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TB2 Week 10 Blog 10: New Distribution Models

Spotify and it’s effect on the music industry.

The argument as to whether streaming services like Spotify are doing more harm than good for the music industry is currently a heavily debated topic.

In 2017, approximately 112 million people had a subscription to a music streaming service, something that a few years ago would have been almost unimaginable. Largely due to this increased use in streaming services, the music industry is on track for a second consecutive year of growth, something which hasn’t happened since 1999, and revenue is expected to continue to rise. (Financial Times, 2017)

(Financial Times, 2017)

Spotify contributes an average of $20 per user into the music industry, whilst YouTube contributes an average of only $1, (The Guardian, 2017) so it could therefore be argued that it is sites like YouTube that are harming the industry much more than services like Spotify and Apple music.

(Financial Times, 2017)

Some artists, the most prominent being Taylor Swift, have removed their music from Spotify in protest of the low pay they receive from the service, yet the graph above shows that Spotify requires a relatively low number of streams to make $1 in comparison to others. The pay is still quite low, however. It isn’t difficult for bigger artist to make money, as they will easily get a lot of streams, but for smaller artists it can be difficult to make any money from the service at all, therefore making it hard for new or lesser known artists to get their careers going. 

It is estimated that an artist will receive $0.0045 from Spotify per stream. If someone listened to music for 2 hours a day, they would be distributing $0.13 a day to artists, adding up to $49 a year to artists (Medium, 2013). Whilst this may seem low, Spotify are left with only about a quarter of the streaming revenue.

(Financial Times, 2017)

Despite the revenue made and complaints from artists that streaming companies pay too little, recent research has actually shown that "interactive streaming appears to be revenue-neutral for the recorded music industry." (CNBC, 2015) Spotify however, has operated at a loss for the past decade, ‘reporting a $195.5m operating loss in 2015.’ (The Guardian, 2017) This is expected to change though, as streaming becomes more and more popular, encouraging more people to sign up, hopefully meaning that artist will get whatever is considered a fair amount of money for their hard work.

References

Ellis-Peterson, Hannah. (April 2017). ‘How streaming saved the music: global industry revenues hit £12bn’ The Guardian. Available at:  https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/25/2016-marks-tipping-point-for-music-industry-with-revenues-of-15bn

Grasberger, Bobby. (January 2013). ‘How Your Listening Behavior Pays Artists On Spotify’ Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@burger/how-your-listening-behavior-pays-artists-on-spotify-9f23ce33c52e

Nicolaou, Anna. (January 2017). ‘How streaming saved the music industry’ Financial Times. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/cd99b95e-d8ba-11e6-944b-e7eb37a6aa8e

Wells, Nick. (November 2015). ‘Does Spotify hurt the music industry?’ CNBC. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/04/does-spotify-hurt-the-music-industry.html

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TB2 Week 9 Blog 9: News Reporting - How are women treated in the industry?

The problems and sexism women face in the media.

It is no secret that women are still treated very differently to men in the media industry. Both women in the spotlight and those behind the scenes face sexism frequently; in fact, ‘99% of women working in the film and TV industries have experienced sexism’ (The Guardian, 2015). This is evident simply when we look at interviews with stars on red carpets, who are constantly asked superficial questions such as ‘who designed your dress,’ instead of questions about their projects.

This article speaks to women in the film industry about the daily sexism they face, one of the professionals stating that the sexism experienced was mostly ‘a refusal to do what you’ve asked, or to doubt the legitimacy of the instruction,’ another saying that people often do not take them seriously, and frequently do not believe that these females could be in a position of power.

It is not just the film industry where women are not taken seriously: The Prime Minister was reduced to sexual objectification in this Daily Mail article, implying that these women should not be involved in politics, and instead should fulfil a role satisfying the male gaze. This article completely undermines both women’s authority and professionalism.

This BBC report explores the different ways women are represented in the media: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20554942

Pay gaps between men and women are also common in the media industry. The BBC published a list of their highest earners, and 5 men appear above the top earning female employee. Chris Evans tops the list, earning over £2 million a year, whilst Claudia Winkelman, the top earning female, earns just over £450,000, despite them both having the same job title. (Sky News, 2017)

Another huge problem is sexual harassment in the workplace. There have been a huge number of men in the media who have been discovered to be harassing women in the workplace, and because these men are often in a position of power, it is very difficult for the women to speak out against it. The recent Harvey Weinstein scandal, where up until recently he got away with sexually assaulting countless women, knowing that if anyone spoke out they would be ignored is a case in point.

Are we seeing progress?

Thankfully, women are increasingly starting to speak out in the media, and their movements are gaining momentum, creating campaigns such as ‘Me Too,’ in which an incredible number of people shared their stories of sexual harassment and the #timesup campaign, demanding activism against the ubiquitous sexual harassment.

This prolific activism and refusal to accept everyday sexism, hopefully means that the media industry is slowly emerging from years of discrimination against women.

References

Day, E, et al. (September 2015). ‘99% of women working in the film and TV industries have experienced sexism’ The Guardian. Available at:  https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/sep/27/sexism-film-industry-stories

Sky News. (July 2017). ‘BBC pay: Full list of stars earning more than £150,000′ Sky News. Available at: https://news.sky.com/story/bbc-talent-full-list-of-highest-earners-10953675

Legs-it image available here

Quote image available here

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TB2 Week 8 Blog 8: Multiculturalism and the Media

Representations of ethnic minorities in film.

