BTEC Creative Media Production
Unit 3 Assignment 1: understand the nature and purposes
of research in the creative media industries
Sophie Samengo-Turner
Research is important in the
creative media industry to make sure that the production is realistic.
Producers need to do research to see what type of audience they are aiming for.
Once the target audience is chosen, the producer needs to do research on what
type of media texts the audience likes. Here I shall explain the different types
of research; which are more effective and expand on the purpose of research.
There are many different
types of research, including quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative
research is based on numbers and statistics. Often this research is found on
graphs or in tables to show, for example, either a rise or fall in audience
numbers.
Also, in
the programme The Bill (1984-2010), about police officers, the producers
realised that the audience statistics were dropping. They changed aspects of
the show to gain more audience members. ‘The Bill averaged 3.9 million viewers in the 9pm
hour, a 20% share of the audience. This was down from 4.5 million viewers for
the revamped police drama's first showing in its new slot[…] according to
unofficial overnight figures’ (Guardian). This research is useful
in pre-production stages to see what sort of genre or idea has most viewers and
therefore has an audience.Another example of how quantitative data is used is the use of a pilot episode. A pilot episode is a test episode for a new programme. To test whether a product works a single episode is made and then aired and the producers then see how many people watched the programme either online or on TV.
For example, the American
television series House (2004-2012), had a pilot episode showing an amazing
doctor; who is incredibly rude and cynical. However, the audience can
understand that everyone knows he is the only one able to solve the difficult
medical case that come in. The pilot episode introduces the cast such as
Gregory House, his medical team, his friend and his boss; the location where
they work and the different methods of how to solve a case. The pilot episode
was a success. The producers saw that it was a success from the statistics and
went on to create eight series until it ended; from people becoming disinterested
in the limited story lines.
The disadvantages of
quantitative data are that it is only numbers. There is no other information
telling the producer why the product is failing or what people do not like
about a media text. Sometimes the validity of quantitative data can be
questionable depending upon how the research has been conducted.
Qualitative, on the other
hand, is an opinionated type of research. This does not involve numbers but
instead a more personal opinion such as a film review. This shows what
individual people think and can also show the producers a more detailed picture
of what the audience want. For example a producer of The Bill could see the statistics dropping and decide to go on IMDb
which stands for internet movie database containing almost every film created and
published and most actors and crew involved in the making of the film. When
they reach the webpage the producer could look at reviews from the audience;
see what people say about the programme and what they dislike about it and how
it can be improved.
One reviewer said ‘A few
years ago I would not have hesitated to state that this was beyond the shadow
of a doubt the most wonderful and high quality show on television […]
Unfortunately, in recent years, the show has taken a dramatic turn for the
worse and now would have to be categorized as one of the worst shows that is
presently on TV. For some reason that I'll never quite understand, the TV
executives decided that they had to dumb down the show and all of its
characters to a primitive soap level and make a perfectly good show into a
sleazy and pathetic joke’ (IMDb 1).
It is the same with House,
here is a review from a viewer; ‘This is truly a show designed to be interesting for only
3 or 4 years […] It is so predictable. There will be someone dying of something
rare and house will either fix them or they die. The sidekicks will make a list
of things it might be […] and occasionally break into their house to find other
clues of what could be wrong […] It has gone from brilliant to repetitious and
stupid’ (IMDb2).
By researching for reviews
on IMDb a producer wanting to create a new ghost film could look up existing
ghost films, see the different reviews for the different films and take all the
points on board about how a film could be improved, whilst, finding out what
sort of aspects worked.
The disadvantages of
Qualitative research are that it does not tell you how many people have the
same opinion on how to improve or change a production. So, unlike quantitative,
the producer has to research hundreds of reviews to find which ideas of
improvement are most popular. Another disadvantage is that the validity of
qualitative data could be called to question because it is sometimes hard to
check whether the source of the research is genuine.
