Week 7: Audience Response Worksheet Completed

I have completed worksheet 4 which is based on audience responses to media products. This worksheet is due in on the 15th November, although I am on holiday in this week, therefore I am handing the report in tomorrow (1st November). Throughout completing this report I have learnt about how audience respond to media texts. The media texts I analysed were banned films in the UK, these films were banned because of their explicit content. Within the report I explained how audiences respond to the explicit content in the films. I discussed explicit content in films such as Straw Dogs and A Clockwork Orange.

Straw Dogs (1971)- Contained Explicit Content

I analysed these films and explicit content by applying the audience response theories, debates, censorship and responses. I have learnt a lot about how audience are expected to respond to explicit content in media texts and also how they actually respond. There are different theories of response and within the article I explained from my own knowledge how the different theories apply to the banned films. This article revolved around the audience and their response to explicit content. Therefore throughout the article I clearly related back to the audience. As this is a mistake I made in past worksheets, where I did not relate the article subject back to the audience and target audience. Within this article I have learnt from my mistake and this article is all about the audience.

Week 6: Improving on Past Work and Reality TV Analysis

Improving on worksheets 1 & 2

I have been given improvements on my first two worksheets in media studies. Worksheet 1 focused on the work of audience figure research agencies (BARB and RAJAR) and Audience Profiling. An improvement which I have had to make within this worksheet is expanding on the audience profiling. This included the socio-economic profile, within my original report I briefly explained the demographic status. I did not discuss how they are used within the audience figure research agencies. Therefore I have completed the improvement of discussing what the status' are and how they are used within BARB and RAJAR and other research agencies. I have discovered that this is a very important aspect of collecting audience figures as they can put the audience into categories to determine who watches and listens to what. Within worksheet 1 I also expanded on how important quantitative and qualitative research is and how it is used within the agencies discussed.


I also gained feedback on my second worksheet, focusing on genres codes and conventions. The main improvement was discussing how a certain genre such as sitcoms was constructed for a particular audience. This was an element I did not include within my original report and was unclear about. From the feedback I have completed the improvement in relation to he construction of the text for the audience. I have discussed what content is included within the Sitcoms: The Vicar of Dibley and Outnumbered. I discussed their target audience and explained the content which is included to appeal to them. I also discussed how it is constructed for the audience and how they know it is successful which is determined through methods such as interviews, questionnaires and focus groups.
Through reflecting on these worksheets and gaining feedback on how I can improve my reports, I have definitely learnt more about reflecting and reading my work. This is to ensure I have included all the required elements for me to meet the criteria.


Reality TV Worksheet
Through half term I have been given a worksheet which focuses on analysing a reality TV show. This analysis is known as a Textual Analysis which means I will be decoding the contents within the programme. Some of these elements include: genre, codes and conventions, mise-en-scene and use of camera shots/ angles.
I have chosen to carry out this analysis on E4's reality show Made in Chelsea. This is a programme which focuses on some of the wealthiest teenagers in London. I carried out some initial research into this reality show and found that it classed in the sub-genre of Docusoap and Reality Drama. I also carried out research into reality TV shows codes and conventions in general and there are many sub-genres of reality TV, but docusoap is one of the most popular genres at the moment. Made In Chelsea has a very similar format to The Only Way Is Essex. I researched into the format of Made In Chelsea and discovered that although it looks scripted it isn't, therefore it is classed as a reality show. One of the stars from the show stated that the show is not scripted but they are given situations from the producer to be able to make a scene. In a way the programme is set up and is not completely true, but it does feature 'real people' and 'real settings' which is one of the main conventions of reality TV shows.
I have watched an episode of Made In Chelsea and I have written notes about the different aspects I need to consider to carry out the textual analysis. I have defined the genre, codes and conventions and camera shots. I will write these notes into a table which clearly shows the content within the programme. I will expand on these notes by writing about the content within the show.

