Research
A multi-cam production is one that uses 2 or more cameras.
Some advantages of multi-cam:
- It can save time because the same scene is recorded at different angles.
- Sport and other live events benefit from multi-cam because they cannot be stopped to retake a shot
- There would be less continuity errors using a multi-cam set up as the scene would only be being acted once.
Some disadvantages
· It can take longer to light a multi-cam shoot than it would a single camera production because more of the scene will be on show
· There are limited options on where the camera’s can be placed in a scene.
· Multi-cam productions can cost more due to using more equipment, staff etc
My multi-cam project
I feel the use of a multi camera shoot for my documentary will add visual interest for the audience especially when demonstrating the dance moves. It will help to ensure that the entire performance is captured.
The following is an example of a similar idea from New York City Ballet on YouTube.
This gives the viewer gives a unique backstage experience from first rehearsal to world premiere. This documentary brings the viewers beyond the studio, showing the role that the orchestra, costume department and technical crew play in putting together a new work. It cuts between the dance studio, dressing rooms, costume department etc. This covers many aspects of dance but for my piece I will concentrating on just one component.
MOOD BOARD
A mood board is a type of visual presentation or 'collage' consisting of images, text, and samples of objects in a composition. I want it to be a visual reference for what the film's tone should be.
I will be using demographic, geodemographics and psychographics to help me identify my target audience.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Demographics can be described as the number and characteristics of people who live in a particular area or from a particular group, especially in relation to their age, how much money they have and what they spend it on – Cambridge Dictionary.(2021) Media producers define and categorise their audience through demographic profiles. A demographic audience profile defines groups based on things like age, gender, income education and occupation. Demographic audience profile can be used to define a target audience BBC Bitesize Media Studies
Demographics have been used in television for many years. Nielson Media Research used a device to record when the television channel was changed. Since then media and television production have relied on demographic data for example to find the best time slot for a certain type of programme.
GEODEMOGRAPHICS
Geodemographics is a term widely used to refer to any geographic or mapping data relating to consumers or population information CACI 2013
They are a way of describing a group of people based on their opinions, attitudes and their lifestyle. This is important for media producers/advertisers when they are producing a media product for a regional/local target audience.
PSYCHOGRAPHICS
Psychographics are similar to demographics but are the attitudes, interests, personality, values, opinions, and lifestyle of your target market. Birkett 2020
According to Merriam-Webster, psychographics are "market research or statistics classifying population groups according to psychological variables (as attitudes, values, or fears); also : variables or trends identified through such research." The term comes from combining "psychology" and "demographics."
To also help me understand my target audience I used a report from The Arts Council. This report provides an overview of engagement in dance for adults living in England.
The Arts Council demographic study suggests
· nearly two-thirds are women
· typically, older – two-thirds are aged 45–74 – and living with a partner without any children in the household
· majority are in good health
· almost exclusively from a white ethnic background
· highly educated, with two-thirds holding higher education qualifications
· typically, affluent, more likely than average to be retired
· just over a quarter live in rural area
(Arts Council 2016)
I would choose Sky Arts to broadcast my programme. Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company and is Europes leading media and entertainment company. It provides a dedicated arts channel called Sky Arts that is a free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, movies, documentaries and music and I feel that my programme would be suited to this channel.
Audience demographics for Sky Arts
Male 54.73%
Female 45.27%
Demographical, Geodemograpical and Psychographical key findings
· 17.2% of adults in England had engaged in dance in 2015/16
· In both 2010/11 and 2015/16 a greater proportion of women had engaged in dance in the past year compared with men.
· In both 2010/11 and 2015/16 a greater proportion of women had engaged in dance in the past year compared with men.
· In both 2010/11 and 2015/16 the 75+ age group had lower engagement in dance than those aged 25-74
· Between 2010/11 and 2015/16 there was a statistically significant increase in the proportion of adults with a longstanding illness or disability who had engaged in dance – from 11.6 per cent to 14.1 per cent.
· In 2010/11 and in 2015/16 adults in the upper socio-economic group were more likely to have engaged in dance than adults in the lower socio-economic group
· Between 2010/11 and 2015/16 there was a statistically significant increase in the proportion of adults in the South East who had engaged in dance - from 17.9 per cent to 22.6 per cent.
· Between 2005/6 and 2015/16 there was a statistically significant increase in the proportion of adults who had attended a dance event at least once in the past year – from 10.2 per cent to 11.3 per cent
· 8.2% of adults in England had participated in dance in 2015/16 – a statistically similar proportion as 2005/6
The data also shows that there was a significant increase in the proportion of adults who had attended a dance event. I feel that this increased engagement may lead to people wanting a deeper understanding of the background of dance to enhance their enjoyment and that my piece would meet this desire.
