Audience Feedback

-          We already know that media producers make use of audience research.

-          Now would like to get some feedback back from the audience.

 - Questionnaires, Comments, focus groups (feedback)

- Focus Groups - made up of representations of the target audience.

- Audience Panels – members of panels provide feedback on a regular basis.

- Trialling and Testing – samples of the audience give feedback on short ‘pilot’ extracts of what the complete product will be like.

Reviews

-          Ordinary members of the target audience / professional reviewers who write reviews of the product for newspapers.

-          Sometimes provide the cruellest feedback of all.

Complaints

-          Can be received directly from members of the audience

-          May complain to an official body (eg: Ofcom for broadcasting , ASA fro advertising, Press Complaints Commission for newspapers and magazines)

Audiences:

-          Audience Information

-          Sources of Infromation

-          Audience Classification

Audience Information

-          Focus Groups

-          Questionaires

-          Research Agencies

-          Audience Measurement Panels/ Ratings

Focus Groups

-          Usually 8-10 people

-          Have understructured questions

-          Discussion

-          Qualitative data

-          Answers the hows and whys

Questionnaires

-          Advantages: can be collected from a large group of people; standardised questions; easy to analyse closed-ended questions

-          Disadvantages: open-ended can generate large amounts of data and take a long time to process; some questions may be left unanswered

Research Agencies

-          E.g.: Misco – it is an independent professional company providing marketing research, training and development, business consultancy and people selection

-          Other Research agencies – private

Audience Measurement:

-          What we call ratings- through surveys etc

-          Measures how many people are in an audience

o   E.g: television viewership

o   E.g: newspaper / magazine readership

o   E.g: web traffic on websites

TVM Leads Broadcasting Survey ( Tue, 2^nd Feb 2010 11:48 CET)

Check: Timesofmalta.com

Sources Of Information

-          Rate Cards

-          Advertisers’ Information Packs

-          Research Agencies

Regulation

REALITY TV  - INVASION OF PRIVACY - ETHICS

Political Influence on the Media

To better understand media, we need to understand the political environment.

Media in A Democratic society is different from media in TOTALITARIAN nations (country run only by one political party) example China, North Korea.

THE BASIS OF DEMOCRACY

1.       Government is chosen and replaced through free and fair elections

2.       Active participation of the people as citizens

3.       Protection of the human rights of all citizens

4.       The Laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens

DEMOCRATIC SOECIETIES

1.       Protect freedom of the press and freedom of expression – PUBLIC INTEREST (INVASION OF PRIVACY)

2.       Characterized by a more diverse mix of public and privately owned media outlets offering a variety of arts, news, information, and entertainment

3.       The media is still subjected to government regulation - generally operate independently

Regulations

1.       When it comes to regulation, not all media are alike :  Print media,  broadcast media.

2.       The differences in regulations are often associated with technological differences example the Internet – New regulations are created with new media

3.       Differences emerge about the limits of free speech and the meaning of “public interest”

Regulatory Bodies

TV   : BROADCASTING AUTHORITY

1.       OFCOM – REGULATORY BODY OF UK

What is OFCOM? (OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS)

·         Operates independently from the government and party politics

·         They act solely in the interest of citizens and consumers

Legal Duties OF OFCOM

UK COMMUNICATIONS ACT 2003, to ensure that:

·         The UK has a wide range of electronic communications services example BROADBAND

·         A wide range of high quality TV AND RADIO programmes appealing to a range of tastes and interests.

·         TV AND RADIO STATIONS ARE PROFIDED BY A RANGE OF DIFFERENT ORGANISATIONS

·         MEDIA AUDIENCES ARE PROTECTED FROM HARMFUL OR OFFENSIE MATERIAL

·         PEOPLE ARE PROTECTED FROM BEING TREATED UNFAIRLY IN THE MEDIA AND FROM HAVING THEIR PRIVACY INVADED

·         THE AIRWAVES ARE USED IN THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY (TAXI FIRMS, BOAT OWNERS, MOBILE-PHONE COMPANIES AND BROADCASTERS)

·         OFCOM’s Broadcasting Code sets out rules which TV AND RADIO BROADCASTERS must follow

·         These Codes set standards to protect people under the age of 18 from material that is not suitable for them, while allowing broadcasters an appropriate amount of creative freedom.

NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR :

·          DISPUTES BETWEEN PEOPLE AND THEIR TELECOMS PROVIDER

·         Emails and internet content

·         Premium rate services (including mobile phone text services and ringtones) PHONEPAY PLUS

·         CONTENT OF TV AND RADIO ADVERTS (ASA)

·         Complaints about accuracy in BBC programmes (BBC)

·         BBC TV licence fee (BBC)

·         Newspapers and Magazines (PRESS COMPLAINTS COMMISSION)  - PCC

SITE

www.ofcom.org.uk

POST PRODUCTION STAGE : EDITING & SOUND (AUDIO)

Right now we are in the post-production process where we need to edit all the shots together ... scene by scene to finalise one whole minute of the chosen advert. We are trying to do some traditional Maltese music in order to complement the advert of the book Strada Stretta, It-Triq li Darba xeghlet il-Belt. We've got really nice shots.

  The team:

Elena Sammut
Joanna Caruana
Mark Frendo

Filming ...

Filming was scheduled for : Monday 25th April at 'Strada Stretta' Valletta

The weather wasn't fully on our side as it was cloudy & windy but luckily it didn't rain like last time!

All the talents (actors) and crew ( Mark Frendo, Joanna Caruana & I ) were there on time and everyone has worked together.

.... By the way... We've got really nice shots... 

Editing  ... here we come!

Famous 'Għana' Musicians

• Fredu Abela "il-Bamboċċu" (1944-2003)
• Mikiel Abela "il-Bambinu" (1920-1991)
• Leli Azzopardi "il-Bugazz" (1928-2003)
• Frans Baldacchino "il-Budaj" (1943-2006)
• Ġużeppi Camilleri "il-Jimmy tal-Fjur" (1917-1994)
• Salvu Darmanin "ir-Ruġel" (1905-1976)
• Pawlu Degabriele "il-Bies" (1908-1980)
• Grezzju Ellul "ta' Ċanċa" (1926-1996)
• Sam Farrugia "tal-Carabott" (1933-2002)
• Guzeppi Meli "Ta' Sika" (1929-2009)
• Żaru Mifsud "l-Għaxqi" (1933-2001)
• Żaren Mifsud "ta' Vestru" (1924-1999)
• Bastjan Micallef "Ir-Rabti" (1936-2002)
• Toni Pullicino "it-Tullier" (1927-1968)
• Rozina Sciberras "tat-Trott" (1880-1959)
• Fredu Spiteri "l-Everest" (1929-1965)
• Ġammari Spiteri "Amletu" (1907-1962)
• Leli Sultana "Il-Moni" (1921-2003)
• Karmnu Xuereb "In-Namru" (1911-1997)

General knowledge about 'Ghana Maltija' from Wikipedia

Għana is the term given to a specific type of traditional Maltese folk music. The word can have two literal meanings. The first is richness, wealth and prosperity; the second is associated with singing, verse, rhyme and even kantaliena, a type of singing with a slow rhythm. Għana can be broken up into formal and informal practices.

Throughout its history, informal għana situations frequently occurred amongst both men and women. The informal sessions shed light on the importance of the music in day to day life of the Maltese. The very origins of għana can be traced back to early peasant farmers. Ciantar (2000), in his article ‘From the Bar to the Stage’ puts together the writings of a number of foreign and Maltese scholars who make the claim early għana instances represents both the “simple life of the Maltese peasant life,” and the “intact natural environment of the island ”. Ciantar argues that the roots of għana are buried deep within traditional Maltese way of life, so much so that the two become synonymous with each other. Such a description by the scholar Aquilina (1931), for instance, emphasises this link between the people and għana:

How lovely it is, to hear from a remote and abandoned village amidst our island's hills, during a moonlit evening, while the cricket is hidden among the tomato plants, breaking the evening's silence, a handsome and healthy young man, swarthy as our country makes him, singing his għana ceaselessly. His soul would seemingly burst open with his singing! Ciantar argues that these songs evoke the very roots of Maltese poetry and literature, a claim that is also supported by ‘Dun’ Karm Psaila, Malta’s national poet. In an article on the origin of Maltese poetry, Psaila goes on to link għana to the modest recreation and aspirations of the common people.

Both scholars, Aquilina and Psaila, place għana in the 'intact' natural environment of the island:

…one could listen to għana songs, accompanied by a guitar or an accordion, sung by men and women on sea costs and during popular feasts such as Lapsi (Ascension Day). Youths used to sing għana love-songs in the open country, or the streets, or in houses during work-time.

