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1. By Emma Jane Laffoley

2.  BBFC is used to classify music videos into different types of age categories based on their
content.This is to regulate music videos to ensure that younger viewers aren’t exposed to explicit
content. It’s also used to make sure that parents are aware of what guidelines are out there to
protect their child from accessing music videos that are not suitable for their age.
 The music video will need to be submitted to the BBFC before they release the music video
online.The BBFC then rate the video based on the inclusion of; drug misuse, dangerous behaviour
presented as safe, bad language, sexual behaviour, threatening behaviour and violence. All music
videos are rated atleast a 12.
 Youtube regulate music videos through the use of their own filtering. Anyone can watch videos on
Youtube, however you will need to sign in to ensure that you’re at the right age in which you can
watch certain music videos. For example, you would need to sign in to watch Miley Cyrus’ ‘We
Can’t Stop’ music video to ensure that you’re over 18 as the music video includes sexual content
and drugs.
 Ofcom is a company that regulates what’s shown onTV.The watershed refers to the time in
which adult content can be displayed onTV which is 9pm- 5.30am. Music videoTV programmes
have to censor out any profanities and cannot show sexual content music videos before the
watershed.

3.  Ofcom is the name of the company which regulates music videos
in the UK. Ofcom regulates all communications in the UK which
also includes;TV, radio, video on demand and of course music
videos.They ensure that young people under the age of 18 are
protected from being exploited to explicit content such as the use
of; profanity, sexual content, drug and alcohol abuse, suicide
practice and violence.
 Ofcom operates under a variety of different acts, however the
main act is the Communications Act 2003. Ofcom also has the
right to press charges against media producers who break this act.
This is so that the law is enforced and o protect consumers from
being exploited to explicit/offensive material.

4.  Ofcom must ensure that music videos for all genres are appropriate
for under 18s and that the music video doesn’t exploit
offensive/dangerous material to members of public.
 Rules for music videos in which are broadcasted onTV such as on
channels (e.g. MTV, Kerrang! & Scuzz) must;
 Consider the nature of the content featured in the music video (including; the clothing
in which the artist/band is wearing, the nature of dancing, the lyrical content, use of
sexual images and violence/dangerous behaviour).
 The number of viewers making sure that weekends, school time and public holidays
are taken into account
 The time in which the programme starts and finishes
 The style and nature of the channel and programme as well as the expectation of the
audience age/amount of viewers

5.  As a music video creator, you have the responsibility to create a music video
which is suitable for your intended target audience. For example, if your target
audience age range is 13-15 then it would be inappropriate to include sexual
content and extreme violence/dangerous behaviour as this type of content
should only be suitable to those over the age of 15 for mild sexual content and
violence and 18 for extreme use of sexual content and dangerous behaviour.
 The music video creator will need to consider how they have decided to
represent people/places/events in relation to their intended target audience. For
example, they shouldn’t represent characters/artists featured in a sexual way if
the target audience is under 15. Furthermore, sadistic events such as suicide and
graphic death should not be featured in music video that have a target audience
age range of under 18 as people under this age may be easily influenced by what
they see in the media.This relates to the hypodermic needle theory as those
under the age of 18 are more likely to be passive audience members and
therefore shouldn’t be exposed to sexual or violence content which is extreme in
nature.

6.  If the music video you are broadcasting on a programme doesn’t abide by Ofcom’s rules on music video
regulation, then the company will be fined for displaying inappropriate content onTV which isn’t suitable
for under 18’s.This can be quite hefty depending on the severity of the offense. Also, if the programme is
persistently going against Ofcom’s rules on music videos then they run the risk of having theirTV show
taken down.
 An example of a music video which breached Ofcom’s rules was Rhianna’s S&M music video.This is
because they believed that the music video was oversexualised in terms of the nature of the lyrics and
the actual content of the video.The lyrics that upsetOfcom were; ‘chains and whips excite me’ which is
referring to BDSM which is a sex term. Furthermore, the visuals also breach Ofcoms rules as it included
men being tied up and Rhianna wearing little clothing as well as her also playing with whips.The music
video was broadcasted byWTFTV at 11:30 which is before the watershed time and therefore should
have been appropriate for those under the age of 18, however it was not.

