BARB comparison

BARB comparison figures- Friends


This screen shot is of viewing ratings for Friends on the channel Comedy Central week ending 16th February 2014. From the data I can see that Friends is the fourth most viewed program on the list with 135,000 viewers. This is quite high rating as its on a Sunday night, at 17:30. 17:30 not being peak time. As well as this, Friends is 20 years old, so a program that is quite old is still getting quite a big audience on a satellite TV channel. This proves that Friends still has a large population of viewers in the UK. In addition, Friends is also in this  top ten for this specific week, four other times. Figures ranging from 107,000-123,000. This is very significant as this also proves just how popular Friends is nowadays.






This screen shot is of the viewing ratings for Friends on channel E4 weekending 7th December 2003. From the data I can see that Friends is the most popular show on E4 as it fills the top 10. Every single place is taken by Friends. This is showing that this was the most popular show on E4 that specific week. This could be down to Friends having just been released in the UK at this point, which supports the viewing ratings. The most watched show was 0.34 million, which is hugely popular at this point.

 

 
After looking at both pieces of data, the data from 2003 is significantly higher than the data from this year. This is because Friends is aired on smaller TV channel, Comedy Central, which is considered a smaller channel as its on satellite television. Compared to E4 in 2003, viewing figures are immensely higher because E4 is considered a bigger channel than Comedy Central as it pulls in more viewers because its on terrestrial television. Another reason for the high viewing figures in 2003, is because Friends just began in the UK.

Distribution and Advertising of Friends- P4/P5

Distribution and Advertising of Friends


Impact

The impact of each character has on the audience is huge, even though they all play stereotyped characters, the impact they have on the audience is aspirational. The audience is inspired by the characters as they have a 'perfect' life and want to be more like them and have their lifestyle. So by watching Friends, the audience gets to escape into the show and dream of a life like theirs. 



Advertising

Nowadays, Friends isn't advertised as most products are. Because people know about Friends and have heard about it, there's no need to advertise it like you would a new programme, as the legacy of Friends has been carried on for years and years. Friends is advertised nowadays by having themed nights on distribution channels such as Comedy Central. These themed Nights include 'Top 10 Ross moments" or "Top 10 Friends episodes you hate to forget" The themed nights allow them to play all the episodes that fit in that category. This enables the distribution company and the Friends makers to make as much money as possible out of a product that is generally quite old. Running up to the season finale Friends, NBC charged up to $2 million per 30 second advertisement of Friends, due to the enormous amount of people expected tot tune into the finale. As well as this, there was pre and post programs related to Friends. Before the 9pm season finale, there was an hour long tribute program dedicated to the cast of Friends. Then after the season finale at 10pm, the cast of Friends appeared on "The Tonight Show"


Distribution
 
Friends was initially aired on Sky channels and Channel 4 in the UK. Suggesting that it was a very popular show, as it went straight to Sky, emphasising that only people with sky could watch it, almost limiting the people who could watch it. Friends is distributed through the television, as that's where it was first aired, Friends is also distributed through DVD's. The Friends complete collection was released soon after the programme finished. However, more and more people are now watching it online by subscribing to websites such as Netflix. Piracy doesn't really affect the show now as it's stopped releasing new episodes, you can watch some shows/clips online nowadays. However, piracy will effect the sales of the DVD box set, the more people that are watching it illegally, the less DVD sales they will have.












Friends final season full trailer

This is promo for the tenth and final season of Friends. It's a really lengthy trailer as it lasts for over five minutes and shows us some in depth clips of what has happened in previous seasons and what is about to happen in the final season. I really like the layout of the promo because it shows various clips about each character and the major story lines they've had. I think the trailer is mainly aimed at the people who are constant viewers or who have seen it before because of the lack of titles and more clips. The trailer has hardly no explicit content. This could be because its the final season trailer, and that the producers want the trailer to appeal to a wider audience as its the final season ever of Friends, and therefore they would make more money if more people watch it.







Friends season 1-4 Trailer


The TV regulations company for the UK is called Ofcom. Ofcom regulate the TV and radio sectors to ensure that the UK get 'the best from their communications service and that they're protected from scams and sharp practices.'



