MIGRAIN: Hesmondhalgh - The Cultural Industries

One of the most important aspects of the Industries key concept is how the cultural industries are structured and the influence they have in society.

Academic and media theorist David Hesmondhalgh has written extensively about the Cultural Industries and A Level Media students need to develop an understanding of his work.

Cultural Industries: notes

Hesmondhalgh discusses the way the cultural industries operate and explores their effect on audiences: “Of one thing there can be no doubt: the media do have influence.”

He points out that societies with profitable cultural industries (e.g. USA, UK) tend to be dominated by large companies, have minimal government regulation and significant inequality between rich and poor.

Do the cultural industries reinforce these conditions?

The cultural industries: a risky business

Hesmondhalgh acknowledges that media companies are operating a risky business. There is no guarantee a creative product will be a success.

They offset this risk both creatively and through business structure. In terms of media products, they use stars, sequels and well-known genres.

In terms of business, they use vertical integration and diversification to spread their risk and maximise profit.

Commodification

Hesmondhalgh discusses commodification in the cultural industries (turning everything into something that can be bought or sold).

He suggests this creates problems on both the consumption and production side. For the production side, he points to certain areas of the cultural industries where people are not fairly rewarded.

Hesmondhalgh: diversity in the media

Hesmondhalgh has explored whether the cultural industries truly reflect the diversity of people and society.

Hesmondhalgh references Mosco (1996): “There is a difference between multiplicity – a large number of voices – and diversity – whether or not these voices are actually offering different things from each other.”

Despite their size, are the cultural industries dominated by a narrow range of values and ideologies?

Cultural Industries: blog task

Go to our Media Factsheet archive and open Factsheet 168: David Hesmondhalgh’s ‘The Cultural Industries’. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets or you can access it online here using your Greenford Google login. 

Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks:

1) What does the term 'Cultural Industries' actually refer to?

2) What does Hesmondhalgh identify regarding the societies in which the cultural industries are highly profitable?

3) Why do some media products offer ideologies that challenge capitalism or inequalities in society?

4) Look at page 2 of the factsheet. What are the problems that Hesmondhalgh identifies with regards to the cultural industries?

5) Why are so many cultural industries a 'risky business' for the companies involved?

6) What is your opinion on the creativity v commerce debate? Should the media be all about profit or are media products a form of artistic expression that play an important role in society?

7) How do cultural industry companies minimise their risks and maximise their profits? (Clue: your work on Industries - Ownership and control will help here) 

8) Do you agree that the way the cultural industries operate reflects the inequalities and injustices of wider society? Should the content creators, the creative minds behind media products, be better rewarded for their work?

9) Listen and read the transcript to the opening 9 minutes of the Freakonomics podcast - No Hollywood Ending for the Visual-Effects Industry. Why has the visual effects industry suffered despite the huge budgets for most Hollywood movies?

10) What is commodification? 

11) Do you agree with the argument that while there are a huge number of media texts created, they fail to reflect the diversity of people or opinion in wider society?

12) How does Hesmondhalgh suggest the cultural industries have changed? Identify the three most significant developments and explain why you think they are the most important.

Complete for homework - due date on Google Classroom.

MIGRAIN: Industries - Ownership and control

Industries is a major key concept in A Level Media and covers a wide variety of different aspects.

You'll need to study the following topics for a full introduction to this concept:

• The companies or organisations behind the media – owners, publishers, developers, channels, distributors,  film studios etc.
• How new and digital technology has changed media industries.
• The regulation and control of media in the UK.
• The role of public service broadcasting and not-for-profit media.
• Who has the power in the media: audiences or institutions?

Industries: Ownership and control notes

In our first lesson on media industries, we learned the following terminology:

Conglomerate ownership
A conglomerate is a large company composed of a number of smaller companies (subsidiaries).

A media conglomerate, or media group, is a company that owns numerous companies involved in creating mass media products such as print, television, radio, movies or online.

Examples include Comcast, Fox or Disney.

Vertical integration

Vertical integration is when a media company owns a range of businesses in the same chain of production and distribution. 

