The Beginning of Cinema

I particuarly liked this lecture as I found the emergence of film and the cinema highly interesting. We covered the history of the film industry and how Hollywood rose to fame as well as looking at the impact this had on alternative and independent cinemas.

1878 - Eadweard Muybridge, an English photographer was known for his pioneering work of using still cameras triggered by trip wires to capture and create motion pictures. Muybridge would position still cameras along a racetrack that would be triggered by the horses hooves.

Late 19th Century - Electro-chemical technologies were being used producing urban "mass" markets for entertainment. The projection of still images was still being used along side magic lantern projections, zoetropes, peepshows and the Kinetoscope. In 1981 Edison and Dickson created the Kinetoscope camera as well as the peepshow viewer using celuloid film.

Early Cinema;

The camera alongside projection equalled the beginning of cinema. However there are various claims as to when the first screening actually was. There are three main groups plausible of this claim;

-The Lumiere Brothers, screened films in Paris, London and Worthing in 1985.
-Armat (on behalf of Edison) screened films in NewYork in 1986 via "The Vitascope".
-Birt Acres claims to have used the first 35mm camera producing an "Incident at Clovelly cottage", one of the first narrative films in 1896.

At first cinema technologies were not used in the best of ways;

-Commercial mass distribution system was NOT necessarily the obvious route.
-Non- narrative spectacles were a novelty; films of bridges, trains, public events and football were common.
- Expression and experimentation were big factors of the film world.
-Community film: Mitchell and Kenyon were where local communities were filmed with local screenings.

Commercial Cinema and HollyWood

All the cinema action took place in Europe,not HollyWood before the first world war. However developements within the film world started to advance offering a different perspective...

-Narratives offered mass appeal.
-In 1910, french films equalled 70% of global film exports. "A trip to the moon" (George Mellis,1902)

By the 1920's HollyWood dominated. Why?

-World War one
-Space, climate and cheap migrant labour were available in Southern California.
-Easy access to Capital. (Wall Street)
- The US had a huge domestic market.
- HollyWood had its own studio system.Fordist production applied to film making.
- The star system appeared. The creation of stars through a public system.
- "The big five" studios were positioned around HollyWood which controlled the cinema chains.

Commercial Cinema and HollyWood;

- Further technological advances increased costs and further advantaged the big studios over the independent and alternative cinemas.

1927 - Sound was introduced to films.
1950's - Cinemascope and widescreen appeared.
1990's - CGI, C21, 3D filiming techniques were used.
21st century - Blockbusters and Franchise films became available with huge investments at the expense of serious adult drama.

So far....

-Technology alone dosent explain how cinema developed.
-Political, economic and cultural forces were at work.
-Local, independent and alternative cinemas were marginalised.
- Classical HollyWood era: "the big five" dominate but there were the "little three" which included United Artists.

Meanwhile in the Uk...

- 1920's HollyWood imports dominate.
- 1927 - Cinematograph Act; the aim to curb americanisation and rescue the British film industry.
-A "mini" HollyWood studio system developed around the West of London.

The great British low budget tradition;

1930s/40's - Audiences often preferred HollyWood imports. Many talented directors and actors left for HollyWood.
But a British national cinema emerged; London films (Korda), Ealing films (Balcon).
However regulation produced the Quota Quickies which were funded by US studios to meet import regulations.
1930's - Quota quickies had very low production costs. Actors were paid per foot of film produced however they fostered a tradition which continued in post war periods, a low budget alternative to HollyWood.

The iPod Touch - The 4th Generation

On 1st September 2010, Apple launched the fourth generation of the iPod Touch. Adapted from the original iPod touch created in 2007, it is now more ‘fun filled, feature packed’ (Apple, 1997) and technologically advanced than ever before. The iTouch has been continuously developed over three years to produce a flawless piece of technology that will satisfy modern day consumers’ needs and wants.

The fourth generation iTouch has an all new design, making it the thinnest and lightest iTouch to be created. Weighing in at just101 grams and with its curved design the iPod Touch is now a mere 7.2 mm thin. ‘Available in black and white as of October 2011’ (Horwitz, 2011) the iTouch never fails to look less than perfect. Its engineered glass front and stainless steel back conveys style and sophistication as well as providing an iconic design that is suitable for both male and female users.

The iTouch is the ‘perfect combination of stunning design and revolutionary technology’ (Google, 2011) simply brilliant from the outside in. Apple has incorporated the Retina display, making it the most impressive screen on any portable media player as well as adding twin set cameras that are ideal for ‘HD video recording and Face Time support’ (Miller, 2010), perfect for capturing special moments. In 2011, Apple decided to incorporate IOS 5 ‘which brings with it iMessage, iCloud, notifications and Game centre enhancements’ (Gideon, 2011) an upgraded software that allows users to text, video call, browse the web efficiently and have even more entertainment with the huge range of apps available to download.