Għana was a way to pass the time during hours of recreations and whilst completing household tasks. In particular, għana was practiced by the women singing on roof tops or in old communal wash houses, known as the għajn tal-ħasselin ("spring of the washers"). Wash houses were carved out of naturally forming caves around the island where water flows in a constant stream, providing a place to wash clothes. Like many other societies, men were the labourers and the women tended to the needs of the household. The women would converse with each other using rhyming song. It was a way of gossiping and passing time while they went about their household work. After washing, clothes were hung out to dry on the flat roofs typical of Maltese houses. From one roof it is easy to see – and indeed sing – across to neighbouring roofs over waist height fences. So essentially, there existed a pseudo community across the skyline of residential Malta, one in which women often took part in informal and unaccompanied għana sessions.

There are 3 main types of għana: fil-Għoli, tal-Fatt and Spirtu Pront. Għana fil-Għoli is also known as Bormliża, taking its name from the city of Bormla where it was popular. Bormliża singing requires males to reach into extraordinarily high soprano ranges without breaking into falsetto. This style mimicked the early informal għana sung by women, but due to its extreme vocal demands, this style is very seldom practised. Għana tal-Fatt literally means ‘fact’ or ‘actually happened’. This melancholic ballad style involves one għannej recounting a story about well known local identities, events or recent interesting or humorous, Maltese folktales and legends. Spirtu pront translates as ‘quick wit’, and originated from the informal ‘song duels’. Other types of għana are: bil-Qamsa and Makjetta.

In Spirtu Pront sessions, two or more għannejja (singers) are paired together and take part in an improvised song duel that demonstrates their knowledge of a wide range of social topics as well as their command of the Maltese language. Sessions take around an hour in duration, and there may be a number of sessions that make up a whole performance. The għannejja are the living poets of the Maltese language, singing in a highly expressive, free flowing style. Their improvised melodic lines borrow heavily from Arabic influenced scales. Although improvisation is definitely an element, it is never the focus.

Once a session has commenced, għannejja must participate for the entire duration, and no new singer can join. The ghannejja usually begin with an introductory comment about who is taking part in the session. This section acts as a way of easing into the bout, but has more recently been used as a way of identifying participants during taped performances. The għannejja then begin discussing the topic. This would either be predetermined, or it will be established during the course of a session, just as a conversation would. Għana is not used to settle personal differences or arguments between singers. The song subjects themes themselves are dramatic and grave, even if dealt with wittily. They may be personal honour, reflections on social values, or political (in the narrow sense of the word) (Fsadni, 1993). Singers must display their superior knowledge in the topic, while adhering to a number of formal constraints. For instance, their improvised responses must rhyme, phrases should be in an 8, 7, 8, 7 syllabic structure, and singers must use ‘high-flown’ language. This form of language is not one that is used in ordinary social intercourse. It is highly elaborate making use of wit and double-entendre, and drawing on the many Maltese proverbs and idiomatic phrases. The Maltese language is a very ancient language, and compared to English, it does not contain many adjectives or adverbs. Instead, over the centuries, the Maltese have developed a rich and colourful library of proverbs to act as their descriptors. Occasionally, depending on the għannej, the language used overtly self-righteous. Ultimately, this type of practice creates tension between competing għannejja. In most cases, the għannejja would be shaking hands with their opponent, similar to a sporting match, showing that what they are saying is only for entertainment and they do not mean to cause any offence.

The accompaniment is provided by three guitars usually strumming Western influenced tonic to dominant chordal progressions. This gives għana a very unusual sound, not quite Eastern, but not quite Western. In between sung verses, the next għannej (singer) is given time to prepare a respond to his opponents’ remarks while the prim (first) guitar improvises melodies based on traditional għana melodies. The għana guitar is modelled on the Spanish guitar, and is described by Marcia Herndon as:

…a standard instrument, with metal frets and turning keys, metal strings, and traditional decorations on the front. It differs from the standard guitar only in that there are two sizes. The solo guitar is slightly smaller than the accompanying instruments. This, along with the method of tuning, indicates the presence in Malta of an older tradition of guitar playing which has almost died out elsewhere in the Mediterranean. The guitars are played with or without the use of a pick.

Reference:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C4%A7ana_%28folk_music%29

AUDIO

As the book is written in Maltese by a Maltese author, and is about a street that in the past was very renowed, we came up with the idea of mixing some Traditional Maltese Folklor music with the Cubase 5.

We are still discussing which type of music is adapted for the scenes as every scene is paced differently and so we need different paced traditional music. We'll keep discussing this original idea!

