Connect• Can you find a review of A Field In

England Online?

• Where is it from?

• What does it say?

• Do you agree with it?

Date Term 1, Lesson 3 1

Discover

CW A Field In England & AUDIENCE [08/06/2015]

A Level Media/MS4 Case Study

Learning Objective/ Outcome Level

All: will make observations and suggest links with key concept 1

Most: will apply key terminology from previous learning to your area of study

2

Some: be able to apply a media theory from previous learning to your area of study

3

3

Text

Genre• Signifiers• Conventions• Iconography

Narrative• Structure• Conventions• Key codes

Representation• People• Places• Events/Issues

IndustryIssues

Production

Background/Context

Marketing/Promotion

Regulation

Global Implications

Distribution/Exhibition

Audience/Users

Targeting Positioning Debates Responses

05/03/2023 Term 1 , Lesson 4 4

Today!

A Field In England

• A FIELD IN ENGLAND is a 2013 British film.

• It is written by Amy Jump and directed by Ben Wheatley

• It stars British actors Julian Barratt, Reece Shearsmith and Michael Smiley

• It was filmed over 12 days near Guildford

Discover

5

Audience Construction

• When a media text is being planned, perhaps the most important question the producers consider is:

"Does it have an audience?"

• If the answer to this is 'no', then there is no point in going any further. If no one is going to watch/read/play/buy the text, the producers aren't going to make any money or get their message across.

6

Audience Consumption

Primary Audience

• Where the audience is targeted directly by the text and will give it their full attention or actively seek it out

Secondary Audience

• When the audience will consume the text but are not directly targeted or won’t look for it

Tertiary Audience

• When the audience is unaware they are consuming the advert – usually on billboards or public transport

© ZigZag Education 2015 7

Audience Construction

AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT

This describes how an audience interacts with a media text. Different people react in different ways to the same text.

AUDIENCE EXPECTATIONS

These are the advance ideas an audience may have about a text. This particularly applies to genre pieces. Don't forget that producers often play with or deliberately shatter audience expectations.

AUDIENCE FOREKNOWLEDGE

This is the definite information (rather than the vague expectations) which an audience brings to a media product.

AUDIENCE IDENTIFICATION

This is the way in which audiences feel themselves connected to a particular media text, in that they feel it directly expresses their attitude or lifestyle.

AUDIENCE PLACEMENT This is the range of strategies media producers use to directly target a particular audience and make them feel that the media text is specially 'for them'.

AUDIENCE RESEARCHMeasuring an audience is very important to all media institutions. Research is done at all stages of production of a media text, and, once produced, audience will be continually monitored. 8

NRS social gradesCLASS- We divide class into 5 categories:

A: Upper Upper Class: i.e. Royalty/ PM etc

B: Upper Class: MPs, Consultants, Lawyers, Headmasters, Bank Managers

C1: Upper Middle Class: Teachers, Secretaries, Solicitors, Architects

C2: Lower Middle Class: Plumbers, Electricians, Mechanics

D: Upper Lower Class: Unskilled workers i.e. Shelf stackers, road sweepers, rubbish collectors

E: Lower Class: Unemployed, Homeless, Non-income

The NRS social grades are a system of demographic classification used in the United Kingdom. They were originally developed by the National Readership Survey to classify readers, but are now used by many other organisations for wider applications and have become a standard for market research. The distinguishing feature of social grade is that it is based on occupation.

What is Maslow’s Hierarchy ofneeds & how does it work?

• This diagram shows you the different levels.

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Cross Cultural ConsumerCharacterisation, or ‘4Cs’

• Young and Rubicam took Maslow’s hierarchy, and designed a research tool to find out where people stood within it.

• Because Young & Rubicam also asked what brands people bought and how they felt about them, the system also became a way of understanding the deeper appeals of those brands.

• 4Cs divides people into seven types, depending on their core motivation.

Discover

4Cs

The Explorer• These people are driven by a need for discovery,

challenge and new frontiers.

• Young in nature, if not in reality, Explorers are often the first to try out new ideas and experiences.

• They respond to brands that offer new sensations, indulgence and instant effects.

• In short, difference is what they seek out.

• Their core need in life is for discovery.

The Aspirer• Materialistic, acquisitive people, who are

driven by others’ perceptions of them rather than by their own values.

