Audience notes for AFIE

1. Connect
• Can you find a review of A Field In
England Online?
• Where is it from?
• What does it say?
• Do you agree with it?
Date Term 1, Lesson 3 1
Discover

2. CW A Field In England & AUDIENCE [08/06/2015]
A Level Media/MS4 Case Study
Learning Objective/ Outcome Level
All: will make observations and suggest links with key concept 1
Most: will apply key terminology from previous learning to your
area of study
2
Some: be able to apply a media theory from previous learning to
your area of study
3
3

3. Text
Genre
•Signifiers
•Conventions
•Iconography
Narrative
•Structure
•Conventions
•Key codes
Representation
•People
•Places
•Events/Issues
Industry
Issues
Production
Background/
Context
Marketing/
Promotion
Regulation
Global Implications
Distribution/
Exhibition
Audience/
Users
Targeting Positioning Debates Responses
9/22/2015 Term 1 , Lesson 4 4

4. A Field In England
• A FIELD IN ENGLAND is a 2013 British
film.
• It is written by Amy Jump and
directed by Ben Wheatley
• It stars British actors Julian Barratt,
Reece Shearsmith and Michael
Smiley
• It was filmed over 12 days near
Guildford
Discover
5

5. Audience
Construction
• When a media text is being planned, perhaps the most
important question the producers consider is:
"Does it have an audience?"
• If the answer to this is 'no', then there is no point in going any
further. If no one is going to watch/read/play/buy the text,
the producers aren't going to make any money or get their
message across.
6

6. Audience
Consumption
Primary
Audience
• Where the audience is targeted directly by the
text and will give it their full attention or actively
seek it out
Secondary
Audience
• When the audience will consume the text but are
not directly targeted or won’t look for it
Tertiary
Audience
• When the audience is unaware they are
consuming the advert – usually on billboards or
public transport
© ZigZag Education 2015 7

7. Audience
Construction
AUDIENCE
ENGAGEMENT
This describes how an audience interacts with a media text. Different people react
in different ways to the same text.
AUDIENCE
EXPECTATIONS
These are the advance ideas an audience may have about a text. This particularly
applies to genre pieces. Don't forget that producers often play with or deliberately
shatter audience expectations.
AUDIENCE
FOREKNOWLEDGE
This is the definite information (rather than the vague expectations) which an
audience brings to a media product.
AUDIENCE
IDENTIFICATION
This is the way in which audiences feel themselves connected to a particular media
text, in that they feel it directly expresses their attitude or lifestyle.
AUDIENCE PLACEMENT
This is the range of strategies media producers use to directly target a particular
audience and make them feel that the media text is specially 'for them'.
AUDIENCE RESEARCH
Measuring an audience is very important to all media institutions. Research is done
at all stages of production of a media text, and, once produced, audience will be
continually monitored. 8

8. NRS social grades
CLASS- We divide class into 5 categories:
A: Upper Upper Class: i.e. Royalty/ PM etc
B: Upper Class: MPs, Consultants, Lawyers, Headmasters, Bank Managers
C1: Upper Middle Class: Teachers, Secretaries, Solicitors, Architects
C2: Lower Middle Class: Plumbers, Electricians, Mechanics
D: Upper Lower Class: Unskilled workers i.e. Shelf stackers, road sweepers,
rubbish collectors
E: Lower Class: Unemployed, Homeless, Non-income
The NRS social grades are a system of demographic classification used in the United Kingdom. They
were originally developed by the National Readership Survey to classify readers, but are now used
by many other organisations for wider applications and have become a standard for market
research. The distinguishing feature of social grade is that it is based on occupation.

9. What is Maslow’s Hierarchy of
needs & how does it work?
• This diagram shows you the different levels.
Discover

10. Cross Cultural Consumer
Characterisation, or ‘4Cs’
• Young and Rubicam took Maslow’s hierarchy, and
designed a research tool to find out where
people stood within it.
• Because Young & Rubicam also asked what
brands people bought and how they felt about
them, the system also became a way of
understanding the deeper appeals of those
brands.
• 4Cs divides people into seven types, depending
on their core motivation.
Discover

11. 4Cs
The Explorer
• These people are driven by a need for discovery,
challenge and new frontiers.
• Young in nature, if not in reality, Explorers are
often the first to try out new ideas and
experiences.
• They respond to brands that offer new
sensations, indulgence and instant effects.
• In short, difference is what they seek out.
• Their core need in life is for discovery.
The Aspirer
• Materialistic, acquisitive people, who are
driven by others’ perceptions of them
rather than by their own values.
• As a result, they respond to what others
perceive as being superficial: image,
appearance, persona, charisma and
fashion. An attractive pack is as important
to them as its contents.
• Their core need in life is for status
9/22/2015 Term 1, Lesson 6 12

