Web 2.0

 Web 2.0 is what some are calling the second coming of the internet. The main difference in this 'second coming' in opposition to when the internet was first introduced is that rather than have information fed to us and not being able to choose what to look at we can now have our own input on websites and decide what we do and don't want to find out about. Not only are we viewing websites and information put up by big corporations  but we can also create, distribute/share and comment on our own media and that of other common internet users. This regeneration of the internet has allowed it to become more of a community for internet users and therefore allow those who share the same interests to collaborate and socialise. Because of this more control is given to the average internet surfer which opens up many new opportunities.

 There are many examples of websites pretty much solely dedicated to user input allowing them to globally distribute their media creations and opinions, there are also many examples of websites that would have intitially just fed us information that have now made changes in order to adapt to this new form of internet.

 Websites such as YouTube, MySpace and Blogger are all examples of those created in dedication to it's users creating and sharing content. Let's start with YouTube, although it has now been bought out by the giant corporation of Google and is hench with advertising, was originally brought into the world of the internet to allow average people to post and comment on videos created by themselves and other people. And this is exactly what people did, and some people who wouldn't have a had a chance of making something of themselves by conventional means have become famous almost over night for posting (not necessarily well made) videos. These videos tend to become 'viral', meaning they are soon posted everywhere and have millions of page views - a classic example is Chris Crocker's 'Leave Britney Alone' video in which he (very emotionally) portrays his feelings on the nature of Britney Spears' publicity. Million of people watched this video and Chris Crocker very quickly developed his own fan base including the production of t-shirts and the like. This has happened in many situations across YouTube - some are due to a single viral video and some are due to a series of vlogging a person has done on their lives (e.g. Meekakitty). Youtube allows users to reach each other globally with their own entertainment, and allows people to meet others with similar interests and also educate themselves about lives of others (hopefully in a non-stalker way). I see this as a very positive thing that has happened to the internet as it creates an incredibly broad community of people, and helps people realise that there are people out there who are like them! It also provides a means for deserving people to get recognised in other things such as art and music. Negative points of sites such as YouTube are of course the not-so-friendly users; as people can remain anonymous on the internet they tend to criticise or 'flame' people and their videos in an unjust and close-minded way which is unfortunate. Consequently this could be seen as a means for the development of cyber-bullying which is the downside to people being able to share themselves and what they make.

 Blogger and MySpace also have similar qualities to that of YouTube, but instead focus on music (MySpace) and other various things. Blogger has a wide variety of uses as blogs can be made about anything; people's lives, help blogs, hair & beauty, education, comedy and other various things. People can also browse these and choose what they wish to read up about, whether it's a person who seems to do a lot of interesting things or somebody who writes funny articles. The ability of commenting and asking questions is also widely used. Website forums are also incredibly popular and are found on almost anything you could think of.

 Conventional websites such as those that provide news articles such as the BBC website that would have originally just distributed information processed by them have made adaptations to include user opinion and content. For example there is an option to send them your opinion on a news topic, which may appear in a later news article. For sports articles, people who may have watched a game of football can post a comment about what they thought of the match to the BBC and it could appear in the article about the game the next day. There are also options to share articles or products from sites on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Websites that sell products also encourage user opinion by offering the option to write a review about a product they sell allowing other customers to read before buying, star rating systems are also used on these websites - a prime example being Amazon.

 In conclusion, the internet has become a very different place where average users can become celebrities and opinions of normal people can be heard and discussed. Although there are downsides of spam, advertising and abusive users I think this change is extremely positive, helpful and inspiring.

How does the Skins Promo Trailer create representation of young people?

How does the Skins Promo Trailer create representation of young people

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Explain, using specific examples, how the expansion of digital media has been an improvement for audiences.

