Thursday 21 May 2015

Media Exam Revision

 Newsburst Pitch

 To get full marks I must:

Write in Role: start by writing "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to give my ideas about Newsburst."


Chose broadcast time and explain: 6:30-7:00, we chose this time specially so that it didn't clash with BBC News at Six, and Channel 4 news.

Explain format
 Top Story: 10 minutes
 Broadsheet Story: 7.5 minutes
 Broadsheet Story: 5 minutes
 Sports Story/Stories: 5 minutes
 Tabloid Story: 2.5 minutes

Explain choice of presenters: Jon Snow, popular with teenagers as he doesn't patronize them, presents broadsheet news.
Cathy Newman, presents broadsheet news stories.
Ore Oduba, as he is one of the most famous sport news presenters there is.

Explain three news stories and how they would be presented:
Carribean Hurricane would be presented with citizen journalism, using footage of the hurricane whilst it was taking place. We could also use animated graphics to show a map and the direction in which the hurricane was coming towards the USA. 

The government draft proposals for 16 year olds to vote could be presented using a vox pop, asking different members of the public if they agree with 16 year olds to vote or not.

 We could show an interview with the player himself or his manager for the news story about the premier league footballer suffering online racism.
 Write and explain how it will appeal to our target audience: We will appeal to our target audience by changing the way we present stories, include some tabloid news, include presenters that appeal to teenagers and allow the audience to get involved in our news programme.

 E-media and social networking

 To get full marks I must:

 Three well-developed paragraph: Paragraph 1 will be about social networking, twitter and hashtags. We can ask the audience a question near the beginning of the news programme and ask them to vote on twitter using hashtags, then the result will be shown near the end of the programme or news story. 
 Paragraph 2 will be about the Newsburst website, where they can send in videos, which we could put in out news programme if it relates to the news story, this is citizen journalism.
 Paragraph 3 will be about the Newsburst YouTube channel, people can write their comments and it may be shown if it is appropriate and does relate to the news story.

How will it appeal to our TA: We will change the way we present our stories to keep the audience entertained. We have also chosen presenters that are popular with teenagers and we have some tabloid news stories in each story (7.5 minutes in total.)







Thursday 7 May 2015

News values blog task

News values: notes


In 1965, media researchers Galtung & Ruge analysed news stories to find out what factors placed them at the top of the news agenda.

They came up with the following list of news values - a kind of scoring system to work out what might become news. A story which scores highly on each value is likely to be at the top of a TV news bulletin. Some of the news values they suggested include:

Negativity
Bad news - involving death, tragedy, natural disasters or political upheaval - is rated above 'positive' stories (royal weddings etc.)

 
Closeness to home
Audiences relate more to stories that are close to their home, or involve people from their country.

 
Immediacy
How recently did it happen? TV news is very competitive about breaking news – although it is now beaten by social media.
 
Simplicity
Simple stories are preferred by TV news.  Palestine is complicated, a plane crash is easy to follow.


Uniqueness
‘Dog bites man’ is not news. ‘Man bites dog’ is. Unusual stories make it into the news – especially if there is good video to go with it.


Elite nations or people
Stories that focus on important countries or people are likely to make the news. Obama and USA = news, Outer Mongolia not so much...




24 hour TV news

There are some critical differences between a regular news bulletin and 24 hour news:

  • A bulletin contains carefully constructed ‘news packages’ and fully scripted presentation
  • 24 hour TV news is perfect for live, breaking news as it happens
  • 24 hour TV news is more dependent on dramatic pictures or video that will grab the audience and keep them watching



News values blog task

For each of the six news values we have learned, find a clip on YouTube from Sky News (24 hour news) and explain how it fits that news value. The Sky News YouTube channel is here.

Example:

Negativity

 
The Germanwings plane crash fits many of the news values but particularly negativity. Any major transport disaster that kills a large number of people is likely to become a huge news story. This is because it contains death, tragedy, dramatic images and also creates questions for the audience in terms of what went wrong and why the plane crashed.

Tuesday 5 May 2015

Casec study 4: independent research



 

 It has an animated intro just like other news programmes like BBC News and Channel 4 news. It has a digital screen in the background and the main presenter facing the camera...

