TV

 Monday 11th October 2021

Industries and Audience 

Terminology:

•  Publicly owned TV channel -- involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service.

• Commercial broadcasting --is thebroadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media

• Media convergence -- phenomenon involving the interconnection of information and communications technologies, computer networks, and media content

• The watershed --  means the time when TV programmes which might be unsuitable for children can be broadcast.

• Segmented market -- audience divided into different groups, depending on taste and interests

• Mainstream -- mass audience : the ideas, attitudes or activities that are shared by most people are regarded as normal or conventional

• self - regulating --  not regulated by outside bodies

• Franchise -- license from company of a product to use format/show/ideas

• Psb -- regulators demand channels fulfil certain requirements as part of their license fee,funds the BBC

research task:

1. when was tv introduced to the Uk? -- November 2nd 1936

2.in 1965, how many channels were there in the uk and what were they? -- 3/BBC1, BBC2, channel 4

3. when did ITV start? -- 22nd september 1955 , different because it was commercial

4.Which uk channels have to follow PSB remits? -- Channel 3 services, Channel 4, Channel 5, S4C and the BBC.

5. who regulates tv now? -- ofcom

6.  who regulated tv channels in 1960s? -- the government under the direction of the Postmaster General.

7. Differences in tv from the 60s to now:

Ownership and regulation

BBC ethos : "to inform, educate and entertain"

public services (the charter) -- 

1. To provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the world around them
2. To support learning for people of all ages
3. To show the most creative, highest quality and distinctive output and services
4. To reflect, represent and serve the diverse communities of all of the United Kingdom’s nations and regions and, in doing so, support the creative economy across the United Kingdom

The license fee --

The licence fee allows the BBC's UK services to remain free of advertisements and independent of shareholder and political interest.

BBcs mission, vision and values --

To show the most creative, highest quality and distinctive output and services

To reflect, represent and serve the diverse communities of all of the United Kingdom’s nations and regions and, in doing so, support the creative economy across the United Kingdom

To reflect the United Kingdom, its culture and values to the world

Our values are:

• Trust is the foundation of the BBC. We’re independent, impartial and honest
• We put audiences at the heart of everything we do
• We respect each other and celebrate our diversity
• We take pride in delivering quality and value for money
• Creativity is the lifeblood of our organisation
• We’re one BBC. Great things happen when we work together
  

Monday 18th October

• commercial channels are funded through advertising 
• ITV1, Channel4 and Channel5 are commercially funded channels which also have to fulfil some PSB requirements

They generate income by:

• subscription (eg,Skysports/movies)
• Pay Per View (eg sky box office)
• sponsorship ("thanks to" messages on credits)
• Advertising (£250,000 for 30 second slot during BGT)
• product placement

ITV - " our vision is to be 'more than TV building upon ITVs unique and winning combination of creativity and commercial strength"

strategy: 

their channels:

Other platforms available:

Itv hub -  website/app where you can access past shows with add-free

Britbox Uk and international

generate income other then advertising:

Get revenue directly from consumers who are willing to pay to engage with ITV brands and content. Through subscription video on demand services, in-programme competitions and voting.

Most popular ITV programmes: (2020)

• Im a celeb get me out of here
• Britians got talent
• Des
• Ant and Decs saturday night takeaway

most expensive programme to make:   2011/2012 Red or Black

Advantages to a commercially owned TV channel:

• offers immediate trust
•  provides you the ability to buy the exact amount of ratings (or numbers of viewers) that you need

Monday 1st November

TV Audiences

Ways to access TV today:  live TV, online steaming, apps, subscriptions

THEORY: the active audience

-this focus on debates as to whether an audience is active or passive

-a passive audience accepts and believes everything a media text tells them. they are easily influenced and don't question the messages conveyed

- an active audience interacts with a media text and makes its own decisions about whether to accept and believe everything. they question messages and interpret meanings differently 

Watershed, overseen by ofcom, is between 9pm - 5:30am 

-between these hours broadcasters can show content that would be deemed unsuitable for children up to the age of 15

TV drama sub-genres:

-crime ( line of duty )

-period (downtown abby)

- teen ( outer banks)

- medical ( casualty )

- political (home land)

- science - fiction (doctor who)

- fantasy (game of thrones)

