– The Sims FreePlay is a strategic life simulation game developed by EA Mobile and later with Firemonkeys Studios.
– In The Sims FreePlay, players “build” and design houses and customize and create (a maximum of 34) virtual people called Sims.
– Players can control their Sims to satisfy their wishes, and let them complete different kinds of actions to gain Simoleons, Lifestyle Points, and Social Points (all three currencies in the game).
– The game features four types of currency: Simoleons, Lifestyle Points, Social Points, and Simcash, the latter being obtainable by spending real currency
– The tasks within the Sims will be completed in real time
– The Sims FreePlay is a spin-off from the hugely successful Sims franchise first published by Electronic Arts (EA) in 2000.
– Sims Freeplay is marketed to predominantly youth audience.
Theorists:
– Tells you what a sim needs to live = Maslow’s Hierachy of Needs
– The Sims franchise is one of the best examples of Henry Jenkins’ concept of participatory culture.
– Open ended nature – Todorov only applied to micro-narratives rather than to larger meta narratives (i.e. completing each task)
– Propps Character Types: Hero: The Sim avatar Villain: Sim’s needs and desires Princess: Experience for the player Dispatcher: Task system that tells you what to do next Helper: Jobs and money Doner: Game’s items store
– Media Theorists to apply:
Van Zoonen – gender stereotypes
bell hooks – power structures in society
Gauntlett – fluidity of identity
Gilroy – double consciousness
Hall- approaches to representation /encoding and decoding
Gramsci – marxism and hegemony
Strinati – post modernism (5 ways to identify : 1 and 4 apply to Sims)
Baudrillard – hyperreality theory blurring lines between fiction and reality
Argument = how new technologies has shaped the way audiences consume media.
Paragraph 1:
– Introduce the CSPs briefly
– Historical context
– Technological Advancements
– WOTW was very serious broadcast whereas LH is more casual, shift in society
– WOTW has very iconic sounds, whereas LH has more symbolic for entertainment purposes
– LH tagret audience of teens/young people
– WOTW target of more adults
WOTW overdramtises such as how they say 40 minutes in: I am obsessed with the thought I am the last living man on Earth. people believed this as they couldnt check on google
Paragraph 2:
– PSB
– Mentioning how BBC has a subscription service and its been increased this year
– How the target audience of LH and WOTW has changed
– Social changes
– Clay Shirky end of audience theory
– Henry Jenkins and participatory culture/fandoms
– Hesmondhalgh and how the media is a risky business
– Laswells communciation model and how theres been a shift in audience participation and people now are more media literate. LH includes audience participation such as texting in whereas WOTW doesn’t
Paragraph 3:
– Start to wrap up
– Talk about Stanley Cohen and Folk Devils and Moral Panics and how WOTW links to this
– Cultivation theory and how Gerbners theory links to the spreading of fake news in WOTW
– WOTW spreads propaganda and was provately funded through ads whereas BBC LH is funded by peoples subscriptions
– New media makes users sign into BBC and they can see analytics on what users click on and how long theyre on pages for
– Stuart Hall and theory of preferred reading based on how the BBC LH does shows based on social situations and people can text in with questions
– The show replaced The Surgery in 2017 and took the Sunday Teatime slot
– The programme is hosted by Katie Thistleton and Vick Hope
– The show was previous hosted by Cel Spellman, Katie Thistleton and Radha Modgil
– The programme includes discussion of health and social issues such as exam stress, sexual health, alcohol and drugs.
– Although both The Surgery and Life Hacks ran in scheduled broadcast slots, in recent years the programme has been available as a podcast and encourages digital consumption and interaction.
Audience
– It is very interactive and inclusive through the way they use new technologies like texting in
– In the episode expressing yourself and lockdown hair disasters they talk about concepts that the listener would relate to, such as TikTok and Thomas the Tank Engine.
– The presenters themselves are both women, who are quite bubbly and differ from War of the Worlds because the presenters in War of the Worlds were males
– Vick and Katie use quite colloquial language to link to less formality such as how our generation speaks today, whereas Ward of the Worlds is more formal.
– Life Hacks use uses music and more symbolic sounds, whereas War of the Worlds is more structured and doesn’t include any music to set a serious tone about the “aliens landing”.
– The audience pleasures that are offered by Life Hacks would be Diversion, surveillance and personal relationships.
– Diversion: listening to different podcasts( reflecting what you are going through)- able to escape from what you are going through by seeking help and allowing yourself to listen to other people’s stories etc.
– The use of mainstream celebrities that the young audience will know create familiarity and the chatty tone of the presenters seem inclusive and engages the audience
How it attracts a youth audience
– Informality: the language used and the way the presenters present themselves suggest that they are trying to appeal to more of a youth audience as they tend to use informal language as if they were speaking to a friend – this also makes it more personal which may make the listeners feel as if they are being directly addressed.
