revision

Radio-

Monday to Thursday - 6:30- 10 am 

psb vs commercial
radio in general
BBC Radio 1 breakfast show

psb- bbc: only advertise their programmes/shows not anything else, listeners all over- talking to people all over the country - big weekend in different locations to cater for everyone.

commercial: capital and kiss- adverts(less speech and music time/air) , based locally (London), always play top 40 (caring about music companies ) nothing new and original- money from music producers 

Ofcom regulate radio - hard to regulate, 3 second delay, its live, online people post what they want 

remit- inform, educate, entertain 

zoo format- spontaneous and round the table casual chat: nit looking down on you, makes you feel like your friend.

every 30 mins news beat 

listen to it on Spotify 
camera in studio- watch it later on on YouTube 

bbc- need to promote new and upcoming music, song of the week(something new), ed Sheeran, Adele, sam smith, lewis Capaldi- all launched by bbc / promoted them

BBC radio as being traditional and high quality across a diverse range of audiences (now several channels offering alternative breakfast show content) with an emphasis on attracting a key demographic to stay

Has a lot of celebrities on the show - more personalised for the audience because they interact with them and the presenter compared to commercial radio, nothing is asked that is personal. 

the use of modern platforms to listen and stream content has more diverse audience - youtube, facebook Instagram and twitter, as well as Gregs personal

games

kids to phone in a ask celebrities questions , unpopular opinions, fact game , yesterdays quiz, jan slam (the bit weekend) dua lipa, stormy 

low budget - using government money 

political context - psb
economic- license fee-  £150
cultural- promoting British music 

youtube - 6.6 million subs
twitter- 1.6m (greg)
facebook- 357,000 (greg)
instagram- 1 million (greg)

listened off of fm, dab, sky, virgin, bbc iplayer/sound, freeview
the music is largely playlisted 
a list, b list, c list - 

media exam

the media exam

Paper 1- 70 marks

1 hour - 2, 1, 3, 4, 5 , 6 - order 

1. unseen (two front pages, home page, link, social media conversation) ANY NEWSPAPER WITH A THEORY QUESTION - GOOD CHANCE OF REPRESENTATION (10)- 15 mins 

2. Unseen - language, forms and conventions, genre (15)- 25 mins

3. daily mail & guardian - examples needed- CASE STUDIES ARE EGS FOR THIS QUESTION- technology (10)- 15 mins

4. theory (10)- 15 mins - evaluate the usefulness of theory

language and representation 

5+6. 2 out of the 3

-big issue
 -adverts(old spice, lucozade, shelter(charity)
 or unseen which could also be online campaign
-music video
 - one (10) and one (15)


Paper 2 - 70 marks  3, 1, 2, 4 - order 

1 and 2  industry and audience 

2 out of  3 question will be asked (15)- 25 mins 
JB (industry)
radio
video games (industry and audience)


3- LFTVD - LIAR + theory PETAL + contexts + conclusion
(30)  55 mins including planning 

Strauss - binary opposites 
Barthes 

Todorov 
Gerbner 
Neale 
Hall

4. Theory and LFTVD (do this question last- evaluate the usefulness of...)

(10)- 15 marks

essay question

'Representations of social, cultural and historical events can vary within long form television dramas from different countries'

 Discuss how and why audiences might respond to and interpret these representations differently.

- introduce both texts 'D83', ST' - episode 1
- compare audiences of both


Long form television drama is defined as a high concept narrative with complex characters and story lines that develop over a number of episodes in a narrative. This is evident in both stranger things (ST) and Deutschland 83' (D83').

Both dramas are set in  the 1980's however vary in different social, cultural and historical representations. The distributor of Stranger Things , Netflix, is a platform agnostic international company with over 160 minion monthly subscribers with a vast audience. Netflix is lightly regulated as their HQ is in Amsterdam, whom have different rules to the UK and therefore overseeing a much larger proportion of popular shows aside from Netflix (Channel 4 D83). This highlights ST's freedom to produce content that has a range of complexity. Deutschland 83' however, was co produced by RTL and ABC networks with Sun dance TV between Germany and America , but was broadcasted on Channel 4 in the UK. Channel 4 has  a reputation for showing diverse LFTVD's which are aimed at an intelligent ABC1 demographic, who are culturally aware and have knowledge of events such as The Cold War in D83 .  Ofcom regulated D83, which meant it had to be shown at 9pm watershed due to its content. Due to its German audience, D83', had many elements of verisimilitude therefore it was unpopular at first as the historical context represented Germany negatively at times. On the other hand, in the UK it was very popular with 5 million views of the first series in a month of it being shown, this is because of political views that differ throughout the countries, creating an interest for the LFTVD.