Apple has worked for over nine years transforming the iPod, developing and advancing its design, software and usability. The history of the iPod began in 2001, where Apple first unleashed the iPod classic, swiftly moving through to launch ‘iPod Mini, iPod Nano and the iPod Shuffle, eventually reaching the iPod Touch, the first generation in 2007.’(Wikipedia, 2001) But the question is, why has Apple had to create so many different pieces of technology? The answer, to suit the rapidly changing technological wants and needs of society that has generated the specifications for the iPod touch, unveiling the story of its creation.

‘The iPod has a unique culture of its own; a subculture that is a niche within the mobile lifestyle as well as being a form of social expression’ (Bull, 2007) Technological determinists will argue that the advancements in technology has pressurised society to lead a portable lifestyle with expectations of easy accessibility and usability. They believe that we will carry round an iTouch in our pockets or in our bags because we can, not because we have too. Another argument that is portrayed by technological determinists is the need to have what we want instantaneously. ‘The iPod Touch has always offered lifetime internet with no fees’ (Rockwell, 2010) allowing users to access the app store where music, films and applications are just a tap away. This effortless system of purchasing what we want, when we want has driven society to impulsive buying, bringing to light a new, instantaneous form of human nature.

Free market theory is the idea that technology is driven by the financial market and the corporate organisations that are competing to create the ultimate music device. Apple has continuously brought out newer and better versions of their iPod, topping companies such as Sony who first invented the Walkman. The iPod may not have been the first portable media player to be introduced but it was the first to carve a remarkable niche on consumers with its revolutionary features. ‘While it is an expensive piece of technology, it has remained a piece of technology that many desire to have’. (Ikeda, 2007)

But why the iTouch? The conflict theory of history suggests that social and economic conflicts make us buy into technology. One of these aspects is that to be accepted into society you have to have the best, the newest and the most expensive. One feature of the iTouch is the price, and being expensive this could represent a certain status. ‘Other music players may be similarly priced, but the Apple brand and look represent a class of its own’ (Ikeda, 2007). The iTouch symbolizes a status that sets it apart from others.

Ultimately Apple has created one of the finest consumer cultures that is able to conform to societies needs better than any other. The iTouch is highly innovative let alone successful, being Apples biggest earner to date.




Sources:

• Apple.com (1997) iPod touch. (internet) Available at: http://www.apple.com/uk/ipodtouch/ (Accessed: 27 Feb 2012)

• Bull, M (2007) Sound Moves; iPod Culture and Urban Experience. London, New York: Rutledge. (Accessed: 28 Feb 2012)

• Gideon, T (2011) Apple iPod touch Review & Rating | PCMag.com. (internet) Available at: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2179701,00.asp (Accessed: 27 Feb 2012).

• Google (2010) Apple iPod touch - 4th generation Apple iOS 5. (internet) Available at: http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&q=ipod+touch+4th+generation+reviews&cid=17781273647439111781#p (Accessed: 27 Feb 2012)

• Horwitz, J (2011) Reviews: Apple iPod touch (internet) Available at: http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/reviews/entry/apple-ipod-touch-fourth-generation/ (Accessed: 27 Feb 2012).

• Ikeda, S (2007) iPod and Culture. (internet) Available at: http://www.personal.psu.edu/sxi11/ipodandculture.htm (Accessed: 28 Feb 2012).

• Miller, M (2012) Review: The Apple iPod touch | ZDNet. (internet) Available at: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-gadgeteer/review-the-apple-ipod-touch-brings-many-iphone-4-features-without-the-carrier/3846 (Accessed: 27 Feb 2012).

• Rockwell, K (2010) Apple iPod Touch Fourth Generation (Fall 2010-2011). (internet) Available at: http://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/ipod-touch-4g.htm [Accessed: 27 Feb 2012].

• Wikipedia.com (2001) iPod - Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia. (Internet) Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod (Accessed: 27 Feb 2012).

The history of the Newspaper

As it is not compulsory to blog about our media module i have not attempted to post anything related to this subject. However our most recent lecture seemed significantly more relevant to my degree so as an exception I thought it deserved to be blogged.

We focused on newspaper histories and the way they have progressed through the years, including the way certain things have affected how we consume the media. We must consider the perspective of these four concepts;

1. Technological Determinism - the way technology is driving things.
2. Whig/Liberal Accounts - a greater sense of freedom.
3. Market Models - how things change as the market drives it.
4. Social Conflict - the clashes between different social groups.

