BBC News @ Six Case Study

Basic details

• What do the letters BBC stand for?

The letters BBC stand for British Broadcasting Corporation.

• How is the BBC funded?

The BBC is funded by TV License of £147.50.

• What is the BBC's famous mission statement? (Clue: it's three words)

The BBC's famour mission statement is 'inform, educate and entertain'.

• What is BBC1's programme remit?

• How does the BBC News at Six fit into BBC1's remit?

Presenters

• Who are the presenters of BBC News at Six?

The presenters vary from George Alagiah, Fiona Bruce, Sophie Raworth, Mishal Husain and Sian Williams.

• What are the presenters wearing? What does this communicate to the audience?

The male presenters wear suits however they do not always wear ties with their suits,  the female presenters also wear suits however they mostly wear skirts instead of trousers. The fact that the presenters wear suites gives the audience a good impression that the presenters are sophisticated. Suits also show that the presenters are ready for business. The fact that the presenters do not always wear ties means that they are also a little relaxed and like to have a laugh when appropriate, it means that they are not always serious.

• Why might a TV News programme use a variety of presenters?

Having a variety of presenters means that the audience who are of different ethnicity's are represented within the presenters and that the audience can interact with the news. 

• How are other reporters or presenters used in the TV news programme?

The other presenters are also presented as neat, smart but casual. This means that they are serious when presenting news stories.

• Is there a balance between male and female presenters? What about race/ethnicity? What effect might these aspects have on an audience?

Opening sequence
Analyse the opening 2 minutes of the programme.

• What is the very first shot?

The first shot if off the BBC News logo which is a globe type of sign which is then followed by a shot of the office where all the people are working.

• How does the opening sequence use graphics or images to grab the attention of the audience?

The opening sequence uses graphics and images to grab the attention as the animated screen is visible to the viewers which they can see the images and animated videos which gives more of an insight and a more entertaining aspect to what the presenter is talking about

• How is music used in the opening sequence?

In the opening sequence the music is very tense, this means that the news they are introducing at the beginning of the show is serious and intense.

• How are news stories introduced in the opening two minutes? Is there just one story or are the audience told what will be coming up later?

News stories are introduced in the opening two minutes to inform the audience of what news stories they will report about later on in the show.


Studio mise-en-scene

• What aspects of the studio can be seen by the audience?

The audience can see the workers at the desk, the presenter sitting down and through the glass wall the workers can still be seen.

• Are the presenters standing or behind desks? Why do you think this is?

During the opening sequence the presenters are sitting behind the desk whereas after the animation and the date appears on the screen the presenters are sitting next to and this is so when the presenters are presenting a news stories animations of what they are talking about (e.g. number) can be displayed on the screen so the audience can see it clearly.

• Are journalists or technology visible? What might these things suggest to the audience?

The journalist are visible during the TV News programme before anything is delivered to the audience there is a crane shot of the studio which shows all the journalists working and this gives off the message that they never stop collecting news for the audience.

• How does the studio use colour?

The studio is made up of the colours red, black and white which are the colours off BBC News.

How news stories are presented

• How does the news programme typically present a story?

The news programme usually presents a story by having the presenter talking to the camera however they do sometimes include interviews(with public as well as other people who may be involved within a story) and live on location footage of someone reporting a certain story. 

• What difference techniques does the programme use to present the news? (E.g. presenter to camera, reporter on location, interviews, graphics, images, video etc.)

• What types of news does the TV News programme typically cover? Give five examples (e.g. politics, international, sport etc.)

The different type of news the TV programme usually covers are, political, international, UK news, sport and weather.

• Give two real examples of how news stories are presented to keep the interest of the audience.

Two real examples are when at the beginning of the show they gave some information about the top story of Tesco losing £6.5 billion loss, this makes the audience watch the rest of the news to find out about that story they also mentioned the drowning of the migrant workers and this also keeps people interested because they want to find out more about that certain story.

