Case Study. Election

Testing what you've learned...

1) What is the angle of a news story? Give an example to explain your answer. There can be many different angles to a news story such as British angle by the BBC News.

2) What is the difference between tabloid and broadsheet news coverage? A tabloid newspaper is less serious and the stories are usually revolved around sports and celebrities. A broadsheet news is more serious and more about politics.

3) What would be an example of a tabloid-style TV news programme? An example is the female football that was spoken about.

4) What would be an example of a broadsheet-style TV news programme? The Scottish international election.

5) What is the difference between international, national, regional and local news coverage
International is world wide, national is wide in the UK, regional is places such as London, Yorkshire and Scotland. Local news is to do with incidents that occur in the area.

Answer the questions on the election coverage clips...

BBC News election story - via YouTube

1) Is this international, national, regional or local news? How can you tell? It's national because elections that occur Scotland are irrelevant to other countries such as Germany which means it cannot be international.

2) What angle does the report take on the story? It takes a British angle.

3) Is this more tabloid or broadsheet-style coverage? This is broadsheet-style coverage.

4) What kind of audience would you expect to watch this type of TV news programme? Why? The audience would be more of the 18-35 age range because political stories wouldn't interest the younger ages due to the fact they don't feel like the are involved in the part of the news and when voting takes place they wouldn't be associated with it.


Sky News election story not available online - use your notes

1) Is this international, national, regional or local news? How can you tell? National because it's an election in one country.

2) What angle does the report take on the story? Broadsheet-style angle.

3) Is this more tabloid or broadsheet-style coverage? It's broadsheet-style angle because is involves serious information and stories to do with politics.

4) What kind of audience would you expect to watch this type of TV news programme? Why? Those who are able to vote would be most likely to watch this type of TV News programme or even if they are interested in news to do with politics so usually over 18.


STV (Scottish) coverage of the election story

1) Is this international, national, regional or local news? How can you tell? National, because other countries don't care about elections in different countries so this also can't be international.

2) What angle does the report take on the story? British angle.

3) Is this more tabloid or broadsheet-style coverage? The coverage is broadsheet style.

4) What kind of audience would you expect to watch this type of TV news programme? Why? A lot like previous elections may not interest the younger ages so this would usually revolve around the age range of 18-35.


Channel 4 News coverage of the election story.

1) Is this international, national, regional or local news? How can you tell? National and regional. I can tell because is an election again.

2) What angle does the report take on the story? Political angle

3) Is this more tabloid or broadsheet-style coverage? This is more of both tabloid and broadsheet.

4) What kind of audience would you expect to watch this type of TV news programme? Why? I think even though they can't vote the ages would be young such as 15-35 due to presentation of channel 4 itself as a news programme.

Case study: BBC News

Basic details

1. What do the letters BBC stand for? The BBC is commonly known as the British Broadcasting Corporation and so this is what 'BBC' stands for.
2. How is the BBC funded?  Its work is funded principally by an annual television licence fee which is charged to all British households, companies, and organisations.
3. What is the BBC's famous mission statement? (Clue: it's three words) Inform, educate and entertain 
4. What is BBC1's programme remit? The BBC's remit is be the most popular tv service across the uk with high quality programmes.
5. How does the BBC News at Six fit into BBC1's remit? They share the views of the whole UK rather than their own views only.

Presenters

1. Who are the presenters of BBC News at Six? The presenters are Fiona Bruce, Sophie Raworth and Huw Edwards
2. What are the presenters wearing? What does this communicate to the audience? The presenters are wearing formal clothing such as suits and ties.
3. Why might a TV News programme use a variety of presenters? They would use a variety so that they can have a variety of people watching who are from different backgrounds also and this would help make them feel more engaged.
4. How are other reporters or presenters used in the TV news programme? There are many presenters entitled to different jobs so one who presents the headlines and the reporters and those who talk on the show.
5. Is there a balance between male and female presenters? What about race/ethnicity? What effect might these aspects have on an audience? There has to be a balance and there is because if not this would affect the consumers as they may feel offended by the fact that males for example have more attention.

Opening sequence
Analyse the opening 2 minutes of the programme.

