The
sources a media company uses to get money for producing their shows
2) What
is the BBC’s main source of funding and how does it work?
75%
of the BBC’s funding comes from the TV licence fee which
currently costs £147 for a colour TV and £49.50 for a black and white TV.
3) What other methods does BBC use to raise funds?
The remaining income comes from commercial activities such as:
Worldwide sales of its programmes
Publications such as Radio Times, Top Gear (not anymore), Good Food, etc
4)What
issues are there with the BBC’s funding model?
People feel like they should not be obliged to pay for a TV licence when they may not even watch BBC. Or have other subscriptions and things to pay for - such as Netflix.
5) What
other methods are there for funding TV?
Other methods for funding is advertisements and product placement. Companies will pay for their products to be in a 30 second advert or subtly brought up in a scene.
6) What
issues are there with commercial TV funding?
- There are other commercial channels competing for advertisers
- The internet is now a big competition
- Streaming and catch up is increasing in popularity
What is public service broadcasting? Programmes that are made for the public. There is no advertisements. What
are some examples of public service broadcasting on the BBC? Eastenders and David Attenborough, you can learn from both examples. Eastenders can teach you how to get through something you may be going through. David Attenborough may teach you things you were not aware of before. What is the BBC's remit? The values of a media company which they are responsible for upholding, such as enriching peoples lives with programmes and services that inform, educate and entertain. What do those 3 words mean? Inform - teach you facts of the world but only knowledge Educate - teaches you certain skills or knowledge Entertain - gives joy to the audience How
can you see the BBC’s remit of Inform, Educate and Entertain in Cuffs? Inform - you see the crime that happens in your every day world Educate - you can learn moral lessons (e.g. gay people are normal) Entertain - the use of tension and drama is enjoyable What
arguments are there for and against PSB continuing? It is outdated, nowadays young people watch TV on - for example - Netflix and not enough people watch PSB but are still obliged to pay for it. Also, it is seen as irrelevant and is restricting competition which could bring increased choice and quality. However, come argue that a programme should be judged by quality rather than ratings and it continues the idea of a shared experience.
A multitude of television channels broadcast 24 hours a day and more is available via online streaming.
The plentiful nature of television means that channel loyalty is extremely low, except for highly niche channels that address a specialised audience. Channel surfing is routine for broadcast television and content is streamed vas individual programmes or 'box sets' of series. This means that branding of programmes is crucial - audiences must recognise each programme as a brand in the same way as they do for films. This requires television channels to rely on tested television brands or to heavily promote their new programmes, which need to be 'sealable' - to have some element (stars, production values, narrative) that provides a 'reason why' for the audience to tune in.
Continuity announcements desperately try to keep viewers interested as programme end credits roll promoting the following programmes and cross-promoting similar programmes elsewhere in their stable of channels. Audience 'hooks' at the opening of each programme are vital to entice viewers not to change the channel. Channels increasingly rely on popular flagship programmes to support their branding as a channel. The development of long form television drama reflects this need for high quality flagship programming - the serial narratives of these dramas is designed to encourage loyalty to the programme as audiences must follow every episode.
The highly competitive nature of television has consequences for regulation. Regulators in the digital world have much less power over commercial channels and none over online streaming if the company is based overseas - such as Netflix.
Social context - how media products reflect the society in which they are produced and that of their target audience. For example, in Cuffs a man is mugged and stabbed because he is Muslim like a reflection in society because people assume all Muslims are terrorists.
Cultural context - how media products reflect the arts and culture, including popular culture, of their time. For example, Michael Jackson - dead - has his music playing in the background of a scene. Cultural context also looks at the society the characters live in and at how their culture can affect their behaviour and their opportunities.
Historical context - how media products reflect events from the past and social changes For example, Grenfell tower, after the tragic event the state of flat homes were frequently spoken about on TV.
Contexts will overlap one another. For example - the ways in which language is used in media products to reflect the period in which it was written, relates to all three contexts.