Running order

Watch the first 15 minutes of the programme – as recent as you can find.

• What is the top story?

The top story was about Tesco losing £6.5 billion.

• How long does the top story last for?

The top story lasted for about 3 to 4 minutes.

• What are the other stories the programme does or will cover? List them in the order they are presented in (the ‘running order’).

The other news stories that were covered in the programme were(in running order):

The Migrant Workers

On Line Pedophile Report

The Hacker In America and finally 

The UK Elections.

• How long is each story shown for?

Each story was shown for about 2 to 3 minutes.

• Why do you think each story was shown for the time it was?

International stories are shown for less time and this is because the BBC is more interested in UK News for example other News programmes had the top stories about the drowning of the migrant workers however the BBC News at 6 had the top story of Tesco losing money and this is because that was local news.

Audience

• What is the target audience for this BBC News at Six? Research online – you should be able to find plenty of suggestions to the target audience if not the official target audience of the programme.

The target audience is from 16 to 46, Educated class of ABC1 people who are most likely to be living in the UK.

• What are the viewing figures for BBC News at Six?

Their viewing figures are 5.3 million views.

• Why might someone choose to watch this TV news programme over others?

They are more traditional and focus on mainly local(UK) news.

• Is there an opportunity for the audience to get involved in the programme or comment?

There is usually no way to get involved.

• What audience pleasures (Uses and Gratifications theory – Blumler and Katz) does the programme offer?

Institution

• What other news programmes and services does the BBC offer in addition to the BBC News at Six?

The BBC also offers other channels such as: BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC Four, CBBC, CBeebies, BBC News, BBC Parliament, BBC Alba.

• What role does OFCOM have in making sure TV News is fair and accurate?

OFCOM play a huge role in making sure TV News is fair and accurate. It makes sure that explicit contect is always presented after the watershed. Nearly all programmes run under the regulations of OFCOM. In TV News there are other rules such as not being biased, they have be accurate when they deliver the news and they cannot make up stories, there have to be true facts.

• The BBC has been accused of 'dumbing down' the News at Six. What does this mean? Do you agree with the accusation that the news is 'dumbed down'?

Dumbing down means that they use more modern technology in order to keep the audience entertained for example they use extra animations and effects which are not needed when reporting certain stories. For example when they reported the story about Tesco losing £6.5 billion they had receipts popping out of the self check out machine showing the falling profit numbers and percentages.

TV News and New/Digital Media

• Does the TV News programme have a dedicated website?

No the BBC does not have a dedicated website.

• What does the website offer viewers?

• Does the TV News programme have a Twitter feed?

They do not have a Twitter account, they use the @BBCNews account.

• How does the Twitter feed promote the programme?

• Is there an opportunity for the audience to get involved in the programme or submit news stories?

The programme only has a YouTube channel where you can see clips and a twitter hashtag where people can post about their opinions and tag them.

Channel 4 News Case Study

Basic details

• When is Channel 4 News on?

Channel 4 News is on at 7 pm from Monday to Friday for 55 minutes.

• When was the programme first broadcast?

The programme was first broadcast in 1982

• What awards has the programme won?

The programme has won the International Emmy Award For News in 2003, the British Academy Television Award For Best News Coverage in 1987 and the British Academy Television Award For Best News And Current Affairs Journalism in 1993.

• What is the media institution that produces Channel 4 News?

The media institution that produces Channel 4 News is ...

Presenters

• Who are the presenters?

The presenters are Jon Snow, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Cathy Newman and Matt Frei.

• What are the presenters wearing? What does this communicate to the audience?

The presenters wear sophisticated but colourful clothing for e.g. Jon Snow always wears a suit but is well known and famous for his colourful and unusual.

• Why might a TV News programme use a variety of presenters?

The TV News Programme uses a variety of presenters of different ethnic groups and sexuality and this is because when they first started the TV News Programme they told the Programme to appeal to small minority groups. Which is why they have different presenters.

