Applying Audience to your Media product

Applying Audience to your Media

Audiences

Julian McDougall (2009) suggests that in the online age it is getting harder to conceive a media audience as a stable, identifiable group.

However –audiences still clearly make sense and give meaning to cultural products.

An audience can be described as a “temporary collective” (McQuail, 1972).

- Changing niche

Key terms: Mass / Niche & Mainstream / Alternative

- Difficult to define specific audiences but not impossible

Is your text popular for a mass audience?

The text I produced I believe is popular for a mass audience as the main focal point, the song, falls within the pop genre which has a mass appeal. Additionally, the female artist can appeal to both male and females so do not eliminate a specific gender group.

Does this relate to your coursework?:

“This leads into a further consideration, which is the definition of 'popular culture as 'low' culture, something not for the elite, but for the 'common' people. Cultural value ('high' culture) has been traditionally associated with dominant or powerful groups - those who have appreciation of classical music, art, ballet, and opera and so on. 'Low' or popular culture is everything not approved of as 'high'. It is vulgar, common, or 'easy‘. It is postmodern”

I believe this relates to my coursework as my text does not feature traditional features associated with ‘high culture’. My media products are predominantly aimed at popular culture and would, in this case, be associated with a ‘low culture’.

Can this be applied to your coursework?:

Another definition of 'popular' is literally 'of the people', a kind of 'folk' culture and this is an interesting area, because it encompasses the idea of an 'alternative' culture which includes minority groups, perhaps with subversive values. The 'indie' music scene is an example of this. So 'popular' culture can and sometimes does, challenge the 'dominant' cultural power groups.

1. You must detail the target audience for your product:

The target audience are female young adults aged between 16-24 years of age.

2. Detail what the audience might identify with in your product (could link to the construction of identity?)

They would identify with the artist mostly, who is aged 23 years and a female. Therefore by fitting into the same target market age gap they can build a rapport and feel as if they can relate to the artist more. They would also identify with the perhaps turbulent emotions that are conveyed in the video (i.e. the title of the song ‘Living Dead’, experiencing reality from fantasy). They may also find a connection with the use of mise-en-scene, such as the heavy make-up but also the desirable unique styling e.g. taking inspiration from the 1950s and demonstrating this in her costume.

3. What meanings/uses they might make from consuming/interacting with the product?

They may derive meanings that a lifestyle that takes inspiration from the past is ‘cool’ etc. In addition, as they may begin to build a rapport and idolise the artist, they may take ideas such as the make-up and overall styling to replicate it in their own lifestyle.

Ien Ang (1991)'audience hood is becoming an ever more multifaceted, fragmented and diversified repertoire of practices and experiences'.

- Diverse

- More Niches

- Audiences are more divided into more sub-categories

1. Do you agree with Ang?

I agree with Ang that audience hood is becoming more diverse as with the new age of technology, media products are more accessible and receivable by specific niche audiences. Although may not be applicable to my media product as a mass audience was targeted. But media product can be more ‘tailored’ to the needs of the audience.

2. You must detail the social demographic of this target audience (gender, age, ethnicity, social class)

Gender: Female

Age: 16-24 years

Ethnicity: White British

Social Class: Middle Class

John Hartley (1987) “institutions are obliged not only to speak about an audience, but crucially, for them –to talk to one as well; they need not only to represent audiences but to enter into relation with them”

To what extent do you agree with this?

I agree with this as audience’s build a rapport with the media they are interacting with; so to continue to gain their attention this must be built to draw them back in. For example, with my artist fitting into the same target market age and requirements of my audience it makes it easier for the audience to see them as a ‘real’ person and continue to interact with them. However, this does not necessarily have to be the case to ‘enter into a relation with them’, where they can still represent an audience without forming a bond with them.

Hartley (1987) also suggests that institutions must produce “invisible fictions of the audience which allow the institutions to get a sense of who they must enter into relations with” .e.g. they must know their audience so they can target them effectively.

How did you do this with your magazine/music video?

Gaining Feedback from your Audience

You attempted to gain feedback from your target market in order to get their opinions

You used the blogs, forums etc. in order to share ideas and images.

You also conducted polls to tailor the product better for your audience.

Write down how you did this.

-          I carried out an audience profile where I chose one individual that would fall into my target market and analysed her age, occupation, background and ambitions to get a feel of what would suit my artist best to appeal to the audience.

-          Carried out an artist profile of my artist ‘Lexi and the Spectrum’, detailing her background, real name and upcoming releases so that my target market could get a sense of who they may choose to interact and build relations with.

-          I created a pitch to my audience before creating my initial artist persona etc. to ensure that the idea would work effectively. I suggested a song and theme which my audience provided feedback on.

-          I carried out feedback processes from my audience after the first draft of my music video and ancillary tasks so that I could get my audience’s opinions and reapply them to my video. E.g. they rated the video out of ten so far and added comments for improvement that they would enjoy seeing more or less of in the video.

