Weekly News 55

Towie star Ferne McCann covers up in a cap and loose clothes as she returns to Britain after the father of her unborn baby is charged over acid attack

This is the story from the Daily Mail written by James Dunn, a journalist who often writes about unusual crime stories and insights into celeb living. 

I chose this story because of it's *tenuous* link to one of our main case studies, I'm a Celebrity as Ferne McCann was a favourite of the 2015 series. 

It was recently announced that Ferne McCann's former boyfriend, Arthur Collins, was wanted by police in connection to the tragic acid attacks on a London nightclub, which left 2 people partially blind and 20 more injured. 

The ITV star has been trolled by Twitter users saying how inappropriate it would be to have the mother of a criminal's child as a host on daytime television. Some may be critical of ITV hiring back the Jungle favourite, as it may come across as disrespectful to those affected by the incident. 

Although I do sympathise with McCann, and think it would be unjust for her career to be ruined by someone else who has already caused so much damage, I also think that his connection with the well-known presenter has taken the attention off of the victims, who were really the ones who have suffered throughout this whole ordeal. 

Collins has since been arrested and is now being questioned by the police in relation to the attacks. 

(B2 GCE 2016 SUMMER - English Medium - MEDIA ST.:TEXT,INDUS.& AUDIENCE MS4 - QUESTION PAPER)

All media texts are subject to regulation. How has regulation affected your three main texts?

Regulation is a system put in place in order protect vulnerable people, such as children, from viewing anything that that will disturb them or will influence them in a negative way. In the film industry, the film's distributed through Britain are regulated by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), whereby it is considered based on different elements such as violence and sexual references, then given an age rating for who it recommends will be able to consume the text. The age rating of a film will have a direct impact on the audience in which views it, both in size and demographic. An example of this would an Andrew Haigh film Weekend (2011), which is classed as an 18 due to its explicit sexual references. Despite the audience being limited anyway due to the film's release through film festival's such as SXSW and showings through Arthouse cinemas, the 18 rating could have an adverse effect on the film with audiences deterred from viewing due to its controversial explicit content. However, there may be a preferred response to the rating with the targetted demographic recognising the content as real and relatable to them, which demonstrates both the positive and negative perspectives on a BBFC regulation. 

Some films are conscious of their BBFC regulation before and during their production, as they are aware how a higher rating may affect their audience numbers. The James Bond franchise, in particular, Skyfall, Sam Mendes (2012), has manipulated their content to classify under the 12A BBFC regulation. This means that despite the violence and sexual references, families can view the film together and the 007 brand can maximise its audience and it's profit. Other films in the franchise such as Spectre, Sam Mendes (2015) and Die Another Day, Lee Tamahori (2002) also fall under the 12A classification. Although this may restrict the amount of violence and sexual scenes used in the film, in comparison to Weekend, Skyfall not only has a larger audience to consume the text but also allows them to explore more advertising opportunities, for example a television advert for Skyfall would be able to be shown by the watershed (9pm) on British television, demonstrating that by manipulating the BBFC regulation, Bond has optimised the success of the film.

To be continued.....

Discuss the marketing strategies used by your selected industry. Refer to your three main texts

The film industry uses a variety of different marketing strategies in order to optimise the film's audience and ensure it is a success. As technology has advanced over the years, the ways in which a production company can advertise has broadened to platforms such as social media, using influencers to promote their work, and unique ventures into merchandising, as well as other more conventional methods such as print and television campaigns. Marketing is very important to both high and low budget films, for example, Skyfall, Sam Mendes (2012) raised £29 million of its budget was raised through endorsements and product placements, where companies partner with the 007 brand to both promote the new film release and the product or service accompanying it, for example prior to the release of Skyfall in 2012, Coca-Cola Zero released a 'Unlock the 007 in You' campaign whereby an unsuspecting carriage of train passengers has 70 seconds to complete a challenge in order to win Bond tickets, the video of which went viral online. This form of marketing is particularly advantageous to high budget films such as Skyfall which cost $200 million to make, as it allows them to create hype prior to the film's release but further provides funding to ensure the success of the franchise and secure further releases.