• How are other reporters or presenters used in the TV News programme?

They are used for different ways to collect news such as Live On Location Broadcasts or going to Interview people.

• Is there a balance between male and female presenters? What about race/ethnicity? What effect might these aspects have on an audience?

There is a balance between the male and female presenters and between different race and ethnicity's. This is appealing to different audiences because it represents a variety of different sexuality's and ethnicity's and this is because the viewers are also different. 

Opening sequence

Analyse the opening 2 minutes of the programme.

• What is the very first shot?

The opening shot is the number '4' zooming in closer to the screen.

• How does the opening sequence use graphics or images to grab the attention of the audience?

The images are moving constantly which means that the news never stops running, that there is always new news. The pictures are usually presented as stories with a voice over to give the audience a little information about the upcoming stories.

• How is music used in the opening sequence?

The music is playing at the beginning of the TV News Show.

• How are news stories introduced in the opening two minutes? Is there just one story or are the audience told what will be coming up later?

In the opening two minutes you have a voice over and images or video's presenting to the audience the news that they will show. They also have the presenter standing up talking to the camera presenting the news and the soon after they cut away into the voice over. They give information about stories to keep the audience watching so they can find out the full stories.

Studio mise-en-scene

• What aspects of the studio can be seen by the audience? (Desk, cameras etc.)

The audience can see some of the cameras, the desk at which the presenters sit at, they can see the laptop that is always sitting on the desk besides the chair. They can also see the screen on the left hand side of the studio which is where a lot of stuff are presented on.

• Are the presenters standing or behind desks? Why do you think this is?

The presenters are always standing up when the show begins and they stand near the screen.

• Are journalists or technology visible? What might these things suggest to the audience?

They are visible behind the glass background which makes it quite hard to see them however they are still visible. This might suggest to the audience again that the news never stops there are always new stories to report and that the people working at Channel 4 News never stop trying to find out stories to tell the audience. This suggests to the audience that Channel 4 News is determined to give the audience good news feeds and new stories, also this makes the audience carry on watching the show because it makes the audience feel like the show actually cares about what the audience wants and will work hard all the time to get it.

• How does the studio use colour?

The studio has a lot of colour, the two main colours in the studio are white and purple for e.g. the sofa is purple whereas the desk is white. Channel 4 News has to contain the colour purple seeing as that is the colour which represents Channel 4 itself, whereas they use the colour white because the colour white helps the purple to stand out so when people watch Channel 4 News they know that the News Show belong to Channel 4.

How news stories are presented

• How does the news programme typically present a story?

Firstly we are presented into the program by a presenter who presents the news however there is a voice over of the presenter as images and footage show a bit more of what will go on the show later on, the news programme then goes back to the presenter who tells us more about the story. After we usually either get live on location interviews or footage. We the have the presenter talking back to the camera.

• What difference techniques does the programme use to present the news? (E.g. presenter to camera, reporter on location, interviews, graphics, images, video etc.)

Channel 4 News is different because it is the longest news show which currently runs for 50 minutes. This means that Channel 4 News can give more information to the audience and help them understand and get a better view of the different sides to a certain story. The presenters also usually tend to remain standing throughout the show unlike other news programmes where the presenters remain seated behind desks.This helps the presenters get more involved within stories. In interviews the presenters usually tend to sit down and this is because Channel 4 News pushes the boundaries therefore the presenters get quite worked up during certain interviews.

• What types of news does the TV News programme typically cover? Give five examples (e.g. politics, international, sport etc.)

• Give two real examples of how news stories presented to keep the interest of the audience.

Running order
Watch the first 15 minutes of the programme – as recent as you can find.

• What is the top story?

          900 people drowning in the Mediterranean sea.

• How long does the top story last for?

        This reposrt lasted for 14 minutes.