3) Why do Newsround have a variety of presenters? The presenters of BBC Newsround are Leah Boleto, Ricky Boleto, Martin Dougan,Hayley Hassall, Jenny Lawrence and Ayshah Tull. They have presenters from a wide range of nations to make Newsround more fair and balanced.

4) There are many main presenters so there isn't any other presenters or reporters used. They are sent to the place where the news report is taking place to report.

5) The studio is colourful and full of technology. The colours on the studio are purple, light blue and dark blue, they connote loyalty, luxury, sophistication and excitement. The digital screen in the background tells the story by showing pictures and the presenter does the same thing by talking so it's easier for the audience to understand and visualise what's going on.

6) What is the opening sequence to Newsround? Does it fit the key conventions of TV news?The opening sequence 
            7) How does Newsround typically present a news story? (E.g. presenter to camera, reporter on location, interviews, graphics, images, video etc.)

8) Who is the target audience for Newsround? You may want to research this online.

9) Is there an opportunity for the audience to get involved in the programme? Do young people feature in the news programme at all?

10) What news stories are covered in the broadcasts you have watched? List ALL the stories that are covered AND the order that they appear in. How long does each story appear for?


BBC3 60 Second News

1) Watch these YouTube clips of the BBC3 60 Second News:

 
 
2) How does the BBC3 60 Second News use the key conventions of TV news? 

3) Who are the presenters for the BBC3 60 Second News? What do you notice about their age and how they are dressed?

4) Are any other presenters or reporters used?

5) What does the studio look like? How is technology used in programme? How are graphics used in the presentation of the news?

6) What is the opening shot of the BBC3 60 Second News? Does it fit the key conventions of TV news?

7) How does the BBC3 60 Second News typically present a news story? (E.g. presenter to camera, reporter on location, interviews, graphics, images, video etc.)

8) Who is the target audience for the BBC3 60 Second News? You may want to research this online. Why does the BBC feature news on a predominantly entertainment-based channel?

9) Is there an opportunity for the audience to get involved in the programme? Do young people feature in the news programme at all?

10) What news stories are covered in the broadcasts you have watched? List ALL the stories that are covered AND the order that they appear in. How long does each story appear for?


Extension activities

1) Find as many episodes of both Newsround and the BBC3 60 Second News online and embed the videos in your blog.

2) List the stories that each broadcast covers and why these might appeal to the audience for these programmes.

3) Choose the three most memorable stories as examples that you can use in Task 1 in the exam. Why are they good examples that reflect that programme's style?

Anything you don't finish in the lessons - complete for homework. Due next Tuesday.

Thursday 16 April 2015

Channel 4 News Analysis

Basic details

  1.  Channel 4 News is on every day Mon
  2. day-Friday 7:00 to 7:30pm.
  3.  The first programme broadcast was on the 2nd November 1982
  4.  Awards won: International Emmy Award for News - 2014,2013,2004. British Academy Television Award for Best News Coverage - 2012, 2004, 1996. British Academy Television for Best News Coverage
  5.  The media institution that produces Channel 4 News is ITN.


Presenters

  1. The main 4 presenters in Channel 4 news are Jon Snow, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Cathy Newman and Matt Frei.
  2. What are the presenters wearing? What does this communicate to the audience? The presenters are all wearing formal suits which communicate to the audience that this is a professional news programme.
  3. A TV News programme might use a variety of presenters to prevent it from looking discriminatory, race-wise, age-wise, sex-wise, etc. They may also do this to keep it interesting for the reader.
  4. How are other reporters or presenters used in the TV News programme? The other reporters and presenters used in the TV News programme to help and give responses.
  5. There are 20 male presenters and 8 females, and more people of the white ethnicity than any other.


Opening sequence

Analyse the opening 2 minutes of the programme.