In comparison, a lower cost film such as Weekend, Andrew Haigh (2011) had a budget of only £120,000 which suggests that there would not be such an extensive use of marketing the film. In terms of social media, Weekend does not have any official accounts for the film, this may be detrimental in the reach of the film as it limits the audience it can spread to. As part of the Uses and Gratifications theory one of the reasons for consuming a text would be to discuss it with your peers, the lack of social media presence means that this discourse about Weekend it absent. Social media, a free platform for discussion and promotion, has proved successful for other British films, on Twitter, or example, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Matthew Vaughn, 2014 which has over 57k followers or Pride, M. Warchus, (2014) which has just over 6 thousand followers. However, as the Weekend gained it's momentum and success through film festivals such as SXSW in the U.S.A, it may suggest that the priority was not to reach mass audiences, but to gain credibility and acclaim from those in the industry, and the small audiences which it did reach.

A further method of marketing would be through merchandise directly associated with the film. This will provide profit funding for the production and also allows the movie to reach different audiences that perhaps may not meet the target audience demographic. One example of this would come from the aforementioned British production of Kingsman: The Secret Service (45 minutes finished). As part of a merchandising endeavour, Kingsman partnered with tailoring company, Mr Porter, and created a line of high quality, highly priced gentlemen's wear including suit jackets, Oxfords and watches. This would have both aligned the film with a company of similar values as a high end tailor is a significant feature in Kingsman, but also extended intrigue for the film into regular customers of Mr Porter who may not have initially been interested in the film due to it's comic relaxed nature. This merchandise venture differs from Bond, who released their own aftershave entitled 007 for the 50th anniversary of the franchise. This style of marketing is targetted specifically at those who know and are fans of the popular film's and are somewhat of a gimmick for Bond collectors. 

In conclusion, the types and success of marketing strategies are largely dependent on the budget and hype leading up to the film, as higher budget films rely on mass audiences and extra spending such as merchandise in order to gain any profit from the production. As technology has modernised the print campaigns have also moved online for advertising a film, to maximise an audience as social media has become a key contributor to how popular and success the film is, seen evidently through the comparison of social media presence in Kingsman to Weekend. The film industry itself relies heavily on marketing as the  initial means in which audiences consume texts, i.e. through cinemas, need to generate enough anticipation and excitement for people to actually go and see it, as opposed to television where the viewing can occur from the comfort of your own home.

Weekly News 54

X-rated photos of Holly Willoughby 'stolen and threatened for use online' as she joins Millie Mackintosh on 'new list of stars targeted by hackers'

This article comes from the Daily Mail, written by Becky Freeth

The story follows after a recent burst of personal photos of female celebrities, including Emma Watson and Amanda Seyfried, being leaked online which has now spread to more local level celebrities as Holly Willoughby and Millie Mackintosh.

 

The hackers are said to of guessed the passwords to the stars social media accounts and used the access to their private messages to exploit the women online. 

This story particularly interested me, firstly as the only targets so far seem to be women, which immediately highlights the issue of exploitation and sexualisation of women, and secondly as it highlights the issue of privacy on the internet, and how personal details and information you thought to be safe within your social media environment, can easily be accessed and made public to the world. 

Holly Willoughby has since denied the existence of such photos, whereas the article later reveals the photos leaked of Watson were taken during a swimsuit fitting, which brings into question the safety and security of celebrities, and everyday people when their vulnerable moments can be exploited so shamelessly for profit or media attention. (Emma Watson has since taken legal action against the use of her images on the dark web)

Other targets are said to be more A-list stars, including the youngest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, Kylie Jenner. The images used in the article are interesting, especially of Holly as despite her denying the photos exist, the photos used are provocative or exposing which could perhaps suggest that the Daily Mail is implying they believe Holly's denial to be false. 

 

How important are high production values in your three main texts?

The importance of high production values will differ depending on the genre, audience and purpose for a particular film, as some films use expensive special effects and marketing as a means of attracting their audiences. In industry especially the high production value with vary due to the profile of the film and it's journey through production onto the screen. Evidence of a film that is reliant on its high production values would by Skyfall, Sam Mendes (2012) which is estimated to have cost $200 million dollars to make due to the use of exotic locations and high budget special effects. As the James Bond films are a popular global franchise, with Skyfall being the highest grossing Bond film retrieving $980 million worldwide, the audience has come to expect a level of action and expenditure as part of the 007 series. Despite this providing an arguably assured audience for each new release, it does provide the pressure for MGM, the production company behind the films, to produce an even more extravagant viewing experience for the next production. Marketing and advertising are also important in terms of production values,  an estimated £29 million was made through commercial deals, including product placements. The placement of products is particularly significant to maintain these high production values, as the success of previous films in the franchise will cause high-end companies that wish to align their brand with the views and themes represented in the film, to pay to have their products either used in the film or support a campaign featuring Bond. This allows the franchise to continue making more higher production value films than before to assure a sufficient audience.