Effects and Regulation/Advertising

The TV regulations company for the UK is called Ofcom. Ofcom regulate the TV and radio sectors to ensure that the UK get 'the best from their communications service and that they're protected from scams and sharp practices.' This is the trailer to Friends seasons 1-4. Compared to the 1-10 season trailer this has more controversial clips. The clips are again, all in depth however, there are more references to controversial things such as smoking and a sexual nature. For example, at various points of this trailer, Chandler is smoking a cigarette. As a result of Chandler smoking a cigarette at numerous points in this trailer, means that the trailer cannot be distributed to people younger than 12. This is because the 12 classification states that "Misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should not be glamorised or give instructional detail." In this case, Chandler is smoking more than once. Also, the British Board of film Classification also states "give instructional detail", the clip doesn't directly tell the audience how to light a cigarette or how to smoke one. Therefore, I think it fits into this specific classification.  

As well as this, sexual references frequently occur. The clip sees Monica, Joey and Rachel talking about sex however, that is the only clip we see in this trailer where people are referring to sex. Although, we do see Rachel and Ross at the end of the trailer in bed together, which is implying that they may have had sex. The British Board of Film Classification explains that at the classification of a 12/12A is "Sexual activity may be briefly and discreetly portrayed."

I agree with the statement because in this clip I think the clip agrees with all the statements. A sexual nature has been referred to, however that was only one time. I also think it was briefly explored in the clip, when Rachel and Ross were in the bed. Although, they didn't directly say they had sex, it was just implied.
The full season trailer has no controversial clips as it wants to cater for a wider audience as the producers want as many people to watch Friends. By not having no controversial clips in the trailer, this will enable the trailer to be distributed out to a younger audience, allowing there to be more people watching Friends. If the trailer did have controversial clips in, the trailer wouldn't be allowed to be watched by younger people. As well as this, the characters have grown up in Friends, they're are more mature, so its less likely for there to be any sexual references as they have grown up and have families.

I think this trailer should be classed as a 12 as the evidence I have shown supports the age 12 certificate. By certifying it as a 12, affects the distribution as people under the age of 12 are not allowed to watch it. Therefore, the distribution channels won't be making as much money.









Representation

Friends is a very stereotypical programme, it has a very stereotypical cast. All the characters are very different in their own way and can be found in most peoples friendship groups. For example, there is the 'girl next door' which is Rachel, the mother of the group being Monica, the nerd, which is Ross, the dumb one, which is Joey. There is no people in friends that has a different ethnic minority, they're all white people. As well as this, there are no gay people in the Friends cast. Apart from Ross's ex wife, Carol, who was a lesbian. This could suggest that gay/lesbian people weren't accepted in the times when Friends was filmed. As well as this, it could suggest that gay people were not in the 'stereotypical' friendship group in America. Although there are no gay people in the cast, Monica and Ross are both Jewish. This is representing America at the time, coffee lovers, normal to not have many ethnic friends. Coffee shops had just started out, Friends really got everyone into the hype of coffee and people copied off Friends by starting to drink and visit coffee shops more often. Friends even got the UK hooked on to coffee when it was first broadcasted. Friends brought all the stereotypical American things over to the UK with the show.

Friends was more of a middle class show. Most of the characters came from a high class background apart from Phoebe, for example, Ross and Monica's parents are very high class and wealthy. Also, Rachel's family are quite wealthy. This clip shows just how spoilt Jill is, therefore implying that Rachel has a wealthy family.

Friends has an all white cast, there are no black/ethnic people in the cast, this is suggesting that Friends is for stereotypical white people and also representing what times were like when Friends was filmed. The only recurring black character in Friends was Joeys girlfriend, Charlie. As I've said that most of the characters have a typically high class background, Phoebe is the only character who doesn't. Her farther abandoned the family when she was only young and her mother was a suspected drug dealer. Phoebe was homeless on her own. This shows a stark contrast between Phoebes childhood to Rachel's high class childhood. Even though they all have different backgrounds, it didn't matter because they were all Friends ad got on with each other, I think Friends represents this in a good way.

