Responding to media products (ASS 4)

For this final assignment, I have been commissioned to produce a report about a media product/genre, which can include soap operas, tv shows, music videos or films. within this assignment i will be analysing The Simpsons. it will include codes and conventions, mise-on-scene, narrative structure and representation.

THE SIMPSONS
The Simpsons is an comedic animated series created by Matt Groening. Since the launch of the show on 17th december 1989. The show has broadcast 25 series and 540 episodes. On the 30th september 2013, the 25th series began. In America, the show is shown on FOX and in the U.K, it is broadcasted on Channel 4 and Sky 1. The Simsons consists of a middle class family. The family consists 5 main characters, which are Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart and Maggie. It has been that successful, that they commissioned a feature length film, which was released in 2007 and grossed $527 million. It has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 27 Primetime Emmy Awards, 30 Annie Awards and a Peabody Award. Homer's exclamatory catchphrase "D'oh!" has been adopted into the English language, while The Simpsons has influenced many adult-oriented animated sitcoms.

This is how The Simpsons first appeared to the world
which was on the Tracey Ullman Show (in the US).

This is how the world sees them now
after 25 series and 540 episodes.







Codes and Conventions
limited characters - Within the Simpsons, there is a handful of main characters. The Simpsons family consists of 5 main characters, which are Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart and Maggie Simpson. this is known as multi strand media.
Limited sets - The Simpsons have 3 main limited sets, which are the household of the Simpsons, the chemical plant and the church. In all the episodes, they are always in 1 of the 3 rooms. Using limited sets makes the sitcom seem more homely.

One Liner - A one liner is usually a throw away remark which is mainly used in a modern sitcom. The one liner joke is made in one sentence and is often observational to an event that has just happened for example in the Simpsons when Homer does something wrong he would use the one liner ‘D’oh!’

Linear Narrative - Linear narrative is where it is about everyday life then something happens which they have to solve to change the equilibrium and then the problem is sorted but it isn’t the same. this is so people can just dip in to the Simpsons whenever they want and they know the story.

Catchy Theme Tune - Sitcoms always start with an opening theme tune, bread uses a catchy theme tune at the beginning which would get into your head and would help the audience recognise the program. below is the video of The Simpsons theme tune.

Narrative Structure
Within all aspects of media, there is a narrative structure. wheather it be in a Newspaper, Television, Films or Photography.
The narrative structure constists of :

• Circular - Nothing really changes, characters return to their original state by the end. an example of this would be Mission Impossible 3. 
• Single Strand - The narrative focuses up on one central character. an example of this would be The Book Of Eli.
• Multi Strand - The narrative focuses up on a group of central characters. an example of this would be The Simpsons
• Open - The storyline continues beyond the end of the episode. an example of this would be Eastenders.
• Closed - The storyline is resolved when the film or episode finishes. an example of this would again be The Simpsons.
• Linear - The narrative unfolds in a chronological order. an example of this would be Coronation Street.
• Non Linear - The narrative does not progress in a chronological order. flashbacks are used. an example of this would be CSI: Miami.

Mise-en-Scene
Mise en scene is french for putting on stage. it is where you are creating a setting for a scene in a production. you need to relay visual information to the audience about setting (Time & Place) and Characters. below i will explain each of the elements and how it relates to The Simpsons.
Mise en Scene is made up of 5 main elements, which are as follows:

1. Setting and Props - Most of The Simpsons is set in their house, which is in Springfield.
2. Costume, hair, make-up
3. Body language and Facial expressions
4. Lighting and Colour
5. Positioning characters and objects within the frame (Shot Selection etc.)

Each of the above aspects create meaning and communicates them to the audience, influencing how we feel at a certain point.
Depending on the episode, the set changes from their house to the chemical plant and Mr Burns' Mansion. So this means that whenever they change set, they will have to change the props. this is so you don't have a kitchen table at homers' desk at the power plant.
Within The Simpsons, they have very distinctive individuality within their costume, hair and makeup. Homer is obese and bald and has a white shirt and blue trousers. Marge is tall and thin. she also has a big blue stack of hair. she wears a long green dress. Lisa is smart and musical. she has spiky hair and wears a short red dress. Bart is mischievous and sporty. he has short spiky hair and wears a red top and blue shorts. Maggie is sweet but deceptive. she has long spiky hair like lisa and wears a blue onesie.