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Before a film can be started
the producer needs to find out if there is an audience for the specific media
text they want to create. The producer would check what is currently popular on
the market. This is called market research. By doing this the producer can see
what is currently popular on the market and likely to gain a profit or what is
becoming popular and would be a good idea to invest in. Also, market research
can be used to check if an idea already exists or if the idea is too similar to
an existing product. An example of using market research is showing how the
producers of the television series Green
Wing (2004-2006), a comedy about hospital, probably researched the
television soap, Scrubs (2001), to
show that there was an audience for this programme and seeing that Scrubs was popular showed that there was
a possibility of making a profit.
Audience research has three different categories:
demographics, geodemographics and psychographics. Demographics are about the
different characteristics of an audience such as their age, gender or ethnic
group. A producer could choose one of those categories such as age and see what
age group likes or dislikes in relation to the product that they would like to make
a profit on. For example a producer wanting to create a child’s television
programme could research existing programmes, research what the children enjoy in
a programme such as bright colours, soft music and then create a programme
based on this research.|
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Psychographics is the final
research for audience research. Psychographics is based on the psyche of the
audience; their opinions and what they enjoy. Some people love horror films,
whereas, others have a different mind-set and enjoy romantic comedies or prefer
animation to real life footage.
Another way to do audience
research is to check BARB (Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board). BARB shows
the viewings for different programmes and the different channels. This is
helpful to a producer to show what is popular. They measure audiences. If a
producer wanted to make something for radio then they would use RAJAR (Radio
Joint Audience Research). While BARB shows the statistics for views of channels
and programmes RAJAR show statistics for audiences listening to different
channels and shows on the radio. Both of these websites can show a producer
whether or not there is a big audience for something.
When researching a producer
also has to make sure that whatever they are doing is seen by Ofcom, if it is
shown on TV or heard on the radio. Ofcom is there to ‘make sure that people in the UK get
the best from their communications services and are protected from scams and
sharp practices, while ensuring that competition can thrive’ (Ofcom).
Another type of research is
production research. Production research is the first research conducted. It is
done to check if they have everything needed to create a product. For example,
the producer needs to know if they have all the crew and talent needed for this
product, they need to know if they need to hire more people and how long they
would have to film. The producer needs to know the budget they might have and
then create a schedule to determine when they will do what or how long they
have for a hired location or piece of equipment. The producer also needs to
know if they have the facilities needed for the production and post-production
such as an editing suite. The producer would also have to get location release
forms when they have chosen a location so that they can hire a place.
During the production stages of a programme or film there
are many different jobs. The producer is part of the filming from the beginning
during researching through to editing but at each of the stages
(pre-production, production and post-production) new people come and go as
their jobs do their work. During the production stages there is the filming
crew. Some examples of the jobs in the filming crew are the boom holders,
cameramen, gaffers, grip, director, light engineers and sound supervisors. On
set you also have the make-up and clothes artists as well as the set designer.
You would also have the actors/talent depending on whether their scene is being
shot that day or not. Each person is important because without each then there
would be no filming. Without the grip and cameramen then you couldn’t set up
something like the dolly in which you roll the camera over a track giving a
smooth movement. Without the director you have nothing to go by, no actual
orders to follow and no direction to take. Without background designers a place
may not look like the set envisioned by the producer or writer. Without actors
there is no one to film and therefore no reason to be filming. When doing
production research the producer needs to know whether they have all of these
roles to complete a film/programme.
Each of these types of
research can be done using either primary or secondary research. Secondary
research is research that already exists. For example, searching on the
internet to find something is secondary research whereas primary research is
done first hand. Primary research is done by the researcher using a questions
or research methods that are relevant to the researcher’s specific topic.
Primary research can be done through questionnaires, discussion groups,
interviews and more. There are advantages and disadvantages to both types of
research.
The disadvantages for
primary research are that some people asked questions may give simple answers.