Concentrating specifically on representation of black people in media, we can see a lot of re-used stereotypes, and unfortunately black actors will rarely get to play a character that doesn’t conform to these stereotypes in western media. Also, in most texts, black individuals will not be given a titular role, and are instead given the part of a sidekick, best friend or other minor role.

Arguably the most common black stereotype in western film is the sassy best friend or companion to the white main character. 

A perfect example of the ‘sassy’ black best friend is Titus from ‘The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.’, or the personal assistant in ‘Monster in law.’ It is also notable that she is an assistant in this film, in a cast of almost all white actors. This theme is prominent in popular culture, as back in the 60s in America it was very common for white families to have a black maid. The term ‘The Mammy’ was coined as the black maid character. This stereotype can be seen amongst popular texts, such as ‘Gone with the Wind’ or ‘The Wolf of Wall Street.’ 

Many other stereotypes of black characters exist: a more extensive list is available here: https://blavity.com/17-black-stereotypes-im-never-surprised-to-see-on-screen

Our contemporary multi-cultural world is not currently being represented by the films we are producing. Frances McDormand ended her Oscars 2018 speech by attempting to encourage actors to implement an “inclusion rider”’ which ‘is a clause that an actor can insist be inserted in their contract that requires cast and crew on a film to meet a certain level of diversity,’ (The Guardian, 2018) and many actors quickly responded that they are on board with this concept.

(The Guardian, 2018)

Often when black actors are cast as main roles, it is specifically to tell the story of a problem that black people have faced or are currently facing. An example of this being the film ‘Straight Outta Compton,’ which employs a heavily black cast to tell the story of the black rap group, and the discrimination they faced daily, mainly by the American police. Another example is ‘The Help,’ again expressing the issues of racial segregation in America in the 60s. Whilst it is important that these stories be told, stories about anything should be able to have a black lead, but this is not currently the case in Hollywood. 

We have, however seen massive progress, this year specifically, with the release of the ‘Black Panther’ film. It employs an almost all black cast and crew, and the majority of the main characters are black actors. Many believe this film will be a huge step forward in the inclusion of ethnic minorities in western films. Roles should be cast without race being taken into account, unless the ethnicity of the character is fundamental to the telling of the story, so that the western ideology that main characters should be white can be put to rest.   

References

Belham, M, Levin, S. (March 2018). ‘ Woman behind 'inclusion rider' explains Frances McDormand's Oscar speech’. The Guardian, Available at:  https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/mar/05/what-is-an-inclusion-rider-frances-mcdormand-oscars-2018

Image 1: https://www.aceshowbiz.com/still/00000502/monster_in_law12.html

Image 2: https://giphy.com/gifs/kimmyschmidt-l0Iy95UpK6KGsL9hS

Image 3: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/mar/05/what-is-an-inclusion-rider-frances-mcdormand-oscars-2018

Image 4: http://metro.co.uk/2018/02/17/cast-black-panther-connected-ways-didnt-even-know-7320304/

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TB2 Weeks 5 & 7 Blog 7: Interactive Media

Interactive websites, stories and ads are a great way to engage an audience to teach/inform, raise awareness or sell a product. 

This website uses an interactive format to engage audiences in order to raise awareness about child sex trafficking in India. As the user, you have to make decisions throughout to attempt to stop the character getting sex trafficked. 

http://bharatyatra.online/untrafficked/

This introduction grabs the user; decisions made by you will determine whether or not the child will end up being trafficked. I believe it is very successful in raising awareness, and also in showing how easy it is to make the wrong decisions when faced with this impossible situation.

I think the interactive format involves the user fully and this immersion enables them to be more invested in the issue than by simply reading an article.

Cambridge Analytica Scandal

The recent scandal involving Facebook has lead to a call across social media platforms for people to delete their Facebook accounts, with #deletefacebook trending on Twitter for several days.

Investors are taking the matter seriously. Facebook stock closed down 2.5% on Tuesday after falling as much as 6% in intraday trading. Tens of billions of dollars have been wiped off Facebook's market value this week. (CNN, 2018)

Facebook’s privacy policy is full of statements which would make the average user think twice, and it is clear from reading that they hold the right to obtain user’s data and keep it for as long as they see fit.

Whilst there is a lot Facebook can legally do with user’s data, (after they click accept on the terms and conditions they have probably not read,) Cambridge Analytica illegally obtained information from over 50 million user profiles, some speculating that it was obtained to create targeted political adverts for the online users, in order to persuade them to vote Republican in the 2016 American elections. 

Here is a quick re-cap of the events from EuroNews:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55h_ETVL5RE 

Obviously, as can be seen from the backlash on twitter and other media platforms, people were not happy about the misuse of information, nor the insincere apology from Mark Zuckerberg;

Zuckerberg also spoke to a handful of media outlets on Wednesday, including a televised interview with CNN in which he apologized for the “breach of trust”, saying: “I’m really sorry that this happened.” (The Guardian, 2018)

This event shows more than anything that whilst Facebook is ‘free,’ you pay with your data and information about yourself, as well as allowing Facebook to sell your information onto other companies.

References

‘Delete facebook’ image available here

Screenshots from interactive website

Thompson, M & Stelter, B. (March 2018). ‘Facebook's data crisis deepens as questions mount’ CNN. Available at:  http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/20/technology/facebook-data-scandal-deepens/index.html

Wong, J. (March 2018). ‘Mark Zuckerberg apologises for Facebook's 'mistakes' over Cambridge Analytica’ The Guardian. Available at:  https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/21/mark-zuckerberg-response-facebook-cambridge-analytica

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TB2 Week 3 & 4 Blog 6: Advertising Campaigns

One of the most imaginative ads from 2017 in my opinion is the Burger King ‘Google home of the Whopper’, which spoke to ‘Google home’ and other android devices, triggering their voice activation software. It won ‘Creative marketer of the Year’ at Cannes Lions festival in 2017.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij7qJ9XIFFg

Devices that picked up on this would then read out the Wikipedia description for the Whopper burger.

