With reference to The Killing

• It is a co-production of Danish and German PSB companies (DK and ZDF)

• Exploiting the success of US long form drama with a local twist (20 episodes for a single crime drama)

• Exploring the economic possibilities offered by an international/ global market (e.g. success of Wallander): sold to over 120 countries

• Marketing prestige ‘serious’/literary drama for the boxset context (focus on aesthetic qualities: photography, narrative structure, character focus):  chasing international awards rather than a local audience

• Cultivation of the ‘celebrity’ detective: Sarah Lund and the actress Sophie Grabol who has extended these themes and their appeal by subsequent work

• Sanctioning of an American version

Issues to cover in my essay

 • media institutions as producers and distributors of cultural products (high status)

What media institutions do is that they collaborate with other companies to bring down their cost as well as attract a wider audience. For example, The Killing was created by both a Dutch and a German TV studio. The main one was the Dutch company , but they contributed with the German PSB in order to lower their costs of creating the programme as they would respectively pay 50/50 as well as attract audiences from both Germany as well as the Netherlands due to a German production company also being involved.

• the relationship between national and global audiences

The Killing was such a worldwide success that there has been many programmes based off this original programme which has been distributed in many different languages. For example, The Killing was so successful, American PSB Fox Television Studios in collaboration with Netflix recreated The Killing in English, which attracted a wider audience as English is the most widely spoken language worldwide. Due to Fox making an English version, a wider audience is attracted as it shows its popularity and due to it being based of the original one in Dutch, audiences are more likely to watch the original Dutch one as it follows the sameness and similarities of the English one.

• Ideas about the function of institutions in both ‘free market’ and PSB contexts:

The free market is an economic system based on supply and demand of something that has very little or no government control.

• issues of identity at both an institutional and programme level

The Killing follows sameness of other mystery genre programmers in order to provide a large target audience of those who enjoy the mystery genre. The institutions behind The Killing have used a production company in Germany to keep their costs down as well as attract the audiences from Germany. The Killing provides a clear narrative image for the people who may not speak the same language as the language the programmer is produced in, however can gain an understanding through the likeness of other programmes and the conventions and features of the genre the programmes is set in. For example, The Killing is set in the mystery genre, so follows the conventions of the mystery genre by including clues, a culprit, a detective and a victim, with the repertoire of the mystery elements to keep the sameness of the mystery genre programme.

• marketing within a globalised and transmedia context

Transmedia meaning = the telling a single story or story experience across multiple platforms, such as television and formats using current digital technologies.

The Killing is available online meaning anyone can access it as it is not just available in the country where it originated from. The fact that it is available online to anyone means that anyone could stumble upon it and then watch the programme out of pure curiosity and enjoy it due to its generic regime of verisimilitude and the sameness it has as it has the same elements that are expected in a mystery genre programme.

• the importance to audiences of certain kinds of narrative structure, genre, talent

The Killing follows a generic regime of verisimilitude in order to allow the audience to connect with it. As it is aimed at social classes C1, C2 and DE which make up 80% of the population, it uses characters in that social class to create the verisimilitude and life-likeness of the programme, as well as serves as a source of escapism from reality and enjoyment for the audience. It also follows the general codes and conventions used and appears familiar to other mystery genres as it automatically indicates what genre it is, even just through the narrative image.

• the importance of technology in adding value to cultural products

By using technology, The Killing is very realistic as it mimics modern day life and the technologies available, therefore it gives a sense of inclusion to the audience as they are able to relate to the programme in the sense of how society acts.

In what ways is ‘genre’ beneficial for transnational audiences?

• Gives a simple overview of the type of film/program you are going to watch.
• Most basic Genres are universal so that anyone can understand them

In what ways is ‘genre’ beneficial for transnational institutions?

• Helps different television companies from separate nations categorise text’s and understand them.
• Provides predictable expectations

Public service broadcasting is where forms of media such as news that want to provide information for the public and dont want a profit.

Explain how media organisations build and maintain audiences nationally and globally.

• The program “The Killing” is a cross-genre show as it includes Serial, Drama, Thriller, Crime film, Crime Fiction, Mystery, Adventure, Action/Adventure, Police procedural and Action fiction.

ESSAY 2 – Hidden Figures

Budget = 25 million US dollars.

Hidden Figures grossed $169.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $66.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $236 million, against a production budget of $25 million.

