Areas of the music industry

In this assignment I will be talking about the four sections of the music industry. I will be describing the different sections, explaining how they work and analyzing the pros and cons of the different different areas. I will also be talking about the the past, present and futures of these different sections of the music industry. 

Live performance

Live music's basic purpose is to entertain and to connect with the audience members. While those two are the main goals for a live performance you can make through various other ways such as merchandise sales and royalties. Live Performance is one of the oldest and largest areas of the music industry. As live performance is connected to every other area of the music industry. 

Why is live performance so important?

A good reason for why an artist should perform is that its fun to perform. Performing can bring back the enthusiasm of an artist and motivate them to keep the passion of music going. Every area makes some money from live performance so it is an essential part of the music industry. Live performance is the best way to spread your work to the public. For supporting bands who are on tour with a bigger artist it can make a huge difference to people finding out who they are. The same goes for playing at a festival.

http://www.musicbizacademy.com/knab/articles/liveperformance.htm

How does live performance link with every other area?

Live performance links with publishing in the form of collecting royalties. Whenever a song is played in a public place money will be set aside for the songwriter which the publisher then pays to the songwriter not the artist. 

Live performance links with artist management in that it is the managers job to organize live events. A manager will get a cut of the ticket sales as they will have arranged all of the PR and the venue time slot. Managers will also scout artists from live performance to bring them into a record label or try and sign themselves to them if they are an independent manager.

Live performance links to record labels in that the performance advertises the artists music which will then translate into sales of songs and albums making the record label more money. A record label is only as good as it's artists so the bigger the artist the bigger the record label and one of the best ways to advertise an artist is to put on gigs and tours to spread the word of the artists music.


It's important to mention that live performance is probably one of the most accessible areas for new artists as you don't have to be signed to a label or a publisher. The opposite can be the case in that artists are signed through live performance.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQbsUK8W5Jo&ab_channel=AcousticMagazine1

Here is an example of live performance as well as new media getting someone signed to a label in America.

Live performance can be split into three different categories being local, national and international artists at an international level are usually signed to a record label. Local artist usually play in pubs in their surrounding area, the band sing Ramona sing are a local band which play a lot in York. Where as national artists will tour around the country and a international artist will play all over the world like bands such as Muse or DJ's like Deadmau5.

Cons of live performance

The main con of live performance would be the health and safety risks that could occur in a live environment if the equipment isn't set up safely a number of risks could occur such as lights falling from quite high up, electric shocks speakers falling over, depending on the type of gig moshing could incur some bad injuries in the crowd and without the proper ear protection the performers and staff could suffer ear damage.   

The past present and future of live performance 

Live performance as it is now is as big as ever. With more ways to view live performance than ever before it's become more accessible and easy to view. Live streams are incredibly popular now so you can view the performance without even being there. With giant festivals with massive followings such as Glastonbury and Leeds festival being as popular as ever the live performance business is thriving. I think that the future of live music will be making a move to digital with live streams becoming more popular than ever. I would say this because that is one of the latest developments in the live performance industry and has shown to be very popular.

http://musicians.about.com/od/publishingandroyalties/f/How-Are-Performance-Rights-Royalties-Paid.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concert

Artist management 

Artist management has lots of different roles such as building the career of the artist, promotion, gig bookings, discussing with record labels and looking over contracts. Overall the artist manager is responsible for making the artists career a successful one. They should be talking to already existing contacts about gigs such as venue owners as well as making contacts with bigger venue owners.

Another very important responsibility of an artist manager is that  they should protect their artist legally. They should be checking contracts to see if it is right for the artist in that they make money out of their work and that it's right for the manager so they still get payed for their work and aren't put out of a job. All of these things come under developing the artist that is the main overarching aim of a artist manager.

 It is important to say that an artist manager can either make or break the artists career as he is in basic terms the artists representative. If a manager makes a bad reputation for themselves it reflects badly on the artist. An artist managers job doesn't just finish after the artist gets signed with a record label, the manager has to work with both the label and the publisher to arrange tours, albums and licensing deals. The manager at this point is pretty much the middle man between the artist and the companies. The manager will also still have their responsibilities that they had before such as making sure all of the gear for performances is there and working and making sure all the crew for the performance is hired and present at the event.

 A good artist manager should always know what position their artist is in in their career, what they want to do and how they can achieve this goal. For example if the artist isn't signed the manager will want to generate as much work for them so they will get noticed and hopefully signed. For signed artists it may just be to become bigger and more popular so the artist manager need to know who to talk to in order for this to happen, this means that the artist manager must have a good understanding of the current day industry and how things work.

Zach Quillen is a big successful artist manager who manages the duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis who's debut album hit number 1 which lead the duo to win 4 awards at the Grammy's. The duo have been dubbed 'indie artists' but have rose to great success because of their hard working manager.

http://www.therichest.com/expensive-lifestyle/the-most-successful-managers-in-the-music-industry/2/

Where is the artist manager business going

I think that  artist management would take a hit if the major labels fall in the future. However I do think that artist manager will always be around even if they aren't scouts for record labels. Independent artist managers will always have a place in the industry as artists will always need gigs and help with legalmatters so they can concentrate on making music.

http://musicians.about.com/od/otherindustrycareers/p/artistmanager.htm

http://musicians.about.com/od/musicindustrybasics/g/Manager.htm

http://www.theguardian.com/careers/what-does-a-music-manager-do

Record labels

Record labels come under two different categories. Independent and major labels. As of 2015 there are three major record labels and over 100 independent record labels with differing success. The difference between a major label and an independent label is that a major label does things other than just music such as Warner brothers doing films as well as music and Sony having a big hand in the technology market. Independent labels don't necessarily mean that the label is small and can't produce big artists. 