8.  The uses and gratifications theory was proposed by Bulmer and Katz and believes the
audience to be active as they have reasoning behind why they watch media content.The
five reasons why the audience might watch media texts are; diversion, escapism,
information, sexual stimulation and personal identification. This theory sees the audience
as active as they have reasoning behind why they want to view media texts.They also
make their own decisions as to what they’re going to do as a result of watching a piece of
media text. As I am going to be creating a music video aimed at teenagers aged 16-18,
they would most likely enjoy the sexual stimulation and escapism side of this theory.This
is because as a teenager you don’t really get to see the amazing parts of life as you’re still
at home or you’re studying and therefore they want to watch media that shows them
that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. This theory is important for my A2 production
as I’m going to be creating a music video and I would like to appeal to my target audience
through giving them a sense of escapism as well as providing them with useful
information without being too formal.

9.  The hypodermic needle theory is a very important and relevant theory for music video regulation.This
theory believes that messages are ‘injected’ into the passive audience’s brain and that they have no
control over how they interpret these messages. Rap music videos have bad reputation for creating
music videos that are inappropriate and that have a bad impact on youth of today due to the use of
sexual content and drugs.As I’m going to be creating a music video aimed at the age group of 15-21 I
will need to consider the impact my media product will have on my audience.
 Content Analysis:An analysis of 518 music videos on 4 television networks (MTV,VH1, CMT, and BET)
was conducted.This study revealed that the percentage of violence in music videos ranged from 11.5%
to 22.4%, with the most violent videos having been presented on MTV.When analyzed according to
type of music, rap videos had the highest portrayal of violence (20.4%), closely followed by rock videos
(19.8%). (1997 by DuRant et a) http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/124/5/1488
 As I’m creating a music video for the rock genre, I would like to ensure that my music video doesn’t
contain violence as I don’t want to negatively influence the younger generation. I think that violence in
music videos is a very big issue as the youth are becoming more and more influenced by what they
watch at such a young age due to lack of restrictions.

10.  Hall conducted a theory about audience reception of the message
that media producers encode and how the audience decodes the
messages.The way in which the audience decodes the message
relies on their personal beliefs and ideas. Hall also came up with
three ways in which the audience receives the messages encoded
which are titled; dominant, oppositional and negotiated.The
dominant reading is where the audience understands the message
that has been encoded and agrees with it.Whereas, the
negotiated meaning is where the audience
rejects/accepts/changes elements of the message due to their
views and opinions of the subject. Finally, the oppositional reading
is where the dominant idea has been completely rejected due to
their personal beliefs/ideologies.

11.  The first theory I have included in this task is the uses and gratifications theory. I think that this is the most
relevant theory as it views audiences as active as apposed to passive like the hypodermic needle theory.The uses
and gratifications theory also takes into account why audiences may choose to consume media. For example,
they may choose to watch it for; personal identification, sexual stimulation or escapism. I think that my music
video would be good for the personal identification use for media as the viewer may have had someone close to
them pass away and therefore may relate to that character. However, they may alternatively relate to the main
character (Polly) as she is a similar age to them (17) which could be used as a form of personal identification.
 The second theory I looked at was the hypodermic needle theory. I think that this theory is very relevant and
useful as this is the reason why companies have to put rules and regulations in place for music videos as some
audience members are passive, especially those of a younger age and therefore music videos need to be
censored to protect the general public. For example, if a music video is extremely violent then the audience
member may decide to go out and copy the actions they have just seen.This is the same for music videos which
display sexual behaviour as viewers may try and copy dance moves or they may dress in a more sexual manor
under aged.
 The final theory I have researched into is the audience reception theory. I think that this theory is also important
as media producers do try and encode messages into the audience’s head and the way in which they decode that
message is dependant on their personal beliefs. For example, if a video is oversexualised, some audience
members might think this is a possitive trait (as they may be watching the video for sexual stimulation) however,
some audience members may portray this as a negative due to their own personal beliefs (such as they may be
watching the video with their younger kid or they may have been brought up to think that being over sexual is a
sin).

12.  https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf
_file/0030/86781/watershed-on-tv.pdf
 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandrad
io/8502927/Rihanna-festish-video-sparks-
Ofcom-review-of-music-TV.html