 There are so many ways in which digital media has expanded over the last decade or so, opening up a whoe new world of access for the audiences of films. Although different forms of media have been developed and thereby perhaps have split up film-viewing audiences, certain expansions have been a certain improvement for audiences in order to move with the times. The emphasis being mainly on film access, film audiences can access films online (not only is this convenient, but opens up a global variety of other film genres to audiences) as well as on various other platforms. Accessing film online is something many people will take part in, it's possible to watch films both legally and illegally from all over the globe from one's computer screen. Specific examples being things such as SkyPlayer, although you must be registered with Sky to use it it usually provides the most recent of blockbuster films after they have been released on DVD. Other examples include online TV channel players such as 4OD and BBCiPlayer which allow audiences to view recently shown programmes or film from the TV channel on their computer.

Internet access of films not only provides convenience for audiences but also provide them with a whole host of film types they could not access before. Although such access creates niche or 'cult' audiences and may provide problems for blockbuster film industires, for audiences this is a great improvement. People with alternative film interests can find what they're looking for and not be limited by their national film industry & it's trends. There are many film genres from different cultures that have become a lot more popular thanks to this internet access, such as Japanese anime (a personal favourite of my own). Also kinds of 'cult' films are becoming a lot more popular and thus shown in cinemas attracting huge interest, even when they are low budget. In my opinion this is a great improvement, as people's preferences are not as heavily influenced by the high-budget films overloaded with CGI and with vortually no plot (namely Avatar).

Furthermore, advances in the platforms films can be viewed on is also a great improvement. So not only can audiences watch films on their TVs, at the cinema or online but on so many other things. These include various game consoles such as Sony PSP and PS3 as well as Microsoft's Xbox 360. Mobile phones are also geared up to deal with film streaming now. In addition, advances in the traditional methods of viewing films at home such as VHS are also great improvements. Although there's nothing like watching a video from the 90's, there is no doubt that DVD and BluRay discs are an extreme improvement in sound picture quality in home film viewing. Cable providers such as Sky and Virgin also have features available to customers that allow them to record and watch films from current TV so they can watch them at any time they want, they can also pause/rewind/fastforward live TV which is an extremely useful feature.

Narrative Theories

Propp
Propp came up with the theory that characters in a story take on single or multiple specific roles of narrative 'spheres of action' or functions. So in short, the character roles create the narrative. Propp came up with 7 character types usually found in a narrative (a character could adopt 1 or more of these roles); the Hero (restores narrative equilibrium by embarking on a quest), the Villain (creates the narrative destruction), the Donor (gives the Hero something to help store equlibrium), the Helper (aids the Hero), the Princess (most threatened by the villain, usually has to be saved), the Dispatcher (sends the Hero on their task) and the False Hero (appears to be good but turns out to be bad in the end).

Todorov
Todorov came up with 5 generic stages he thought would be found in a narrative, and tend to be found in most mainstream ones. These stages are as follows;
1. a state of equilibrium at the beginning
2. a disruption of this equilibrium by some action
3. a realisation that there has been a disruption
4. an attempt to repair this disruption
5. a restoration of the initial equilibrium

Barthes
Barthes came up with 5 codes which he thought were woven into any narrative. These 5 codes are as follows:Enigma Code - Something the audience does not know.
Action Code - Something the audience knows and don't need explaining. (E.g. Packing a suitcase in a hurry connotes running away)
Semic Code - Using hints (E.g. Mansion, Sports car, Butler, Posh classical music) to connote certain concepts such as wealth.
Symbolic Code - A structure which organizes meaning such as through the use of binary opposites.
Referential Code - Looks at the audiences wider cultural knowledge, morality and ideology.

Levi-Strauss
Levi-Strauss saw narrative structures in terms of binary oppositions; sets of opposite values which reveal the structure of media texts. For example, Good & Evil, Earth & Space, Old & Young, Dark & Light, etc. He was not interested in the order events were arranged. Themes contain a variety of binary oppositions, such as sci-fi films may contain Earth & Space as well as Good & Evil and Humans & Aliens, etc.