Sumerian records are a big independent record label that works with a lot of metalcore bands with some of their bands playing major rock festivals such as rock am ring in Germany and Download.

The three major labels have a massive ownership of the worlds music. In 2007 70% percent of the worlds music was owned by four labels as well as 80% of the american music market. as of 2015 there are only three major labels. Warner Brothers, Sony and universal. Right now Sony music entertainment are in a lot of debt and could look to close their music branch of the company, meaning that only two companies would own the vast majority of the music industry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Record_label

Major record labels make their money by giving a loan to an artist to make an album and then take a large percentage of the album sales as well as getting the loan back from the artist. Say if an album costed £10, the major label would take take nine of it. So if the artist has to pay back a loan of one million they would have to sell one one thousand albums just to break even. This would also result in the label making ten million while the artist makes very little.

http://pulseradio.net/articles/2015/04/how-record-labels-really-make-their-money

The reason why the major labels own so much of the music market even though there are lots of large independent labels is because of the major labels buy the big independent labels making them big conglomerates.

Epic records is a independent label owned by Sony music. Epic records is a massive label which has signed massive artists such as ABBA and Micheal Jackson as well as modern rock artist Don Broco and Mallory Knox.  Epic records has been around since 1953 being launched by Columbia records as a sub label meant for marketing pop and jazz. In 1987 Columbia records and epic records where bought by Sony music.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_Records

http://www.sonymusic.co.uk/labels/epic-records

http://www.epicrecords.co.uk/

Where is the record label business going?

From the looks of the current label industry it looks like artists will be making a move from major labels to independent or even striking out on their own with new media such as YouTube being such a massive medium to advertise yourself with. With websites such as Patreon you can receive donations from fans to support your work. In return the patrons can receive other perks like high uncompressed Wav files or other more personal interactions with the artists.

https://www.patreon.com/LittleJayneyCakes?ty=h

https://www.patreon.com/djjomusic?ty=c  

http://musicians.about.com/od/ip/g/recordlabel.htm

http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2012/feb/02/behind-music-record-labels

Music publishing 

A music publisher is responsible for hiring songwriters, promoting their songs and collecting money made from the songs. A music publisher will make a contract with a songwriter. These contracts can vary widely. One of the most common contract for signing songwriters is the single song contract which means that only one song will be licensed by the publishers, it's almost like they are renting your services instead of hiring the songwriter which is more like that in other contracts. The single can differ in how the songwriter is payed. The songwriter could be payed a set amount or a percentage of the sales as well as the royalties generated from the song. The other contract is the exclusive songwriters contract. This contract is like hiring the songwriter the songwriter will write songs for the publisher which will then be assigned to an artist. The exclusive songwriters contract can get quite complicated as if the songwriter is playing in a band and releasing their own songs the publisher may have rights over their song if the publisher has rights over everything that songwriter produces. the payment for this can also vary.

 A music publisher will promote the songwriters music but not necessarily to the general public. It is the responsibility of the publisher to promote to the record labels they work with so that one of their artists can have the song attached to their brand. A music publisher will also look to license off your music to film makers or anywhere else in the media. Another responsibility of the publisher is to give out licensing contracts so film makers can use it in their films.

  Probably the most well know responsibility for a music publisher is to collect royalties. Royalties are payments made to songwriters when their songs are played in public places, venues, stores etc. A publisher is also responsible for for enforcing and collecting copyright deals. For venues or shops to play music in a public place they must be signed to PRS so that they can pay royalties. If you are playing music in a public place and not licensed with the PRS the publisher could pursue you with legal action.

The origins of music publishing. 

Before the age of digital distribution or even vinyl music publishers would transcribe the music on to sheets to sell. People would then play the piece and that is how people listened to music back when distributions of CD or Vinyl didn't exist. As the years went on the introduction of radio and basic recordings changed the industry into Vinyl. 

http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/sheetmusic/about.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_music_publishing

Where is the music publishing business going.

I think similarly to the future of record labels I think music publishing will see a small decline because of the rise of new media such as YouTube and it's ability to let you distribute music all over the world in a easy and very accessible way. However I do think that music publishing companies wont take as much of a hit as record labels in the future as they still have qualities new media doesn't such as legal and copyright protection as well as licensing music to film producers and others in the media industry.

http://musicians.about.com/od/publishingandroyalties/f/What-Does-A-Music-Publishing-Company-Do.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_publisher_(popular_music)

Marketing Strategies 

In this assignment I will be talking about  different marketing techniques and the differences in what they offer, who they are targeted for and the pros and cons of those marketing strategies. A marketing strategy aims to convince you to buy the product, a selling point.

Ten different marketing strategies

1. Merchandise 
2. Children's play park  
3. Free tickets for competition participants 
4. Free sticker on entry 
5. Family package deal 
6. 1st 2nd and 3rd prices 
7. Raffle 
8. Photo booth
9. Food stall 
10. Face painting 

Family package deal 

This is a deal that gives you the option to buy four or more tickets for a discounted price. This would encourage people to take the whole family to the event as it would be overall cheaper than buying individual tickets for the whole family. The problem with this deal is that we don't know how large the average family who will want to come to this event will be. If we set the requirement for the family ticket at two adults and two children we could charge people normal ticket rates for extra people. If we go with the pricing of £20 per adult and £12 per child the cost would add up to £64 if you were to buy each ticket individually. However if we offer the family ticket deal at £54 it may be more appealing to families. Although we might make more money buy selling tickets separately such as adult tickets being £20 and under 18's tickets being £12 we eliminate the worry parents may have of paying a lot more to take their children. If they can take their children to the event they don't have to worry about paying a babysitter or leaving the children with a relative. 

