A-level Media Studies NEA Statement of Intent

I am producing 2 media products for set brief 5. I shall be creating three Tiktoks, one podcast and two online advertisements. In the UK, according to an NHS survey, a quarter of 11 to 15-year-olds have tried vaping and nearly 1 in 10 (9%) do it frequently (NHS England). Therefore, my aim for these media products is to raise awareness about social health issues, such as vaping as it has become very popular (almost a ‘trend’) for youths over the past few years. I wanted to take up this brief because I am very interested in the use of Tiktok to help spread social or political awareness and information. I also think that campaigns have been very useful for many years and are successful at circulating knowledge. The audience I am targeting will be teenagers aged 14-20 years old, as vaping is most popular at that age. In terms of Psychographic profiling (Rubicam and Young), I will be targeting the ‘strugglers’ and ‘explorers’. In terms of uses and gratifications (Katz), I am aiming to create products that provide information about the real world for my targeted audience. As such, I will interview my target audience to investigate some of the side effects that vaping is causing. My aim is to create three Tiktoks that young people find interesting and engaging. To do that I will use vibrant colours and the use of clear iconography, which can link to the theorist Roland Barthes as I will be using a pattern of iconography as well as the orders of signification (connotations) throughout my products. My Tiktoks will also aim to engage as short, appealing videos for younger ages, with a sense of informality. I will stick to these ideas and styles. Cross-media campaigns use different media forms as a way of spreading awareness. New media platforms, such as TikTok, have over one billion users globally, mostly teenagers/young adults (seo.ai). As I often use Tiktok, I understand what the formality and themes are like: short-form videos, full of content and usually informal to gain audience’s attention. In addition, I shall create one podcast, and two online advertising materials. I have done some research to find a few professional products, which I will use as inspiration for my own products. I understand that campaigns and websites are a lot more formal than audio style media products, for example, campaigns and websites use short, declarative sentences so their audiences can become absorbed into their information. Whereas, audio style media products, like podcasts, use an organisation of themes for the episodes, as well as one main speaker, alongside a few additional speakers that use an optimistic tone of voice to portray an appealing persona. Therefore, I will ensure that the style, tone and register of my web pages will reflect these ideas. As I like listening to podcasts, and regularly listen to a podcast called ‘Saving Grace’ on Spotify, I understand that my podcast will need to include a theme, an audio logo and special guests in the same way that all podcasts do. My logo will be representing my campaign company ‘TheUglyTruth’. I want to connect both productions in terms of content and representation, so I will be using similar iconography for both the campaign and the Tiktok videos. This will include consistent iconography such as the logo that represents my campaign company, as well as connotations to vaping, like smoke or a picture of a vape, to ensure the theme of my brief is well produced and easy to understand for younger ages. To do this, I will ensure to use dominant signifiers such as text with a clear message, or an image of a vape throughout both products which will support the main message of the product, which is the awareness and danger of vaping, especially in younger ages as their brains haven’t fully developed yet.

Banner:

Advert:

Active audience= Active audiences are when an audience is engaging, interpreting, and responding to media messages. They are more likely to develop their own interpretation of a media text based on their beliefs and social context. 

Passive audience= Passive audiences are directly influenced by the messages encoded in media texts because they do not question or challenge those meanings. 

Extension task= Explain the ways in which media products are thought to impact on audiences cognitively, affectively and behaviourally.

I think media products, like video games, are thought to expand people’s knowledge and influence minds in both positive and negative ways. There is an increased belief of potential violence in the real world from watching violent media content leading to anxiety about personal safety.

Task 1:

Explain how Bandura’s view of media audiences is essentially different to that held by Shirky and Jenkins.

Albert Bandura is a psychologist who focuses on people’s behaviours and emphasises the importance of observing, modelling and imitating behaviours/attitudes and emotional reactions of others. His theory considers how both environmental and cognitive factors interact to influence human learning and behaviour. Bandura believes that children observe and learn from the people around them behaving in various ways. Therefore, this links to media audiences as he believes the media can directly ‘implant’ ideas into the mind of audiences. This is different to Shirky and Jenkins view of media audiences.

In contrast, Henry Jenkins believes that the media is one-way communication. This means that the flow of communication was from the media producers (Radio, Newspapers and Magazines for example) to the audiences or receivers. He believes that: ‘Fans produce meanings and interpretations; fans produce artworks; fans produce alternative identities’. In each case, fans are drawing on materials from the dominant media and employing them in ways that serve their own interests and facilitate their own pleasures.

Similarly, Clay Shirky focuses on the death of the mass media and the rising usefulness of networks. He argues that with the advent of digital and social media, audiences no longer play a passive receiving role; they become active participants and content creators. This means that the media is growing and becoming more interactive for audiences.

Task 2:

1. Why, according to the news report, do investors like the Video Games Industry so much?

Investors like the Video games Industry so much because the engagement continues to grow and that could mean big returns for investors interested in the space. It is also one of the fastest growing markets ever.

2. What are e-sports?

E-sports is where people play competitively on a multiplayer game for spectators, and competitions can be held. Usually, these are videoed or live streamed and millions of people enjoy watching.

3. How is new digital media technology changing the way that video games are accessed by consumers? 

Traditionally, consumers used to play on consoles or PCs, but now, the percentage of time spent gaming on mobile devices has increased rather than consoles. Mobiles and tablets have influenced the structure of many industries, and 50% of gaming will be conducted on mobile and tablet devices.

4. What does FPS and MMORP stand for? 

FPS – First Person Shooter. – A game that puts the player in first person whilst containing guns. 

MMORP – Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing game.  

The demographic for my media product is females in the late teens and twenties.

My magazine front cover will promote the love and interest for ‘comfy’ fashion to the public, whilst still following the latest trends. The cover will include a photo of a confident, young boy wearing a tracksuit from the brand ‘Nike’. He is going to pose in a cool and quirky way to bring attention to his clothing. My model in the photo will also be making direct eye contact with the camera to assert dominance and masculinity, and the camera angle will be from below, which will showcase the model looking down on the camera which suggests importance. I will use a cool-tone, blue background behind the model so that it will be eye-catching and stand out to the audience.

In terms of psychographics, my target audience is young male adults/late teens that like fashion with comfort, but also want to delve beneath the superficial, fake filters and the representation of the social media generation. I will include a teenage boy as my model, so people can feel more comfortable when reading and it indirectly shows the target age group. I think by promoting the brand Nike, this will attract young male adults/ teens and appeal to young readers.

There is also the secondary audience of females and a similar age range to the main audience.

This group altogether are very lively and like having fun with their lives, and they like to use fashion as ways to express themselves. They are a new-age group of young adults with strong views about fashion and a passion for what they believe in and their interests. They also may be open to explore and discover new interests like different styles of clothing that isn’t athletic.

The overall aesthetic of the magazine front cover is to interest people at a young age to influence them into being fascinated by fashion, so they can feel more confident and fit in with their surroundings whilst growing up. Throughout my magazine, I will also include beauty trends and makeup as my secondary target audience also follow these trends, and this will engage and interest more young females.