Monday, 19 September 2016
Monday, 1 February 2016
Wednesday, 25 November 2015
LO4, Task 5: Legal, ethical and regulatory issues
It’s Maddie from
Education Wise, and this time I’m here to tell you about the ethical, legal and
regulatory issues that film companies face when developing and distributing
their films- particularly the ones that challenged Mr Magorium’s Wonder
Emporium.
A) Impact and effect
It has been suggested by researchers that audience members fit into two categories- passive and active. It’s like two separate schools of thought- the first theory in regard to a passive audience is called the hypodermic syringe, invented by Theodore Adorno in the 1930s. This is the idea that the media inject a more easily influenced audience with negative messages and values; they believe everything they see on TV and apply their lives to it which could have a negative impact. This may result in issues of violence, sexual impropriety or harmful stereotypes. An active audience is somebody that questions what they see on television and is not easily influenced by it. This is the second school of thought in which David Gauntlett said that people can filter content in media and adapt to it, using it merely for entertainment or analysis purposes. In Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium Eric (the child) befriends the stores accountant, even bringing him to his house at one point of the film. Realistically children shouldn't befriend adults and definitely shouldn't be taking them to their home so this scene is not alerting children to the concept of 'stranger danger', creating what would be a negative impact on a passive audience. Eric is also bullied throughout the film for being different to the others- this may make passive audiences think it is acceptable to ostracise people for being different. However, the film may have a positive impact as Henry and Molly are adults who have stopped believing in their own capabilities but by the end of the film they have rediscovered their self-faith. Adults watching may learn a lesson from this film about having confidence in their abilities and take some morals away from it. As well as this, whilst Eric is bullied by the other children the adults understand that this is wrong and encourage him to make nice friends- hopefully the audience derive the message to not allow people be outcasts in society.
B) Representation
Representation is the way a character or group is portrayed- Stuart Hill (1980) theorised that all representations are mediated, meaning they are created purposefully. For instance, teenagers are generally represented as being moody and unpleasant towards others (especially adults), even though this is not always the case in real life.
Similarly Tessa Perkins (1979) believed that not all stereotypes are false/negative when being portrayed in the media. In this film Eric is the kid that is different from the others his age and he acts as the stereotypical underdog because of it. Positively in my film, Molly is a strong female character which will be presented as an 'ideal self' (Carl Rogers 1970) for most young girls in the audience. She challenges the stereotypes set by most women in films (counter-type) by being the main character and becoming powerful enough to manage the emporium. She does not serve the male gaze (Laura Mulvey) as she dresses in a 'tom-boy' fashion. In my film all of the main cast are white, the only time that characters of any other ethnicity appear are in brief moments- this means the film does not have a diverse cast in the sense of representation and may give the negative stereotype of white people being more successful than those of other ethnic groups.
C) Legal and/or ethical issues
When creating a film there are many legal issues that the producers will face, the main being copyright infringement. Copyright infringement is when content is used in the film from another source without permission e.g. a song by an artist. The producers will need to get this permission from the creator in order for them to be allowed to use it; to do this they will pay a large sum of money to the owners and list their content in the credits. In the case of a song they will put the artists name often accompanied by the record label. Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium is filled with toys, the majority of which were not created for the purpose of the film. For instance Kermit the frog is an iconic character which appears in my film- to show Kermit they would've needed to pay the Disney as they are now the owners of the Muppets’ brand. There is also a scene in my film in which Cat Steven's song 'don't be shy' is played. In order to use this song they would need to have paid Cat Stevens and his record label (Legacy Recordings) a large sum of money so they did not face any problems. The consequences of copyright infringement are being sued/fined and the movie may be stopped from being released because of the content.
Ethical issues are often faced by film companies- the main one of these being illegal downloads as the producers lose profit because of them. Although some producers actually see it as a form or marketing; if the audience like it enough they will buy the real product along with merchandise.
Numerous things are considered 'offensive' within films, for instance: racism, sexism, scenes of a sexual nature, use of language, violence, horror or drug use. Each of these categories are considered offensive for multiple reasons, possibly because they attack a specific group of people (e.g. it features racism) but mainly to shelter younger viewers from more disturbing scenes. The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) makes sure films are labelled so parents know if they will be appropriate for their children. My film is a classed as a U for Universal and has no offensive material within it because it is aimed at children.