– Content: the content discussed is mainly targeting a youth audience as it specifically discusses growing up and going through life from a teenager/ younger persons position (university etc)
– Colour scheme: the colour scheme is bright and uses quite cartoonish colours which would appeal more to a younger audience – Emojis: the emojis suggest that this ad is aimed at more of a youth audience; stereo typically the younger generation is more accustomed to social media and would be more likely to be attracted to social media linked content – “How does social media make you feel?” : this question directly links to social media. There is more discussion about how social media influences and affects younger audiences so this question is mainly targeting youth audiences
– The film follows 15 year old Richard, who has learning difficulties and often falls victim of brother Polly’s aggressive and violent mood swings
– Richard find is easier to communicate with animals, especially his pet hen, Fiona
– He forms a strong friendship with rebellious seventeen-year-old Annabel, whose family have recently acquired the farm that Polly and Richard live on
– Chicken had its world premiere on 27 June 2015 Edinburgh International Film Festival.
– The film had its international premiere in competition at the 2015 Busan International Film Festival, followed by screenings at the New Hampshire International Film Festival, Giffoni International Film Festival, Cine A La Vista International Film Festival, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Schlingel International Film Festival and Dublin International Film Festival.
– It eventually received a limited theatrical release in the UK on 20 May 2016.
– It was then acquired by MUBI UK, and had its British TV premiere on FilmFour April 2017. It received its DVD and Blu-ray released by Network on 18 September 2017.
– In order to make Chicken, director Joe Stephenson raised £110,000. He raised this entirely through investment by individuals (e.g. rich friends/contacts)
– No funding body (e.g. BFI Film Fund) was willing to fund Chicken
– Raises questions about whether film industry is accessible to lower-income filmmakers
– Adapted from a play by Freddie Machin that originally ran at Southwark Playhouse.
– Filmed in 19 days, almost all external locations so victim to rain, issues with lighting etc.
– Film produced and distributed by a new company set up by director Stephenson: B Good Picture Company.
Awards and Critics Reviews
– Grand Jury Award for Narrative Feature — Joe Stephenson (New Hampshire Film Festival 2015)
– Silver Griffoni Award for Best Film – Generation 18+ (2nd Prize) — Joe Stephenson & B Good Picture Company (Giffoni Film Festival 2016)
Award for Best Film — Chicken (Cine A La Vista International Film Festival 2016)
– Scott Chamber’s performance as Richard got a Special Critic’s Circle mention (Dublin International Film Festival 2016)The film was shortlisted for Best Director (Joe Stephenson) and Best Newcomer (Scott Chambers) by the British Independent Film Awards.
– CineVue praised the film and mentioned that it is “the sort of British indie which restores faith in cinema”.
– Chicken received positive reviews and holds a 100% “Certified Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 12 critic reviews.
– Leslie Felperin of The Guardian gave the film 3/5 stars and said “first-time director Joe Stephenson elicits lively, empathic performances from his small cast.”
– Mark Kermode rated the film at four out of five stars stating that Scott Chambers’ performance is “superb”.
– Anna Smith of Empire magazine gave the film a rating of four stars, responding that the film is “an enjoyable, involving British Drama with and impressive turn from newcomer Scott Chambers.
– With a three-star rating from Cath Clarke of Time Out, she commented that Chicken is “an impressively acted British Drama about a young man with learning difficulties
Technology within Chicken
– Alongside film festivals, new technology was vital to promoting Chicken to a wider audience: Some traditional marketing: trailer, film poster with review quotes etc.
– Social media very important to market film – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.
– Film available on-demand now; Stephenson hoping for deal with Netflix or Amazon Prime to bring in revenue and find wider audience.
– Film4 shows mainstream films, as well as arthouse films that are aimed at niche audiences. Film4 was a good choice because it meant that a wider range of people would have seen Chicken – as well as those within the target audience.
– MUBI chose this film to be featured on the service because of the fact that the film being critically acclaimed and winning several awards at various film festivals. MUBI most likely wanted to invest in the distribution of Chicken due to its rising success and it receiving more recognition.
– ‘Chicken’ was released in the US exclusively on iTunes early 2018, and continues to maintain its 100% Fresh Rotten Tomatoes rating.
– As well iTunes, it is now available in the US & UK on Amazon Prime
– The director, Joe Stephenson, used the power of New Digital Media (the internet) to keep control over his product through both marketing and distribution
– The critic reviews served as a source of free advertisement for the film
– Official trailer available on YouTube, as well as being embedded in Chicken’s own website. This helps to promote the film virally, encouraging a broader audience as YouTube is accessible globally. Comments and likes help to produce a buzz as well as building a community around the film and providing it with free advertisement (positive comments and likes.)
– It is a form of conventional film marketing, which is Trailers, teaser posters, theatrical posters, billboards, magazine features.