The 1960s

- more pop culture

- women's rights

- April 12th 1961, first man into space

- Rise in interest in fashion

- most homes had a TV by the end of the 60s

- 1964 BBC launched its second channel 

Popular bands: the beatles, rolling stones, pink floyd, it was the beginning of pop and rock culture

political party in 1965 and the PM: Labour party, Harold Wilson (40s and 50s were conservative)

were illegal drugs, according to the media, a big part of the culture?: yes, recreational and hallucagenic drugs in particular. this massively influenced the 'hyppie' culture at the time

wars being fought: North yemen civil war, dominicain civil war, the cold war, JFK assassination,

scientific development for women: first commercially available oral contraceptive pill. This gave women more freedom

what were people protesting about?: civil rights, many campaigned against the war, trade union, anti-nuclears

How would life be different in the 1960s for women, men and different races compared to now in the UK? ---> life would be different as compared to the 1960s, as a society we have become more racially diverse and reflect apon equality in a more serious light. In the 1960s, there was only just starting an increase in the amount of women just beginning to go to higher education and they were protesting for equal pay rights. Additionally there was very little diversity in race. For example, there were little to none black TV presenters or anyone who was non- white in superior, high-paid jobs. In the 60s it was still very much a patriarchle society compared to our society now-a-days.

Key contextual areas

• concerns over the COLD WAR ---> In 1965, the cold war was at its heights. Britain was a part of NATO ( a group of 12 western countries who agreed to support eachother in the face of a soviet attack) in retaliation , the soviet union formed a pact with seven other communist countries. Europe was divided into two armed sides!
• Threat of nuclear war ---> Anxieties about nuclear war were common as both the soviet union and the US were buildng up their armies and weapons. In 1962, the cuban missile crisis took place over a terrifying week when the two countries took the world to the brink of a nuclear war.
• Espionage ---> Both sides in the cold war used espionage (a way of finding out what the other side was doing and as a way to plant false information) a number of double agents were found guilty of spying in the early 60s and either defected or were imprisoned. this meant thst espionage was a common theme in film and TV

Monday 8th November

The Avengers

Research:

• Which institution (channel) produced the show? --> ABC television -  a contractor within the ITV network
• who was the primary and secondary audience --> mainstream adult 
• when did the first episode air? -- > 7th January 1961
• how many seasons were made? --> 6
• what date/year was the last episode aired? -->21st April 1969
• what was the budget for season 4? --> $2 million, £56,000 per episode

1. series 4 was shot on film. What did this mean in terms of : location, production values, editing, camera work and film?

Monday 22nd November

episode notes:

Storyline:

John steed and emma peel meet in London to get a train where onboard they meet Mr, small who has a brother in the seaside town they are visiting. They get to the town and go get rooms at a local pub where they get a not very nice welcome from the locals that they meet. They later find Mr.small dead.     With Emma posing as a school teacher, she finds a school photo with the real locals and realise that the unwelcoming locals they met in the pub are actually imposters. While underground these imposters are gathering weapons for a full scale invasion of England.

The characters:

 John steed, Mrs emma peel

piggy warren, Mrs Manson

Tom Smallwood

Mr Brandon 

Audience appeal: (uses and gratification theory by blulmer and katz)

- could identify and empathise with upper class role models

- can enjoy the escapist plot 

- could enjoy the danger of the heroes situations and how they escape with style, humour and sophistication

- can watch the programme together as a family 

- the different locations shot at, appealed

PIES:

how it shows social and cultural context:

- war context 

- threat of a nuclear war and foreign invasion

- espionage

-women are in jobs (women's rights)

- english stereotypes (drinking tea)

- women in a fight scene

- Women were still shown to be submissive to to men

- class structure

Monday 29th November

CONTEXT - the avengers : the town of no return

intertextual references:

Fifth columnists --> group of people who secretly supported the enemy and undermine the country from within

fifth columnists in the episodes --> the episode references WW2 films. in both cases, the english country village is like an illusion, as intruders are impersonating stereotypical British characters 

influences from films/Tv from 1965:

- ThunderBall (the fourth James bond film) --> espionage was increasingly popular and there were spies for the British and this was particularly shown through john steeds character 

The cold war and espionage:

- The opening scene symbolises the theme of the episode, which ca be summed up as the invasion of Britain supported by 'the enemy within'. Saul , who represents the stereotypical bitish fisherman, is not alarmed by the strange arrival of the imposter from the sea in a waterproof bag. Directs him to lower Bazely as if a smartly dressed 'english gentlemen' appearing from the sea was an everyday occurrence.