12. 4Cs
The Succeeder
• Succeeders possess self-confidence, have a
strong goal orientation and tend to be very
organised.
• As a result, they tend to occupy positions of
responsibility in society.
• They seek reward and prestige, and will often
seek out the best, because that is what they
feel they deserve.
• On the other hand, they also seek out caring
and protective brands – their aggressive attitude
to life means they need to relax occasionally.
• Their core need in life is for control.
The Reformer
• Value their own independent judgement.
• Reformers are the most anti-materialistic of the seven
groups, and are often perceived as intellectual.
• They are socially aware, and pride themselves on
tolerance.
• Reformers seek out the authentic and the harmonious,
and are often at the leading edge of society.
• However, unlike Explorers, they will not buy things just
because they are new.
• Their core need in life is for enlightenment.
9/22/2015 Term 1, Lesson 6 13

13. 4Cs
The Mainstream
• These are people who live in the world of
the domestic and the everyday.
• A daily routine is fundamental to the way
they live their lives. Their life choices are
‘we’ rather than ‘me’.
• As their name implies, they are the
mainstream of society.
• They are the largest group of people
within 4Cs across the world.
• They respond to big established brands, to
‘family’ brands and to offers of value for
money.
• Their core need in life is for security.
The Struggler
• Strugglers live for today, and make few plans for
tomorrow.
• Others often see them as victims, losers and wasters -
aimless, disorganised people with few resources apart
from their own physical skills.
• If they get on in life, it will depend more on a winning
lottery ticket than anything they do themselves.
• They are heavy consumers of alcohol and junk food.
• Visual impact and physical sensation are an important
element of their brand choices.
• They seek escape.
9/22/2015 Term 1, Lesson 6 14

14. 4Cs
The Resigned
• These are predominantly older people with
constant, unchanging values built up over time.
• For them, the past is bathed in a warm nostalgic
glow.
• They respect institutions and enjoy acting in
traditional roles.
• Their brand choices are driven by a need for
safety and for economy. They choose above all
what is familiar to them.
• In life, their aim is basic: it is to survive.
Which are you?
• You can find out what type you
are by taking the short online test
at http://www.4cs.yr.com/uk/
• Make a note of the answers in
your book
• Does this change the way you
feel about your Advert
Consumption?
9/22/2015 Term 1, Lesson 6 15

15. Who is the Audience?
• Can you create a Target Audience Profile that
demonstrates WHO you think is the ideal
audience member for A FIELD IN ENGLAND?
• Think about carefully Demographics and
Psychographics
16

16. Close scene analysis
• Watch the scene closely!
• Make notes on how an audience is positioned by the director
• This includes: technical, language, mode of address and the
construction of the scene.
• Comment on how these elements make an audience feel
• E.g. a POV shot of… positions an audience in the role of the
character, allowing the audience to experience the same events. In
this particular situation the producers have deliberately left the
audience feeling uncomfortable and on edge…

17. Jigsaw
• Genre: Hamish, Mason, Tamara, Rhea, Freya, Georgie
• Narrative: Rory, Nicole , Laura, Harry, Becky, Rhea,
• Representation: Vanisha, Firle, Frank, Chloe, Matt,
Amy
• Each group should investigate how their key concept
helps appeal to and target an audience.
• You should apply this to A Field In England
• You have 15 minutes
End

18. Construction - What is the appeal of A
Field In England?
• How might the genre, narrative and representations shown in
A Field In England attract its audience? What audience is it
appealing to?
Genre Narrative Representation

19. Arrange yourselves by
colour
• Genre: Hamish, Mason, Tamara, Rhea, Freya,
Georgie
• Narrative: Rory, Nicole , Laura, Harry, Becky,
Rhea,
• Representation: Vanisha, Firle, Frank, Chloe,
Matt, Amy
You have two minutes each to teach your group
what you have discovered.
End

20. Applying Audience to
A Field In England
• Past Question:
What do texts offer audiences?
Refer to your main text in your
answer
[Jun 2013]
• Try to:
– Use specific examples from the text: how are the audience
positioned
– Consider links to the three main topics of GENRE, NARRATIVE &
REPRESENTATION
– Use media terminology
– Use theory where relevant
Specific points to consider for A Field
In England:
•Use of Genre
•Use of Narrative Devices
•Historical Accuracy
•Use of Cast and Locations
•Consider the different Audience
theories
•Any issues surrounding the genre,
character representation and appeal
of the film
Key Terms and Theories
• Audience Expectations
• Demographics
• Psychographics
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs
• Young & Rubicam’s 4Cs
24

