1B - Audience Theory

Wednesday 28th May 2014:

  • How and where does the audience receive the media text? YouTube, which can be accessed on computers, phones, tablets, iPods, smart TVs, games consoles etc; Music Channels such as 4Music, MTV, Box etc which can all be accessed on cable TV's and via their websites, again which could be accessed on any device with an internet connection. Essentially, the music video could be received by the audience anywhere with an internet or TV connection at any time of the day. They may also receive the media text through music specialist websites such as the artist's website, iTunes etc. and can also be shared to social networking sites with the click of a single button.
  • Are there any times when you receive more than one at a time? No, but whilst viewing music videos, on YouTube especially, adverts for other related music videos are advertised on the side of the page, on pop-ups and on the background for the webpage itself, in an attempt to create desire for the audience and attract them to different videos, create a viscous competitive cycle. 
  • What different platforms are used? Online viewing, digital download (such as on iTunes) or purchased with some CDs (deluxe editions often include some of the videos as bonus tracks at the very end of the playlist which can be played on computers and TVs)
  • Does emphasis on interactive technology make audience more or less likely to be passive? They are more likely to be passive as we live in a world so full of new and upcoming technologies now that it is near impossible to miss music videos being presented to us. Whether we see them posted by our friends on Facebook or it is used as a sample introductory piece for a televised performance or interview - at some point we will all be exposed to music videos.
  • Do new technologies provide new uses and gratifications? Yes they do, especially for entertainment purposes as they can be accessed at virtually any point in the day, at any location. For example, they might be viewed on a journey to entertain or fill time. Integration - on social networking sites, particular groups of people, such as the artists' fans will all come together to comment on the latest videos uploaded, where they can give, share and interpret opinions and also feel belonging with the group. At a push, most music videos will then also come with a video depicting how the video came to be, what it was inspired by and how it was made, which for some people will provide information as they enjoy learning about the different processes. These types of videos are more likely to be seen on internet distribution rather than on TV.
  • What reasons do the audience have to consume your product? Majority of Ed Sheeran fans will want to be seen as loyal, and will thus watch every video uploaded by or associated with him. They might also want to hear the song if they do not own the album. Through social networking, they might here opinions based on the video and will therefore then want to watch the video for themselves. 
  • Who is the intended audience? How do you know? The intended audience for my music video was fans of Ed Sheeran, but mostly the female segment of 16-24 year olds. I know this because I carried out market research beforehand to identify a segment of the audience who would identify with this video. However, the audience is not restricted to this specific group as through the integration of new media technologies, music videos are becoming much more widely available and can be accessed by anyone in the world. 
  • How did you take into account the views of your potential audience?


Wednesday 21st May 2014:

If I received a question on audience theory, I would pick my: music video

Key theorists:


  • Stuart Hall - "preferred, negotiated or oppositional readings"
  • Laura Mulvey - "the female gaze" I challenged this theory as I wanted my female protagonist to be viewed as a role model rather than an object of desire - something very conventional in music videos. 
  • Blumler and Katz - "uses and gratifications" - how people can identify themselves within my music video.



October 2013:
The Basics:

  • Audiences will respond to and interpret media texts in different ways.
  • Relationship between audience and text will change at different times.
  • Audiences are not uniform, as different social and cultural experiences will affect the way texts are interpreted.

  • Stuart Hall: Audiences will respond to a media text in three different ways:
    • Preferred or dominant reading - the audience will completely agree with what the producer intended. Audience is likely to have similar cultural or social experiences as the producer.
    • Negotiated reading - the audience will somewhat agree but may also challenge parts of it.
    • Oppositional or resistant reading - the audience will completely disagree
  • One text cannot have a static meaning as we do not know how it is going to be read or interpreted by the audience.
There are also four main models/theories to follow which deal with the way the media effects the audiences. They are:
  • Hypodermic needle model
  • Two step flow
  • Uses and gratifications
  • Reception theory
HYPODERMIC NEEDLE:
  • First developed by The Frankfurt School 
  • States that the audience is completely passive and accepts the ideas and meanings of the text
  • It is the base of governments wanting to control the media in order to control it population
  • it causes a generalised concern about how the media effects us.
  • Think of an idea being 'injected' into the audience
  • Sometimes referred to as the Silver Bullet Model
  • The idea crops up repeatedly in popular media in moral panics about excessive media violence or sex by people who call fro greater control of media.
USES AND GRATIFICATIONS:

  • Suggests that the audience is highly active and will use the media for a range of their own needs and wants. 
  • Gives the power to the audience rather than the producers.
  • Media is likely to reinforce rather than change opinion.
  • Key names includes Blumer and Katz, McQuail
  • 'not what the media do with the people but rather what people do with the media'
  • The active audience is the term used although somewhat overlooks the way people are seduced by the media.
  • The main areas identified in this model are:
    • need for information about geographical/social world (news and drama)
    • need for identity by using characters and personalities to define our sense of self and social behaviour (film and celebrities)
    • need for social interaction through experiencing relationships and interaction of others (soap and sitcom)
    • need for diversion, play and entertainment (game show quizzes)
RECEPTION:

  • Recognises the audience as an essential element in the creative process.
  • states that the meaning is part of the relationship between text and audience.

OTHER INFO:

  • Mode of address = the way that a text speaks to us. Informal or formal.

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