- this alerts the 1965 audience to familiar themes linked to spying: disguise and impersonation.

reassuring the audience:

Humour and references to ww2 - Emma peel explains the planned invasion to Steed. This is given very little screen time; Steeds position (sat behinds a childs desk) adds humour to the situation and they both have a cool calm response. --> this reassures the audience that any threat is not as serious as the threat in the early years of ww2.

Representation of the enemy- The solders are not seen as a massive threat as they are seen as week, emma peel and john steed defeat them very quickly. The representation of the impersinators were not seen as dangerous 

Monday 6th December

Lo: to analyse representation and influence of social and cultural context in series 4 episode 1

Representation->how was the typical stereotypical english seaside town represented?

Monday 13th December

The Avengers: Extract Analysis

Media Language: 

- mise en scene

- camerawork

- sound

- editing 

Camerawork  ---> shot types, camera movement, camera angles

• long, mid, medium, close up, extreme close up and close up shots

establishing shot : the first shot in a scene that provides an overview of the setting

• low angle, high angle, canted angle or aerial shots
• point of view shots
• camera movement : tracking, steadicam or crane shots
• handheld camera
• focus pull

shallow focus : one plane of the scene is in focus while the rest is out of focus

The Avengers Extract: pick out 3 different elements and their meaning they create

1. hand held camera movement --- > tracking the main protagonist during fight scene - this intensifies the movement
2. high angle shot of the hole --- > intensifies the deepness and danger
3. canted angle in fight sequence --- > shows the struggles

in the final fight scene they use canted angles within the camerawork for much of the scene. This is because the main idea for canted angles is show something isn't right in the equilibrium. In this case, they are to highlight the power struggle for the main protagonists throughout the fight scene.

Mise-en-scene ---> 

• high key, low key lighting 
• location/ setting
• costume and make - up
• props
• casting and performance style
• blocking (the composition of elements within the shot)

1. the villagers were presented in less formal clothing 
2. WW2 memorabilia - to show peggy warren to be linked to the war
3. blocking (physical barriers and character positions)

in the pub scene, they use blocking to show the divide between the villagers and newcomers. This is done by having a physical barrier being put between them at the start of the scene. The bar is used a barrier and this is continued on even when there is no physical barrier by the characters positions. This thoroughly exaggerates the contrast between the two groups within this scene.

Monday 10th January 2022

EDITING

• shot/reverse shot : where one character is shown looking at another character (often off-screen), and then the other character is shown looking back at the first character
• juxtaposition : combining of two or more shots to evoke an idea or state of mind
• non - continuity editing :  shots are mismatched to disrupt the impression of time and space. 
• cross cutting : switching back and forth between scenes with the suggesting that they are happening at the same time
• fast paced editing : to increase drama or suspense (or slow motions)
• post-production effects : adds sound (including music, voiceovers, and sound effects) and visual effects
• transitions : wipe, fade, dissolve
• cutting on action: common convention of action scenes 
• match cut : used to link two scenes which will line up with the same act of movement

In the extract when steed and peel are fencing and peel strikes steed where he is shown to be falling the camera cuts to a closer shot of steed falling onto the chair. The cutting on action can suggest emma peels superiority over steed and how she overpowers him. 

Another editing technique, Shot and reverse shots are used at the beginning of the extract switching between shots and peel and steeds faces as they are engaging in dialogue with each other , to show the familiarity between the two characters and that they have a friendship. it also can tell the audience that these two characters are both equally important.

SOUND

• music
• diegetic/ non - diegetic sound : Diegetic sound is sound that comes from the setting of the film. Non-diegetic sound is sound that comes from our world, such as the soundtrack or scoring.
• sound effects
• sound bridge : sound from a previous scene carries over into the opening of the next one
• voiceover
• parallel sound : sound matches the mood or tone of the sequence
• contrapuntal sound : sound that contrasts strongly with the image that you see on screen.

CUFFS

Monday 17th January

Television in the 2010s

Key events in/before 2015:

2015 ---> 

• The Conservatives won the UK general election - 7 May
• iranian nuclear deal
• brexit was getting talked about

2014 --->

• ebola epidemic in west africa 
• israel war 

2013 -->

• same sex marriage law passed

1. what political party was in power in 2015? who was it? what was the relevance of the UKIP party being so popular?

-The conservative party with David Cameron as the leader was the first single party in control for the first time in 5 years. 

