Concepts

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Audience Positioning Concept Paragraph

  • An audience is an individual or collective group of people who read or consume a media text.
  • All media texts are encoded with signs and ideolgies to which the audience decode them. These signs are polysemic, therefore audiences will deocde them differently, and respond differently.
  • It is important that the producers of a media text place their audience into a position, so that they can nderstand their ideologies, and manipulate them into accepting the contained messages.
  • Audiences are not a mass, and their understanding of codes within a media text is complex and sophisticated.
  • Active audiences are constantly engaging with the messages in a media text and intepret the codes in different ways. Paaive audiences on the other hand, do not engage actively with the text, they do not question the text, and therefore accept the preferred reading without challenge, however ideas that passive audiences exist is highly outdated due to modern interpretation and analysis of audiences.
  • Stuart Hall studied the roll of audience positioning, coming up with a model suggesting that audiences respond in 3 different ways. A dominant reading would suggest that the reader fully accepts the preferred reading, the way that the producer intended. The negotiated reading suggests that the consumer partly believes the code, but sometimes modifies it in a way that reflects their own position. The oppositional reading suggests that the readers social position places them in an oppositional reading to the dominant code. 
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Audience Responses Concept Paragraph

  • An audience is an individual or collective group of people who read or consume a media text. 
  • All media texts are encoded with signs and ideolgies, and audiences interpret these codes in different ways, consequently meaning they respond differently.
  • Stuart Hall studied the role of audience reception, coming up with a model suggesting three different ways in which audiences may decode and respond to a text. A dominant reading would suggest that the reader fully accepts the preferred reading in the way that the producer intended. The negotiated reading suggests that the reader partly believes the code, but sometimes modifies it in a way that reflects their own position. The oppositional reading suggests that the readers social position places them in oppositional reading to the dominant code. 
  • People respond differently to the ideologies within a text because of individual differences, and it is extremely difficult to come up with a defined group of people who have an identical view.
  • Blumler and Katz believe that audiences choose to consume texts to recieve specific gratifications, therefore if audiences choose a text to be gratified in one way, and the text doesnt meet their expectations, they may develop a negotiated or oppositional response.
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Audience Appeal Concept Paragraph

  • An audience is an individual or collective group of people who consume a media text. All media texts are encoded with signs and ideologies to which the audience decode them.
  • Producers of a media text will encode the text to adopt a specific approach and apeal to certain audiences; some texts narrow cast, and others try to attract a broad audience.
  • Because of individual differences, it can be extremely difficult to classify a specific and defined group of people who have an identical view, and to categorise a 'target audience' for a media text, as individuals decode the ideologies contained within a media text differently.
  • Producers are aware that audiences consume media for a number of reasons, in line with Blumbler and Katz's theory that audiences choose to consume texts to recieve specific gratifications. Therefore audiences manipulate their texts to ensure that they appeal to the gratifications that audiences desire. 
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Audience Targeting Concept Paragraph

  • An audience is an individual or collective group of people who read or consume a media text.
  • All media texts are encoded with signs and ideolgies to which the audience decode them.
  • Producers of a media text will encode the text to adopt a specifc approach and appeal to certain audiences. Some texts narrow cast, and others try to appeal to a broad audience.
  • Because of individual differences, it can be extremely difficult to categorise a 'target audience' for a text, as  individuals decode the ideologies contained within a text differnetly.
  • Many producers attempt to target a mainstream audinece, in order to generate economic viability and critical success; these tend to take the form of 'high concept films', with high production values, high profiling stars, and high budgets.
  • Other films may be classified as 'independent films', which are less star driven, and can be seen to have lowever production values. These types of films tend to focus on the directors artistic vision, and target a niche audience.
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Globalisation Concept Paragraph

