like when this is England had its own website which it used to put up trailers, behind the scenes footage and news about the film which was set up to not only to promote the film but for the fans that followed the film which were told where the film would be going like when it had its own TV programme for years. The film was also advertised through interviews with the actors and the directors talking about what happens in the film and what they thought about it and they made sure that they said when the film was released so that people knew when they could go and watch it.

Securing target grade

In order to secure my target grade I need to complete script 4 on premiere and finish off the writing for script 5 and then put it into premiere

LO2 Task 3 - Audience for This Is England

 

 

Introduction

Hello and welcome, my name is Dominic and today I will be presenting you with my VLOG3. I will be talking about gender, age, lifestyle and spending power for the film This Is England.

The reader

Steve, 25, lives by himself in his own house where he loves to hang out with friends and play Xbox.

He loves going to the cinema to see a lot of the latest films which have been released where he often attends his local cinema at least once a week with his close friends. He loves being creative either on the computer or off it where he has a high passion for designing and creating a variety of things. Although his disposable income isn't higher than a lot of other people he still continues to spend it on what he loves doing which is buying Xbox games, fuel for his car to go out with his friends and get to his job and going to the pub with his friends for a drink. He takes pride in his appearance and has high expectations for himself with big desires of being promoted at his work or even getting a better job which will pay better. 

Gender

1. The gender of the film is aimed at 70% males and 30% females with the majority of people who watch This Is England are males because a lot of the film is to do with violence, racism, robbing and threatening people and comes from a lot of male perspective in the film with it being linked to the genre which is a crime/drama which is stereotypically aimed at males with most females wanting to see romantic films. Although the film is mainly aimed at males it is also aimed at females to view as in the film there are a lot of women characters used and it allows us to see that the film isn't just aimed at violence and that it does have some relationships in it. It also shows how women used to dress and how they acted and especially how they acted around some characters that are racist and violence and it doesn't just show how males grew up but women as well.

Age

2. The age of the target audience has a large variety because although the film is rated an 18+ it is viewed by a lot of 15 year olds as they can relate to the character and then can see how he is growing up and makes stupid mistakes by hanging out with the wrong people and doing the wrong things but towards the end he learns this and changes his ways.  Many teenagers can relate as the film has used a main character that isn’t much younger than them and it does learn them and we can see that violence and racism is wrong and it shows us that we should know who our true friends are and not ones who are going to lead us into trouble. A lot of the audience who watch the film are over 18 because it was rated this because of the violence, swearing and racism which is in its which doesn’t just show a boy growing up and hanging round the wrong people because it’s the adults who he looks up to which make him do and follow the people he does. For adults who watch the film it shows us that you can say and do things and it’s easy for people to follow you and make them want to stay with you so you’ve got to do the right thing and not be violent or racist.

Lifestyle

3. The lifestyle of the audience is aimed at a variety of people according to the NRS lifestyle grades like affluent achievers who are people who are going to be able to understand the film and what it’s about. They’re able to understand the different scenarios like why the big group of friends split up in the film and why the adults go round robbing stores and threatening children. Producers will be interested in watching the film because they make films as part of a living and they can take ideas and inspiration as the film may relate to theirs in the sense that it is produced on a low budget. Another lifestyle grade that may watch the film is people in urban ventures who are interested in films which have been produced near to where they live or even where they live which allows then to recognise familiar locations with them also having access to a variety of cinemas.  The lifestyle of the audience are likely to spend a lot of their disposable income instead of saving it and shopping in shops like Primark to get more for their money. What tells us this is that a lot of the people who watch it can relate because of the lifestyle that the characters have where some enough to get by have and are happy to hang out with friends. The target audience can also relate to the film in many ways because the characters in the film enjoy going out and hanging out with each other and spending money on clothes to go out and impress. They also take time with their appearance and have their hair cut into a fashionable style so they go out and impress which is something a lot of audience would do.



