Kc aud introduction student copy
- 1. rereIntroduction to Key Concept:Introduction to Key Concept: AUDIENCEAUDIENCE To begin with we will distinguish between the most important factors you should always address (‘GAPS’) and some others you could also consider. Add in terms as we go through the lesson. We will consider some audience factors today – feel free to suggest and write down more! ‘GAPS’ – THE VITAL AUDIENCE ELEMENTS OTHER AUDIENCE ELEMENTS Demographicscollective name for categorising sections of society/audience for analysis Mainstream/mass v Niche the basic binary (opposite) of audience/media types G - M - F A - Y - O S when broad categories of people are described as sharing the same characteristics, eg all teens are lazy, threatening, rude, have very low attention spans versus C producers might opt to counter or challenge stereotypes, perhaps recognising this will help appeal to an audience F Q a text, typically higher budget (therefore requiring a mass audience to make money), aimed at all of MFOY, the 4 audience quadrants. High budget ($100m+) tentpole films need to appeal to all four quadrants. In music, Ed Sheeran is a commercial ‘artist’ with his highly successful attempts to target a truly mass audience G ( ) the types of media texts we like is a factor in whether we can follow the preferred reading, especially when there are intertextual references. It also creates expectations if we are aware of genre conventions. Goodwin includes genre signifers in his list of video conventions ABC1C2DE social class – ABC1 (upper class to upper middle class = high disposable income) for sophisticated texts, C2DE (lower middle to working class/student/unemployed) for less sophisticated. You can use any range, eg C1C2D I when the signifiers of one text require knowledge of others to follow the preferred reading H (combining 2+ genres, eg zom-rom- com; electropop; funk metal) P - aka Core media producers always have a main audience in mind; especially where media are funded by advertising (but also for marketing purposes), it is vital to be able to identify a specific audience range. A Katy Perry video would have a young (tween 8-12 and teen 13-16) female C1C2DE primary target audience Dennis McQuail argued there are fundamental factors in why we choose media texts: the USES + GRATIFICATIONS THEORY. Using Wild Child you can apply all 4 of the U+G categories Identification (u+g 1) … S producers will often use details like intertextualities (eg character names), settings, minor characters or countertypes to help widen appeal. Marketing (and advertiser targeting) will not be based on these, but there is some appeal, eg Katy Perry videos are quite sexualised widening appeal to a teen and adult male secondary (u+g 2): … (u+g 3) … Key Concepts: Audience (+ some M-R-I) StGMedia 1
- 2. audience. (u+g 4) … S (Richard Dyer wrote a book on this!) S A A R KC Institution: BBFC now rate videos N demographics such as this impact on our individual responses to texts. Stuart Hall argued that we should consider not just the preferred reading (how the creators wish us to respond/interpret), but also possible negotiated/contested or even oppositional readings, where the audience doesn’t recognise some of the intended meaning, signifiers, intertextualities (etc), or simply rejects the preferred reading – eg a non-Trump fan watching a Trump speech; if you don’t recognise all of the characters from US media and politics in The Simpsons, you cannot fully follow the preferred reading. Your teacher’s reading of many texts you like is likely to be very different to yours given the differences in age, nationality and education. short examples of how to analyseshort examples of how to analyse AUDIENCEAUDIENCE Below I’ve made some points on two examples of CD covers. It should be quickly obvious that the KC of Audience is closely tied to Representation!!! I go on to briefly compare the two. You should look at these examples then tackle one of the provided examples from the blog post yourself, after which you will compare with a classmate, and we will feedback and discuss findings – practicing as we do key terms, including semiotic terms (signifier/ied, denote/ation, connote/ation, anchor/age, polysemy/ic etc) and shot types/angles Key Concepts: Audience (+ some M-R-I) StGMedia 2
- 3. Key Concepts: Audience (+ some M-R-I) StGMedia 3
- 4. YOUR TASK: 1. INDIVIDUALLY ANALYSE 1 COVER 2. COMPARE FINDINGS AND TEXTS IN A PAIR 3. FEEDBACK TO THE CLASS (1) Discuss who you think your chosen CD cover is designed to appeal to. Refer to gender, age and the primary/secondary target audienceS (GAPS) in your answer, plus any other elements of audience you choose. Clearly identify (denote) which part/s of the cover make you think this way: use either the table or write annotations (notes) around the print-off pointing to the relevant detail/s. Include a brief statement describing the most likely primary and secondary target audiences (for example: male hip-hop fans aged 13-18). FORMING PAIRS: The examples are numbered so that 1 and 2 will be compared by a pair, also 3 and 4, 5 and 6, 7 and 8! (2) Once you've done this, discuss and compare your findings with someone else - feel free to make changes or additional points after you discuss and compare your views. • Do you both agree that the audience is the same for your texts? Key Concepts: Audience (+ some M-R-I) StGMedia 4
- 5. • Are there any differences? Think carefully about age for example: what age range do you think each text has primary appeal to (for example, 8-14, 45+) (3) Each pair will present their findings to the class, noting how similar or different they thought the audience might be for their CD covers. All of you can share your views as we do this. CD COVER I INDIVIDUALLY ANALYSED: TOPIC EXAMPLES & ANALYSIS GENDER AGE PRIMARY? SECONDARY? OTHERS If you haven’t already applied the U+G theory or Stuart Hall’s readings, do so here! Key Concepts: Audience (+ some M-R-I) StGMedia 5
- 6. COMPARISON + notes on other examples MEDIA TERMS I’VE USED IN MY WRITTEN WORK Key Concepts: Audience (+ some M-R-I) StGMedia 6
- 7. COMPARISON + notes on other examples MEDIA TERMS I’VE USED IN MY WRITTEN WORK Key Concepts: Audience (+ some M-R-I) StGMedia 6