Free tickets for competition participants 

This would encourage more people to enter the competition as it would lower the barrier to entry. More competition will result in a bigger event with more family member of the participants coming as well as more people being aware of the event. The selling point for this strategy is that it encourages people to enter the competition and bring their family and friends along to the event. The free tickets would be made up as the more families of the participants would come to see if they win meaning more ticket sales. Although this loses us money by giving out free tickets we are more likely to make a profit as more relatives of  contestants are more likely to come as they want to see how they do making the ticket sales as well as the attendance go higher.  

1st 2nd and 3rd prizes

Having prizes from the competition would obviously entice people to join the competition so they can win a prize. The prize could be some object for a camper van or just a sum of money for the prize. The selling point is the same as free tickets in that it will entice more people to join the competition and attend the event. The inclusion of prizes may motivate the participants to work harder on their camper vans to a higher quality raising the reputation of the event. The prizes also creates a sense of suspense to the event making the event more exiting. A con for this marketing strategy would be to make the prizes worth while, if the prizes aren't exiting or worth while it may detract from the event. If we were to make the prizes between 30-300 pounds we could entice people to join the competition. Although we would lose money from the prize money we could make it back from the increased ticket sales of more people entering the competition and more families coming along to see if their relative wins. 

Children's play park

A play park for the children would make the event more accessible for children as they would be more interested in coming to the event because they would have something to keep them entertained as the event went on. This strategy main selling point is keeping a families children entertained so that taking children to the event isn't a barrier to entry. The  problem with this is that someone will have to accompany the children instead of looking around the festival it will also cost money to create a play park and to have it installed. it may cost over £500 to have a play park built and installed into the festival grounds, you'd also have to remove the play park once the event was over, for the installation of the play park you may need planning permission from the local council which could prove to be a problem. However more families may have an easier time coming if there is something that can entertain the children at the event. 

Raffle

A raffle is a good idea because it adds another layer to the event and is another side attraction to the event. I would say that the raffle would be a good side activity for family members who aren't participating in the main competition. could be an Ipod or something as simple as coupons for shops in the local area. If the raffle tickets where sold separately then quite the profit could be made. The raffle tickets would not be related to any of the ticket deals so no free raffle tickets or discounted bundles. An Ipod touch costs £134 from Tesco which is an expense that could be covered by raffle ticket sales. If we were to sell a row for a raffle ticket at the price of three pounds we could make back the money depending pm how many people entered. Buying a raffle ticket only costs £2.99 for one thousand ticket so if we bought 5 packs it would most likely cover the demand and it wouldn't be a loss as we would sell the individual tickets  just above the packs price making a profit for us.  

Free sticker on entry 

Once you buy a ticket or show your ticket at the event you will receive a a complementary sticker. The sticker could say "V-Fest 2015 UK" in bold or could have a logo of the event on it you could make it a bumper sticker so people can put it on the back of their camper vans to show that they have been at the event. The selling point of this strategy is that people can be reminded of the good time they had at the festival and show everyone their passion for their camper van as they have gone to a festival all about it. It also works as a way to advertise the event for next year. 

Photo booth 

The photo booth would be a small extra that could interest people as they would have a good quality picture of them at the event. The selling point would be that people can have something around the house that would remind them of the festival as well as a family day out photo. If people have photos of their good time at the festival around the house it may remind them of how fun it was so they may come to the next V-fest. I think that this strategy will appeal to the adults as they are the ones who put up pictures around the house and will want pictures of the family around the house. 

Food stalls 

Food stalls would be good as it would generate more money if done and priced correctly. People wouldn't have to worry about packing a lunch for the family. If the festival sold things that weren't common in the house such as an ice cream van or a barbecue selling ice creams or hot dogs. This would increase the likelihood of them spending more money on food as they couldn't get at home. I think that things like the ice cream vans will appeal to the children as it's a treat for the kids. 

Face painting

Face painting will appeal to the children and will make them more exited to come to the event. If the children had a good time at the event the parents will be more likely to take them again the next time V-fest is on. This strategy appeals to the younger kids as they enjoy face painting, probably ages of 7 and below will be the prime audience for this. 

Merchandise 

Merchandise could bolster sales as people enjoying the event would like something to remind themselves of their good time. You could sell T-shirts, posters etc. With the merchandise being a limited time sale more people are likely to buy the merchandise as they wont be able to get it anywhere else at any other time of that year. This strategy is more catered towards the adults and specifically the contestants and the families of the contestants who are invested in the competition. 

Music Video Practical

Music Video Practical

In this assignment I will be producing a music video and writing a production diary detailing the entire process, this includes pre production paper work. How I organised my equipment and spaces for shooting the video. I will display my different ideas and show a basic idea of what my music video will turn out like.

My Ideas

I am planning on filming some sort of cover with myself playing the song and directing where the cameras will be placed. As of the 09/05/2015 i'm not sure if I will do a drum cover or a guitar cover of a song. I have ideas for using windows to show different parts of the song. For example I would have a different window in the edit to show the lead guitar part and another for the rhythm. For the drums I would have one camera pointed at the kit to show what my foot is doing and another moving around the front of the kit and maybe one at a higher angle behind me to show the full kit. 