Representation
Within the Simpsons, the comedy comes from negative stereotypes. this is because the make fun out of all faith and beliefs.
Also with in the Simpson, there are factors of representation, in which the main ones are as follows

• Gender - Homer - male - masculine, strong. typical american dad, booze, work and lazy. whereas Marge is sensitive and emotional. typical american mother stays at home, looks after kids and does housework.
• Age - Mr Burns/grandpa - old, grumpy and always angry. on the other hand you have Bart and Lisa who are young happy and always having a typical sister/brother relationship.
• Ethnicity - christians - Ned Flanders and family - always go to church and never practically put a foot wrong. whereas you have Hinduism(i think) - Apu and family - owns Kwik-E-Mart
• Disability - I don't think that there are any disabled people within the Simpsons

these are also known as demographics within the media world.

How producers construct newspapers that appeal to the target audience/codes and conventions

In this task, we have been asked to produce a post about the ways that producers construct newspapers that appeal to the target audiences. Within this post, I am going to compare 2 different newspapers, which will be The Daily Star and The Times.

Both newspapers must have some similar things so they fall within the conventions. A Tabloid and Broadsheet both have a Banner, price, main story and sub headings. They also have the date and website on them.

The audience profile, above, is for The Times.
The age of the newspaper seems to be in line with that of its target audience. 
As you can see from above, there is more upper class people reading this paper as lower class people, this is because there is more words to a story. The average age of people that read this paper is 65+. this is due to the fact they are retired.

The audience profile, above, is for the Daily Star.
The age of the newspaper seems to be in line with that of its target audience. Most readers are under the age of 54 and according to the stars own demographic profile. It expects the audience to mainly be made up of 25-34 year olds. The majority of readers are male.

All Newspapers must have Text, Colours, Stories and Slogans. As I have said previously, the two papers I will be comparing is The Daily Star and TheTimes.

The Daily Stars slogan is The News, The Goss, The Pics The Sport. Whereas The Times' slogan is Newspaper of the year. The text in The Daily Star is short.The text and stories are short because the people who read this paper have a low education. they also don't like reading. It also uses short words so that the targeted audience can understand the story. An example of a job that these people will have may be a Builder. On the other hand, The Times' text is long worded. The Times newspaper is long worded because the people reading the paper have been to university and got a higher education than the people reading the daily star. The people reading this paper also love reading. It also has smaller text so that they can fit more on the page. This also means that they can detail the story more. An example of jobs that these people may have are a Bank Manager. Finally, the colours of The Times are black, white and grey. these colours are normally dull but in this case it is to attract middle aged businessmen and women. However, The Daily Stars colour scheme are bright colours, such as, red, blue and green. This is to attract the target audience.
The Daily Star is all about the page 3 model, celebrity gossip and the sport. whereas The Times Is all about world news.
Advertisements in the Daily star are a quarter of the page unless they are supermarkets such Asda and Morrison's. Whereas the advertisements in The Times take over half the page from businesses such as John Lewis, T.V channels and car dealerships. These are different due to the amount of money people are earning. The people who read the Daily Star are probably on minimum wage or benefits. However the people who read The Times are businessmen and women.



















The Psychographic profile of the Daily Star are survivors and they normally resign from jobs. On the other hand, The Times' are normally aspirers and explorers.

Defining Audiences

When creating a product or service, it is important for any producer to research the different types of audiences there is. the research is something which is very important to the rest of the project so you will have to do it some time before you start the project. depending on the results of the research, you may change your mind about the product or service. to get audience research people may use Questionnaires, Focus Groups and comparing to existing media products and services.