Initial release: January 6, 2017 (Canada)

• Provides information, advice or entertainment to the public
• Don’t try to make a profit
• eg the BBC, Channel 4
• suggested by Seaton

television and radio programmes that are broadcast to provide information, advice, or entertainment to the public without trying to make a profit: The channel is trying to reduce its obligations to produce public service broadcasting such as religious programmes. The BBC is an example of this

• Know some media organisations associated with the killing
• Know some audience theories associated with the killing
• Find out how audience theories and media organisations maintain audiences
• Have an idea about which genre of TV series and films attract which type of audience

Repertoire of elements : a group of generic elements that can be put into 6 groups. Iconography, we expect to see certain images on the screen. Style, the way it is displayed through camera angles and editing. Setting where the film is set. Narrative, the moments that impact the equilibrium and/or resolve the disruption. Characters, the way in which a character affects the narrative. Themes, the display of universal themes.

Corpus : Collections of pieces of media in groups of authors and Genres

Hybridization : Th combination of two or more media pieces to create a new one

Historic specificity : The association of a genre to a time period

Repetition and sameness: The choice to reuse elements of previous media that worked. But to make sure not to over use and bore the Audience

Variation and change : The purposeful differences in a piece of media to make it feel fresh to the audience.

Narrative image

Expectations and hypotheses : the preconceptions the audience have of the genre/film they are going to see

Suspend disbelief : making people believe in your piece of media that removes them from the real world

Generic regime of verisimilitude : the way the media piece makes something appear true or real

Conventions and Rules : the unwritten rules that define which genre a media form is in

Sub – Genre : A genre within a genre a way to specify media forms further

Hybridity : The way in which different media forms and pieces are merged and combine to access new audiences

Genres of Order and Integration ( Thomas Schatz) : Thomas Schatz theorized that there are only two genres ( Order and Integration)

Order : Contested space, ideologically unstable, argued over by dominant male usually through violence often resolving in death

Integration : Civilised space, ideologically stable, only between main character through emotion resolved through love

Genres as Cultural Category : Jason Mittell theorized that genres surpassed media and operate in industry, cultural practices and audiences.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1350192?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Conventions and Rules – A way in which something is usually done, following some flow or pattern.

Sub-genre – A smaller group of a genre held within a latger group e.g ‘horror’, which is quite a broad genre.

Hybridity – A combination/ cross over between two things

Genres of order and integration (Thomas Schatz) – Genres of order (western, gangster, sci-fi, the world is wrong it must be sorted etc) Hero = Individual, male = Dominant, Genres of Integration (Musicals, comedies etc) Hero = Group or collective e.g A family. Essentially two genres.

‘Genre as cultural category’ – How audiences access, engage, interpret and react to genres will influence the development of (that) genre.

Historic Specificity – Something which is associated with a certain time period.

Narrative Image –

Suspension of disbelief – A way/ method of escapism for the audience. e.g music building in a movie may increase the audiences apprehension. Emotions manipulated, telling the audience how they should be feeling.

Verisimilitude – The apperance of being real or true, creation of reality

• Stephen Neale-Steve Neale states that genres all contain instances of repetition and difference, difference is essential to the to the economy of the genre. Neale states that the film and its genre is defined by two things: How much is conforms to its genre’s individual conventions and stereotypes.
• Repertoire of elements-A repertoire is a group of generic elements. For example two films may share the same repertoire however they may be seen by different audiences as there is not one film that uses all elements. In this repertoire there are six areas that make up the repertoire of elements
• Corpus-corpus is (body) in latin meaning its in a collection eg horror
• Hybridisation-Hybridisation is a term used to describe a type of media convergence whereby a new mode emerges containing elements of combined media. Hybrid media represent most modern media and the concept that different media forms can work together to create new media. eg romcom
• Historic specificity-meaning a person associated with the certain time period
• Repetition and sameness-The word ‘repetition’ is understood to signify the act of repeating something (actions, words, objects) as well as the result of this act the repeated action, word, or object.
• Variation and Change-a change or slight difference in condition, amount, or level, typically within certain limits.
• Narrative image-Narrative is defined as a mental image, or cognitive construct, which can be activated by various types of signs. This image consists of a world (setting) populated by intelligent agents (characters). These agents participate in actions and happenings (events, plot), which cause global changes in the narrative world
• Expectations and hypotheses-Expectations theory attempts to explain the term structure of interest rates.  Expectations theories are predicated upon the idea that investors believe forward rates, as reflected (and some would say predicted) by future contracts are indicative of future short-term interest rates.
• Suspension of Disbelief-In order to enjoy such stories, the audience engages in a phenomenon known as “suspension of disbelief”. so you no longer seat as a film but you have a connection with the characters (escapism or enjoyment). Suspension of disbelief only works to a point.eg cinema that takes you somewhere else
• generic regime of verisimilitude-seeming like its real when its not idea of creating a reality the idea that the audience accept the reality of for example a dinner set in a film thinking its really a diner.
• Genres of order and integration (Thomas Schatz)-only 2 genres one genre order other genre intergration