– Chicken used Influencer marketing – where focus is placed on gaining and then using the opinion of influential people rather than the larger target market. It identifies individuals that have influence over potential consumers, and shapes marketing activities around persuading these influencers whose recommendations are known to shape the behaviour of others (Two Step Flow).
– Viral marketing is applied to Chicken. Viral marketing is intending to set up a word of mouth spread by creating pages that appear to be real – that of the Blair Witch is the most famous – where a website made the myth appear real and one that is currently being investigated.
– Chicken uses social media. The website, social media pages, as well as the official trailer on YouTube, are all linked together. – Website is a portal with links to streaming services; so people can actually see the film (whatever their geographical location – broadens audience)
– Website also links to social media platforms which helps to make the audience feel connected to the product (engages them) and builds a sense of community around it.
– The synergy between all of them is that they are showing the main character in all the trailers and film posters.
– These review are important from people like Mark Kermode because these people are seen to be opinion leaders which people follow.
– Chicken uses social media to create and maintain interest in the film because people use social media a lot so they can connect with them easily.
– Both the poster and film trailer use the same font for the title ‘Chicken’. The colour scheme is also the same and the picture used on the film poster is from one of the scenes shown in the trailer. Furthermore, both the poster and trailer also feature film reviews about the film and the names of the film festivals where the movie was shown.
– The Chicken twitter account is constantly tweeting. Recently, they had been tweeting a countdown for the release of the film in the US and Canada. This maintains the interest of the film as audiences are constantly reminded of the film.
– The Chicken Facebook page uploads pictures and videos of scenes from the film. This intrigues the audience. Furthermore, they also upload reviews from film critics, such as Mark Kermode and magazines such as Empire.
– The Chicken Facebook page has liked the pages- @ArtHouseCrouchEnd, @Everymancinemas, @LittleWhiteLies, etc. This suggests that the target audience of the film are middle class white men and women who enjoy art house films, where the cinematography has been taken in to account and the story line is very different from typical cinema movies.
– The key purpose of the website is to link people to where they can watch the movie depending on where they live. This includes iTunes for those in the US and Canada and Amazon Instant Video, Film Doo and Volta for those in the UK and Ireland. This suggests that the influence of new technology means that audiences mostly stream and watch movies on demand rather than going out and buying a DVD.
Livingstone and Lunt and Chicken
– Chicken is a film in the style of social realism. It depicts two brothers, the younger of which is disabled, who run into conflict with the owners of the farmland on which they live.
– The BBFC works to protect audiences from discriminatory language regarding disability.
– Due to the depiction of a sensitive topic and the particular narrative involved, Stephenson may have run into issues when attempting to tell the story without using such language in the script, particularly the dialogue of the new landowners.
– This is representative of the struggle theorised by Livingstone and Lunt.
Curran/Seaton and Chicken
– If we consider the marketing of Chicken and its political values, those of which are oppositional to many of those in the mainstream media industry, we can see that despite the limited funding, creativity in the marketing indicates the cultural pessimism of Curran does not mean products outside such media institutions have to fail or cannot compete at a different level for audiences.
– It could be argued that the fact the film is outside the mainstream of media institutions allows it greater degree of freedom in its message and marketing.
– As Martin Moore suggests, ‘people’s political views are not, as contemporaries thought, much changed by what they read or heard in the media. Voters were far more influenced by their friends, their families and their colleagues’ (2019:124).
Uses and Gratifications Theory
Uses/Gratifications of Deutschland 83 and Capital
– Knowledge about the World
– Enjoyment through watching a TV programme
– Escapism from the daily grind of work and life
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Audience Theories
– A socio-economic classification developed by the NRS (National Readership Survey) – Approximated Social Grade of six categories A, B, C1, C2, D and E. – It applies to every Household Reference Persons (HRP) aged 16 to 64. – A discriminatory tool for media consumption and purchasing power in general. – Based on employment status, qualifications, residence and working full time, part time or not working.
Young and Rubicam’s Physiographic Descriptors:
The Explorer – motivated by the need for discovery. The Resigned – motivated by survival needs. The Aspirer – motivated by esteem/status needs. The Mainstreamer – motivated by belonging needs. The Reformer – motivated by enlightenment needs. The Succeeder – motivated by the need for control. The Struggler – motivated by escapism need
– It can be argued that Deutschland 83 and Capital are aimed at people who are Explorers and Strugglers because the audience will resort to achieving the needs of escapism by watching the programmes.
– It can also be seen that for English Audiences, Deutschland 83 satisfies the needs of the Explorer , as the get to learn more about a foreign country through watching a TV programme set in that country. Similarly, the Explorer can be applied to international audiences who watch Capital, as they may watch it to explore more about England.