Traditional Ghana is on our mind too, especially of the beloved ghannejja from the past "Il-Budaj" and "Il-Bamboccu."


Budaj

Bamboccu

Storyboard

This is the chosen Non-Fiction book promo's storyboard...



Book :   TITLE :           Strada Stretta
              SUB-TITLE:   It-triq li darba xeghlet il-Belt

 

Author of the book: Gorg Cini


N.B:  Sorry about the quality of the pictures but the scanner is not functioning well.

Kind Regards,

Elena & The team (Mark Frendo, Joanna Caruana)
Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production
Group : B

Location Recce (Location of Filming)

Since the book is about Strada Stretta/Strait Street, the filming obviously has to be there.

We (the team) had made a LOCATION RECCE in the street so that we would be more familiar when we were going filming. Here are some photos infact :

Filming would be held in parts of the street, so we would not be using the whole street according to our Storyboard.

Risk Assessment:

Tripod: May lose stability if not placed well. To avoid this, the assistant camera person will make sure that the tripod is secured in place and stable.

 

My role in filming (Production) : In charge of the camera. (Camera Person)

Non-Fiction Book Promo

As you already know, my book proposal was Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child and other authors. My team is made up of Mark Frendo and Joanna Caruana. After we discussed our proposals in the group meetings that were being held at school, we voted for each proposal. Strange enough we got equal votes so we had to discuss each and every proposal infront of all the class in one of our lectures. Well, I have to admit we got equal votes as the three proposals were really good and had a good storyboard.

The class voted for Joanna Caruana's storyboard and for the book "STRADA STRETTA. IT-TRIQ LI DARBA XEGHLET IL-BELT". The author of this book is Gorg Cini.

   Gorg Cini signing copies of his book

The book cover

Audience Profile

-    Once the Research has been carried out, and the findings are carefully analysed, we can finally build an Audience Profile. (A report that demonstrates a clear and simple understanding of the Target Audience built up from various sources of evidence)

What is an Audience Profile?

-    A study of customer needs and wants

-    Gather as much information as possible so that the final product will be well received by the audience.

What is it used for?

-      To list the main characteristics of our Target Audience so that the Media Product can be totally customized for them.

-    It would help to determine the appropriate style, tone, format and amount of information that is required in the Media Product.

Writing an Audience Profile

-     What is it going to be used for?

-     What is the background of the audience?

-     What is the context in which the final product will be delivered?

-    Who is the target audience?                                      

-     What are their Demographics?

-     What type of Audience are they? Mainstream, Alternative, Niche?

-     How or why would this media Product / actual product interest them?

-     What would their needs, wants and expectations be of the advertised product?

-     What is the audience’s level of expertise? Familiar, newbie?

-     What type of advert would this target audience need? Persuasive, Informative?

Advertisement Production

Techniques

•         Hidden and Overt messages
•         Emotional responses or association
•         Celebrity Endorsement

Hidden and Overt messages

•          Messages that are hidden in the images are harder to   decipher
•          While the overt ones are very visible

Overt Messages

•          Over messages on TV are seen in TV commercials
•           Overt messages usually feature prominently
•           They either convey a clear message about the product/ service or seek emotional response

Subliminal Messages

-   Subliminal messages work by giving the audience more information that they can possibly analyze at once.

-   The overt message might be a simple image and a slogan, but the subliminal message might communicate other messages, including sex, affordability or other positive messages

-    There has always been images embedded inside of others that cause you to crave  the product of associate the product with their things

-   When advertisers use this technique : it is usually hidden

-   Although some claim that subliminal advertising is a myth, some still believe in its powers

-   Connection of product with women

-  Objectification of women

Hidden Messages in Logos

Body Wisdom – Hands to convey relaxing yet also give indication to “Owl eyes”

Amazon logo- has everything from A to Z , Includes a smile

Toblerone – Switzerland , Bear on the mountain

Horror Film logo – The reel looks like a scared face

Yoga Australia – Australia map in between leg and hand

Product Placement

-   Product Placement is a source of hidden messages

-   Companies pay a huge amount of money for their product to be placed in the media product such as films

Emotional Responses or Association

-          Solution to a Problem

-          Fear

-          Concern/ Shock

-          Compassion

-          Self-perception

-          Social Position

Celebrity Endorsement

-   A persuasive technique that says that consumers relate to the person/s appearing in the ad

-  If the celebrity/athlete/star uses the product, then it must be good, therefore I purchase it too

-   An advertiser often looks for a list of characteristic when they choose a celebrity