LO2: Job Roles And Skills

http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/281_actor
http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/294_director_tv
http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/305_tv_presenter
http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/298_lighting_director
http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/3077_casting_director
http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/757_producer
http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/1756_costume_designer
http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/287_tv_broadcast_journalist
http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles/313_sound_supervisor_tv

LO1 Task 4: Cross media product case study

The Simpsons has been a huge success for 21st century fox over the past twenty eight years and continues to thrive to this day, this brand is an exemplary case on how cross media promotion can lead to appealing to a mass audience. Subsidiaries of 21st  Century Fox such as sky have for years been promoting the programme in different ways, one of the most prominent being large decals for The Simpsons being printed onto the side of sky engineering vans - This helps us the audience associate the brand with sky and in turn the original conglomerate company . Since starting the original programme in 1989, The Simpsons has grown to become one of the world most popular family compatible programmes on the market, with some episodes raking in over 28 million views, it only seemed right to divert over time to the cinematic pathway. Because of 21st Century Fox's ability to be  horizontally and vertically integrated:  creating, marketing and distributing a film was much easier than maybe anticipated  and as expected was a big hit at the box office what with over 500 million USD made from their 75 million USD budget.

The Simpsons franchise itself is aimed at families, the screenplay shows a form of dysfunctional American family life which has proven to resonate with families not only in America, but all over the world. The characters in the programme are intended to be the same age as those watching, so ideally children aged 8 or over, the creators of the episodes and indeed films/other content have made it so that it appeals to everybody watching in terms of humour.  The uses and gratifications of this product are simply to provide some form of temporary escapism for those watching and in a sense of reassurance that not every family is perfect - this particularly helps the older range of the target audience who are likely to have children the same age as 'Bart', 'Lisa' and ‘Maggie’ as it gives the ability to see what life could be like alternatively. The Simpsons appeals to this mass target audience quite easily due to the format it is shown in and the intertextuality which is used throughout – the cartoon animation look in a way distracts children from the more developed inferences that are intentionally for the more mature audience. In recent episodes, a more political stance has been taken on some episodes which comment on the current presidential situation in America. This is an example of how the show appeals to the older family members whilst still maintaining its original family friendly format.

The interesting thing about The Simpsons Movie is that it was certificated a 15 which is far from the PG rating the regular prime time show was awarded - this shows how the Simpsons have restricted their audience by including sexual innuendos , violence and strong language making it more than just the cartoon show we all are familiar with - this was done to have the reverse effect and as a result has made the target audience larger as those who already watch the show would be able to understand and appreciate the subtle changes that made it into the 15 certificate , however it is likely that those under 15 will have watched the movie having grown up with and appreciated the prime time show.

During the year that The Simpsons Movie was released, a new game ‘The Simpsons Game’ was brought out which somewhat supplement the events shown in cinema, this in turn became a massive hit with console owners with sales spanning across a variety of countries around the world. At current the game retails at around £40 proving that there is still a market for the product 10 years later. When the film was first advertised, it was done so alongside other films of the same age rating in cinemas, 21^st century fox produced a variety of different films around the time of The Simpsons Movie release and therefore was frequently showing the trailer before the showings.

Technological convergence has made it all the more easier for us as audiences to access media products, and The Simpsons is no exception- We are able to stream full episodes of The Simpsons from the Fox (subsidiary of 21^st Century Fox) website which allows users to access it any time anywhere whereas when the first episodes were aired, it was only a possibility to watch when broadcasted. This fits in with the hectic lives of people in the 21^st century and shows how the brand has adapted to consumer needs, those who have grown up with the programme and still watch it to date are highly likely to have jobs which prevent them from watching Tv as it is broadcasted. The Simpsons although available in the UK on Channel 4 is more readily available on channels which have to be paid for by subscription from sky, this gives us an indication of the social grading of the consumers of the programme and their spending power as some of the packages which include Fox and MTV (which also shows the programme), come at a high price. The Simpsons Movie itself can be streamed from Netflix , which much like Fox allows users to watch the film any time anywhere – Web 2.0 has made this a possibility as we as consumers are now able to use interactive interfaces which allow us to perform operations such as streaming at a minimal cost.

