Lily's media blog

Ubisoft and media diversity  key theory 14- the cultural industries- David Hesmondhalgh   - media industries seek to minimise risk and maximise profit (every media product exists to make money) vertical integration - a media organisation owning different parts of the mode of products eg. paramount, own film and means of distribution (cinemas) horizontal integration - one organisation owning other organisations in the same sector eg. Disney owning other film studios such as marvel  multimedia integration - using digital to combine previously separate industries eg. streaming services Netflix  conglomerate - where a company busy out other companies subsidiary - a company that works under another company  Ubisoft  4th largest publicly traded game company in the Americas and Europe established in France in 1986 (multi-national)  A horizontally and vertically integrated media conglomerate with a number of studios and subsidiaries their unique selling point (USP) is

history of the videogame industry  videogame production, distribution and circulation every industry is specialised  -interactive -high expenditure of resources -higher RRP -longer length -dedicated, 'core' target audience -games developed for specific hardware, or released multiplatform 

assassin's creed: Valhalla and the role of trailers  to pre-order costs at least £59.99 for this unit we only look at industry and audience...  how does this trailer target a specialised and a generalised audience? -assassin's creed targets a mass audience  has high production values (the use of fur and hair and hard to make so is an indication of a high production value) pre-rendered graphics are used in the trailer  paradigmatic features of film trailers (genre conventions of a film trailer)  voice over explaining the narrative range of different scene  hint of wider narrative  targets a wider audience that may nt be gamers as it relates moree to a filom in the trailer  clear narrative - good/bad demonstrates intertextuality - has all elements of assassins creed games  - has elements of other fantasy films such as lord of the rings and game of thrones in dark setting (pre-existing fan base) Ubisoft are a French company- but has a univ

videogame development and marketing pre-production concept art design  production coding testing alpha and beta builds  post-production patching and maintenance  marketing and promotion electronics entertainment expo (assassin creed use large trailers) indie game development and marketing -digitally online is the easiest way for indie games to be released   

how are videogames a specialised industry? videogames are interactive and offers many uses and gratification  huge expenditure of specialised resources  higher RRP(recommended retail price) pricing varies massively  longer length of time playing gamers are specialised and distinct people- dedicated 'core' audience specific hardware or multiplatform

Video Game industry - INDUSTRY     In what ways has ownership shaped the media products you have studied? Make reference to the Assassin’s Creed franchise [15]    assassin’s creed is owned by Ubisoft, a large conglomerate based in France. due to them being a large conglomerate this arguably has impacted the quality of product they produce. this is supports Curran and Seaton's theory of power and media industries. by Ubisoft owning a large amount of companies through horizontal and vertical integration as well as subsidiaries, Ubisoft has built a large conglomerate and as a result are now the 4th largest publicly trading game company in the Americas and Europe. they control a large section of the gaming industry and produce some of the most popular games. this mass domination of the market results in expensive advertising that then boosts the profile of the game and the company. this overall limit competition and prevents smaller or indie gaming companies from reaching a m

Advertising - AUDIENCE     Explore how the WaterAid advert you have studied appeals to its target audience(s) [15]     the target audience for water aid is the British, a goal of the audience sympathising with the children and donating to the charity. the water aid advert appeals to its target audience through its direct reference to the audience itself. at the start of the video there is a close up of a radio, directing the audience’s attention to what is being broadcast, in this case the weather. the woman on the radio has a strong British accent, this is then a representation of the audience that they can identify with and recognise as their own. her accent could be interpreted as 'posh', this then creates a more formal advert despite being in a homely environment creating a more serious tone to start the advert. She is reporting the weather as raining'. This indicates the target audience as British; it also sets a scene that is relatable to the audience as it sh

