NED2: Critical Responses

So, we are now fully committed to the Glossary Assignment for Media Fort 2, and you still have Media Fort to reference to if you get stuck.

So, Today

• You will carry on with the brief, submitting as posts to Media Fort.
• If you get stuck – raise your hand, and ask the question. We will stop and try and answer the question.
• This will help you as a group to complete the posts.

I will chase up those students absent last week – I need to make sure they are up to speed with this project before it gets going in earnest. So, If you aren’t signed up to WordPress, you will need to do that before I can sign you up to Media Fort 2.

Once I have everyone signed up – I will push tasks 2 and 3!

Present Your Results: The Criteria

What you will be marked on

4 Be able to develop responses to media products

Critical approaches: eg content analysis, semiotic analysis, structuralism,

Genre: according to production technology, eg film, video, audio, print, digital; distribution method, eg television, cinema, radio, internet, CD, iPod, mobile phone, home computer, hand-held consoles; generic codes and conventions (content, style, symbolic, cultural, technical); changes over time, eg in audience, ideological shifts, re-definition, obsolescence, spoof, pastiche, parody

Narrative structures: narrative, eg single strand, multi-strand, closed, open, linear, non-linear; alternative narrative; enigma; climax; equilibrium

Representation: negative; positive; of social groups; of social issues; stereotyping; presence and absence

 

Criteria	Suggested Tasks
P4 present a descriptive response to a media product with some appropriate use of subject terminology. [IE]	Apply your content analysis, the effects theories and the audience response to create a final response to the product. Draw conclusions as to the effects of this particular product Write a conclusion to you report that describes the purpose and effect of the product.
M4 present a discussion of a media product with reference to detailed illustrative examples and with generally correct use of subject terminology.	Draw conclusions about the effects of this product based on your content analysis, the audience theories and the audience response. Discuss your response to the media product Draw conclusions as to whether this shows a wider set of issues with violent media Write a conclusion to you report that explains your ideas using examples.
D4 present an analysis of a media product with supporting arguments and elucidated examples, and consistently using subject terminology correctly.	Compare responses to this media product to responses to other media products. Analyze the media product with reference to your analysis of the content, the effect theories and the audience response. Write a conclusion that explores the content and effect of violent media products using examples.

Present Your Results

20^th April – 4^th May

Now it is time to interpret you results to present a response to the chosen product.

You can now take a clear look at the report as a whole, and see if you can draw and conclusions to the original question.

You have:-

• ·       Audience Profile
• ·       a content analysis
• ·       Definition of Effects Theories
• ·       Audience Response

So, write a conclusion that draws all these elements together – for example, people reading Harry potter often write their own stories, showing active participation in these forms of media.

So, you will have your own personal response to the product, as well as an audience response, which you can now explore using effects theories and content analysis.

Remember, we are focusing on Violent Media effecting society – so, if we have people watching violent films and then re-enacting them (admitting this in focus group), this would show hypodermic needle theory, an active participation and some elements of copycat theory. This would lead us to conclude that there is a link. But we need to refer to the evidence!

Apply what you have found, in general, to other products. Does what you have found out answer the original Question?

Make sure all your information has been presented, explained, and then write your response and a conclusion to explain everything you have discovered.

The Audience Response: The Criteria

What you are marked on:

3 Understand how media audiences respond to media products

Audience theory: hypodermic needle model; uses and gratifications theory; reception study; passive or active consumption

Effects debates: eg effects of exposure to explicit sexual or violent content, effects of advertising, health concerns; censorship debates

Responses: negotiated; preferred; oppositional; participatory; cultural competence; fan culture

 

P3 describe how media audiences respond to media products with some appropriate use of subject terminology [IE]	Describe Effects Theories Describe Response terms Select an audience Have them experience the product Gather their responses Add conclusions to your blog
M3 explain how media audiences respond to media products with reference to detailed illustrative examples and with generally correct use of subject terminology	Explain Effects Theories Explain Response terms Gather audience responses effectively Link responses with effects theories Add the conclusions to your blog
D3 comprehensively explain how media audiences respond to media products with elucidated examples and consistently using subject terminology correctly	Explain Effects Theories with examples Explain Response terms with example Gather a wide range of audience responses Explore a wide range of effects theories Draw conclusion about the links between these responses and effects theories Add conclusions to you blog

The Audience Response

9^th March – Plan Research

16^th March – Prepare Research

23^rd March  – Conduct Research as focus Group

30^th March – Present Results

You now need to gather a focus group. You should have identified these people from your original survey and the profile you made of them.