-The UKIP party was gaining popular votes in local elections as brexit was being talked about a lot and they were a party that thought leaving the EU was the answer to a lot of issues. They also talked about migrants and immigration a lot and the popularity of UKIP showed that the UK was in fear of anyone outside of Britain and there was tension.

2. what were the major fears and issues of the post 9/11 era?

- an increase in major terrorist attacks 

- Threats from middle - eastern countries

3. what wars were being fought around the world?

-syrian war 

- Afghanistan war

4. what were people protesting about in the uk?

- same sex marriage, it was only passed in 2014

- immigrants

- racism 

- police brutality

There had been major shifts and values since the 1960s: The equality act in 2010 meant any discrimination was illegal; Britain was a far more multicultural country; attitudes towards sexuality were far more accepting.

Differences you would expect to see from a police drama in 2015 compared to one in 1965:

A police drama in 1965 would have a predominantly white cast, whereas in 2015 there had been an increase in how multicultural Britain was, we would expect to see a more diverse cast.

the threats and issues that may show in a 1965 drama would be repeatly about the cold war and bomb threats as that was the relevant topic. But in a 205 drama, racism and brutality and terrorist threats would be a predominant topic.

Representations in a 2015 drama would have a be way more diverse and would expect to see more areas explored like sexuality and feminism.

Television industry: 2010

trailer for cuffs:

 what elements did they include?

-violence

-comedy

-romance

their target audience was widespread 

diverse representation

how have they represented police life

- a hard and difficult job

- give more information on how policing is like

how have they represented personal life?

- like a soap opera, relationship drama

• part of winter schedule for 2015 : aired October 2015, typically at a time aimed at wider family audiences 
• scheduling: broadcast 8pm on a weekday
• pre-watershed cuffs targeted a broad family audience of 16-65
• offered a range of characters and representations and storylines to appeal to as many segments of demographic as possible
• format/appeal: fits modern post 2010 poplist series format - everyday relatable storylines with consistent set of troubled characters
• narrative: weekday winter pre-watershed formats are intended to be engaging but not threatening to mainstream audience values. storylines tend to be covered superficially and lack depth of darker post-watershed series 

Monday 24th January 2022

Cuffs: series 1, Episode 1

Notes:

Names and details of main characters:

• chief super robert vickers - 
• PC jake vickers - the super intendants son and also skipped years of training , gay
• PC ryan draper - mentor for jake
• DS jo moffat -
• DI felix kane - represented as isolated
• DC carl hawkins -
• PC donna prager - 
• PC lino moretti - the comical character

Different narratives constructed, how they develop:

• jakes mentoring, how it goes, relationship between him and ryan
• suspected relationship between DS jo moffat and chief super vickers
• jake and the solicitor, the relationship building between the two

Monday 31st January

Propp's character types:

personal identity: 

• diverse cast, wide range of race, sexuality, gender, home life, personal issues
• roles models of characters in higher positions
• may empathise with the difficult job of the police in the face of public indifference
• may enjoy seeing gay characters as key protagonists who are not defined by their sexuality
• can explore/reinforce their own values through those celebrated by the programme

information:

• the social realism offers a sense of informing the audience about police work and criminal world

entertainment:

• can escape into the fictional world of a police team
• can take pleasure from seeing the characters in danger, solving conflict and facing challenges
• can feel reassured by the hard work and dedication of the police team
• may enjoy the humour, action and suspense

social interaction:

• may feel like they are part of the team
• may build a personal relationship with a character 

how was brighton represented in episode 1?

in the opening sequence Brighton is represented as a very scenic place with the use of aerial shots. although it also reinforces stereotypes of seaside cities beings quite a rough and criminal based area by adding in shots of graffitti and the more run down areas. 

The cross cutting of the scene with ryan and the superintendents speech, shows the harsh realties of policing in brighton, as ryan gets punched, but the superintendent in talking about how amazing and proud you should feel being a police officer.

Monday 7th February

Cuffs and social context

Womens roles and representation:

DS jo Moffat ---> she has important status as a detective, although it could be argues that this is undermined by her affair with her boss, chief superintendent Vickars, she is represented as weak when she hesitates about leading the press conference on the racist attack, but as a more dominant and strong character during the police raid. Her status and power in the police reflect the number of women in positions of authority in 2015.

PC Donna Prager ---> Donna is treated equally throughout the whole episode and is never undermined due to her gender. She is represented as an equivalent to the other men. This is shown when they are in the changing rooms and there isn't gender-specified areas, they are all changing together and no one is bothered by it.