Made In Chelsea Cast

Week 6: Audiences Response to Media and Censorship (Worksheet 3)

I have completed my research into films which were banned in the UK because they contained explicit content. For this worksheet it asks me to research into films which were banned in the UK and discuss how audience were suppose to respond to these films. These audience responses include: Audience Response Theories (hypodermic needle model, uses and gratifications theories and reception study), Effects Debate (effects of exposure to explicit content) and Responses (negotiated, preferred and oppositional). I will be applying these audience responses to the banned films and describe how audiences responded to the films. I will apply these from my notes which I have on these different aspects and also using the resources of books and the Internet.
I found a good website which showed 21 banned films (in UK and other countries), I selected the main films which I believe were the most controversial and caused moral panic. I will be explaining why these films were banned and how audience should and did respond to the films. The reason for these films being banned was to protect the audience from content they should not be viewing (sexual or violent). Many of the films which I have researched show that they were denied a certificate by the BBFC and therefore were not released because they showed explicit content. I have gained a lot of knowledge from learning about the audience response theories, effects debates and responses. I believe I can apply these different aspects within this report to the issue of moral panics.

Week 5: Censorship & the Effects the Media has on Audiences

The media influences people in many different ways, through the different media platforms these are some of the ways the audience is influenced:

·         Awareness of Issues

·         Behaviour- imitating things you have seen

·         Lifestyle- has appealing aspects

·         Guilt- from charities (adverts seen on TV)

·         Gain knowledge- from news programmes

These are the different aspects of how the media influences their audiences. The media platforms these relate to include: Magazines, Newspapers, TV, Film and Internet

There are three main media debates about how the media affects audiences, these include:

1)    The effects of exposure to explicit violent or sexual content

·         It is argued that explicit content has negative effects on people. Especially children, people believe that children should not be exposed to this content.

·         Influences their behaviour: the way in which it could influence their behaviour, for example, they could see a violent scene in a film and this could influence them to repeat this.

·         Warp reality: the viewer may not be able to distinguish the different between reality and the ‘media world’.

2)    The effects of advertising on media audiences

·         Advertising appears in many forms this includes: TV, Magazines, Newspapers, Internet, Radio and Outdoor signs (billboards).

·         The advertisements influence the audience to buy the product, the better the advert the more products they will sell.

·         Celebrity Endorsement: this is used within many advertisements on most of the media platforms. TV advertisement is the most common for celebrity endorsement, for example, Cheryl Cole is used for the Loreal adverts. This will influence people to buy the product because they like the particular celebrity.

3)    The effects of Censorship on media audiences

·         The main point of Censorship is to protect audience’s from explicit content they shouldn’t be viewing.

·         Censorship has a huge impact on the audience. This is because it influences them into what they can and can’t view. This is a positive and negative, as it is protecting the audience from viewing something they shouldn’t see. Although, it is also stopping them making their own decision of what they think they should view.

·         Another negative of censorship is the fact that if people do not have access to the content, they will try to find it anyway. It will make the audience more interested within the content because they have heard about it.

There are possible alternatives to censoring media content, these include:

·         Stricter Classification- in relation to films and TV programmes

·         Make length of content shorter

I have started my research into these above aspects for worksheet 3. I am focusing on how the media effects audience in terms of films which were censored in the UK. I will be discussing the audience response theories, effects debates and audience responses.

Week 4: Audience & Media Theories

Through today's lesson I have gained knowledge into the different audience theories which are used in relation to how media audiences respond to media products. These theories included:

• Hypodermic Needle Model

- This theory has direct communication to the audience: the audience does not challenge the information given to them. They consume the media product for what is intended for, this makes the consumer a 'Passive Consumer'.
-The media producers are able to create a product and get the desired response from the audience.
- An issue with this theory is that not everyone is a passive consumer. Therefore some media producers may struggle when creating products for a broad audience, as some people may challenge its purpose.