1. What is the very first shot? Different and quick clips showing a globe and the news that will come up
2. How does the opening sequence use graphics or images to grab the attention of the audience? It a globe type of shape to show that it covers stories from around the world.
3. How is music used in the opening sequence? There's music but then fades out as the reporter goes on to speak.
4. How are news stories introduced in the opening two minutes? Is there just one story or are the audience told what will be coming up later? Information is given about the stories and the audience already know what is coming up but not everything which is probably what tempts them to stay.

Studio mise-en-scene

1. What aspects of the studio can be seen by the audience? Some cameras are shown as the reporter is being filmed.
2. Are the presenters standing or behind desks? Why do you think this is? The reporter is standing up with the background of nature and this may be to keep the audiences attention on.
3. Are journalists or technology visible? What might these things suggest to the audience? Technology is only visible when it's purposely being shown possibly to emphasis the fact the the news is recent.
4. How does the studio use colour? It uses red and blue at all times.

How news stories are presented

1. How does the news programme typically present a story?  It uses presenters and voice overs but also images.
2. What difference techniques does the programme use to present the news? (E.g. presenter to camera, reporter on location, interviews, graphics, images, video etc.) Presents are more formal than usual but they are at real locations which is different. Images and graphics were typical like every other news story.
3. What types of news does the TV News programme typically cover? Give five examples (e.g. politics, international, sport etc.) They usually cover politics and sports.
4. Give two real examples of how news stories are presented to keep the interest of the audience.
5. The Scottish international party and female football.

Running order

1. Watch the first 15 minutes of the programme – as recent as you can find.
2. What is the top story? The top story is the Scottish international party
3. How long does the top story last for? About 10 mins
4. What are the other stories the programme does or will cover? List them in the order they are presented in (the ‘running order’). They also cover sports. Female football.
5. How long is each story shown for? Usually about 5-10 minutes depending on how important they are.
6. Why do you think each story was shown for the time it was? I think the most important stories are usually shown for the longest.

Audience

1. What is the target audience for this BBC News at Six? Research online – you should be able to find plenty of suggestions to the target audience if not the official target audience of the programme. Around 35 year olds.  
2. What are the viewing figures for BBC News at Six?   9.6 million on average per week.
3. Why might someone choose to watch this TV news programme over others? It has a great amount of different news stories about the world we live in and many will find that useful to engage in.
4. Is there an opportunity for the audience to get involved in the programme or comment? They can get involved on social network such as twitter.
5. What audience pleasures (Uses and Gratifications theory – Blumler and Katz) does the programme offer? People get to know what is happening around the world.

Institution

1. What other news programmes and services does the BBC offer in addition to the BBC News at Six? Sports news and radio news but also entertainment.
2. What role does OFCOM have in making sure TV News is fair and accurate? It makes sure that news, in whatever form, is reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartially.

TV News and New/Digital Media

1. Does the TV News programme have a dedicated website? It does.
2. What does the website offer viewers? It gives them a detailed version of their stories online incase they missed it.
3. Does the TV News programme have a Twitter feed? It does
4. How does the Twitter feed promote the programme? Yes
5. Is there an opportunity for the audience to get involved in the programme or submit news stories? They do.

Case Study: Channel 4

Basic details

1. When is Channel 4 News on? Channel 4 News begins at 7:00 and ends at 7:55 meaning it's less than an hour which is a reasonable timing for the focus span of a normal person.
2. When was the programme first broadcast? The first programme was launched in 1982 so quite a while ago.
3. What awards has the programme won? Some awards that Channel 4 won for being one of the best rated TV news was the 2004 International Emmy as it aired out of the united states. They also won the Royal Television Society in February 2006 including home news award and also the international News Award for Congo's Tin Soldiers. This goes on meaning they won quite a few awards which shows that they are a successful TV news.
4. What is the media institution that produces Channel 4 News?

