Trickshot Films Website

The Trickshot Films Website is the homepage for an independent film company, that attempt to spearhead innovative independent low budget film-making in the UK. The website acts as a marketing tool for the companies movies, while also providing help to would-be filmmakers.



Features
- Information about all the Trickshot productions: This is one of the main purposes of the website from an indusstry point of view, it allows prospective customers to quickly and easily find out about the company, meaning they are more likely to support them and buy the merchandise.
- Blogs, news, press releases, 'coming up,' and images: These all aim to generate publicity for the company, and ultimately earn more revenue, while from an audience point of view, these offer an extra, behind the scenes look at the filmmaking process, while filmmakers can learn from.



- Option to become an incidental friend if you donate £10.00 or more, where you receive “a guaranteed end credit in the movie, an invitatation to the Premiere screening, a free item of Incidental movie merchandise and a special discount on the Incidental DVD!”: This is a key example of seomthing that offers rewards to both the industry and the audience, and allows a much closer and more personal link to contributors. It gives ordinary people the opportunity to become involved with the filmmkaing process and receive recognition for this.
- Option to buy Trickshot DVD’s online: Another key feature from the industry point of view. As the company is independent, it is unlikely that it has many channels of distribution for its merchandise, and so the website would probably be the primary channel.
- Link to the film companies ebay site, offering film merchandise for auction: Again, will earn higher revenue for the company, and allows the film fanatic an opportunity to own a piece of film history.



- Downloads (trailers, video diaries, podcasts, wallpaper, sounds): More publicity for the company, while allowing the consumer to feel like they have special behind-the-scenes knowledge. It also offers them a reward for visiting the website by giving them things they can use elsewhere, such as wallpapers.
- 'Contact us': An opportunity to interact with the company, allowing customers to ask questions.

Blogging

Blogging



What is a blog?

A blog is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order.

Blogs often provide commentary or news on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news; some function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of most early blogs.

It could be said that blogs are replacing a number of things, but the most notable is diaries. It is more common for people, especially children and young people, to have an online diary than it is a written diary now.

Different types of blog:
- Vlog (video log)
-Linklog (one including links)
- Sketchblog (a portfolio of sketches)
- Photo blog (a blog comprising of photos)
- Tumblelog (shorter posts and mixed media types)
- Phlog (a blog hosted on the Gopher protocol)
- Moblog (a blog created by a mobile phone or PDA)
- Splog (a blog created solely for spamming)
- Corporate blogs (the blog of a business or corporation)



Technologies involved
- The main technology involved in blogging is, of course, the internet.
- Users can upload:
1. Pictures
2. Music
3. Videos
4. Games
5. Graphics
6. From mobile platforms such as PDA’s

Key theory involved
- The main concept involved with blogging is interactivity: consumers are becoming producers, they are taking an active part in creating media.
- Blogging is also a good example of personalization; adapting the technology available to suit the individual consumer. The tools available to customize blogs ensure that each consumers blog is individual and unique to them.



Who are the key producers of blogs?

- The main demographic that has taken up blogging is teenagers and young people. Raised as a computer literate generation, many young people find blogs an effective way of expressing their views, and an outlet that they could not find elsewhere.
- However, the older generation of those up to the age of 30 has also embraced blogging, albeit not to the same extent.
- Blogging can also be an effective tool for businesses to use. Blogs, either used internally to enhance the communication and culture in a corporation or externally for marketing, branding or PR purposes are called corporate blogs.

Why is it popular with producers of blogs?

- Simply, it allows users a portal to express their opinions or log their actions.
- It allows them to feel as though they are producing the media, they are participating actively, and can become like online journalists, who report/comment on news, politics, entertainment etc.
- It allows freedom of expression, there is no copyrighting, as there is on websites, or moderation as there is on forums.
- They can customize their blog – the blog has become almost a form of art, which users adapt to convey their personality, interests or views.
- It is a free, quick and easy way of publishing views
- It is a lot more interactive than similar means of expressing views, such as a diary. Users can make contact through comments, and give feedback to each other. The creation of online communities is possible and even probable when, for example, a group of friends all have blogs on one site.
- It gives consumers the opportunity to discuss more niche subjects and still find people who share their interest. For example, blogs in minority languages such as Gaelic are becoming increasingly popular, as they allow ease of communication between people who may live thousands of miles apart.



Why is it popular with consumers of blogs?

- It allows them to read the opinions of others, either people that they know personally or people that they don’t, often on subjects that it is hard to find information about in the mainstream media.
- It can allow them almost instant information about news events or television programmes. Since 2002, blogs have gained increasing notice and coverage for their role in breaking, shaping, and spinning news stories. The Iraq war saw bloggers taking measured and passionate points of view that go beyond the traditional left-right divide of the political spectrum.
- They can feel part of an online community, commenting on other users blogs and expressing their opinions as well.
- Many readers of blog users prefer the informal, casual and opinionated views presented by regular people rather than newsreaders, journalists etc.