• What are the other stories the programme does or will cover? List them in the order they are presented in (the ‘running order’).

•  900 Drowning in the Mediterranean

•  900 Drowning in the Mediterranean 

•  Election trail - SNP - 'English voters have nothing to fear from the SNP'

•  David Cameron's views as Prime Minister 

•  900 Drowning in the Mediterranean

• How long is each story shown for?

       The first story was reported for 14 minutes, the election story was reported for 2o seconds and the david Cameron report was for 12 seconds.

• Why do you think each story was shown for the time it was?

Audience

• What is the target audience for this TV News programme? Research online – you should be able to find plenty of suggestions to the target audience if not the official target audience of the programme.

• 16-34 year Old
• Most likely to be living in the UK
• Adults of the class of ABC1
• Independent companies

• Why might someone choose to watch this TV News programme over others?

Certain people would prefer to watch this news show over others because it obtains more information, it pushes the boundaries of TV News and the presenters get involved with the stories. The show also contains investigative journalism which shows the audience that they like to give out true facts. This also makes the footage they show more interesting to watch.

• Is there an opportunity for the audience to get involved in the programme or comment?

During the show the audience cannot really interact with the show even though the show is very modern and quite futuristic. However the show has a YouTube account that has more information on certain stories and they have web pages on Twitter and Facebook.

• What audience pleasures (Uses and Gratifications theory – Blumler and Katz) does the programme offer?

Institution

• Who owns, runs or produces this TV News programme?

OFCOM own this TV Programme which is in agreement with the secretary of State for Culture, media and sport.

Which is shown on Channel 4 

• Does the institution own, run or produce any other TV News programmes, channels or newspapers?

OFCOM also, regulate other TV News shows apart from the BBC News which is regulated by the BBC Trust.

Channel 4 also present well known shows such as The Big Bang Theory, 2 Broke Girls and Big Brother.

• How does the programme fit the TV channel it is on?

Channel 4 was created as a Unique and different Channel there were many American Series that would show on Channel 4 and this meant that the channel would be quite pushy because the English viewers were so used to English series that when the American series started broadcasting on Channel 4 certain people started to complain, this meant that the Channel pushed their luck with the audience. Channel 4 News was also created to push the boundaries that OFCOM has set.

• What role does OFCOM have in making sure TV News is fair and accurate?

OFCOM play a huge role in making sure TV News is fair and accurate. It makes sure that explicit contect is always presented after the watershed. Nearly all programmes run under the regulations of OFCOM. In TV News there are other rules such as not being biased, they have be accurate when they deliver the news and they cannot make up stories, there have to be true facts.

TV News and New/Digital Media

• Does the TV News programme have a dedicated website?

Channel 4 News has its own website which also gives links to the channels YouTube account which has more information on stories and live footage, citizen journalism or investigative journalism.

• What does the website offer viewers?

The website offers the audience more details about certain stories and the headlines of the show.

• Does the TV News programme have a Twitter feed?

The programme does have a Twitter feed.

• How does the Twitter feed promote the programme?

The Twitter feed means that more people can interact with the show. The fact that certain people re-tweet, hash tag or tag Channel 4 News feeds means that their followers can see what has been said this helps Channel 4 promote itself and helps it get a wider range of viewers.

• Is there an opportunity for the audience to get involved in the programme or submit news stories?

During the programme there is no way for the audience to interact and submit certain stories because the stories they submit have to be looked into first unless they have evidence needed to prove an upcoming story or a story that has been broadcast however with not a lot of evidence. The fact that there is a laptop on the desk during the programme means that the presenter are aware of the viewers who interact and make comments or even re-tweet certain opinion or feeds about the show.