This definitely got people’s attention more than a regular TV ad. The creator said it was aimed at younger people who tend not to pay attention to TV advertisements anymore, and whilst some people found it invasive, I personally find it funny. Considering I am a part of the audience targeted for this campaign, I think it worked well as a creative, different advertisement.

This video shows a flaw in the campaign, however, as people began to edit the Wikipedia page to say things like the patty is made of ‘medium sized child,’ topped with ‘cyanide.’

Seminar activity.

During the seminar this week we looked at creating our own ad campaign for Lego bricks. We could choose from three different angles; durability, safety and education. We chose durability, and thought that a good way to show this aspect of the product would be to create posters showing Lego beating objects in strength.

My first idea was to use a truism of people stepping on Lego; it is something that most people who have lived around kids can relate to, therefore appealing to the target audience. It was also a popular topic for ‘memes’ at one point, meaning it would be recognised by a lot of people.

The flaw in this idea though was the negativity associated with stepping on Lego; it’s painful, and we didn’t want to convey the idea that Lego will hurt the consumer. This would also detract from the safety angle that Lego also advertises.

In the end, I thought it would be a good idea to use a diamond and put it up against the Lego block, in a similar style to a cliché boxing or wrestling match vs screen.

In the brief for the campaign, it states that Lego’s ‘basic brick design makes them solid, compact, and therefore virtually impossible to break.’ I think this is the most important point to make, and I think my ad design conveys this in a simple and comical way.

References

Image source available at:  http://www.sharenator.com/What_I_remember_most_about_LEGOs/

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TB2 Week 2 Blog 5: Film Distribution

In 2016, ‘Digital formats claimed a 58% market share (including sales and rentals), overtaking DVD and Blu-ray for the first time’ (BBFC, 2016). Whilst DVD and Blu-ray sales declined by 16.9% to a revenue of £893.6m, digital formats saw a 23% growth, totalling a revenue of £1.31bn.

The BBFC believes that this decline in the sales of physical film formats will continue to decline ‘as the demand for online product increases.’ (BBFC, 2016) There is however a good possibility that DVD will make a comeback in the future. People enjoy owning physical things rather than having digital formats, (the psychology of this explained here,) and this is made clear by the huge comeback of vinyl records. 2016 saw the highest number of vinyl record sales since 1991, (The Guardian, 2017) despite the fact that digital formats are more cost effective and more convenient for the average listener. 

Personally, I prefer having the physical object, however at this time in my life, it is inconvenient to have a lot of physical copies of films and music due to living circumstances, as well as digital rental being cheaper for me as a student. I use my brother’s netflix and a friend’s spotify, so it is available to me for free, making it extremely convenient.

(The Guardian, 2017)

DVD and other physical formats are not set to become extinct anytime soon however, as globally the physical entertainment market is ‘still worth £2.2bn annually.’ (The Guardian, 2017)

The art of cinema hasn’t been lost either: The BBFC reports that ‘2016 saw a continued high level of classifications for cinema release. Throughout the year, the BBFC classified 1,075 films for theatrical distribution – nearly double the number classified in 2009 and the highest number since 1957,′ (BBFC, 2016) meaning that cinema releases are not set to become obsolete, and I think it cannot be replaced by digital formats. There is too much love globally for cinema, meaning I think it will stay strong for a long time to come.

A media analyst for ComScore recently stated that the high numbers of people who went to see Black Panther in its opening weekend are “proof that the big screen experience may arguably be the most powerful platform of change in our society. The emotional, communal, immersive and bigger than life theatrical experience has an impact that virtually no other medium can match.” (Variety, 2018).

References

BBFC. (2016).  British Board of Film Classification Annual Report and Accounts 2016. BBFC. Available at:  http://www.bbfc.co.uk/sites/default/files/attachments/BBFC%20Annual%20Report%202016.pdf

Ellis-Petersen, Hannah. (Jan 2017). Record sales: vinyl hits 25-year high. The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jan/03/record-sales-vinyl-hits-25-year-high-and-outstrips-streaming

McNary, Dave. (Feb 2018).  ‘Black Panther’ Smashes Records With $218 Million at Holiday Weekend Box Office. Variety. Available at:  http://variety.com/2018/film/box-office/black-panther-record-opening-box-office-1202703676/

Sweney, Mark. (Jan 2017).  Film and TV ​streaming and downloads overtake DVD sales for first time. The Guardian. Available at:  https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jan/05/film-and-tv-streaming-and-downloads-overtake-dvd-sales-for-first-time-netflix-amazon-uk

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TB2 Week 1 Blog 4: Cinema Management

Roles within a cinema.

Film programmer

Film programmers decide which films will be shown in different screens and at different times, as well as managing rental negotiations with film distributors. They must anticipate which films will be successful, as well as analysing data to decide which films will continue showing and which will be cut. 

Marketing and promotions team

These teams manage PR for the cinema or chain, using popular platforms like social or mobile networks. It is their job to make sure that customers know about the different benefits and deals the cinema offers to its customers.