In contrast to this, other films simply do not have the high profile endorsement to prioritise high production values and have to promote their film through film festivals in order to attract audiences and gain momentum in the industry. An example of such a film would be Weekend, Andrew Haigh (2011)  The main actors, Tom Cullen and Chris New were unknown to mainstream audiences so subsequently, audiences would not be drawn into watch the film through star power as they may be in other more high budget films such as Colin Firth from Kingsman, Matthew Vaughn (2014) or Bill Nighy in Pride, M, Warchus (2014), however it could be argued that the anonymity of the actors only enhanced their role due to the intrusive nature of the film. Weekend grossed, an unimpressive in comparison, $480,000 as a global box office total. However the overall budget for the film was only £120,000 which would have limited the locations, costume and editing for the overall production. Despite this, Weekend has won over 20 awards across different film festivals such as SXSW 'Audience Award' in 2011 as well as 18 other nominations, which could suggest that high production values were not primarily important in determining the success of the film, and those who contributed to it.

Social media is an increasingly significant factor in the success of a film as it provides a platform for audiences to engage with a film before, during and after its release, and with reference to the uses and gratification theory, provides audiences with an environment to discuss and communicate about the film. A film that has successfully used this open space on the internet to promote their film would be Kingsman: The Secret Service, Matthew Vaughn, (2014). As well as having it's own website, the film has also branched into Twitter and Instagram to have an official accounts, with thousands of followers, both under the username, @KingmanMovie . This use of social media broadens the extent of the audience that the film can reach, however it also demonstrates that despite having the funding for high production values with a budget of $94 million, the post production of the movie has used the free service of social media in order to boost their films success. This is a major difference from the aforementioned Weekend, which has no social media presence, ultimately limiting it's audience to those who frequent film festivals and award ceremonies. Kingsman also differs from Skyfall, as it does not have the assured audience provided by a widely successful franchise, yet as a film of a similar action/thriller genre has to follow the conventions with the over extravagant special effects and multiple exclusive locations. By having such a large social media presence, Kingsman can advertise the high production values it has used in the film via their social media accounts to build suspense and interest prior to the films release through constant updates, without having to rely on previous works. This suggests that although high production values are important in terms of the genre of the film, that it is the manner in which these production values are communicated to their audience which determines it's success.

In conclusion, to some extent high production values are important in determining the success of a film, however the genre and context of the film are also very significant. As films of an action genre, Kingsman and Skyfall use high production values to fit with the genre conventions and provide their audiences some assurance on what to expect, in this case the importance of high production values is substantial. However in contrast a low budget film such as Weekend, which premieres through film festivals, the priority would not be to bring in large widespread audiences but instead to increase and improve the profiles of those involved such as the director and writer Andrew Haigh, or the main cast such as Tom Cullen and Chris New, so in comparison high production values would be an un-achievable ideal based on the circumstances of it's production and release.

Weekly News 53

Taxpayer fury as police handed extra funding to look for missing Madeleine McCann

This is the news story from the Daily Star written by Jerry Lawton, and follows the recents news that the McCann search fund has been given an additional £85,000 for a further 6 months of investigating the young girls disappearance a decade ago.

This has caused outrage amongst some people as this is taxpayers money and follows after the recent release of information that her parents have not worked since Madeleine went missing and were using the money from her fund to pay for their house and utility bills. 

The £85,000 was only granted on the basis that the police say they have found an individual that they want to question, however many took to twitter to question why a total of £13 million of the taxpayers money has been spent on a child, then only 3, left alone by her parents in a foreign country, especially when there are 213 other missing children's cases left unsolved. Why is this case special? Many question whether it is due to the high profile and class of the family. 