D) Regulatory bodies
The BBFC is the British Board of film classification and they classify films in terms of what age groups they believe should be permitted to watch them. Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium is a U for universal- this means it was deemed appropriate for all age groups in both the US and the UK. Many films are censored, even if it takes place as late as the editing stage, but my film was not altered to be more appropriate for its target audience. It has no scenes of particular offense within it so remained classed as a U throughout all of the production. In a U film the closest BBFC allow to swearing are words such as 'damn' or 'hell'; damn is used only once in my film so Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium is applying itself to the BBFC guidelines. There are no sexual references in my film, violence or drug references. It is also stated in the guidelines that 'moments of emotional stress or threat will be quickly resolved and the outcome will be reassuring'. My film applies itself to these rules by having an ending that settles each characters individual problems throughout the movie- Molly finds the power to believe in herself, Eric makes his first friend, Henry remembers its okay not to be so serious all the time and Mr Magorium peacefully declines into his eternal rest. If the ending was to be one where all the issues were not resolved then it may’ve had to be a higher rating as young children need the security of a happy ending so that they are not troubled by the films events and continue to believe that everything may have a ‘good’ ending.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the UK's advertisement regulator spanning across all different kinds of media. They ensure the advertising codes are being followed and, if they are not, act to censor the adverts. Each of the adverts for Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium adhered to this code- before being aired they would've been required to have all their claims substantiated about it being suitable for viewers, which they decidedly were. The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) is the committee that has written the advertising codes which are enforced by the ASA. These guidelines must be adhered to by my film during advertisement- for instance 01 Compliance rule 1.1 states ''Marketing communications should be legal, honest and truthful". Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium manages to do this as the poster displays the actors which are actually in the film surrounded by multiple characters/toys from the emporium, the poster denotes magic which is exactly what is within the film. In the 05 Children rule, 5.1 states any film being marketed towards children must be appropriate and is not likely to result in any harm towards them. Posters for my film have nothing on them which could be considered mature content, all the films products such as toys and the book are also suitable for the target audience (U) and should not scare or upset them. Another section is 04 Harm and offence which states that the context of the poster should not offend any groups- the poster for Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium does not discriminate against any gender/race/religion and does not even suggest a relation to any of these things.
By this point you should have a far greater grasp of the ethical and legal issues faced by film developers as well as an understanding on key terms. Now that I and Education Wise have had the opportunity to share all of my media related knowledge with you I hope you use it wisely when going forward with your own businesses one day, thank you and goodbye!
A) Impact and effect
It has been suggested by researchers that audience members fit into two categories- passive and active. It’s like two separate schools of thought- the first theory in regard to a passive audience is called the hypodermic syringe, invented by Theodore Adorno in the 1930s. This is the idea that the media inject a more easily influenced audience with negative messages and values; they believe everything they see on TV and apply their lives to it which could have a negative impact. This may result in issues of violence, sexual impropriety or harmful stereotypes. An active audience is somebody that questions what they see on television and is not easily influenced by it. This is the second school of thought in which David Gauntlett said that people can filter content in media and adapt to it, using it merely for entertainment or analysis purposes. In Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium Eric (the child) befriends the stores accountant, even bringing him to his house at one point of the film. Realistically children shouldn't befriend adults and definitely shouldn't be taking them to their home so this scene is not alerting children to the concept of 'stranger danger', creating what would be a negative impact on a passive audience. Eric is also bullied throughout the film for being different to the others- this may make passive audiences think it is acceptable to ostracise people for being different. However, the film may have a positive impact as Henry and Molly are adults who have stopped believing in their own capabilities but by the end of the film they have rediscovered their self-faith. Adults watching may learn a lesson from this film about having confidence in their abilities and take some morals away from it. As well as this, whilst Eric is bullied by the other children the adults understand that this is wrong and encourage him to make nice friends- hopefully the audience derive the message to not allow people be outcasts in society.
B) Representation
Representation is the way a character or group is portrayed- Stuart Hill (1980) theorised that all representations are mediated, meaning they are created purposefully. For instance, teenagers are generally represented as being moody and unpleasant towards others (especially adults), even though this is not always the case in real life.
Similarly Tessa Perkins (1979) believed that not all stereotypes are false/negative when being portrayed in the media. In this film Eric is the kid that is different from the others his age and he acts as the stereotypical underdog because of it. Positively in my film, Molly is a strong female character which will be presented as an 'ideal self' (Carl Rogers 1970) for most young girls in the audience. She challenges the stereotypes set by most women in films (counter-type) by being the main character and becoming powerful enough to manage the emporium. She does not serve the male gaze (Laura Mulvey) as she dresses in a 'tom-boy' fashion. In my film all of the main cast are white, the only time that characters of any other ethnicity appear are in brief moments- this means the film does not have a diverse cast in the sense of representation and may give the negative stereotype of white people being more successful than those of other ethnic groups.
C) Legal and/or ethical issues
When creating a film there are many legal issues that the producers will face, the main being copyright infringement. Copyright infringement is when content is used in the film from another source without permission e.g. a song by an artist. The producers will need to get this permission from the creator in order for them to be allowed to use it; to do this they will pay a large sum of money to the owners and list their content in the credits. In the case of a song they will put the artists name often accompanied by the record label. Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium is filled with toys, the majority of which were not created for the purpose of the film. For instance Kermit the frog is an iconic character which appears in my film- to show Kermit they would've needed to pay the Disney as they are now the owners of the Muppets’ brand. There is also a scene in my film in which Cat Steven's song 'don't be shy' is played. In order to use this song they would need to have paid Cat Stevens and his record label (Legacy Recordings) a large sum of money so they did not face any problems. The consequences of copyright infringement are being sued/fined and the movie may be stopped from being released because of the content.
