Jake Hashdi's research summary - Jake has made use of the production companies and their contact departments. He obtained a contact number for Clerkenwell films, the producers of 'Misfits'. He proceeded to call them and inquire about the process of creating a new show. The information is currently pending due to time restraints of the producers, but they have said they will get back to him soon with the relevant information. He planned his questions out in preparation for the call, but was ultimately going to allow the conversation to be open so allow more answers to be obtained and more questions to be developed.
Jake's secondary production research consisted of researching into the producers of 'Top Boy', 'The Inbetweeners' and 'Beaver Falls'. This was done by visiting their respective websites and researching particular conventions they displayed and then discussing how they could be adapted and applied to our own show. This was useful for our group because it allowed us to gather ideas of how to structure our production process and what kind of things we should consider, i.e time management, time slots allocated by broadcasters. The research also added perspective, as it outlined possibilities such as applying our existing film knowledge to the production, as there were many similarities that already existed in the TV production industry.
His secondary audience research involved reading through existing reviews of some drama shows that are influencing ours and noting down what worked well and planning to include it in our show. He found various sites that provide public and critic reviews, to give a more broad understanding of people's opinions. He provided links to top sites like IMDB and newspapers such as The Telegraph, these sites give a strong sense of authenticity to the information because they're cited as very reliable. He included these links, along with a brief summary of the information he found on them in his blog.
Zac Bowen's research summary - Zac has centered a lot of his information around his understanding of youth in his area and capitilised on this by making it a large part of his research. This was essentially a large survey outlining aspects of TV drama that people enjoyed and also their existing knowledge of it. It was based on an old website called 'UK tribes', which collected information from various youth sub-cultures and compared them to develop vast understandings of youth preference. He obtained info from 'Skaters', 'Rockers', 'Townies', 'Sports enthusiasts' and 'Casuals'. These are very varied sub-cultures which means we will obtain very varied and therefore more conclusive research. His conclusion outlines the pros/cons of his respondents responses.
His secondary audience research is a collection of images taken from a textbook 'The Media Student Book'. He used this source due to its reliability and therefore better information. It outlines such features as 'Media representations of audience', 'Media influence' and 'Academic representations of audiences'. This is useful to our group because it will ensure our information is valid and will allow us to edit anything that is wrong.
He repeated this process for his secondary production research. Taking shots from the same book under the section of production. Highlighting such things as 'The production process in outline', 'Finishing, distribution and exhibition'. His conclusion highlights what he can extract from the book and then apply to his own work.
Zac's primary production research involved emailing producers of existing TV drama shows. This research is similar to Jake's phone call. They both ask similar questions, however, they will get a much broader range of results because they're responses from two very different production companies that produce two different drama shows. This results in two perspectives being compared effectively producing better results.
Hannah Walsh's research summary - Hannah began her research with a set of online polls, conducted on http://quizilla.teenick.com and http://www.surveymonkey.com, these questions essentially asked people's opinions of existing drama shows, their age and what they like/disliked. The results she found are very useful because it not only gives us people's opinions, but shows stats such as age/gender, which are useful for seeing who exactly we are appealing to, and more importantly, who E4 are appealing to. Despite the respondents not going into much detail, I can compare my results with Hannah's and draw up comparisons and generalisations that will benefit our group and the production process.
The second part of Hannah's research consisted of finding out which TV dramas were rated the best, in order to find this information, she used sources from the weekly audience figures site 'BARB'. Hannah produced screenshots of her findings. These included numbers and percentages tallied from weekly drama show viewing figures. This is useful for our group because we can see how many people tune in to watch a particular show when it is aired in a particular time period/day. We can decide to air ours in a similar time period.
My own research summary - Firstly, I went about gathering viewer ratings from the site www.imdb.com. I used this site for its reliability and viewer ratings page. The ratings are in the format of bar charts representing how people of different age groups and genders responded to the drama shows I selected. I chose to look at ratings for Misfits, Skins and Dead Set, due to their popularity and influence on our own product. I think these stats will greatly benefit our group because they're adaptable enough to compare with other findings in my group and therefore produce more interesting and clear results.