21. How can we tell how successful
a film is?
25

22. Two Step Flow Theory
• Information does not flow directly from the text into the
minds of its audience unmediated but is filtered through
"opinion leaders" who then communicate it to their less
active associates, over whom they have influence.
• The audience then mediate the information received directly
from the media with the ideas and thoughts expressed by the
opinion leaders, thus being influenced not by a direct process,
but by a two step flow.
26

23. Audience Examples
• How successful was A Field In England – Box office, DVD Sales,
Viewing Figures?
• Can you find some examples of audience reviews for the Film
• Consider TWO-STEP FLOW theory
– What do the CRITIC reviews say?
– What do the AUDIENCE reviews say?
• What is the overall response to the film – are there any similar
themes in the reviews?
9/22/2015 Term 1 , Lesson 4 27

24. A Field In England Sales[BFI Insight]
28

25. Encoding/Decoding
(Stuart Hall)
• Hall argued that meaning in a text is not
fixed/determined by the sender, the message
is never transparent and the audience is not a
passive recipient of meaning.
• There is a “lack of fit” between the moment of
the production of the message ('encoding')
and the moment of its reception ('decoding').
29

26. Reception theory
(Stuart Hall)
• Dominant reading: the audience enjoys the media text.
They will believe and agree with the media text and never
question it. They will never miss an episode or edition of it.
• Negotiated reading: the audience enjoys the media text
but does not watch or read every episode. They might find
some elements boring or unbelievable.
• Oppositional reading: The audience understands the
meaning of the media text but does not agree with it or
enjoy it at all. They see issues or problems in it.

27. Dyer’s Utopian
Pleasures
• Richard Dyer, makes a case for entertainment as a utopian sensibility.
“The notion of entertainment as in some sense utopian — expressing ideals about
how human life could be organized and lived –is implicit in what the most widespread
assumption about entertainment, namely, that it provides ‘escape.’ Entertainment
offers the image of ‘something better’ to set against the realities of day-to-day
existence.”
• 3 reasons why audiences choose to consume media
1) social tension
2) inadequacy
3) absence
22/09/2015 Term 1, Lesson 9 31
UTOPIA
A utopia is a community or society
possessing highly desirable or near
perfect qualities.

28. 22/09/2015 Term 1, Lesson 9 32

29. Uses and Gratification theory
(Bulmer & Katz)
1. ‘Information’ (the desire to learn) The Advert offers the audience important
information about the product – usually in
cars, banking or technology adverts
2. ‘Entertainment’ (emotional satisfaction) The product offers us the chance to escape
through consuming the product or
irrelevant advertising
3. ‘Personal Identity’ (help with personal
identity issues)
Our lives and problems are shown in the
advert showing how the product can
benefit us
4. ‘Social Identity’ (help with general
issues in society)
The advert creates controversy or debates
for the audience. For example, charity
adverts use shock tactics or Coca Cola using
Santa Claus every Christmas
Audiences make choices about what they did when consuming texts. Far from being
a passive mass, audiences were made up of individuals who actively consumed texts
for different reasons and in different ways.

30. Applying Audience to
A Field In England
• Past Question:
Explore the different ways audiences
respond to your three main texts
[Jun 2013]
• Try to:
– Use specific examples from the text: how are the audience
positioned
– Consider links to the three main topics of GENRE, NARRATIVE &
REPRESENTATION
– How might Primary and Secondary audience have different
readings of the film
– How might DEMOGRPAHICS and PSYCHOGRAPHICS effect the
readings of the film
– Use media terminology
– Use theory where relevant
Specific points to consider for A Field
In England:
• Positive and Negative Reviews
• Different Audience Readings
• How do different elements
appeal to different audiences
• Facts and Figures that back up
your findings
Key Terms and Theories
• Encoding/Decoding
• Reception Theory
• Uses & Gratifications
• Dyer’s Utopian
Pleasures
• Two Step Flow
34

31. Homework
• Write an essay answer to the question
• DUE: ??/6/2015
Develop
35

32. Plenary
• Can you tweet me something you have learnt
in today’s lesson?
• Use only 140 characters!
• #A Field In England #representation can be
extra to make it a bit easier!
9/22/2015 Term 1 , Lesson 4 36
Celebrate