Magazines - REPRESENTATION    Liesbet van Zoonen argues that representations of gender are encoded through media language to position audiences and to reinforce dominant ideological perspectives. In what ways do the producers of Woman use representations to position their audiences? [15]   Liesbet van Zoonen's feminist theory argues that gender is constructed through codes and conventions in the media to reinforce dominant ideological perspectives, through the use of stereotypical, social and patriarchal hegemony. these views on male dominance in in then reinforced through media such as woman magazine, helping fuel a mainstream hegemonic norm. woman magazine is targeting a female audience and its main purpose it to inform women on the latest lifestyle and beauty products relevant to them. as many magazines were specified to suit a male or female audience, women's magazine articles were limited to what was only perceived as relevant to women. this includes art

Music videos - MEDIA LANGUAGE    Explore how the combination of media language creates meaning for the audience in the video to Riptide [15] The music video for riptide uses a wide range of media language to create meaning for the audience and convey the producer’s ideology. The genre of the music video uses a mixture of surrealism and horror making intertextual references to horror films such as ‘Suspiria’. They both use the main character as a week and vulnerable female, both of which are hegemonically attractive in order to gain and maintain the audience’s attention to her characters development as the audience is drawn to her beauty. The music video is also taken from a postmodern perspective recreating a 1970s aesthetic through the costumes and vibrant primary colours. Which can also be seen in ‘Suspiria’ which was released in 1977, both using iconographic features such as the colour red to symbolise horror and aggression which can be seen in the lipstick worn by the singer i

textual analysis- riptide  continuity editing - which a shot flows which the movement of a character  establishing shot (first shot)- mysterious, doesn't establish a obvious location, positions audience in uncomfortable mode of address (panning down) lists all the elements of the video- example how they want people to watch over an over (all references to horror films) hard cut- to a woman's face (I was scared of dentists in the dark) binary opposition of sureness of clouds to harsh  expression connotes violence- prioretic code, suggest something violent is going to happen (intertextual- hegemonic beautiful women   tortured- horror films) close up shot next to her from above- audience cant look away (but no mise-en-scene to suggest violence, no blood or violent act) uncomfortable shot is anchored, emphasised, reinforced through spinning light (anchored its uncomfortable to audience)  (next shot of light spinning) implication- that i

binary oppositions  how is meaning created for the audience? structuralism - underlying meanings in signs and symbols  levis strous- how stories are structured (binary oppostions- how we make sense of the world)  we make sense by not what something is but what something is not  - they ate used because it gets acreoos an i deas quickly and easily  - can encode conplex ideas within a product with little effort (can reinforce ideas and oppinions) - communcate producers ideology - provides variation from only one view  - can identify characters and their role (character types and how they differ)  - they intensify the shock value, moving from calm to extreme 

postmodernism and music videos music videos combine music and film industry and often have bad narrative structure postmodernism - theory that is anti-theory

intertextuality  one media product makes reference to another- often used in comedy (eg. Simpsons) (parady) riptied doesn't make loads of direct references  has more hidden and symbolic depth- reference to sexual explicit and horror films- way women are represented  provides gratification to those who are film enthusiastic (even if they don't like the music they can appreciate the references and enjoy it) -the iconography heavily references the horror genre  Suspiria - Italian horror film (1977) -week and vulnerable female chased by an aggressive male threat -vibrant primary colours, reminiscent and 1970s European horror films  - iconographic features - very very red blood and lipstick (in riptiued, has blood in hand and lipstick) -70s style clothing  Texas chance saw- (1974) - features young woman, tormented by fale threat  -woman escaping her ropes, typical of 70s horror WHY? position audience in uncomfortable mode of address to make them question the d

celebrity and metanarrative celebrity - the attribution of glamour or notorious status to an individual in the public sphere a concept, music videos encode this is idea of the celebrity being better than everyone else (glamorous and notorious) celebrities are important life is boring- provides escapism (life is magical and better than them) style icons- base ourselves on them (look, talk, life) give audiences pleasure of social interaction (uses and gratification), talking about the celebrity provides profile, also gives audience pleasure, function and use give structure to living life, what to aspire for and creates goals metanarrative - also known as a grand narrative, referring to an overarching narrative or system of beliefs that help us to make sense of the world (a story about a story) celebrities are a way of making sense of our world e.g. science- explain the world, religion- provides rules to life to make it simple, marriage- old fashion concept (how metanar