For part of my research I will be using quantitative data that will include a closed question survey. I will also be using qualitative data to help me understand my target audience that will include data from a focus group.
Qualitative Research
Focus group:
They are a social method of obtaining research data through informal group discussions on a specific topic (O'hEocha, Wang, & Conboy, 2012). It involves organised discussion with a selected group of individuals to gain information about their views and experiences of a topic
The question given to the group was “What information if any would heighten your enjoyment of watching ballet at the theatre or on television?”
The group consisted of 6 females and 1 male, ages from 11 – 57 that watch ballet performances at least twice a year. 2 participants have a child attending dance school.
How to run a focus group
This data has helped my understand my target audience and has confirmed what I thought my target audience would be.
To gain a deeper insight into my target audience, I need to understand more about audience theory. One theory is the Gratification Theory. Uses and gratifications theory (UGT) is an approach to understanding why and how people actively seek out specific media to satisfy specific needs. UGT is an audience-centred approach to understanding mass communication.
Blumler and Katzs (1975) UGT think that audiences want media products to gratify their needs (in other words, we choose our media because we want something from it).
I will use this audience theory in my planning because my survey and focus group have suggested that the audience would watch it to gain knowledge and give them information they can use in the future. My audience would gain a better understanding of ballet that would enhance their enjoyment when watching dance.
In 1970 Abraham Maslow suggested that USG was an extension of the needs he had himself organized into his Hierarchy of Need. I have also used Maslows Hierarchy of Needs to help meet the needs of my target audience.
Physiological Needs
Maslow states in his theory that in order to reach higher levels in the hierarchy of needs this is the first of the needs that you must address. This means you have to ensure that simple needs such as food, rest, procreation and water have been met. This may have an influence on the time my documentary would be aired. An evening slot may be useful as most people would have had an evening meal and be relaxing.
Safety Needs
Safety and security needs are the second level of Maslow's Hierarchy, this level covers the safety requirements that are required for our continued existence as living, breathing, humans. I will not be addressing Safety & Security needs of the audience in my documentary.
Love and Belonging
By applying this to my documentary, it will help me decide which information would be most effective for the intended audience. I have used surveys and a focus group to help predicting the needs level of my audience.
Esteem
The Forth level of Maslow's Hierarch of needs and is after a person has reached a point where they feel as though they belong. To achieve this I would meet the desire for achievement, adequacy, mastery and competence with the content of my documentary.
Self-actualization
Self-actualization is the top of Maslow's motivation theory. It is about reaching your full potential as a person. Unlike lower level needs, this need is never fully satisfied; as we grow psychologically there are always new opportunities to continue to grow. To meet this level I must ensure that must be true, just, have wisdom, and meaning.
My audience profile
Age 18-75
Gender All
Ethnicity White
Socioeconomic class Higher
Area of Residence Rural/ Countryside
Level of Education Higher education qualifications
Interest/Hobbies Dance/Performing Arts
Codes and Conventions of Documentaries
Different media texts have codes and conventions that define their genre and set up audience expectations (BBC 2021)
In 1973 Stuart Hall developed reception theory, popularly known as Audience Theory or reader’s reception theory. He says that producers expect audiences to understand things (preferred reading). They might understand the text completely different to what was intended (oppositional reading). If the reading of the text by the audience is somewhere between the two, this is called a negotiated reading. In other words film only has a meaning when its decoded by an audience and not everyone in the audience will decode it the same way.
Encoding – His theory says that encoded messages usually contains shared rules and symbols common with other people. So the (encoder) sender has to think how the receiver will perceive the message. This could be the producer
Decoding – Decoding would be a successful deliver only if the message sent by the encoder is understood completely to its content as it was intended. This could be the audience.
To decode the message correctly Hall suggests the audience would fall into 3 categories:
· Preferred reading - if it has an easy to follow narrative and if it deals with themes that are relevant to the audience.
· Oppositional Reading - when the audience rejects the preferred reading, and creates their own meaning for the text.
· Negotiated Reading - this can occur if there is a combination of the above
I would think my target audience would match Halls ‘Preferred reading’ category.
Many things can influence an audience such as age, gender and life experiences. My target audience would have life experiences around ballet. They have been engaging in the subject regularly which would make my documentary relevant.
There are many types of documentary and I need to try and identify where mine lays. This coupled with Halls categories would influence my choice of target audience In 2001, American film critic and theoretician Bill Nichols proposed that there were six different genres of documentary:
· Poetic
· Expository
· Reflexive
· Observational
· Performance
· Participatory
I believe that my documentary would be a performative documentary. Unlike many modes of documentary, performative do not set out to reach a truth but show a perspective or ‘what is like to be there’.
