Film Industry: Doctor Strange

1) List the companies involved in the creation of Doctor Strange.
Doctor strange was produced by Marvel Studios, edited by Wyatt Smith, Sabrina Plisco & distributed by Walt Disney Studio Motion Pictures.

2) What is conglomerate ownership and how does it link to Doctor Strange?

Conglomerate ownership is linked to Doctor Strange because its a part of a big franchise MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) but owned by a smaller company making it a subsidiaries.

3) Who regulates the film industry in the UK?
Films in the UK are regulated by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).

4) What age rating was Doctor Strange given? Why?

The age rating for Doctor Strange was 12A. This is because it seemed to have "moderate fantasy violence and injury detail" but wasn't too graphic, so no-one under the age of 12 was able to see the film unless accompanied by an adult.

5) How was Doctor Strange promoted to an audience? List at least three different methods used by the film's marketing campaign.

Doctor strange was promoted to an audience through the use of social media as well as traditional methods (posters, teaser trailers in cinemas and on TV etc.) Also by using a well known actor, Benedict Cumberbatch, helped to draw in a much larger audience because of his role in previous films like Sherlock.

6) Analyse the film trailer for Doctor Strange. What aspects of the trailer tell you this is a big-budget blockbuster movie?

Flashing scenes, music creates suspense, CGI effects, long pauses before speech, echoing voiceovers. 

7) What was the production budget for Doctor Strange and how much did it make at the box office?

The production budget for Doctor Strange was $165 million to make and the box office receipts of nearly $700 million.

8) Would you consider Doctor Strange a successful Hollywood blockbuster? Why?

I would consider Doctor Strange as a successful Hollywood blockbuster as they bring their audience closer with the CGI effects used as well as the fight scene between Doctor Strange and the great one, by using this it drives narrative and turns it into a typical but successful Hollywood Blockbuster.

Film Industry: Marvel Cinematic Universe

Read this BBC article on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and answer the following questions based on the article:

1) How many films are there in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)?

There are 22 movies in MCU:

Captain America The First Avenger (1943), Captain Marvel (1995), Iron Man (2010), Iron Man 2 (2011), The Incredible Hulk (2011), Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 (2012), Thor The Dark World (2013), Captain America The Winter Soldier (2014), Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014), Guardians Of The Galaxy 2 (2014), Avengers Age Of Ultron (2015), Ant-Man (2015), Captain America Civil War (2016), Doctor Strange (2016), Spider-Man Homecoming (20-17), Black Panther (2017), Thor Ragnarok (2017), Avengers Infinity War (2017), Ant-Man and Wasp (2017), Avengers Endgame (2017).

2) How much money have the MCU films made in total so far?

The MCU is the the most successful film franchise of all time, making more than $18.2bn (£13.7bn) to date (21 April 2019)

3) Why did Marvel create the Avengers films?

Marvel created the Avengers films and structured them in order of space for crossover so that each movie would lead to a next creating a story line.

4) What will Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe involve?

Phase Four begins with the release of Spider-Man: Far from Home and new films involving other supposedly dead characters have also been confirmed to Phase Four.

5) What will happen with Doctor Strange and who is the main star?

Doctor Strange will return for a sequential "some point in the future" and the main star is Benedict Cumberbatch.

6) Who owns the rights to Spider-man and why is the character now appearing in Marvel films? 

Spider-man was sold to Sony and Spider-man appears in Marvel films because they have a partnership that allows Tom Holland's Spider-man to appear in MCU films.

7) Which company owns the rights to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men?

The Fantastic Four series and X-Men were sold to 20th Century Fox. 

8) Look at the very end of the article. What has Disney announced regarding TV shows on their new streaming service Disney+?

Disney has announced plans for several new Marvel TV series and to release them on their new streaming service Disney+.

Music Video: Assessment Question

“Music videos are still important for artists to promote themselves to audiences”
How far do you agree with this statement?