ST was set in a 1980's Spielbergian culture, as the Duffer Brothers try to reinforce 80's nostalgia for an older audience with the characters clothing,  Dungeons and dragons and chopper bikes. This creates a sense of normality for the audience which supports Todorov's theory of equilibrium as the narrative disruption is the monstrous event at the beginning  and ends with wills abduction at the end. This further creates an enigma for the episode and a narrative drive for the search of will.

Bualdrillard - hyperrelity

  Due to the conglomerate being so successful worldwide, well known clothing brands such as Top shop, Zara and Primark used synergy with ST and created items of clothing with ST characters on. This therefore makes the LFTVD  known worldwide as fans become more aware of the drama and it acts as a self marketing campaign.

lftvd model answer

Long Form Tv Drama is defined as a high concept narrative with complex characters and storylines that develop across a number of episodes in a narrative. This is evident in both stranger things (st) and Deutschland 83'. 

In terms of industry context, it is important to understand that ST was produced by the Duffer Brothers and sold to Netflix, after being rejected bye 12 different  cable TV producers. This is symbolic because Netflix have a good guaranteed subscription, which means they do not have to worry about audience fight like D83. More importantly, Netflix are also very lightly regulated due to their HQ being located in Amsterdam, Netherlands, whom have very different rules to the UK, therefore  ST has creative freedom to produce content that has a range of complexity. On the other hand, D83 has co-produced by RTL and ABC  networks with Sundance TV, between Germany and America, however broadcasted on Channel 4 and All4 in the UK. Channel 4 has a reputation for showing diverse LFTVDS  which are aired at an intelligent ABC1  demographic, whom are culturally aware and totally fluent with events such as the Cold War in D83. In terms of regulation, D83 was regulated by OFCOM, which meant that D83 had to shown at 9pm watershed due to its content. 

Regarding cultural context, ST was set in the 1980's in a Spielbergian culture, still through the codes and conventions of Mine En Scene, as the experience large houses living the 'American dream' linking to the Spielbergian culture of themes of the supernatural, which is central to the LFTVD. In terms of intertextuality it is evident that there are references to Spielbergs films such as ET, particularly shown in the opening scene as the upward camera introduces the title in the same fashion that Spiel burgs ET did. With young people being the protagonists in this LFTVD, this provides intertextual references to 'Super 8' ; also explaining the media language of low camera angles ; replicability a Childs view of the world. 

Whereas, in D83, the cultural context of the 1980's differs dramatically as we are in the height of the conflict between the East and West. This context highlights political ideologies of communism and capitalism, which is shown in the opening montage of president Ronald Reagans 'evil empire' speech, this creating a emotional and historical impact as the audience as this was a real clip from his speech. 

Symbolically, this opening scene is anchored with the backing track of 1980's pop culture such as Frankie goes to Hollywood as well as the closing scene with New Orders 'Blue Monday' a techno beat which symbolises German music, this creates a nostalgic effect on the audience. 

Significantly, Neale's theory of genre is central to LFTVD  as we experience 'genre infirmity' in both ST and D83. This is highlighted in ST as a sci fi/ horror genre as the codes and conventions of dark music combined with staggering lights and jump scenes such as the opening scene in Hawkins Lab, partnered with Will's first sight of the 'Demogorgan'. In D83' it is indicated that this is a spy/thriller genre shown through the intertextuality of spy films as well as Bond films due to the credits coming after the opening in East Germany the same way in Bond. However, we understand that this is a thriller as well due to the theme of the Cold War shown through the divide between East and West Germany in the middle stages of episode 1. 

Regarding audiences it is paramount to discuss the effect of identity according to Gauntlet whom suggests that the media provides us with characters that help us construct our own identities. In ST, the audience take a particular liking to 'Barb' as shown through the Twitter campaign 'justice for barb'  as the audience has the belief that they were similar to her by playing the supporting friend role, as she is sidelined by best friend Nancy when Steve Harrington acts as Nancy's boyfriend. This highlighted within the setting of school using cross- cutting and tracking shots of Barb and Nancy. It is also evident here that we are given a binary opposite between Nancy and Barb, according to Levis - Strauss of as they are two very different characters with different personas e.g. Nancy being beautiful and popular whereas Barb being lonely and stereotypically unattractive , which is why the audience have a loving attitude towards her as they feel both sympathy and empathy.

