Friday, 10 May 2013
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Thursday, 18 April 2013
Radio Revision Session: covergence, synergy, proliferation
You need your purple sheets and table of radio terminology
CONVERGENCE DEFINITION:
More than one platform available on the same device e.g. smartphones are converged devices as they act as a phone, mp3 player, internet browsing device, can store and stream video, games console, can download apps.
SYNERGY DEFINITION:
brands, institutions, stars, advertisers etc working together to share audiences. Audience, institution and advertiser all benefit e.g Absolute synergy with Skyfall helped Absolute expand audiences- audiences increased as they listened for a chance to win £20,000
Remember that you cannot discuss convergence and synergy without touching on TECHNOLOGICAL PROLIFERATION
PROLIFERATION DEFINITION:
Fast, steady growth.
Technologies such as smartphones and tablets are made by an increasing range of competitors and so become faster, cheaper, easier to use, more accessible to lower income audiences, better looking.
KEY POINT:
Convergence and synergy happen BECAUSE interactive technologies have proliferated over the last decade.
Technologies that encourage audiences to create user generated content and communicate with institutions have become widespread and accessible to the point where audience habits have reshaped.
Institutions take advantage of our new habits and cater to them- it is easier for them to gain brand loyalty if they conform to existing habits rather than try and force listeneres to change.
The convergence and synergy examples you are asked to refer to in the exam are the results of technological proliferation.
EXAMPLES:
SYNERGY: Technologies and brands share audiences e.g. Absolute often run competitions to win iPads as this will encourage audiences to listen online and download the station apps. By giving away iPads they are making the technology proliferate.
CONVERGENCE: Live feeds, streaming video, mobile content (apps, games, audioboo), twitter all can take place because the technologies have proliferated. Twitter also encourages exchange and user generated content.
TASK: UPDATE OLD POWERPOINTS WITH NEWER EXAMPLES OF CONVERGENCE AND SYNERGY FROM ABSOLUTE AND BBC WEBSITES. REMEMBER WITRH BBC IT WILL MOST LIKELY BE CROSS-PLATFORM PROMOTION.
Monday, 8 April 2013
Friday, 22 March 2013
Radio scheduling
This article from the BBC's weekly newspaper, Ariel, is good for understanding how music is chosen to target audiences at different times of the day or week.
At the end of the article is a list of the BBC's best original output for 2012. Read the list- how does this content cater to the BBC remit? Does it cater for diferent audiences?
3 March 2013 Last updated at 09:26
Lauren Laverne is one of 6
Music's high-profile presenters
But after an hour of colourful grids, clocks, pie graphs, scheduling software, A, B and C lists and the non-surprising admission that presenters don't like certain bands, the entire process seemed more complicated than trying to cook something original for Heston Blumenthal.
6 Music producer Lauren Brennan, who schedules about 60 hours of music a week, explains that the digital station's playlist is low rotation. If the song is considered an 'old track' - such as Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit or Aretha Franklin's Respect - you shouldn't hear it in the same programme more than once a month.
In fact, 6 Music prides itself on its eclectic mix, which doesn't happen at the push of a computerised button. On average, 11 songs an hour are scheduled by the 6 Music team. This leaves about two free plays an hour for a daytime show; the free plays are chosen by the production team.
Matter of taste
There are a huge number of things to consider before scheduling a song, too many to list. One of the most crucial is getting support from the producers and presenters of radio shows. With a hint of weariness in her voice, Brennan explains that she does sometimes have to consider a presenter's personal tastes. One, she says, doesn't like Saint Etienne and another dislikes Prodigy.
It's for this reason that she monitors programmes. Effectively, she spies on the shows under her remit, to see how often they drop songs she's scheduled for them.
Another important thing to consider is 'flow'. You can't just play any old thing at any time of day, because it might jar with the other songs being played around it. Or the track might be too depressing for a Monday morning. You want to get to a point 'where it ebbs along and really shows off what a station does', she says broadly.
Her ultimate aim is be able to showcase the 'essence' of 6 Music in just 15 minutes. So she also considers pace, texture, the opener, the time of year, band activity, network events, upcoming music features, release schedule, genre, crossover potential, record labels, trends and whether the artist has built up loyalty with the station.
Any good?
But the main thing to remember is: 'Is the song any good?' This is a matter of taste, of course, and Brennan and her colleagues are the ultimate arbiters of it.
She explains that she was sent an album by an unknown band called Daughter, a boyfriend-and-girlfriend duo from London. She liked it enough to champion it many months ago, and now Daughter is on both the Radio 1 and 6 Music playlists. Unlike some of their commercial rivals, 'we can hear a brilliant record and take a chance'.
