1. Describe 2 main forms of research undertaken by the media industry.

The first form is Market research. This is where companies find out information about the consumers needs and preferences about their product. Companies would commission research agencies to find this out because they simply don’t have enough time to do it themselves, also researchers would know the best places to look for. Finally the researchers are independent, so they won’t be biased.

Market research involves looking at the following aspects. ● Statistical data. How many people buy or consume your product.● Product awareness. How many people know about your product.● People's opinion. What do people think about ● Market competition. Who are the companies going up against.

The second form is Production research. This is where you find out feedback about your actual product. Companies always do this when they have made a product. Before the production they ask the public what they need, then after they have made the product they ask the public what they think of it.

There are 3 purposes of Production research:

● Find out the content of the company to develop an idea. ● Would it be worth making this product. Would sales increase, can we afford it● How long will it take to make the product. Do you have the knowledge to make the advert.

Editing software.

2.

a. State the full name of the following research organisations: NRS, ABC, BARB, RAJAR.

NRS stands for National Readership SurveyABC stands for Audit Bureau Of CirculationBARB stands for the Broadcasters Audience Response Board.RAJAR stands for Radio Joint Audience Research Limited.

b. Explain what each organisation does and include an example of the research data produced.

● The NRS is a JV company that provides information and statistics about audience research which can be used in print and digital advertising. On the NRS website it states that their surveys cover 250 of Britain's major news brands and magazines and they aim towards “showing the size and nature of the audiences they achieve” Below is an example of a survey that the NRS carried out. This survey is the NRS finding out how many adults within GB that buy a newspaper or magazine, regardless of whether it is

digital or paper form. Interestingly the number of people who consumer a newsbrand of magazine had increased by 5% in one year which we were able to find out thanks to the National Readership Survey.

● The ABC provides information about the circulation of the newspaper and magazine industry. It includes data which is displayed in directories, exhibitions, leaflets and websites. It was launched in 1931 when there was an increase in demand for an independent advertising verification of the circulation of the industry.

● RAJAR is an agency that measures the audience of the radio industry. The company is owned by Radiocentre and the BBC.

● The BARB is an agency that provides viewing figures of tv channels in the UK.

When I made an advert. I used the BARB website to determine what channel I should play it on. “BARB viewing data offer clients, such as broadcasters and advertisers, a minute by minute breakdown of viewing at regional and national levels”BARB always gives out charts of the highest viewing figures. This chart shows that Live Football had the 2nd highest viewing on the 4-10 April week. I also wanted to have it during a football game because it is a football themed advert. BARB even have a trendspotting page which suggests what is likely to having the biggest viewing figures in the upcoming days.

3. Describe the different ways in which a media audience can be segmented.

A media audience can be segmented by Demographic and psychographic profiles.Demographics include features such as CARGEL, which make up the class, age, religion, gender, ethnicity and location of a person. Psychographics describe the mentality behind viewers, which include categories such as Mainstreamers, Aspireres, Succeeders, Reformers. The last way in which a media audience can be segmented is through Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Viewers are always at different points in terms of needs; some may be wanting something simply because it

makes them feels as if they belong with a certain crowd, whilst others may want something else because they feel as if it is a necessity.

One aspect of CARGEL which is very important is Social Class. An audience can be segmented by their class, this is because it can help to determine an audience's income. For example those in A class would be earning hundreds of thousands of pounds and therefore can afford those very high end products like Calvin Klein, Jaguar, Ferrari, Saville Row. Whereas someone who is in C would be earning lower wages like 20-40 grand. Those in D2 would be self employed or minimum wage. So if you know how much your audience earns you know if they will buy it. However you might get some people on lower wages buying expensive products because they are aspirers.

For a better view, please click here

4. Explain the importance of advertising to media production.

Advertising is the biggest revenue to the media industry. In 2015 there was 5.16

billion pounds in advertising revenue. It is projected that there will be 5.45 billion in 2016. I would say that many production companies rely on it due to it being able to generate a good revenue stream consistently. The article I’ve found is backed up by Thinkbox for 2013 and 2014. There was another chart that I found, this time on Statista. It shows how much companies in countries spend on advertising. Interestingly the USA spends more than China, Japan, UK and Germany combined.

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5. Summarise the role of a researcher.

Researchers need to find out the content of a theme about a show. Researchers also have the task of making contact with people who will be in an interview to find out their opinion. That way the interview can shape their questions around the interviewees opinion. A researcher can make a normal show a good one, since you need a mix of good and quirky to make good television. Notice shows like Big Star Little Star and other game shows. The contestants get a VT which a

researcher would have planned; for example, Britain’s Got Talent always has video stories of contestants who end up actually doing well. Some people might class it as spying. They decide to give us the background knowledge on the good ones, although they don’t do it to all of them. E.g. Susan Boyle didn’t get an intro and everyone liked her.