I completely understand that for parents, losing a child is a devastating tragedy and many would do whatever they could in order to find out what happened to their loved one, and with missing children the same funding cannot be given to each case due to differing circumstances. However I think equity should be considered in this case as there is such a massive incline in the spending in this particular child, who disappeared largely due to the negligence of her parents. After 10 years the likelihood of finding out what happened to Madeleine is slimmer and slimmer, and especially with the new budget and widespread cuts from the Tory government, that perhaps such a massive payout to an already expensive yet unfruitful case is not the fairest or wisest use of governmental funding. 

Weekly News 52

'BULLYING IS JUST ENDLESS' 

Mum horrified when daughter tells her about new Snapchat bullying game – but is left proud by her response

This story comes from the Sun, and is written by Jennifer Newton

I couldn't find any stories that really interested me this week, however this one caught my attention because of what appears to be a scaremongering tactic for parents and mothers, on something that I'm not sure even exists.

The story follows a new 'game' on the social media app Snapchat, whereby people seemingly insult each other based on various personal and physical qualities. The mother then goes on to hail her daughter for high morals for not participating in the 'game'.

Quite frankly, I don't understand how this is has made it into the news. This story follows a trend of similar stories of 'social media experts' and parents who seem to 'reveal' secrets surrounding their children's social media lives and activities such as the video below in which the news channel is attempting to scare parents into checking their teenagers phones for acronyms, that no one uses. (these videos have gone

Sarcastic responses to teen code 'deciphering' 

Furthermore, although the girl, Betsy, should be praised to some extent for her moral high ground, surely that behaviour should be the norm rather than a stand out demonstration of willpower?

Often these 'games' or 'trends' centre around a particular regional area or school district, so despite this particular episode being mean and detrimental to those involved, I highly doubt it is an nationwide issue and perhaps should be mentioned in the local paper, rather than nationally online. 

Skyfall v Kingsman v Weekend v Pride

The common theme throughout all four of these films is masculinity, however the importance and representation of the masculinity is varied across the different styles and genres of the films.

There is an easier direct comparison between Skyfall, Sam Mendes (2012) and Kingsman: The Secret Service, Matthew Vaughn (2014), which are both action based films. Both films have male protagonists who through the use of gadgets, weapons and intense physical training have to find a way to save the world. The theme of masculinity is very stereotypical in these films showing the men to be straight, and able to use this dominant sexuality to seduce beautiful foreign women along their travels. Two examples from both Skyfall and Kingsmans would be:

(I am aware that this is not the scene mentioned)

Skyfall:
The scene, quite early on in the film in which James Bond visits the home of recently widowed gang members wives and goes on to seduce her in order to receive information surrounding her formers husbands industry.

Kingsman:
One of the final scenes in Kingsman in which Egsy fulfils his promise from the Swedish princess for sexual acts, and uses his forward 'lad' style approach to secure the deal with the beautiful woman. This is a demonstration of 'lad culture' in which is stereotypical of dominancy and masculinity in men.

Another theme highlighted more so in Kingsman, but certainly echoed in Skyfall, is that a certain prestige and masculinity is followed by those who are well educated and with money. Despite Egsy growing up in a more working class background, his 'potential' is only realised when he given expensive resources and training and turns himself into a more upper class gentleman. This is also obviously highlighted in Bond, as he is the most famous 'gentleman spy' however the point still remains the same. For most of his life Bond has been an orphan with very few family and friends, however he came from money so could redeem himself through the execution of mass violence and saving the world in the name of the Queen and MI6.

In contrast, with Pride and Weekend, the theme of masculinity is more associated with accepting oneself and with the more emotional side to being a man, rather than fulfilling certain stereotypes.
Weekend, Andrew Haigh, (2011) offers a more subtle insight into the representation of masculinity, playing out the usual conventions of a romantic film with the lesser seen storyline of a gay male relationships. The protagonist of Russell demonstrates the main outlet of masculinity as a theme, as he transitions from almost being embarrassed about his sexuality, to then being able to show a public display of affection towards his partner, Glenn.

The film itself mentions how heterosexual story lines are expected to be consumed by a homosexual audience, however the reversal is not widely accepted. This is realised through the box office totals for each of the films (USD):
Skyfall: $1 Billion
Kingsman: $414.4 million
Pride: $16.7 million
Weekend: $484,592


Pride, Matthew Warchus, (2014)  shows a direct comparison between the stereotypes of strong, dominant, physical masculinity, and the more vulnerable feminine, but resistant gay representation.
The story of this film demonstrates the positive message that solidarity is solidarity, and when someone is being wronged it is our duty as people to support each other.

