Unit 1 Section 6: Copyright and intellectual property

Unit 1 Section 6 Task 5

Copyright and intellectual property

User-generated content - Content created by non - professionals who then distribute their work online. 

One of the arguments that wired uses to give its opinion on copyright is about why the law is there in the first place, suggesting that cover songs on youtube actually promote the track itself and shouldn't really be seen as a negative thing.

In my opinion, UGC artists covering songs should not be subjected to copyright law. This is because I personally don’t understand what harm it does to the actual creator of the track. In a way, it seems like it’s just a way for them to get money. Any song should be allowed a part of a UGC video on youtube, because it helps the video gain likes and so forth. 

The video maker is being sued because she used someones music in one of her videos in which she did not own the rights to use.

The opinions differ because the artist does not want dispute and is happy for the video creator to use the song as it gets his music more awareness. The record label has to agree to sue the creator for money otherwise they could be in trouble with the law and court. Therefore, they are just trying to follow laws properly. 

Unit 1 Section 6: Regulators and Self-regulation.

Unit 1 Section 6 Task 4

Regulators and self-regulation, ASA, IPSO. 

ASA: Advertising Standards Authority. This organisation is the UK’s independent regulator of advertising across all media. The service applies advertising codes in which any media that wishes to advertises must follow to avoid offending anyone, being misleading or even being unethical. They have many values that need to be respected by advertisers.

IPSO: Independent Press Standard Organisation. They are the independent regulator for newspapers and magazines in the UK. They have to ensure that all newspapers and magazines follow the editors code, they investigate complaints about any articles that may have violated the code. They also operate a 24 hour anti-harassment service. 

Self Regulation: This is how the media watches itself, for example when it has to solve its own problems and prevent harmful content. They rectify their mistakes. 

Unit 1, Section 6: Regulators

Unit 1 Section 6 Task 3

Regulators. 

Censorship: When speech, public communication or other content is considered objectionable or harmful by regulators and is then cut or edited from media products. 

Classification: The decision made about the suitability of a media text for a particular age range after the content has viewed by regulators. The classification will be in the form of an age certificate (Film and video games), warning signs (Music, video games or broadcast time (TV,film)

IPSO: Independent Press Standard Organisation.

They are the independent regulator for newspapers and magazines in the UK. They have to ensure that all newspapers and magazines follow the editors code, they investigate complaints about any articles that may have violated the code. They also operate a 24 hour anti-harassment service. 

ASA: Advertising Standards Authority. 

This organisation is the UK’s independent regulator of advertising across all media. The service applies advertising codes in which any media that wishes to advertises must follow to avoid offending anyone, being misleading or even being unethical. They have many values that need to be respected by advertisers.

OFCOM: Office of Communications. They regulate the TV, radio and video-on-demand sectors, fixed-line telecoms as well as mobiles and postal services. They're jobs include protecting people in the UK from scams and make sure that they get the best from communication services. The organisation also has a wide range of duties to follow such as ensuring that television viewers or radio listeners are protected from harmful content. 

PEGI: Pan European Game Information. It was launched to help european parents to help parents make decisions on buying computer games. For the games that they regulate, there are 5 age rating categories: PEGI- 3,7,12,16,18. The ratings are provided based on the type of content and the amount of violence, bad language or other harmful types of in-game scenes. 

BBFC: British Board of Film Classification. This is the board in the UK that regulate all films being shown in UK cinemas or sold on DVD. They have 6 main age categories. U, PG, 12A, 12, 15, 18. There is also an R18 category for other circumstances. The rating that they provide is based on how appropriate the film is. For example, if its rated 12A that means that a child under the age of 12 should not see the film unless they're accompanied by an adult. If its rated 12 then they should not see the film at all unless they are 12 or over. 

Unit 1 Section 6: Moral Panic

Unit 1 Section 6 Task 2

Moral Panic

Moral panic: When the media creates fear in the population over an issue that appears to threaten or harm normal social order. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-33960075

Based on the article, it is relatively easy to tell that video games being linked with real life violence is often talked about as an issue. It is clear that the writer thinks that video games cause people to be violent through the way he is showing many quotes of people who also agree, he also doesn’t mention why it might not have any effects on real life. 

In my opinion, each person is effected differently. I would personally be able to play video games for as long as I want and not be lead by the content of the game. However, some people can easily be influenced by what they're playing. Sometimes the in-game activities are so intriguing and fun that somebody may take in all the content to their brain, and the thoughts don't leave their minds once they finish playing. It also depends on the game. Grand theft auto takes place on a fictional island with a city, making it seem like a real place, including cars, roads, buildings, and houses, allowing the ability to cause whatever grief a player wishes to cause. Therefore, they may lose the ability to realise what they can and can’t do in real life compared to that in the game. Especially if they're playing too much instead of going out in the real world. 