Trailer&Film Poster Analysis

           Poster:

This is the official Film Poster for the film The Wolf Of Wall Street.The key conventions we can see in this Film Poster are, the central image, the film title, stars/directors name, critic reviews at the top, a production blurb and at the bottom under the production blurb you can see what the films Facebook site is called.All of these attract an audience because people that are fans of Leonardo DiCaprio would be interested to watch this film, especially because the Hollywood actor has a background of taking part in romance, drama, thriller and comedy movies, in this case the genre of this movie is Comedy and we can tell this by the background of naked women, a little monkey in a suit in the bottom right corner and the fact that there's a part taking place behind our main character.

                                         

This is the official Film Trailer for the film The Wolf Of Wall Street. The key conventions we can see in this Film Trailer are, the institutional details, short clips of key moments in the film to introduce characters and narrative, fast paced editing to suggest drama and excitement, on screen text for the main information, the title and music that communicates genre and 'feel' of film. This Trailer may attract an audience who likes the actor Leonardo Dicaprio or other actors such as Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie. Also this attracts an audience who prefer comedy genres with abit of crime. The genres are quite easy to spot in this trailer as every short clip consists of one of the genres.

In my opinion I believe that by the film poster and trailer this film has successfully been promoted, I also believe that both film trailer and poster show the target audience of this film and show the different bits of different types of scenes which will vary in the movie therefore people who do not enjoy these types of films should know not to watch them and I believe that this is where the promotion went abit downhill because some of the viewers who watched this are not attracted to these types of movies, which contain a variety of different and somehow what the people may find inappropriate.

The Wolf Of Wall Steet

My Chosen Movie 

The film I have chosen to analyse is The Wolf Of Wall Street.

 The reason why I chose this film to analyse is because the moral of this story is very interesting and has an interesting story on why the story ends the way it does. I also chose this because there is alot of  information to analyse about this film and why it has varied the representation of the characters in a certain way.

Institutional Background

The film had 5 production companies however the first one was Paramount Pictures which presented the movie along with Red Granite Pictures. The UK Distributors where Universal Pictures International and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. 

No Brand Loyalty

The Wolf Of Wall Street has three different genres; Crime, Drama and Biography.The trailer of the film specifies all the genres of the movie and this is because in the movie you see bits of drama, you see the biography genre where the main character 'Jordan Belfort' who in the trailer engages the audience by asking a rhetorical question and the last genre crime is because the rhetorical question is the main character asking "Was all this legal?" and then answering it himself with "Absolutely not," this tells us that crime was a well chosen genre as the FBI have a big part in the movie.My chosen movie is not a sequel the first movie first came out in USA in 2013 and i believe it will remain as one movie. No other movies by the writer are mentioned in the trailer however the writer has written other movies before such as; Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos and Get Rich Or Die Tryin' . 

Its All A Matter Of Timing

The release date for the movie in the UK was 17 January 2014. The official trailer came out on 29 October 2013 on Youtube however I tried looking for teaser trailers but I could not find any.

Its A Social Thing

Th majority of the public have given this movie a good review, some have described it as Scorsese's best work however there are other people who see it in a different view, they believe its full of drugs,sex scenes violence and greed they also believe no emotion is displayed throughout the movie at all. Some of the critic reviews were actually interesting to read, in this case I have planned to show two good reviews and one bad review that the movie got.

Good;
          "This is a fantastic exploration of greed. money, and truly flawed character that spent much on the nineties on a jaw-dropping but pernicious thrill-ride"
Bad;
       "Every time I looked at my watch, the hands seemed to have stayed still."

Good; "The Wolf of Wall Street is a film that speaks to our times, and it is saying some very important things if we care to listen."

Risky Business 

The production budget in dollars for this movie was $100 million. In dollars the movie made around $18,361,578 in the opening weekend whereas in pounds the movie made around £11,635,731.98 on the opening weekend worldwide. Worldwide the film made around $116,900,694 + £275.100,00 from foreign countries. 