Questionnaire

Questionnaire



1)  Are you male or female?



 
2)  Have you ever watched Friends?

 

 
 3) How did you first go about watching Friends?

4) Do you watch friends regularly, if so how? (online, DVD etc.)

5 )Where do you watch Friends?

6) When do you watch it?




 
7) What would you rate Friends out of 10?




 

                        -ONLY ANSWER IF YOU DONT WATCH FRIENDS-




8) Why do you think Friends doesn't appeal to you?

Summary of Questionnaire

10 people answered the questionnaire.
The majority of the people who answered were female. 
7 out of 10 people liked Friends and have watched it before.
The further three out of 10 people, who disliked Friends, find it boring and didn't find it appealing to them. 
6 out of the 7 people who like Friends, watch it regularly.
5 out of the 7 people watch friends on the TV, the rest watch it on DVD's.
6 out of the 7 people watch it on an evening. 

In conclusion, i think Friends is watched by mainly the female population on TV and on an evening. Even though friends is nearly 20 years old, it is still shown on channels such as Comedy Central and has been shown on Channel 4 and E4 previously. By channel ratings, Friends still as popular as ever and dedicated fans are still supporting and watching the show. By releasing the show on new channels, more people are starting to watch it more and more and becoming new fans of it. 

P3 Audience Demographic and Audience research

Audience Demographic


Young adults became a more important demographic than ever before, regardless of all the unsuccessful Friends TV show clones.

A series with six twenty-something’s as the main characters, intensified an already growing interest in attracting a younger demographic. Advertisers saw Friends as the embodiment of a wrinkle-free series that could transfix viewers ages eighteen to forty-nine. 
Thirty-one million viewers tuning in on September 13, 2001

http://www.thinkbox.tv/server/show/nav.914

The screenshot shows

Audience Research

The psychographic audience when Friends first came to our screens was probably mid to late teens and young adults.

Age

The programme is generally aimed at women aged 16-34. The programme is mainly aimed at the younger audience because of the young nature of the characters. It could be also due to the programme being a sitcom and the repetitiveness of the same characters every episode and the way the characters are following a story. As well as this, the programme is aimed at this specific age group because of the romantic aspects, (Ross and Rachel's on and off relationship) and some sexual references. The time slot for Friends was 8:30pm. The audience benefited from this as it was a reasonable time, not too late. Realistically, the time when more of the teens/young people tuned in. Due to the age of this young audience, only some of this minority have jobs.

Gender

Friends could be aimed at all genders, considering the programme is about a group of friends with both male and female characters. There's romantic aspects for the female population and comedy aspects for the male population. Although, some story lines are arguably for the female population. For example Monica and Chandlers wedding is generally aimed at the female population, as the female population are usually more excited to get married than the male population. In addition to this, the storyline of the birth of children for example, Rachel and Ross's baby and Chandler and Monica's baby twins.

Lifestyle
Some of the people who tune into Friends are still in full time education therefore, this will mean they have quite a scheduled lifestyle. They will have a routine through the week, by going to school/college/university and then usually having the weekend off. However, the other half of this minority group could have children, which enables them to tune into Friends after the children had gone to bed. Generally, Mainstream people would tune in as Friends was classed as everyday television in its prime. These are the people that would have a daily routine. Much like youngsters who go to college and the people who work all day. These people who come home from a long day and want to catch up on their daily programme.

Spending Power

Friends was first aired on Channel 4 in the UK. Channel 4 is also known as a terrestrial television channel and is broadcasted everywhere in the UK therefore, everyone who owns a television has channel 4. This could then suggest that the younger age group will have access to this channel and then watch channel 4. However, people such as students may not be able to afford cable TV as it can be quite expensive per month. More evidence to support this is the sponsorship of Friends on channel 4 and E4. There are various sponsors including Appletiser, Mars Planets and Radox that sponsored the TV show. All these products appeal to the younger minority of the age group, as they're fairly inexpensive products and interest younger viewers. The products also reflect the kind of show Friends is, very relaxed and casual. The sponsors could also indicate what kind of gender they're appealing to. Radox is very feminine, as females are more likely to take care about their appearance. Appletiser is also very girly, as its not as fattening and isn't alcohol- which again appeals to the female audience.