Spending power

4. We know who the target audience is aimed at by looking at the NRS demographic profiling system. A lot of the audience who watch the film are in B, C1, C2 and D because people who earn less money and are less educated are likely to see a movie which has been produced on a low budget and doesn’t have any famous actors in it. People who are well paid and well educated who fall under social grade A which is upper middle class where they’re likely to watch a Hollywood blockbuster because they have a big disposable income and are well educated with their favourite famous actors which are shown at big cinemas and not produced on a budget. The target audience will fall under the social grades of middle class to working class where the people in this class are likely to have less money and are less educated than people in grade A, who are upper middle class. The reason for this is that the audience will have enough money to go the cinema and see the film but they’re educated enough to understand the film and what’s happening.

Key stats:

Male 70%

Female 30%

Age 15-24, 30-50

B, C1, C2, D 60%

Uses and Gratifications (Denis McQuail, 1972)

Four reasons that people consume media products:

1. Surveillance - Surveillance - The films tells us about information towards history and culture because it shows us about Margaret thatcher and troops in the army being sent away from England. It also shows us about how white people used to treat black people and how some people didn't like them and discriminated against them. 

2. Escapism - The film gets us away from the real world by showing us a boy who grows up and goes through all these different stages and problems in his life.

3. Building personal identity - The film allows us to fashion yourself around what is seen in the film like the different clothes which the characters wear like fedora hats ect... 

The film also allows us to fashion yourself around the different soundtracks which are played like "Tainted Love by Soft Cell" 

4. Building Personal Relationships - In the film we can take away from it that we shouldn't discriminate anyone from our friendship group and it doesn't matter if they're different.

 

Starter 16/1/15

What I need to complete for Unit 1

• I need to complete VLOG3
• I need to finish off script 4 and record it
• I need to finish off VLOG5 and record it

Task 5 Starter

What I already know about Representation

What I think -----

Where someone provides an image on behalf of something like a company or a country

How something is shown and what it represents

---------------------

- Way that something is presented by media 'Everything' - Gender, age, lifestyle, ethnicity, class, communities

Sub cultures

Ideal lifestyle


Ideology - Belief system

Active and passive

Two schools of thought:

Hypodermic syringe (Theodore Adorno 1930s) - Media has a negative impact cause audience will believe everything they see/hear

Copycat - video nasty's which children got hands on and people getting hands on technology and the media caused a fear which is a 'moral panic'

Copycat - someone copying what they have seen in a film and then going into real life and doing it

Mass print came out and radio was very popular

1. Media is powerful and audience believes everything that it sees and media has a big impact on us

Issues about violence?

Issues about sexual content?

Issues about representation?

Positive impact/role models?

In the film This is England the character Woody is a positive role model in the film because he tries to guide Shaun and keep him away from the wrong people like Combo who was a very violent and racist character who committed many crimes and Woody didn't want him hanging around with him.

2. Other school of thought - Able to filter and adapt to content in media (Gauntlett) We have uses and gratifications theory - people use media for their own purposes?

In the film This Is England there are a lot of violent scenes where one character goes around threatening people on the street with weapons like


B) Representation

Who is being represented?
All representations are mediated (Hall,1980)

Is there use of stereotypes/countertypes (Perkins, 1979) not all stereotypes are negative.

Representation of women - are they objectified (Mulvey, 1975). Representation of men (Earp and Katz, 1999) - 'Equation of masculinity with pathological control and violence'.

Representation of gay people (Butler, 1993) - are they stereotypical

Alvarado (1987) - Ethnicity 'exotic, dangerous, humorous, pitied'

Shaun is being represented in the film

Horrified by combos attack on Milky and the gang were shocked so its anti racist and a lot of people were not violent or racist


c) Legal and Ethical

Legal - Copyright infringement? - main worry in film industry illegal downloading?

Ethical - Offensive material? Sensationalism? Censorship - has the film been censored?

Sensationalism - sensationalise a film about the shooting of JFK - shown as a massive thing (exaggerates things)

Intellectual property - Record labels

Digital economy bill 2014

(Must link to film (can teach us about morals ect.. )


D) Regulatory bodies

BBFC -  Who are they? what is the age range? did the age range get changed at any time? Is it difficult to US? How does the film keep to the guidelines it has set for the film?

ASA - Who are they? Cap codes regulate print material? Show the codes in your Vlog  - How does your marketing in posters ect adhere to rules set?