• As a result, they respond to what others perceive as being superficial: image, appearance, persona, charisma and fashion. An attractive pack is as important to them as its contents.

• Their core need in life is for status

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4Cs

The Succeeder• Succeeders possess self-confidence, have a

strong goal orientation and tend to be very organised.

• As a result, they tend to occupy positions of responsibility in society.

• They seek reward and prestige, and will often seek out the best, because that is what they feel they deserve.

• On the other hand, they also seek out caring and protective brands – their aggressive attitude to life means they need to relax occasionally.

• Their core need in life is for control.

The Reformer• Value their own independent judgement.

• Reformers are the most anti-materialistic of the seven groups, and are often perceived as intellectual.

• They are socially aware, and pride themselves on tolerance.

• Reformers seek out the authentic and the harmonious, and are often at the leading edge of society.

• However, unlike Explorers, they will not buy things just because they are new.

• Their core need in life is for enlightenment.

05/03/2023 Term 1, Lesson 6 13

4Cs

The Mainstream• These are people who live in the world of

the domestic and the everyday. • A daily routine is fundamental to the way

they live their lives. Their life choices are ‘we’ rather than ‘me’.

• As their name implies, they are the mainstream of society.

• They are the largest group of people within 4Cs across the world.

• They respond to big established brands, to ‘family’ brands and to offers of value for money.

• Their core need in life is for security.

The Struggler• Strugglers live for today, and make few plans for

tomorrow.

• Others often see them as victims, losers and wasters -aimless, disorganised people with few resources apart from their own physical skills.

• If they get on in life, it will depend more on a winning lottery ticket than anything they do themselves.

• They are heavy consumers of alcohol and junk food.

• Visual impact and physical sensation are an important element of their brand choices.

• They seek escape.

05/03/2023 Term 1, Lesson 6 14

4Cs

The Resigned• These are predominantly older people with

constant, unchanging values built up over time.

• For them, the past is bathed in a warm nostalgic glow.

• They respect institutions and enjoy acting in traditional roles.

• Their brand choices are driven by a need for safety and for economy. They choose above all what is familiar to them.

• In life, their aim is basic: it is to survive.

Which are you?• You can find out what type you

are by taking the short online test at http://www.4cs.yr.com/uk/

• Make a note of the answers in your book

• Does this change the way you feel about your Advert Consumption?

05/03/2023 Term 1, Lesson 6 15

Who is the Audience?

• Can you create a Target Audience Profile that demonstrates WHO you think is the ideal audience member for A FIELD IN ENGLAND?

• Think about carefully Demographics and Psychographics

16

Close scene analysis• Watch the scene closely!

• Make notes on how an audience is positioned by the director

• This includes: technical, language, mode of address and the construction of the scene.

• Comment on how these elements make an audience feel

• E.g. a POV shot of… positions an audience in the role of the character, allowing the audience to experience the same events. In this particular situation the producers have deliberately left the audience feeling uncomfortable and on edge…

Jigsaw• Genre: Hamish, Mason, Tamara, Rhea, Freya, Georgie• Narrative: Rory, Nicole , Laura, Harry, Becky, Rhea, • Representation: Vanisha, Firle, Frank, Chloe, Matt, Amy

• Each group should investigate how their key concept helps appeal to and target an audience.

• You should apply this to A Field In England

• You have 15 minutes

End

Construction - What is the appeal of A Field In England?

• How might the genre, narrative and representations shown in A Field In England attract its audience? What audience is it appealing to?

Genre Narrative Representation

Arrange yourselves by colour

• Genre: Hamish, Mason, Tamara, Rhea, Freya, Georgie

• Narrative: Rory, Nicole , Laura, Harry, Becky, Rhea,

• Representation: Vanisha, Firle, Frank, Chloe, Matt, Amy

You have two minutes each to teach your group what you have discovered.

End

Applying Audience to A Field In England

• Past Question:What do texts offer audiences?

