NDM case study Task 1: Media Magazine research

Use our Media Magazine archive and the Word document with the contents page for each issue to search for relevant articles. The original case study structure and task list is here -  Here's a great example from previous year. 

Notes and Quotes – Section: Media Magazine

MM30

• Visit 4docs. Here you can see some of the most promising short-form documentary in a wide variety styles (biographical, comic, animation, experimental); monitor a wiki packed with practical advice about making and distributing films; and even enter occasional competitions, some offering cash prizes and potential TV screenings. Once such opportunities were limited to film school students and professionals, but in our (arguably) more democratic world there’s no reason why your film illustrating an extraordinary life, an unusual lifestyle or curiosity you’ve come across couldn’t make the grade.

Change in the way film can be produced – different way to get into film curation.

• The documentary form has come a long way since the pioneering films of John Grierson in the 1930s. Grierson’s film-making evidenced a strong public service ethos, and had an emphasis on education and raising awareness, rather than entertainment values.
• Critics often point to the dreaded ‘dumbing down’ debate when discussing recent documentaries, suggesting the documentary form has been tabloidised with a stronger emphasis on sensationalism and voyeurism in order to make them more palatable to mass audiences.
• To get your head around the complex idea of cinematic realism, awareness of the fourth wall represents a useful way in. By highlighting the odd unreality of film, cinematic artists can make us laugh, frighten us, and at times make us think; but their demolition of realism is never dull because it is in such moments that we glimpse the true nature of film.

MM31

• To the purist, fantasy cinema is a discrete genre – one that combines aspects of fairy-tale, folk lore and magical imagined worlds resulting in such films as The Wizard of Oz (1939) or The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-3). Such clear-cut definitions often end with the declaration that, while fantasy is usually considered separate from horror and science-fiction, there are significant overlaps.
• The great thing about ‘fantasy’ films (for the purposes of this timeline assumed to take in horror, suspense, and sci-fi) – is that at their best they are always symbolic. At times where direct engagement with society’s cultural, political and sexual fault-lines on-screen is either impossible due to censorship or audience resistance, their presence can be detected in the sub-text of the best fantasy films.
• Postmodernism and the self-conscious urge to pastiche also influences fantasy film-making. Scream (1999) and its successors all boast a kind of ‘clever-two-shoes’ genre-knowingness that typifies the age, and has proven a boon to Media Studies teachers the world over. The internet proves that new forms of online viral communication can generate a buzz about a film despite its beyond-humble budget. The Blair Witch Project (1999) was the first film to exploit the net in this manner, and will not be the last – witness Cloverfield (2008).

MM32

• The impact of online media, cross-platform and e-media marketing techniques on the development of comedy cinema
• ·The role of film comedy, both national and global, in constructing ideas of collective identity.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is an American comedy-drama television series created and primarily written by Aaron Sorkin. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip ran on NBC for 22 episodes, from September 18, 2006 to June 28, 2007. It is Aaron Sorkin's only TV show not to air for more than one season.

• ·So why did Studio 60 fail? It was certainly innovative and culturally and contextually relevant. As to whether it was funny or not, that, as always, is a matter of personal taste. But consider this – perhaps Studio 60 didn’t fail. Perhaps it was a show that was out of step with the evolution of TV. Audience viewing habits have changed beyond all recognition due to the availability of on-demand TV and digital recording and streaming. Viewers can watch shows when it suits them, and issues like time slot winners, overnight ratings and shareholder/advertising pressure (ironically, issues discussed in Studio 60) could completely change. It’s an interesting twist that Studio60 was the top ‘time-shifted’ show at the time it aired (in other words, viewers were recording and watching it at their leisure), a fact which never filtered through into the main ratings. Eventually, perhaps, those responsible for compiling ratings data will incorporate this increasingly important statistical group into their ratings assessments. In the end, Studio 60 may eventually be considered a classic which was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
• ·The British film industry has also been influenced. Although there has always been an independent tradition in British cinema, the recent British success of Slumdog Millionaire (dir. Danny Boyle, 2008) has demonstrated the thriving popularity of Indie films. 