Evaluation

Evaluation:

On completion of my initial research, focusing on the representation of women in popular music videos, I interpreted the conventions and stereotypes of this genre and manipulated them into a music video of my own. My ambition was to contradict these stereotypes of sexualised and objectified women, to create a much rawer exposition of a woman in that situation or scenery.

In the primary stages of this practical execution, it was clear to me that I wanted to subvert these stereotypes and reflect a representation of women more closely associated with the real women I know and relate to, rather than the construction of the women I had seen in my research. A common convention in these music videos was to have the women dancing, usually around the men in a provocative manner. As aforementioned I wanted to subvert these stereotypes, whilst keeping within the conventions to make the genre easily recognisable, the outcome was my decision to use a female hip-hop dancer and using a remix to the song ‘This is a Man’s World’ by James Brown. This decision, however, arose some difficulties as initially, I wanted to use twin dancers so I could build more of a masculine narrative off of the pair interacting with one another, however, one of the dancers gained an injury before filming and could not dance. To overcome this issue in such a short space of time I simply reorganised the size and positioning of the shots I needed to cater to one dancer instead of two. The reasoning behind this song choice was that in the music videos I researched, one evident motif was the use of derogatory language towards women and in an attempt to contrast this I wanted to use a song, by a male artist, that celebrated and respected women and I felt this song fulfilled both that ambition, whilst also fluid with a modern, pop tempo of music.

I observed the small outfits the women were given to wear in ‘Blurred Lines’ by Robin Thicke and ‘Carry Out’ by Timbaland, and saw this as an opportunity for subversion, deciding that in my music video the female dancer would be completely dressed, in a stereotypically masculine way, ideally to the extent that her gender was not clear throughout the video. This again was to push the boundaries of the audience’s perspective and cause them to see the dancer for her talent rather than her gender. Originally, under the more popular persuasion of pop music videos being bright and colourful, my production was going to left in full colour, however, on consulting some of my classmates and from reviewing my research I concluded that the black and white colour cinematography in ‘If I Were a Boy’ by Beyoncé, would be more effective as it would aid in the raw, stripped back feel to the video.

A further obstacle in the filming of this music video on schedule would be the weather. During the months of December and January 16/17, there were spells of both snow and rain, this postponed my production as for continuity reasons I could not have snow or puddles in my shots. The only real solution to this was to wait until the weather had cleared and promptly take the shots I needed to complete my video, such as the scenery cut-aways. One final and most difficult inhabitant of my production would be the day before the deadline the free trial for the editing software I was using had expired, and therefore I was unable to export my finished video. Ultimately, the only way to resolve this issue was to subscribe to the Adobe editing software for a brief time to allow my work to be handed in.

Throughout both research and production, especially since I had not attempted any type of filming or video editing before, I have learnt a diverse range of techniques to achieve a product suitable to the genre of music videos I researched, whilst simultaneously subverting its main stereotypes. Through my own exploration, I was able to create slow-motion effects, crop the track to fit in with the shots I had and also improved my skills in problem-solving to ensure my production was not halted by issues but rather allow those issues to take my work in a different, perhaps better, direction.

Film Case Study: Weekend, Andrew Haigh (2011)

Weekend, is a realistic dramatic romantic film, that follows the lives of two men over a weekend as they develop both feelings for each other and a better understanding of themselves. The film is a good contrasting case study when comparing to the other films such as Kingsman: Secret Service (2014) and Skyfall (2012), as a significant theme or even issue highlighted, is the theme of masculinity, and its different variations. Stereotypes of masculinity represented in Skyfall and Kingsman include the men being dominant, fearless, and with the constant attraction and objectification of women. As Weekend has male protagonists, masculinity inarguably plays a role, however, it shows that having an emotional and vulnerable side can be a sign of masculinity, demonstrated through Russel's journey from hiding his sexuality to opening up in a subtle, but public display of affection towards Glen at the train station.