Below is a short timeline of few events throughout my life. I have listed whether it is social, historical or cultural. What is a social, historical, cultural context and how might it influence a media text? Media contexts influence many certain points of a media text such as the characters, the costumes, the setting, the time etc. A social context is how a media text is reflected in society. A historical context is a prehistoric event that happened and a cultural context looks at how their culture can affect their behaviour and actions.
For example, the way that gay people are represented in media texts are influenced by modern society. This includes the typical stereotype of gay people being very feminine, rude and weak. Social context would affect this by what is in the news or historically how it used to be illegal to be gay. A certain media text may look at the historical context in the way that all sexuality is accepted now and there is even a ＃MeToo movement which is open to all sorts of LGBTQ+ people which also means many more people feel more inclined to make their sexuality public. In addition to this, in terms of a historical context, gay people are seen as more than what their stereotype connotes them to be. People see them in a more sympathetic way and this influences media texts to represent them differently to how they previously used to be. For example, in "Cuffs" one of the main character is a gay police officer and he is successful and fights for the law. This is a countertype and this would have never happened some years ago. The media text has been influenced by the contexts.
In the opening clip of season 5 episode 1 The wire, there is a black police investigator who conforms to the conventions of the genre as he is a black man who swears frequently however it also does not conform as black people are usually represented in the media as not having much power or authority - but you can clearly see that he is in charge and makes a man seem vulnerable.
The investigator then goes on to interrogate and manipulate this alleged criminal which makes him very clever. This does not conform to the genres conventions as black people are stereotyped to not be very successful or clever. This man is a countertype.
It is revealed that the form of manipulation they carry, they have used many times before leading us to believe that it has been a successful deception. This shows that the Americans are good at their jobs and quite clever - not conforming. However one of the investigators say "Americans are stupid people by large. We pretty much believe whatever we're told". This stereotypes and generalises Americans which conforms to the genre. This shows a red herring because it is false information that misleads the audience.
Towards the end of the clip, after successfully getting a confession out of the criminal he walks off like a hero and puts a cigar in his mouth symbolising masculinity. This shows the audience that (for example in Propp's theory) the police is the hero and the criminal is the villain. This also shows teamwork between the investigators which is conforming to conventions.
Red herrings - false information (false lead, for example you are made to believe the killer is one person but it is actually someone else.
Inexperienced sidekick - For example a new police officer or someone who does not have much experience
Cliffhanger - High tension at the end of an episode which leaves people on edge or uneasy. For example a main character could be shot and you do not find out what happens until next episode
A chase - For example the police is chasing the criminal who is getting away
Teamwork - Working together to solve crime and the audience feel satisfied when the team succeeds
Personality defect - If the protagonist has a personality defect such as an alcoholic, the audience feel sympathy and it makes it more entertaining, also the writers can play around with the fact that there is a blockage or history there and use it to their advantage
Sub genre: Within the overall genre of television crime drama there will be groups of shows that share similar conventions, for example a detective-led drama is a sub genre.
Gangster - A TV crime drama that focuses on the lives and crimes of gangs (example = The Wire, The Sopranos)
Police soap series - A TV crime drama which goes on and on and the crime does not stop (example = The Bill)
Cold case - A TV crime drama where old cases which were closed due to lack of leads are re-opened (example = Waking the dead)
Court room - A TV crime drama which is mainly based on the lawyers and in court a lot (example = Judge John Deed)
Detective dramas - Detectives engaged in investigating a big crime (example = Broadchurch, Criminal minds)
Serial killers - A TV crime drama which is based on the serial killers and their lives (example = Dexter, Bates motel)
Prison - A TV crime drama which is mainly set in a prison (example = Prison break, Orange is the new black)
Investigative detective and sidekick - Where the TV series focuses on the eccentric police officer and a boring sidekick (example = Midsomer murders)
Criminal - Focuses on a group of criminals (example = Hustle)
Cuffs In 'Cuffs', the teamwork is all of the police officers and the chase is when the said team chase the criminals. The inexperienced sidekick is PC Jake, the new one. There is a red herring when the audience believe that the criminals are about to be caught but there is miscommunication and they get away.
