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I confirm that the attached assessment is all my own work and does not include any work completed by anyone other than myself and sources have been appropriately referenced.

Finlay Mander

Critical Frameworks

Genre

Genre covers a style or category of art, music or literature. Yet it covers all aspects of media activities such as games. For example, a new genre can bring new audience members into a franchise – Before 2009 Call of Duty was a first person shooter multiplayer game but with Black ops ones release in 2009 they added a whole new sub genre to their game “CoD zombies”. This was an attempt entice a new audience to their game through the use of the horror genre, and it worked. Genre is very diverse and what I personally find interesting is how it can be used to fix/ compare audiences. An issue which can appear in genre is over simplification or appealing too much to genre stereotypes. For example in late 20th century horror films shared the same style of killer and ‘final girl’ scenarios, being known as “slasher films.”

Narrative

By definition, Narrative is a spoken or written account of a story and can cover both fiction and non fiction. A good use of narrative has the ability to raise the carry a weak game or film. For instance, a low budget film might have ‘cheesy’ or bad practical effects a good enough plot / captivating story can distract the viewer from this or make up enough for what it lacks. A positive of a narrative is that it costs nothing to develop a good one. Narrative can be used to provide an engaging writing style which is relevant in current media trends. With so many options available to audiences of streaming services an original narrative with good writing can make a movie or series good and stand out since now almost everything on streaming services has the same level of practical effects, therefore, a weak narrative is usually always a bad thing, although this does depend of what genre of movie is on screen. What i find interesting about a good+strong narrative is how it can invite audiences into a world – again im more interested into its uses rather than what it is literally.

Representation

Representation is the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way or the action of speaking on behalf of someone.One of the main issues of this subject is negative representation, as it can go very political with how something or someone is being presented. For example stereotypes or certain historical documentaries (yet this is usually seen in less recent media activities). Yet on the other hand, representation can be a positive or educational thing. This is done by portraying a certain group or movement through media. For example, soldiers in war movies have their bravery portrayed and their narrative told. I dont share an interest in either positive or negative representation but I value its importance.

Audience

An audience is the assembled spectators or listeners at a public event,such as; a play,film, or concert.But its also the audience of a brand/product, both being equally as important. An audience has to be appealed for/to, as the audience is in control of the success a business or brand sees. Audience management is important as it allows for you to get a clear focus on what your brand will serve and means that an audience is kept at a manageable scale. However, an issue which appears when analyzing an audience is that you cannot analyze an audience in an uniformed way every time, not everyone can be categorized into groups causing inaccuracies among consumers.Both target audience and audience analysis are aspects of this media topic i find interesting.

Regulation

Regulation is the rule or direct ive made and maintained by an authority, for example, wages, pricing, development approvals, employment, production standards and military forces and services. Regulation is important because they ensure the delivery of public goods and services, underpin markets, ensure employment and protect rights and safety of citizens. However, an issue which i could see when researching was that commonly the people in charge of regulating can be disconnected from society or the working class due to their position so things like wages and pricing could come under some scrutiny. Personally, i think that things should be regulated and that they’re definitely important in today’s society as it advances.

Technology (including Digital Media)

There are three types of Digital Media, the first being on media, paid media and lastly earned media. Digital Media is in our everyday life, examples of it being; video games, digital video, social media and nearly every other type of digital storage, such as mp3 or electronic books. Digital Media are the tools which establish digital presence, the public wants to see it used to facilitate more effective business interactions and communications with the government. With the distribution of digital media on the increase it wont be long until it will outpace the sales of print newspapers, magazines and books. Meaning that in the long run these industries will see lower employment rates, or mass redundancies. Something that interests me about Digital Media is its potential to re-engage citizens in their communities by using its tools to bring everyone together. These tools being, websites, online marketing and apps etc.

Production/Distribution/Exhibition

Production, is the very beginning of the movies life cycle, its the funding stage of a new movie. Distribution overs everything that happens in between production and exhibition, including acquiring legal rights, marketing and distributing copies of the film to cinema, this all takes time. The final stage is exhibition this is the cinema release of a film, marking the final stage of a films journey from idea to audience. When i was researching the definitions, I began to see issues with the development process. Because of streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon video, Hulu etc, providing instant releases, mostly produced by themselves so that they become instant exclusives, because of this their customers have became accustomed to the instant delivery of content. So the idea of having to wait for a movie to be produced, then come out in your local cinema, pay for the overpriced tickets and food it wouldn’t surprise me going to the cinema becomes less common with the rise of streaming services, especially in current global circumstances.

Marketing and Promotion

Both Marketing and Promotion are very different and it is important to not confuse the two as the have different roles. Marketing handles product development, pricing, promotional strategies and is also in charge of how the product or service will be shipped. On the other hand, promotion is usually done by advertising agencies. These agencies are in charge of developing brand awareness and buying advertising/ advertising strategising. Promotion can be done through, advertising, press releases, consumer promotions (contests and discounts), trade discounts and freebies. The idea behind promoting a brand or product is to make people aware, and to attract and induce them to buy the product in preference over others. An issue with promotion is that products require different promotional approaches. For example, convenience or shopping goods will usually be promoted through mass marketing, where as high-end specialty goods require personalized selling. Marketing also has its issues, with one of its biggest being pricing. For instance, the rising in food costs can have major impacts on vulnerable families, pushing households further into poverty and hunger. Both of these are vital functions for businesses but i find promotion the more interesting of the two because of the advertising side of things.