For example if asked what their favourite film is some people may answer ‘Black
Swan, because it was good’. This tells the researcher that the person enjoyed Black Swan (2010) but gives no further
detail rendering this answer practically useless in research. Another point is
that primary research is time consuming and can take a long time. For secondary
research though it is the opposite. When researching online or in books there
is so much information which is not of use to the producer and they need to
carefully search texts to pick out what is important and relevant for their
research which could take a very long time. Also, some secondary research could
be considered unreliable because of the date that the research was published
such as the BTEC National Media
production book. This book was published in 2007 but maybe after a day or
week or year after being published there could have been a change in media
industry, a change in technology or a change in the curriculum on which the
book is based. This means that if a producer researched from this book the
research could be wrong and would have been a waste of time. Another problem
with researching online is that some of the research could be wrong. For
example if someone researched of Wikipedia then they would be unsure if the
information was actually true since anyone can write about anything on that
website and the reader would have no clue if the person was a professional in
that field, was guessing or was just playing around.
In contrast, primary
research can also be very valuable. The producer using primary research can make
the question or research tool specific to their needs so that the information
gathered is more useful and informative. For example if the producer asked: ‘what
is your favourite film and why? Please give detail’ then a response could be:
‘I liked Black Swan because it was an
interesting film showing the difference in people’s reactions to things and had good music which helped set the
atmosphere of the film and help the film progress’. If the producer was
considering making a thriller or mystery then they could take this information
and understand that this person enjoyed Black
Swan and using similar styles of music or using music in a similar way as
it was used in the film would have an audience and that seeing how some people
with contrasting reactions interests others. Primary research is also up to
date and relevant to the time. Unlike using the internet where the information
could be untrue, the producer’s research will be thoroughly check to make sure
that it is true and if it is not or the research proves irrelevant then it can
be ignored. On the other hand, secondary research is good at saving time, the
answers already exist you just need to find the information. Time is money in
the media world.
In the creative media
industries there are many different types of research that are needed in
creating any product from films to advertisements. Without doing the research a
product could fail and not make a profit. The research is done in the
pre-production stages before anything else is done such as a script. The
research is done to expand the background and setting of the storyline. If a
film or programme is set in the past such as a Victorian setting then research
is needed to understand how life was lived during that time, what people were
like, the difficulties people faced and their choice of dress/costume.
Research also needs to be
done to learn who would be interested in a media text like this, is there a market
for a media text like this? What could be done to make it more interesting and
who would fund such a product? If there is no specific target audience when
creating a film then when it is published it will not be received well and
could cause a loss of money.
For example, Keith
Lemon (2012), a film with much potential but the producers seemed so
uncertain of who was their audience that they tried to mix up different film
techniques for different audiences which did not work. 22/30 reviews on IMDb
have 1 start out of ten. Only two reviews out of thirty give more than 3 stars.
One reviewer says ‘The acting was cringe worthy throughout, storyline was even worst, it
was like a cheap version of Austin powers with a script an 8 year old had put
together at school’(IMDb 3). Another
said, ‘No one could possibly give that film 10 stars. Not even a 12 year old who might well laugh at
some of the more puerile stuff could possibly give it 10 stars. ‘(IMDb 4). This
film could have been improved if the producers had done more research on their
target audience and the jokes they enjoy and also researched similar
productions and seen what people enjoyed and disliked. Geodemographic research
could also have been done about the people of Leeds since that is where the
film begins. By researching Leeds the producers could have found out the type
of people who live there and what they’re like. Some people find that the
depiction of the people in Leeds is wrong and unfair because of lack of
research on the area. This was only funded by two production companies giving
them a small budget to work with.
For ‘House’, a drama and mystery series, ‘the show was inspired by The
Diagnosis Column in the New York Times Magazine which spotlights unusual
medical cases’ (IMDb 5). The Executive Producer Paul Attanasio came up with the
concept as just a medical procedural and tried to sell the idea as just a
medical procedural but nobody funded the idea. Then the creator David Shore
improved the idea into a character drama ‘where the medical cases became the
instrument instead of the focus of the storytelling.’ (IMDb 6). The series is
based on real life cases and real responses to these cases. Research would have
to be done constantly to keep up to date with new medical research and to
choose different cases to keep the show interesting. Unlike ‘Keith Lemon’ the only research that
needed to be conducted for geodemographic research would be researching
America. The show rarely moved around and was set to show an average American
city whereas in ‘Keith Lemon’ they
needed to research Leeds and London. ‘House’
was funded by six different production companies including Universal Media
Studios and NBC Universal Television which are big companies giving the show a
large budget to work with allowing them to buy large amounts of hospital
technology and make realistic sets as well as good production and
post-production equipment.