Here is an example of a shot from the back at a higher angle. As you can see it gives a good view of the entire drum kit.

Here is an example of the camera moving around the front of the drum kit to show different angles of the performance.

Here is an example of different windows to show both the melody and rhythm of a certain part of the song at the same time. 

I have decided to make a drum cover of the song Beggars by Mallory Knox. I have listened to this song a lot, watched live performances and played it in my band so I know the song from an instrumental and lyrical standpoint very well.

Here is the original song with the original video. The video has references to the film clockwork orange.

Beggars lyrics

The Devil's been stuck in my brain,

and he's been living there seventeen days
He said that I can do better
But I know I'll get better
I'll do anything to feel something

The voices they're loudest at night
And they're so loud that they're haunting my mind
Although I know it makes me unsettled
To know I'll get better, if I find something deep within

See I can't find the way, out my mind.

(x2 Chorus)
Breath in, I'm coming to get you
You need me, but I don't know how to reach you
You know I'm going to be the one
(But I don't wanna be the one
But I don't wanna be the one!

I'm begging it to push me away
Cause this song will only drive me insane
I'm hoping just to sort it someday
And then it's just me and myself all the way

(So try sleeping with a stranger in your room.
It spends time banging on your bedroom walls
The voices in the pitch black letting you know that you're not alone)

See I can't find the way, out my mind.

(x2 Chorus)
Breath in, I'm coming to get you
You need me, but I don't know how to reach you
You know I'm going to be the one
(But I don't wanna be the one)
But I don't wanna be the one

(I'm coming to get you, I'm coming to get you)
I know I'm gonna be the one, but I don't wanna be the one
(Coming to get you, I'm coming to get you)
I know I'm gonna be the one, but I don't wanna be the one

See I can't find, the way out of my mind.
(Cause I don't wanna be the one, cause I don't wanna be the one)
The devil has his claws too deep inside
(Cause I don't wanna be the one, cause I don't wanna be the one)

See I can't, the way out of my mind.
(I'm coming to get you, I'm coming to get you, I don't wanna be the one)
The devil has his claws too deep inside
(I'm coming to get you, I'm coming to get you
I don't wanna be the one, I don't wanna be the one)

The song seems to be about an inner conflict between two different personalities in one person and being trapped in the solidarity and paranoia. Throughout the song you can see that there are conflicting lyrics that contradict each other 

Breath in, I'm coming to get you
You need me, but I don't know how to reach you
You know I'm going to be the one
(But I don't wanna be the one)
But I don't wanna be the one

The line "But I don't wanna be the one" is repeated a lot throughout the song usually by the back up singer which gives a sense of conflicting voices as it's two different people singing contradicting lines. 

The lines "The voices are loudest at night" "And then it's just me and myself all the way" and  "See I can't find, the way out of my mind." gives the sense of loneliness and being trapped with yourself. 

The song starts at 5:36. There are a few differences dew to it being a live performance where this can be quite common.

Pre production

Crew identified 

Camera man: Cameron Harris 

Camera man 2: Adam Watson 

Director/drummer: Chris Palmer

Studio engineer: Josh Webb 

Photographer: Chris Healey 

Schedule

Shooting day 21/05/2015

All pre production work 3/06/2015

Editing 4/06/2015-5/06/2015

Permissions 

I needed permission to use both the studio space, drum kit, microphones and camera equipment. I have a friend who is a student in the music technology department so he was able to book the studio space for me and recorded the performance for me. As I couldn't play and film at the same time I asked my two classmates Cameron Harris and Adam Watson to help out, I would tell them where to place the cameras and what they should be focusing on during the performance. During the recording I got my camera men to stand in certain places to film footage I could mix in between the moving footage in front of the drum kit and some higher up shots. I also had a shot for one of the takes I put the camera directed at the kick drum so the viewers can see what my foot is doing. 

This is when we are setting up the cameras and deciding on which angles to film at and the positioning of the microphones. At this point we were testing the levels of the drum kit and doing short recordings to make sure that everyone was good to go.

This is the first take where we had both of the cameras stationary. As you can see one is pointed directly in front and one is pointing at the kick pedal. I chose to do this take first because it would give Cameron and Adam an idea of what the song would be like so for the second take they could move around and have a better plan.

For the third take I had Adam to my left to record my upper body movements and Cameron in the middles to film the sticks hitting the drum kit. Cameron would be doing similar movements to the video I linked.

For the fourth take I had Cameron stand behind and get a higher up view which would give a good view of the whole drum kit. The idea was to be similar to the first video that I have linked. 

Production log

15/05/2015

I asked my friend about booking out one of the studio spaces with a drum kit and all of the mics required to record it. Luckly the time where there wasn't a lesson in the classroom was the time when we were all free, however we had about an hour before a class needed the room which ment we couldn't do multiple cuts if there were any mistakes. Later that day I got confurmation that we could use the room and the equipment. I sent out a booking form that night asking for two c100 cameras and two tripods.

21/05/2015

On the day of the shoot I had a little bit of trouble getting the equipment that I needed for the shoot. We weren't able to get a second tripod and we had to ask a lecturer to get our equipment because the staff weren't in the area. To make up for a lack of a second tripod we used a shoebox as a replacment which ended up working well for recording the pedal movements. Other than that we didn't have any problems on the shooting day.