Another stigma, almost, that the film address is the awkwardness and misrepresentation of gay sex and homosexual relationships. The close-up and intimate angles used in the film are designed to make the film seem intrusive on a subject which is not often at the forefront of the mainstream Tv and film which is consumed. This invasiveness is constructed to demonstrate how alike homosexual relationships are to the more commonly represented heterosexual relationships and highlight the reality, in comparison to over feminised or camp representations of gay people in the mainstream media. The director and writer, Andrew Haigh, is a gay man himself, which not only is significant in terms of diversity in the industry but also explains the realness and believability of the film, as it comes from a genuine place.

The film was shot, and set in Nottingham and took a total of 16 days to film, costing roughly £120,000 to make, compared to Skyfall which cost $150-200 million to make, and was filmed over 128 days. The film won a number of awards including 2 British Independent Film Awards, as well as 18 others. 

Personally, this film is not my favourite due to the intrusiveness of the sexual scenes which made me as an audience member feel uncomfortable, a feeling I know was shared with some of my classmates. However in terms of narrative, and the types of shot used, I think the film was well executed and successful in the message it was trying to put across.

Weekly News 52

Fake Oscar Fiasco: Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway WRONGLY name La La Land best picture as producers are forced to stop their speech and hand statue BACK to rightful winner Moonlight in extraordinary scenes

This story comes from the Daily Mail and is written by JUSTIN ENRIQUEZ and BAZ BAMIGBOYE. 

This is the recent news of the blunder at Oscars 2017 where La La Land was named Best Picture by accident, instead of the real winner, Moonlight. Warren Beatty was handed the backup envelope for the winner of Best Actress for Emma Stone, La La Land.

This is a significant year as in 2016 many actors boycotted the Oscars due to the 'Oscar So White' campaign, by which the awards ceremony was criticised for not representing a diverse range of ethnicities and races. Whereas now In 2017, Best Picture is awarded to a film of predominantly black casting and production. I think that Moonlight, along with other winning pictures such as Viola Davis winning Best Supporting actress in Fences, shows progress in the right direction for the film industry in terms of equality in representation, not perfect representation but refreshingly more diverse than last year's Oscars. 

The 'accident' could be perceived as a publicity stunt and the expense of both the award announcers, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, and of course, La La Land. This stunt I feel detracts some of the praise away from what should be the main focus, Moonlight. Even in the above headline La La Land is mentioned before Moonlight giving it precedence of the focal point. 

Personally, I think La La Land is very overrated and seems to have some advantage for being a film about the industry, in which it was being awarded, and that despite the blunder, Moonlight is very worthy winner.

Coursework

Weekly News 51

'IT WAS REHEARSED' 

Jedward hint Celebrity Big Brother is ‘fixed’ after posting scathing rants about ‘fake’ housemates

This story comes from the Sun written by Ola Nojomu This story follows an interview of Irish Pop duo Jedward, or John and Edward Grimes, after their recent stint in channel 5 show, Celebrity Big Brother. The pair labelled their fellow housemates as 'fake' and claimed they had been told to say certain things by their agents. This is interesting in highlighting the more modern 'issue' or 'concern' of reality TV being scripted and constructed, even a seemingly 'raw' programme such as Big Brother. The perspective of this article portrays the Jedward brothers to almost seem petty, after coming runner up to winner Coleen Nolan, when I think most people of sound mind would be aware of the staging of the infamous CBB. This is evident from last series when the online live stream was left on revealing an extremely scripted scene in the Big Brother House. 

The fact that there is distain between the housemates, even after the show has finished, will act as more publicity for the show rather than to its detriment, as it revealed that Jedward released a lot of these statements during a press conference, therefore demonstrating the importance of the media in allowing shows like this to continue, despite this years final being the least watched yet with a mediocre 2.2 million viewers. 

Weekly News 50

'WE RISKED IT ALL FOR A FLING' 

As racy BBC thriller Apple Tree Yard hits screens, we speak to four real women with different reasons for having an affair… from loneliness to revenge

This story comes from The Sun and is written by Nikki Watkins.

The story is a real-life follow up to the new BBC series Apple Tree Yard, based on the novel by Louise Doughty, which follows a married woman having an affair with a married man. 