Blumler and Katz
– Blumler and Katz identified 4 needs of why people might consume media:
– 1. Surveillance = give information at what is going on around the world.
– 2. = Personal relationships = allows us to become sociable with each other and openly discuss conversations and possibly create debates
– 3. = Diversion – media acts as a source of escapism and relief from the pressures of everyday life.
– 4. = Personal identity = audiences can compare their own life and the situations of characters in the programme, which will help the audience to explore their individual problems.
– For example, Deutschland 83 is set during the War in Germany, so it can visually show the audience what life was like during the war.
– Both programmes can be used a source of enjoyment and escapism from the daily grind of life and pressures you face in life.
– The story lines of these programmes are very dramatic in order to gain audience attraction and people will be open to talk about the programmes, the plot and their personal opinions on events in the programme and different characters.
The Cultivation Theory
– A theory established by George Gurbner
– Quote = ‘television’s major cultural function is to stabilize social patterns and to cultivate resistance to change‘ (1978: 115)
– They suggest that ‘television cultivates from infancy the very predispositions and preferences that used to be acquired from other primary sources‘ (Gerbner et al 1986).
– The cultivation theory explores how people act through what media they consume. For example, if a person likes to watch TV shows that include violence, the person may start to become more violent in real life because they are acting like the characters they see on TV.
What’s the difference between a consumer based media regulation system and a citizen based regulation system?
– Consumer based regulation = media makers create media based on what people want. There are regulation, but it isn’t chosen what they publish by the government. it focuses on what people want and media is created that is appropriate for audience consumption.
– Citizen based regulation = media makers create media based on what the Governments want them to do. It should contribute to the social and cultural health of the societies which they operate in.
What impact did the 2003 Communications Act have on media regulation?
– Designed by the Uk Labour Government to modernise Uk regulatory systems and help the UK television company become competitive.
– The act promoted independent television production by requiring conglomerates such as the BBC and Channel 4 to commission more from smaller television companies
– Television production was given more freedom in creating content and allowed production to become more commercially viable.
– The replacement for the Broadcast Standards commission (BSC) and Independent Television commission (ITC) with OFCOm through the communications act diluted the public service requirements of TV broadcasting.
– As a result, Independent television production where freed up to produce content that was more commercially viable
– OFCOM tried to ensure that media wasn’t dominated by one organisation, such as the BBC.
Whats the draw back of a self regulated system?
– Self regulated systems can be seen as disastrous as there is too much freedom and companies are free to produce whatever they want as there is no rules and regulations that they have to follow.
– Companies can’t regulate themselves
– No Government control, so companies can create media following their own codes and conducts.
– However, if companies don’t follow rules and regulations and someone complains about it, they won’t own up to breaking the rules and regulations as they have the freedom to make up their own codes and conventions.
– Currently, it can be argued that the media is self-regulatory and as we live in a neo-liberal society, people are being allowed more to do what they want to do.
How do you regulate media content and organisations on a global scale?
– There is an absence of Government guidance, so organisations are left to create their own morals, codes and conventions.
– Tech giants don’t author their own content, this is because user generated content is published which makes it impossible to prevent or properly check problematic material.
– Some companies have embedded content-vetting algorithms to automate their gate keeping processes, but they lack the standard to solve meaningful regulatory issues in a satisfactory way.
– Agreements between countries to make a global law that companies have to follow
– Companies are trying to regulate technologies on a global scale.
– One way to regulate media is to regulate technology alongside it.
How do media companies maximize profit and minimize risk
HESMONDHALGH
DEUTSCHLAND 83 AND CAPITAL
Star formatting
Capital stars Toby Jones, who goes on to star in many other different episodes that the audience may recognise.
Television Hybridisation
Capital is a program that is a hybridisation of crime drama with social realism
Serialism
An spin off prequel of Deutschland 83, called Deutschland 89 was released in 2020.
Globalisation
Deutschland 83 is an American-German program that was shown locally on German TV, the BBC4 and a partnership is currently being created with Netflix.
Remakes
The program is being remade with Netflix through Anna Winger on a spin off which tells the story of a Jewish woman who flees her arranged marriage and religious community to start a new life abroad.
Internationalism
Deutschland 83 is a German TV program, that became very popular in America and has been translated for these purposes.
Technological Advancements
Deutschland 83 is available on BBC 4, which is on TV as well as a website, so it can be accessed on any device.
Artificial Scarcity
Deutschland 83 is only available on the local German network and BBC 4, which will make the audience go onto the channel and discover new, similar channels, thus creating more awareness of other programmes published by the media institution.
Publicity functions
Capital has been widely advertised, such as the starts were included in interviews and other media sources, such as newspapers focused very heavily on the programme.
Independent Stylizing
In Deutschland 83, the Germans are presented in a very positive way, although the programme was set in 1983, way after WW1/2, where a pejorative viewpoint has been held among the Germans.