I then began searching for manuals and tutorials for the equipment we would be using for our own 2 minute clip. To do this, I searched the product on Google and found the most reliable results from the most reliable sites. I searched multiple reviews to find the most accurate review that I could extract from. I found the cameras primary features and added them also. In addition to this, I added large screenshots of the product itself from various different angles to get a good analysis of the product and how it works and where commands are found. Finally, I searched YouTube for a user-friendly video tutorial that catered to people unfamiliar with the product, i.e me and my group, I thought this would be useful because it would not contain a lot of technical terms we were unfamiliar with and instead would slowly introduce us to the camera and build a better understanding.
My final piece of research is into webpages and their typical conventions. I took print screens from the webpage for the drama 'Misfits'. I analysed them and then noted down features I thought worked particularly well and would also work well for my group. I found various features that appealed to younger audiences, but also mature content for that of an older audience, so I tried to make use of this and gather as varied information as I could. The benefit of this will be in the construction of our own site, as we will see a completed product from an already successful production company and use it as a basis for our work.
In addition to this, I had the role of team leader, I therefore made sure everyone had completed their duties accordingly and edited things that we weren't sure of to fit our goals. Before anything was uploaded, it was ran by me and we composed ideas on improvements and things we liked/disliked. This benefited the group as it gave everyone a structure to abide by, which would allow the group to stay focused and get the work done on time. Also, with the technique of a final run through and editing process, it made sure all research was accurate and well presented enough.
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
Sunday, 11 November 2012
Website research - primary production research
- Heavy use of images relating to episodes and cast members. Used to allow the viewer to recognise characters and navigate the page more easily.
- Character line-up placed in a large image at the top of the page. Used to indicate that they're the main characters and most prominent cast members.
- Each image is accompanied by some sort of tagline followed by a description of the content is leads to/is displaying. This is a great way to improve the page and make it a lot easier to make links and access different features easily.
- Images used to aid the navigation around the page and any additional pages that are connected to the site. Taglines are often links to another section of the site.
- Date underneath the main image states the airing date allowing any viewers that do not know when to tune in, when to turn on the channel.
- Sponsors' in the corner of the image, in this instance LYNX. This relates to mainly young males. A large part of the shows audience.
- Speech bubble on the right side, this allows visitors to leave a comment and broadcast their opinion about the show. A good feature in letting our audience know that they're involved and that their opinions are valued.
- Underneath the comment box, there is comments that have already been posted. This would allow the producers of the show to hear their audiences views and take note of things they like/don't like.
- Sidebar containing links to various sections of the site, such as 'about' 'blog' and a link the 4oD, allowing visitors to watch episodes if they wish.
- A 'like' button linked to Facebook, builds and expands to a larger fanbase which is connected by various different formats. This would be useful for us, as we're young an familiar with such social networking sites and how they work.
- Also a twitter page link. Again expands the shows influence.
- Ability to buy merchandise from the show is underneath the links to the social networking sites. Probably because younger people are more likely to respond due to their association with Facebook and Twitter.
- TV listings tell the viewers when the next episodes will be aired. Suitable for people who do not currently have access to a TV.
- Channel logo (E4) at the top of the page indicates the shows affiliation and what channel it can be viewed on. Also is spray painted which links with the idea of crime. (characters doing community service)
- Basic theme. Relates to how the show is presented. Rough and gritty, also quite dark. Used to add authenticity to the show and website.
- Some sidebars/boxes are in purple and white. The colours of the channel the show is broadcast on.
- Warning to underage viewers underneath the main image. Warning them of strong language and adult content. Therefore showing its audience is predominantly over 18.