For example, a company might own the film studio that makes a film, the distributors that sell it to cinemas and then the movie channel that premieres it on TV.

Vertical integration allows companies to reduce costs and increase profits – but it is not always successful if the parent company lacks expertise in certain areas.

Horizontal integration

Horizontal integration is when a media company owns a range of different media companies that are largely unrelated e.g. magazines, radio stations and television.

Horizontal integration helps media institutions reach a wider audience.

Convergence & synergy

Convergence (sometimes called technological convergence) refers to the way we can now consume a range of media on one device.

Similarly, synergy is the process through which a series of media products derived from the same text or institution is promoted in and through each other. 

Look for links or consistent branding across different media platforms and products. E.g. Warner Brothers and Harry Potter – films, merchandise, stage plays, theme parks, videogames etc.

Diversification
Diversification is when a media company branches out into a different area of the industry. For example, many media companies have had to diversify to internet-driven distribution (e.g. streaming) as a result of new and digital media.

In the music industry, major labels such as Warner Music have had to embrace streaming in order to reverse years of declining revenue.

Cross-media regulation
When two companies wish to merge or diversify (e.g. vertical or horizontal integration) it needs to be cleared by a regulatory body to prevent any one company becoming too powerful in a given market.

In the UK, this is decided by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA makes decisions such as whether to allow Rupert Murdoch to complete an £11.7bn takeover of Sky by 21st Century Fox (they eventually ruled against it and blocked the deal).

Industries: Ownership and control blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Industries: Ownership and control' and complete the following tasks:

Media conglomerate research

1) Type up your research notes from the lesson - what did you find out about your allocated media conglomerate? Selection of companies: Alphabet, The Walt Disney Company, National Amusements, Meta, News Corp, Time Warner, Comcast. If you were absent or didn't have time in the lesson to make these notes, research any one of the companies above and find examples of all the terminology outlined in the notes at the start of this blogpost.

2) Do you agree that governments should prevent media conglomerates from becoming too dominant? Write an argument that looks at both sides of this debate.

Media Magazine reading and questions

Media Magazine 52 has a good feature on the changing relationship between audiences and institutions in the digital age. Go to our Media Magazine archive, click on MM52 and scroll to page 9 to read the article 'Two Key Concepts: The Relationship Between Audience and Institution'.

1) Briefly describe the production, promotion and distribution process for media companies.

2) What are the different funding models for media institutions?

3) The article gives a lot of examples of major media brands and companies. Choose three examples from the article and summarise what the writer is saying about each of them. 

4) What examples are provided of the new business models media companies have had to adopt due to changes in technology and distribution?

5) Re-read the section on 'The Future'. What examples are discussed of technology companies becoming major media institutions?

6) Do you agree with the view that traditional media institutions are struggling to survive?

7) How might diversification or vertical integration help companies to survive and thrive in a rapidly changing media landscape? 

8) How do YOU see the relationship between audience and institution in the future? Will audiences gain increasing power or will the major global media conglomerates maintain their control?

Complete these blog tasks for homework: due date on Google Classroom.

Film & TV Language: Editing practical video

Your final Film & TV Language practical task is an editing video that introduces the basics of narrative filmmaking.

This is another great opportunity to develop our filming and editing skills prior to starting our coursework later in the year.

Editing video: Continuity task

Your Editing video involves filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. 

This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule. 


Key skills

The following clips and links should help you with the key skills you need to demonstrate in your preliminary exercise.

Match on action

Match on action (or cutting on action) is an editing technique for continuity editing in which one shot cuts to another shot showing the same action of the subject in the first shot.

This creates the impression of continuity - the action creates a 'visual bridge' which is easy for the audience to follow.

Look at this YouTube clip that explains match on action in a clear, simple way with an example:

Shot/reverse shot

Shot/reverse shot uses over-the-shoulder shots to show a conversation between two characters. Look at this example from the Hunger Games movie - specifically between 0.50 and 1.30.

 

With shot/reverse shot, you need to observe the 180 degree rule. 

