Ill Manors: Print platform - Interviews

Interviews

 Mens's Health

Target audience (demographics/psychographics)

• Target audience for the Men's Health magazine is likely to be 18 to 35-year olds. 
• With body image being quite an important thing among young people, it can be seen why the magazine appeals to this age group. 
• When it comes to psychographics, the magazine can be associated with aspirers since they'll be interested in knowing how they can keep aspects of themselves like their image at an optimum.

Does the article do more than just entertain? How? (Think of Uses and Gratifications theory) What audience pleasures does the article offer?

• The article helps inform its intended audience on ways in which they can keep fit. 
• This information is evident with there being a section where Plan B discusses things such as the fitness regime he undertook and effects of weight loss. 
• Not only this but it also has aspects of the personal identity appeal, in that readers may be able to feel that certain situations apply to them such as thinking about losing weight.
• Also, there is an element of fashion and how young people aspire to be stylish with expensive clothing.

Codes/conventions

• Some of the conventions of print interviews that can be seen in this article are the use of subheadings, images and captions under them to name a few.

Narrative

• You can see elements of Todorov's equilibrium theory with equilibrium present in the beginning of it where he talks about the development of Ill Manors,
• Disequilibrium where he faces the consequences of losing wait
• Restoration/new equilibrium where he's made more confident through his weight loss.

Synergy between this text and the broadcast examples we have studied so far

• There are elements of synergy between this text and the broadcast examples in that he does talk about things like the inspiration behind the creation of Ill Manors.

NME

Target audience (demographics/psychographics)

• People (mostly male) aged 17-30 - due to the darker tones, explicit language and images and the perspective given. 
• At the time, when the magazine cost money, it would of been individuals who work and are educated therefore of a c1-b1 demographic
• The psychographic may suggests explorers, who would be different to mainstreamers, reformers and aspirers who are wanting to change key ideologies of society. 

Does the article do more than just entertain? How? (Think of Uses and Gratifications theory) What audience pleasures does the article offer?

• Yes, this article creates a personal relationship between the audience 
• There is a mention of his past as a child living in the suburbs of Britain
• This may have an appeal towards the younger demographic and therefore encourage them to then go watch the film.

Codes/conventions

• The two contradicting images of Plan B could cause some controversy. 
• This is because he is pictured with a cigarette and hoodie in one, which is stereotypically a negative image of the youth, and then dressed smartly in the next picture. 
• This could show the younger audience that change is possible.

Narrative

• The fact that Plan B talks about his childhood etc makes the reader more intrigued therefore they carry on reading as his childhood is very interesting. 
• He also talks about his political views and also links what he is saying to the movie, which therefore encourages the readers to go watch the movie. 

Synergy between this text and the broadcast examples we have studied so far

• The main message is constant throughout the examples and the text.
• Synergy can be seen here through the fact that Drew discusses both the film and the album in the interview
• But also through him donning a hoodie and holding a middle finger up on the front cover, 
• Showing this idea of defiance that we see presented in things like the music video.

The Guardian

Target audience (demographics/psychographics)

• The average age of a reader of the Guardian is 44. 

Does the article do more than just entertain? How? (Think of Uses and Gratifications theory) What audience pleasures does the article offer?

• The personal identification gratification is the primary one that can be seen here as readers may be able to associate themselves to what Plan B says about elements of his upbringing.

Codes/conventions

• Some of the conventions seen in this article are the use of images, quotes that actually help make up captions and a quick description as to what the article will entail.

Narrative

• Just like the article from Men's Health, this Guardian piece implements Todorov's equilibrium theory but this time beginning with disequilibrium when discussing the background of Plan B and reaching equilibrium when his plans for the future are being detailed.

Synergy between this text and the broadcast examples we have studied so far

• It can be said that there's synergy between this article and the DVD extras as Drew discusses in both what it actually took to get production of the film going in terms of things like funding and other things.

Daily Mail

Target audience (demographics/psychographics)

• The target audience for the Daily Mail is primarily middle-lower close women. 
• It can be seen that they are valued as the main audience since there is a whole section dedicated to females on the website - 'Femail.'

Does the article do more than just entertain? How? (Think of Uses and Gratifications theory) What audience pleasures does the article offer?

• The main gratification that would be present in this article is personal identification 
• Readers of the piece may feel the same way about the film as the writer has detailed.