28/05/2015

On the edit day I ran into the problem of not having the drum audio mixed with the song. Because of this I synced the original track to the video of me playing drums. Other than that the edit went fine I didn't run into many problems that couldn't be avoided. I had some issues with syncing because my cover wasn't spot on to the track but it wasn't to noticable because of the use of different camera angles which I used to hide some of the mistakes.

Radio assignment 

In this assignment I will be talking about the different types of speech packages and how they are used. I will be talking about the differences between public, private and community radio stations and how they operate. I will be talking about different demographics and psycho-graphics and it helps radio stations to produce content that will get lots of views. 

Public radio stations

Public radio stations purpose is to inform, entertain and educate the public. All public radio stations are funded by the public through license fee's. Examples of public radio stations would be the different BBC radio stations. 

The BBC can afford to spend a lot of money on its broadcasts because of its public funding. Because of this they can access more resources than a community or private radio station. The BBC has a lot more people working on the different speech packages compared to other types of radio stations. 

Private radio stations

Private radio stations main purpose is to make money from advertising. Because they are not funded by a licensing  fee like the BBC they must make there own money through advertisements. A private radio station will usually be more narrow in what they broadcast compared to the BBC who have a number of different radio stations producing a wide range of content for different demographics and psycho graphics. Because a private radio station must get its on funding they usually rely on sponsors and add revenue to keep the station going.

Planet rock is a private radio station which focuses on people who are fans of rock music and the other sub genres surrounding it. They play advertisements that will appeal to their audience whether it be new albums or the latest songs available on itunes.

As you can see they are playing the music that is targeting their audience of people who like rock music.  They show the audience what songs are next and what was previously on. They have a rather up beat loud music que which introduces planet rock and says it's "the home of rock".  To keep things interesting for viewers they do specials for example they are doing a acoustic hour.

They play new songs from different rock artists such as muse's new single which will attract a large audience and will be good advertising for the song. the band will probably have approached the radio station and ask them to promote the song.

Community radio stations 

Community radio stations main aim is to appeal to a local audience. They will mainly tackle local stories as opposed to national news. Different news stories will take priority depending on how relevant they are to the local area. A lot of the guests will be people from the local area and a lot of advertisements will be targeted to the local area.

CVFM is a community radio for Middlesbrough. Almost all of there stories are about something happening in the local area. and example being the story of a local doctor going and helping victims in the Nepalese. Another story being about potential pollution in lakes.

As you can see on the front page there are stories mainly about the local area and making people aware of what there local area. The top story is about charity funds raising after the last episode of benefits street. On the live station at the time they had a guest talking about how you could donate mosques all over the world through their platform. The founder of the website and the project was a man from the local area which gave it some relevance to the local area

Another example of a news story based in Middlesbrough. As you can see all of the stories are targeted toward the local area.

Different speech packages

There are a plenty of different speech packages, documentary format, radio drama and the different ways to present news through the media. There is the more formal way which is just a list of the different stories in a short concise way with a focus on formality and clear speech (No slang, little to no accent)  from the presenter. The other popular form of news presentation is a less formal presentation but not exactly informal. Lots of music and ques are used. The presenters are usually quite bright and vibrant sounding with an up beat feel to the speech package.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_World_Service

The BBC World Service is a very formal news radio station which tells news from around the world. They have someone who doesn't have a thick accent and is very clear in the way they speak so people from other countries can better understand what the presenter is saying. The speech package will have a lack of music or if it does it wont be very loud and will be designed to not attract to much attention.

http://myersmedia.co.uk/2013/tfm-the-reality-of-radio-today/

TFM radio also does news packages except they do them a little differently to the BBC World Service. This radio station is a lot more up beat with a abundance of music ques and background music. TFM radio uses vox pops which the world service doesn't. This form of presenting news tends to talk about local news or news relevant to the UK, they tend to go into more detail on a story whether it be with a vox pops an interview or just reading out statistics. 

How does the audience effect the radio station

The audience for a radio station defines what that radio station is and what it produces. A radio station must know its demographic as well as its psych graphic. You must target your content to the audience otherwise they wont listen to it and will lose interest. For example planet rock knows that its target audience are people who like rock music, they have a rather wide age range as they play a lot of different types of rock music from different eras. If planet rock started playing pop music they would alienate their audience and potentially lose it. TFM radio is targeted at people of the age from 24-40 however depending on the different sub stations depends on the target audience, for instance TFM is aimed at young people who aren't necessarily high class. It targets at this audience by being pretty informal and by the types of news they present. 

 Live/pre recorded 

Nearly every radio broadcast is done live however there are some exceptions. Documentaries, quiz shows and radio dramas are conventionally pre recorded and then played. News packages are usually done live but if there is a split transmission for different ares then there will be on pre recorded package and one done live playing at the same time to different places.  News broadcasts are normally done live so they can talk about the most recent new stories, if it was pre recorded they would keep on having to add new stories as the come out. 

Contributes

Contributes are interview guests, correspondents, politicians, experts on the subject and reporters. All of these serve different purposes but they are all for the same goal of enhancing the speech package with more information and other peoples opinions on different subjects. Having a experts opinion on a topic is a good addition to the production because it informs people more and makes sure that the subject is talked properly by someone who knows what they are talking about.

Actuality

Actuality is all of the different sound effects and sound ques. These are normally played at the beginning of the show as well as the beginning of the different segments of the show. they usually say the names of the radio station and the different presenters. The idea of these sound bites are to start the show off with something that draws in the listeners attention. Sometimes you will find the actuality noises to be things that you would find on the scene, so if it was in an office for example you might hear the sound of pen to paper or the sound of computer keys being tapped.