Hypodermic Needle Model

• Uses and Gratifications

- This theory shows that the consumer are 'active consumers'. These are people who consume what they want, they interpret the product as they wish and do not take the product in as the way the producer intends them to. Many people will consume the product in different ways and use it for different reasons.
- This theory was extended in 1974 and media producers believed that audiences may use the text for the following purposes:
          . Escapism
          . Personal Identity
          . Surveillance
          . Entertainment
- This theory was expanded and is reflected within media texts which we consume ourselves, some of these include:
          . Entertainment- Quiz Shows and TV Soaps
          . Knowledge- Quiz Shows and Television News
          . Character Identity- TV Soaps
          . Escapism- TV Soaps

• Reception Theory

- This theory tests how texts are 'read' by the audience. People could have different interpretations of a text, this could be because of reasons such as gender, class and age.
- Model of relationship between text and audience: text is encoded by the producer and is decoded by the reader. These texts have a particular meaning in which the audience has to decode.
- Messages within the media texts are Polysemic (multiple meanings), these are interpreted according to the audiences cultural background.
- Similar to the Uses and Gratifications, the reception theory also sees the audience not agreeing with the intentional meaning and create an alternative reading (meaning).

I was also introduced to the readings used in relation to media products and their audiences, these included:

• Dominant Reading: the producers intended message is accepted fully by the audience. They do not second think the purpose of the product and use the product as it is intended by the producer.
• Oppositional Reading: the audience can disagree and reject the intended message within the text.
• Negotiated Reading: this reading suggests that the audience may agree with parts of the intended message, but other parts they might believe can be altered based on the audience members personal experiences.

Here is an example of a media product showing the three readings put into action this product is the iPad.
- Dominant Reading: the iPad is an amazing product and is essential for reasons such as the Internet, apps, word documents and photos (the different elements which the iPad is intended for).
- Oppositional Reading: the audience may believe the iPad is un-necessary and is not as good as other products such as the laptop.
- Negotiated Reading: the audience may agree with some of the main intentions of this product. Although, they believe other parts of the product could be changed as they are not necessary.

Week 4: Sitcom Codes and Conventions & Soap Opera Genre (worksheet 2)

Task 1   
I have completed the worksheet based on the codes and conventions of genres. Through this worksheet I have learnt about the codes and conventions which are used within sitcoms. I have compared and contrasted the codes and conventions within traditional and non-traditional sitcoms. I compared The Vicar of Dibley (traditional) and Outnumbered (non-traditional) sitcoms. Through the report I have show my knowledge of the codes and conventions and how the genre has changed over time.

I have made notes on these codes and conventions by viewing an episode of these sitcoms. I used these notes to expand on within my written report, where I compared both of the sitcoms. These are some of the codes and conventions which I found within the traditional sitcom of The Vicar of Dibley

• Catchy theme tune
• Exaggerated characters
• Studio Recorded 
• Canned Laughter
• Small group of characters
• Humiliating Situations
• Linear Narrative Structure

I then watched an episode of the non-traditional sitcom Outnumbered. This did not contain all of the codes and conventions used within the traditional sitcom, but also introduced some new conventions. These are the codes and conventions used within Outnumbered:

• No theme tune at beginning- A scene of the house is shown, with voices of the characters heard. Catchy theme tune on credits.
• Small group of characters
• Improvisation used within the scenes
• Filmed on location
• Humiliating Situations
• Linear Narrative Structure: equilibrium (peace, disruption and return to peace

Through researching the codes and conventions within each programme I have clearly seen the differences within the programmes. Some of the codes and conventions are the same, but as the sitcom genre develops new styles are being introduced. For example, within Outnumbered they use the element of improvising, which would not be seen within a traditional sitcom as a convention.

Task 2

For task 2 I also had to research into a genre, I decided to research into the genre of Soap Opera. Through researching into this genre I have noted the codes and conventions used within the genre. I created a table to represent these codes and conventions and I have included this within my report.Soap Opera Codes and Conventions

This table shows the codes and conventions which I expect within the soap opera genre. These are the key codes and conventions which make the genre and is what people expect within the genre.

I also answered some questions in relation to the genre. These included: how the genre has changed over recent years, whether this would affect the target audience and are these changes to the genre for the better? I have written up my notes made on task two and included it within the same report for task 1.

Through completing this worksheet I have gained knowledge within the Sitcom genre and the Soap Opera genre, I have presented my knowledge within my report.