Thursday, 8 November 2012
Equipment Research - secondary production research
Key features:
"Thanks to its lineage the D3100 remains one of the most pleasant to hold cameras in its class. It may be small but it's very comfortable to use. It's almost impossible to pick up without your hand falling into a sensible position with the key controls at your fingertips. The layout and positioning of the buttons is some of the best we've come across and their function has on the whole been carefully thought-out too. Our one quibble would be the positioning of the Fn button (which many users, we suspect, will use to control ISO) on the side of the camera, while the the far-less-useful 'info' button occupies prime real estate beside the shutter release." - using this information and applying it to our practical work will benefit me and my group greatly. I believe familarising ourselves with the equipment we're going to be using will allow us to push the boundaries of our capabilities and therefore improve our work. Using screenshots accompanied by a description of the camera itself, allows us to easily locate key functions and understand the layout better. I have also read numerous reviews on the camera and noted its good and bad features. In doing so, I will get a brief idea of the kind of things I should make heavy use of and the kind of things I should avoid. Knowing which works best. In addition, I searched YouTube for video tutorials and demonstrations for the camera. I saved them for further reference and have also embedded them into this post. This will be the perfect referent for when we're in need of answers to a particular problem, as they are catered to the requirements of people completely new to the DSLR's. By viewing the video tutorial and reading multiple guides online I am now fairly familiar with the functions the camera presents and how to successfully navigate through it, accessing different features and setting it up in preparation for what we hope to create.
http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/digital-slrs/nikon-d3100-review-50001105/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptiTruEXkGk - tutorial part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laKpF-el_ak - tutorial part 2
Nikon D3100 Key Features
- 14.2 megapixel DX-format CMOS sensor
- 3.0" LCD monitor (230,000 dots)
- Image sensor cleaning (sensor shake)
- 11 AF points (with 3D tracking)
- IS0 100-3200 range (12,800 expanded)
- HD movies (1080p, 720p or WVGA)
"Thanks to its lineage the D3100 remains one of the most pleasant to hold cameras in its class. It may be small but it's very comfortable to use. It's almost impossible to pick up without your hand falling into a sensible position with the key controls at your fingertips. The layout and positioning of the buttons is some of the best we've come across and their function has on the whole been carefully thought-out too. Our one quibble would be the positioning of the Fn button (which many users, we suspect, will use to control ISO) on the side of the camera, while the the far-less-useful 'info' button occupies prime real estate beside the shutter release." - using this information and applying it to our practical work will benefit me and my group greatly. I believe familarising ourselves with the equipment we're going to be using will allow us to push the boundaries of our capabilities and therefore improve our work. Using screenshots accompanied by a description of the camera itself, allows us to easily locate key functions and understand the layout better. I have also read numerous reviews on the camera and noted its good and bad features. In doing so, I will get a brief idea of the kind of things I should make heavy use of and the kind of things I should avoid. Knowing which works best. In addition, I searched YouTube for video tutorials and demonstrations for the camera. I saved them for further reference and have also embedded them into this post. This will be the perfect referent for when we're in need of answers to a particular problem, as they are catered to the requirements of people completely new to the DSLR's. By viewing the video tutorial and reading multiple guides online I am now fairly familiar with the functions the camera presents and how to successfully navigate through it, accessing different features and setting it up in preparation for what we hope to create.
http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/digital-slrs/nikon-d3100-review-50001105/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptiTruEXkGk - tutorial part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laKpF-el_ak - tutorial part 2
Monday, 5 November 2012
Online statistics research - secondary audience research
Online stats:
User reviews for Misfits.
User reviews for Dead Set.
From these statistics, I am able to compare and generalise how people from different age groups responded to the dramas that my group have studied. I can then take from this and adapt to the specific age group that I think will respond the best and therefore better my groups chances of success. For example, I can already see that females under 18 and males under 18 have very similar averages and the highest values in their votes. This means that we should perhaps cater to an audience that consists of both males and females under 18, by using conventions such as character and story that will be preferred by that audience. This does not mean that we should completely disregard the opinions of viewers that are not of that age range, but instead try to adapt the program and capitalise on the cons presented, to better the program and reach out to a broader audience range. In addition to these statistics, I read reviews on the same site and on others to give myself an idea on what worked well according to other people and what didn't work as well. I can then apply these to our show. Knowing the kind of things that will be responded to in the best possible way. Overall, I think that these statistics, when compared to the reviews I have gathered, will greatly improve the research and therefore the end product, due to an extended knowledge of audience preference and opinion.