Operational manager

The operational manager over-sees everything within a cinema or chain of cinemas. They deal with staff, health and safety, customer service, as well as cleaning, maintenance, lighting and heating. Operational managers are more common within large cinema chains, in which they work with the general managers to over-see the smooth running of cinemas.

General Manager

The job of a general manager is similar to that of the operational manager, but they will only be in charge of one cinema site. They are usually responsible for staff rotas, customer enquiries, concessions stock, and ensuring that films and their promotional material arrive on time.

Information from: https://www.cinemauk.org.uk/the-industry/about-the-uk-cinema-sector/roles-within-the-cinema-sector/

Is Cinema Dying?

(Economics help, 2017)

This graph shows a massive drop in UK admissions since the 40s and 50s, but we can remain optimistic, as the numbers have risen from 54m in 1984, to 170m in 2017. (UK cinema association, 2017)

A researcher at the BBC believes that the original drop was due to a ‘generational shift,’ (BBC, 2017) as well as the fact that streaming is much more convenient for young people. Developments in technology are obviously going to have an impact on cinema revenue, but it is currently unclear how drastic that impact will be.

I think it’s difficult for younger people to go to the cinema today largely due to the cost; I would like to go to the cinema more often, however considering the local cinema charges £11 for a student ticket, it really isn’t affordable for me to go more than about once a month.

(Soapbox)

It’s important for cinemas to show a wide variety of films, so they can attract a large audience. Smaller cinema chains such as Curzon show art-house films regularly alongside the more mainstream films, and I think that helps encourage different people to get involved with cinema, so that cinema will stay popular for years to come.

References

Gif available at Soapbox.

(Graph:) Pettinger, Tejvan. (January 2017). Cinema attendance in UK. Economics Help. Available at: https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/6693/business/cinema-attendance-in-uk/

UK cinema association. (2017). Annual admissions - 1935 onwards. UK cinema association. Available at: https://www.cinemauk.org.uk/the-industry/facts-and-figures/uk-cinema-admissions-and-box-office/annual-admissions/

Westbrook, Ian. (September 2017).  Are we falling out of love with the cinema? BBC. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41161056

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TB1 Week 12 Blog 3: Film Production

There are many different roles within film production, all of which are indispensable in ensuring the process of filmmaking goes smoothly.

Arguably the most important person in a film shoot is the producer, who decides the film should be made, and is then there to help develop the film from the beginning to the end of the project. They ensure everyone is doing their job and that the film is on track, as well as organising funding for the film. Often people who have helped to fund the film are given the title of producer. Without these people the film would lose funding, and especially with smaller budget films, it could potentially mean the project would have to be shut down. They are also generally responsible for appointing people to fill jobs available on the film set. 

The director is at the centre of the project and decides how things should look on camera. They work very closely with cinematographers to ensure that their vision will be feasible to create on film, and they work with lighting and cameras to try and make the directors visions come to life.

The screenwriter writes the scripts, ensuring that the story flows and makes sense, and the production designer transforms this script into a storyboard. This is an extremely important tool for others working on the set, including the director and editor. They can use it as a visual template to ensure that nothing is missed during filming and that there is continuity throughout. 

(Centre for Digital Education, 2009)

There are far too many roles on a filmset to discuss in depth, but this image shows a sort of hierarchy within the film production process:

(Quora, 2015)

Every role, no matter how small it may seem, is crucial to the successful production of a film.

I think if I were to work on a filmset I would be good at directing as I’m very organised, but I also like to be in control. I wouldn’t like to be a producer where I have the responsibility of everyone as well as ensuring everything is going to plan, as I’m not very good at staying calm in stressful situations. I’m not very artistic so I wouldn’t do so well being a cinematographer or an art director, and I think I’d find filming or sound work uninteresting. I enjoy having a visual idea and seeing it come to life, and that’s why out of all the jobs available on a film set I think I’d like to be a director.

References

Bell, Jaclyn. (December 2009). The Roles of the Film Production Team. Centre for Digital Education. Available at:  http://www.centerdigitaled.com/artsandhumanities/The-Roles-of-the-Production-Team.html

Gardiner, Todd. (October 2015).  Who are the most important people in making a movie and how do they work together? Quora. Available at:  https://www.quora.com/Who-are-the-most-important-people-in-making-a-movie-and-how-do-they-work-together

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TB1 Week 11 Blog 2: Media Copyright

In 2011, this photo of an endangered crested macaque was taken, and peculiarly it sparked national debate and a 2-year court case, as to whether the copyright for the photo belonged to the photographer who set up the shoot, or the monkey who pressed the button to take the photo.

The photo was being used by numerous outlets without permission from the photographer, and when he asked them to stop using the photo without permission, Wikipedia came back saying that he couldn’t own the copyright, as it was not him who technically took the photo. According to them, the fact that an animal took the photo meant that the image couldn’t be copyrighted at all.

In 2015, PETA then filed a law suit, trying to claim the copyright on behalf of the monkey. They wanted a law suit ‘allowing Peta to administer all proceeds from the photos for the benefit of the monkey, which it identified as six-year-old Naruto, and other crested macaques living in a reserve on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.’ (The Guardian, 2015)

In 2016, a judge ruled ‘that animals were not covered by the copyright act,’ (The Guardian, 2017) and PETA appealed this decision. Finally, in 2017, PETA reached a settlement with the photographer; he now owns the copyright, but 25% of future earnings from the photo must go to Indonesian charities dedicated to the conservation of this species of monkey. (New York Post, 2017)

This whole situation is an example of copyright laws being taken too far. As the photographer says; “A monkey only pressed a button of a camera set up on a tripod – a tripod I positioned and held throughout the shoot.” (The Guardian, 2015) PETA wanted the revenue from the photo to benefit the monkey, but who has put them in the position of knowing what the monkey would want to do with the money? It would not have benefitted the monkey to own this copyright, and it would not have harmed him if the photographer owned the copyright, making this case, in my opinion, redundant.