  • Global can simply be defined as of, or relating to the whole world; globalisation referes to the way in which contemporary society and distant countries are interrelated and connected by trade, communication and cultural experiences.
  • The USA dominates world media in most forms, and is increasingly dominating the gaming industry. It is now ranked 2nd out of the top 100 global game revenue rankings (behind china), therefore ideologies and values of America are hegemonic within the media.
  • The globalisation of media means that there are more and more cultural influences in contemporary media texts. It has veen argued that in an increasingly globalised world, here is a danger that local cultures become eroded, and replaced with a single standard culture, known ad cultural homogenisation. 
  • However, although cultural homogenisation is increasingly prevalent, there are still cultural differences, particularly in video games, that are extremely important in supplying entertainment services to different cultures.
  • Like Hollywood studios, video game makers are now upping the stakeson global launches to try and reach more markets rapidly, and the gaming industru is increasingly becoming one of the most successful industries in the world.
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Production Concept Paragraph

  • The production process refers to stages required to complete a media product, from idea to the final master copy.
  • The three main stages of the production process are pre-production; such as planning and storyboarding, production; which is the progrmming and construction of the game, and post-production, including the promotion of the game.
  • The production of a game could not exist without digital technology; it is inceasingly important in facilitating new interactive relationships between media texts and the audience.
  • Digital technology is massively used in the construction and production of a video game, possily more so than other mediums, consiting of programming the game, creating graohics and 'endless' opportunities for the gamer.
  • It is also increasingly important in the way that video games are promoted and distributed, allowing for digital downloads and add-ons, giving audiences instant gratification and maintaing the audience interest of the game.
  • Ludologists consider the gaming industry as a unique media form, they belive the algorithm of the game recalculates and modifies the entire outcome in real time, and digital technology is vital in ensuring this can happen.
  • Due to its digital technology and interactivity, video games give experiences that are not available in other media texts; the audience creates their own opportunities, rather than passively decoding ideologies intended by the producer, like other meida forms.
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Representation Concept Paragraph

  • 'Representation is the way in which meaning is given to the things depicted through the images on screen or words on the page' (Hall).
  • Traditionally, we see representation as realism, a reflective view of society, however post-modern theories suggest that representation is actually a reflection of peoples views.
  • Alternatively, an intentional approach could be applied, as signs connote the meanings intended by the producer, though this theory is difficult to prove asmedia texts are polysemic, allowing for audiences to respond in different ways, as argued by constructivists.
  • All media texts go through mediation and its stages of selection, organisation, focusing and anchorage, therefore specific aspects of a text reflect a viewpoint intented by the producer.
  • A text is encoded with ideological messages which appear as correct, whether the meanings actually reflect socirty or not.
  • Stereotypes are common cognitive structures; a simple generalised yet exagerated representation that portrays beliefs and expectations of a group. The producer encodes the text with specific stereotypes, in attempt to gain a specific reception from the audience. 
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Marketing Concept Paragraph

  • Marketing can be defined as the means of communication between the institution and the audience to promote and advertise a product or brand in the media.
  • An effective marketing campaign relies on careful long term planning to create hype and desire on the part of the target audience. 
  • Successful and traditional marketing strategies will envolve convergence; colaborating a number of techniques and technologies, such as posters and promotion via gaming magazines, involving previews and reviews.
  • The gaming community trusts the opinions given in these magaxines, as they have built up a repuation, reinforcing the idea of the two-step-flow theory; gamers will respond to the words of the opinion leaders (magaizne producers and 'experts'), therefore if reviewed positively, converging with the press can be a hugely successful way of marketing a game.
  • Producers use viral or guerilla marketing to promote their games; viral marketing is a broad concept, but essientally is utilising online social networks to share marketing content. 
  • Guerilla marketing is the use of unconventional advertsing that focuses on the spreading of ideologies, rather than advertising the product.
  • When both viral and guerilla marketing are combined, a highly innovative marketing campaign can be be created, one that is not obviously an advertisement.
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Genre Concept Paragrah