I was intrigued by this article, as it seemed to suggest that cheating and having an affair is an acceptable, or justifiable thing to do in modern society, this is evidenced further by it's common reoccurrence across television and film and in literature, such as Apple Tree Yard, which represents the issue as common and relatable, which is worrying. It is estimated that roughly 42% of marriages in England and Wales end in divorce, and the article gives specific examples of that.

Watkins follows 4 women who all claim to have had affairs for different reasons, specifically;

- I cheated... to appreciate what I had

- I cheated... because I was so lonely

-I cheated... because I fell in love

-I cheated... to get revenge 

With only one of the women still remaining with her original partner, the openness and exposure these women are getting, almost glorifying having an affair, brings into question the stability of modern relationships/marriages. Sites such as Maritalaffair.co.uk and meet2cheat.co.uk are also normalising the situation, and charging people to do so.

This article irritated me really, especially following the recent Women's Marches against Trump's inauguration to promote equality for women as well as people from the LGBTQ community, who are slammed by Evangelicals and other 'traditional' groups for damaging the sanctity of marriage. 

Although the issue of cheating is definitely not confined to women, I think this article provides a negative representation not only of married women, but marriages in general, suggesting that such a traditional institution is just as easily corruptible as other aspects of 21st century life. 

How effectively were your 3 main texts marketed?

The marketing of a text can be as crucial to it's success as the shows actual content. The mediums it chose to advertise and market the text will have effect on the audiences the show reaches, and will further be evidence for how effectively the text was marketed. The merchandise of the programme also provides extra revenue for the production company, this could be in the form of baking essentials with programmes such as Great British Bake Off (Love Productions, 2010-2016), or board games through I'm a Celebrity (ITV Studios, 2002-2016). 

As aforementioned, one text that has maximised it's possible revenue through merchandising and marketing is Great British Bake Off on the BBC, although transitioning to Channel 4 in 2017. As the Great British Bake Off has quickly become a well established or 'flagship programme' for the BBC, in terms of advertising or marketing in television adverts, there is low production costs needed as the recognisable genres and aspects of the show, such as the tent or the presenters, are needed to tease the anticipating, loyal audiences. As the basis for the programme is a simple, and easily replicated format of baking, the extent of merchandise and platforms for advertising are much broader than more specified shows such as I'm a Celebrity. The products available under the Bake Off umbrella include recipe books, baking utensils such as spatulas and bowls, even down to paper masks of the shows well loved matriarch of baking, Mary Berry. The social media platforms of Facebook and Twitter with constant updates being posted about the programmes, with an extremely active Facebook page and over 557k followers on Twitter. This is evidence of an effectively marketed main text, as the success of reaching out to younger audiences through social media, has allowed the unlikely baking competition to reach unprecedented viewer ratings, such as the recent 2016 final where the viewing peaked at 14.8 million, compared to a programme such as X Factor (FreeMantle Productions 2004-2016) which reached only 7 million in it's final.

A programme which despite not having an advantage in terms of merchandise would be Gogglebox (Studio Lambert 2013-2016). Gogglebox, like GBBO, began with an unlikely preset for a successful programme and also has a wide social media following with 237k followers on Twitter, with parody accounts such as '@GoggleBoxQuotes' having an impressive 85.5k followers. Gogglebox's most notable method of merchandising could be the constant outsourcing of it's participants such as Steph and Dom or most recently Scarlett Moffat. The appearances of these television on other programmes such as Alan Carr's Chatty Man (Series 17, Episode 1) and Four in a Bed.

40 Minutes ended here********

I'm a Celeb uses board games, more use of the app and awards, Ant and Dec's 14 time winning of NTA award??

Explore the Mechanics of the Modern Music Industry (1104 words)

The modern music industry is an unprecedented phenomenon that influences the way we feel, the things we buy and ultimately aids in shaping modern culture and society. What makes the modern music industry so unique to the music distributed throughout history, is the way we as an audience receive our music, it could further be argued that music has transformed from an outlet of entertainment to a product of advertisement. The industry itself is worth approximately $42 billion, taking just $15 billion in the US alone. The three main recording companies in the industry are Sony, Warner Bros and Universal. Some aspects of the industry, however, can be controversial, and with no real experience in dealing with this second digital revolution, exploitation can be common and costly to artists.