‘Green Wing’ and ‘Scrubs’
are both comedy dramas also about hospitals and doctors including reactions and
responses to medical treatments. Unlike ‘House’
these shows do not focus on one particular person running the show. They both
have a main character and although most of the attention is on this character,
it also shows a lot more on the personal lives than in ‘House’ where personal lives are talked about by Gregory House (Hugh
Laurie) humiliating his employees or making fun of their lives. ‘Green Wing’ is similar to ‘Scrubs’. It is possible that ‘Green Wing’ is another hospital comedy
inspired by ‘Scrubs’ because the
producer saw that there was an audience for comedy drama based in hospitals.
Both series had geodemographic research done on the towns they were set in
showing the locations of the common meet up place outside the hospital such as
in ’Scrubs’ there is a pub they go
to. The producer would have needed to research the types of people who live in
the area and the types of people who own pubs like that in that specific area.
They would also have needed to know what popular or unpopular music in that
place was and what the normal atmosphere to a place like that is. ‘Scrubs’ was funded by four production
companies giving it a large budget to make realistic sets and also hire more
well-known people for patients such as Brendan Fraser.
‘The Bill’ is a crime drama based on the London police force.
Research would have had to be done on real police officers and how they live
and work, real crimes and the punishments for these crimes and also the
different types of people who do these crimes. While filming ‘The Bill’ they would have real officers
around telling the public that this was not a real life car chase or a real
robbery scene. For this research they had crime psychologists explaining the
minds of some types criminals and why some actions are done because of the
different ways the brain works. They also interviewed real police officers and
detectives to learn about their jobs and also how their jobs affect their
personal lives and family lives. Geodemographic research was done on London and
the different boroughs in London especially the run down areas in which most
crimes are committed. ‘The Bill’ was
only funded by two production companies so couldn’t buy much in the way of sets
so the building which they owned was small, ‘Space was so tight in the building
used for the set of the first Sun Hill station that Chief Superintendent
Brownlow's (Peter
Ellis) office doubled as producer Michael Chapman's
office’ (IMDb 7) and the canteen shown as the police canteen was actually the
canteen for cast and crew.
Before doing any research at all the producer
needs to pick a genre and a show. To do that, sometimes a company will be able
to respond to a commission briefing. For example, a programme like Sky1 may
send out a commission briefing asking for a programme for certain
specifications. Once a genre is chosen you can submit your idea to the
programme via email. Whether or not you choose this method to pick an idea or
not, a writer has to write a script. Writers
might research by observing people to inspire characters or looking into a
historical event or a job someone does to make their script more accurate.
Developments of scripts will often go back and forth through many rewrites,
initially between writer and Production Company and then to the channel when
it’s ready to pitch.
Research is important in
deciding who the product is for and learning how to entertain the audience and
sell the product. The three purposes of research, audience, market and
production research, are important because without them the producer knows
nothing about who they are selling to or if their representation of a place is
wrong it could cause people to become upset. In my opinion primary research is
more important because it is more specific and more up to date whereas
secondary research takes time to take out the relevant information from the masses
of information available. Without any research, primary or secondary, a product
could fail and not gain profit causing a loss for the company and giving a bad
reputation to anyone involved.
Bibliography
Image 1: Google images [http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&biw=1440&bih=805&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=Green+Wing&oq=Green+Wing&gs_l=img.3..0l10.368042.431192.0.431736.10.10.0.0.0.0.115.844.8j2.10.0...0.0...1c.1.FynSssLp3ko] (24/09/12)
Image 2: Google images [http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&biw=1440&bih=805&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=scrubs&oq=scrubs&gs_l=img.3..0l10.43756.43756.0.43928.1.1.0.0.0.0.63.63.1.1.0...0.0...1c.1.snc81eltUyc] (24/09/12)
IMDb
2 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0412142/reviews?filter=hate;filter=hate;start=10] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084987/ ] (19/09/12)
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