It's a cutthroat business for a reason, though. Holding up two sheets of A4 paper with minuscule writing on it, Brennan says that it's the 6 Music March release schedule. There are about 220 singles and 60 albums squeezed onto it. She has to listen to every single one and decide which will make it onto the current playlist, also known as the A list.
The 6 Music scheduling team meets every Tuesday for two hours to debate the merit of each band and song. By Saturday, you will hear how their decisions have affected what gets to air.
'A little crazy'
At the moment, bands such as Alt-J, Toro & Moi, Depeche Mode and David Bowie have made the cut. They'll sit on the playlist for about six weeks and get replaced by something else; it's not a big window compared to other stations.
For someone who loves music, Brennan's job might be the ultimate gig. But there's a huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes. It's not a series of parties with record labels.
The producer whizzes through the importance of the 'history grid', a huge blob of colours that tells her how often a song has been played in one of her shows. It's hard to imagine staring at this all day long, as she often does. 'It can start to make your mind a little crazy,' she admits with a wry smile.
At the end of the article is a list of the BBC's best original output for 2012. Read the list- how does this content cater to the BBC remit? Does it cater for diferent audiences?
3 March 2013 Last updated at 09:26
The art of radio scheduling
Lauren Laverne is one of 6
Music's high-profile presenters Is radio scheduling a dark art? An Audio & Music session on Tuesday - part of the division's awards day - took some of the mystery out of how tracks get onto a station's crucial playlist.
But after an hour of colourful grids, clocks, pie graphs, scheduling software, A, B and C lists and the non-surprising admission that presenters don't like certain bands, the entire process seemed more complicated than trying to cook something original for Heston Blumenthal.
6 Music producer Lauren Brennan, who schedules about 60 hours of music a week, explains that the digital station's playlist is low rotation. If the song is considered an 'old track' - such as Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit or Aretha Franklin's Respect - you shouldn't hear it in the same programme more than once a month.
In fact, 6 Music prides itself on its eclectic mix, which doesn't happen at the push of a computerised button. On average, 11 songs an hour are scheduled by the 6 Music team. This leaves about two free plays an hour for a daytime show; the free plays are chosen by the production team.
Matter of taste
There are a huge number of things to consider before scheduling a song, too many to list. One of the most crucial is getting support from the producers and presenters of radio shows. With a hint of weariness in her voice, Brennan explains that she does sometimes have to consider a presenter's personal tastes. One, she says, doesn't like Saint Etienne and another dislikes Prodigy.
It's for this reason that she monitors programmes. Effectively, she spies on the shows under her remit, to see how often they drop songs she's scheduled for them.
Another important thing to consider is 'flow'. You can't just play any old thing at any time of day, because it might jar with the other songs being played around it. Or the track might be too depressing for a Monday morning. You want to get to a point 'where it ebbs along and really shows off what a station does', she says broadly.
Her ultimate aim is be able to showcase the 'essence' of 6 Music in just 15 minutes. So she also considers pace, texture, the opener, the time of year, band activity, network events, upcoming music features, release schedule, genre, crossover potential, record labels, trends and whether the artist has built up loyalty with the station.
Any good?
But the main thing to remember is: 'Is the song any good?' This is a matter of taste, of course, and Brennan and her colleagues are the ultimate arbiters of it.
She explains that she was sent an album by an unknown band called Daughter, a boyfriend-and-girlfriend duo from London. She liked it enough to champion it many months ago, and now Daughter is on both the Radio 1 and 6 Music playlists. Unlike some of their commercial rivals, 'we can hear a brilliant record and take a chance'.
It's a cutthroat business for a reason, though. Holding up two sheets of A4 paper with minuscule writing on it, Brennan says that it's the 6 Music March release schedule. There are about 220 singles and 60 albums squeezed onto it. She has to listen to every single one and decide which will make it onto the current playlist, also known as the A list.
The 6 Music scheduling team meets every Tuesday for two hours to debate the merit of each band and song. By Saturday, you will hear how their decisions have affected what gets to air.
'A little crazy'
At the moment, bands such as Alt-J, Toro & Moi, Depeche Mode and David Bowie have made the cut. They'll sit on the playlist for about six weeks and get replaced by something else; it's not a big window compared to other stations.
For someone who loves music, Brennan's job might be the ultimate gig. But there's a huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes. It's not a series of parties with record labels.
The producer whizzes through the importance of the 'history grid', a huge blob of colours that tells her how often a song has been played in one of her shows. It's hard to imagine staring at this all day long, as she often does. 'It can start to make your mind a little crazy,' she admits with a wry smile.