The male gaze describes how men see women in film. Laura Mulvey argues that persepctives in visual media are often built from the viewpoint of a hetrosexual male, where women are viewed through this lens (Mulvey 1975)
The female gaze is a feminist film theoretical term representing the gaze of the female viewer. Zoe Dirse looks at the female gaze through the documentary genre. Dirse argues that by having a female cinematographer allows females to be viewed as they really are and not the voyeuristic spectacle that the male gaze makes them out to be (Dirse 2013)
As women take ownership of their bodies, value is shifting from physical appearance to expression through movement and dance. American principle ballet dancer Misty Copeland’s appearance in the Under Armour advertising campaign shows women using movement as a means of breaking free from the confines of social ideals. These abstractions show the female form as strong, capable, dynamic and unique. (Graham, 2018)
In dance men and women are often thought to move differently due to differences in body structure. Men generally have more upper-body strength than women and women often have more hip flexibility than men . These differences, have produced some distinctly gendered styles of dance, with masculine styles often emphasizing leaps, jumps, power, and upper-body strength and feminine styles focused upon flexibility, fluidity, and emotion.
Some choreographers find ways of keeping the choreography neutral by ignoring gender (for instance, giving all dancers the same movement regardless of gender). Daly (Daly 1991 cited in Risner, Doug 2017) argues that dance holds the potential to disrupt the male gaze and that women could resist “being co-opted by the conventions and expectations of the male gaze”
Anna Pavlova, Albertina Rasch, and Rosina Galli are early twentieth-
century choreographers whose artistry suggests a link between ballet and
feminism (Casey 2009).
My documentary will presented by a female dancer and focus on the shoe worn by female dancers but I believe it shows the female in the way described by Roberta Graham and Zoe Dirse
References:
Severin, Werner; Tankard, James (1997). Communication theories: Origins, methods, and uses in the mass media. Longman. ISBN 978-0801317033.
Arts Council England (2016). Arts Council Audience Insight into Dance. Available at https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/download-file/Dance%202015-16.pdf
Communication Studies. “Uses and Gratifications Theory.” 2019. http://www.communicationstudies.com/communication-theories/uses-and-gratifications-theory
Cambridge University Dictionary,2021. Demographic Meaning In The Cambridge English Dictionary. [online] Dictionary.cambridge.org. Available at: <http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/occupation> [Accessed 6th January 2021].
BBC.co.uk. 2021 BBC - GCSE Bitesize: Media Studies. [online] Available at: <http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/media studies/demographics/ [Accessed 6th January 2021].
CICA 2013. All data mapping – Geodemographics. Available at https://www.allmapdata.com/products/digital-map-data/geodemographics/
Alex Birkett 2020. Psychographics: What They Are & How Marketers Use Them. Available at https://cxl.com/blog/psychographics/
Statista 2020 Daily TV viewing time by age UK 2010-2019. Available at www.statista.com/statitics/dailytvviewing
BBC.co.uk. 2021 BBC - GCSE Bitesize: Media Studies. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zs8s9qt/revision/1/ [Accessed 15th January 2021].
O'hEocha, C., Wang, X., & Conboy, K. (2012). The use of focus groups in complex and pressurised IS studies and evaluation using Klein & Myers principles for interpretive research. Information Systems Journal, 22(3), 235-256.
OLIVER, WENDY & Risner, Doug. (2017). An Introduction to Dance and Gender. 10.2307/j.ctvx1ht59.5.
Carrie Gaiser Casey (2012) The Ballet Corporealities of Anna Pavlova and Albertina Rasch, Dance Chronicle, 35:1, 8-29, DOI: 10.1080/01472526.2011.650618
R Graham 2018: Through her eyes. The Female Gaze Roberta Graham June 25, 2018
Zoe Dirse 2013 "Gender in Cinematography". Journal of Research in Gender Studies 2013
Mulvey, Laura 1975. "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema". Screen 16
Brown M (2020) ‘Sky Arts to be free to watch from September’ The Guardian,28th July. Available at https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/jul/28/sky-arts-to-become-free-to-watch-from-september
Hall, Stuart( 2002). "Encoding/Decoding." In Culture, Media, Language , edited by Stuart Hall, Dorothy Hobson, Andrew Lowe, and Paul Willis, 128–138. London: Routledge, 2002.
Nichols B (2001). ‘Introduction to documentary’. Indiana. Indiana University Press
Show your references for secondary research ... e.g. books, journals ... proof of your decisions regarding audience profiling and then write how you have applied this in creative solutions... Feb 26th
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