Over the past ten years ecommerce has become a big part of day to day life of people all over the globe, and again as part of this we are able to access more and more media products at the click of a button. Today, Amazon (unrelated to the conglomerate 21^st Century Fox) gives the opportunity to its users to buy or rent The Simpsons Movie which can be stored on Amazon Video as well as the ability to order other related merchandise. This is further proof of how effective 21^st century fox has worked as a conglomerate company as they earn commission from every sale of their media products whilst also being paid for the right to resell the product under the Fox Home Entertainment name.

In conclusion, it has been made very clear through the success of the brand how well 21^st century fox has marketed and distributed the products and its capacity to be horizontally and vertically integrated. The popularity of The Simpsons franchise comes down solely to the means in which it has been adapted to the needs of the audience, and how this has followed the consumers as they change their uses for media products. Their ability to work cross media has meant that consumers are constantly exposed to the brand which has ultimately transferred into viewing figures hence the demand from 1989 to present day.

LO1 Task 2 : Technological Convergence and production techniques (improve)

The convergence of technologies overtime has allowed media producers to become more efficient in the ways in which they deal with pre production, production and post production of a media product. The developments made have allowed multiple providers of media outlets to become more versatile during these processes making work generally more collaborative and effectively planned. Behind the majority of these advances lies Web 2.0 which essentially allows more user based content onto our screens hence aiding the surge in technology over the recent years. There are numerous pieces of software now available which allow the following stages of producing a media product to be done with ease.

Pre Production:

Pre Production generally orbits around the planning of the proposed media product for example an advertisement, this means there are a multitude of different processes which require collaborative work to be done. Due to web 2.0 and technological convergence this has become all the more easier what with softwares such as Google Docs and MindMup. Google Docs in particular allows more than one user to edit a document or file, allowing the process of planning an AVP to be shared amongst the production team. When planning products of any type, initially there will be a time for all involved in the project to give insight into what they believe the final edit should look like - this can also be known as Blue Sky Thinking. Google Docs in particular allows this to take place without all of the personnel present and can also be edited at any opportunity. The development of Web 2.0 has allowed its next generation of users to become in touch with each other through the interactivity of websites in this way which further impacts positively on the development of media. In addition to this online sites such as MindMup allow users to create maps and brainstorm ideas which could potentially be the making of a media success - Although this software is not as cross compatible with other web users, it offers contingency to other planning materials and allows creators to be more creative with their ideas given the highly interactive interface given by the latest phase of the internet.

Production:

Technological convergence has made significant ground over the past 17 years in the production of media, Web 2.0 has impacted the way we are able to produce products making us the ultimate prosumers. We are now able to collaborate during the production stages of an Audio Visual Product using softwares such as Soundcloud which allow artists from all over the world to work together to create a sound - in previous years this would rely upon all involved being a part of a specialist company however now it has become simplified so that people are able to work online to achieve an end product. The interactive new era of the Web allows all creators to store their content online and specifically with sites such as Soundcloud, then distribute them online using social media links from the interface. Garage band shows how products that stem from black box devices can aid the production of media products, this pre installed software allows its users to compose music through their apple mac which can then be recalled on other apple hardware such as a macbook - This again shows how this convergence has allowed production to become less of a specialised subject.


Post Production:

Prior to having softwares that aid post production, amending raw footage or audio could be a lengthy and unsuccessful process leading to more care and attention being required when capturing the raw imagery. Due to technological advances, producers now have the capability to use powerful editing suites such as Premiere Pro, After Effects and more, to enhance their work further and apply additional effects. These two Adobe softwares enable producers to not only colour grade their raw footage, but challenge the creative industry by optimising the use of post processing techniques. The whole idea behind this is to make the end product suitable for the prosumers at the best quality available, through the use of creative cloud (again  a feature of the recently appointed Web 2.0) producers can have access to these types of industry standard softwares which will be highly recognised amongst the trade and in years to come prosumers when they are able to see clearly the effects of technological convergence.