  1. What is the very first shot? The very first shot is of the camera zooming into the 4 (Channel 4 logo.".
  2. The opening sequence shows the Channel 4 news logo being zoomed in by the camera, it then shows 3 different pictures of headlines about the 2015 Election as the music runs in the back, the shots change as every beat comes in the background music.
  3. The shots change with the beat of the background news music, there are three different shots.
  4. How are news stories introduced in the opening two minutes? Is there just one story or are the audience told what will be coming up later? The audience are told what will come on later, 4 different news reports are shows with the opening sequence in the first 2 minutes.


Studio mise-en-scene
  1. The audience are able to see the desks and computers.
  2. The news presenter are all standing for the whole time presenting.
  3. The technology is visible, the screen in the background catches the audience's attention because it's the only thing moving, the news reporter is too, but not enough to keep the audience's attention. The technology in the background makes it look modern rather than old-fashioned.
  4. The studio uses different shades of purple and grey, these two colours connote wealth and professionalism which make the news programme look better.


How news stories are presented
  1. The news reporter addresses the news report in a formal manner, staring into the camera as it zooms in, slowly.
  2. The camera zooms in, slowly from different angles to stop the viewer from getting bored.
  3.  Channel 4 News usually covers is International, UK, Science, Business, etc.
  4. Give two real examples of how news stories presented to keep the interest of the audience. There is a digital screen in the background which could attract the viewers' attention


Running order
Watch the first 15 minutes of the programme – as recent as you can find.

  1. What is the top story? Nepal earthquake kills more than 4,000.
  2. How long does the top story last for? The top story lasts for 10 minutes. 
  3. After the 
  4. How long is each story shown for?
  5. Why do you think each story was shown for the time it was?


Audience

  1. What is the target audience for this TV News programme? Research online – you should be able to find plenty of suggestions to the target audience if not the official target audience of the programme.
  2. Why might someone choose to watch this TV News programme over others?
  3. Is there an opportunity for the audience to get involved in the programme or comment?
  4. What audience pleasures (Uses and Gratifications theory – Blumler and Katz) does the programme offer?


Institution

  1. Who owns, runs or produces this TV News programme?
  2. Does the institution own, run or produce any other TV News programmes, channels or newspapers?
  3. How does the programme fit the TV channel it is on?
  4. What role does OFCOM have in making sure TV News is fair and accurate?


TV News and New/Digital Media

  1. Does the TV News programme have a dedicated website?
  2. What does the website offer viewers?
  3. Does the TV News programme have a Twitter feed?
  4. How does the Twitter feed promote the programme?
  5. Is there an opportunity for the audience to get involved in the programme or submit news stories?

Tuesday 3 February 2015

Research and Planning: Audience research


Research and Planning: Audience research



 Target audience for " Hold on":


  • Rap fans.
  • Age range (12-25) but mainly (13-18)
  • More males than females (80/20) because the rappers are male and all the actors included in this music video are male. So it won't relate to both sexes.
  • Most of the viewers will be British.
  • Middle class and working class, people that want to be motivated.
  • Likely to be educated at least to A Level with 60% at university or degree educated.
  • Earnings should be around £15,000 to £52,000 a year. Middle class but mainly lower.
  • Likely to live in towns and cities but not exclusively.
  • Uses social media such as facebook, twitter, instagram, BBM, WhatsApp, etc.
Brands/lifestyle for Hall of Fame fans
  • Apple
  • Samsung
  • KFC
  • Monster Energy
  • Nike
  • Air Jordan
  • Adidas
  • XBOX ONE
  • Coca Cola
Artist/song 
Skepta - Hold on

Music video concept
 A young male teenager has an ambition of becoming a professional athlete, he sees a spare lane in a race that's about to start, he looks confident, but loses the race badly. he doesn't know whether to carry on or give up. When he decides to keep going, he does push ups, sit ups, agility ladder exercises, etc. As the song gets close to the end he gets better and better at running.

Four comments I received about this concept
1) The athletics idea would seem much easier to pull of than the complicated football one. 
2) Make sure that the whole song isn't without effects. Make sure you include some visual effects, if not slow-motion or rewinds.
3) Work together and find one idea that we will both work with. 
4) Find a song that will fit the idea of the music video.