I agree to this statement to a certain extent because if you watch closely we could apply Blumler & Katz’s Uses & Gratifications theory of diversion to both music video CSP’s. For example Arctic Monkeys use mise-en-scene, color grading & real 1980’s cameras (Ikegami 3 tube TV cameras) to create the effect of an old 80’s TV show (The Old Grey Whistle Test). The significance of 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' by Arctic Monkeys would be the fact that they would perform at bars, clubs etc. making this song become a big hit. As well as applying Blumler & Katz’s Uses & Gratifications theory of diversion in our One Direction CSP, we can combine this with nostalgia since they use color filters to define their past and present selves. The significance of 'History' by One Direction would be how they turned a typical love song into the closing of their branding as a music band. This can be seen in the music video where they use a color filter of black and white to define them and their progression in the music industry however they used normal color and combined it with mise-en-scene to create a much older look. They also added clips of fans and concerts making it an emotional song and further aware to their audience.

Music Video: One Direction - History

One Direction CSP

Industry

1) How were One Direction formed and how is this reflected in the music video for History?

One Direction was media constructed in a positive way, this is shown in the video where they make it seem as if they won X Factor when they came 3rd place. Also, 

2) What is vertical integration?

Vertical integration is when a one conglomerate owns different companies in the same line of production. An example of this would be how Disney owns film studios, TV channels, CGI specialists etc. Complete ownership = more profit

3) What is horizontal integration?

Horizontal integration is when one company buys other companies which are at the same level of distribution as them. An example of this would be how Facebook bought Instagram at the cost of  $1 billion to cancel out competition. This allows a company to widen their audience range but also helps them find other ways to make money.

4) How has technological convergence changed the way audiences consume music videos?
Technical convergence has changed the way audiences consume music videos because when music videos first came out they were used to help draw an audience's attention, so that they would decide to buy the song. But nowadays no one really pays attention to music videos 

The way audiences consume music videos over the past 40 years have changed massively, this is because history was made when MTV (the first 24-hour video music channel) was launched and changed everyone's view of music, everyone was excited about this etc. But now MTV has taken out their music element and has shortened it down to an hour, now they promote ___________. This was done because no one pays attention to music videos anymore since its become a compulsory element to music.

5) As a manufactured band, what influence do Simon Cowell and the record company Syco (part of Sony) have over the content and release strategy of One Direction music videos?

Since One Direction is a constructed band, Simon Cowell & Syco Records have a major impact over the content & release strategy of One Direction's music videos, I believe this because without Simon Cowell they wouldn't really be anything so therefore if they don't follow his orders why would he still promote and show them in a good light.

Audience

1) What is the main One Direction audience - demographics and psychographics?

One Direction was a worldwide band, but despite being worldwide you're able to see a main female audience of caucasians around teenager years. 

2) What audience pleasures are offered by the music video for History?

The main audience pleasures given within this video would be diversion, personal identity & relationships. Diversion would happen throughout the whole music video as fans of this band would feel homesick knowing that this is their last song together as a collective. Personal identity would be when they show shots of their fans, for example they show numerous footage from behind the band when they step on stage to perform at concerts. This would tap into personal identity because if your a fan of them you would be able to recognise the places or you could have even been there yourself which leads to nostalgia. Personal relationships would be when they show the balcony scene because they add in diegetic sound of the crowd screaming.This would tap into personal relationships because it gives the crowd some kind of "voice" in the music video.

3) Pick out three particular shots, scenes or moments in the video that would particularly appeal to One Direction fans. Why did you choose those moments? 

I've decided to use the shots below because it gives a quick summary of what the music videos constructed to show.

First shot - first audition together as a collective and shows that they were constructed together in a good way because they became a well known boy band.
Simon Cowell close up - he's smiling and as he rarely smiles this shows us that he sees them as the next upcoming thing, so he signs them to his record label (Syco Records).
Last shot - they end up splitting and going in separate directions to show that their time together and time as a celebrity has come to an end.

4) What is nostalgia and why is it a key audience pleasure for the History music video?

Nostalgia is when you think about your past, good or bad, and it makes you cry or feel homesick. This is a key audience pleasure for the music video because it shows the band on their first stage performance to their last, and the song promotes their last times together. This would make their fans cry or feel homesick knowing that this is their last song, and that they won't be making new music as a collective.

5) How are fans positioned to respond to the video? What do the producers want One Direction fans to take from the video?

The video starts off with black & white shots of when they look like babies and gradually moves onto shots of them when they look older but in between these shots are coloured ones of them presently, at the end of the video they separate and go different directions. The producers done this to represent an end to One Direction & to let their audience know that they won't be seen in the industry together.

Introduction to Music Video

Music Video CSP

1) What are the key conventions of music video?
Key conventions of music videos contain fast paced camera work & editing, visual effects, some kind of narrative or performance shown etc.