PC Misha Baig --->  she is shown to be working with another police women who isn't as hight up in the ranks, we can now tell that Misha is her mentor, this represents Misha as a superior. Also compared to the reaction of the other women during the incident they come across , she is shown as brave in the face of danger and threat and this is breaking stereotypes for women

Mens roles and representations:

PC Jake Vickars -->  Jake is represented as masculine through being seen as physically fit and strong and also standing up to Ryan. however jake is gay which is defiently braking stereotypes for males and when going in the police raid he is seen as the weakest and freezes. 

PC Lino Moretti --> Compared to donna Lino is seen as the weakest and the donna is shown to be the dominant one out of the two. But he is shown to be a stereotypical male maybe through how much he loves his food.

Ryan Draper -- > multi-dimensional character with both traditional masculine and feminine qualities.

Sexuality:

• visibility of LGBTQ+ characters increased and accepted representations
• jakes character challenges the stereotype of homosexuality being an issue or problem

This can be seen in the episode when Jake never made his sexuality a big deal and came out and told Ryan very casually. The stereotype that homosexuality is an issue is challenged as no one has an issue with him and he is never seen as less than anyone else just because of his sexuality

Multiculturalism:

• positive view of multiculturalism reflects 2015 attitudes 
• racism still exists in Britain
• racist group represented very negatively
• The powerful anti-racist message reflects society attitudes in 2015

.Ryan draper being the main characters whilst also being a black male shows that the cast is that of a diverse one, where also Misha is also represented in a positive light being a police officer, this shows that a wide range of ethnicities are accepted. when the boy is stabbed in the shop by a racist white male, this shows that racism is still an occurence in Britain

Age:

• different ages represented to have complicated personal lives
• younger generation seen to be attractive, physically fit and energetic
• youth associated with inexperience, age with experience

Both jake and his dad are opposites sides of the age spectrum yet both have equally complicated social lives. Jake being the younger out of the two is shown to be inexperienced whereas his dad is older and therefore in a more superior role as he has more experience .

Changing attitudes: The police

• Showing the dedication and the teamwork within the force
• the mentoring shows the everyday stress the police are facing and how hard is actually is in becoming a good police officer, proving people wrong when they say being a police officer is an easy job
• Throughout the episode, each criminal they try to catch is done with a lot of determination which futherly shows the dedication they have to their job

Monday 14th February

Exam preparation:

Synonyms for show : depict, portray, convey, construct, represent

E.G. = "how did they SHOW the point of view of the police man?"

Exam format

TV unit for paper 1 : Television & promoting media ( The Lego Movie) 1hr 45mins 

                                  worth 70 marks ( section A - 5Qs 45marks / section B - 4Qs 25marks)

Section A Television --> three questions based on the Avengers extract and a further two questions on TV industry, audiences or contexts

Questions will include the following areas:

• media language 
• representations
• social, political & historical context

Q1: Media Language

ask you to analyse the extract using ONE area of media language ( sound, editing, camerawork, mise-en-scene)

• give at least 2 specific examples
• 5 marks ( spend at least 5 minutes)
• pinpoint where each specific example comes from in the extract
• analyse and explain how each example creates meaning or effects
• use the appropriate media terminology for the media language element 

Q2: media language and representation:

analyse the extract to make a judgement

• how particular viewpoints have been shown
• how certain groups have been represented
• how the audience have been positioned 
• how certain values have been constructed
• 10 marks (10 mins)
• to make a judgement, you need to have an opinion either at the start or at the end
• give 3 specific examples
• how they create meaning and effect
• accurate terminology

Q3: long essay based question:

ask you to use both the extract and your knowledge of TV to make a judgement

• how particular viewpoints have been shown
• how certain ideas or values have been represented 
• how the audience have been positioned
• how the context has effected the meaning
• give 3 specific examples from the extract
• analyse and explain how it creates meaning and effect
• make a judgement
• 15 marks (15 mins)
• top tip --> look at the mise-en-scene first if youre looking at representations 

Q4: TV industry & audiences:

TV industry and audiences in general, it could ask you to refer to either TV drama studied

• scheduling
• regulation
• PSB
• Technology
• audience appeals (U&G)
• 5 mark (5 min)

Q5: contexts:

ask you about the social, political or historical context of cuffs

• asked about : influence of social context or political context / differences between 1965 and 2015 / effects of context on programming 
• 10 marks (10 mins)
• mention specific events and dates
• link to context