Refer to your main text in your answer

[Jun 2013]• Try to:

– Use specific examples from the text: how are the audience positioned

– Consider links to the three main topics of GENRE, NARRATIVE & REPRESENTATION

– Use media terminology– Use theory where relevant

Specific points to consider for A Field In England:

• Use of Genre• Use of Narrative Devices• Historical Accuracy• Use of Cast and Locations• Consider the different Audience

theories • Any issues surrounding the genre,

character representation and appeal of the film

Key Terms and Theories• Audience Expectations• Demographics• Psychographics• Maslow’s Hierarchy of

Needs• Young & Rubicam’s 4Cs

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How can we tell how successful a film is?

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Two Step Flow Theory• Information does not flow directly from the text into the

minds of its audience unmediated but is filtered through "opinion leaders" who then communicate it to their less active associates, over whom they have influence.

• The audience then mediate the information received directly from the media with the ideas and thoughts expressed by the opinion leaders, thus being influenced not by a direct process, but by a two step flow.

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Audience Examples• How successful was A Field In England – Box office, DVD Sales,

Viewing Figures?

• Can you find some examples of audience reviews for the Film

• Consider TWO-STEP FLOW theory – What do the CRITIC reviews say?– What do the AUDIENCE reviews say?

• What is the overall response to the film – are there any similar themes in the reviews?

05/03/2023 Term 1 , Lesson 4 27

A Field In England Sales[BFI Insight]

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Encoding/Decoding (Stuart Hall)

• Hall argued that meaning in a text is not fixed/determined by the sender, the message is never transparent and the audience is not a passive recipient of meaning.

• There is a “lack of fit” between the moment of the production of the message ('encoding') and the moment of its reception ('decoding').

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Reception theory (Stuart Hall)

• Dominant reading: the audience enjoys the media text. They will believe and agree with the media text and never question it. They will never miss an episode or edition of it.

• Negotiated reading: the audience enjoys the media text but does not watch or read every episode. They might find some elements boring or unbelievable.

• Oppositional reading: The audience understands the meaning of the media text but does not agree with it or enjoy it at all. They see issues or problems in it.

Dyer’s Utopian Pleasures

• Richard Dyer, makes a case for entertainment as a utopian sensibility.

“The notion of entertainment as in some sense utopian — expressing ideals about how human life could be organized and lived –is implicit in what the most widespread

assumption about entertainment, namely, that it provides ‘escape.’ Entertainment offers the image of ‘something better’ to set against the realities of day-to-day

existence.”

• 3 reasons why audiences choose to consume media1) social tension2) inadequacy3) absence

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UTOPIA

A utopia is a community or society possessing highly desirable or near perfect qualities.

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Uses and Gratification theory (Bulmer & Katz)

1. ‘Information’ (the desire to learn) The Advert offers the audience important information about the product – usually in cars, banking or technology adverts

2. ‘Entertainment’ (emotional satisfaction) The product offers us the chance to escape through consuming the product or irrelevant advertising

3. ‘Personal Identity’ (help with personal identity issues)

Our lives and problems are shown in the advert showing how the product can benefit us

4. ‘Social Identity’ (help with general issues in society)

The advert creates controversy or debates for the audience. For example, charity adverts use shock tactics or Coca Cola using Santa Claus every Christmas

Audiences make choices about what they did when consuming texts. Far from being a passive mass, audiences were made up of individuals who actively consumed texts for different reasons and in different ways.

Applying Audience to A Field In England

• Past Question:Explore the different ways audiences

respond to your three main texts[Jun 2013]

• Try to:– Use specific examples from the text: how are the audience

positioned– Consider links to the three main topics of GENRE, NARRATIVE &

REPRESENTATION– How might Primary and Secondary audience have different

readings of the film– How might DEMOGRPAHICS and PSYCHOGRAPHICS effect the

readings of the film– Use media terminology– Use theory where relevant

Specific points to consider for A Field In England:

• Positive and Negative Reviews• Different Audience Readings• How do different elements

appeal to different audiences• Facts and Figures that back up

your findings

Key Terms and Theories• Encoding/Decoding• Reception Theory• Uses & Gratifications• Dyer’s Utopian

Pleasures• Two Step Flow

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Homework

• Write an essay answer to the question

• DUE: ??/6/2015

Develop

35

Plenary

• Can you tweet me something you have learnt in today’s lesson?

• Use only 140 characters!• #A Field In England #representation can be

extra to make it a bit easier!

05/03/2023 Term 1 , Lesson 4 36

Celebrate