This is the trailer for Black Panther. Write 5 camera shots below: Establishing shot - The beginning 8 seconds of the trailer is an establishment shot because you can see the full picture of the location and the scenery. Over the shoulder shot - At 39 seconds, there is an off the shoulder shot where you can see the emotion of the persons face you can see. You look at what she is wearing - an unusual hat and clothes that no normal person you see everyday would wear. Her emotions seem quite distressed, angry or upset. Someone takes denotations from the clip. Straight angle shot - At 1 minute 22 seconds, there is a clip of a man walking towards the camera with destruction and flames behind him. This creates a really powerful denotation and image. The mans face seems quite serious and stern but he does not seem to be screaming or scared of the fire behind. High/Canted oblique shot - At 1 minute 28 seconds, a man is holding a gun pointing downwards showing that he is the one with the power and whoever he is aiming at is the vulnerable person. His facial expression is very angry and he looks authoritative. The camera is slightly tilted. Two shot - At 1 minute 47 seconds, 2 people are fighting while wearing an arbor suit and with swords. You can see the scenery in the background as being very dark but slightly lit.
You can apply Propp's theory to crime TV shows. Hero - Officers of the law Villain - Criminals Dispatcher - Superintendant Donor - Officers of the law Princess - Victims Father of the princess - Father/Parent The false hero - Sometimes the suspect The helper - Police officers/Forensics --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The officers of the law: the hero, heroine, anti-hero cop, grumpy, buddy, quirky, rookie, bad tempered, experts, intelligent The victims: new victims in every episode, audience tend to sympathise, flashbacks are sometimes used The suspects: suspected of committing the crime, can be innocent/wrongly arrested, treated badly The criminals: they represent the opposition to the law, weak, misguided, stupid, clever, smart, quick Below is a trailer for a crime/investigation TV programme called 'Scorpion'.
Hero - Walter O'Brien Villain - The criminal in an episode Dispatcher - Cabe Gallo Donor - Happy, Toby, Sylvester, Paige Princess - The victims in an episode Father - Family of the victim False hero - Often who is thought to be aiding the hero but isn't Helper - Happy, Toby, Sylvester, Paige The TV producers show the different character types by giving each one different traits to support Propp's theory. This is such as, making new victims every episode. Also having a main character often put in danger to help greater good, much like a hero
- Representation is concerned with the way that people, ideas and events are presented to us.
- This could be representation in magazines, news soap operas, films and so on.
- It may include representation of people, places, events.
This means media texts are intentionally written, framed, cropped, captioned, branded, targeted and censored by producers, and that they are entirely artificial versions of the reality we perceive around us.
Elements that create representation
Mise-en-scene
Sound
Editing
Camera shots, angles, movements and positions
Social groups in terms of representation
Gender
Age
Ethnicity
Sexuality
Class and status
Physical ability/disability
Regional Identity
Example; goths - trashy, lonely, love for darkness/death, plain, shy/introverted, rude, sensitive, love for rock music, disrespectful
Stereotypes
A commonly held public belief about specific social groups or types of individuals
A simplified representation of a character, appearance and beliefs
Sometimes representations can turn into stereotypes
A countertype is a positive simplified widely held view but is still not the whole truth
The representation of Men and Women in the media: Women - Feminism has been around for 30 years yet media representations of women are worryingly the same. Representations of women across all media tend to highlight the following: - Beauty - Size/Physique - Sexuality - Emotional Dealings Women are often represented as being part of a team such as family, friends, colleagues etc. And in drama they tend to take the role of the helper, passive rather than active. Men are still represented as TV drama characters up to 3 times more frequently than women, and tend to be the predominant focus of news stories. Men - Representation of men across all media tend to focus on the following: - Strength, physical and intellectual - Power and success - Sexual attractiveness, physique -Independence - Masculinity Representation of age: - Rebellious teen - Senile old man/woman - Cradle robbing woman - Male in a mid-life crisis - Middle-age woman clinging to her youth - Silly old man -Social group in school (nerd, cheerleader, goth etc) And the list goes on.