Codes/conventions

• A convention in this article is the use of images with captions acting in a similar way to subheadings - some of them adding to the main body of the review.

Narrative

• The main thing that'll hold the interest of most readers till the end of the article is finding out what exactly makes Ill Manors such a terrible movie 
• This is especially for an audience who are likely to be unfamiliar with a film of the sort and curious to know what they're like in terms of quality.

Synergy between this text and the broadcast examples we have studied so far

• Synergy can be seen here through the fact that the picture of Riz Ahmed pointing a gun at the mirror is something that we do actually see during a scene in Ill Manors itself.

Print platform: branding

Key Conventions

• Title - The title is symbolic of the overall message of the film and what it is trying to portray. It represents a gritty, urban look with the font representative of the estate blocks of Britain. 
• Colour Scheme - This follows a certain genre that is representative throughout the whole film. The use of black and white provides a rough and abrasive look which is symbolic of underground Britain and the lifestyle of the unfortunate.
• Pictures - They use the pictures as a way to promote their message about the everyday vices that are being taken; it shows how detrimental their community is. The pictures represent a community in disarray with weapons and drugs at their disposal. 
• Review - The review is used to show the approval the public has over the film; the audience will be enlightened by this movie.
• Name of the director - The name of the director is important as it gain reel in his fans to watch the film. Also, using his name may indicate a sense of identification with the proposed target audience as there are similarities with Ben Drew with him suffering the same neglection.

Design features - help identify the Ill Manors brand
The main thing that helps me identify the Ill Manors brand is the title. It is used for both the film and also the soundtrack. Once the title is identified, there is an acknowledgement that it is Ill Manors. However what also helps is Ben Drew himself is in the advertisement and the characters who all make an appearance throughout the film playing main roles in it; this provides identification with the audience as it gives information about what happens in the film.

Examples of synergy - with the broadcast platform or other print examples
The fact that different elements of the poster has been continued throughout the whole branding campaign indicates that there is a sense of continuity within Ill Manors.The use of the same title that was used to advertise the film Ill Manors, albeit in black instead of white just adding to this sense of continuity between different products within the same Ill Manors brand.

Key Conventions

• Title - The title has a professional look which is important especially with promoting the film. It is the symbol of the overall message of the film.
• Colour Scheme - It has an interesting colour scheme with each colour representative of an This follows a certain genre that is representative throughout the whole film. The use of black and white provides a rough and abrasive look which is symbolic of underground Britain and the lifestyle of the unfortunate.
• Pictures - They use the characters as a way to promote their film is important as it provides a sense of identification.The pictures represent a community in disarray with weapons and drugs at their disposal. 
• Review - The review is used to show the approval the public has over the film; the audience will be enlightened by this movie.
• Name of the director - The name of the director is important as it gain reel in his fans to watch the film. Also, using his name may indicate a sense of identification with the proposed target audience as there are similarities with Ben Drew with him suffering the same neglection.

Design features - help identify the Ill Manors brand
The use of characters in the film gives a sense of identification with the audience. The characters in the film are relatable with many represent the problems of underground Britain. I believe each character is representative problems in deprived areas.

Examples of synergy - with the broadcast platform or other print examples
Synergy is present in this poster as it links into the overall immpression of the film in that the exact same logo/title is used to present it and the characters present in the film is also on the poster. This is important as it provides synergy with the actual film.


Key Conventions

• Title - Ill Manors is present in this poster, in the centre of the poster rather than the traditional position (being on the side due to protagonist being placed at the centre).
• Main protagonist - being visible on the poster and placed in the well known spot of the poster; the middle.
• Quotes - from famous celebrities and news articles who have rated the film. This acts as a form of advertising in itself as this shows evidence of the films success to the public/consumer.  
• Location - where this film is being set around in. There are estate buildings present in this image, which allows the consumer to get a feel of what the story/plot line is (possible set in a run down estate).
• Props - that is significant to the story. An example of this, is Thor's hammer being present in the posters for the Thor movie. In this case, it is a gun that we see the central character wielding in front of the text 'Ill'. This represents the hardships of underground Britain.
• Colour Scheme - The colour scheme gives the poster a dark, nature feel. It gives of the tone of the film and the feel to the audience of what type of film is this going to be. The colour gives off this abandoned urban city lifestyle feel to it.
• Name of the director - This is a traditional convention as almost all film posters will feature the name of the directors to get audiences attention for example, Star Wars the Force Awakens will feature Director J.J Abrams in order to help promote the film. In this case, it is Ben Drew who is the director and is being portrayed as his own promotion for the film.