Audiences are normally profilled in to different catagories, which are:

Demographics-

Socio-economic
As the title says, it is where the audience is divided up in to class. The Socio-economic staus is dependant on the social and financial staus of individuals. The different classes are as follows:

A - upper middle class (eg Bankers, Lawyers and Doctors) People within this category normally read The Financial Times.
B - Middle class (Teachers, Graphic Designers and Journalists) People within this category normally read The Financial Times.
C1 - Lower middle class (Nurses, Office Supervisors and Junior Manages)
C2 - Skilled working class (Plumbers and Electricians)
D - Working class (Semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers) people within this category normally read The Sun
E - Non working (Un-employed, Pensioners and Students) people within this category normally read local free Newspapers

Age
Audiences are divided in to age groups. the most popular groups of age are as follows:

0-5 - Cbeebies - kids shows
6-11 - Disney - cheesy kids shows
12-17 - BBC Three - comedy
18-24 - Internet - movies
25-34 - Virgin/sky - any channel that has something good on
35-44 - Dave - top gear
45-54 - BBC - soaps
55-64 - BBC - soaps
65+ - BBC +ITV - soaps

Age plays a major role to research, as it needs to be aimed at a specific age group because if it's not then the show will be a major FLOP!!!!
Audiences are divided up into age groups to make it easier for researchers and broadcasters to find out what the generations of the world are watching and what they are in to (films and television wise).
this is also used so that they can put on suitable content and divide them into the correct ratings.
the ratings are as follows:

This is used so that they can use Watershed. Watershed is where you can't put on explicit content before a certain time, normally between 9-10 pm.




Gender
Gender is the range of physical, mental, and behavioral characteristics.
Audiences are also divided in to what gender they are. The gender divide is really simple it's either:
Male
Female

Sexual Orientation
Sexual Orientation is based on the different attractions of individuals.
Sexual Orientation is an enduring personal quality that inclines people to feel romantic or sexual attraction to people of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. 

Geodemographics
Geodemographics is a description of where you live. it may include things such as postcode and address.
Geodemographics includes the application of geodemographic classifications for business, social research and public policy but has a parallel history in academic research seeking to understand the processes by which settlements evolve and neighborhoods are formed.

Psychographics
Psychographics is where people are divided into Mainstream, Alternative and niche.

Mainstream
The mainstream includes all popular culture and media culture. mainstream media,  is generally applied to print publications, such as newspapers and magazines that contain the highest readership among the public, along with radio formats and television stations that contain the highest viewing and listener audience, respectively. This is in contrast to various independent media, such as alternative weekly newspapers, specialised magazines in various organizations and corporations, and various electronic sources such as podcasts and blogs.

Alternative
Alternative Media is media (newspapers, radio, television, magazines, movies, Internet etc.) which provide alternative information to the mainstream media in a given context, whether the mainstream media are commercial, publicly supported, or government owned.

Niche
A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focusing. The niche market defines the product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that is intended to impact. It is also a small market segment.

Producers carry out two different kinds of research into their audiences, which are Quantative Audience Research, which include:

• ABC - ABC stands for Audit Bureau of Circulation UK. ABC provide data for a stamp of trust for media buyers, eg, Media owners, publishers and digital traders. They use numerous methods which include common standards deliver meaningful comparisons, measures reach, engagement and loyalty, verifying digital advertising trading processes and accrediting service providers. they are owned by companies that have come together to own it and provide information. these companies include Howell Penny, CDS, Tealium, Web trends, Mail Chimp, NewGrave and Survey Monkey.
• BARB - BARB stands for Broadcasters Audience Research Board. BARB provide data for all major TV channels. they also provide data for broadcasters and other interested parties. they breakdown viewing levels by Regional and National. They recruit a private panel to work in homes. on average, 5,000 different homes are used for primary research and to find data out. Kantar Media recruit the private panel. BARB are jointly owned by BBC companies within ITV,  channel 5 and 4 and BSkyB.

• NRS - NRS stands for National Readership Survey. NRS provide data for Newspapers and Magazines. They use primary Research to collect their data to monitor their audiences. They uses face to face interviews as well as a surveys to collect all their data about audiences. the people who own BARB are they institute of practioners in advertisements, Newspaper publishers in advertisements and periodical publishers association.
• RAJAR - RAJAR provide data for researchers who want to find out the different patterns in the radio industry and market. it allows access information such as listening figures, quarterly listing figures, survey updates, market trends, volumes, release dates and mapping. mapping is used to show listening figures over an area. sample points for output areas are listed in order of postcode, district and population. the company is joint owned by BBC and the radio centre. it was set up in 1992 to align and operate a single audience measurement system for the UK radio industry. it serves both the BBC and licensed by commercial stations.

They also use Qualitative audience research, eg, focus groups, questionnaires and face to face interviews. These are the different techniques in which companies collect their audience research.