Ethics and regulation.

There are quite a few different things that producers must be aware of when they are making there news radio broadcasts in terms of ethics and making sure that they stick to regulation so they arent reported and face consequences. Producers must make sure they make sure peoples private lifes are kept private, have accurate information, stay away from encouraging stereotypes and to make sure people get a fair representation.

Privacy

Radio producers must make sure that the privacy of certain issues are kept. A lot of privacy issues can be met when talking about crimes committed, you have to make sure that the family member surrounding the crime are kept private so they don't receive any sort of abuse.

Stereotyping/Fair representation

Radio producers must be careful not to indorce or encourage stereotypes as they are not seen as a fair representation of a group of people. People can be easily offended by misconceptions and stereotypes. To avoid stereotypes you shouldn't focus to much on one group or have people from that group interviewed how their opinion on the subject.

Unbiased

A producer must make sure that no information sounds biased whether it be by biased to a certain political standing or to make it look different to how it actually is. You must make sure that your presenters wont present the information in a biased way and wont be influenced by there own opinion. The news needs to be impartial, it needs to present the facts as they are and not be effected by anything else.

Accuracy 

A producer has to make sure that the information is accurate, incorrect information can lead to a number of different problems like reinforcing stereotypes, coming off as biased. In general giving false information to the audience is a bad idea as the news' purpose is to present facts around the world and if they are false then it renders the station incompetent. 

Offcom 

The offcom's regulations for radio forbid the ones above if you break one of those you will receive some sort of punishment which will depend on the severity as well as quantity of the offence. Depending on the severity of the offence offcom could take your license away which would prevent you from working in that sector ever again and would put a black mark on you as an employee. In some extreme cases violation can lead to prison time. 

http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/enforcement/spectrum-enforcement/law

Making a stop motion animation. 

For my stop motion animation assignment I will make a stop motion animation using modelling clay.  I have made some alien looking lie models which I plan to use in my stop motion animation. I used plastercine and googly eyes to make  My model will be made out of clay or plastercine. At the current time I plan on using a plain white stage for my animation. I will use the white stage for my stop motion animation. I will have my models move there antenna's up down and move around in a circle.

The dog model was inspired by gromet from Wallace and grommet as well as a mix of teletubies and the things from in the night garden.

I had another idea of making a cut out animation and making my own characters using different colours of cardboard. I would make them interact with each other and make there moves move and shake hands. I got this idea from early south park cut out animation.

In the first part of my stop motion animation I got my model figures to walk into the middle of the stage. and get into position. I then made the little antenna to move up and down.

  This is the finished part of the actual stop motion animation all of the frames have been shot. I made the figures go around in a circle on the spot. I had trouble of making sure one wouldn't overtake the others and be still while the others were moving













I then went into premier pro and added sound, tittles and credits. I found a squashy sounding noise on youtube and used that for my sound effects.









This is my finished animation. It has my animation in full as well as the sounds, tittles and credits.
I exported it as a AVI at 720p.



http://padlet.com/chris270498/7vrudtd6dlu

General feedback

The general positives are the quality of the animation and figures used in the animation. The negatives are the camera joltiness, the lighting and the bland background. the audio has mixed responses of some people liking it and some people not. One idea from the feedback was to add music throughout the animation.

My response 

I agree that both the lighting and camera work isn't very good, especially the lighting as it constantly changes from frame to frame, this is due to a lack of thought of where I should have filmed the animation. In the future I will make sure that I film somewhere where I know that the lighting will be consistent. I'm torn on what I should have done with the audio as some people like it but others don't think that it fits and sounds like something else. 

What is my response to my work? 

Overall I like the work that I have produced, I think it has a certain charm to it thanks mainly to the clay models. I like the audio as I think it fits the clay moving sound. I think that the lighting and framing could have been improved as it isn't consistent enough and can be distracting. I like the movements with the antenna and the 360 spin in the animation, however I think I could of maybe tried telling a short story with the models instead of random movements. 

How could I improve?

I can improve in the location of my next shoot for my next animation. I think that I would benefit from more experience with the camera to get some better frames and be more creative with the use of the camera (close ups etc). I think that the steadiness of the camera. I think that a greater emphasis on lighting would boost the production quality significantly, with and improved location I will achieve a constant lighting effect which will be less distracting than the lighting in this animation. 

What improvements will I make for next time?

I will make sure that the lighting and framing are considerably better than in this animation, I will also focus on making a much more interesting background instead of the white blank wall it is now. I will work on making the camera more steady so it doesn't turn out jolty and distracting to the viewer. I will continue to make new and interesting figures if my next stop motion animation is a clay model animation. 

This is an example of where I would like to eventually end up with my stop motion animation skills. It has consistent lighting smooth and camera angle changes, the production behind the piece never gets in the way of your enjoyment of the stop motion animation.


This animation is similar to mine in that the lighting and style of presentation is quite similar (one consistent camera angle and a white plain background) However this animation is more in the style of a cut out animation opposed to my clay model stop motion animation. I would say that this animation is a lot more complicated so some of the feedback would probably mention the complexity of the animation. The animation is a rendition of the classic Tetris game so some feedback may talk about the idea behind the animation.

Research Methods

Research Methods

There are a number of different uses and methods for researching. In this assignment I will be talking about the different uses for research and why it is necessary before you start any project. The reason you should research a subject before trying to talk about it is to not sound ignorant and produce false information.