Technologies in films:

There has been a considerable hike over the years in creative animations which involve the use of motion capture technology and CGI - one of the films which I am familiar with this happening in would be The Life of Pi as to where the production team mapped the movements of a real tiger and then incorporated a computer generated one into the entirety of the film. They did this by placing a real tiger and noting its reactions , movements and muscles it used to navigate around the boat which was then simulated by another actor to help the main character himself develop a sense of what it would be like to have the actual tiger present - this was then brushed over in post production and replaced with the computer generated image of a tiger who's movements were based on that of the real thing.

LO1 Task 3 : Technological Convergence, Advertising and distribution (improve)

In early March 2017, the trailer for 'Get Out' a psychological horror was released and soon became a big hit on social media. It has been said to be one of the best trailers of its time and due to this gained a mass following due to the enticing nature of the Audio Visual Promo. What with the film containing some graphic content, it was classified by the BBFC as a 15 which meant that the target audience were mainly digital natives who presumably would have access to some form of social media account. The original promotional trailer for the film featured the hashtag '#GETOUT' which was used all over the world to spark a conversation about the film, Twitter users in particular used the hastag as a way to express their views across a multitude of other social media outlets. With thanks to technological convergence it has become all the more possible for audiences to access social media through smartphones and other devices making this form of marketing one of the most successful in the 21st century. Alongside the actual audio visual promotion video itself came an online craze recreating some of the footage from the trailer which then meant spanning onto other online streaming sites such as YouTube - this helped promote the original film as to understand the reasoning behind the recreative piece you must first have seen the video trailer.

Online content is highly regarded by young people in particular which means that when marketing a film aimed at this age range, it is important for it to be distributed heavily where the captive audience would be exposed. It is firmly believed that the success of the film is down to how it has been promoted online , the  435,815 Facebook likes have translated to 252.2 million at the box office.

The new and interactive phase of the internet has been so popular with media consumers for a variety of reasons, the most prominent of these being that it makes media consumption free , easy and fats. The majority of the target audience for the film 'Get Out' mentioned beforehand will have access to a piece of black box technology which we have Web 2.0 and the age of technological convergence to thank for - this makes it all the more possible for them to interact with media products , advertising and video on demand services - this means that media producers find it much easier to reach their intended audience through strategic advertising techniques such as the 'get out challenge' which involved fans recreating a popular scene from the film using their phones and creating viral videos with the relate hashtag which drew further attention to the advertising and release of the film.

Video on demand services such as netflix have made it all the more easier for audiences to consume media products which alonside other technological convergence has changed the way we enjoy media products, it has been said by theorists , in particular Sonia Livingstone (1999) that because of the multitude of media we now have access to on demand we are failing to watch broadcasted content which could lead to 'the death of the schedule'. VOD means that now multiple users within one household , using black box devices can access a variety of shows at the click of a button - this has led to fragmented viewing with houses and a loss of the social element of evening viewing. The advantages of these services are that they are accessible on almost every device available on the market at present and can be used at any time to either download or stream content- Downloading content means that viewers have unrestricted access to that media without internet connection, making it possible to watch missed shows on the go. Web 2.0 has made this a possibility as the new phase of the internet allows users to tune into what they have missed and even set online scheduels for the recording of programmes.

Black box devices have made a great impact on how we in society view media products, which in turn means that TV has become less of a sociable affair. Almost everybody we know has access to some form of smart device whether that be phone, TV or smart watch which has revolutionised the way we work , this also has had an effect on how we access media products as they are simply at our fingertips at any given point. Web 2.0 has also made it a possibility to access the same type of media on two different platforms , also known as simulcasting - an example of this would be the ability to watch a radio presenter online whilst also listening to them on the radio . This adds extra interaction with audience from content creators whilst also providing the listener with a visual aid, not long ago was this not a possibility. Although some on demand softwares such as Netflix and Now Tv are membership only, we as audiences are willing to pay fees to have access to content that would otherwise be restricted such as Netflix original series 'Orange Is The New Black' , these any time access episodes fit perfectly into a modern lifestyle as there is no requirement to watch them when they are aired as they are archived.

