Film Openings

American Beauty: I really like the introduction to this film (not very first bit, but when the narrative of Lester Burnham takes over). The information given to the audience about himself, which is written after the scene that is shown with the narrative tells us what is going to happen vaguely, but keeps our interest in him, because we want to find out why.

Amelie: The introduction to this film is seemingly unrelated or random in context to the film, which captures our attention. It is simple but effective, with the fast voice telling us of unrelated incidents throughout France, such as stories of a few people/ things. The old-style camerawork and simple music work really well, giving it a different style, which is good when capturing an audience. The second part of the opening sequence shows Amelie just being young, without any props of much detail, which is amusing and captivating. The muted colours and occasional effect such as a flare and purposely shaken camera are effective too. There is no speech when focussed on Amelie.

Pan's Labyrinth: The start of this has no visuals, only breath and a hummed lullaby, which is very effective as it makes us concentrate on what's going on. The first voice we hear tells us a story, but we don't see the voice, only a girl and the pictures attached to the story, which again is different, and so interesting and effective.

Billy Elliot: The opening is very simple and effective; it sets the scene of the film, and who it is based around, but doesn't really give us any information about the plot or characters. This works because it lets us focus on the boy jumping, and we don't get given too much information at once which could potentially mean the audience lose interest.

Matilda: The start of Matilda also starts very simply, with an image of a baby and narrative over the top. The audience then are introduced to the baby's parents, who are very unlikeable characters; by giving the audience characters to dislike, the audience are interested, because by forming an opinon they are getting involved. There is also an element of feel-good when Matilda is making pancakes, and I think this sort of scene would work as an opening. The narrative continues some way into the film, giving the audience an idea of the background of the film.

In light of these introductions, I have decided to keep my introduction very simple, without much information or too much visual impact (such as fight or action scenes), because none of the above introductions give away much of the plot, which I believe makes them good introductions, as they only open the film, and don't dictate what is going to happen in the rest of the film in too much detail. I would like to use narrative in my opening, as it's a technique that I have seen works, and I'd also like to keep the visuals minimal, perhaps only having one or two shots alongside the narrative. On the other hand, I really like the beginning to Amelie, and Billy Elliot, where we see a character having fun effectively, with only music in the background and no speech. Either way, I plan for the opening to be fairly simple, which will also ensure that it does not become a film trailer as some openings do.

Media Studies Coursework

We have decided, from watching the projects and final videos of previous media classes to avoid the following, as they do not work in my opinion:

• Horror
• Thriller
• Crime
• Gun-related openings
• Over-complicated plots to begin with
• House or school settings

In this light, I think that the opening should be either happy, or uneventful, as otherwise it could end up looking too much like a trailer.

"Time Warner's takeover of British publisher IPC media has given the NME brand a new lease of life". Discuss.

Before IPC media was taken over by Time Warner, there was a significant lack and even a decrease, of readership of ther classic British music magazine, NME. Over recent years, NME has seen readership drop by 53% from 2003 to 2010. However, recently, Time Inc have taken over the whole of IPC media, including NME, and the brand is now beign taken to America, which could be argued to give it a new lease of life, where others may see it as unfair globalization of an iconic British magazine.

The synergy of IPC with Time Inc. has provided the company with wider readership both across the UK and the US, and also has enabled much more advertisement, paticularly of their own brands within the company. This has been helpful the NME, whos struggling readership had been a cause for concern among both it's publishers and some opf the British public, who of course, did not want the m,agazine to go under. Whilst being taken over, NME was taken to America, where they now host the "Club NME NYC" every fortnight, both bringing in more revenue to the magazine, and rasing awareness of it in America. This, for a start, has helped NME to start to regain some of its former glory and popularity. It has also given the NME to opportunity to express views on new American music as well as British music, allowing perhaps a broader horizon for the articles in the magazine, and again the readership.

Having said that, the NME is losing none of it's "rock'n'roll heritage"; Club NME will give those who attend "the full-on live experience of Club NME both in LA and NYC", both huge American cities where hopefully, the NME will raise it's profile, and it's sales, which will ensure the survival of the magazine both in America and in the UK. In thsi way, it could certainly be argued that taking the NME to america has given it a "new lease of life", because it has made sure that it can survive in the modern world.