Design features - help identify the Ill Manors brand
The use of having Ben Drew's stage name; Plan B be the first text that the audience will see is a source of branding in itself. Plan B has his own fanbase which can help identify the brand of Ill Manors. The use of having Plan B's name being featured in this poster acts as a their unique selling point is important as fans of his music are likely to watch a film of his.  Furthermore, the style and font of the text for the name of the film 'Ill Manors' remains the same through all content released in its name which suggests that the film is a brand itself as a result of this.

Examples of synergy - with the broadcast platform or other print examples
The aspect of synergy runs throughout this poster significantly. With the use of having music artist Plan B's name (instead of his actual name Ben Drew), it provides a form of synergy as they are trying to promote the film using the directors most famous name as well as attract an audience that are primarily focused in the music platform. Having Ben Drew's stage name as the directors name in this poster is a way to cross promote the director as both a music artist but as a director.

Broadcast Platform

DVD extras
1) What does this tell us about Plan B's intentions in making the film?
His intention to make this film is to highlight the issues regarding society and how neglected the under class feel. People have pre-judged views about how these people are living; there are accusations of being lazy and not working or having a job. This film's purpose is to get rid of these horrid ideologies and show why people are living in these circumstances.

2) What do we learn about the production process for Ill Manors?
We learn that during the process that Ill Manors mainly begun from the creation of the short film 'Michelle.' This is important as in the movie, it involved the character 'Michelle' who we actually see in Ill Manors. The concept from 'Michelle' was used further by actually getting actors to play other characters who have had to live in the same dysfunctional background. The actors is also very important as Plan B got 'street kids' instead of actors to act as Plan B believes that it provides a sense of realism and identification and this is seen through the portrayal of characters like Chris who actually was involved in the world that Plan B aims to detail in the film.

3) What can you tell about the possible target audience from this short documentary?
I believe the possible target audience for the film can generally be said to be people who are unaware of the lives that some teenagers in London may have to go through. Interestingly, teenagers that live through this, will be quite interested in knowing how their life has documented in the film. Also, the fans of Plan B himself will be interested to know how his musical persona is carried onto his film directing skills.

4) Does the film successfully do what director Ben Drew (Plan B) set out to achieve?
My opinions are based upon whether it has given an enlightened approach towards the hidden aspects of Britain. The film itself contains aspects that are considered to be a stroke of genius for Plan B with the connection between the different events and how they are interlinked. The way that the rap coincides with the narrative of the film demonstrates a stroke of originality shown by Plan B. I believe that there are some events during the film that are relatable towards the people currently experiencing these events. However, there are some evident examples that suggest that the film was offering a substandard representation of Britain. Think about it closely, would this film have attracted finances and money if Plan B's name wasn't attached to it? I highly doubt it. I just believe that although the film was cleverly made and created, there are other brilliant, trained film-makers that could have directed and made a more intelligent and entertaining film. This film also gave an enhanced stereotype regarding people residing in council estates; they are deemed as lazy, trouble-causing residents. All in all, my opinion about this film is mainly positive but I can see some improvements that could have been made.

Broadcast/online
1) What is SBTV?
SBTV are an online media platform that are based on urban music. They are a broadcasting company started up by Jamal Edwards that is centred around the music scene (particularly in London), specialising mainly in the creation of music videos of upcoming and established rappers. The target audience is teenagers and young adults they are presumably from inner cities.

2) What is the audience appeal for an interview like this?
The main audience appeal of this video is a sense of personal relationship (Blumler and Katz - Uses and Gratifications) with the presenter. There is an evident surveillance line of appeal within the interview, predominantly created by the handheld camera. it is also made appealing due the almost illegal presentation of the entrance into the studio.

3) How is Plan B (the brand) represented in this text?

Plan B is presented as both hard working and careless at the same time as it is both showing him as someone who spends a lot of time working on this project however once it is out of his hands, he doesn't completely care. Plan B is presented as being quite an easygoing yet hardworking person. When he is approaching his deadline for the film to be edited by, it appears that he's doing his best to get the production to the level he envisaged it to be at.

Television
1) What is the history of the Jonathan Ross show? What channels has it appeared on? Why has Jonathan Ross been a controversial media figure in the past?