This quote from Lawrence Tribe, a Harvard Law professor, sums up my beliefs around the case that it ‘trivializes the terrible problems of needless animal slaughter and avoidable animal exploitation worldwide for lawyers to focus so much energy and ingenuity on whether monkeys own the copyright in selfies taken under these contrived circumstances.’ (The Guardian, 2015)

References

(Image) Holland, J. (March 2017). ‘For These Monkeys, It’s a Fight for Survival.’ National Geographic.Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/03/macaques-monkeys-indonesia-endangered-pet-trade/ 

New York Post. (September 2017). ‘Suit settled over ‘selfie monkey’ photo copyright.’ Available at: https://nypost.com/2017/09/12/suit-settled-over-selfie-monkey-photo-copyright/ 

The Guardian. (July 2015). ‘Peta sues to give copyright for 'monkey selfies' to macaque who snapped them.’ Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/22/monkey-selfies-copyright-lawsuit-peta 

The Guardian. (September 2015). ‘Peta sues to give copyright for 'monkey selfies' to macaque who snapped them.’ Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/22/monkey-selfies-copyright-lawsuit-peta 

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Blogs Part 2: TB1 Week 9 Blog 1: Regulation of Cyberspace

In December 2017, the FCC in America voted to scrap net neutrality laws put in place by the Obama administration in 2015, in an attempt to ensure that all online platforms were treated equally. Ajit Pai, the frontrunner for this vote, believes that the change will help consumers and promote competition, (NY Times, 2017) whereas critics say the opposite; that the control of the web will now be handed over to cable and telecom companies. Personally, I agree with the latter. Large internet service providers will be able to charge companies for access and bandwidth, meaning that larger services will be much more dominant online, meanwhile crushing smaller or less favourable services, as they won’t be able to afford the charges. 

Needless to say, the American public generally weren’t happy with the outcome vote. ‘A record 22 million comments were submitted to the FCC by the general public before the vote – the majority in favour of keeping the rules.’ (The Guardian, 2017) In addition to this protesters filled to streets to fight against the ruling.

(The Guardian, 2017)

Their anger is definitely not misplaced. Why should ISPs get to decide what the public has access to?

Certain things do however have to be censored and regulated for harm reduction purposes and to reduce illegal activity. The dark web is home to numerous illegal and very disturbing things. 

This article highlights some of the most disturbing services available: https://www.ranker.com/list/deep-web-scary-stories/christopher-shultz

Websites which provide child pornography, drugs and numerous other illegal things clearly must be shut down, but due to the anonymity of the deep web, (thanks to its numerous layers of encryption,) origins are often untraceable, and if a website gets shut down it is likely to reappear days later with a different URL. Silk road, (the massive online drug marketplace,) managed to run successfully for 3 years, generating approximately $1.2bn before the site was shut down and the creator arrested. (Jacobsen, 2013)

(IBT, 2014)

UK internet laws are due to be tightened in an attempt to protect people, specifically children, from harmful or illegal content. But will this have any real effect on the aforementioned problem? The answer is probably not. The anonymous nature of the deep web makes it extremely difficult to trace these sites, and it is unlikely that the upcoming crack-down on legal pornography in the UK is going to have much effect on the illegal content accessible through TOR.

References

FCC -  Federal Communications Commission

(Image) Charleton, A. (2014). Silk Road 2.0: FBI Shuts Down Illegal Drugs and Guns Website and Arrests Blake Benthall. International Business Times. Available at:http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/silk-road-2-0-fbi-shuts-down-illegal-drugs-guns-website-arrests-blake-benthall-1473547 

Gambino, L. and Rushe, D. (December 2017). US regulator scraps net neutrality rules that protect open internet. The Guardian. Available at:  https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/dec/14/net-neutrality-fcc-rules-open-internet

Jacobsen, K. (2013). Silk Road 101: How did the now-busted online black market work? CS moniter. Available at: https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2013/1003/Silk-Road-101-How-did-the-now-busted-online-black-market-work

Kang, Cecilia. (December 2017). F.C.C repeals net neutrality rules. The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/14/technology/net-neutrality-repeal-vote.html

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TB1 Week 8 Blog 7: Film censorship

The BBFC exists to protect the public from content that may be found disturbing or inappropriate, and exists especially to protect children and vulnerable adults. It isn’t exclusively for children, however. The highest age rating from the BBFC is an 18, with the idea that once a person reaches adulthood, it is up to them what content they will see.

Despite this idea, the BBFC can still ask for things to be cut from films, and the filmmakers must oblige if their films are to be seen by mainstream audiences. 

A Serbian Film is an example of a film too extreme for an 18 classification. It was supposed to be screened at the London Fright Fest in 2010. At this event, films can be shown before they have been classified by the BBFC, however, rumours of the film’s extreme nature meant it had to go through classification before the festival. (BBFC)

4 days before the festival, ‘ BBFC presented the film's distributor with a cuts list. In total, 49 individual cuts were required, across 11 scenes.  It was estimated that around three minutes 48 seconds would need to be removed’ (BBFC). Even though the Filmmaker managed to cut the film so it could pass with an 18 rating, the organisers of the Fright Fest decided they didn’t want to screen a cut version of the film. It remains banned in numerous countries to this day.