  • Genre can be defined as a reccuring type or category, as defined structural and thematic criteria, (Duff).
  • Television genres are used to distinguish between different narrative structures, but also to articulate similarities between texts comparable in style, format or content.
  • When analysing a media text based on its genre, the main focus is on whether conventions or paradigms are followed or left out of a text.
  • This may be done during the mediation process to have a predtermined effect on the audience reception, and influence the genre that the tv show is percived to be a part of.
  • The study of genre is crucial to both industry and audience. It allows audiences to select a text based on their specific prefernces, and have a systematic set of expectations with regards to content and structure.
  • Genre is of equal importance to industry, as it allows producers to market their text according to the pecieved target audience, to give the most successful and profitable reception.   
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Regulation Concept Paragraph

  • Regulation is defined as the action of enforcing rules or directivesof the mass media by an authority.
  • Media output in the UK is heavily regulated through a combination of both statutory and voluntary organisations.
  • The regulation of computer games is a growing and sensitive issue, and there are many reports regarding the suitability of content is computer games, the easy accessibility of this content to young children, and the potential impact the lack of 'effective' regulation can have on gamers.
  • The gaming industry is controlled and reguated by PEGI. There role is to regulate and classify games to give them a rating and additional information about the content of the game that will help consumers (particularly parents), decide upon the suitability of a game.
  • PEGI regulates games consider factors including bad language, sex, violence, drugs, discrimination, fear, gambling and online gameplay.
  • Despite the age ratings put in place to regulate games, UKIE has some worrying findings, discovering that just 2 in 5 parents would only buy games at the correct age rating, to which 24% of these stated that they didnt think any unsuitable content could be put into a game.
  • These statistics prove that the gaming industry can be particularly difficult to regulate, and the impact of children not being protected from such content can have huge impact, including ideological effects; how the gamer thinks, and behavioural effects; how the gamer may behave.
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Digital Technology Concept Paragraph

  • Digital technology is digitalised media content that can be transmitted over the internet or computer network.
  • The gaming industry could not exist without digital technology; it is increasingly important in facilitating new, interactive relationships between media texts and audiences. 
  • Digital technology is massively used in the construction and production of video games, more so than other mediums, consisting of programming the game, creating graphics and 'endless' opportunities for the gamer.
  • It is also increasingly important part of the way that video games are promoted and distributed, allowing for digital downlads and 'add-ons', giving the audience instant gratification and maintaining the audiences interest in a game.
  • Ludologists consider the gaming industry as a unique media form, they belive the algorithm of the game recalculates and modifies the entire outcome in real time, and digital technology is vital in ensuring this can happen.
  • Due to its digital technology and interactivity, video games give experiences that are not available in other media texts; the audience creates their own opportunities, rather than passively decoding ideologies intended by the producer, like other meida forms.
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Narrative Concept Paragraph

  • Narrative refers to the way in which elements in a story are organised, in both fictional and non-fictional media texts.
  • The narrative concept is important to audiences as it ensures understanding and identification of characters or plots, whilst structuring the text and capturing the consumer’s interest.
  • Traditionally, narrative consisted of a beginning, middle and end, a linear structure that presents stories in a logical manner.
  • Todorov suggests that narratives begin with equilibrium, where any potentially opposing forces are in balance, and protagonists are happy, he then suggests that this is interrupted by a series of events that disrupt the equilibrium, before it is eventually reinstated. 
  • Character roles are considered vital in the structure of narrative; Propp highlighted similarities in traditional fairy-tale narratives, proposing that it was possible to classify 8 main characters and their actions into clearly defined roles and functions.
  • Narrative can be structured through technical, verbal and symbolic codes, which create an ideology for the audience to help establish characters in the story, filling in background information so that the audience can understand the narrative.
  • Enigma codes are also used regularly as a narrative device to tease the audience by presenting a puzzle to be solved, producers withhold from revealing the plot, but produce enigmas to allow the audience to pose questions about the narrative and as such become intrigued in the episode.  
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