Unit 1 section 6: Effect theories and types of audiences.

Unit 1 Section 6

Task 1

Five films that include violent content

1. Saw
2. Rambo
3. Kick-ass
4. Cannibal holocaust
5. Django Unchained

Age certificates:

Saw: 18. The age certificate for this film is appropriate as the film is very gory and has aggressive content that many viewers could find disturbing. 

Rambo: 18. This may also be rated 18 due to violence. However many people under the 18 would have watched it and probably been okay with it, therefore it should probably be a 15. 

Kick-ass: 15. This is because the content of the film is slightly less effective than the two films above therefore its more appropriate. 

Cannibal holocaust: 18. This film contains strong sexual violence therefore its given an 18 rating, which is probably most appropriate, however some 15-17 year olds could probably watch it without an issue. 

Django Unchained: 18. This is also a film that contains strong scenes of different aspects therefore the age rating is best suited to it. 

One of the three theories from section 5 was the Hypodermic needle theory suggesting that the content is “injected” into the audience manipulating the thoughts in the brain. 

All the films above can apply to this theory, however the three films out of the five that may have the greatest links with the theory could be Saw, Cannibal holocaust and Rambo. This is because the scenes within this film are so strong and effective that some people watching them may be sucked into the actions that take place causing their ideas and real - life actions to reflect what happens in the films, such as going out and attacking someone or sometimes even worse. This is a highly negative situation linked with audiences and film content. 

Unit 1 section 2: Advertising

Unit 1 section 2

Advertising - Just do it

Most advertising today is about communicating the complex range of messages about a product known as branding. 

A brand is a product or range of products that has a set of values associated with it that are easily recognised by the consumer. 

Brand identity is created by using the following elements:

1. Brand essence: A way of summing up the significance of the brand to the stockholders and consumers alike of the brand in one simple sentence
2. Brand slogan: A public way of identifying the brand for consumers - often associated with a logo. 
3. Brand personality: Marketeers can describe their brand as though it were a person, with likes and dislikes and certain behaviour.
4. Brand values: What does it stand for/ against? 
5. Brand appearance- What does it look/sounds/taste like?
6. Brand heritage- How long has it been around? Does it have customers who have been loyal to it for many years?
7. Emotional benefits- how it avoids/reduces pain or increases pleasure 
8. Hard benefits- bigger? better? cheaper? washes whiter? 

Traditional advertising is on:

Radio

TV

Magazines

Leaflets, flyers, postcards

Posters

Billboards

Unit 1 Section 5: Conducting research for a teen magazine.

Unit 1, Section 5  - 16/12/16

Teen magazine:

Gaming magazine targeted to boys aged 11-18, students and all ethnicities 

Primary Research 

Questionnaire:

1. What content would you most like to see in the magazine?

1. Gaming tips 
2. Latest news on upcoming consoles and games.
3. Game reviews 
4. Giveaways

2. What colour scheme is best suited to a gaming magazine

1. Red and green
2. Green and Black
3. Blue and red
4. Blue and green 
5. Black and red
6. other 

3. What kind of advice do you wish to see the most inside the magazine?

1. Best games to buy 
2. Rating of a particular game
3. Tips and tricks

Person 1

1. B
2. B
3. A

Person 2

1. C
2. A
3. C

Person 3

1. B
2. E
3. A

Interview person 1:

1) What would you like to be included in the magazine?

Reviews, latest trends, advice and competitions.

2) What kind of front cover do you think will be best for a magazine?

Simple and reasonably basic but it should include a fair amount of detail and colour. 

Interview person 2: 

1. Answer: Good information on games and real opinions of different people. 
2. Answer: It should include detail and colour but not too much where it stands out a lot. 

Focus group:

What do you think are important elements within magazines?

Answers: Information, facts, tips, help, prices, reviews and giveaways.

How often do you think a new issue should be printed?

Answers: Weekly, Monthly

Whats the most important element of the front cover?

Answers: Main image, Masthead, colour, Bylines.

What colours would you associate with a gaming magazine?

Answers: Green, Black, Red, Blue. 

What additional information should be on the front cover to appeal to the target audience?

Anchorage text, Skyline, Strap line, page references linked to interesting information.  

Secondary research:

Different gaming magazines: 

  

Reviews of gaming magazines:

Xbox magazine: 

"Is it just me or is this magazine getting better every time I buy it? I have every issue since the very first one and I will continue to buy it! These guys are doing such a fantastic job, considering I am studying computer games and multimedia development at university this magazine adds some sort of sanity to my busy and stressful life! Thanks Guys!"