Different types of research 

There are several different types of research including quantitative and qualitative. While the variations of research are for the same purpose they are both different in the information they give and the way of obtaining them. 

Quantitative research 

Quantitative research is researching facts and figures. This type of research is objective as opposed to subjective which is qualitative research. examples of quantitative research would be things like album sales or box office figures. Quantitative research is good because it gives you a clear answer to a question it also show how many people are interested in one subject. A lot of quantitative research is used in news broadcasts so they can present the viewers with facts, whether it be the level of unemployment or the number of cuts being made.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=avengers2.htm
Here are some box office figures for the latest avengers film.

Qualitative research 

Qualitative research consists of peoples opinions which you can find in interviews or in a lot of qualitative research is usually presented in a quote form which allows people to consume small bits of information at a time. A lot of qualitative research is used in the news and documentaries as they ask a range of people for more information on the subject, whether it be a professional on the subject or bystander who has an opinion on the subject.  qualitative research is good for getting professional opinions on subjects.

Here is an example of some qualitative research. It is a review of age of Ultron filled with the reviewers opinions on different aspects of the film.

Primary research 

Primary research is when you go out and ask questions and get information for yourself. you can collect both qualitative research by asking peoples opinions and collecting quantitative research through gathering information for surveys. The good thing about primary research is that you know that it is legitimate information and hasn't been twisted in any way. 

Secondary research 

Secondary research is when you find someone else's research and use it to benefit yourself this can also be applied to both qualitative and quantitative research. You can usually find surveys and opinions of famous people on the internet. The benefit of secondary research is that you can find information that would've been out of your area of reach.  A lot of information can be found from internet forums questionnaires.

Purposes of research 

While all research serves to inform you more on a subject there are different areas to research to make sure relative content is made and it will attract an audience. The three main things to research before making your content is audience research, market research and production research. 

Audience research

Audience research is when you find out what demographic  you are aiming at and how to peek their interest and keep them entertained in your content. Audience research usually involves examining the audiences viewing preferences, what time they watch tv and how much free time they have. Its important to know what audience you are targeting at so you can cater your content to them and make it appealing. 

Market research

Market research is when you look for what type of content is popular right now in the market. This is useful because it allows you to decide what kind of programming will get the most views. Market research is mainly used by big companies to decide what will make the most money and what will attract the biggest audience. Sometimes people will do market research to find something that hasn't been done and could become a potential gap in the market.

Come dine with me became quiet popular as day time television because it had a sought of reality tv/competition cooking show. A similar kind of show is three in a bed which is a show about a group of BnB owners staying and rating each others BnB's, it still has the reality tv aspect with the drama put into the show and a focus on the quests personalities.

Production research

Production research is all about researching the practicality and costs of the making of content. Production research includes business fees, viability, resources and distribution. The purpose of production research is to make sure how much money you are spending and how you will distribute your content to an audience. It is very important to do production research so you don't go over your budget or mess up the business side of making content. 

Understanding Media Jobs

Understanding media Jobs

In this assignment I will be talking about the different job opportunities in the media industry. I will be talking about the differences between part time and full time. I will be talking about the different jobs in the television industry and what requirements you must meet to take on the job. 

Actors 

Actors are probably the most recognised job in the tv industry as they are exposed to the audience more than anyone else and draw the most attention in the show. As an actor you must have the skills to work well with other people whether it be other actors or the crew. Acting is a niche skill in itself meaning you must be able to portray a convincing performance of a range of different emotions and characters. The salary of an actor depends on their fame and the job that they are doing. For example if an actor was playing a side character they would generally make less money than the main character in a show. Sometimes if the actor is well known they will only do work for a certain price where as less well known actors will take what the employer is giving. 

Agents

Agents are responsible for getting actors work. An agent sort of works as a kind of distributor of you and your work. It is the agents job collect potential jobs and present them to their clients (the actors). The average entertainment agent in the UK earns 15,000 or more pounds a year. The hours of work vary from how many clients the agent has and how busy the local scene is.

https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/entertainmentagent.aspx

Camera operator 

A camera operator is responsible for managing and using all of the camera equipment on set. It os the camera operators job to shoot all of the shots in the tv programme. Camera operators are vital to making any sort of live action programming. A lot of camera operators work as a freelance style of business instead of working directly under someone. The salary for a camera operator can  range from how well known they are (how good they are), what project it is, how many hours they are working. However some camera operators in the UK are employed by the BBC or ITV and work full time time. The average for a camera operator working ten hours on a piece of factual programming like a documentary roughly makes 285 pounds,  for commercials you could get paid 411 pounds per every ten hours and for ITV news you could earn 227 pounds. 

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/television_camera_operator_salary.htm 

Choreographer 

A choreographer is in charge of designing complicated movements such as a dance or a fight scene. Choreographers can also arrange moves for music videos such as stage moves or dances during the music video. Michael Jackson is a good example of a choreographer in his music videos. Choreographers usually work on more than one routine at a time whether it be for a stage performance or tv. It is sometimes required for the choreographer to travel and train the dance team that will be performing the piece. A choreographer is usually a dance teacher and does choreography on the side. A choreographers pay varies greatly on who they are working for and if the theatre is under equity to give them a certain amount of minimal pay. An experienced worker could earn 1,275 pounds a week.

https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/choreographer.aspx

Costume designer

A costume designers job is to create both the idea for a costume and the physical costume. A costume designer will normally be asked to make some sort of concept art for the costume and then create some sort of prototype depending on if the concept art is approved. A costume designer is normally the leader of a group of people in a costume department. The responsibilities of a costume designer are to study the script to get a better idea of what the costume should look like. Another job the costume designer must do is communicate with the producer and director to get a better idea of what costume they should make. The skills that are required to be a costume designer is the ability to manage a budget, organisation skills and the ability to make and direct the production of a costume. You must have some sort of diploma and degree in textile design. The number of hours a costume designer works can vary greatly on what project they are undertaking. The average pay for a costume designer in the UK is 13,000 pounds a year.