(BBFC)

By 1917, the BBFC had introduced a set of rules for filmmakers to follow; ‘O’Connor’s 43′: http://www.bbfc.co.uk/education-resources/student-guide/bbfc-history/1912-1949.

After reading these guidelines, it is clear that cinema has come a long way thanks to new laws and general public acceptance, and a lot more is acceptable today than almost 100 years ago. 

(Barber, S, 2011)

This data shows that from 1976 onwards, the number of films denied a certificate at all declined rapidly, as did the amount of films rated ‘X’, (the previous rating for current ‘18′ rated films.) Different and previously ‘inappropriate’ content quickly became much more widely accepted by both regulators and the public between 1976 and 1981. 

References

‘A Serbian Film’ BBFC report: http://www.bbfc.co.uk/case-studies/serbian-film-srpski-film

Barber, S, (2011) ‘British Film Censorship and the BBFC in the 1970s’, in Harper, S and Smith, J, (2011) ‘British Film Culture in the 1970s’ Edinburgh University Press. 

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TB1 Week 7 Blog 6: Regulation and censorship

A well-known form of censorship in the UK is the 9:00pm watershed, in place to ‘protect children from harmful material on TV and radio.’ (Ofcom, 2013) Today though, is the watershed really necessary? Does it still do its job protecting children from seeing ‘unsuitable’ content?

‘[Children will] find a way to watch whatever they want,’ says Boyd Hilton, (The Guardian, 2015) and this is one of the main arguments that the watershed is no longer relevant. According to Hilton, TV programming today only acts as a guide for parents as to what may be appropriate, and will not stop children from watching whatever they want. The article discusses whether the Watershed should be abolished or not, and is a very interesting read:  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/31/should-the-9pm-television-watershed-be-abolished-debate.

The use of ‘On demand’ services amongst young people has risen massively, meaning less demand for live TV. (The Guardian, 2017) This means anyone can watch what they want, when they want, and all they have to do is check a box stating they are the correct age. This generation of 4-15 year olds watch so little live TV, that the watershed won’t mean much to them. (Stats available here: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jul/07/ofcom-young-people-watch-a-third-less-broadcast-tv-as-they-move-online)

Even if parental controls are put in place, all it takes for a child to get past that is to figure out a pin or password. It may work while they are much younger, but as they get older they will most likely find a way to get around those controls. 

Does censorship work?

There was an uproar in 2013, when Lady Gaga appeared on The X Factor, (which was shown before the watershed,) wearing just underwear. 317 complaints were made to Ofcom, stating her outfit was ‘too explicit for a pre-watershed ITV audience.’ (The Guardian, 2013) 

If this content is ‘too explicit,’ how is Embarrassing Bodies allowed to air pre-watershed?

(Capital FM, 2013)

Is this an over-reaction? 

In my opinion, absolutely. Considering the aforementioned event and its reaction, why are these types of adverts in supermarkets not more controversial?

(Image taken by me)

This huge advert is not hidden in the slightest; as you walk into the store it appears on the right-hand side. It is not around a corner or even down an aisle. This can be viewed all day, by all ages easily. In fact, it could even be argued that this is practically unavoidable, and therefore worse than Gaga’s outfit which could be actively avoided. Why, then, have no complaints have been made about this?

References

(Image:) Capital FM, (2013) ‘ Lady Gaga Performs New Songs 'Venus' And 'Do What U Want' On X Factor UK’ Available at:   http://www.capitalfm.com/artists/lady-gaga/news/x-factor-2013-performance/

Ofcom, (2013) ‘What is the Watershed?’ Available at:  https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/advice-for-consumers/television/what-is-the-watershed

Parker, R, Hilton, B, (2015) ‘Should the 9pm watershed be abolished?’ The Guardian, Jan 31st. Available at:  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/31/should-the-9pm-television-watershed-be-abolished-debate

Sweney, M, (2013) ‘Lady Gaga's X Factor routine escapes investigation despite 317 complaints’ The Guardian, Dec 16th. Available at:  https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/dec/16/lady-gaga-x-factor-routine-investigation-complaints-itv

Sweney, M, (2017)  ‘ Ofcom: young people watch a third less TV on sets as they move online’ The Guardian, July 7th. Available at:  https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jul/07/ofcom-young-people-watch-a-third-less-broadcast-tv-as-they-move-online

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TB1 Week 5 Blog 5: Transmedia

Advertising is extremely complex, and it takes a certain amount of creativity to create an ad that will speak to an audience. Research suggests that the advertisements which have the most effect are ones that follow a narrative, and they ‘are generally more persuasive than non-narrative ads.’ There are many reasons for this, a main one being that we can empathise easily with characters in narratives, which apparently ‘enhances persuasion,’ making the audience identify with the brand, which is less likely to happen if they are just shown a product with no narrative. (Kim, E, et al. 2017)

A lot of adverts concentrate so much on the narrative, that the product is barely shown, and this relates to Niel Postman’s argument that advertising is no longer about the brand but the story behind it. (Postman, 1968)

Some campaigns take this idea, and create a narrative for the audience themselves, making it interactive. The audience can get involved, which creates a lasting impression. It delivers something for the people who are already fans on the subject to enjoy, as well as attracting interest from new audiences. 