The Jonathan Ross Show has been broadcast on ITV1 since 2011, presented by Jonathan Ross Show. Prior to this though, Ross did have a show on the BBC called Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. There has been controversial moments in the past for things like offensive language, but more notably his direct involved in 'Sachsgate' with Russel Brand where the pair left offensive messages on Andrew Sachs' answering machine.

2) Identify the target audience for this interview (demographics/psychographics) and say why.
I believe that the target audience for the show is likely to be people from the ABC1 socio-economic. This can be said due to the fact that although the show does appear to be quite upmarket in its nature, apparent with things like the presenter himself wearing a suit, the actual content of it and humour of Ross itself provides it with a lot more of an informal touch.

3) What is the audience appeal for a programme like the Jonathan Ross show?
The audience appeal for The Jonathan Ross Show is the pure entertainment factor with those that watch it being able to receive an element of diversion (Blumler and Katz) from their everyday lives while laughing at some of the things that happen on the show. At the same time though, an appeal could be the establishment of a personal relationship with Ross always being the presenter of the show, so it's likely that the audience will grow to love him.

4) How is Plan B (the brand) represented in this text?
Plan B is represented here as although relatively uneducated, quite an articulate person. Explaining how hip-hop is often a genre victim to generalisation of music solely about fast cars and women, he makes it clear that a considerable proportion of it is actually conscious - delving into elements of life itself.

Radio
1) The listening figures have been listed as 10.44 million listeners as of 6th of August 2015. However I believe that there has been a decline in the number of listeners an this article would enforce that new media such as YouTube would be more likely to appeal to a younger audience. Especially since it would be more visually interesting. Another factor that would also present the sudden loss of figures could be the podcasts that might also be seen as a threat to radio stations as this would make figures go lower.

2) The target audience could be seen as teenagers to young adults. The age range could be depicted as 13-25 since the interview talks about young teenagers. However the station as a whole could be targeted for a young audience due to the feature of modern and recent tracks.

3) Plan B promotes Ill Manors by talking about the film and featuring a segment of the track that would be used in the film. He also talks about how the film would attract an audience and how this would relate to today. He also talks about the creation of Ill Manors and how he might pursue a career in the future with filming.


4) The representation of Plan B can present him as a person who wants to subvert the perception of urban artists. This would be due to the messages that are portrayed in the tracks and film that he was producing. In addition to this, this would also portray Plan B as someone who cares for the deprived as he would talk about it in his interview.

Ill Manors broadcast platform: TEDx lecture

 Notes on the lecture:

• Explaining what he had to go through in his life and the difficulties
• How he didn't finish school in a public school due to the fact that no one appreciated him. 
• Journey from the depressing times to having his own film.
• Plan B's belief towards the politics is that the people who are unfortunate do not feel appreciated in the modern governments
• Reaching out to other people who have experienced what he has gone through and help the unfortunate people
• Highlighting the track and the connection towards the film.

Plan B's beliefs and his ideologies:

• Plan B's belief towards the politics is that the people who are unfortunate do not feel appreciated in the modern governments.
• Politics neglecting the under privileged citizen.
• Needing to stand out and express their opinions
• With his reputation, there is a belief that he can help the marginalised youths
• Believes that the challenge is massive but can see the advantages.

Target audience of the TEDx lecture:

• The target audience of this TEDx lecture is likely to be 30 to 45 year olds. 
• This appears to be the case particularly with the fact that Drew essentially has to tell the audience not to be swayed by portrayals of the youth in the media
• With this in terms of psychographics, the audience could be associated with the reformers group.
• Having taken the time to come to such a lecture and being informed the decisions of young people and the lives that they may live through,
• The audience can be viewed almost as 'people who want to be aware' or enlightened on things they may be unfamiliar about themselves.

Plan B views about the media:

• Plan B says in the lecture that the media can be accused of ridiculing certain groups 
• With the term 'chav,' describing a 'young lower-class person who displays brash and loutish behaviour and wears real or imitation designer clothes
• Drew feels as if papers almost alienate this group of people from society as a whole. 
• This links into to the concept of moral panic with the fact that Ben Drew is essentially challenging what is usually thought of lower-class young people, 
• They are associated with violence and crime.

