Responses To Media Products - TV Show

I have been asked to analyse and deconstruct a media product. I have decided to look at the Sherlock TV series.



The first point I will look at is what makes the TV show that is familiar from the original Sherlock novels. In the Sherlock TV series they have brought the show into modern times which changes a few things. First of all in the modern adaptation they get around in modern taxis whereas in the classic novels and old programs they would use a horse and carriage.

Also one famous place in the Sherlock is 221 B Baker Street. This is where Sherlock lives. This is always featured in most episodes of the TV series and the novels when Watson meets Sherlock for work on cases.
 

Additionally Sherlock's outfit has been changed because his old outfit would be out style for the modern times. Some of the items they got rid of was the hat and his pipe and made it look practical for the show.







The next point I will look at are the codes and conventions of Sherlock. Sherlock was produced by the BBC. This means the BBC have to follow certain rules such as the watershed, copyright and their own guidelines for drama.When it comes to copyright the BBC would have to look at if the copyright was expired in order to make the series in the first place. When it comes to the watershed the BBC would have to choose a time to put it on because of content that episodes could have.

Now I will talk about the Mise en scene of Sherlock. First I will talk about the setting of Sherlock. Most of Sherlock uses a lighter setting but there are times where it can be dark and very suspenseful in scenes such as the pool scene in series 1 episode 3 "The Great Game".



The lighting, the setting create suspenseful scene. An example of a scene in Sherlock that is funny is this one of Sherlock coming back to 221B covered in blood with a harpoon and the reaction of John is very funny because the lighting makes the scene bright.

















I will now look at the narritive structure of Sherlock. Every episode of Sherlock is about 80-90 minutes. This means they can have a contained plot in every episode but have an overarching plot throughout the series. In series 1 the overarching plot was the threat of Moriarty. He was teased throughout the series until his reveal in episode 3.

Finally I will talk about representation of the characters in the show. With bringing Sherlock into the modern times the people behind the show would have to change a few things with the characters but keep some things the same such as the genders of all the main characters are the same. One thing they ould have changed are the stereotypes because of the changing times some stereotypes would not be in modern times such as most poor kids would not be on the street like they were in older times. Also woman wouldn't have important roles back in older times when Sherlock was set compared to modern times.

Responding To Media Products - Games

In this blog post I will talk about how media audiences respond to video games using different theories such as the user and gratifications theory and the hypodermic needle theory.

The user and gratifications theory looks at why and how audiences go and seek out media in order to satisfy specific needs and wants. The hypodermic needle theory looks at passive audiences and how they intake media and what they do with it. Although people disagree with this theory and say it is outdated and audiences are actually active and they use the information they get and interpret it and either agree or disagree with it.

The first video game I will talk about is GTA V an 18 rated game developed by Rockstar North. This is an open world action -adventure game for the Xbox 360, Xbox 1, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.

There has been many different controversies surrounding this game such as the argument of violence in video games. There has also been lawsuits filed against Rockstar North by celebrities Karen Gravano and Lindsay Lohan accusing Rockstar North of using their likenesses in the game

Using the hypodermic needle theory which bases that audiences are passive but this is out of date because people are more of an active audience and ask questions of issues that they read instead of taking them in and accepting them. It also looks at a wide range of audiences instead of every individual person.  If I take this theory and applying that to GTA it would suggest that gamers are a passive audience but because GTA is very popular game it is very popular and played by a lot of gamers

When applying the users and gratification's theory which looks out how and why people look for media to fulfill specific needs and applies that it is in our interests to search for entertainment with the form taking violence. It allows the audience to re-create what is unacceptable in society.

By using this theory on GTA people will use GTA to fulfill their gaming needs and also could use it to let out anger to get it out of their systems. This could then make people want to kill other people butif someone underage were to play this game then they would want to re-create what they do in the game. This is a different response to someone who is older and would be more responsible and leave the violence for the game and not real life.

The next games i will look at are in the Call Of Duty franchise.

Using the hypodermic needle theory which bases that audiences are passive but this is out of date because people are more of an active audience and ask questions of issues that they read instead of taking them in and accepting them. It also looks at a wide range of audiences instead of every individual person. In COD every person is different there are people who are normal and play the game for fun but there are also serious gamers who play it.

If someone underage were to play this game then they would want to imitate what they do in the game. This is a different response to someone who is older and would be more responsible and not imitate the actions that happen in the game.

Call Of Duty has had a lot of controversy such as gamers attacking or even killing people because of Call Of Duty.In an online article a middle aged man attacked a teenager over a game of Call Of Duty. Also a man killed seven people and was said he played Call Of Duty a lot.

By using this theory on COD people will use COD to fulfill their gaming needs and also could use it to let out anger to get it out of their systems. This could then make people want to kill other people butif someone underage were to play this game then they would want to re-create what they do in the game. This is a different response to someone who is older and would be more responsible and leave the violence for the game and not real life.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/man-attacks-child-over-call-of-duty/

Another game I will look at is Flappy Bird

This game had some controversy when it was pulled from the app store. This was due to the creator having a problem with how addictive and overused it turned out. This then caused phones to be sold on the internet sites such as eBay with the app installed on phones. Also this caused many remakes to be made.

