Questionnaire

Hobbies:

I love playing guitar, ukulele and drums, listening to music and cooking in my spare time, I also have two kittens called Roody and Belle.

Print media:

Print media is not my strongest point as i do not read the newspaper very often, i  would like to learn more about this industry as it seems there is a lot i do not know about it. if i need to access the news I will look at the BBC website on the internet as you can find what you need very easily. I like to read ‘Kerrang’ magazine as it keeps me up to date with all of my favourite music and it has very handy reviews which help me to find new bands. I enjoy reading music magazines as i would like to go into music journalism when i leave school!

Music industry:

The music industry is my favourite type of media as it is the industry  i wish to go into when i leave school. i find music very interesting and there is so much more to it than just the songs performed. The backround to each band, the meaning of the song and the history of the genres are just a few things i would like to delve into during my media course. I would also like to study the production of music videos and the way media and technology affects the music industry.

I like many different genres of music, i try to be open minded because i need a wide knowledge of all genres. My favourite genres are metal, 70’s punk, 50’s, 60’s and 80’s garage rock, heavy rock, electronic punk and alternative such as ‘ red hot chilli peppers’ and ‘ foo fighters’. My favourite bands include The Horrors, Slipknot, The gruesomes and Nirvana. This is one of my favourite songs at the moment- Slipknot- Duality I am not in a band at the moment but i have been in a few casual bands with friends and performed during my music GCSE course in front of my year. I have not composed much music out of choice but i got a B for my composition work. When accessing music i find it easiest to use the internet because it is very convenient. There is access to the internet in most places and there are many sites which let you listen to music for free, such as YouTube. There is a major disadvantage to accessing music online, this being illegal downloading. Bands use online shops like ‘iTunes’ to sell their music, this is an example of new technology affecting the music industry. There are many ways to purchase music online yet there are also many ways of not paying for it. Sites such as ‘ YouTube converter’ are being used to illegally download music without paying, what most people don’t realise is the bands they are stealing music from need the money from album sales to book gigs and advertise their music. Music is not made for everyone to take, would you go into sound clash and steal a record? It is exactly the same thing, composing music is a job and it makes me really angry that people think it is okay just to take it. If you like the band you need to support them, if everyone thought it was okay just to steal music then bands would break up and music would slowly die out! I think illegal downloading is extremely wrong and should be stopped completely.

Music is very influential, it can influence how we dress, who we are friends with, our hair styles and our attitudes. Music has a larger impact on us than most people think as it is always around us, whether we are on a bus or in a shop! The influences it can have on us can be very strong such as some people live their lives around a certain band who they can aspire to be, it can make them dress a certain way or act a certain way, music can even influence entire decades! Flappers were influenced by jazz and punk music inspires anarchy! So personally i think music is one of the most important aspects of life, even though you may not realise it.

Video games:

Video games are becoming very popular in modern life, children from a very young age are playing them and this is very likely to have an effect on the way they behave. For example, my brother is 9 years old and he is playing war games. I have already seen a change in his behaviour and this concerns me because there are many young children doing exactly the same thing! I feel that violent video games could have a negative effect on the behaviour and views of children and teens as the violence in war games could make them think it is okay to resolve issues with violence. These video games can also affect the way males view females, out of the violent games i have seen i have only viewed men fighting which could make a young boy under the impression that they are better than a female.

Technology is improving and the choice of video games is expanding, this means that games are getting more detailed and much more realistic, the graphics are better and there is even body controlled games. I think games are quite influential to inexperienced minds, they have the ability to change a person’s views without them even realising it! As i mentioned above, my brother likes to play war games, we noticed that after playing them for a few days he became more violent and moody and he started wanting to play fight with his friends, after we stopped him playing the games he went back to normal. This proves that even after a few days, video games can have an effect on a person.

New technology:

Technology is rapidly changing and as it does; our understanding of the world is too. Technologies such as the internet have created a broad basis on which we find information, the internet makes it easy for us to find facts quickly and helps us to understand things which a book or a film may not. This information is available to anyone, and it is instant whereas looking through a text book or going to the library is more long winded.  I use the internet to help with homework and to find out information; i also use it to learn songs on guitar and ukulele so it can be used for almost anything! It also increases my ability to have contact with people through email, social networking sites such as ‘Facebook’ and blogging. Technology has made it so much easier to access films, catch up on TV programs and listen to music; I watch inbetweeners on ‘4oD’ all the time! It is very easy to go online and watch movies or TV programs because you can access them when it suits you. You can listen to all of your favourite music for free whenever you wish and you can even get the internet on your mobile phones so you can access all of this when you are away from home. There are changes being made to television and film viewing such as ‘plus one’ channels which makes it more convenient for us. Blue Ray and HD viewing are very popular because they show a better quality of picture and sound, this shows that we are always interested if there is something which is going to make our lives easier or more convenient!

New technologies also make it easier to make my own media texts as there are many different forms i could use; i could type an article, i could make a power point or write a blog! There is also the option of attaching images and noises to the document which can be found on the internet.

Television:

My favourite TV program is definitely ‘The Mighty Boosh’! It is an adult comedy which has a cult following. It is extremely funny and memorable because there are so many hilarious one liners. It is very unpredictable and generally strange, this is what makes it so funny! ‘friends’ is also really funny, it is a very ‘easy to watch’ program and is great to watch after school with a cup of tea! It is also very easy to relate to. My favourite channels are most certainly ‘scuzz’ which is a music channel showing metal, punk and rock music videos. I also like ‘food network’ because it gives me great cooking tips! It shows lots of cooking and food related programs. ‘E4’ is my favourite channel to watch comedy and real life programs on. Overall my favourite television genre would be comedy as it is so easy to watch and can keep me entertained for hours.