You will need to define and explain basic audience effects theories, making sure you have opposing viewpoints. Since we are exploring Violence in the media, you will need to explain the following effects theories in terms of how violent media could be effecting violence in society:

• ·       hypodermic needle model;
• ·       uses and gratifications theory;
• ·       reception study;
• ·       Passive or active consumption:
• ·       Copycat Theory

 

You will also need to define the following response terms and find examples.

• ·       negotiated – The meaning depends on how the audience chooses to read it
• ·       preferred – the meaning intended by the producers
• ·       oppositional – the meaning opposite to that intended
• ·       participatory – Involving the audience in production and meaning eg online response form Twitter, Blogs etc
• ·       cultural competence – different interpretations depending on Cultural background, eg: The wire – who are the good guys?
• ·       fan culture – fans creating their own responses

You will get volunteers and expose them to the same product – eg they will all play the same game (form the start) for a period of time and then talk about how they felt, what they did and how they experienced the product.

Through a series of Interviews (spoken or written logs) find out how the groups respond to the product.

• ·       What did they do?
• ·       How did they identify with the characters?
• ·       Why did they enjoy it?
• ·       How did they feel during / after the product?
• ·       How did they understand their experience?
• ·       How do their responses ot the product tie in with the theories you have explored above?

Guidance:

• ·       Define Effects Theories in your report / blog
• ·       Define response terms in your report / blog
• ·       Select a group
• ·       Give them the same experience of the product
• ·       Gather their reactions to the product
• ·       Link these up with the theories you have explored.

Analyse your Product: The Criteria

What you are marked on

2 Understand how media producers create products for specific audiences

Addressing audiences: selection of content, eg words, images, sound, sequences, colours, fonts; construction of content, eg narratives, layout, captions, anchorage; codes and conventions, eg linguistic, visual, audio, symbolic, technical; modes of address

Audience feedback: eg focus groups, audience panels, trialing and testing, reviews, complaints

 

Criteria	Suggested tasks.
P2 describe how media producers create products for specific audiences with some appropriate use of subject terminology [IE]	Analyze the contents of the product  Describe how it address the audience What happens in it? How do the audience interact with it? Why has it been constructed this way What products are similar Add this to your blog.
M2 explain how media producers create products for specific audiences with reference to detailed illustrative examples and with generally correct use of subject terminology	Draw conclusions as to the potential audience of the product. Justify why they consume it. Explain how content has been selected & constructed. Explain the Codes and Conventions used with reference to similar products Add this to your blog
D2 comprehensively explain how media producers create products for audiences with elucidated examples and consistently using subject terminology correctly	Perform a textual analysis of the product Discuss all the technical and aesthetic elements of the product. Discuss how these have may appeal to an audience with reference to similar products. Add this to you blog

Analyse your Product

24^th February – 9^th March

Present Analysis on 2^nd March

You have presented the results of your Survey. You have identified the groups who consume violent media: So, pick a game / film / TV show (eg Modern Warfare for the shooty bits, A horror film for the graphic violence, an episode of Eastenders with a big argument and fight in).

So, now you will have a product to explore and an audience profile of who uses it. We are ready for the next stage.

Create a content analysis of the product.

 

You should examine the product for technical construction-

• ·      Audio – what do your hear?
• ·      Visual – what do you see?
• ·      Symbolic – what does it represent?
• ·      Technical – eg Lighting, framing etc
• ·      linguistic  – what is said and how it is said – eg Dialogue, text etc

Also, find existing responses to the product – what do other people say about it?

• ·      Online Reviews
• ·      Critic reviews
• ·      Fan sites
• ·      Complaints

Also, add information about similar products in the market.

You should now be able to create a profile of the product itself, describing what happens and how it happens. This will guide us through the focus group when we sit down to get their responses.

Add all those information into your report, either online as a blog or into your word document.

Guidance:

You need to Analyze the content of the product – for example,

• ·      what is it?
• ·      What happens within it?
• ·      What appears to be expected of the audience?
• ·      How is this communicated to the audience?
• ·      Has it been influenced by other media products?
• ·      What Codes and Conventions are used within it?
• ·      What similar products exist?
• ·      How does it differ to similar products?
• ·      How does it fit into the market?

