Skip to main content

Featured Post

Welcome to my blog!

Hi. My name is Jack, I'm 17 years old, and I'm taking Media Studies at Hills Road. This is my coursework blog. I've been tasked with producing a cross-media piece, consisting of a 2.5-3 minute audio-visual sequence, and a double page magazine spread and front cover. The video piece must be from an ITV or Channel 5 show of my creation, either factual or fictional, with a target audience aged 18-35, and containing either 'a key turning point, a point of significant conflict, or a resolution', while the print elements will contain interviews and promotional materials relating to the show. I haven't yet decided which channel, genre, or direction my piece is going to take, but I'm excited at what lies ahead. I'll be keeping my blog up-to-date with all my progress, so feel free to stick around and have a look!
4 comments

Millennials

Millennials* are perhaps the first generation to have grown up in a truly digital age, and as such, have media consumption habits completely unlike other generations. For example, one third of millennial TV viewing is done through means other than traditional TV, compared to only 11% from adults over age 35 - see the diagram below. 

While this data is from a US study, the figures are much the same over here too. Source: https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2017/millennials-on-millennials-a-look-at-viewing-behavior-distraction-social-media-stars.html

This diagram doesn't take into account other forms of video media that are slowly but surely taking the reins from traditional TV, either - think Netflix or YouTube. In response, broadcasting companies are having to change their tactics. Most channels now offer VOD (video on-demand) services, which have in recent years stepped up from just being for catch-up, often also having exclusive behind-the-scenes clips or highlight reels, or allowing streaming of entire series before they have been aired on traditional telly. Perhaps the most extreme example of this is BBC Three, a once-terrestrial TV channel now based on the internet entirely (although this move was not without opposition).

As for what they watch, drama is the first most popular genre for a millennial audience:
Source: https://www.oath.com/insights/insights/video-content-what-millennials-want/

This isn't necessarily surprising: drama has long made up a significant chunk of fictional audio/visual media produced for television, and so it's naturally going to have high viewing statistics. Millennials are also predisposed to media which carries a strong social or political message, in particular one which aligns to their generally left-leaning views, or tackles issues that are close to their hearts, such as mental health. Drama, as a genre, is well suited to tackling these issues, and it's easy to embed a message in - as is (well-made) comedy, the number one millennial-watched genre.

It may be difficult to embed a message in such a short snippet of a show without overdoing it, especially without a chance to necessarily build up the characters as much as I would like, and so demonstrating this aspect of the piece may be better left to the magazine portion of the task, in particular the interview section.


*Definitions of 'millennial' vary, with most agreeing that the generation starts somewhere in the mid '80s and ends somewhere in the mid-to-late '90s, or early 2000s. For the purposes of this post (and indeed the rest of this blog), 'millennials' will refer to those in the 18-35 age range - the target audience for my piece as defined by the coursework specification - and thus may also incorporate the first few years of the cohort more commonly known as Generation Z, depending on who you listen to.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Treatment Sheetment

Treatment Sheet Working Title Dead and Buried Genre Crime Drama Premise DCI Nicholas Griffin is a cop with a dark past. Fifteen years ago he was the ringleader of a small crew that pulled off big crimes in places all around the UK - money laundering, drug pushing, armed heists, and even hits on criminal targets. Griffin worked from inside the police force to divert attention away from him and his circle, steering convictions instead towards gang rivals and competitors. Despite this violent lifestyle, his crew made sure that truly innocent victims were never caught in the crossfire - until bad information caused tragedy. A recently-sold house they thought was empty was torched by Griffin's hand as a distraction for a hit; however, as he found out when the report landed on his desk the next day, a mother and her three young children were still inside. Griffin instantly disbanded the group, and they never saw each other again. Griffin went on to have a successfu...
Post a Comment
Read more

TV Listings

Looking at the TV listings for ITV and Channel 5 exemplifies the differences between the channels. ITV airs a large range of shows for a wide array of audiences - from live sports to Loose Women , Emmerdale to Endeavour (a prequel to the famous Inspector Morse ). Football in the UK has a predominantly male following - an estimated 67% in fact - while Loose Women is aimed squarely at women, in particular stay-at-home mums or housewives, which is why it has it's daytime slot. On the fictional side, soaps such as Coronation Street share much of the same audience as Loose Women , with YouGov polling showing a "very strong" correlation between the audiences of the two shows. Dramas such as Innocent have a broader audience with cross-gender appeal, and their late-night post-watershed slots mean they can afford to be darker and perhaps more gripping than their dinnertime soap counterparts (this late-night slot is likely the one my show will be taking, as it usually hous...
Post a Comment
Read more

Textual Analysis

The following is a textual analysis of some shows that are similar to those I'm looking to produce. I've tried to find scenes that contain one or more of the narrative points my sequence is supposed to be based around. If you haven't watched one or more of these shows, run away now: there are spoilers ahead. Broadchurch (Court Scene) Narrative point demonstrated: This clip shows Joe Miller, murderer from series one and husband of one of the leading detectives on the case DS Ellie Miller, being given a not guilty verdict after a long and intense court battle. Safe to say that it was definitely a key turning point in the show. Some of the techniques used: Shots start off long and slow, but cuts increase in pace as we get closer to the verdict, helping ramp up the tension. Non-diegetic sound in the form of a dramatic swell also serves to heighten your blood pressure. Small depth of field and dramatic focus pulls cause the viewer to focus on the reactions o...
1 comment
Read more