"Really like the mag. I never miss an issue keep up the good work!"

"Excellent magazine Excellent magazine great value"

PC gamer magazine:

"I've been reading PC Gamer for seven years now, and keep coming back not only for the content, but the quality of writing that sets it apart from nearly every other magazine out there"

"Read my first issue back in 2004 and haven't stopped buying it since. One of the best magazines around for fair accurate reviews and interesting articles on games and gaming culture."

"Essential reading for any PC gamer.”

Data of readership:

Over the last few years, the readership of gaming magazines has been changing, PC gamer:

Circulation: “19,125 print 2,929 digital

22,054 total (Jan – Dec 2013)

21,272 print 3,241 digital

24,513 total (Jan – Dec 2012)”

Xbox magazine:

425,000/month (US) and 66,894/month (UK)

Unit 1 Section 4: Uses and gratifications

5/12/16

Uses and Gratifications. 

The uses and gratifications theory focuses on the consumer rather than focusing on the message by asking “What people do with the medIa” rather than “What media does to people”. 

In other words, the audience uses media to meet their needs and to fulfil specific gratifications. 

Blumler and Katz first began studying this theory in the 1940s. 

Personal identity:

• Finding reinforcement for personal values
• Finding models of behaviour 
• Identifying with valued others (In the media)
• Gaining insight into ones self. 

Entertainment 

• Escapism, or being diverted, from problems
• Relaxing 
• Filling time 
• Emotional release 
• Sexual gratification

Integration and Social interaction.

- Gaining insight into circumstances of others; Social empathy.

• Identifying with others and gaining a sense of belonging. 
• Finding a basis for conversation and social interaction 
• Having a substitute for a real life companionship

Unit 1 Section 1 Disneys production process

Unit 1 Section 3: Representation

Unit 1 section 3: Narrative

Unit 1 Section 3: Radio

Unit 1 Section 3: Magazine front cover annotations

                      

Unit 1 section 1: The big six

7/10/16

Unit 1 section 1: Argument for or against the big six  

The big six are the most popular and wealthiest film production companies in the world, all based in California, United States. The Big six consists of Walt Disney Pictures, Universal Studios, Columbia Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers, and 20th Century Fox. 

My argument is in favour of the big six. This is because they have lots of money which means they are able to invest it in creating new ideas for films, also allowing them to pay for actors and actresses of high respect. They have a positive impact on the industry, this is because whenever they release a film, it would be expected to be a good film worth watching. 

Contrastingly, some may have views against the big six. This is because they can often prevent smaller production companies from being able to work their way up the film industry. Another reason is that if a film was made by a different production company that are not part of the big six, people will assume that the film may not be so great and therefore not want to watch it. For example, a film made by warp productions may instantly have negative opinions before being viewed. 

As a consumer, I can see that the big six are often the production companies making the best and most entertaining films, however american films made by these companies are often films that are not very realistic and end happily. Whereas a smaller company may create a film that is more realistic. 

Unit 1 section 1 job roles in the film industry

Production stage	Job role	Job description
Pre-Production	Script writer Storyboard artist Construction manager Casting director Location manager	Writes the script Draws out all the main shots in a film They are in charge of building the set.  They organise the actors who will play a part in the film.  They decide the location of real life sets to film on.
Production	Camera operator Director Hair/make up artist  Runner Actor Carpenter	Operates camera on set. Controls what happens in the production. Controls actors. Makes the actors and actresses look the part. They assist the director doing any job that the director may require. The people in the film.  Lay down any flooring used for a set or structure.
Post-Production	Editor  VFX artist Sound editor	Rough cut, final edit.  In charge of the visual effects.  In charge of the sound effects

Unit 1 Section 1: Conglomerate vs Independant company

Unit 1 section 1: Conglomerate vs independent company

Conglomerate: This is when there is a company that owns a large amount of other companies. For example Disney who own Marvel, Pixar, Disney world, and so on. 

Pros: 

-More money which means they can create better films because of the large budget with better actors/actresses. More money means they can essentially create whatever they want on any type of media platform or aspect of the business. There is no urgent limit of spending. 

-Creates many new jobs.

-Recognition and respect from the world.

Cons:

• Decreases chances of smaller business being able to succeed or entrepreneurs creating great media platforms. 
• Can decrease competition (However it does increase it at other times). 
• Sometimes a film created may not be such good quality. The company could just be mass producing films rather than considering quality enough.

Independent: This is when the company is free from outside control, meaning they are not controlled by other companies. It is different to a PLC company. 

Pros:

-They can make their own decisions

-Do not have to follow government rules. They can make their own decisions when it comes to changing their storefront.