The NME has kept up with modern advances, such as magazines online; the NME magazine is already the 3rd most popular music news site. Perhaps it's readers enjoy the site because of it's rolling news, 24 hours a day, and the accessibililty of the magazine conveyed across to anh internet audience. EVen though the online site has been up and running for 10 years, only recently has it been taken to America, and so within a short span of time, it has risen through the ranks to 3rd most popular, showing that by being available in America, the readership across the different types of media has increased; this is reassuring to the owners of the NME, as  it means the NME is not unpopular, as may have been thought from the massive drop in sales in Britain over the last decade.

There has also been a huge increase of interest in NME radio; recently, overall listening hours have been increased to 1.3 million. Clearly the availability to get NME on the radio, and the television too, has meant more people are interested in listening to music from NME, signalling that a new generation will follow the brand, in such a way giving it a new lease of life. NME, available in paper, on the internet, on the TV, and on radio has becomne incredibly accessible, and so has become the chosen music brand for many more people; the station currently has 253000 young listeners.

There has also recently been an NME app released, available to all who have iPhones or a simiular device; again, this appeals to the youth, and so by being taken over by Time Inc, the digital platforms of the magazine have been hugely increased, possibly ensuring that even if hard copies of magazines do become redundant, there will always be versions of this iconic British brand available to people across the globe, in as many different forms as one could want.

Overall, with the takeover of IPC media by Time warner, NME has been given new life, through extended finances of  the Time Warner company. Despite some of the British public being unhappy about the globalization of their brand, being open to an American audience as well will ensure the longevity and survival of the NME in todays incredibly competitive and tough market. Being available on all digital platforms is not only incredibly good for business, but the convergence of the different media into new medias, such as internet phones, will have made sure that wherever you go, it is possible to access not only the NME, but the whole of the internet. In today's tecnological age, the life of any magazine will be increased by having larger availability, and tyhe NME is no exception.

Anna Wyatt

Create your own timeline reflecting the significant developments in the magazine industry since 1990.

1992:

• First SMS text message sent to a mobile phone
• Newspaper and Magazine archives published on CD-Rom.
• Plans for World Wide Web revealed by the Economist

1993:

• Mosaic (first graphical web browser) launched.
• What Car? produces CD-Rom holding review of Saab saloon with XYZ new media magazine

1994:

• Guardian newspaper launches UK version of Wired
• IPC launches UnZip, 'the UK's first fully interactive magazine on CD-Rom'. 
• Editor Gill Hudson puts CD-Rom on cover of August issue ofMaxim in UK
• IPC launches Uploaded.com, based on content from Loaded , andnme.com, based on New Musical Express. Start of an ambitious web programme

1995:

• Futurenet website claims 200,000 registered users.
• VNU launches Jobnet recruitment website based on advertising inComputing, PC Week and Network News

1997:

• TV Guide magazine in US goes online
• Zest and Good Housekeeping make masthead TV programmes

1999:

• Launch of www.natmags.co.uk Over the next 18 months, National Magazines launches 'microsites' for each of its magazines

2001:

• Dotcom crash. IPC closes high-profile websites such asBeme.com and Uploaded.com. Similar story of contraction at Emap. Technology-dependent Future in crisis: sells Business 2.0in US and closes UK edition; closes many other titles

2002:

• Despite series of relaunches, Punch closed by Mohammed al Fayed. Lives on as website selling cartoon catalogue www.punch.co.uk

2003:

• Dennis uses picture messaging on Maxim website
• Sunday Times newspaper launches The Month, a CD-Rom previewing arts and entertainment events in the weeks ahead. To be published on the last Sunday of each month.
• PPA announces marketing programme to promote magazines for advertising  www.ppa.co.uk

As far as I can find, there are no significant technological advances after 2003, despite many more magazines being launched, and a few having to close down due to the recession, which was prominent in 2009.

How does the NME website address its audience?