‘The Lost Experience’ was an ‘alternate reality game’ (ARG) spanning across 5 months, created as a marketing campaign for the television show ‘Lost.’ The campaign created numerous interactive websites, posters, e-mails, television ads and phone calls, all of which came together to create a truly immersive experience. This video discusses the campaign and its success:

https://youtu.be/oXK8Cp9KjXE

(Askwith, I, 2006)

The campaign was carried out from May - September 2006, and sure enough, the show did see a spike in viewers duing this time, going from an average of 15.5m viewers for season 2, to 17.84m in season 3, which started just after ‘The Lost Exprience’ had come to an end. (Data from ABC)

This technique of advertising across different platforms, including those offline, enable a much more memorable experience, considering the different parts of the campaign had to be actively found by the partaker. 

The internet has been extremely beneficial to companies marketing their products or media. Viral marketing, social media marketing and interactive campaigns like The Lost Experience, are all possible because of the ubiquity of the internet. 

References

(Image:) Askwith, I, et al, (2006) ‘Deconstructing The Lost Experience’ MIT Convergence Culture Consortium. Available at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/8918/887bd60aebff2b145bf691dbbcc78d3242fa.pdf

Kim, E., Ratneshwar, S., & Thorson, E. (2017). Why Narrative Ads Work: An Integrated Process Explanation. Journal of Advertising, pp283-296 

Neil Postman (1986) Chapter 9: ‘Reach out and Elect Someone’ Amusing Ourselves to Death, London and New York: Penguin, pp126-128

Season Program Rankings from 09/15/05 through 06/10/07". ABC Medianet. May 31, 2006/June 12, 2007

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TB1 Week 4 Blog 4: Cinematherapy

Cinema is considered to be an effective tool whilst attempting to influence people, as can be seen with the theory of The Hypodermic Syringe Model, which states audiences are directly influenced by what they experience on screen. This relates back to the fact that cinema is often blamed for violence amongst people. It is no wonder therefore, that it has been speculated, that if films can have a negative influence, surely they could also promote positive behavior. (Sharp et al, 2002)

Wedding and Boyd, (1997) obviously agree, stating that: ‘No other art form pervades the consciousness of the individual to the same extent and with such power as cinema.’ The immersive effect of films as well as their potential impact makes it unsurprising that Cinematherapy is widely accepted as a treatment for a range of cases.

Human issues are frequently explored in film, and therapists are taking advantage of this, using films to help their patients. We all experience problems, and often people have a ‘go-to’ film to watch when they aren’t feeling their best. By watching films which explore similar issues to our own, we can view problems from someone else’s perspective and therefore look at our situation more subjectively, possibly helping to solve the problem. (Zur institute, 2015)

Films are chosen very carefully in order to have the desired effect on the patient. They are used for identification, reflection, and/or as a form of catharsis.        (Zur institute, 2015)

Examples

For a case of childhood trauma, a patient may be given a film such as Good Will Hunting, or for someone dealing with the horrors or aftermath of war a therapist may prescribe a film such as Dear John or American Sniper. (Zur institute, 2015)

This website offers suggestions of films for different cases:

http://www.zurinstitute.com/movietherapy.html#abuse

The charity Medicinema uses the idea of Cinematherapy on a wider scale. It screens films in hospitals for patients as a form of escapism from illness or hospital beds, to encourage ‘a few hours of normality,’ (Medicinema). Instead of prescribing a specific film to help with a specific illness, Medicinema shows films which are appropriate for everyone present, no matter what their illness, or how severe it is, as the cinemas have room for wheelchairs and beds, as well as having nurses present throughout the screening.

(http://www.medicinema.org.uk/)

References

Medicinema: http://www.medicinema.org.uk/

Sharp, C, Smith, J & Cole, A (2002) Cinematherapy: metaphorically promoting theraputic change.

Wedding, D. & Boyd, M.A. (1997) Movies and mental illness: Using films to understand psychopathology.

Zur, O. & Wolz, B. (2015). Therapeutic Themes and Relevant Movies: Addendums to Movie Therapy, Reel Therapy or Cinema Therapy. Available at: http://www.zurinstitute.com/movietherapy.html#abuse

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TB1 Week 3 Blog 3: Television Scriptwriting

When coming up with ideas for new series’, writers must take a lot into consideration. The new idea must be innovative and unique, yet familiar.

Whilst I love Friends, the concept has been done to death; there are so many carbon copies on TV today. The idea that a new show must have something unique clearly doesn’t apply to shows like How I Met Your Mother, Happy Endings and so many others.

Successful shows on TV today explore new concepts and take risks: they aren’t trying to be something else.

Game Of Thrones and The Walking Dead were the two most popular shows this year so far, (Insider, 2017) which is interesting. Both shows have a fairly niche genre; post-apocalyptic fiction and medieval fantasy aren’t often heard as being hugely popular, yet they are. This proves that a series doesn’t have to start off as mainstream to become a success.

(Data: Nielsen Media Research, Graph by Wikipedia)

It is clear from this graph that Game Of Thrones started without much interest, and it has slowly made its way into the mainstream.  The season 7 finale of Game Of Thrones drew 16.5 million viewers (Variety,2017)

The Walking Dead has also entered the mainstream, and one episode reached 17.3 million views. (TVline, 2016) However, it’s popularity is slowly dying down.

(Data: Nielsen Media Research, Graph by Wikipedia)

One of my favourite TV series is the E4 show Misfits, which took a huge risk with its choice of characters; a group of young offenders. Even though they are lawbreakers, (and are decidedly unapologetic,) audiences find themselves rooting for these characters, (even when they murder their probation workers.) Another risky element is the British humour. The jokes in Misfits have a similar style to those made in The Inbetweeners, and as can be seen from The Inbetweeners US, British humour doesn’t always translate, potentially narrowing down the audience possibilties.