MM33

•  Elinor Block evaluates the ways new technologies have transformed the media industries, their processes and products; and Peter Block draws on his life in television to debate whether they are intrinsically creative, or simply tools to enhance or exploit creativity.
•  that technology is creatively neutral and yet can provide a vehicle for new expressions of creativity.
• You can no longer assume that you will just hand over a recording for the editor to edit or for the sound recordists to do their job. The truth of the matter is now that we are all now producers and directors of our own material.

MM34

• Over the past decade there has been a change in attitude by the BBFC towards the classification of films. Back in the 1980s it seems censorship was tough in Britain. But in 2009 the BBFC passed Antichrist (Lars Von Trier, 2009), a hugely controversial work which would seem inappropriate for an audience, ‘18’ uncut. Is this more liberal approach specific BBFC policy, or is it just a reaction to the attitudes you already feel are present in society?
• Classification has changed over the years, just as society has changed. All our decisions now are based on published Guidelines which in turn are based on public opinion and law. It is important that our decisions reflect the view of the British public and their concerns. There have been shifts, some of which might appear more liberal, for example an increasingly strong belief that adults should be free to watch what they like within the law, and others, which reflect increased societal concerns (for example about racist language, or language and behaviour which might be discriminatory against minority or vulnerable groups). Additionally, the Human Rights Act made it important for us to be proportionate and justify any intervention, which means we avoid cutting or rejecting anything simply because.
• The last decade has seen a controversial movement of ‘real sex’ films including 9 Songs (Michael Winterbottom, 2004), Anatomy Of Hell (Catherine Breillat, 2004) and Shortbus (John Cameron Mitchell, 2006). These films featured unsimulated and graphic scenes of sex.
• Many people are still unaware of the board and their decisions.
• Rob McInnes explores the ways in which media products are continually reinvented, recycled, and re-purposed in the interests of ‘change’ – and why producers use so many terms beginning with ‘re’.
• if you’ve come across terms such as ‘Web 2.0’ and ‘We Media’ you’ll be familiar with the notion that the media is undergoing a period of unprecedented change. The gist of both of these concepts rests on the idea that the power of large media corporations is being challenged by the ever-increasing participatory power of individual members of the public.
• Tim Berners-Lee has described as largely superficial. He says he had always envisaged the internet as an essentially democratic and interactive medium.
• Over recent years media development has been rapid and convergence has become the centre of modern life. With products such as the iPhone offering multiple devices in one, the audience has come to expect ease and accessibility. Modern audiences are used to having all their desired technology at their fingertips in one product, and this has greatly affected audience consumption. Audience demand has now been met. Now we not only choose when but also where we consume our entertainment
• · These changes in online media technology have successfully met the demands of audience consumption; however, it is also important to consider the possible impact of this on audience behaviour. Over-accessibility may change why the audience chooses to consume in the first place; where once there was a desire to see something that was a novelty and share it with friends and family members, the audience now constantly demands something new, and often watches it in isolation.
• The argument that television has lost its entertainment value can be challenged by further recent changes in audience behaviour. The internet has enabled audiences to become involved in media production, with websites allowing them not only to leave feedback and suggestions, but in some cases actually create the content. It could be argued that for some, advances in media have enabled previously impossible opportunities for interaction with the industry. Looking at current consumer trends it appears that the internet is at the forefront and the television may become obsolete.
• we want to make our content available when and where consumers want it as stated by ITV (MSN News, 2010)

MM35

• Contemporary culture is media-saturated. 
• Entertainment is available anywhere and anytime. 
• From on-demand TV, the apparently infinite 
• nature of the internet and mobile technology, 
• contemporary culture is arguably running the 
• risk of over-stimulation and the impact of 
• our reliance on technology for entertainment 
• and social interaction is often questioned. It is 
• frequently argued that over-stimulation could lead 
• to extreme desensitisation

On Tarantino's style of film:  

• This film-maker’s work, for instance, can be 
• seen to reflect a general mainstreaming of 
• artistic style and aesthetics – often dealing 
• explicitly with the borrowing of images from the 
• mass media.

