Media Questionairre

Year 12 Media Studies Student Questionnaire

Hattie Setford

GCSE Results:
Maths – A
Additional Maths – A
Statistics – B
English Language – A
English Literature – B
Science – B
Additional Science – B
French - A
Art - B
Drama - C
ICT - A
RE - C

My hobbies include things like listening to music, being with friends, learning the guitar, photography, camping, taking videos, and generally just being out and about.

MEDIA INTERESTS

Print Media
What newspapers do you read/dip into and why?
I often read the ‘What’s on TV’ magazine to check the daily TV schedules, and also to read Horoscopes sometimes. Also I occasionally like to read magazines like, Look or OK magazine and sometimes music magazines. For example, Kerrang or NME as it has a lot of news and information about old and new bands and types of music.

Radio Media
If I listen to the radio I normally listen to Radio 1 which provides entertainment and news. But if I just like to listen to music I will sometimes listen to other such as Heart or Kiss.

Music Industry
- My favourite types of music are Pop, Indie, Rock, Acoustic etc. I generally like most types of music. I listen to music every day as it usually helps me to express my feelings and couldn't imagine living without it.
- I am not officially in a ‘band’ but I am learning guitar and occasionally get together with my sister and friend to play.
- Yes, when I listen to music on the internet it is normally via Youtube.
- In my opinion, I think that downloading music from the internet shouldn’t really be illegal as most people are doing it anyway. However I can understand why it is not right to get free music from internet sites.
- A lot of people’s dress sense is inspired by the type of music they listen to, maybe because of the way the artists they listen to/watch dress. Music can also affect someone aspirations to play music, dance, etc. Also music can strongly affect someone’s attitude as the songs they may listen to have so much meaning or emotion.

Video Games

I don’t really have a favourite video game, as I hardly ever play them.

Video games can have negatives affects. Games that involve men running around shooting or beating each other up obviously is a bad influence, in the sense that young children may start to see the video game as reality, and think that it is reasonable to act this way.

New Technology

In a way I think that new technologies possibly could have increased my understanding of the world through internet. It definitely is a good way of learning about anything and everything you want around the world, in just a few seconds. It has helped me to understand things that I am not sure of. Technologies have definitely have increased my ability to communicate with others. It is quick and easy now to get hold of someone, either through Mobiles phones, Instant Messaging or Social networking sites. Also it has increased my access to music, through sites such as Youtube, MySpace, etc. which is a great way of hearing about new music. And occasionally I can catch up on TV programmes that I have missed. Finally, it is easier - with such great and new technology - to be able to create your own media texts, in many different ways.

Television

- I have many favourite television channels, such as: channel 4, E4, BBC 1, and all the music channels on Sky. These are the main channels that I usually watch as they provide most of the things that I find interesting.

- My favourite television genre is probably Comedy, because it creates humour out of everyday situations, and is always interesting to watch in my opinion.

- A definite programme that I find memorable and always will is Friends. I used to watch it when it was first showing on TV and still watch the repeats that are years old. I think it is a programme that most people enjoy and will always remember. Also, because some Soaps like Eastenders and Coronation Street have been going on for years, I think this is a big factor that will make them forever memorable.

Feature Film

- Similar to TV, I enjoy comedy films as they are very easy to watch and laugh to. I also like to watch Romance films and chick flicks as they are stories that are very realistic and can sometimes relate to.
- There are a large amount of films that I love. And the one that I immediately think to be outstanding is Avatar as it was one the good recent films that I have seen. I think that the new technology and skills used were very well done and so was the storyline. Another film is The Parent Trap. I think it has an excellent storyline, and I think that the way they put it together so that it looked as if they were twins instead of just one actor was outstanding. It is definitely a film that I will always enjoy. One other film out of many that I also love is Bend It Like Beckham. I think that the way they portray different religion and culture helps the audience to understand it more. Also the A-list actors/actresses make the film more successful.
- I prefer to consume films at the cinema than anything else. I think that it is definitely the best way to experience a film as it has a very large screen and there is nothing to distract you.
- When going to the cinema I normally go to Vue, as it is nearer and easy to get to. Although I prefer the Odeon as it is bigger, more comfortable and seems to be very reliable.
- I generally to prefer watching films with other people rather than on my own, as it allows the group to share opinions about the film and I find it easier to connect and laugh along if I am with friends or family.

Are you a media producer?

- I wouldn’t consider myself much of a media producer as I haven’t had much experience yet. However I do own a video camera and enjoy putting videos, pictures and music together on Movie Maker, and I am looking forward to learning more about media producing.






Conclusion

An example of the interesting things I heard in the news not too long ago was that Primark was getting some of their clothes from young children workers. It was said that the children were working in very poor conditions and were paid very little. I thought this was interesting to know as there are millions of people who shop in Primark every day, and it makes me wonder how many of those people think about where the clothes they buy are coming from. Or is it just they don’t have much choice as they cannot afford many other shops? I think that the media in many ways helps to portray how much suffering there is in the world.
I wouldn’t be able to pin point any particular media text that has offended me personally, but I know that there is a lot out there. For example the discrimination towards certain culture and race, the violence that goes on in the world because of war, and the way that women are sometimes portrayed in adverts of music videos.
I wouldn’t say there is a media text that has altered by overall opinion of the world, but there is a lot out there that is able to change people’s opinion’s of things. For example, the last general election was one of the first times I really paid much attention to it. I watched some of the debates on television and realised how certain people can have completely different views and opinions, and how much of a responsibility the government has.
I think that if I was asked to construct a media text I would prefer to do it by developing a short film or music video. I wouldn’t be sure on what message to communicate, but the fact that most of the messages given out are normally negative, I would quite enjoy to focus on the more positive side of things. For example, I might choose to make a short film on the things that are good about my community and country.
I have chosen Media studies as an option because I would like to learn more about the world of media and how everything works. Also I am interesting in films and making films or music videos.