Ethical issues are often faced by film companies- the main one of these being illegal downloads as the producers lose profit because of them. Although some producers actually see it as a form or marketing; if the audience like it enough they will buy the real product along with merchandise.
Numerous things are considered 'offensive' within films, for instance: racism, sexism, scenes of a sexual nature, use of language, violence, horror or drug use. Each of these categories are considered offensive for multiple reasons, possibly because they attack a specific group of people (e.g. it features racism) but mainly to shelter younger viewers from more disturbing scenes. The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) makes sure films are labelled so parents know if they will be appropriate for their children. My film is a classed as a U for Universal and has no offensive material within it because it is aimed at children.
D) Regulatory bodies
The BBFC is the British Board of film classification and they classify films in terms of what age groups they believe should be permitted to watch them. Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium is a U for universal- this means it was deemed appropriate for all age groups in both the US and the UK. Many films are censored, even if it takes place as late as the editing stage, but my film was not altered to be more appropriate for its target audience. It has no scenes of particular offense within it so remained classed as a U throughout all of the production. In a U film the closest BBFC allow to swearing are words such as 'damn' or 'hell'; damn is used only once in my film so Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium is applying itself to the BBFC guidelines. There are no sexual references in my film, violence or drug references. It is also stated in the guidelines that 'moments of emotional stress or threat will be quickly resolved and the outcome will be reassuring'. My film applies itself to these rules by having an ending that settles each characters individual problems throughout the movie- Molly finds the power to believe in herself, Eric makes his first friend, Henry remembers its okay not to be so serious all the time and Mr Magorium peacefully declines into his eternal rest. If the ending was to be one where all the issues were not resolved then it may’ve had to be a higher rating as young children need the security of a happy ending so that they are not troubled by the films events and continue to believe that everything may have a ‘good’ ending.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the UK's advertisement regulator spanning across all different kinds of media. They ensure the advertising codes are being followed and, if they are not, act to censor the adverts. Each of the adverts for Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium adhered to this code- before being aired they would've been required to have all their claims substantiated about it being suitable for viewers, which they decidedly were. The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) is the committee that has written the advertising codes which are enforced by the ASA. These guidelines must be adhered to by my film during advertisement- for instance 01 Compliance rule 1.1 states ''Marketing communications should be legal, honest and truthful". Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium manages to do this as the poster displays the actors which are actually in the film surrounded by multiple characters/toys from the emporium, the poster denotes magic which is exactly what is within the film. In the 05 Children rule, 5.1 states any film being marketed towards children must be appropriate and is not likely to result in any harm towards them. Posters for my film have nothing on them which could be considered mature content, all the films products such as toys and the book are also suitable for the target audience (U) and should not scare or upset them. Another section is 04 Harm and offence which states that the context of the poster should not offend any groups- the poster for Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium does not discriminate against any gender/race/religion and does not even suggest a relation to any of these things.
By this point you should have a far greater grasp of the ethical and legal issues faced by film developers as well as an understanding on key terms. Now that I and Education Wise have had the opportunity to share all of my media related knowledge with you I hope you use it wisely when going forward with your own businesses one day, thank you and goodbye!
Friday, 6 November 2015
Audience member profile
Alicia is a 5 year old girl still under the firm belief that a giant rabbit visits every Easter and Santa zips down their chimney every Christmas. She has what she considers the worlds largest collection of action figures and Bratz dolls (in reality she's just the only one with more than 10 on her street), of which her favourite is a miniature replica of Arnold Schwarzenegger from the Terminator franchise. Her and her brother have a tendency to argue over what belongs to whom in their collection, but when she pulls out the waterworks her parents are suddenly in no doubt of who is the true proprietor. Together, the four of them live in a homely bungalow in Yorkshire. The house has the constant aroma of fresh plastic and everything always has the appearance of being clean- although upon closer inspection you may see that Alicia has begun to moult and her ginger hair litters most of the furniture.
Demographics summary
NRS stands for National Readership Survey and they are an organisation which specialise in demographic
information by doing audience research for institutions.
The lifestyle of a person is the way they live their lives based on e.g. their hobbies, job, etc. But the spending power of a person is the class that they fit into based on their income and occupation, this is often called ‘social’ grade definition. ABC1 is common when it comes to targeting an audience as they have a lot of disposable income (lots of money to throw away).
The lifestyle of a person is the way they live their lives based on e.g. their hobbies, job, etc. But the spending power of a person is the class that they fit into based on their income and occupation, this is often called ‘social’ grade definition. ABC1 is common when it comes to targeting an audience as they have a lot of disposable income (lots of money to throw away).
Wednesday, 14 October 2015
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