MM36

• But irrespective of these pleasures, with 
• so much quality TV available to us via 
• platforms such as Netflix, Now TV and 
• Amazon Prime, it is increasingly unlikely 
• that audiences will continue to follow 
• a traditional schedule, watching four 
• episodes at set times throughout the 
• week, no matter how much escapism 
• they may provide. 
• The television industry (unlike the 
• music industry) has been pro-active
• I remember watching the very first episode gathered in the living room with my family. I also remember the soaps that have come and gone – Brookside, Albion Market and the infamous Eldorado. But audiences don’t watch TV in the same way they used to, and there is more competition than ever for our free time. Soap operas can also seem like an outdated format. So when the audience is becoming increasingly fragmented
• I can choose the podcasts that I want to listen to, setting my phone or PC to update the feed from each show so that I never miss an episode. I can stack episodes so that I can listen to a whole series in one hit (like Netflix) or I can listen to an episode at a time. The point is that I am in control of what I listen to; selecting from thousands of podcasts uploaded to the internet from all over the world, and the power of my smartphone or tablet means that I can listen to them wherever I want. 
• as the landscape changes permanently and streaming becomes the norm.

MM37

• 26.2 million unique UK viewers watched 
• Kate and Wills wed live across five host 
• channels (BBC1, ITV1, Sky News, Sky Living, 
• and the BBC News channel) – fewer than for 
• 1981. BUT ... with modern online coverage 
• factored in, BBC statistics suggest that iPlayer 
• and online streaming pushed UK figures past 
• 34 million – even though BBC streams crashed 
• due to an overload of viewers attempting to 
access coverage.
• One certainty was that this Royal Wedding was 
• the first to provide extensive online coverage. It 
• was a true example of multimedia convergence. 
• The wedding itself was broadcast live on 
• YouTube as well as the major television channels. 
• YouTube also hosted an interactive greetings 
• book for well wishers to post videos to the newly 
• weds. 
• The coverage also championed the use of the 
• smart phone and mobile devices with internet 
• capabilities. Whilst watching the ceremony I was 
• able instantly to download the wedding music 
• from iTunes. Google maps had a live interactive 
• map of the procession route and for your 
• iPod and iPhone there was an App to explore 
• Westminster Abbey and find out about the venue 
• of the wedding. 
• Social media was also teeming with news 
• about the Royal Wedding, with the topic trending 
• all across Twitter.

MM38

• the media conglomerate 
• ultimately owned by Rupert Murdoch which 
• manages publishing, film, television and new 
• media interests across the globe.

MM39

• course ultimately TV executives are just happy if we’re watching at all – as long as we’re doing it through legitimate channels rather than streaming

MM40

• Media audiences of the past are often characterised as being passive recipients of the information and entertainment that was handed down by media institutions. In our modern media world, audiences are thought to be much more active and media institutions actively encourage audience participation.
• the power traditionally held by media institutions is being shared with audiences 
• who are able to participate in the construction 
• and development of media texts.
• With the audience scattering across so many platforms, TV’s cultural function as provider of shared experiences is put ever more at risk.

MM42

• 50 years after its independence India no longer looks to Britain for much at all. The country has one of the world’s fastest growing economies and Bollywood remains the biggest film industry in the world. Hollywood produces 500 films per year on average and has a worldwide audience of 2.6 billion whereas Bollywood produces more than 1000 (not consistently) films every year and has a worldwide audience of 3 billion. In terms of viewership, Bollywood overtook Hollywood in 2004 and has been leading ever since.
• The term ‘chick flick’ is frequently used to 
• describe a female-targeted romance film, 
• often criticised for its lightweight themes, 
• formulaic plot-lines and repetitive use 
• of predictable and somewhat exhausted 
• clichés. The assumption that female- 
• targeted films are essentially bad, lower 
• budget and perform poorly at the box office 
• continues to exist, in what is still perceived 
• as an inherently male-centred film industry. 
• However, recent developments within the 
• genre would suggest that the boundaries 
• of the ‘chick flick’ are changing with surprise 
• box office hit Bridesmaids (2011, Feig) 
• hailed as a turning point for the genre. The 
• film destabilises gender conventions, upsets 
• generic rules and challenges audiences, 
• providing a rich source of media debate in 
• its search for new ground. 
• Hailed as a ‘feminist milestone’ and 
• a ‘benchmark for female comedy’,
• a negative representation is better than no representation at all and that new media offers the under-represented a chance to gain some power in the media landscape.