For my Unit 36, Interview Techniques. My group made a documentary about the Migrant Crisis. So we had to have proper legitimate facts. So we had to do extensive research.

Another e.g. feedback for our tv adverts.

E.g. questionnaire for advert feedback

6. Explain, using clear examples, how the viability of a media product can be assessed.

1. How much does it cost to make an advert. How much do the actors cost, how much does it cost to rent the equipment, the space.

2. Can the advert actually be made [I made an animation ident, people thought it couldn’t be done.]

3. Do you have enough time to make it.

7. What is a SWOT analysis?

SWOT stands for 4 things, and they are:StrengthsWeaknessesOpportunitiesThreats

Here is my SWOT analysis:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P1QIw9qFupLhkMsQ6wx9H8DFCcBbC-h6dINQEGIJGTo/edit

8. Explain what the term copyright means and why it is an important factor in media Production.Copyright is a form of intellectual property which can not be taken and distributed without the owner's consent. People can buy the rights to use copyrighted material. Nowadays everything is copyrighted. Whenever you hear a radio station in an Off Licence, or a Shop or a Hairdressers. The owner of property has payed the copyright to air that particular radio station.

Copyright is important to the media industry because of how much money the industry and the economy uses because of Copyright Infringement. Apparently in 2010, $250 billion was lost due to material that was distributed illegally. That’s around $800 for every person in the USA. This loss also lead to 750,000 people losing their jobs to cover the costs.

During my Unit 23 work, we filmed and attempted to live stream the Tallis fashion show. Music was played in the hall that we didn’t have the copyright for. That way we wouldn't of been allowed to air the show. The music wasn’t copyrighted because we simply wouldn’t be afford the copyrights of songs like Elle King Ex's and Oh’s , Woodkid Run Boy Run and David Bowie Fashion.

Section 2:

1. Explain the four main methods of research.

Primary: Primary research is ‘Research to obtain original data, using methods such as interviews’. Basically primary research is what you have found out yourself by asking for it. An example of primary research is my Questionnaire about my Snickers advert.

Secondary: Secondary research is the opposite of primary research. Secondary research is materials that you can find. For example found online or in a book. Secondary ‘research is based on the use of existing data and information that had already been gathered’.

Qualitative: This is where the research gathered is based upon opinions, so qualitative responses would be gained by asking “Do you like this”

Quantitative: This is research which is based on measurable and numeric data. So this would have a question like “How many Snickers bars do you eat each month”.

2. Explain, using specific examples from your own work, what factors need to be considered Considered when planning, designed and carrying out a survey using a questionnaire.

When I was creating a questionnaire for my Snickers advert, one thing that I really had to consider was how aware people are of the Media terminology. I wanted to ask everyone who answered my questionnaire if they felt there were any persuasive strategies in my advert, so I would have initially considered doing this with the use of a multiple choice question. However I didn’t end up doing it this way because I was aware that maybe not everyone knew about persuasive strategies. So I decided to simply do it at a text response. Also in the description, I wrote a few examples of persuasive strategies. I think this was a good move because it brought out a wide range of responses. Here is what a few people answered.

A second thing to consider when you are putting together a questionnaire is the subjects professionalism. Whenever you send out a questionnaire you can make it as professional as you want. You can put in as many warnings as you want. However I guarantee you will get some joke responses. Below is an example from a questionnaire that I made during my Video Installation Primary Research. I put in a question asking are you considering any props in your work. That was a closed question and I decided to follow it up with an open question asking what props are you considering using. I decided to keep this as an open question because anyone can use anything. However this backfired as Ms Amber showed me during the mock run. She responded with “Double Decker bus … A Scooter … mock up of a car”.

Mentioning fake answers, there are definitely a few of fake names in the responses that make it all too obvious the they are not genuine. I had responses from people like Lord Voldemort, Kurt Cobain, Wealdstone Raider. There were also some names, which I thinks it’s safe to say I’d rather not mention. I also had one fake response which at first I thought was genuine. That was because the answer was from Peter Hodges. However when I looked at the responses I realised it was fake. For example I asked “If you felt negative about the the graphic, why?”, to which the response was “Barry Manilow” which has absolutely no relevance. Also when I asked “If you identified some persuasive strategies, which ones are they?”. The response was the full lyrics to a song, a song which defiantly wasn’t Bittersweet Symphony.

A 3rd aspect you need to consider when you are creating a questionnaire is the types of questions you are going to ask. You can’t just keep on asking closed questions to the subject because the form will become boring and if you have a boring form. There is a chance that the person answering won’t finish it. Another reason why you need to consider what question types is so that we end up with a variety of data. For a form to be successful you need a wide range of data, both qualitative and quantitative.