On the other hand audiences in D83 responded negatively to the LFTVD due to the essence of the Cold War having an emotional effect on the audience. This is because of the history that Germany has now, compared to the binary opposites in 1980's. Levis Strauss' theory explains these binary opposites further in the Tobias Tischibber scene, after Martin Rauch is drugged and kidnapped. This scare is portrayed by using fast-paced editing of direct comparisons between East and West Germany, such as variations like 'supermarkets'. This binary opposite is also experienced in the scene where Rauch finds himself surrounded by colours of fruit in West Germany, compared to the depressing, bleak location of East Germany. The mise en scene of c costumes also changes here as Martin wears a dark green/ grey suit in the East, which is contrasted with the red t shirt and white shoes in the modernistic culture of the west.
Therefore, this LFTVD was more popular in America as the codes and conventions represented the west as the 'best' side of the world, giving a split effect on audience enjoyment. 

audience theorists

Jenkins - Fandom, audience participation

- merchandise, stranger things secret cinema experience
- citizen journalism : Ariana Grande concert footage, Grenfell, London Bridge stabbings
the idea that fans appropriate texts and read them in ways that are not fully authorised by the media producers ('textual poaching')

usefulness for news :

- show audience's role in distributing the news- e.g. sharing an article on twitter, instagram, snapchat
-  create community of fans of the newspaper, regular readers, contributors, etc. Show fandom through buying the paper itself - circulation, profit.
- citizen journalism is alive and well : youtube, social media enables people to make media

not useful :

- fandom of news doesn't stand out from any other fandom: less so even as the ability to 'create' and 'textually poach' is much less.
- fandom is very much 'youth driven' - so it excludes a whole demographic and is therefore less useful in understanding news.
- however, still big corporations who have the monopoly


Bandura - hypodermic syringe model - immediate effects
- the idea that the media can implant ideas in the mind of the audience directly

- everyone has freedom of choice - not everyone believes what they read/told
tv drama- D83 :changes peoples perspective of east and west Germany



Gerbner - cultivation

- the idea that exposure to repeated patterns of representation over a long period of time can shape and influence the way in which people perceive the world around them (cultivating particular views and opinions )

gerbner found that people who watched a lot of television were likely to have a more negative view of the world : than people who did not watch television.

liar stranger things

theorists

Representation- 

Stuart hall- stereotypes 

Gauntlett- identity: news+ lftvd

Van Zoonen- patriarchy, power, feminist- women are objects in a male society : news and lftvd

Hooks - power imbalance : both

 

Butler - gender performativity, 

Gilroy - ethnicity

Audience-

Bandura - effects ideaology , media effects : news

Gerbner - cultivation , repeated patterns of representation 

Hall - reception, preferred and oppositional readings : both

Henry Jenkins - fandom : lftvd

Skirky - 'end of audience' technology has changed audience forever : both 

Language -

 

Barthes - communicate their meanings through a process of signification

Todorov - equilibrium : lftvd 

Neale - genre, repetition of things to create a genre : both

Levi - strauss - structuralism : both

Baudrillard - post modernism : lftvd

Industry -

Curran and Seaton - power and media 

Livingstone and Lunt - Regulation 

Hesmondhalgh - Cultural industries 

stranger things essay

How are different social groups represented in the sequence you have analysed? What role does the use of media language, sign and signifiers have in constructing and presenting these representations as real?

There are many representations of social groups explored in Stranger Things, with the main representations being, teenagers, family life and relationships. 

A representation that is explored in this sequence are the teenagers Mike and Lucas as they are desperately trying to piece together what has happened to Will. This differs with the usual representation of children as they are typically not involved in trying to help in a police investigation. The boys break away from typical storylines as they do not listen to their parents or authorities as they are continuing to try and look for their missing friend. Although, there are a lot of high and low angle shots when showing their parents, the boys dismiss their power and go against their wishes in attempt to find will. This complements the authoritarian approach Mikes’ mother takes when she doesn’t allow Mike, Will, Lucas and Dustin to carry on playing Dungeons and Dragons. This is common theme of children trying to haggle with their parents to get what they want, therefore fitting the general stereotype of children. Both young and older audiences can relate to both characters , as most adults and children have been in a similar situation, which therefore allows for an increased level of immersion. However, they also conform to a teenager’s stereotype, due to them talking on walkie talkies even though their dialogue is serious and intellectual.  

Hopper, the police sheriff, is first shown to subvert the stereotype. Having a profession , such as a police sheriff have a typical stereotype of being organised, sufficient and clean. However, when we first met Hopper when there is a tracking shot towards him asleep on the sofa, with his surroundings being empty beer cans and cigarette butts etc. Hopper is presented in this way to firstly subvert the stereotype and to grab the audiences attention straight away. The use of the alcohol and cigarettes being left around could highlight that he is stressed and dealing with something traumatic (which we later find out). When Hopper puts his uniform on, we suddenly notice a change of character and can see how he conforms to the stereotype of a police sheriff. This is supported by when he enters the office in the morning as he is recognised by others as dominant and powerful, even though the audience have just seen a complete opposite side of him. His relaxed attitude commemorates that he may have had an easy couple of years at work, therefore making Will's disappearance even more frightening and concerning. 