-          I used blogger to share concepts such as the initial representation of my artist as well as photos from real media texts that could be influential or use as intertextuality.

Audience Reception Theories:

Passive and Active Audiences

There are basically two different schools of thought concerning how audiences consume media texts, those that believe that audiences are “passive” and those who believe that audiences are “active”.

The Frankfurt School’s Hypodermic Theory (1930s) This Marxist theory, which was championed by theorists such as Theodore Adorno, assumes a direct stimulus-response relationship between audience reactions and the consumption of media texts.

Passive Audience Theory: The idea that the media ‘injects’ ideas and views directly into the brains of the audience like a hypodermic needle, therefore, controlling the way that people think and behave.

Passive’ audience/hypodermic theories are sometimes referred to overall as ‘Media Effects Theory’, i.e. the media has a direct and powerful effect on its audience. –for your coursework this can relate directly to music videos –debate at the moment concerned with rap/gangster videos, Marylin Manson etc, computer gaming.

- Injects certain ideologies into the audience

Can your c/w in any way be linked to the Passive Audience theory?

This can be linked to my music video as the artist arguably has a direct and powerful effect on the audience. For example, the use of misé-en-scene of heavy make-up and low cut dresses may influence the audience into dressing the same way but passively. Therefore, this promotes the sexualisation of women, becoming the object of desire to the secondary male audience. It may also suggest that this is the only appropriate way of dressing so may reduplicate it. Audiences that are not within the target market but passively view the video may also adopt this point of view, such as younger teenage girls where society views this as inappropriate. In terms of behaviour, within the video my artist levitates from an angered emotion to a happy emotion. Therefore the angered emotion, adhering to the Passive Audience Theory, may input the idea that behaving this way is acceptable (therefore controlling the way people behave).

However, the star image of the artist may also allure the audience so much so that she becomes a role model to other girls, especially within the target market. Arguably, the media in this case may result in the audience wanting to take care of their appearance which may be seen as a positive influence.

Positive:

Artist – role model to girls

Negative:

May influence audience to behave in the same way as my artist – disregards social boundaries

Sexualises the woman – becoming an object of desire to the male audience and nothing more

Pluralist Model and the Active Audience Theory

This is the idea that the audience have an active role to play in the understanding of, and creation, of meaning within a media text.

Predictably enough, the pluralist idea is the exact opposite of a hegemonic one.

A pluralist model argues that there is diversity in society (everyone is different) and therefore there is also choice (we can choose what to believe and what not to believe.)

So in media terms, because the audience (society) is diverse, with different points of view, the media is influenced by society. Because the media need to please the audience they will try to reflect the values and beliefs that are predominant in society. In other words, they give us what we say we want rather than telling us what to think and believe, in order to make us stay ‘in our place’.

- Your own interpretation but hope they have the ‘correct’ aligned ideas portrayed in the video

How can your target audience be seen as active?

My audience can have an ‘active’ role to play in the understanding of my music video as they may interpret that she is going through a break up etc. Although because the audience is so diverse it may also be interpreted that she doesn’t care e.g. by shots of her throwing roses at the camera which connotes her breaking up her desire for love. The audience can reflect whichever belief is most applicable to them, therefore the video is providing them with what they want to believe rather than a direct command on which was is the ‘correct way’.

McQuail’s Uses and Gratifications Theory Dennis McQuail (1972)

1. Diversion/Escapism

2. Personal Relationship: A talking point

3. Personal Identity: identifying with the representations on display

4. Surveillance: Information

- Escapism/Relationship/Surveillance/Identity

How can McQuail’s theory be applied to your c/w?

- Music videos should be for entertainment/escapism – audience want to escape the real world and entire an entirely hyper real world

- Personal Relationship – a talking point within the video e.g. her disregard to social boundaries and denying who she loves

- Personal Identity – the audience can build a rapport with the artist because she fits into the same target market group

- May sometimes have talking point e.g. political etc.

Parkin’s/Hall’s Audience Readings Theory

Frank Parkin (1972) and later Stuart Hall (1980) analysed the readings within audiences as either:

1. Dominant or Preferred Reading: The meaning they want you to have is usually accepted.

2. Negotiated Reading: The dominant reading is only partially recognised or accepted and audiences might disagree with some of it or find their own meanings.

3. Oppositional Reading: The dominant reading is refused, rejected because the reader disagrees with it or is offended by it, especially for political, religious, feminist, reasons etc.

Can any of these readings be applied to your c/w?

Negotiated Reading – the audience recognise the distress in the artist’s behaviour and the equilibrium in some shots but there is not direct meaning as to why this is. For example, with her lip-syncing lyrics down the rotary telephone the audience may assume she is on the phone to her previous lover etc. but this can be debated.