The Inbetweeners US was a total failure; it was cancelled after just one season, and it isn’t difficult to see why. A lot is lost in translation, and unfortunately, it just doesn’t work. This video explores its issues:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY3-D4R8Oxc

The risk that Misfits took paid off; one episode had almost 1.8 million views, (BARB, 2017) and a US adaptation of the show is currently in production. It’ll be interesting to see if the script can be adapted successfully.

References

Mitovitch, Matt Webb. (2016) Ratings: Walking Dead premiere draws 17 million, TVline, available at: http://tvline.com/2016/10/25/the-walking-dead-ratings-season-7-premiere/

Nededog, Jethro (2017) 20 most popular shows of 2017 so far, Business Insider, available at: http://uk.businessinsider.com/most-watched-tv-shows-world-parrot-analytics-2017-7?r=US&IR=T/#1-game-of-thrones-hbo-20

Otterson, Joe (2017) Game Of Thrones season 7 finale draws record 16.5 million viewers, Variety, available at: http://variety.com/2017/tv/ratings/game-of-thrones-season-7-finale-ratings-2-1202540601/

Viewing figures: http://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/weekly-top-10/?_s=4

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TB1 Week 2 Blog 2: Archives

The preservation and organisation of the history of the media and indeed most recorded history is the work of an archivist. 

Without their work, we would not have organised historical documents, nor a simple way to access and experience them. There are many different types of archives all with their own different forms of history. We have film, paper and sound archives as well as museums and art galleries and national and regional archives.

Out of all these different archives, the one that interested me the most was the paper archives, so I went online to The British Newspaper Archive to see what types of documents are preserved, and I was amazed with what I found.

I looked for newspaper articles from North Devon (as that is where I’m from) and downloaded the first ever front cover of The North Devon Journal, printed in 1824. I find it incredible that we have legible documents dating back so far, and it’s very interesting to see news from my hometown from almost 200 years ago.

(BNA)

Archiving must be so exciting; piecing together information from the past and potentially discovering hidden secrets of history.

The newspaper is nowhere near the oldest document I found, however. I decided to visit The National Archives at Kew, and I found a scanned copy of the last will and testament of William Shakespeare, which is incredible - he died in 1616, 401 years ago. And even further back, at the British Library they hold the Gutenburg Bible published in 1455.

These documents are evidently unavailable for the public to view in person, as the paper would be so delicate, (amongst other worries,) but archivists catalogue and conserve the documents, allowing them to be viewed in different formats, such as online which is where I read the documents I have spoken about.

If we didn’t have someone to do this job, history could disappear: records and documents from centuries ago could just cease to exist, however due to the digitisation of most of these documents, they can be experienced by everyone.

References

(Image:) The British Newspaper Archive, British Library. Available at:  https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/

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TB1 Week 1 Blog 1: Introduction

Media is totally and completely ubiquitous in our world. It is difficult now to imagine a life without the internet, phones or the ability to communicate immediately with someone far away. 

 A recent study found that adults now spend almost 8 hours per day consuming media, (IPA, 2017) meaning that on average adults now spend longer consuming media than they spend sleeping, considering the average night’s sleep for UK adults is 6.8 hours per night. (Independent, 2016)

It is no doubt therefore, that the media industry has grown to become a valuable sector, generating £54.9bn in 2016 in the UK. On average, UK households will spend £122.54 a month on communication services. (Ofcom, 2017) Media is a growing part of our lives, wherein ‘68% of adults agree that watching T.V programmes/films brings the family together’. (Ofcom, 2017)

The same source also states that now, over a third of adults access television services out of the home, proving the fluidity and accessibility of media today.

(Ofcom, 2017)

My interest within the media world are the effects certain media can have on people, and it amazes me how a text can be so influential.

Unfortunately, negative effects can sometimes be seen when the lines between reality and virtual reality become blurred. There have been instances of people, often children, playing the game Grand Theft Auto, and afterwards repeating their virtual actions in real life. (Just to note: I am not claiming that video games are the reason for violence, but I do believe that they can have a very strong influence, particularly on impressionable children.) If media texts can have this influence on people, it makes me wonder what other potential they hold. 

Take this example, where an 8 year old boy shot his grandmother in the back of the head after playing the game:

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/25/us/louisiana-boy-kills-grandmother/index.html

(Gamespot, 2011)

Whilst the previous example is negative, I believe it can be turned around, so that media can be used to create a positive impact on people’s lives. I hope to be a part of that, whether I end up in a job based in marketing, production, screenwriting or anything else. I am excited to experience the broad range of opportunities I will hopefully discover as a media student.

References

IPA (2017) ‘Adults spend almost 8 hours each day consuming media’ available at: http://www.ipa.co.uk/news/adults-spend-almost-8-hours-each-day-consuming-media#.WhBD_0pl_IU

Lewis, Kayleigh (2016) ‘Adults are under sleeping by an hour every night’, The Independent, April 2016, available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/adults-uk-under-sleeping-health-sleep-fatigue-a6963631.html

Ofcom, (2017) Communications Market Report, available at: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/105074/cmr-2017-uk.pdf

(Image:) Sinclair, Brendan (2011) Game researcher, Gamespot, available at: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/violent-games-linked-to-lowered-sympathy-in-kids-study/1100-6307103/