180 degree rule

The 180-degree rule of shooting and editing keeps the camera on one side of the action. This keeps characters grounded compositionally on a particular side of the screen or frame, and keeps them looking at one another when only one character is seen onscreen at a time. 

It is referred to as a rule because the camera, when shooting two actors, must not cross over the axis of action; if it does, it risks giving the impression that the actors' positions in the scene have been reversed. [source: Columbia Film Language Glossary]

In other words, draw an imaginary line between the two characters facing each other and then make sure the camera never crosses that line during the filming of that scene. This video is a brilliant explanation of the rule:

Task list: planning

Decide who you will work with. Remember, the filming can be in pairs/groups but you MUST edit individually. Them create a blogpost called 'Editing video planning'.

1) Discuss what your preliminary exercise will involve – make notes on your blogpost of location, sequence of events, casting etc.

2) Write a short script for the preliminary exercise. Remember, scripts outline movement and shots as well as dialogue. The BBC Writer's Room is a brilliant resource for tips and examples of TV scriptwriting. Here's a genuine TV script example from Luther to check you are formatting your script correctly.

3) Write a shot list of every possible shot (and a few extra) you will need for this preliminary exercise. An example shot list is here.

Publish your completed planning on your blog then you can start shooting and editing your film. Using your phone is fine for this project but remember to set up the phone in landscape (sideways) to ensure an appropriate widescreen shot. Alternatively, you can sign out a Canon DSLR from Mr Ray.

Deadline: on Google Classroom

MIGRAIN: Audience theory 2 - the effects debate

Forming opinions on the effect the media has on audiences is a crucial aspect of A Level Media Studies.

There are a range of theories we need to learn to help develop our understanding and opinions of this topic.

Audience theory 2: notes

Bandura: Social learning theory
Albert Bandura’s social learning theory came from an influential psychology study involving a bobo doll and children’s behaviour after observing violent acts. 

Social learning theory suggests people learn from one another, via observation, imitation, and modeling.

Stanley Cohen: moral panic
Moral Panic occurs when someone or something is defined by the media as a threat to society. The term was created by Stanley Cohen.

Cohen suggested in his 1972 book ‘Folk Devils and Moral Panics’ that a moral panic occurs when a “condition, episode, person or group of people emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests”.

Cohen suggested the media plays an important role in creating moral panic, even if just through news reports.

Cohen defined his five stages of moral panic as:

1) Something or someone is defined as a threat to values or interests
2) This threat is depicted in an easily recognisable form by the media
3) There is a rapid build-up of public concern
4) There is a response from authorities or opinion makers
5) The panic recedes or results in social changes




Technopanic: the modern moral panic
A technopanic is simply a moral panic that focuses on something linked to new technology.

George Gerbner: Cultivation theory
George Gerbner researched whether watching television influences the audience's ideas and perception of everyday life. 

Cultivation theories suggest that TV viewing can have long-term, gradual but significant effects on the audience’s attitudes and beliefs (rather than behaviour).

Gerbner’s Cultivation theory states that high frequency viewers of television are more susceptible to media messages and the belief that they are real and valid.

Heavy viewers are exposed to more violence and therefore are affected by the Mean World Syndrome, the belief that the world is a far worse and dangerous place than it actually is.

Source: Mass Communication theory

Audience theory 2: blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Audience theory 2 - blog tasks' and work through the following tasks:

Theory questions and your opinion

1) Social learning theory has been criticised for simplifying the causes of violence in society. Do you think the media is responsible for anti-social behaviour and violence?

2) How is social learning theory relevant in the digital age? Are young people now learning behaviour from social media and the internet? Give examples.

3) Research three examples of moral panic from the last 50 years. To what extent was the media responsible for these moral panics? Was the concern in society justified? How have things changed as a result of these moral panics?

4) Read this introduction to an academic paper on technopanics. What examples are given of technopanics that create fear in society? If the link is blocked in school, you can access the text here.

5) Do you think the internet should be regulated? Should the government try and control what we can access online?

6) Apply Gerbner's cultivation theory to new and digital media. Is the internet creating a fearful population? Are we becoming desensitised to online threats, trolling and abuse? Is heavy internet use something we should be worried about in society? Write a paragraph discussing these ideas.