Stars In Their Eyes

The director has previously directed films such as; Goodfellas, Shutter Island and The Departed.His previous films vary from, Biography, Drama, Crime, Thriller and Mystery.The main start in this film is Leonardo DiCaprio who is famously known to play many different roles in different genre movies. DiCaprio has also taken part in The Departed which is another movie by Martin Scorsese. DiCaprio is known to play many different roles therefore he is not known for a specific type of genre. The director is mentioned at the beginning of the trailer whereas the writer of the script and the writet of the book the film is based on are both mentioned in one shot at the end.

3 Trailer Analysis

The name of this film is called Beyond The Lights.The genre of this movie is Drama.The storyline of this movie is a famous superstar who is forced to hide herself away, she hates being famous because she can't be who she is. She also find love in the story and romance in this case fits the Drama genre well.The characters portray the genre very well, the young lady in this film shows that she needs a man to save her from being who she is and understand her for who she is and not who she has to be. There is plenty of iconography typical of the Drama genre for example during the film you see her trying to commit suicide, there is abit of romance involved, theres alot of drama as to how she hates her life and abit of violence. I believe that this movie portrays the genre quite well. The trailer isn't very long however the setting of this film is very glamorous and contains scenes of setting in America.

The name of this film is Blood Shed. The genre of this film is Horror.The storyline behind this movie is about a guy who visits a homeless shelter to find out about his history, however he soon discovers that the shelter is haunted by the ghost of a deranged female. He soon wants to leave but once the security guard has closed the doors there's no escape until daylight. The story behind this and the events in the movie portray why the genre is Horror. There is plenty of iconography of typical horror as the scenes in the movie consist of blood, gore, brutality and alot of death. The trailer isn't very long however, the movie is set in a homeless shelter in America.

The name of this film is Unbroken. The film consists of three different genres: Sport, Drama and Action. The storyline behind this movie(not yet released) is about a young boy who starts his life on the wrong foot, he has a habit of getting into trouble however he soon decides to do something with his life and becomes a running champion in the Olympics. Soon after his accomplishments he gets captured by the Japanese forces and is transferred from one camp to another beaten over and over because he wont follow the rules. The character in the movie is determined to gain freedom and return home and he remains resilient throughout the whole movie. All of these even in the movie portray the genres. There is plenty of iconography linking to the three different genres. For sport you have the olympics and running. For drama you have the brutal events of his life and what hes been through. For action you have all the times hes survived and got back up on his feet. The setting of this movie is in the World War Two.

Magazine Analysis (picture&audience)

Three Analysed Shots

This is a medium shot. Medium shots let us see a little bit of the background but not to much for us to see where they are. Medium shots also lets us see emotion on the characters faces. I think the director used a medium shot for this moment to let us see the emotion on the characters faces and how many people there are. Also the medium shot in this case creates s scene where it looks like these guys are after someone, which basically means our medium shot tells us quite a bit about what we need to know or see. In this shot we can see 5 officers clearly however overall in the view 6 are shown. The fact that not every police is shown in this shot makes us wonder where the rest are as surely seeing this many police officers would suggest there are more about.


This is a long shot. A long shot lets us see enough to know where the setting is and is this moment the setting is at the corner of a street and an old car is parked there, if you look closely you can see a guy there in the bottom right corner and it looks like he is running. Straight away you will assume that there is a danger that he is running away from and you will ask yourself why he has decided to turn into this corner of the street. The long shot is mostly used however to introduce a new setting and of course in this case it is the corner he has turned into. Longshots are also well used to spot detail in a shot that you may of not have noticed before.


This shot is a close up shot. A close up show lets us the emotion of the characters face. I think the director used a close up shot to let us see the emotion on the man's face. He looks like he is upset and worried so we may have sympathy for him, the fact that his eyes are directed on the left side of the screen clearly states he is looking at someone/some people which could possibly suggest theres a bigger reason to why he is upset. Half of the mans face in this shot is firmly blacked out showing there are two sides to him. This is a main reason why close ups are used they help us understand our character, to understand their flaws and how they are personality wise