The 15th Century - 19th Century (1836);

State controls;

Large amount of social control - Henry VII edict: "to curb lewd and naughty matters" in the 15th century.

The State controlled printers by;

Laws - issues such as Libel and sedation.
Fiscal restriction taxes on retail prices - Advertising tax
Bribes - The prime minister Walpole spent £50,000 on bribing journalists in the 18th century. The government also paid £600 to the Morning Herald.
Licenses to print were also issued.


Newspapers emerged as technological infrastructure developments. This led to developments in roads, transport links between towns and the weekly post between the main towns in 1637.
New ideas then came to the fore;

- Religious and political ideas were communicated in print as there was a desire for this.
- Emergence of the country as an 'idea' that people share.
- Gradual decline in old systems of power.
- Matched and facilitated by a steady increase in literacy in 1700. Approximately 60% male literacy and 40% female literacy.


New Markets - 1836

- Stamped papers catered for newly emerging professional and middle class readers.
- The duty paid on these gradually increased from 1/4 D in 1712 to 3 1/4 D by 1977.
- The Observer, The Times and The Daily Telegraph (plus others) were consequently restricted from ability due to such issues such as the PeterLoo Massacre.
- A number of radical unstamped papers catered for industrial working class - 'The cap of liberty' and 'The Black Dwarf'. They claim to be periodicals and therefore were excused from tax.

The Radical Press up to 1836

- Law production costs - avoid stamp duty.
- Law distribution costs - networks of illegal street sellers; 800 arrests between 1830 and 1836.
- There was a close connection between newspapers and particular communities.
- In 1850 the stamp duty was abolished.
- During this time the training for Journalists was increased and it was seen as a real profession rather than something people did on the side.
- Commercial and industrial growth begins to generate huge mass markets.

It can be said there were many consequences for these changes;

1. Mainstream papers attract advertising revenues.
2. To challenge this the radical papers have to dilute politics to attract advertising revenues to go further up the market.

Lessons of this;

- The decline of radical papers can be understood in different ways depending on the perspective we adopt.
-The Market Theory - deregulation leads to more efficient papers.
-Whig/Liberal view - the press escape from the State and therefore can be seen as "free".
- Technological determinism - there is an improved production.
- Social Conflict -advertising is a new patron and editorial power shifts towards being capital.

Proprietorial Power;

- First age of Press Barons.
- Structures of control allocated power to proprietors; Murdoch's values in The Sun.
- 1945 onwards, newspaper circulation declines due to broadcasting.
- In 1987, Wrapping comes into place - this relates to the structure of the newspaper industry changing.
- Open conflict.

The Daily Mirror - Female Audiences

The Daily Mirror, founded in 1903, is a left-wing British National tabloid paper that is known as the UK’s oldest tabloid. The Mirror, generates on average, 3.3 million readers a day, covering mainly the C1, C2 and DE demographic social class. Their readers stereotypically tend to be between the ages of 25 and 34. The Mirror, launched originally for women and previously run by women, is predominately aimed at a female audience due to the content, features, images and advertisements found within the paper.

The Mirror focuses on certain aspects that will attract a female audience. When looking at the features in The Mirror, these tend to revolve around celebrity news and gossip, one of the main interests associated with women. Women are typically targeted as they want to know everything that is currently happening in the celebrity world and are drawn to the drama created through the media, almost as escapism into a more glamorous and exciting lifestyle. Other articles regarding fashion, health, beauty and relationship advice are all stereotypically known as key interests for women as well.

Most of the content within these particular articles seem to be written by women and involve a woman's experiences, opinions and comments. This helps to create an engagement with their target audience, offering a sense of comfort and reassurance as the female audience can relate to what is written in the article. An example being: “Get the look… Celeb Curves” featuring ways of achieving curves that celebrities are promoting, instead of size 0 models that have become the obsession of the “perfect body”. Instead the article shows women how they can create this look without having to diet or have plastic surgery, producing a healthier, more positive body image for women to embrace their natural shapes.

Another aspect that reinforces a female readership are the images chosen to be placed on Page 3. When Page 3 is mentioned in tabloid terms, we as an audience imagine a half-naked model with fake breasts, positioned in a sexual manner, typically seen in The Sun. Many women find this tasteless, disrespectful and immediately choose to distance themselves from the paper. However when looking at The Daily Mirror, we are greeted with respectful, decent and influential figures such as Kate Middleton and Martine McCutcheon. These women are seen as strong and successful individuals, pictured in a modest way that will gain the respect of other women, rather than promoting women as objects.