The effects debate: Media Factsheet

Complete the following tasks using Media Factsheet 030 - The Effects Debate available on the Media Shared drive. You'll find it in our Media Factsheet archive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets. You can also access it via your school Google login here.

Read Media Factsheet 030 - Media and Audiences -The Effects Debate and answer the following questions:

1) Complete the questions in the first activity box (beginning with 'Do you play violent games? Are you violent in real life?')

2) What are the four categories for different effects theories?

3) What are the examples provided for the hypodermic needle theory - where media texts have been blamed for certain events? 

4) What was the 1999 Columbine massacre? You may need to research this online in addition to the information on the factsheet.

5) What are the reasons listed on the factsheet to possibly explain the Columbine High School massacre?

6) How does the factsheet describe Gerbner's Cultivation theory?

7) What does the factsheet suggest about action films and the values and ideologies that are reinforced with regards to violence?

8) What criticisms of direct effect theories are suggested in the factsheet?

9) Why might the 1970s sitcom Love Thy Neighbour be considered so controversial today? What does this tell us about Reception theory and how audiences create meanings?

10) What examples are provided for Hall's theory of preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings?

Finish for homework if you don't complete it in the lesson: due date on Google Classroom.

Film & TV Language: Cinematography feedback and learner response

Your one-minute cinematography videos are a great way to make sure we have learned our camera shots, angles and movement.

Once we've screened the videos in class, you need to complete the following tasks on your blog:

Cinematography video feedback/learner response

Create a new blogpost called 'Cinematography video feedback and learner response'. Make sure your video is on YouTube and embedded in this blogpost. 

1) Type up your feedback/comments from your teacher.

2) Type up your feedback from fellow students.

3) Now reflect on your work and write your own summary of the comments and feedback you have received. Write three WWWs and three EBIs.

4) Learner response: think about what you learned about cinematography making the video and also watching others. What will you do differently when you start the coursework in the summer? What tips or tricks have you learned from others that you can use next time? Are there any specific aspects of camerawork that you need to revise or practice?

Complete this for homework if you don't get it done in the lesson - due date on Google Classroom.

MIGRAIN: Audience theory 1

To develop our study of audience, we need to explore the effects that media products have on us and apply a range of theories to help us do this. 

Does consuming media make us violent? Anti-social? More aggressive? Or has digital technology and social media actually contributed to the lowest drug, alcohol and teenage pregnancy statistics for many years? In addition, we also need to explore what audiences enjoy about the media and ask how active or passive audiences are.

Audience theory: notes

The hypodermic needle model

This is a crude theory from the 1920s that suggests the media injects information into the audience like a hypodermic needle and therefore can have a dangerous effect on us.

The two-step flow model

The two-step flow model was developed in the 1940s because the hypodermic needle theory was considered too simplistic, assuming the audience consumed media without thinking.

The two-step flow model instead suggests the audience are influenced by ‘opinion leaders’ in the media who mediate how the audience react to media texts. The theory suggests the media is not all-powerful and that social factors are important.

Blumler & Katz: Uses and Gratifications theory

Researchers Blumler and Katz reignited audience theory in 1974 by stating that media audiences are active and make conscious choices about the way they consume media.

They suggested there are four main uses or gratifications (pleasures) that audiences get from the media.

Diversion: escape from everyday problems and routine - entertainment.

Personal Relationships: using the media for emotional and other interaction (e.g. developing affection for characters in TV)

Personal Identity: finding ourselves reflected in texts or learning behaviour and values from the media. Reality TV or documentary (Educating Yorkshire) are good examples.

Surveillance: Information useful for living (e.g. Weather, traffic news, holiday bargains etc.)

Rokeach and DeFleur: Dependency theory

Rokeach and DeFleur took Uses and Gratifications one step further in 1976 in suggesting that people have become dependent on the media.

With Dependency theory, they suggest that people rely on the media for information determining their decisions. This means the media can create many different feelings such as fear, anxiety, and happiness.