The website of the NME looks fairly formal, due to its format similar to that of perhaps the website of a newspaper, and this addresses the audience in a way that makes them believe they are taken seriously about their music tastes. The main news also acknowledges that the reader of NME is a certain type of person; for example, main news stories today are about Paramore, Biffy Clyro and Chris Martin, which gives us the impression that it is not pop music being shown or reported on this site. One article about a Biffy Clyro song being chosen as a "winners song" in the X-factor addresses the audience as people who dislike the show, claiming it poses no threat to "real" music, and saying that those who watch X-factor are likely to be buying Robbie Williams calendars; this gives the audience the impression that NME is addressing them as "real" music fans, and so not imitations.
On the main page, there are the names of the main pages across the top, letting the viewer know what information is available to them, and so addressing them in a way that is easy and accessible.

"The magazine industry has survived the coming of the digital age because it has been able to exploit technological advances. Indeed, it has always done so throughout its long history."

Throughout the history of printed magazines, they have had to adapt and change to meet new demands and desires for magazines by the consumers. However, in recent years the internet and other technologies have become a huge part of daily life, and the magazine industry may not have been able to survive as well as it had done had it not exploited the changes to technology and it’s advances.

For example, in the mid 1990s, we saw the creation of websites for a few mainstream magazines which would publish articles on the internet, which was becoming more and more accessible as more of the population owned a computer. In this way, magazines were already trying to appeal to a wider audience, and this could be argued to be exploiting technological advances. As more magazines created their own websites, new expectations were set for magazines to be online as well as in paper, and in this way the industry has used the internet to further their readership, and after each magazine was online, new technological advances were made, and the industry joined these advances.

One of these newest advances is apps for products such as iPhones; the magazines would be available to people who owned one of these products, once more increasing their readership, and so chances of survival in the digital age. As more people buy products with apps available, the more these apps are “exploited” by magazine companies, and so we could say that the industry is exploiting the digital age, and without apps, perhaps less people would be reading the magazine, and so the company would be earning less revenue.

In conclusion, the magazine industry has survived as well as it has done due to the exploitation of the digital age. From the very early use of coloured ink as a technological advance making magazines more appealing, to apps, magazines are surviving better due to new technology. Many more people have access to the magazines, and in this way it may be said that magazines always have, and still are exploiting the new technology of the digital age.

What does the NME website offer its audience?

The NME website home page gives the audience a general overview of the main music news that has cropped up recently, such as articles about the X-factor and recently announced gigs and tours. It also offers direct links to photo galleries and other news, which makes the best part of the website accessible and easy to find. Other pages of the website are divided up under titles such as “artists” and “Tickets”, and this allows users of the website to navigate their way around the site and find the things available to them such as music news and photographs. In all, the NME website offers its audience a large range of information and entertainment about the music industry that any reader of the NME, or music fans would like to know about.

Preliminary Task from Anna Wyatt on Vimeo.

Preliminary Task:

For the preliminary task we have chosen to film the scene in the style of a western film.

Location: Saloon-type doors and corridor, leading into a room/space with two chairs.

Script: (Roland walks through doors to the room where Derek is already sitting, playing with some money and chewing on a toothpick)
           ROLAND: (Slams hands on table) You stole my gold.
           (Derek looks up and raises eyebrow)
           ROLAND: You left your filthy stench on my property. (Bangs fist on table)
           DEREK: Well you left your filthy stench on my wife! (Presses up from the table, kicking away the               chair behind him)
           (The two men stare at each other angrily.  Roland turns and leaves, Derek follows, throwing down some money as he leaves)

According to the article in THE GUARDIAN (Jan 2009) why are the major players in the British magazine industry better placed to weather the economic crisis?

The bigger magazines, while they can still be hit hard by the recession, are less likely to be hit hard by a decline in advertising income. The best advertisers have the least places to advertise their products and will be worried about losing front pages of the glossies - prime advertising space in their eyes - to other brands. The bigger magazines also have more circulation, so the advertising companies will be more likely to choose to advertise in these magazines as they are more likely to be able to sell more. This means that smaller magazines will not get as much money from advertising, and so eventually dwindle and die.