media coursework

1. applying audience theories
to my music campaign.

2. encoding and decoding
• is the understanding of multiple readings within
media
• a producer “encodes” the text in an attempt to
intend meaning to audience
• audience “decode” texts in accordance with their
own cultural and social context, therefore creating
a meaning of their own.

3. • there are three different types of decoding -
- preferred reading - audience accept all intended
meanings
- negotiated reading - accepts some of the
meaning but not all, may involve contradictions
- oppositional reading - understand what is
intended meaning is but reject this meaning

4. • we attempted to encode the idea of the music industry
represented by the old men sucking the soul and talent out
of the artist, represented as the young girl, which was
symbolised through the use of the televisions and her
being tied up behind the televisions.
• most audiences would have a preferred reading decoded
from our message, due to them being able to appreciate
the idea of their talents/work being manipulate to make
others money while being controlled in what they can and
can’t do. this is enforced by negus theory of organic and
synthetic artists, and the record labels control over artists.
other audiences may have a negotiated reading. some
audiences such as the record labels / CEOs may have a
oppositional reading as they may understand whats going
but not agree with it, due to the intended meaning giving a
somewhat negative perspective on what they do.

5. • one of the biggest examples of our encoding to be
received, was from the feedback from our focus
group, which found that it was clear “they are a
band” - therefore decoded as a preferred meaning
by the target audience, this is exactly what we
wanted the audience to find when we created the
products.

6. uses and gratifications
• this theory assumes audiences to be active in the selection
of texts they consume to fulfil their desires within their lives.
• diversion - idea of escapism, consuming the text for
entertainment.
• personal identity - idea of identify with characters /
situations clarifying ones own sense of life and views.
• personal relationship - idea of companionship with the
characters / audiences members through shared
experience
• surveillance - idea of a want of knowledge about what is
happening in the world

7. • due to the surreal elements within the music video it
would be seen as diversion, however many can have a
personal identity with the idea of one feeling controlled
by another for their own satisfaction and therefore
empathises with the girl strapped to the television.
• arguable it could be surveillance as from our focus
group they where curious about the ideas suggested
from the video and wanted to know more. this intrigue
could build a somewhat community of members who
want to buy into this image therefore creating
somewhat of personal relationships helping them
identify with themselves.

8. • from our feedback we had a focus group of 16-18
year olds therefore not 25-30 year olds (our target
audience) therefore a lot of the meaning went over
a lot of there heads making it more of a diversion
piece, however with the more life experience it
could become a piece of personal identity,
surveillance and used for personal relationships.
Therefore this enforces our target audience age,
rather than it being any younger.

10. • from our first focus group while it was not our target
audience age group which may of confounded the
results as they had a negotiated reading, due to the lack
of understanding of the girl being tied up but rather
believed she was hiding, therefore from the feedback I
developed this by adding close ups of the girls hands
tied up and then added distortion VFX on her face to
over exaggerate that something was going on that she
wasn’t enjoying.
• in our final focus group, the feedback was a preferred
reading of the overall narrative and of the band being
band in our overall promotion. suggesting that we where
successful in our overall encoding of the products.

11. my conclusions
• well i think from the use of the audience theories it is
clear that to an extent the right message and look of our
campaign on whole has been interpreted as we wanted.
• while I believe we could of used a focus group that was
the demographic of our target audience giving us more
accurate data, I believe that it was important to develop
our piece to make it universally understood.
• therefore what I can conclude is that what I have learned
is that for audiences to properly decode our products we
must have a clearer visual narrative.