How I will use this feedback to change/develop my idea:

  • We have both agreed on the athletics idea to stop arguing, get more work done, we also chose this idea because it's much easier to get right and pull off.
  • We need to choose a song that will fit the idea of the music video, like "Hall of fame" by the script.
  • We are going to use effects, but only when I am doing athletics.
  • We can use the template for the music video of "Hold on" to make our own music video.



Monday 2 February 2015

Existing product research


OK Go - I won't let you down - Creative concept

 This was an extremely creative and ambitious music video because of the following reasons:

it was all one shot.
there were 2,320 people doing different things with umbrellas to create large words and shapes from a bird's eye view.
it was set in a car park in Japan

Eminem - Guts Over Fear - Narrative

 The story of "Guts over Fear" starts with a man in a boxing suit staring into space, his heart pumping, then it says "6 months ago" the song is about a young man who looks around 20-30, who washes dishes in a resturant for his work. He hardly gets paid and his single father doesn't help him by making him feel like a disgrace and a failure. So he decides to start boxing, his first match is against an american how boxes him until he falls on the ground and can't stand. He keeps training and as the song goes into more of an optimistic mood, he gets more motivated, he goes against the same person as he lost to, and after two hits, he knocks him out. After that, it shows him back in the changing room in which the song had started, and he goes into an actual boxing match. 

Skepta - Hold on - Performance Element

 In "Hold on" by Skepta, there are two places where he's rapping to the song. The first location is in front of a stand that has the Great Britain flag on it, and the second location is in a seat in a stadium. These two  locations link to the narrative because in the music video, he is an athlete representing Britain, and the athletics stadium is obviously related to the narrative because he is running in the music video.

 Eminem - Rap God - Visual Effects

 In this music video, it starts with Eminem talking like a news reporter with a colorful moving background, as the beat comes in, the camera zooms out of the screen, to make it look as if it was a television screen. Near the middle of the song, it shows him surrounded by portals, and near the end of the song, Eminem is floating with all his surroundings being forced around him by wind, like an earthquake.  

 Mark Ronson - Uptown Funk - Camera Movement

 In "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson has a lot of different camera angles, there is a pan track when it shows Bruno Mars performing, close ups to show his face and there are shots that rotate to match the pace of the song and to prevent the music video from becoming a bit boring, if they didn't use as  much cuts and different types of shots, it would be much easier for someone to stop watching, because the whole song was Bruno Mars 
performing, this whole video is 4:30 minutes, and on average, there is a cut every 2 seconds.


 The Script - Hall of Fame ft. will.i.am - Mise-en-scene

 The start of this music video shows what the two characters are dreaming about, the boy is dreaming about becoming s boxer, and the girl is dreaming, seeing herself as a professional in ballet. The male character is woken up by getting his mum kicking the side of his bed, but the girl is woken up much more peacefully, it shows her reaching for her hearing aid. The male takes the trash away when he stops staring at a gang when the gang see him, they chase him and beat him badly and he goes to a boxing club. The girl starts at her ballet class and sees another girl eyeing her. When she does a la second turn and falls, she smirks at her. As the song goes on, they get better and better and by the end they are exactly where they were in their dream but in real life.

Rae Sremmurd - No type - Editing


 This music video has a lot of visual effects and 115 shots over 3:17 minutes, 197 seconds. The song itself is quite fast paced and so has a cut every 1.71 seconds.

 DJ Khaled - Hold You Down ft. Chris Brown, August Alsina, Future, Jeremih - Camera Movement

 This music video has around 132 slow zooms in 6:19 minutes, and includes around 30 pans and tracking shots, that are used to show the whole scene. This is an extremely slow-paced song and so it has around a cut every 3.5 seconds. The lack of shots in this music video is the reason it is so slow-paced.

 Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Thrift Shop - Mise-en-scene

 At the start of this music video it shows Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, and all of the other customers come out from a thrift shop with all their shopping. Macklemore is on a scooter from the thrift shop and Ryan Lewis is on roller skates. The whole song is about how you don't need money to look good and so it shows a lot of cheap clothing. The features in particular is Macklemore's large fur coat and his batman onsie, the thrift shop, the streets, and his bedroom.