Cons: 

• Less money
• They may struggle to earn a good income

Textual analysis of a film. Unit 1 section 3.

Unit 1 Section 1: BBC vs Sky

Unit 1 Section 3: Connotation, denotation, textual analysis

Unit 1 Section 1: News international vs mirror group

Unit 1: Media products and audiences: Section 1
News International vs Mirror Group

News international and Mirror group are both newspaper company’s with many similarities and many differences. 

News International

News International was established in February 1981, in the united states. News Corp and Rupert Murdoch are now the owners. The company is British based, american owned. They publish “The times”, “The Sunday Times”, and “The sun” newspapers. All of these newspapers are popular newspapers printed in the UK. Their net income was 1.179 billion in 2012, and revenue is roughly 33 billion. Being a newspaper company, their common audiences would be to primarily target young - middle aged adults for “The sun” newspaper. For “The Times”, and “The Sunday times”, they would look to target Middle age - older adults. This is because of the style of the newspaper and the content. Being a large company, they have a large range of job roles such as; Marketing executive, marketing manager, syndication sales executive, content creator, video product manager and so on. This company often market themselves buy printing coupons, (normally in the United States), this method of marketing is useful since people buying their newspaper will feel encouraged to buy and read their newspaper more if they receive coupons for free. 

Mirror Group

This company is also known as Trinity Mirror, and they were established in 1903, meaning they have actually been around for a longer time than News International. They are the largest British newspaper, magazine and digital publisher. Mirror group publish “The Daily Mirror” and the “Sunday Mirror”. Their net income in 2014 was £81.6 million. This is significantly less than News International showing how Mirror Group are a smaller group since they’re publishers are independent company’s. They’re target audiences are primarily young adults to middle age adults. This is because their newspapers are tabloids, suited better for this age group due to the content and features. News Corp also publish tabloids such as “The Sun”, but also publish Broadsheets such as “The Times”. They’re job roles are roles such as a multimedia journalist, senior analyst, editors, content creators and so on. This is quite similar to News International. This company market themselves through their website. They generally market less than what News International do. 

Both companies have lots of money and investors allowing them to be successful and have many job roles available. Based on this, the differences and similarities are easy to distinguish. 

Unit 1 Section 1: Disney vs Warp

Unit 1: Media products and audiences Section 1
Disney vs Warp. (Conglomerate VS Independent)

Disney: Disney was established in October 1923, in Los Angeles California. Walt Disney, and Roy O founded it but Bob Iger now owns it. The company owns a range of different things such as Pixar animation, the Disney store, TV channels, amusement parks, Cruises and hotels.  They produce media such as cartoons and children’s TV for example, Disney Channel. They also own  other large companies such as Marvel, ABC, ESPN, Lucas film and so on. Disney often market themselves through television advertisement. This would often be on children’s TV, since children are the people that Disney would look to target the most. Being a large conglomerate, they would be  worth a lot of money. In 2015 their total assets were 88.18 billion in US Dollors which is an incredibly high number compared to other companies, they also have approximately 149000 employees around the world since they’re company branches out to many different attractions and media, therefore we can easily tell that as a conglomerate, they differ from the standard company with lots of money. 

Warp, being a smaller company representing the British film industry have many differences but also some similarities to Disney. They were only established 14 years ago in 2002, compared with Disney, established in the early 1920’s. This suggests the idea of them being slightly less advanced in what they do and we could imply that  they’re probably not as well known as Disney. However, within the UK, they have been very successful, aiming to air television programmes on some of the most popular UK channels such Channel 4 and Sky atlantic. They are also in a partnership with ITV Global. They are an Independent company based in Sheffield, England and are not owned by another company or conglomerate, but have 2 owners that founded the company: Rob Mitchell and Steve Beckett. The  first ever film they created won a BAFTA award. Furthermore, the company are on tighter budgets than Disney. For Disney to create a film, they would essentially have the money to pay for a generally respectable actor to play or voice over any character. In Warps case, they would struggle more and may only be able to pay for actors of a smaller fan base or lower popularity. Warp receive fundings from investments and shareholders. This is similar to Disney, who also receive fundings from large investments.
Warp do not own other things like Disney do. For example, they do not any other companies, or attractions such as parks or holiday resorts. 

Overall, it is clear that two companies who both make films, have great differences, and some similarities. 

Introduction

Cambridge Technical in Digital Media.

Hi my name is Sam. I chose digital media because it seemed interesting to learn and create products. I am interested in media and how things work. My hobbies include going to football games and following it but I am terrible at playing football myself, so I enjoy taking part in sports such as cycling and swimming much more. I am also interested in cars, my favourite being the Lamborghini Aventador Roadster.