Deutschland 83

Stranger Things

Conventions of LFTVD

- Tend to be more cinematic
- Stranger things have excessive amount of details- high production values, and verisimilitude- appreciated by the audience.
- 'Flow' one chapter flows into the next- easy to bing watch.
- immersive world that provides ecapism
- less traditional storytelling structure with unexpected twists
- encourages audiences to respond with their own media and take part (clay shirky)
- enters cultural parlance and embeds into cultures - becomes a text in intertextuality itself - post modernism.

- goes beyond the binary so far eg characters move beyond simply good or bad.
- Subverts traditional storylines
- Stranger things- Steve Harrington and hopper are egg of more complex characters
- Novelistic- multiple storylines and characters that arc stretch over a number of episodes and seasons
- we may see flashbacks that explain their background
- systematic change -  isn't just focused on one individual


what does television drama need to have:

various locations
stock characters
multiple narratives
1 hour episodes
dramatic cliff hangers
high production values

LFTVD- Paper 2 , Questions 3&4

Two Questions 
3) 30 marks , 50 mins (5 min plan)- LIAR, Theorist (optional), Context (stranger thing + Deutschland 83)
4) 10 Marks - Theory with TV drama

Stranger things

ABC , NBC, CBS are the equivalent of BBC in the UK. US network broadcaster must satisfy they advertisers and hold market shares, they are also controlled by federal regulation, they front want to push boundaries with sex, drugs , alcohol etc.

The impact of this on content is a reliance on highly formalised genre conventions and normative values that meets mainstream audience expectations  but create conservation drama.

Cable Television- 

launched in the 1970's HBO was the first US national subscription cable channel. Other major US players include FX, show time and AMC. Many are subsidiaries of media conglomerates (HBO/WARNER/FX, Fox).

These subscription- based cable channels can take more risks with content and form.
By the early 200s, The Sopranos and The Wire won awards, audiences and created a water cooler effect.

The trouble with TV in the UK?

UK broadcasters have failed to meet the challenge of UK cable channels move to long form, with their risk-taking content and style.
BBC and ITV 90's relied on genre based, formula drama. Heritage and crime drama are prime examples.

Chasing the ABC1 Audience?

Channel 4 & BBC4 have identified foreign language/subtitled long-form shows are rating winners.
Embracing subtitled programs

3/4 of households (UK) have PVR but it had plateaued.
The use of time shift is increasing.
Growth of SVOD  went based channels such as Netflix, Amazon, Instant video &Now Tv (Sky) is considerable.
Netflix dominates the UK market (158.3 million subscribers)
Rise of binge watching started Sith DVD in the late 90's early C21 . Particularly due to syndication problems in the UK.
A move from 'water cooler' tv to 'shared universe' fandom (as with cinema)
US long- form drama often uses easter- eggs and mid season break to generate fun.

Multi stranded narrative +multiple things happening in one storyline.

The impacts of fandom- helps spread awareness of the series 

- high quality
- Multiple episodes
- content can be dark and difficult but innovative
- time shifting , easily accessible
- becomes invested in the story
- rise of HBO/streaming services
- Being daring with themes , characters, and settings as well as humorous , race, gender, sexuality
- movies are more expensive to watch and see a whole storyline of (avengers) - got to finish whole film
- people like ti be in comfort of their own home

LFTVD

Long Form TV Drama

- Multi stranded narratives- lots of storylines going on at the same time

- Importance of fandoms

WHO- targeting, HOW- they are being targeted

High  quality drama, multiple episodes , content can be dark and difficult but innovative

You become invested in it, and characters change in ways that are surprising but natural.

Rise of HBO, Sky Atlantic, Netflix

It allows shows to play with theme and character development in unique ways, explore different genres that have historically had little traction on TV- more daring with humour, race, gender and sexuality.

'Binge Watching', pleasure is less expensive than films.


Long form shows challenged the simplistic storylines and stereotypical characters that dominate network TV in US.

Conventions-

lost , homeland, west wing  

lost - drama, relationships/ good vs evil, all different types of characters (interesting ), set in Hawaii straight forward production values in the beginning, youtube/google play.

Homeland - drama/thriller, crime/    , characters are emotionally damaged and troubled, special effects in bombings, Netflix, youtube, google play.

West wing -  political drama,  politics/ history, serious characters/politicians, normal camera work, youtube, google play