The New Woman Website

The New Woman Website



Homepage

- The main feature of the homepage is three celebrity news headlines with pictures. These serve to draw in the audience, and get them interested, encouraging them to click the links to see the full story, and giving them a reason to stay on the website. If you scroll down, there is a list of the 10 most recent things added to the website, including new stories, competitions and fashion. There is a link to the archive as well. This immediately displays all the latest, making it easy for consumers to find and navigate to what they want quickly.
- To the right side of the page there is an advert for a beauty product, as this has a clear link with the magazine, and means the likely audience for the website are also the target audience for the product. Below the advert is a link to a showbiz pics gallery, again encouraging readers to click the links and interact with the website. There is also the opportunity to fill in a survey and win a goodie bag, which again encourages interaction, and shows that the magazine/website rewards loyal consumers. Below that is a question, with 3 possible answers that consumers can vote on. This is a third feature that encourages interactivity, and allows consumers to see if others have a similar mindset to themselves. From an institutions point of view, it acts almost as research, as the magazine can see which answer was most popular, and possibly use the results in future.



- There is a ‘What’s in New Woman now,’ box towards the bottom of the page, which gives readers a sneak peek, encouraging to buy the actual magazine for the full story. There is also the opportunity to ‘subscribe to New Woman now,’ with a special offer of 6 issues for the price of 5 if you buy online, and a free moisturizer worth £28. This makes consumers feel as though they are getting a special, exclusive offer, and earns more revenue for the company.
- At the bottom of the homepage is a competition where you can win a holiday to Jamaica. This again shows that the magazine rewards their consumers, and encourages active participation. Finally, there is a link to the horoscopes section of the website, which is a feature also found in the magazine.
- Overall the homepage aims to give an overview both of the website as a whole and also of the magazines content. It provides quick and easy navigation and encourages audience interactivity, as the target audience for the magazine is not the most computer-literate demographic, and so prefers ease of use to flashy graphics etc.



Celebrity

As a main focus of the magazine itself, the celebrity section of the website is comprehensive. All the stories are easily accessed, and are presented in reverse chronological order, with a stamp saying ‘latest in’ on the newest stories. This makes consumers feel as though they are getting the most up-to-date and exclusive information, which allows them to feel valued, and encourages brand loyalty. The section is broken into 3 sub-sections; Gossip, Galleries and Style on Trial, again allowing easy navigation instantly.

Style Stalker

The other key focus of the magazine, this section is also broad. There is the latest style news and tips, and the stories can be filtered according to whether they fall into the category of beauty, hair, fashion or celebrities. Consumers can post their own bulletins about style as well, which allows them to feel involved and active, rather than passive, consumers. From an industry point of view, consumers have to register before they can post bulletins, which adds them to the mailing list, meaning the company can send targeted emails. There is also a feature called ‘airbrush me,’ which has two options. Consumers can download the software for a free trial, or they can send their picture to the website and get a ‘celebrity makeover.’ Offering the software on the website will earn revenue for New Woman, while the consumer will again feel as though they are getting exclusive content.



Rate My Style

This is one of the most interactive sections of the website, with consumers rating the fashion taste of other consumers. This gets people involved on both sides, and allows them to showcase their style or voice their opinion.

Men and Sex

This section shows how broad the focus of the magazine is; it covers all areas, from entertainment to fashion to dating etc. The layout of this section is similar to the previous section, it seems they are all arranged similarly, which could be seen as boring, but also allows ease of use for the target market.

Entertainment

This section offers recommendations about where to eat out, what to do at work, what CD’s to buy etc. It makes consumers feel more involved, and also contains games and quizzes which encourage interactivity and also provide research about the target market.



Community

The community section consists of different forums to cover the different areas that the magazine covers. There is ‘Book Club,’ ‘Love Life,’ ‘Fashion and Shopping,’ ‘General Banter,’ ‘Health, Diet and Beauty,’ and ‘New Woman Magazine.’ This allows users to chat about shared interests and feel like part of an online community, while once again encouraging active participation.

Summary

The website seems to focus on interactivity and covering a wide range of subject matter and themes. It consistently provides ease of use which allows the consumers to find what they are looking for quickly and easily, a design suited to the target audience of women aged between 20 and 35. The design, while minimalist, also imitates the style of the magazine.

The E4 Website

The E4 Website

Homepage

The E4 website is fairly simple, with the homepage containing small boxes of information about the most popular programmes. To see a breakdown of one of the programmes individual websites, see my blog about the Skins webpage. To the right hand side is a menu displaying the E4 TV listings for the day, as well as a link to listing for the week. The simple layout means the website is easy to navigate, while the TV listings act as a form of advertising, designed to get consumers interested in what they can watch at that moment. At the bottom of this menu is four links, Estings, Espeak, Esketch, and How to get E4.