2) What is intertextuality?
Intertextuality refers to a process on which one media text makes references to another, this is mainly used in film, television, music videos, advertisements etc. An example of this would be Michael Jackson's Thriller music video which had the narrative of a horror film.

3) When did music videos first become a major part of the music industry?
Music videos became a major part of the music industry and were designed as a promotional device to sell the brand or the artists.

4) What launched in 1981 and why were music videos an important part of the music industry in the 1980s and 1990s?
In 1980's MTV was launched meaning that huge budgets were contributed to producing creative music videos to draw an audience's attention.

5) How are music videos distributed and watched in the digital age?
Music videos are now watched on portable devices such as mobiles, tablets, laptops etc.

Newspaper: The Times Case Study

The Times Case Study

Language

1) What is the main story on the front cover of the Times CSP edition (5 May 2018) and why does it appeal to Times readers?
The main story on The Times newspaper is about Labour losing the local elections "MPs call for inquest as Corbyn fails the election tests". This would appeal to a Times reader because they are more upper class and use higher language. Also their readers are of an older generation which means they are more likely to be interested in politics, and The Times is aimed at people who vote Tories and they support the Conservatives.

2) What are the main stories on the inside pages of the Times CSP edition (5 May 2018)?
The main stories on the inside pages of The Times are all about politics, you are able to see this from the headlines:
"Results show that voters want hard Brexit, ministers tell May"
"Comeback starts here, says Cable after Lib Dem gains"
"Birmingham reminds red despite scandals"
"Ukips chief's positive spin: We're like the black death"

3) What is the balance on the Times front page between images, headlines and text? How does this contrast with The Mirror?
The balance between text and images on The Times is quite fair even though some may argue that they use more text. This contrasts the Mirror because unlike The Times, they use a lot more images to cover up the front page of their newspaper.

4) Which of Galtung and Ruge's News Values apply to the Times' front page stories? Write about both the politics main story and the Sir Paul McCartney picture story.
The Times has applied a lot of news values in our CSP edition on the front cover such as immediacy, familiarity, amplitude, continuity & frequency. Both stories on the front cover, cover immediacy & familiarity. The politics cover continuity & frequency because it happens every couple of years, but also covers amplitude because it has effects to everyone's lives in the UK.

5) What does a close analysis of the news stories in the Times CSP edition suggest about the Times's political beliefs?
The news stories shown in The Times suggests that they support the Conservatives but they do not like the idea of a female being the leader of the group, they hate Theresa May and make her look like a clown but favour Boris Johnson and make him look like a hero.

Industries

1) Who owns the Times?
The Times is owned by Rupert Murdoch who is an Australian billionaire.

2) What was the The Times's circulation in 2019? How many papers did the Times used to sell back in the 1990s?
Back in the 1990s The Times sold about 800,000 copies of their newspaper, but now they sell about 376,000 copies.

3) How has the Times reacted to the decline in print sales and the growth of the internet?
The Times had put up a paywall online so that their news isn't free like  the others, they have a subscription fee which means that where ever their audience follows them they still have to pay a certain amount of money so that they can access The Times news.

4) What does IPSO stand for and what is IPSO's job?
IPSO stands for Independent Press Standards Organisation and their job is to regulate newspapers.

5) Why do some people want stronger regulation of British newspapers?

Some people want a stronger regulation of British Newspapers because the IPSO is regulated voluntarily which means that they are regulated by the news organisation its self. This is a huge problem because this then means that they are marking their own work.

Audience

1) What is the main readership demographic for The Times newspaper?
The main readership for The Times like every other newspaper would be an overwhelming audience of 65+

2) Why do the Times front page stories/features appeal to the Times audience?
The pages on The Times appeals to their audience because they are of higher education, this means that they prefer to read and contain facts and real information unlike people like myself who would prefer to read newspapers such as the Daily Mirror. The Daily Mirror is full of gossip, celebrities etc, where as The Times is a much more serious newspaper.

