Humans Marketing

 

Humans - Television Industry, Distribution, Circulation, Marketing

Humans Industry Television

Television is a specialised industry.

Digitally convergent technology.

• TV has changed considerably since the advent of digital technology in terms of its production, distribution and consumption.
• Globalisation of TV, no longer just a national industry, has become increasingly commercial.
• Humans is a coproduction between Channel 4 and AMC.
• It's a remake of a Swedish show.
• Public broadcasting service forced to adapt its structure, role and function. International co-production is growing and broadcasters such as HBO have achieved global success.
• Broadcasters are now 'narrowcasters' with multiple channels targeting different sometimes more niche audiences.
• Audiences consume TV texts in a variety of ways as the industry has increased portability via new platforms (phones, tablets) and patterns of consumption have changed alongside this (the box-set and binge watching, on demand and catch up, Netflix, Amazon etc.

Distribution, Circulation, Marketing

Marketisation - process of selling.

Distribution - spread of a product and sharing to a number of people.

Circulation - total number of times a product has been viewed or brought.

Humans is distributed by Channel 4, AMC, DVD, Blu Ray, All4, Netflix, STV.

• Persona Synthetics - TV spot advert for Humans.
• Spot adverts fund certain channels.
• Marketing campaign for Humans was atypical and subversive

• It is both atypical and subversive.
• Atypical because it doesn't follow the typical conventions of a TV spot adverts, they usually show highlights of the show and it is clear of what show is being advertised.
• Subversive as it is advertising a synth - technology that isn't real.
• Guerilla marketing - product advertised in an unconventional way of advertising.
• Hashtag at the end.
• Viral marketing - people spread the advert themselves.
• Due to the advert's digitally convergent nature.
• More cinematic than typical adverts, the colour grading is different - it's washed out and cold. 
• Calm narration and slow zoom on most shots create an unnerving feeling.

Orson Welles: War of the Worlds

- Prologue was read on the radio, story setting was changed to the current time and read out like a news broadcast, supposedly creating a panic.

Augmented reality - different version of reality.

Diegesis - in the world of the narrative.

We are situated in an extradiegetic mode of address.

It was extremely involving and novel mode of address.

Humans - Ending montage scene

Ending montage scene - Gender performitivity and bell hooks' feminist theory 

The way women are treated affects the way men are treated. hooks- 'feminism is for everyone' and 'intersectional feminism'.

Cross cut between a number of story arcs

Positions the audience in a particularly uncomftable mode of address

• Joe and Laura 
• Laura and Anita - close up shot of faces, Anita has changed the Hawkin's household, very different but yet similar, potential intertextual reference of Alien 3, Laura's position of a mother is replaced by Anita.
• Anita - Setting at home, domestic, housewife, the 'Madona', she has bright green eyes and is seen as 'other', Anita is East Asian with binary opposition to the Hawkin's family who are a White stereotypical British family.
• Mattie- Setting lying in bed, (her voice is deeper and isn't sterotypical of women) over the shoulder shot of her watching the news about technology and computers.
• Leo and Max - Setting in a car yard with dark and gloomy lowkey lighting, stereotypical manly areas, Leo is hypermasculine, homeless. Leo is the knight in shining armour saving damsel in distress, however he doesn't save Niska - subversion. (Mia (Anita) is the woman who saved Leo as a kid, as they grew up he fell in love with).
• Sophie - Anita carries Sophie and also Laura tucking her into bed - stereotypical performance of women.
• Niska - In a brothel setting with highkey pink lighting with feminine costume, the 'Whore', depicts rape, the man is a stereotypical representation of someone who would use prostitution, close up zoom shot of her face with direct address, allegory of how we know women need help but we can't help her- position of the audience. Plays the role of a prostitute and acts as a sex worker. Preferred reading of her assault to feel deeply uncomftable, anchored by the lingering and zooming shot into her face.
• George and Odie
• Paul Gilory - postcolonialism- there are subtle differences between the representation of non-white and white people in media products - target audience is white british?- there is a heirarchy.

Introducing Leo Scene - Max

• He is in the background of when the over the shoulder shots happen between Leo and the man.
• Max also continues to be in the background as he is following wherever Leo goes, Leo is the leader and Max is the follower.
• 
  

Humans - Exam questions

Exam questions

Explore the ways in which audiences can respond to and interpret the representations of gender in Humans.

DAC; PEA

1. Highlight

2. Knee Jerk

3. Plan

4. Vomit

Plan:

• Gender is complicated.
• Anita - slave maid.
• Feminist theory.
• Representation.
• Gender Performativity.
• Binary oppositions.
• Gilroy.
• hooks.
• Stereotypes.
• Hyperactivity.
• Objectification.
• Atypical representation.
• Atypical representation of women - Matty.
• Hegemonic.

Intro - context, definition, argument

D - Representation - now a group of people are re-presented by the producer.

C - Humans is a science fiction TV series first broadcasted on Channel 4 in 2015 of an adaptation of the Swedish show, 'Real Humans'.

A - Stereotypical/atypical representation of gender in an allegorical way to present .

In this essay shall explore how women are represented and how audiences can respond to these.

P - Anita is stereotypical hegemonic representation.

E - Anita is a synth presented as a woman and performs as such by making breakfast which stereotypically is what women do. 

• A close up shot of Anita cleaning the table. 
• Setting of the Hawkins family, mid shot of putting breakfast. 
• Stereotypical costume, basic maid outfit, binary opposition with family who are informal. 
• Anita is positioned in slightly lowkey lighting. 
• Anita's voice is calm and robotic - specific convention of the science fiction genre clearly will appeal to pre-existing science fiction fans.
• Binary opposition between MC setting and WC. Anita is underclass - slave.
• Hegemonic representation is stereotypical of how women are represented in society.
• Male characters continually look at Anita, reinforcing her importance. Male gaze - where only purpose of women of a media product is to be seen and valued by a heterosexual male acknowledgement. 
• Provokes response from the audience.

Conclusion - summary of essay and that it links to your argument.