User reviews for Misfits.
| Votes | Average | |
| Males | 16952 |  8.5 |
| Females | 9084 |  8.9 |
| Aged under 18 | 971 |  9.1 |
| Males under 18 | 424 | 9.0 |
| Females under 18 | 547 | 9.2 |
| Aged 18-29 | 18646 | 8.7 |
| Males Aged 18-29 | 11688 | 8.6 |
| Females Aged 18-29 | 6958 | 9.0 |
| Aged 30-44 | 5558 | 8.3 |
| Males Aged 30-44 | 4224 | 8.2 |
| Females Aged 30-44 | 1334 | 8.7 |
| Aged 45+ | 746 | 7.6 |
| Males Aged 45+ | 562 | 7.7 |
| Females Aged 45+ | 184 | 7.5 |
| User reviews for Skins. | Votes | Average |
| Males | 13509 | 8.0 |
| Females | 9799 | 8.6 |
| Aged under 18 | 993 | 8.8 |
| Males under 18 | 307 | 8.5 |
| Females under 18 | 686 | 8.9 |
| Aged 18-29 | 18514 | 8.3 |
| Males Aged 18-29 | 10423 | 8.2 |
| Females Aged 18-29 | 8091 | 8.6 |
| Aged 30-44 | 3170 | 7.6 |
| Males Aged 30-44 | 2349 | 7.5 |
| Females Aged 30-44 | 821 | 7.7 |
| Aged 45+ | 524 | 7.3 |
| Males Aged 45+ | 389 | 7.2 |
| Females Aged 45+ | 135 | 7.7 |
| Votes | Average | |
| Males | 6447 | 8.0 |
| Females | 989 | 7.9 |
| Aged under 18 | 49 | 8.5 |
| Males under 18 | 37 | 8.3 |
| Females under 18 | 12 | 9.0 |
| Aged 18-29 | 4131 | 8.1 |
| Males Aged 18-29 | 3504 | 8.1 |
| Females Aged 18-29 | 627 | 8.0 |
| Aged 30-44 | 2889 | 7.8 |
| Males Aged 30-44 | 2603 | 7.8 |
| Females Aged 30-44 | 286 | 7.7 |
| Aged 45+ | 320 | 7.8 |
| Males Aged 45+ | 277 | 7.8 |
| Females Aged 45+ | 43 | 7.6 |
From these statistics, I am able to compare and generalise how people from different age groups responded to the dramas that my group have studied. I can then take from this and adapt to the specific age group that I think will respond the best and therefore better my groups chances of success. For example, I can already see that females under 18 and males under 18 have very similar averages and the highest values in their votes. This means that we should perhaps cater to an audience that consists of both males and females under 18, by using conventions such as character and story that will be preferred by that audience. This does not mean that we should completely disregard the opinions of viewers that are not of that age range, but instead try to adapt the program and capitalise on the cons presented, to better the program and reach out to a broader audience range. In addition to these statistics, I read reviews on the same site and on others to give myself an idea on what worked well according to other people and what didn't work as well. I can then apply these to our show. Knowing the kind of things that will be responded to in the best possible way. Overall, I think that these statistics, when compared to the reviews I have gathered, will greatly improve the research and therefore the end product, due to an extended knowledge of audience preference and opinion.
Misfits reviews - http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1548850/reviews
Skins reviews - http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0840196/
Dead Set reviews - http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1285482/reviews
Skins reviews - http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0840196/
Dead Set reviews - http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1285482/reviews
Saturday, 3 November 2012
Narrative theories applied to Dead Set
The Hero - Kelly, she is the protagonist of the series and holds the responsibility of aiding the other characters in the series.
The Villian - the zombies. The zombies are the sole cause of disruption in the equilibrium. They attack the hero and other characters.
The Donor -
The Helper - Marky, he helps Kelly in obtaining items that the rest of the group need. He also serves as her protector.
The Princess - Riq, Kelly's boyfriend. He rewards Kelly by simply coming to find her and rewarding her desires for him. Constantly under threat from the Villian (zombies)
Princesse's Father - Alex, she gives Riq the means to make contact with Kelly, therefore rewarding the Hero with what she desires.