Audience Research: The Criteria

What you are marked on:

1 Understand how media producers define audiences for their products

Defining audiences: quantitative audience research, eg BARB, RAJAR, ABC; qualitative audience research, eg focus groups, questionnaires, face-to-face interviews; audience profiling, eg socio-economic status, psychographics, geodemographics, age, gender, sexual orientation, regional identity, mainstream, alternative, niche

 

Criteria	Suggested tasks.
P1 describe how media producers define audiences with some appropriate use of subject terminology [IE]	Look at the examples at the start of the workbook. How do they classify people? What different classifications do they use?  How can you classify people? Put these answers into your Blog. Start you survey with demographic information gathering. Collect information Present 2 profiles
M1 explain how media producers define audiences with reference to detailed illustrative examples and with generally correct use of subject terminology	How are people’s opinions collected in the research examples? Put this answer on your blog. Devise your survey to find out how much media is consumed Add questions about what they think the effect of violence in media is. Explain your survey questions on the blog Collect information Present it clearly Present 2 profiles with accurate information Justify your conclusions
D1 comprehensively explain how media producers define audiences with elucidated examples and consistently using subject terminology correctly	Comment on the example research from the front of this workbook in your blog. Construct a Survey that identifies all the relevant information you will need, and justify it on your blog. Collect a range of results Present the information clearly and accurately Present 2 profiles accurately and clearly Justify your conclusions

Audience Research

27^th January – 24^th February 2012

Develop and distribute a Survey to find out the kind and duration of media people consume. For example, devise a series of questions for each of these four parts:-

1.    Who are they? Collect demographic info – Names, Geo-demographics, Age, Gender, Hobbies, Socio-economic scale. etc

2.    What do they Consume?

3.    How much do they consume?

4.    What do they think is violent media? Do they feel they are effected?

Add anything you feel is relevant, justifying your choices on your Blog. We will be using this survey to identify a potential media product to use, as well as volunteers to talk to – so ask the questions accordingly, carefully and make sure they can be understood!

At the end of this part, you will be able to present 2 audience profiles: (Example here)

• ·      What media a specific demographic group are using (eg College Students)
• ·      The audience for a specific product (eg Who watches Eastenders).

All of this information, and an explanation of what you did and how you did it will be the start of you report. This report can be online as a blog, or as a word document. It is up to you to keep it up to date.

Guidance

• ·      Develop a survey
• ·      Write about how and why you constructed the survey the way you did
• ·      Distribute it in a relevant way (eg If you wan to focus on games, get a link onto a games forum etc)
• ·      Collect & Collate results
• ·      Compile them and present them graphically, adding them into your Blog or report
• ·      Interpret them, entering this onto your blog or report
• ·      Select a product you are going to use in the rest of the research
• ·      Present profiles.

Introduction: Media Violence Audience Research

There are numerous scare stories in the press to say that violent TV, Film and Games make audience more aggressive. But how do they know? How do they come to these conclusions?

You are asked to conduct audience research into media violence and come to your own conclusion about the effects of media on a chosen group. You will look at the theories on media effects and apply these to a media product.

Hypothesis –

Violent media creates a violent society.

A combination of violent TV, Films and Games creates people who find violence more acceptable. You can see this in how the media has become more violent over the past 30 years. Video Games, Video and the Internet have brought it all into the home and created a more violent society.

 You will investigate this using a combination of 1^st and 2^nd hand research, and present a report that either supports or disagrees with this hypothesis.

We are looking at audience research. There are two major studies that define the field other than as market research.

See Nationwide Study by Morley and Wiring the Audience by McDougal

http://journals.sfu.ca/eludamos/index.php/eludamos/article/viewArticle/70/135 

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Modules/MAinTV/morleynw.html

Plus, a research study using GTAIV.

http://www.participations.org/Volume%207/Issue%201/mcdougall.htm

And in the Library, there are books discussing this exact topic.

Steven J KIRSH (2006) Children, adolescents, and media violence : a critical look at the research  302.23083

Karen BOYLE (2005) Media and violence : gendering the debates   302.23

Martin BARKER (2001) Ill effects: the media violence debate 2nd ed. 302.23

This blog is designed to take you through this project 1 step at a time.