LO1 Task 1 : Audiences

As discussed previously both Family Guy and The Simpsons are well defined brands created by the conglomerate 21st Century Fox, Although in some aspects they are similar in terms of storylines and formats - both target different specific target audiences and do so using an array of techniques which relate strongly to audience pleasures. The simpsons has a peer to peer mode of address in order to fit the genre and appeal to the mass audience, this informal approach helps the younger side of the demographic interpret the storylines hence why it is loved by the whole family. Given the fact that this brand in particular is a household name, they rely upon the spending power of the audience to purchase and consume materials produced sub to the TV programme.

Both of these media text use visceral pleasures to appeal to the specific demographic they are targetting through the use of intertextuality and humour. In The simpsons the humour that is used is chosen cleverly as to be suitable for all ages , in some areas more explicit things are implied upon however not shown as part of the programme . These innuendos are what keeps the target audience as broad as it is and allows a different viewing experience for all the family. The animated format of the programme and use of similar age characters to the preffered audience means that it resonated with children as well as adults and has as a result become a part of a mass brand , particularly successful with children what with the variety of merchandise which it has to accompany it. In stark contrast to this Family Guy is scripted and produced to appeal specifically to a young primarily male target audience what with the gags which are aimed to lampoon American culture - in addition to this the use of sexual references is more common which appeals directly to the younger audience who would find such things more amusing.

Both brands and programmes have a more peer to peer mode of address due to the frequent mild/stong language (simpsons/family guy), this helps establish the brands for their target audiences and relate more readily to them. The simpsons has an easy to understand, informal storyline as to as said before appeal to the entire family, this relaxed approach helps the meaning to be conveyed and the uses and gratifications to become more obvious.

LO1 Task 1 : Media products in the Audio Visual Industry

In this report I will be looking at the Audio Visual industry and how conglomerates and independent companies operate in contrast to each other. My case studies for this therefore will be 21st century fox an international conglomerate which operates across a variety of media platforms such as Film, Print and Tv with big name subsidiary companies like Sky and 20th Century fox and in contrast to that - WARP a Sheffield based independent company who specialise in films , home to cinematic greats such as Submarine and Four Lions which work alongside conglomerates to distribute their products due to not being vertically integrated.

OWNERSHIP -
A conglomerate company serves to operate across a variety of media platforms and does so using its subsidiary companies- 21st Century Fox is no exception to this, in particular film and TV they use

both horizontal and vertical integration to produce, advertise and distribute their products to a mass target audience. This means that when 21st century release a film under the subsidiary company 20th century fox, it uses 20th century fox home entertainment for the audience to consume the product through DVD - in order to get the consumers to buy these products or view them in cinema they use horizontal integration with their subsidiary's such as Sky , The Sun and The Times to advertise the production. In contrast to this independent companies do not have the access to subsidiaries therefore commonly struggle to get their production into mainstream viewing without joint venture. WARP have done this quite successfully over the years in particularly when producing and distributing Submarine, WARP worked alongside Red Hour to distribute the film, Red Hour works with both New Line Cinema and 20th Century Fox. Because of their inability to distribute on a large scale Independent companies such as WARP generally specialise in one type of media - in their case film whereas conglomerate companies such as 21st century fox have the capability to provide products for an array of media types, print and Tv just to mention a few, however, do so in a way which is accessible for all what with transatlantic broadcasting. 21st Century Fox for this reason target a mass mainstream audience as their capacity to distribute allows the production of various shows appeals to all, however, this isn't the case for independents as most commonly they will appeal to a niche audience such as those interested in MOD culture with WARP's 'This Is England'.