This shows how an active audience can be so involved with a game and how they have reacted to it been taken down. In Flappy Bird people will play this game mostly for addiction because they will want to beat their scores if they keep doing well.

If I apply the hypodermic needle theory this would show that gamers who play Flappy Bird are an active audience because they have been involved in what has happened with the game such as how popular it is and their reactions to the game been taken off the app store.

The final game I will talk about is Destiny.

Destiny before release was a game that fans were really hyping up but when it came to release gamer weren't impressed by it. This shows how active gamers can hype up a game only for it to be not as good as first thought.

By using the hypodermic needle theory the audiences asked questions of the game and how it would turn out instead of accepting them as what they were told. If they just accepted what was told then the audience would think the game was going to great then it would have been.

If I apply the users and gratifications theory to the game gamers who play Destiny can play the game for their gaming needs also casual players will play the game during their spare time.

Audience Responses

There are different responses audiences make to media products. They are:

Negotiated

This response is when audiences read a piece of text but then they can modify it to reflect their own interests or personal experiances. For example someone could read about how smoking is bad for you, they will acknowlage the information and then they would cut down on smoking.

Preffered

A preffered response is when someone reads a piece of text and then accepts what is said. For example if they read that smoking caused cancer then the person would accept that and stop smoking altogether.

Oppositional

A oppositional response is when someone reads a piece of text and then rejects what is said. For example if someone read in an article that said games caused violence then the reader could reject the article and have a different opinion.

Participatory

A participatory response is when someone an audience participates along with the media in question. For example audiences can get invloved with voting on a show such as The X Factor get audiences involved.

Fan culture

Fan culture is when audiences take an active role in media based on an existing product. They can create alternate endings or extra episodes for tv shows. The creation of facebook and twitter have allowed groups to find new people to join

Magazine Comparison

Audience Profile of Doctor Who Magazine 

Target Audience Profile

In an issue of the magazine that Stephen Moffat the head writer of the show has said in an interview that the show is for everyone, from the hardcore fans to the casual viewers of the show. The target audience of Doctor Who magazine would be between the ages of 16-35+ because the show is for everyone. Mostly males would read this magazine the most. This magazine would be for everyone around the world but mostly in the UK because it is a British show.
   
Content Of Magazine

The content of the magazine is based on Doctor Who so it will have interviews with members of the cast, writers and sometimes special guests such as as past actors ad writers. Other features that are in the magazine are cartoon stories which can go over a few issues of the magazine.

There are also quizzes in which readers can win merchandise from Doctor Who such as CD's.



 The text in the magazine is both informal and formal such as in interviews it is informal but use formal languages in articles. Some of the colours used are different with every cover because it changes every issue. Some images they will use are images from episodes of the show or screenshots from upcoming episodes or even images that will be used in articles or stories in the magazine.

Codes & Conventions

Some of the codes & conventions of the magazine is that they will use a front cover image that will grab the reader to read it such as the image on the magazine above.

























The image is of Peter Capaldi this will make the reader want to read it because he was cast as the doctor recently and people will want to know all about the new doctor. Also this issue of the magazine had details on the first four episodes of the new series which has came out last year.

People will have wanted to read this so they could get a preview of the new series. Also inside was an interview with Tom Baker, Louise Jameson and Phillip Hinchcliffe, these three people used to work on the show with Tom playing the Doctor, Louise playing Leela the companion and Phillip  was a producer on the show. Classic fans will want to read this part because classic fans will have watched the show when Tom and Louise were on the show.

Feedback

Last year doctor who magazine asked people on twitter to do an online survey to give them feedback on the magazine. This would allow all of their followers to take the survey to give their opinions on the magazine.
















Audience Profile of Nintendo Magazine

Target Audience Profile

The target audience for this magazine will be for people who are gamers that usually play on the Nintendo consoles. They could be hardcore gamers or even casual gamers. This magazine will give them help on what games should be bought and how good or bad a Nintendo game is through the reviews. They score games on how good they are through a percentage system the bigger the number the better the score.The age range that would read this magazine would be 16-35. The gender that would read this magazine would mostly be the male gender. This magazine would be for anyone around the world.

Content 


The content of the Nintendo Magazine is based on all the games that Nintendo make. Also it has information on games that they are brining out in the future. Other features that are in the magazine are that there are game reviews of all the games they make along with top 10 games of each Nintendo console. Sometimes they will have special issues such as the one on Pikmin 3 above. The colours on the Nintendo magazine are usually bright such as using reds, blues and yellows. Some images they will use is covers of the games, or even images from the games itself that the magazines cover.
























Codes & Conventions

Some of the codes & conventions of the magazine is that they will use a front cover image that will grab the reader to read it such as the image on the magazine above. The image is of Pikmin 3  which will grab the reader because it was a recent game that was released and people will want to know all about it.  They will also have smaller images on the cover of other games that are covered in the magazine which readers will want to read about such as Mario Kart 8 and New Super Luigi U.


Feedback

There is a section in the magazine called feedback where it shows letters, email and forum posts of the past month for nintendo magazine. They give a prize to a star letter in the magazine.  

Compare/Contrast

These two magazines are very different because one is for gamers and one is for fans of Doctor Who. They do have a few things in common, such as both magazines being for mostly male audiences and that both have a giant image on the front which will make the reader of each magazine want to read them.