Audience essay

 "How does your own experience of media consumption illustrate wider patters of audience behaviour?"

As the years progress, more and more different means of media distribution are created, more streaming platforms and more channels and apps. This has dramatically effected my own experience of media consumption as now there are plenty of options to choose from with how you wish to consume media. There are 5 big conglomerate companies that dominate the film industry and it consists of Disney, universal studios, Colombia pictures, paramount pictures and warner brothers. They got to being the biggest by aqauiring other film companies, (subsidiaries) for example Disney acquired fox in 2019. These companies since the beginning have based their main way of having their media consumed, be through being screened to the public through theatres and such. This has changed over the past 10 years especially, with Disney they came out with their own streaming service at the end of November in 2019, this is a subscription services that shows only movies, shows and such produced by Disney so there are no middlemen and all the money goes straight to the company. With covid-19 being so prevalent in 2020, this service being released so close to the same time the pandemic began to spread, people were more open to subscribing to a service that will show them all their favourite shows to them in the comfort of their own homes during lockdown. During this time the theatres were closed for obvious reasons and so the only options left were to watch the tv channels or subscribe to a streaming service. This is also where netflix truly thrived as they are the largest streaming service so when people think it's time to subscribe to a streaming service, they go for Netflix as it is the most well known. The pandemic was also the root cause as to why the movies in box office weren't making any revenue. 

However many other companies are bringing in their own streaming services with shows exclusive to them and those who sign up, in order to give audiences a reason to pick their streaming service over the other ones available, with Netflix having their Netflix original series, hulu with exclusive popular shoes such as "euphoria". Although the problem begins where every company brings out shows exclusive to their company's streaming app, so it gets harder and harder for audiences to choose which service to pay for. This leads inevitably to audiences reverting to paying for one subscription service and watching the shows the other companies offer, through illegal means, through watching them pirated. Not only is pirating against the law but it also puts companies in a position where they are losing their audience because why would someone pay to watch something they can watch supposedly for free. Global digital piracy is causing the US to make losses of an estimated $29 billion and can even reach up to $71 billion each year. For smaller indie film companies this can be an exceptionally big issue, for example with the film "laid in America", made by a small company starring widely recognisable YouTubers, the film was distributed by universal pictures home studios and was not released on many places so people decided to watch it pirated, the film then went on to making a loss because of the level of piracy going on and it became one of the most pirated films regardless of the fact that it was made with many celebrities. This shows the audiences number one priority when trying to find a film to watch, is where is it most accessible. 

Generation Z and generation X are the generations that use technology the most, they grew up with it so they rely on everything online. Media consumption methods are always developing and according to stuart halls reception theory on how audiences perceive film content, the directors generally fit in different messages and ideas and the audience interprets in in various ways. The most common one is the negotiated reading, we see many youtube channels that come out with breakdowns of films where they fit in their interpretation of the movie and compare it up against what they know the directors intentions of message were. This is because audiences want reason, they look into why certain things happen in a movie and they might go along with what the majority thinks or go against it and come up with an alternate meaning, this all affects the overall idea of how media consumption illustrates wider patterns of audience behaviour. Another common method of understanding the intentions and ideas from a director in a movie, is through dominant reading and this is where what the director is trying to show and say is so clear that a majority of the people who see the movie will agree on the meaning, the narrative is made to be easily understood by specifically their target audience and this makes the film easy to follow along with, this is a method generally seen used in children's films as they are younger and will find it more difficult to comprehend deeper meanings. To create more buzz and talk about a film, directors may also aim to have their film interpreted through an oppositional reading where each individual when watching the movie will come up with their own interpretation. 

With means such as web 2.0 coming up more on the rise more and more companies are connecting with their audiences through different internet sites and such. For example with the New Zealand film 'What we do in the shadows', the company had used web 2.0 to reach out to the audience and make their experience in correlation with the film, more memorable. For example the film company had made a tinder-like dating app that was for the characters in the movie to relate with the average media consumer. Web 2.0 is allowing film companies to seem as though they are coming off their perdestal to be on the same level as the audience and this in turn gets them more invested and interested into the film. 

For me personally my media consumption actually only increased once i joined a streaming subscription company, Netflix. They are constantly releasing new films, always being talked about as they are already widely known. During lockdowns as a result of the ongoing pandemic, I find myself indulging in countless hours on Netflix, as it is accessible. Another aspect that I enjoy is that the movies are practically portable as once you download them on Netflix you can watch them offline, so this also leaves out the restrictions that otherwise would've been in place if it were perhaps a theatre. My media consumption also increased with online learning, watching documentaries and films for research became more of a viable option for information intake for me. All to say as the years go on, seemingly my media consumption increases also as we become as a society more and more reliant on it. 