Ill Manors broadcast: music video analysis

Media Forms
How is it typical of a music video?
Most of the music video represents the gritty, hardships of the underground of London. Especially with the Ill Manors music video, it can be seen as a typical music video however has some elements that express his originality. Interestingly, the director including scenes of Plan B (who is the director) overlooking a block of council houses with the inclusion of controversial moments in Politics; this is emphasise the detachment that council houses owners feel. This is important in terms of the making of the music video. It brings out the expression that the visuals are usually meant to bring out. Additionally, these events and how it is expressed can also be thought to link into Andy Medhurst's theory about stereotypes in that they're used almost as a way to tell the audience a lot in a short space of time (shorthand). With this the audience understands the youths feelings of animosity towards the police and the upper class due to the fact that it affects their interactions with them throughout their lives.

The rap music is mainly seen as urban in terms of the outlook of the genre. Rap music usually having street terminologies, the music video can also be related to Tessa Perkins theory in that stereotypes of rap music mainly representing the life of the streets.

Media Representations
How does it represent the London riots/rioters?
Plan B believes that due to politics having a damaging effect on the lower classes, there is a belief that people feel neglected by the government. The video ultimately represents the London rioters as being menaces to society and rebels however feel like the government casted them as outsiders. In the video, there are extracts taken out of news broadcasts of the riots as they progressed with participants throwing things at the police and burning cars. This representation presented them as being criminals, only reinforcing the stereotype that young, particularly lower-class people are damaging towards the community. However at the same time, it could be said that this is only a 'closed-outlook' on the rioters and the complexity in the aspects that mean they're doing what they're doing, is reduced to a much more simpler picture as suggested by Richard Dyer. This being said, it's made a bit more unclear as to whether the rioters are just rioting for the sake of it or have a set of different reasons as to why they're doing it. This is why there are questions regarding the music video.

Media Audiences
What audience pleasures does the music video offer?
There are multiple examples of audience pleasures inside this music video. The video provides a sense of diversion for its intended audience. Although the audience are predominantly people who enjoy or are fans of Plan B's music, the video can definitely be identified to be targeted towards people from a much more lower class background and living in council estates and express their predicaments towards the middle/upper class. This also links in with the personal identification aspect of Blumler and Katz' Uses and Gratifications theory, with the people in the audience that do live in that environment, seeing parts of their own life possibly reflected in it such as the range of blocks in their community.

Another pleasure that the video provides possibly lies in the fact that the video has some things related to politics in it. With multiple references to politicians, the video gives people interested in that kind of thing a sense of nostalgia as they look back on things that have taken place in the political world, giving a sense of diversion (Blumler and Katz) to them or just a general sense of entertainment.

Media Institutions
How does the music video help to promote the film of the same name?
The video helps promote Ill Manors by actually having actors from the film make appearances in the video. At different points in the video appearances are made from actors in the film such as Riz Ahmed and Ed Skrein who both star as main characters in it.

Additionally the video helps promote the film by using things that were used in the promotion of the film in the video. The most notable aspect of this is with the fact that the actual audio track, was used in the trailer towards the end of it. This again adds to this idea of synergy, with a link being established with the film and the music video here, but not only in the sense that it's the same song, but also that the video gives them an idea of what to actually expect when watching the film whether this is the council estate environment or just the life of teenagers as a whole.

Ill Manors soundtrack research task

The record companies/institutions behind Plan B
Labels:

679
Atlantic
Mercury
Pet Cemetery
Warner Bros.
Asylum

Sales/downloads for the soundtrack

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)	89
Scotland (Official Charts Company)	9
UK R&B (Official Charts Company)	3
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	6
UK Official Streaming Chart Top 100	89

Music reviews

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	83/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Drowned in Sound	8/10
The Guardian
MusicOMH
NME	8/10[
The Observer
Spin	8/10[
The Telegraph	[

Plan B's fans' reviews and comments
The Guardian comments:
"Drew's a talent and a polymath, and while I admire his desire to represent, I don't think he's bringing any clarity to the issues he wants to highlight"

"Genuinely a great album. Fits right in with The Clash and Stiff Little Fingers and Dead Kennedys records I have. Genre is stripped away, more obvious as ever on the title track (The Prodigy remix isn't too bad either), and we have the desperate poetry and hard-hitting social commentary of the man. Simply a great album. To paraphrase one of the best lyrics, "We're not in broken Britain, we're just Broke in Britain".

NME.com Review:
http://www.nme.com/reviews/album/reviews-plan-b-13466

The Guardian Review:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/jul/22/plan-b-ill-manors-review