3. Explain what a focus group is.

A focus group is where a specific group of people are asked for their opinion on an advert, concept or idea. Focus groups are a form of both qualitative and quantitative research and they are usually asked many questions regarding the product in question, such as their attitudes, beliefs and perception toward it.

4. Explain clearly what issues you would need to consider when undertaking your own secondary research.

The biggest problem of secondary research is the reliability of information. Secondary sources can mean anything, from a newspaper, to a book, to a website. As the researchers, we are unable to

know for sure if something is true unless the information was provided to us first-hand through means such as surveys. Also there is always the chance that the source we are looking at could be the work of fellow students. The problem with it being a fellow student's work is that the information may therefore not be as verifiable as something that was produced by a subject expert.

Section 3:

1. Explain what key areas a presentation of your research should cover.

2. Explain fully what the following terms mean:a. Intrapersonal communication - b. Interpersonal communication - This is where information is exchanged by 2 or more

people. There are 4 principles of Interpersonal communication. They are it is Inescapable, Irreversible, Complicated and Contextual

c. NVC - Stands for Non-Verbal Communication. NVC is aspects like your facial expressions, what you wear, your stance. Your audience will be bored if you walk in with your head to the floor and you look bored. It is a case of “Actions speak louder than words”. This was critical for both of my pitches. If I went into my advertising pitch looking scared or pointing my head downwards. My pitch wouldn’t of been accepted.

d. Paralanguage - Paralanguage is a type of non-verbal communication that emphasizes on the use of body language and tonal shifts to convey thoughts and feelings to other people.

e. Visual aids - Visual aids are trigger words which are used to start statements. So if you have a slide about an increase in sales, you won’t write on the slide “Since last year, we have experienced an increase in sales”. You would just write something like “Sales” or “Sales Increases”. Save the long statement for your voice. You could say CARGEL is a visual aid.

3. What should you do to try to make your oral presentation as professional as possible?

One way you can make an oral pitch professional is by dressing smartly. If you turn up to a pitch in a polo shirt and tracksuit bottoms, people will instantly think you’re not serious. However if you turn up in a suit, it doesn’t have to be anything fancy just a suit or tie, people will start to think you are a professional. Suits are a sign of seriousness and professionalism. I don’t have an example to show

myself, but when I did my pitch for advertising I wore a V-Neck Jumper and black suit trousers. This was because I wanted to look as professional as possible because advertising is a very serious industry. In my pitch for video installation, I went dressed as more casual, I wore Jeans and a fleece. This is because I feel that artist are more casual. Also by wearing your own clothes. It can feel like you aren't afraid to get your own clothes dirty in the production of your art.

Another way you can make an oral presentation look more professional is by not reading from a script. Keep your head up and talk whilst looking at your viewers. If you look down at a script you will look nervous and low on confidence. If you have to take memory cards with trigger words to look at during a break in the presentation. Basically don’t stop half way through the pitch to check on a word. If you absolutely can’t remember what to say, improvise. It shows your viewers your keen to try something else.

4. What should you do to make your written report as professional as possible?

One way that you can make a report look very professional is by using the correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. As simple as it sounds, it is so simple to use the wrong grammar. Your report should “Logically and clearly laid out”. A second way that your report can look very professional is by following a clear structure. If a report doesn’t have structure to it, it can sometimes feel like it has been thrown together at the last minute. Also mentioning structure. The viewer need to be able to understand their report, if your viewer doesn’t understand the report it won’t be successful.

Another way to make your report professional is by using terminology. If you're doing a report about advertising, throw in some terms like ‘Persuasive Strategies’ and ‘Target Audience’. If you consistently use terminology and back it up, it will look like you really know what you are talking about and when you know what you are talking about you are someone who clearly understands the field you are going into. When you are understand your field, it might across that you have a passion or a gift in that field which employees in the creative media industry will look for.

Date ofFirst Mark

Teacher Comment Grade StudentComment & Date

May 2016

Unit 3 Research questions for LO1

Unfortunately, Ben you have not yet achieved a grade for this unit because you have not given full enough descriptions or explanations to show your understanding of research methods and techniques.

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Your previous work for LO2 & LO3 show that you need to achieve a Distinction for LO1 - so please follow my advice.

Look at the grade for each question - where it says M or D you should provide lots of visual evidence taken from the pre-production research work you have already completed throughout the course

Set 1 Questions 6 Viability research - you should include reference to your GANT charts for TV advert and Video Installations and other pre-production materials to show how these form parts of the process.

Q7 SWOT Explain its usefulness and create a link to your example or copy and paste it.

Set 3 Presentation evidence include any video footage of you presenting your work

I’ve given lots of advice in comments!