Audio & Music Awards - The Winners
- Best broadcast innovation: BBC iPlayer, Radio Mobile App, A&M Interactive
- Best music production: The Spirit of Schubert, Radio 3
- Best drama production or reading: James Joyce's Ulysses, Radio 4
- Best factual production: Asian Network Reports Special: Possession, Jinn and Britain's Backstreet Exorcists
- Best initiative for reaching new audiences: Radio 1 & 1Xtra Hackney Academy, Radio 1
- Most distinctive moment of the year: Victoria Derbyshire, 5live
- Best collaboration: Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, 2012, Radio 1
Monday, 11 March 2013
Radio 1:making radio visual: Chris Stark interviews Mila Kunis
This is a really good piece of content to reference in your exam as it demonstrates:
- Audience consumption trends: audiences listened to this interview, found the visual content on YouTube and retweeted to friends, sending it viral within days. This shared the Radio 1 brand among a wider audience and gained listeners for the Scott Mills show.
- Technological convergence: audiences were able to watch this content on smartphones and tablets, both of which are converged devices.
- Brand reach: the Radio 1 logo is visible on the mics in every shot so even if you don't know the clip originated from the BBC you are made aware of the brand.
- Synergy: although the BBC cannot advertise another brand they have to cover cinema releases as part of their public service remit. Through this loophole the BBC are able to synergise with Oz The Great and Powerful and Mila Kunis and attract audiences that are interested in the film
BBC iPlayer Radio app trailer
TASK: List everything this app can do. Then use that knowledge when discussing apps. At the moment your arguements are biased towards Absolute which won't get you the best marks in the exam.
Friday, 1 March 2013
RAJAR listening figures Dec 2012
This is quite a big document. You need to sift through the information to find the stats you need for BBC Radio 1, Absolute Radio, Capital and Key 103.
Absolute Radio case study
Absolute Radio case study from aquinasmedia
This booklet is used by Absolute to promote their services to advertisers. It goes hand in hand with the Absolute sales website, which is useful for listening figures and specific examples of advertiser case studies.
http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk/about/sales/stats.html
This booklet is used by Absolute to promote their services to advertisers. It goes hand in hand with the Absolute sales website, which is useful for listening figures and specific examples of advertiser case studies.
http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk/about/sales/stats.html
Monday, 14 January 2013
Thursday, 10 January 2013
Monday, 7 January 2013
Representation of AGE
Doctor Who 5.1: The Eleventh Hour
The section we are looking at starts straight after the credits (low angle pan through a garden) and ends when The Doctor says "Early days. Brakes are off."
Look at how the dialogue and camera angles keep flipping throughout the scene so The Doctor and Amelia swap between playing the child and the adult.
The section we are looking at starts straight after the credits (low angle pan through a garden) and ends when The Doctor says "Early days. Brakes are off."
Look at how the dialogue and camera angles keep flipping throughout the scene so The Doctor and Amelia swap between playing the child and the adult.
Sunday, 6 January 2013
Sound in media texts
The following document contains most of the terms you need to analyse use of sound in media texts. It is important that you understand the terms and can use them fluently, so when discussing/writing you need to use these terms.
Intro to the year and overview of the AS Media exam (G322)
Happy new year!
Between now and June we will be preparing for the summer exam. This is worth 50% of your AS grade and requires thorough preparation and independent research.
It is TWO hours long
There are TWO questions worth 50 marks EACH
SECTION A: TV Drama- 50 marks
You will be shown an extract from a contemporary British TV Drama and asked to analyse the representations of one of the following groups:
-Age
-Gender
-Sexuality
-Ethnicity
-Regional Identity
-Ability and Disability
-Class and Status
You will be shown the extract FOUR times and then you will have 45 minutes to write
SECTION B: Institutions and Audiences- 50 marks
For this section there is only ONE question to answer.
We will be looking at THE RADIO INDUSTRY, focusing on BBC Radio stations and Absolute's stations.
Between now and June we will be preparing for the summer exam. This is worth 50% of your AS grade and requires thorough preparation and independent research.
It is TWO hours long
There are TWO questions worth 50 marks EACH
SECTION A: TV Drama- 50 marks
You will be shown an extract from a contemporary British TV Drama and asked to analyse the representations of one of the following groups:
-Age
-Gender
-Sexuality
-Ethnicity
-Regional Identity
-Ability and Disability
-Class and Status
You will be shown the extract FOUR times and then you will have 45 minutes to write
SECTION B: Institutions and Audiences- 50 marks
For this section there is only ONE question to answer.
We will be looking at THE RADIO INDUSTRY, focusing on BBC Radio stations and Absolute's stations.
- PLEASE START LISTENING TO ANY OF THE STATIONS OF THESE INSTITUTIONS THAT TAKE YOUR FANCY.
- DOWNLOAD ABSOLUTE'S APPS TO IPODS/SMARTPHONES
- FOLLOW DJS AND STATIONS ON TWITTER
- GO TO WEBSITES
Please especially listen to Radio 1 and Absolute's main station.
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