When looking at the advertisements displayed throughout the paper, a more “womanly” appeal is suggested, focusing particularly on the family lifestyle. Adverts for supermarkets, promoting offers on food, wine and chocolates as well as toys, kitchen appliances and clothing are frequently repeated, presenting the typical wants and needs of a woman. The adverts include money off deals, supporting the targeted social demographic audience as they are assumed to be on a lower income and are more likely to take advantage of the advertisements printed in the paper.

Features like sport and business, supposedly targeted at a male audience, are subsequently shorter and are dominated by more feminine aspects unlike in other tabloids, this promotes the idea that women are more likely to conform to what appeals to them and are more likely to be influenced to act on what they have read.

Confidentiality

Settling into today's law lecture, after a detailed recap on defamation, we begin to look at confidentiality.

Confidentiality is an ethical principle associated with several different professions, for example in law or medicine. The types of communication between a person and one of these professionals are "privileged" and may not be discussed or divulged to a third party. Each person has a right to expect the other to be confidential when sharing private information.

When looking at confidentiality there are three main areas of concern:

1. State secrets. This mainly affects certain types of investigative journalism and reporting communities with links to the armed forces.

2. Commercial secrets. These are vital for business to business (BTB), solid news reporting, investigative reporting and specialist reporting.

3. Privacy. This is mainly a matter for tabloid and celeb journalists. It focuses on the privacy law of The Human Rights Act, section 8, which guarantees a "right to respect for privacy and enjoyment of a normal family life", subject to restrictions as prescribed by law and necessary in a democratic society towards a legitimate aim.

When looking at the first area of confidentiality, this being official statutory secrets, certain types of public information such as details of military or intelligence operations are "official" secrets. The Official Secrets Act (OSA), passed in 1911 contains schedules of secret information, if any of this information is revealed it can lead to criminal prosecution. The main danger regarding this is inadvertently breaking the OSA by taking wallpaper shots of military bases as the location of these bases must be kept highly secret.

Accredited to m_culnane

As a common law people have a right to keep secrets, as long as this is not against the public's interest. There is also a right to pass on these secrets to others with the expectation that they will not pass them on to others. If they pass on these secrets without permission they are breaching the common law.

Confidentiality partly depends on the type of secret information at stake, and partly on the expectation of the person imparting the information that should be kept secret. A person is in breach of confidence if they pass on information which....

a) has the necessary quality of confidence (e.g it is important and is not already known.) It is not just tittle-tatttle or someone's date of birth.

b) it was provided in circumstances imposing an obligation (e.g when a reasonable person would think it would be kept secret such as a consultation with a boss or a professional such as a doctor and not just said at a party or discussed in a group.)

c) there was no permission to pass on the information

d) leading to detriment as a likely consequence to be caused to the person who gave in the information.

Detriment is again different to defamation, where the complainant does not have to show that they are likely to suffer, just that the defamation may "tend" to make people think less of them.

If any of the below...

1. Quality of confidence AND

2. Circumstance AND

3. No permission to reveal AND

4. Cause actual detriment

are missing then the information is not confidential and it can be revealed with breach.

One interesting case mentioned in class was that of the Bill Goodwin, Tetra case. Basically Bill Goodwin was a reporter for The Engineer, a well known magazine that reports the latest business news in engineering and technology. He discovered that Tetra, a building company was selling faulty products. Goodwin then published this in The Engineer and Tetra was immediately out of business. The company then sued Goodwin, demanding that he reveal his source and that he will be continually fined until he produced this information. The House of Lords continued this legal battle, surprising the European Courts of Human Rights who were in favour of Goodwin. The case was eventually dispatched after five years.

Pierre Bourdieu who?

So i've just about survived a week of lectures. After being utterly and completely baffled by philosophy, strangely interested by law and contemplating suicide after shorthand, we roll back on to our second lecture reguarding key concepts in media. Probably the least challenging module for me with a nice, slow opening into the week.

For this weeks lecture we were asked to read Strinati's theories behind mass culture. Mass culture also meaning popular culture is produced on an enormouse scale through various industrial techniques which is then marketed for a profit to a mass public of consumers. It is a commercial culture, mass produced for a mass market. The growth in mass culture means that there is less room for other culture which cannot make any money or be mass produced for a mass market, an example being art and folk culture.