Presenters

1. Who are the presenters? Channel 4 began by a man named Jon Snow and the presents with him are Krishan Guru-murthy, Cathy Newman and Matt Frei.
2. What are the presenters wearing? What does this communicate to the audience? The presents do differ but slightly. Jon snow preforms in a suit like all the other except he has a tie which is quite quirky and colourful; something you probably wouldn't see on News shows such as BBC or BBC 1. This indicates that they are not completely formal and serious which shows that audience that what they are about to say isn't overwhelming or too complicated.
3. Why might a TV News programme use a variety of presenters? In my opinion, I think a TV News would use a variety of presents so that they can vary the type of people they are. For example different cultures and genders. This is important so that the consumers don't ever feel like everything is aimed and about one particular group of people. Additionally, it is helpful to have more people doing one thing and so there's less pressure rather than having one presenter.
4. How are other reporters or presenters used in the TV News programme? Presenters in BBC news and reporters differ in many ways in comparison to Channel 4. They way they talk and look is extremely serious, they have a straight face constantly and dress formally but talk formally too. The tone of their voice is on one level through out the long show which only emphasises the fact that what is being said is not a joke and should be taken serious at all times.
5. Is there a balance between male and female presenters? What about race/ethnicity? What effect might these aspects have on an audience? In many News shows there's definitely equal numbers when it comes to gender and ethnicity. If a news show only had white presenters or only male presenters the audience will feel an injustice which could possibly put the off the show but also might feel like an outcast since they feel like the show is only aimed at that specific group.

Opening sequence

Analyse the opening 2 minutes of the programme.

1. What is the very first shot? The first shot is the logo of the actual show and it's moving in different directions due to the camera shots which are panelling. The show is accompanied by a non-diegetic song in the background.
2. How does the opening sequence use graphics or images to grab the attention of the audience? After the logo has been on show the camera slides to different images and short soundless clips of the upcoming News that will be shown. This cant grab the audiences attention as they get a sneak peek of what the news about which could build a tension or eagerness for them.
3. How is music used in the opening sequence? The music is non-diegetic and it sounds uplifting and joyful rather than serious and depressing. It plays at the beginning of the show when the images and logo is being shown.
4. How are news stories introduced in the opening two minutes? Is there just one story or are the audience told what will be coming up later? The audience have an idea about what may come up but not exactly every detail so the smart thing that Channel 4 does is show them as little as possible so that the audience is forced to watch on to find out what might happen and what is going on. A few stories do come up in the opening.

Studio mise-en-scene

1. What aspects of the studio can be seen by the audience? (Desk, cameras etc.) With Channel 4 there is no desk but actually the presenter himself standing up and talking but there is a big screen behind the presenter which the audience can see but other than that there isn't anything else.
2. Are the presenters standing or behind desks? Why do you think this is? The presenters are standing up and I think this is because in every TV news show where the presenter is constantly behind a desk becomes quite dull and there's nothing to actually keep the audience's eyes on the screen. However, on Channel 4 where the presenters move around and use gestures to present their stories is more effective and interesting and standing up helps this a lot.
3. Are journalists or technology visible? What might these things suggest to the audience? A screen behind the presenter is one of the technologies that is shown which is touchable meaning you can move anything on the screen using your finger. This suggests to the audience that the News show is modern. This will interest them as they would have recognised the technology.
4. How does the studio use colour? Channel 4 isn't a rainbow filled studio. They use purple some orange and white to represent themselves but the colour is quite bright meaning it's not too dull or boring which shows that the show is not all about stories that are for older people.

How news stories are presented

1. How does the news programme typically present a story? When channel 4 present the stories they talk about it for a little while before showing a short clip which is usually what most news shows do in general.
2. What difference techniques does the programme use to present the news? (E.g. presenter to camera, reporter on location, interviews, graphics, images, video etc.) The difference with channel 4 is that the presenters behaviour is much different and the way he acts but also the reporters too. The camera is usually facing up at the presenters making them seem bigger or more powerful in any case.
3. What types of news does the TV News programme typically cover? Give five examples (e.g. politics, international, sport etc.) Some news stories that channel 4 covers is to do with British journalism or ever interviewing film directors. Some news stories are also talking about violence and even though channel 4 do not go too much into depth with politics it does have the opinion of others on it.
4. Give two real examples of how news stories presented to keep the interest of the audience. One example is the story about Habbo Hotel which is about a game which has pedophiles playing despite the fact it's for kids but no one actually seems to notice. This would interest the audience as they would be indulged and quite shocked so they would want to know more instantly. Another example is a story about a young man on youtube named Sam Pepper who does pranks but is being accused of sexual offences. This would interest the audience because they would most likely be on social media and hearing about famous people on youtube or Facebook would grab their attention.