Hotel Babylon

 In this clip from the TV series "Hotel Babylon", the main groups represented are through Ethnicity and social status, and their connection. An over the shoulder shot is used in the first scene from the angle behind the swat team facing the leader of the whole operation. This camera angle was used so that the audience could almost feel as though they were there with the swat team, being talked to by the leader, it allows the audience to be more emotionally involved in the film material. It also shows the audience the relation back to the groups being represented, it shows that people of authority seem to be white/European, and it is showing that there are generally significant ties between ethnicity and social status in our society and this actively showcases that. There is a zoom-in shot where the camera moves in on the receptionist lady and it's done this way to show the audience the reaction of the receptionist when the inspection team comes into their hotel which later on we move to find out that the hotel employs illegal immigrants. Ironically this also ties back into the representation of white people in this clip which is that white people are the saviours of society, the inspection team think they're doing good for the country, and the white receptionist woman is thinking she's doing good in the eyes of those in need as basic humans, giving them what she feels they're entitled to regardless of the law which is a source of income to survive. Either way, this first scene alone is showing us that white people are seen in society as the "good" people. A hand-held shot is used to show the inspection team coming in, it is filmed in this manner to only capture the chaotic feel of the whole situation, to capture the tension of it all, this way the audience can almost feel the frustration and stress through the screen, keeping them on the edge of their seats with this drama. As Jackie, seemingly someone who is for the immigrants is opening the door, we see that there is a mid-shot used to show her unlocking the key lock and it is almost representative of the immigrants being locked up in their own countries for a while and coming to the hotel in the country they're currently in would've been them unlocking themselves from the chains of their own country. There is a close up of the "staff only" sign on the door, it is in red which is a representative colour of danger, warning and it accurately relates to the current situation of the immigrants as their lives are at stake here. We see Jackie taking a headcount, and to showcase the reaction when she realises one of the workers are missing, a zoom shot is used. It shows the expression up close and then in drawing the camera out they are showing that this is reality and then they proceed to show how she acts on the situation. 

After this whole ordeal is done with there is a quick panoramic shot of the foyer, this is so that the audience can grasp the reactions of those who were staying at the hotel as well as the other staff who work there legally. Finally, there is a close up of Ibrahim's locker (the man who was missing), as Jackie removes the photos of him that he put up, we see that this is in fact the life of a lot of immigrants, stripped away because of the fact that they were just trying to make a better life for themselves. During the beginning scene, there was the non-diegetic sound of almost a ticking time bomb, ticking away as everyone is moving fast-paced trying to get the immigrants hidden. This is just to really elevate the stress and allow the audience to be fully emerged into what is happening. It makes every single thing that happens in the scene, anticipated. An important piece of dialogue is when the man entered with the search team and said "John from immigration services" it instantly had a light switch effect on the people who ran the hotel as they were hoarding illegal immigrants there. This is what allows the audience to grasp the situation for what it is and make them wonder if the immigrants will truly be caught. While Jackie is running through the hotel trying to gather all the immigrants there is a diegetic sound of shouting and this is kept in so that the audience can feel the frustration that the people on screen are experiencing, this generally actually keeps their heart rate up which makes them feel more for what is happening, anticipating if they will make it. When a woman collapsed due to her diabetic problem, one of the immigrant cleaners knew exactly what to do, and took initiative to make sure the woman will be okay, during this scene a very significant bit of dialogue was shared and it was "I wasn't always a cleaner". This really ties back in with the represented groups in the film, as someone who is coloured and seems like they're at the bottom of the social ladder, with having the reality be for this man and for many just like him, that back in their own countries they were extremely qualified but due to being in the country illegally, they are unable to practice they're filed openly so they have settled for jobs such as cleaners and such just to make a living. This is a hard reality for a lot of immigrants. Another thing to note is that when the lady did collapse, there was soft music playing in the background as non-diegetic sound, it was so that even though the world outside that maintenance room may be chaotic but in a time where a peer is in danger, it is best to stay calm and be rational. 

The mise en scene showed to be based around a classic hotel that was fairly old, it was draped in classic old timely colours like red and such which would lead the audience to see that the place was definitely not modern. The lighting when the inspection team are first introduced is quite bright which ties back into the idea of the white people to always be seen as the saving grace even if they're saving one side to hurt the other, a group of people at that. However when all the immigrant people were in the maintenance room with Jackie, the light was dim, this really shows that these characters are boxed into a dark place, mentally, psychologically and physically. This reflects. that outside the hotel things may seem average and innocent but from within the hotel, there have been immigrants working illegally. Another thing to note is that the receptionist woman was also wearing almost fully white, which would again tie in with the white saviour mentality as white is associated with purity, innocence, good and peace. During this entire clip, the main transitions that were used were just quick cuts and the reason for this is because everything is so fast-paced in the film, things are moving quickly and it is very highly tensile and so the film-makers just really wanted to capture that, capture the speed at which Jackie also had to be moving in order to save these immigrants. Cutaways and jump cuts made up a majority of the shots that were taken just for time sake along with that seamless editing was a technique used so that there is more continuity and flow, which gets the audience engulfed in what is happening and makes them believe whats on the screen is real, and overall just increases the amount of verisimilitude, which is ironic because things like this happen daily to immigrants which is why the film-makers made the show this way, to really open the eyes of the audience to whats happening in our society.