Estings

Estings is a competition to design a series of idents for Channel 4. The competition element is designed to get consumers involved, and to feel a part of the production element of E4 as well as the consumption. An added benefit to Channel 4 is that they can use the idents for publicity, both on the website and on the channel itself.



Espeak

Espeak seems a strange section of the website if you read the summary:

‘E-SPEAK is a huge purple E4 shaped capsule type thing that falls from outer space and crashes into places around the UK. Once landed, you can step inside it and get filmed talking about whatever you jolly well like.’

However, this does allow interactivity with the brand, and seems somewhat of a cult hit, with many consumers viewing the people ‘talking about whatever they jolly well like.’

Esketch

Esketch is similar in terms of interactivity, it allows consumers to draw a sketch which has the chance of being displayed on the website. This competition similarly encourages interaction with the brand, and allows consumers to feel involved with the production of media.



How to get E4

This section of the website provides information about how to get E4, making it much easier for prospective customers.

Summary

The E4 website seems to center more around information than the channel 4 website, but has a similar level of interactive content, with competitions designed to include the consumer in the making of media, and therefore feel a greater brand loyalty.

The C4 Website

The Channel 4 website

Homepage

The homepage has a menu down the side, which shows all the main pages, as well as a list of the top TV shows, with links to each of their channel 4 pages. This allows consumers to easily navigate to their more niche interests, or their favourite programmes. The main headline is ‘Get free stuff,’ on a Skins background, which appeals to a lot of consumers, and is an example of Channel 4 rewarding loyal consumers. There are more links to programmes further down on the page, and a link to ‘The Ultimate Friends Quiz,’ and the Games page, which shows the more interactive features of the website. On the right hand side is a Channel 4 TV schedule for the evening, allowing consumers to quickly scan what’s on, as well as encouraging them to watch. Below this is the latest news headlines, showing the more serious side to C4, and providing something for an audience who are not interested in gaming. Finally there are external adverts for Sky and Honda, which provides a source of revenue.



Watch Online

Channel 4’s watch online service is called 4OD (4 on demand), and is a key example of interactivity and personalization. Consumers can choose what they watch, when they want to watch it and are not bound by the linear nature of traditional television scheduling. This is the explanation featured on the website:

‘You can now download your all time favourite Channel 4shows and films to your PC, on demand. 4oD is quite simplyanother way to get your TV hit, 24/7. You can delveinto the Archive, catch up on programmes you missed inthe last month and even pre-book upcoming ones.’

The 4OD programme itself is free to download, encouraging consumers to at least take this first step, and you pay per programme after this, meaning each individual programme purchased is cheap, with no big initial outlay like there is for a provider such as Sky. There are free shows each week as well, which gives consumers a taste and leaves them wanting more.



TV

The TV section of the website has links to Channel 4’s sub-brands, such as E4, More4 and Film4. When clicked, each of these links shows the top programmes and gives that evenings TV listings for the particular channel. There are links to particular programmes, which all have their own C4 pages. For a deconstruction of one of these pages, see my blog about the Skins website.



Entertainment

This section of the website contains a range of different pages, with the menu on the left offering film, games, music, sport, T4, 4laughs and thisisaknife. This is another interactive section of the website, designed to give something back to fans of specific interests such as films or online gaming.



Lifestyle

The lifestyle section also has a huge range of different topics, ranging from gardening to motoring. It is notable that many of these pages do offer interactive features, such as a ‘Name that car’ quiz, where you can win prizes, an added incentive for consumers to compete. The lifestyle section offers advice to consumers as well, on everything from money to diet, while at the same time advertising programmes that are on the same subject. For example, the health section has links to the pages for ‘You Are What You eat,’ and ’10 Years Younger.’

News

The news section is fairly standard, but there are some added extras. For example, you can read blogs from the channel 4 news team, and there is also a forum, which encourages interactivity and loyalty to an online community. There is also specialist news sections, such as Science, Arts and Sports.

Documentaries

The Documentaries section is divided into Culture, Faith and Beliefs, History, Fourdocs and Science. Each of these sections offers news, a forum, quizzes, games and competitions. This is a way of getting people, and it suggests young people, more interested in documentaries, by making them more fun and interactive.



Interact

The interact section of the website includes features seen on other sections of the website, such as forums, but also includes mobile links, and free downloads for mobiles, a Take part section where consumers can apply to appear in channel 4 shows, and 4talent, a website where amateurs can display their work.

Summary

The channel 4 website seems to revolve around interactivity, with each individual section containing interactive features. It aims to present news and information in an interesting and up-to-date way while attempting to include the consumer as much as possible, and get them interested in channel 4 as a brand, encouraging loyalty.