Running order
Watch the first 15 minutes of the programme – as recent as you can find.

1. What is the top story? It wasn't exactly a story but actually a debate between a presenter named Jeremy with David Cameron.
2. How long does the top story last for? The debate lasts for about 20 minutes.
3. What are the other stories the programme does or will cover? List them in the order they are presented in (the ‘running order’). There is no particular orders of stories since there's only two debates with David Cameron and then Miliband.
4. How long is each story shown for? They both last for half and hour each.
5. Why do you think each story was shown for the time it was? This is split between both debates equally.

Audience

1. What is the target audience for this TV News programme? The target audience for channel 4 are young adults around 18-30 and this is mainly because Channel 4 have been obsessed with young people watching their tv news.
2. Why might someone choose to watch this TV News programme over others? Channel 4 do everything quite differently. Their presenters talk differently and act different much more relaxed. Their stories are engaging but also interesting to the younger ages especially when it involves social media. Additionally, it involves talking about shows such as 'friends' or 'big brother' which would interest a young audience.
3. Is there an opportunity for the audience to get involved in the programme or comment? If their show is on social media audience may leave a comment but other than that I don't think there are any sort of quiz for them to engage in.
4. What audience pleasures (Uses and Gratifications theory – Blumler and Katz) does the programme offer?

Institution

1. Who owns, runs or produces this TV News programme? Jon snow owns Channel 4
2. Does the institution own, run or produce any other TV News programmes, channels or newspapers? No.
3. How does the programme fit the TV channel it is on? The programme is not too serious and so being on Channel 4 is perfect for it.
4. What role does OFCOM have in making sure TV News is fair and accurate?

TV News and New/Digital Media

1. Does the TV News programme have a dedicated website? They have a catch up website where every missed show can be watched by their audience.
2. What does the website offer viewers? They offer a catch up website so this can ensure that they can view every show if they can't make it on a particular time.
3. Does the TV News programme have a Twitter feed? The show does have twitter and by social media alot of the young audience can tweet and interact with the TV show.
4. How does the Twitter feed promote the programme?
5. Is there an opportunity for the audience to get involved in the programme or submit news stories? The audience can get in touch on twitter meaning they may be able to put up suggestions.

Taken-Narrative Theory

In Taken the three Key notes- Character types by Propp, Equilibrium by Todorov and enigma and action codes Barthes are all included.

The trailer for Taken uses many narrative techniques typical for action movies. The protagonist also known as the hero is a strong determined american man who is unstoppable when it comes to his daughters safety. The antagonist also known as the villain are few people, a group of foreign Albanians that want money and drug young females. Their behaviour is what creates bravery in the hero's heart. The heroine is the young daughter who has been kidnapped by the villains she is reason for the action that takes place in the film.

There's a helper who checks how long the hero has to save his daughter, this puts a limit onto the hero which creates tension within the audience.The donor is forced to give clues as she is the ex of an individual villain.

Todorov:

In taken there's a beginning middle and end.

The Equilibrium is a happy family birthday party for the daughter as she is excited to get to see her dad after a very long time.

The disequilibrium is when she moves to Paris into a house and her friend is kidnapped so she quickly turns to her dad to for help and then is also kidnapped.

The new equilibrium is when the father goes into action to save his daughter and brings her back safely home.

Barthes:

An enigma code for taken is when the hero also known as the father is on the phone staring out while talking with emotion telling threats to the villain. This is an enigma code because as he talks in this way to the villain we all who are the audience are curious about what may happen next and what could actually happen between the dad and the villain.

An action code is when the daughter is in the house watching her friend being grabbed by these unknown people and so runs to another room crying explaining step by step what is going on to her father but then is taken too. This is action code because there's things happening which draws the audience into the film wondering why this is happening and what else is going on.