Photograph taken by myself

However we soon delved into this theory by looking at the concept of "taste". Taste is often categorised into a series of binary oppositions, constructed by what we consider quality. Binary oppositions can be anything from Good VS Bad, High VS Low or Us VS Them. Taste is considered natural, usually as an expression of individuality or of group status, for example "good" taste is considered to be high culture which usually has a limited audience. In contrast what is considered "poor" taste is usually low culture which has a "mass" appeal.

So far not so bad? Relatively simple to understand, however here comes the technical theorist (who would of course have to be French) SO a Mr Pierre Bourdieu decided to challenge how the logic of taste and preference work. He wanted to challenge these pre-concepted ideas of innate taste and authentic sensiblity by looking at how these notions of quality are socially constructed, otherwise meaning how they are used by different social groups to gain status. He soon came to realise that cultural preference works as a form of cultural distinction - this being cultural knowledge and competence being displayed through consumer choices.

The concept of cultural capital soon appeared, referring to the idea of non-financial assets, that may have been educational or intellectual that were likely to promote social mobility beyond economic means, meaning consumption practises could invest into this term. This therefore produced symbollic capital or power that organised cultural tastes and notions of good quality into heirachies of value characterised on how people responsed or percieved this culture. Cultural capital is linked to social status and education, usually aquired through education with ever shifting values.

Boredieu suggested that different forms of culture provide different forms of pleasure, for instance an example being art. The impressionist painting of "Dejeuner sur l'Herbe" painted by Edouard Monet in 1863, depicts a group of scholars sitting on the grass eating breakfast accompanied by a naked prostitute. In that era, the painting was deemed scandalous and inapropriate but is now considered high art in todays society. Compared to the work of Robert Maplethorpe, who produced "Man in a polyester suit" in 1980 which depicts the torso of a man, wearing a suit with the zip undone and his male genitals fully on show. His work again challenges the concepts of high and low culture, sitting on the boarder between high art and poor taste. Is it art, pornography or simply a challenge?

Alternatively another theorist, known as Stuart Hall suggests that all cultural artefacts can shift. An example being The Beatles, a tiny band who turned into cultural icons with mass fans and struggles between identity groups. Thousands of people were influenced whether this be in fashion, music or social aspects by The Beatles. Everybody wanted to be them.

Hall suggests that the boundaries of pop culture become a site of influence, dependent on that individual along with this idea of art becoming mereley weapons in a power struggle, who is it that decides what is good culture and what is bad culture?

To finish (at long last), a quote from Raymond Williams, 1963 that summaries the above... "There are no masses, there are only ways of seeing people as masses" an interesting, eye opening and unusual opinion on mass culture.

Key concepts in media

When looking at the media from a production aspect, i soon learnt media industries produce their goods and services to an audience, which is then questioned and often debated when compared to other patterns of industrial production. To summarise, one of the main aims of production is to advertise the particular product in some of the most popular industries which can range from film, fashion or music, in a creative and innovative way which will then appeal to an audience, promoting the product and therefore creating a profit.

We swfitly moved on to Consumption, which i could vaguely recall learning about in my previous A2 lessons. The concept of consumption generally means how media audiences consume media texts and services. An interesting and thought provoking idea that made me consider how much control the media can exercise on media consumers through the media production. The idea behind consumption is to engage the audience. A very obvious example of this is the vast amount of new media social networking sites that allow us to view videos, pictures, posts and updates, absorbing us into this virtual world of production, an escapism into what some may call a "better" world than our own.

Many of the media texts in todays society frequently portray and construct a range of identities through images and ideas in quite an obvious way to engage and create a reaction from an audience. Many of the ideas used convey various aspects and representations of locality, gender, class, ethnicity, sexuality and "otherness". In most cases the media construct these images themselves. This is commonly seen in various television programmes, for example HollyOaks which provides a sterotypical range of characters with various personalities, looks and opinions which at least one character is relatable to for any individual member in an audience. This often unrealistic portrayal of chartacters can end up attracting a secondary audience such as parents who havent been specifically targeted, but due to the fact that teenagers are presented in this specific way it creates a twisted yet modern and eye opening presentation of todays youth that can often interest an older generation.

Regulation is a critical and highly important aspect when practises are established to shape or encourage media production and media representation to occur in particular ways. Practises such as OFCOM provide strict and carefully selected rules and regulations for specific TV programmes to apply and abide to, reguading content, subject and viewing times for age regulated audiences. The audience can choose to regulate themselves by simply not watching certain programmes, whether this is because the genre/content does not appeal to them or because it may be found inappropriate and not to their sense of humour. By doing this the audience now becomes an active audience as they have chosen not to watch what the media is presenting to us where as a passive audience would believe what they are being told and allow the media to infiltrate their own thoughts,opinions, beliefs and views.