Audience theory 1: blog tasks

Hypodermic needle model

1) Read this Mail Online article about the effects of videogames. How does this article link to the hypodermic needle model?

2) How does coverage of the Talk Talk hacking case (see Daily Mail front page below) link to the hypodermic needle model? Why might someone criticise this front page? 

3) What do you think of the hypodermic needle theory? Do audiences believe everything they see in the media?

Two-step flow model

1) Summarise the two-step flow model. What is an opinion leader?

2) How do celebrities like Taylor Swift fit into the two-step flow model? 

3) In your opinion, is the two-step flow theory still relevant today?

Uses and Gratifications theory

1) For each of the four categories, write about one media text (e.g. film, TV programme, newspaper etc.) that fits that particular audience use or pleasure. Make sure you explain WHY it fits the category and use images or clips to illustrate your points. The first one is done for you.

Diversion: Film - Blinded By The Light. Entertaining and offering escapism for fans of Bruce Springsteen or anyone that enjoys coming of age films or culture-clash comedies.

Personal Relationships: 

Personal Identity: 

Surveillance: 

Dependency theory

1) Do you agree that audiences have become dependent on the media? What evidence or examples can you provide to support your view?

2) How has the growth of new and digital technology in the last 15 years changed people's dependency on the media? Is this a new problem?

3) Reflecting on your own media use, how does your media consumption impact on your emotions? Does the media have an overall positive or negative impact on your health and wellbeing? What is your average screentime and how does this impact on your mood?

Extension tasks A/A*

If you're interested in the debate regarding videogames and the impact on children read this blog on the subject. What is your opinion on whether videogames are positive or negative?

Remember, anything you don't complete in the lessons you need to finish for homework - due date on Google Classroom.

Film & TV Language: Cinematography analysis tasks

We have watched some superb film and TV clips for cinematography, learning the importance of camera shots, angle and movement.

Being able to confidently analyse camera shots and movement is essential for media textual analysis and may well be required in your media exams.

Here's another good YouTube video on camerawork and the effect on audiences:

You may also want to check out the Studio Binder YouTube channel which has extended videos on all aspects of the video production process. Here's their ultimate guide to camera shots for example:

Cinematography: blog analysis tasks

Your cinematography blog tasks are as follows:

Find the opening sequence to a film or TV drama of your choice on YouTube and embed the video in a blogpost called 'Cinematography blog tasks'. 

1) Write an analysis of the cinematography in the opening sequence. Highlight your use of media language and try to cover camera shots, angles and movement using the terminology we have learned in lessons. 

2) How does the camerawork give the audience clues about the setting, narrative and character?

Secondly, find and analyse one film or TV still image. Add the image to your blogpost. 

3) Analyse the camera shot/angle in the image and what it communicates to the audience. Remember to highlight the media terminology you use.

Due date: see Google Classroom

MIGRAIN assessment 1 - learner response

Well done on completing your first A Level Media Studies assessment - it's an important first step in identifying our strengths and weaknesses in the subject so far.

The first part of your learner response is to look carefully at your mark, grade and comments from your teacher. If anything doesn't make sense, ask your teacher - that's why we're here! 

Your learner response is as follows:

Create a new blogpost on your Media 1 Exam blog called 'Assessment 1: learner response' and complete the following tasks:

1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential).

2) Read the mark scheme for this assessment carefully. Identify at least one potential point that you missed out on for each question in the assessment.

3) Read this exemplar response from a previous Year 12 (an A grade) - note this was a slightly different paper in terms of the question wording and also had an additional question 4 (we've updated it to better reflect recent exams). Identify at least one potential point for questions 1-3 from this student's paper that you could have mentioned in your assessment. 

4) Did you get any media terminology or theory wrong in the assessment? Make a note of it here for future revision, including theories/terminology that you could have used but didn't.

5) Identify your weakest question and write three bullet points that would improve on your original response. Use the mark scheme and exemplar paper to identify these points - particularly focusing on the anticipated content and the top level descriptors.

If you do not finish your learner response in the lesson your work is returned, this needs to be completed at home by your next exam lesson.