Three specific artists which belong to the aforementioned, or branches of the aforementioned, record labels include Adele, who in 2016 signed a £90 million contract with Sony, Amy Winehouse who was signed with Island records, a branch of Universal records, and Jessie J who is also signed with Island records. These British artists are a useful reference point when exploring the music industry, as they all have unique experiences and consequences from entering and thriving in music.

As previously noted, the music industry is undergoing what is being referred to as a second ‘Digital revolution’ whereby the way in which consumers listen and buy music has progressed into unchartered means. The growth of music streaming companies such as Spotify, Amazon Prime Music, Apple Music, mean that record companies have unlocked a reliable stream of revenue from customers through the use of monthly or annual subscription. As the apps or services often offer a free trial or alternative, companies can also maximise profits through advertising. Not only does it provide broader access for more listeners, but it allows consumers the capability to explore new or alternative artists to those in the mainstream media or always played on the radio. This service is beneficial to artists such as Adele who are already globally renowned, as it makes the distribution of her records far easier. Amy Winehouse however did not have this advantage during her recording career and therefore the sale of her physical albums was crucial whilst also being unreliable, meaning her career could not be so certain.

Certain labels tend to affiliate themselves with a particular genre of artist, to optimise the selling of that particular artist and also offers more chance of collaborations between artists, which means more control and revenue for the company. Record labels look for a particular style of artist of what they think will sell, or alternatively/ more commonly, labels find talented hopefuls and mould them into what they can make the most profit out of. A perfect example for this would Amy Winehouse, whose label, Island Records, is a Jamaican-American label who signs more alternative, edgy acts such as Annie Lennox, Dizzie Rascal and DNCE. Amy was pushed by her managerial team and exploited for talent, despite being very vulnerable with a drug addiction. Amy’s blue eyed soul style of music made her a refreshing and new artist at the time, providing lots of outlets for promotion such as chat shows like The Graham Norton Show, or The Tonight Show in America with Jay Leno and a complete reinvention of image. Ultimately the neglect and exploitation of the singer songwriter led to her demise and death in July 2011, demonstrating the very extremes of the power and control a record label has over their artists in their pursuit for success.

A parallel to Amy would be Adele, who shares a similar genre of music, but who was initially signed by XL records, recording label of Radiohead, The White Stripes and M.I.A. Adele has remained grounded and successful throughout her career, and has changed minimally in appearance, persona and music style throughout her 11-year career. Adele is also a clear example of how marketing has become so affluent with the music industry, with the increase in streaming music online, to stay relevant an artist has to remain in the public eye, often meaning being present on social media such as Twitter and Instagram or appearing on chat shows such as The Late Late Show with James Corden or the Jonathan Ross Show. The has enabled the maintenance of record sales for artists such as Adele, as consumers are constantly being refreshed about their upcoming projects or tours, which leads to the further listening to their music. Adele is a positive success story of the music industry, by taking significant breaks from recording after each album, she has demonstrated how to maintain a successful career, whilst also juggling a normal home life with her fiancé and son.

Each recording artist has undertaken a unique journey into the music industry, as the platform is so diverse and ever-changing, no two stories can be the same. Jessie J after not finding a contract initially, was actually a songwriter with Sony records writing for popular American artists such as Chris Brown and Miley Cyrus. This is also evidence of staging of the music industry, as these popular artists are represented as merely puppets for profit by the record companies, by given songs to sing by paid professionals. Jessie J was discovered after he wrote ‘Do it like a Dude’ for Rhianna, after sending it to Island Records and Rhianna’s management, the company insisted that it become her debut single and was subsequently released in 2010. This is evidence of record companies spotting profitable talent, and as Jessie was a new artist she would not have been expensive to promote as she had not established a fandom yet. The cross record label aspect of Jessie J is notable as it highlights that despite rivalries and the willingness for one’s own company to succeed, a label will not discriminate against artists if there is profit to be made, i.e. hiring Jessie as a songwriter, to harness her talent whilst promoting other artists.

To conclude, the Modern music industry is very complex, and grows more unchartered every day. With the coming of the second digital revolution, artists now have access to multitude of different audiences in a swift and non-labour enduring manner. There is evidence of both the positive and negative sides to the control, and freedom offered by record labels and streaming companies, and both need to be taking into account when reviewing the success of the industry. Despite predictions being made about the future of the distribution of music, as demonstrated countless times before, the industry is fluid and also mutating into something unprecedented and exciting.