The Dispatcher - Patrick, he is the producer of the show itself, and orders Kelly about. However, as the show progresses and the need for direction is slowly lost, Kelly makes her own way and becomes the dispatcher.
The False Hero - Patrick, upon arrival into the Big Brother House, he maintains his position as a boss and begins to take control. He is however leading the rest of the survivors into their deaths.
EQUILIBRIUM: the characters are leading their normal lives and doing their jobs. The audience follows the production of Big Brother and the lives of key people affiliated with the show.
DISRUPTION: the introduction of the zombie outbreak brings chaos and anarchy into the show. The main characters are directly affected upon its arrival.
RECOGNITION OF DISRUPTION: the main characters that are experiencing the threat first hand attempt to flee and warn the others of the disruption.
ATTEMPT TO REPAIR: the main characters begin to gather themselves and discuss possible solutions to the problem. The housemates set up protective watch over the house and settle.
RETURN: everybody succumbs to the infection and is consumed by its effects. The show ends with each character walking around as a zombie, back to somewhat of an equilibrium.
The Villian - the zombies. The zombies are the sole cause of disruption in the equilibrium. They attack the hero and other characters.
The Donor -
The Helper - Marky, he helps Kelly in obtaining items that the rest of the group need. He also serves as her protector.
The Princess - Riq, Kelly's boyfriend. He rewards Kelly by simply coming to find her and rewarding her desires for him. Constantly under threat from the Villian (zombies)
Princesse's Father - Alex, she gives Riq the means to make contact with Kelly, therefore rewarding the Hero with what she desires.
The Dispatcher - Patrick, he is the producer of the show itself, and orders Kelly about. However, as the show progresses and the need for direction is slowly lost, Kelly makes her own way and becomes the dispatcher.
The False Hero - Patrick, upon arrival into the Big Brother House, he maintains his position as a boss and begins to take control. He is however leading the rest of the survivors into their deaths.
EQUILIBRIUM: the characters are leading their normal lives and doing their jobs. The audience follows the production of Big Brother and the lives of key people affiliated with the show.
DISRUPTION: the introduction of the zombie outbreak brings chaos and anarchy into the show. The main characters are directly affected upon its arrival.
RECOGNITION OF DISRUPTION: the main characters that are experiencing the threat first hand attempt to flee and warn the others of the disruption.
ATTEMPT TO REPAIR: the main characters begin to gather themselves and discuss possible solutions to the problem. The housemates set up protective watch over the house and settle.
RETURN: everybody succumbs to the infection and is consumed by its effects. The show ends with each character walking around as a zombie, back to somewhat of an equilibrium.
Monday, 29 October 2012
Institutional Context of E4
E4 is a subsidiary of the popular Channel 4. It was launched on the 18th of January 2001. It is a 'pay-tv' companion to Channel 4. Therefore only being possible to view via a subscription based agreement, provided by satellite/cable TV providers. E4 itself is aimed at 15-35 age group, which coincides with its name, the 'E' standing for entertainment. It is part of a large portfolio owned by the conglomerate,Channel Four Television Corporation, which is comprised of such channels as: Channel 4, More 4, 4Music etc. E4 and its parent, Channel 4. These channels use synergy to promote similar products, for example, when watching one of the previously mentioned channels, advertisements for shows that are broadcast on a different sister channel are shown. Channel 4 uses its subsidiaries to its advantage in this way, being able to promote various things on various formats/channels. Channel 4, interestingly, was not originally the conglomerate. It began as a subsidiary of the International Broadcasting Authority (IBA). This was the case until 1993, when it came under control of the Channel Four Television Corporation.
A good example of cross media ownership from E4 would be the combination of the broadcasting of certain television shows, like Misfits, Skins and Beaver Falls etc, and additionally allowing people to play games that are related to these shows. This allows E4 to produce various types of media and link them all together. From this, I can also see the combination of e-media and broadcast media, which is a clear example of convergence, because these two types of media are coming together.