Producing media:

I have not had much experience of media production but last year i organised and helped write some articles for a fanzine called ‘Amusia’. It was organised on a forum on the internet for my favourite band ‘The Horrors’. I came up with the idea and organised the fanzine, i had editors to help perfect all of the pages and articles people posted for it and a forum member put the magazine together. Amusia was going to be an internet magazine and there were going to be hard copies given out by fans at the gigs, unfortunately it was never finished but the experience of organising a fanzine was very helpful and i would most certainly do it again!

Feature film:

My favourite film genre is horror, although i also enjoy comedy. Horror is very interesting as it has to make you feel a certain way for it to make an impact on the viewer, the adrenaline rush you get from watching a horror film is absolutely amazing and if the horror film is good, it should make you experience fear as the character does. Comedy is very easy to watch compared to a horror film, i enjoy it because it can be watched at any time and it can keep me entertained for hours! My favourite film is the perfect example of this, it is absolutely hilarious and i can watch it over and over without it getting boring! ‘Anchorman’ is a 2004 film set in the 1970’s. It is about a news anchor called Ron Burgundy and his affections for a female addition to the news team, Veronica Corningstone. There are a handful of famous actors in this film yet all of the actors seem to work very well together and some (such as Will Ferrell and David Coechner) have worked together in similar films prior to this. The actors and actresses include; Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd and Steve Carell. The more famous additions included Ben Stiller and Jack Black. The thing that caught my eye when watching this film was the cinematography, the film is shot as though it is low budget and amateur which adds to the hilariousness of the whole thing. Anchorman clip- Brick killed a guy Another factor that caught my eye was the many quotable phrases said throughout the film! Memorable quotes are usually the key component to writing a comedy/ romcom script, for example most people who have watched anchorman know the quote ‘I love lamp’ said by ‘Brick’ because it is from one of the best scenes in the film! The film also stands out as the main actor ( Will Ferrell) also helps write the script, which means the lines he says in the film are very natural so his acting seems more realistic.

My favourite horror film is definitely ‘Wolf Creek’ a 2005 film directed by Greg Mclean. It was based on a true story and set in the Australian Outback where three backpackers ‘break down’ and become stranded in the middle of nowhere, luckily they are rescued by a passing local and taken back to his camp. The actors used are not well known yet they play their parts very convincingly, the murderer was played by John Jarratt, and the backpackers were played by Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi and Nathan Phillips. The events which occur after this are horrific and I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys gore, suspense and chase scenes. I prefer this film to any other horrors I have watched because it has some hints towards being a psychological thriller, the film itself is not extremely gory yet it makes you think rather a lot and concludes at the end. The cinematography is very interesting within this film as there are many effective camera shots. There is a great use of long shots as the setting is so large, over the shoulder shots are used during chase scenes and close ups are used to show the actors/ actresses emotions. The most interesting shot in my opinion was a part where the camera made the viewer feel they were looking through a sniper. Wolf Creek- Sniper scene

Pulp Fiction is one of the most interesting films I have watched, it is a ‘cult classic’ from 1994 which has a cult following. This means that the film is not mainstream and was not made to appeal to a wide audience. Pulp fiction is about four different stories; a gangster’s wife, two hit men, a boxer and some ‘diner bandits’. The story line is rather difficult to explain as there are many twists but the actors play them very effectively. There are many famous actors in this film including; John Travolta, Samuel L Jackson and Uma Thurman. The action in this film is most important as throughout the film there is minimal dialogue. The cinematography is also important, there is a very interesting part of the film where the character has a flash back of their father talking to him, as the father is talking to him it seems as though the audience is looking through the eyes of the boy and this really makes the viewer feel involved with the film and puts us in the characters shoes. The sound track to pulp fiction is obviously very important as it represents the time period in which it was set!

I prefer to consume films either through the internet or via DVD as they are most convenient although i prefer to view films as a social activity so the cinema is the best option for that! My favourite cinema around Norwich is probably the Odeon as it is surrounded by restaurants and clubs and has the most spacious venue. The option for cinema food is also more varied which is definitely a reason to go there!

Conclusion:

I do not usually get offended by media texts as they are usually opinions and i think everybody is entitled to their own opinions although, obscene cruelty and hideous behaviour reported in the news with great detail offends me. I think it is absolutely awful to recite interviews explaining deaths and murders in detail to the public; it can really affect young minds. A few years ago i was watching the news and i heard a story about a man being beaten up and his head being jumped on which killed him, it was a group attack consisting of all males and one female, the female explained in an interview that she did not know they were going to kill the man and explained how the crunching of the victims skull as her friends stood on it haunted her every night.. This story still makes me feel sick.

The Mighty Boosh is probably the most inspiring and interesting media i have seen, it is not conventionally inspiring or influential but it has a cult following and i really feel that it has influenced the way i speak and even the way i view myself and others around me. It has shown me not to view life too seriously and that even the most terrible things can be made amusing!

If i was to produce a media text i would organise a music magazine because i really enjoyed the last experience! It would be about a certain genre of music which i feel could have a major influence on people who enjoy listening to that genre. As i said above, music can have a very large influence on your life and how you view the world for example, people who like to listen to heavy genres and subgenres such as metal and death metal could view the world in a negative way and could listen to that music because it is full of negative emotions and can be used as a way to relieve them. The articles would be not only reviews of bands but explaining a bands past and their views on the music industry and the history of the genre so the reader can know the background information which is what makes a person passionate about a band.

I chose media studies as an A level option because i would like to go into music journalism when i leave school and this will help me to have a wider understanding of the media industry, i am really looking forward to filming the music video next year as it is my area of media interest and it will help me to understand more about the music industry in the process.