MM43

• The great British summertime has a new tradition – pop-up cinema. All over the country independent exhibitors are screening movies both new and old, sometimes in the unlikeliest of settings, and film fans are finding an alternative to the ordinary multiplex viewing experience.
• With this emphasis on social consciousness the whole experience adds up to something more alternative and rewarding than your usual trip to the mainstream cinema.
• while film is great in the cinema  
  and at home, it can be enjoyed in countless other 
  scenarios and venues. We set up Pop-up Cinema to 
  facilitate creative, non-traditional modes of exhibition. 
  Through Pop-up, our films have screened in car parks, poly-
  tunnels, gardens, boardrooms, classrooms,
  living rooms community centres, [and] pubs.
• The role of personal 
• relationships and personal 
• identity in Fandom is 
• clear: one of the main 
• reasons to join the fan 
• community is to meet 
• other enthusiasts and 
• share our interests. The 
• internet and social media 
make this easy.

MM44

• But media technologies are changing 
• rapidly. In the last ten years, we have seen 
• the introduction of broadband and social 
• networking including the ubiquitous 
• Twitter. We carry Kindles and iPads; use 
• Wi-Fi, 3G (and now 4G) to access on 
• demand services such as 4OD, iPlayer 
• and Sky Go at home and on the move. 
• Netflix, LOVEFiLM, UltraViolet, Spotify and 
• iTunes have changed the way we access 
• music, television and film.
• When your favourite TV show is dropped from the schedules, what can you do? Within a week of the axe falling on BBC2’s The Hour (BAFTA-nominated 1950s-set TV newsroom drama with starry cast), 13,000 had petitioned the BBC to bring it back. But will such audience-activism have any influence? Well, fan protest saved BBC6 Music, Not Going Out and Being Human – but not Dr Who Confidential, despite a petition with 57,700 signatures. The Beeb often maintains a lofty distance from fan forums, but in America they’re seriously influential, bringing back Star Trek, Arrested Development and Family Guy after they were axed. And now that companies such as Netflix, YouTube and Microsoft are commissioning their own content, they will be watching fan responses very carefully to exploit the proven popularity of de-commissioned shows to build their own audiences. Netflix is already screening its own remake of acclaimed 1990s British political drama House of Cards, and new self-made series of Lillyhammer and Arrested Development, as well as original new series Bad Samaritans and Hemlock Grove. So if you want to save a favourite programme, fight for your right to view by contributing to forums, fansites and chatrooms. The BBC may be a hard nut to crack, but Netflix, Amazon or YouTube might just be listening in...
• All of these technologies and online facilities have altered the way texts are produced, how they are distributed and their availability. Technology has changed the way we view, access, buy, store and exchange media products. The idea of the immediacy and impermanence of a TV programme – broadcast once and gone (pretty much) forever – is no longer relevant.
• 
  

MM45

• The first consideration is the range of 
• options open to anyone with a fast 
• broadband connection and an up-to- 
• date computer system. There are many
• ways to access films online, ranging from 
• the big brands like iTunes, LoveFilm 
• and Netflix, with both fixed prices and 
• subscription rates for rental or download, 
• through to the pirate operations that  
• offer bit-torrent downloads. The latter are, 
• of course, illegal, which we can’t condone 
• – but we must consider whether the thrill 
• of watching something illegally acquired 
• actually becomes part of the reading 
• experience. This is also linked to the sense 
• of superiority we tend to feel if we see 
• something before everyone else, or our 
• smugness when we get to see something 
• for free that we know many people have 
• paid to watch.
• But media technologies are changing 
• rapidly. In the last ten years, we have seen 
• the introduction of broadband and social 
• networking including the ubiquitous 
• Twitter. We carry Kindles and iPads; use 
• Wi-Fi, 3G (and now 4G) to access on 
• demand services such as 4OD, iPlayer 
• and Sky Go at home and on the move. 
• Netflix, LOVEFiLM, UltraViolet, Spotify and 
• iTunes have changed the way we access 
• music, television and film.

MM47

• "approximately 2.2 billion people around the world are connected to the internet."
• "large balloons fitted with radio antenna devices which were released into the air to float above rural areas of New Zealand without access to the internet,"
• "In a sense the world becomes more accessible, and people are enriched by getting to know and understand it better."
• "Increased choice and opportunities empower people, while access to information can enhance not only the ability to make informed decisions but even the democratic process."
• "...the impact of digital technologies in an online age."