ADAPTATION -

The fault in our stars was first a novel published in the January of 2012, this went on to sell 10.7 million copies and topping the best sellers list in several countries. The novelist John Green has a mass following of young adult readers what with 2.3 million followers on Twitter alone, due to the fact that it became so popular in the UK and US the book was then published in nine additional languages. Two years after this 20th Century Fox adapted the book to a film which received a mass following within days of the premier, the film was labelled a 12A to appeal to the same age rating as the book whilst also giving the opportunity for those who were younger to become a part of this viewing
craze. The film made $307.2 million at the box office due to the huge following the novel already had which made 21st Century fox's adaptation all the more successful. What with 21st century being an international conglomerate the film was available with numerous subtitles which again widens the target audience - cleverly the production company behind the adaptation chose to cast actors such as Ansel Elgort which provides an ideal self (Carl Rodgers, 1980) to the male demographic whilst still appealing stereotypically to the female what with the romantic storyline.

BRANDS-

The Simpsons franchise is fronted by 21st Century Fox, over time this has become one of the most recognisable brands globally and as result has a range of different products which span across a variety of media platforms. The original televised series started in 1989 and over the years became widely popular with families all over the world - in lieu of this in 2007 20th Century Fox premiered 'The Simpsons Movie' which brought in over $500 Million US Dollars at the box office demonstrating the strength of the brand and the ability to work across media platforms. Alongside this came a multitude of other media products such as 'Tapped Out' - an IOS compatible app designed to target the millennials who became accustomed to the franchise at an early age. Other strains of video games such as 'The Simpsons Hit and Run' released in the early 2000's shows how the brand became highly sought after as it became cross compatible with other Softwares not associated with 21st Century or any of its subsidiary companies. To successfully appeal to the mass target audience, 21st Century crafted The Simpsons in a manner which is desirable to all the family. Its animated appearance draws in those of a younger age, whilst the crude humour is easily recognised by those over the age of 18. As a result of this, age appropriate products have been made to be consumed by the target audience, such as Duff Beers (featured in The Simpsons), remote control cars, clothing and homewares. The success of this is all down to the way this conglomerate uses its power and horizontal integration to self-promote its own products via subsidiary companies such as Sky - Recently, despite the ageing of the series, Sky has released a fleet of its service vehicles with Simpson's decals.

21st Century Fox also has other successful brands similar to The Simpsons such as 'Family Guy' - Unlike The Simpsons, even though still appealing to the masses has a restricted target audience due to the time of day it's episodes are broadcast (post-watershed) and sexual content. To entice a related demographic, Family Guy uses a similar narrative formation around family life which is why it is seemingly popular with those who watch The Simpsons. The programme was first aired on Fox in 1999 and consisted of seven episodes and from there onward has flourished into the household name we now know today - from this has developed a brand which spans across multiple media platforms, the most recognisable of these being social media which gives their audience a chance to keep up to date with all aired episodes and allows them to set reminders for these when they become available. These pages also offer the opportunity for users to follow links to the official Family Guy webpage where merchandise is available to purchase. 21st Century Fox as a conglomerate is able to work alongside other companies as well as their subsidiary's to promote and produce products and have done this successfully with the Family Guy Franchise when allowing TinyCo a subsidiary of Jam City to create 'The Quest for Stuff'. This is an IOS compatible video game which proves that this brand is able to exist upon its ability to work across media platforms as a result of the parent company.


AUDIENCE PLEASURES-

Both of the above brands in some way shape or form appeal to their audience demographics by using pleasures - Rick Altman (1999) suggested that all media texts provoke a certain type of pleasure whether that be emotional, Visceral or intellectual. Within both media productions the scripts and accompanying screen play are humorous which bring on an visceral response for the viewer - this is then associated with this programme and makes those who watch it wanting more. Particularly with Family Guy the type of humour used attracts a certain demographic meaning the type of visceral pleasure differs from that of The Simpsons - In addition to this because of the adult humour that can be seen in both of these media texts as Altman suggested, there is room for emotional pleasures which make the viewer aware if something is in some way controversial.

Both these brands provide uses and gratifications for the audiences they are attempting to target, an integral part of these storylines is to show the reality of American family life all be it dysfunctional- Families all around the world resonate with this and in turn use it as a way to satisfy a need whether that be reassurance that all families are not perfect or simply the humour it brings.