A great example of horizontal integration is displayed here, E4 being a part of it. The Channel Four Television Corporation owns several businesses. Most notably the television channels. It does however, also own the websites associated with its television channels. Despite them being recently abandoned, the corporation previously owned radio stations, such as 4radio and Oneword. Futhermore, it has a large part in the film production of Film4, which is yet another business that the corporation is affiliated with.
A good example of cross media ownership from E4 would be the combination of the broadcasting of certain television shows, like Misfits, Skins and Beaver Falls etc, and additionally allowing people to play games that are related to these shows. This allows E4 to produce various types of media and link them all together. From this, I can also see the combination of e-media and broadcast media, which is a clear example of convergence, because these two types of media are coming together.
A great example of horizontal integration is displayed here, E4 being a part of it. The Channel Four Television Corporation owns several businesses. Most notably the television channels. It does however, also own the websites associated with its television channels. Despite them being recently abandoned, the corporation previously owned radio stations, such as 4radio and Oneword. Futhermore, it has a large part in the film production of Film4, which is yet another business that the corporation is affiliated with.
Thursday, 25 October 2012
Check list of duties
Audience ResearchNathan- Focus Group, Online Stats, webistes
Jake -Analysis, read online reviews
Hannah -Online polls/questionnaires, Online analysis
Zac -Focus Group, UK Tribes, Books
Production ResearchNathan- Typical conventions websites
Jake -Phone-up producers, online reviews into production companies
Hannah -Questionnaires/polls, popular genre research
Zac - E-mail producers , quote media productions
Jake -
Hannah -
Zac -
Production ResearchNathan-
Jake -
Hannah -
Zac -
Summary of assignment brief
Record our research, intentions and pre-production on your blog.
Research should include the following:
- Primary and secondary research into similar products (TV programmes and webistes)
- Research into target audiences for exisiting products and your own product
My intentuions need to demonstrate how I intend my particular productions to work, they should consider specific audience for your products and how I intend to target them, both in terms of content of the production, both interms of how the content of the production pieces themselves and of the relevant platform. This should be clearly signposted on my blog with the heading ‘Intentions’. I may want to draft individual intentions but I must make firm decisions as a group and therefore my final intentions should all be the same.
My research and intentions need to be completed by Friday 16th November 2012.
I have been given a checklist for my pre-production and I must ensure that, as a minimum, I complete all the documents listed for each of the products I am creating.
Although I am working in groups, I must produce my own individual drafts of pre-production documents and then come together as a group to produce our finished paperwork. Therefore, everyone in the group should have their own planning documents, such as treatments, scripts, storyboards, draft layout of websites, etc, as well as group documents.
Summary of Narrative Theories
Izetan Todorov
His theory cannot be applied to all types of narrative, in addition, many narratives have the potential to be sophisticated and therefore deliberately defy the traditional folk tale conventions.
There is not a clear definition of a female hero.
Not all narratives are the same and cannot therefore be clearly categorised as such.
Roland Barthes
- We can decode media texts through the use of narrative.
- These instances can be easily identified by noticing how conventions are challenged/changed.
Todorov's theory:
Equilibrium: a state of peace/normailty.
Disruption: a conflict/event that is introduced to the narrative.
-Recognition of disruption: the conflict is noticed by the protagonists.
-Attempt to repair: the character begins to change, often the case.
Return: the narrative strands come together as the conflict is resolved.
-Created the principal of 8 character roles and 31 narrative functions
- The Villian.
- The Hero
- The Donor (provides hero with magical property)
- The Helper (aids the hero)
- The Princess (rewards the hero/is object of villain's schemes)
- Princesse's Father (rewards hero)
- The Dispatcher (who sends hero on his way)
- The False Hero
His theory cannot be applied to all types of narrative, in addition, many narratives have the potential to be sophisticated and therefore deliberately defy the traditional folk tale conventions.
There is not a clear definition of a female hero.
Not all narratives are the same and cannot therefore be clearly categorised as such.
Roland Barthes
- Identified 5 narrative codes. These can be used to decode texts.
- Barthes emphasises active roles of readers, creating meaning. In addition, their 'culturally formed expectations'.
5 codes:
- Action
- Enigma
- Semic
- Symbolic
- Cultural
Thursday, 18 October 2012
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