Old people are often subject to the most rigid stereotypes of all (old= ugly, weak, stupid, grumpy, boring).
Ethnicity:
Ethnicity is defined by a set of genetic and cultural characteristics.
Representation of ethnicity in the media can consist of rigid stereotypes that are similar to gender portrayal.
There is a need for a more accurate portrayal of the diversity of different races is a priority for political agendas.
In recent years, the success of actors such as Denzel Washington, Whoopi Goldberg, Laurence Fishbone and Morgan Freeman in a diversity of roles has meant that black characters in movies and on TV are no longer 'stock' types. However, there are many negative representations of black people in the media, portrayals which seem deliberately designed to inflame the hatred and fear. People of African descent - Nigerian mum, big woman who loves food and music and family - Boys in hoodies, aggressive, part of a gang, urban, criminal - Famine victims, they are starving and poor - Rappers, guns, bling, weed, grill teeth, tattoos People of asian descent - Intelligent, extremely clever - Broken english, can't speak english - They eat dogs - They are very culturally exclusive, put their own first - Martial artist, ninja, karate - Obsessed with electronics - Obsessed with anime - Lack emotion - Wealthy and love Chinese food
People of Arabic (middle-eastern) descent - Terrorists, violent, killers - Religiously devout, strict, serious - Villains, make the victims, victims - Physically strong, hates jewish people
People of White British/American descent - Powerful, physically and intellectually - Often the hero, can be the killer - In charge, the dominant race - The lead role, the protagonist
Representation of sexuality- Heterosexual women - Loving, respectful, monogamous - Promiscuous, flaunt their body about - Frigid, sexually uncomfortable - Pure, virginal, innocent, naive - Gold digger, cougar, pregnant teen Representation of sexuality- Heterosexual men - Loving, respectful, monogamous - Promiscuous for women is bad, but for men it is considered ok - 'Ladies man', 'heart throb', player - Bumbling man who has trouble speaking to women
Representation of sexuality- Lesbian women - Monogamous, faithful and loving - Promiscuous, flaunts their body about - Embarrassed (in the closet) - 'Butch', dresses masculine or looks masculine Representation of sexuality- Homosexual males - Young promiscuous men - Older monogamous men - Overbearing and in your face - Embarrassed (in the closet) - Obsessed with makeup - Vanity and very self absorbed Class and status: - Poor, moneyless, bum - Lower class - Lower middle class - Working class - Upper middle class - Upper class - Elite, rich, millionaire Status symbols - Clothing or lack of it - Cars - Jewellery - Brands - Houses or mansions - Gadgets Physical ability/Disability - Physically disabled, paralysed, deaf, blind - Those who are limited in how much they can do - Those who are in good shape, star athletes, superheroes, average
Regional identity - This constitutes the representation of individuals from a certain geographical area - Costume - Setting - Staging/acting - Depiction - Accent Key terms: -Selection: whatever ends up on the screen or in the paper, much more will have been left out. Any news story has been selected from hundreds of others which the producers decided for you were less interesting. Any picture has been chosen from an enormous number of alternatives. - Construction:Media texts have been created in a specific way to portray a message/representation - Mediation: Mediation is the process by which a media text represents an idea, issue or event to an audience. We are given a version of reality which has been altered. - Dominant representation: A dominant representation is one which is repeated across the media over time.
In this video, the differences between the two sexes are very obvious. The girls like makeup, clothes, doing their hair and the men picking up the bill. The boys seem dominant and manly while being strong and a ladies man.