Director

The directors job is to make sure that the show is of good quality and is a good representation of the script or the source material. It is the directors job to lead the cast and crew to create the program. A lot of directors are also writers so one of the directors jobs is to write the script for the show or coming up with the idea for a documentary of quiz/ talk show. The director is responsible for casting and hiring the crew as well as setting schedules for shooting days. The director has the job of choosing the locations for shooting and just generally deciding how the show will look and play out. The director is basically the supervisor of the whole show. Hours and salaries vary greatly depending on the project and the notoriety of the director. Hours for a director are normally quite long as they are involved with nearly ever aspect of the creation process. The salary normally depends on how well the show does.  

https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/tvorfilmdirector.aspx

Stunt performer 

The stunt performers job is to perform complicated and potentially dangerous tricks and stunts that would be dangerous to someone untrained. A stunt performer normally works as some sort of stunt double for an actor. The requirements for a stunt performer is good gymnastic skills, good fighting skills with weapons as well as fists, good athleticism, and special driving skills for crashes and chase sequences. The working hours for a stunt performer vary widely, depending on the film schedule, how many scenes they will be in and how complicated the stunt will be. The salary also varies widely, it normally depends on what the stunt is and how many they must perform.

https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/stuntperformer.aspx

Boom operator 

The boom operator is in charge of managing the boom. The boom operators job is to get the microphone as close to the actor without having the mic in the shot. The requirements for a boom operator is good audio skills and knowledge. good concentration and a steady hand. The boom operator has to have a good understanding of the rest of the kit on set so they can work together with the other kit operators. Pay and hours aren't set in stone as they change on how many hours which depends on the individual filming schedule. 

http://creativeskillset.org/job_roles_and_stories/job_roles/286_boom_operator_tv 

TV Presenter 

The tv presenter is the front and the face of the show. There are different types of presenters, there are the presenters that are more formal and used for the news. Some presenters are informal and are comedic, you will usually see these kind of presenters on some kind of comedy show or a quiz show. The presenter job is to lead the performance and take it in the right direction. 

The requirements for a presenter are good speaking skills and depending on the work either a fun personality or a formal presentation of themselves for new reports. Working hours depend on the filming schedule. The salary depends on how famous the presenter is. A lot of celebrity actors host a show of some sort. 

https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/tvpresenter.aspx

Makeup and hair artist 

A makeup and hair artist job is to make different hair and makeup designs. The hair and makeup artist is responsible for the look of the actors. The requirements for  hair and makeup artists is a good understanding of hair and makeup design as well as an understanding of what design is good for which situation. A hair and makeup artist must be able to interpret the scrip and make a suitable look for the character. The hours vary, depending on the needs for the job and the complexity of the design. A hair and makeup artist on a  ten hour day on a drama tv set earns about 210 pounds a day. 

https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/jobprofiles/Pages/make-upartist.aspx 

Full time 

There is no definite amount of hours for a full time job but it is considered that the average amount of hours working in a week is 40 hours however these numbers can change depending on the employer. A full time worker will normally work 5 days a week for 5-8 hours a week. 

http://www.smallbusiness.co.uk/20957/the-definition-of-full-and-parttime-employment.thtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full-time

Part time

A part time job is generally half of the hours of a full time job. Part time work is organised into shifts and will rotate around several part time workers. A lot of young people get a part time job so they can stay in education while working. Sometimes a company will only need part time workers at certain points in the year so they hire them as part time instead of full time where they would have no work to do. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Part-time_contract

Freelance 

A freelance job is where you are your own boss and organize your own work. Going freelance is very much like running your own business as you must decide your own costs and what to invest in. Depending on how well your freelance job is going will depend on how many hours you are doing, if you are in a comfortable place financially then you can decide your own hours. 

Piece work

Piece work is when you are paid a fixed amount of money for every unit you make. This is normally scene in some sort of production line at a factory this known as output work which is one type of piece work. Another variation is time work which is an annual salary for a certain amount of hours a year. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piece_work

Areas in the creative sector 

Creative 

The creative area is reserved for type of jobs that create stories or soundtracks. The creative area normally contains jobs like writers for scripts or any type of story.  

Technical 

The technical area is for the jobs that are about sorting out both video and audio for the show and making sure that everything on the equipment side is working. Jobs such as audio technicians fill up this area as well as video editors. 

Editorial 

The editorial area is for the kind of jobs like a reporter or an journalist who writes or advertises about the tv show. 

Marketing 

The marketing area is all about advertising and promoting a show through different advertisement campaigns whether it be trailers or some poster to advertise online, another method is using interviews with the actors or behind the scenes footage before the release to advertise the show. The kind of jobs would be marketing manager and marketing executive. 

Managerial 

The managerial area is for the manager roles. Such jobs include equipment managers, production managers and catering managers. 

Legal

The legal area is to make sure no laws are broken and all regulations are kept unbroken. The jobs usually include lawyers and consultants. 

Financial

The financial area is all about managing and organizing budgets, jobs including finance managers and accountant assistants.