Taken representation

Taken

Throughout the trailer for Taken an american man is represented stereotypically aggressive and in a violent way alternatively  in Taken's case there's love and determination within the hero as he is on a mission to save his daughter. A lot like other actions film Liam Neeson who plays the lead-role there is a link within the way they are represented as they both come off to be very bold and vigorous. It suggests that there's a brave and tough sense in them. The females in Taken are not as powerful as the men as they seem to be more vulnerable and afraid. A female (the daughter) is being save by a man (the father) this is a strong daughter and father bond as he stops at nothing to keep his daughter safe. The girl is being rescued by the man mainly because in taken she's the daughter but also because she isn't as skilled and strong to be able to protect herself. The eastern-Europeans are represented daring. The beginning is typically represented as we are shown the love between the dad and daughter and a husband with a ex wife. The men are wild but mindful of their family. The human-traffickers in Taken are Albanian who are foreign and a couple of troubled men that need money and so kidnap and sell young females also because they are stereotyped because of their culture so its reinforced. At first when the American girl is visiting Europe she feels very excited as its the first time, the house seems quite nice. After a while we see Europe to be dangerous as its presented as a place where young people suffer and get kidnapped and so immediately we feel as if its unsafe.

TV News Research

Research 

• Title, date and time of bulletin: The titles is BBC News.The date is 14.06.2013 and the time was at 9pm.
• Presenters was an aged woman named Marteen Croxil
• News stories covered- main story was about the syria conflict. Then it moves onto talking about surgeons who are not allowed to publish their results because of the government. Lastly there was a talk about the iran election.
• Use of graphics, animation, video packages, interviews and live links- There was a pop up annotation of the different News stories. There was also a logo up on the right hand side which said the channel of the news. No animation.
• Use of modern or digital technology- Where there was an establishing shot there was a big TV on sight which is modern technology.
• Anything that encourages the audience to keep watching (dramatic video, animated graphics, previews of news or features later in the programme etc.) There was a dramatic beat in the background as the news started.

3) Research the institutions behind your two TV News programmes. Find out the following for each:

• Who owns or controls the institution- BBC
• How the institution is funded or makes money- They get money from a TV License but they're a non profit company.
• Any controversial issues or complaints that the institution has had to deal with in recent years-  Paedophile scandal regarding Jimmy Savile. 

4) Find out the target audience for your one TV News programmes. You should be able to find a detailed breakdown online if you search intelligently. If you cannot find anything, write what you think the target audience for the programme would be and why.
30-80 with the reasons of the fact that the TV news of BBC which starts at 9pm is quite mature which wouldn't really interest teenagers or young adults.

Writing a film pitch

The anon

1) The ‘log line’ (a one sentence summary of the film's narrative or appeal) - in task 3 above: A girl who risks her own life while trying to save others from a mystery assailant even though she risks from getting in danger herself. 2) Brief reference to your film's genre ("this film is an urban thriller..."): Horror 3) Brief reference to at least one similar film ("this film is a cross between The Italian Job and Spy Kids..."): The film is a cross between Scream and Taken 4) Brief reference to the target audience for your film ("this film will appeal to the core cinema-going age group of 12-25..."): The age group is 15-25 5) Indication of main characters ("The story is based around Jack - an honest guy who gets caught up in a major robbery - and Reuben, the villain who is after the money..."): Katherine is a ordinary girl who often gets left home alone from her parents who go to work. Her notable traits are being caring and giving. Her boyfriend however seems supportive but ends up to take a dark turn later on in the movie; something that Katherine isn't familiar with. 6) Brief summary of narrative (what happens in the story): There is an anonymous caller who threatens Katherine. She has to complete some questions because he's got her friend hostage and if she gets a question wrong, he cuts her best friend, Tia's body. Soon Katherine can't bear the pressure so she gives up and her friend is soon dead. Once she get's to grips with reality, the killer starts asking Katherine questions so she can save her own life and then after she gets a question wrong, the killer soon sneaks in her house and chases her so Katherine runs outside. She meets her boyfriend, Adam but it turns out that he's part of the plan to kill the girl too so Katherine has to try to escape the both of them in order to survive.