MM58

• Netflix binge
• many prefer to watch/stream box sets on services like Netflix and view on devices such as tablets, laptops and smart phones, or TV catch- up, rather than watching it live on the box with the rest of the family.

MM59

• Today’s multiplexes are the main provider of cinematic entertainment in the UK: by the end of 2015, the UK had 4,046 screens in 751 cinemas, 316 of which were multiplexes. Netflix and other online subscription models of exhibition may be growing fast, but the multiplexes are still holding their own in a very volatile market.

MM60

• Marvel has also used the internet to solve the problem of maximising audiences without compromising content. The Disney deal brought success, but required films to be ‘family friendly’, thus, restricting the potential use of adult themes and grittier superheroes. Then along came Netflix, the internet distributor, and Marvel recognised a solution to its problem. In 2012 the two companies made a deal to form their own universe, which has since brought us the well- received TV shows Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage, which, alongside the upcoming Iron Fist, are moving towards a team-up series titled The Defenders. Netflix has provided the perfect platform; it does not release ratings, and its focus is not about the number of people watching, but about building a brand and a subscriber-base– and Marvel can provide exactly that.

MM61

• "The dominance of tech companies is a sign of the times; companies that rely on ‘old media’, such as newspapers, are in trouble." 
• Within a multi-platform world where 
• audiences not only have access to a 
• vast TV schedule, but also an extensive 
• library on streaming platforms, as 
• well as access to an infinite amount 
• of information, such high and specific 
• expectations mean it is necessary 
• for Westworld to present an exciting, 
• enigmatic narrative that stands 
• out in a saturated market. Perhaps 
• though it’s more than just standing 
• out; perhaps you have to give the 
• audience ownership of the narrative 
• twists and invite them into the story.

MM62

• With the likes of Amazon, Netflix 
• and paid-for on-demand services, the 
• landscape is changing and they are the 
• future of the whole idea of planning 
• your own viewing. They don’t want to 
be dictated to about when to watch.

• Television news is still arguably the most powerful way of influencing public opinion,

MM63

• Cultural industries have moved closer to the centre of economic action
• There has been an increase in media corporations owning companies in different sectors of the industry
• Globalisation has meant media texts can circulate more easily across borders reducing North American dominance
• Deregulation has reduced public ownership
• Advertising ‘dollars’ have significantly increased as has cross promotion within texts
• Digitisation has allowed the technology sector to compete directly with traditional media companies
• Niche audiences are increasingly targeted.
• Digitisation, and the ability to distribute texts via the Internet, meant that technology companies could challenge traditional broadcasters. For example, Amazon (originally an online book seller) is now producing its own ‘television’ programmes. In doing this it followed Netflix, which began as a postal DVD service, in ‘liberating’ television programmes from broadcasters’ schedules with on-demand viewing. Netflix understood their business was distributing audiovisual texts and so realised that it needed to create its own online subscription service. Traditional distributors of DVDs, like the shop Blockbuster, went bust after broadband connections facilitated video streaming. Even more cannily Netflix also understood that it would need to produce its own content because the traditional media companies would eventually realise that they could set up their own Internet distribution networks.
• Disney, for example, has 
• withdrawn all its content from Netflix 
for distribution on its own channel.
• Next year Netflix plans to spend $8bn on original material
• Netflix has become ubiquitous; 
• even the phrase ‘Netflix and chill’ has 
• become an internet meme and entered 
• the vernacular in many places. The 
• company is, however, highly indebted 
• (maybe up to $20bn) and does not 
• have, like traditional media companies, 
• other sources of revenue.
• In 2016 Netflix simultaneously launched its service in 130 new countries, bringing its total to 190 
• House of Cards marks a significant shift away 
• from the ways TV has traditionally been viewed. 
• Netflix’s streaming monthly-subscription service 
• (founded in 1997) allows viewers to ‘binge’ on 
• as many episodes as they wish in one sitting. No 
• longer do audiences have to wait a week until the 
• next episode, meaning that the episodes are jam-
• packed and fast-paced to keep viewers transfixed. 
• Kevin Spacey supported the decision to release 
• all of the episodes at once, believing that this 
• type of release pattern would be increasingly 
• common with TV shows.

MM64

• Netflix is currently the most popular 
• online streaming platform and an 
• apparently unstoppable force when 
• it comes to knowing what content 
• audiences want to consume.