3) Why might the election coverage be enjoyable to Times readers?
The election coverage may be enjoyable to a Times reader because they are higher class people meaning they use higher language. This would mean they would appeal to the election coverage by the way that they represent it, for example "MPs call for inquest as Corbyn fails election test". An inquest is a public court hearing due to a death that has recently taken place 

4) Why might a reader enjoy the Times? Use Blumler & Katz Uses and Gratifications theory to add detail to your answer.
The uses and gratifications theory The Times appeals to is surveillance this is because it's strictly information, they also use personal identity because they have political views (tories). They only use diversion on weekends, for example in our CSP is a Saturday edition which means they do interviews and features such as the one with Kay Burley & Father Of Daughters but they also use personal relationships, McCartney, Caitlyn Moron etc.

5) Times readers are mostly over 55 years old. Why is this and how is this reflected in the CSP edition?
The Times readers are mostly over the age of 55 because they are an older generation and during their time newspapers were the only way for them to access news and technology came out later so because of this they are used to accessing news from newspaper and feel more comfortable getting news that way, same way the younger generation feel more comfortable going online to get their news for free. This is also represented on our CSP edition because of the fact that they have an advert on "40 best country house hotels" this would appeal to an older audience because they are retired. 


Representation

1) What representation of the Labour Party can be found on the front page of the Times?
The representation of the Labour Party found on the front page of The Times is negative, this is because The Times don't support/agree with anything the Labour Party has to say. They show Corbyn as 

2) What representation of the Conservative Party can be found in The Times newspaper. 
The representation of Conservatives found can be found as a strong and independent party without the right leader, your able to see this from the Sub-heading "Results show that votes want hard Brexit, ministers tell May". Since they have to tell the leader of such an independent and strong party what has to be done/ what people in the country want the be done makes it seem as if she isn't doing her job correct.

3) What representations of gender can be found in The Times CSP pages? 
On The Times CSP gender representation seems to be subverted. This is because of the fact that Kay Burley (a female Sky news journalist) is shown as strong, you're able to see this on the cover page of our CSP as she's shown in a picture of her flexing her muscles with the caption "Don't mess with me". Also, there's a picture of as father surrounded by three little girls with the caption "Britain's most wanted dad Fame, fans, four daughters". The man shown in this image is called Simon Hopper aka Father of daughters (Instagram account) and he's known because... .This subverts male stereotypes because...

4) How does the Times reinforce British social and cultural values in their front page? Look at the kicker, pug 
If you look at the top of a Times newspaper you can see a crest, this crest has connotations of a royal & historical background of Britain and makes us think of the newspaper as a brand that is dependable, trustworthy and very right wing views.                                                                           

5) How are the pages constructed to encourage the audience to take a negative view of the Labour Party?
The pages constructed on The Times are to encourage an audience to view Labour negatively since they dislike them. Your able to see this from numerous headlines, "MPs call for inquest as Corbyn fails election test" "Corbyn blamed for loss of Jewish support" & also from the text written "Labour brushes off an era of scandals" but they do this in a very weird way because they also make it seem as if Conservatives need to be viewed badly even though they strongly support them. They do this because they didn't like the leader of the Conservative party and at this time that was Theresa May, they had added in the same photos and graphs that were shown in the Daily Mirror to make Theresa May look like a clown and a fool

December PPE: Paper 2 Learner Response

Paper 2 Learner Response

1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep 
WWW - Although this is not where you want to be long-term, this is an improvement on the summer and there is clear potential to go a lot higher.
EBI - You've missed out Q2! That's 20 marks or 25% of the paper. Revise TV and practise! The other key aspect to work on is question focus.

2) On a scale of 1-10 (1 = low, 10 = high), how much revision and preparation did you do for the December PPEs?
On a scale of 1-10 I would say my revision and preparation was a 1 on my December PPEs.

3) Use the mark scheme for this assessment to identify three points you could have made in any of the questions in Section A (Television). Look for the indicative content in the mark scheme - these are the suggested answers from AQA
The three main points I could have made 


4) There are three 20-mark essay questions in Media Paper 2. What will you do to improve your performance in the 20-mark essays in the March PPEs?
To improve on the 20 mark questions for my March PPEs I would need to revise and look back on narrative, such as revising Propp's Character Theory, Todorov's Equalibrium, Bathes action + enigma codes

5) Question 5 is a synoptic question that requires you to refer to other CSPs. What other CSPs could you have used for this Question 5 on Zoella and celebrity?
For the synoptic question I could have referred to CSPs such as NHS Represent Campaign because it shows a very old type of celebrity which contrasts from Zoella and how she's represented as a modern day celebrity.