Friends is no longer broadcasted on channel 4/E4, it is now broadcasted on Comedy Central, a satellite TV channel. Most people in this age group have satellite television, which enables them to have Sky. Sky is a broadcasting company which enables people to have more TV channels including Comedy Central. People in the age group end up spending more on sky packages so it enables them to watch programmes such as friends, that they can't get on terrestrial tv.


Psychographic profiles

When Friends first started out in the mid 90's, the physiographic profiles would've been explorers.

Nowadays, the physiographic profiles of the audiences of Friends has changed and I think the majority of the audience would be the mainstreamers. This is because Friends has been out for a number of years and many people grew up with friends and have seen at least one episode. A lot of people around the world are fans of friends because its aimed at such a large audience. Also, the popularity of the show in America, rubbed off in the UK too. As well as this, Friends is a relaxed and relatively 'normal' programme, the programme appeals to most people as the characters are realistic and could be found in most friendship groups, therefore more people can relate to the programme.

Thinkbox presents all the audience demographic profiles.
I think the suitable audience for Friends would be Women aged 16-34 due to the fact they consume the more telly out of the women category. Some of the information off Think box supports my view.

'Young women are big consumers of media on the whole, engaging with a variety of platforms on a daily basis. Shows such as Desperate Housewives form integral foundations of viewing and as a barrage of research demonstrates, young women utilise TV content within conversation to a staggering degree.'

Friends is aired on Comedy Central now rather than Sky, this suggests that less people in this category have Sky as it's quite expensive. Students cant generally afford Sky, therefore they don't have and cant watch Friends. Furthermore, its a generally good thing that Friends is aired on Comedy Central as more people can tune in.

'Young women are less likely to have Sky and more inclined to have Freeview than men of the same age.'

This quote on Thinkbox supports what I have just said about more women watching it as they have Freeview rather than Sky.


Genre

Friends is a rom com aimed at older teenagers and adults. A big part of Friends is the Comedy aspect to it due to the many jokes and references. It's also a comedy due to some of the cast that is involved. E.g.- Matt Le Blanc and Matthew Perry are commonly known in comedy shows, While Jenifer Aniston and Courteney Cox are usually recognised in Romantic/drama shows.


Themes/content

Friends is a very natural and realistic programme. The characters are all really relatable as the characters are all different in there own way.

A common theme that occurs frequently is love. The on and off relationship with Ross and Rachel, Monica and Chandlers shock relationship and marriage and also Phoebe and Mike's relationship. All of these relationships end up having children towards then end of them. This could suggest a theme of family running through, they all end up having a family of their own, which causes them to all go there separate ways. As well as this, they all get married at some point during the ten seasons of Friends.



Ratings in the USA

The ratings graph is showing us the amount of people watched the season premiere and the end of season finale from every Friends season. The ratings are so high because this is when Friends was new, and was a programme every week, so every episode/season was new and people had never seen it before. Also, the programme was broadcasted on highly popular channel, NBC, at the peak time of 8:30pm. Therefore, more people watched it as it was on a bigger channel and it was aired at are reasonable time.  

Season	Season premiere	Season finale	TV season		Viewers  in millions)
1	September 22, 1994	May 18, 1995	1994–95		24.3
2	September 21, 1995	May 16, 1996	1995–96		29.4
3	September 19, 1996	May 15, 1997	1996–97		25.0
4	September 25, 1997	May 7, 1998	1997–98		24.1
5	September 24, 1998	May 20, 1999	1998–99		23.5
6	September 23, 1999	May 18, 2000	1999–2000		20.7
7	October 12, 2000	May 17, 2001	2000–01		20.2
8	September 27, 2001	May 16, 2002	2001–02		24.5
9	September 26, 2002	May 15, 2003	2002–03		21.6
10	September 25, 2003	May 6, 2004	2003–04		22.8

Ratings in the UK- present day


This screen shot is of viewing ratings for Friends on the channel Comedy Central to this present day. From the data I can see that Friends is the fourth most viewed program on the list with 135,000 viewers. This is quite high rating as its on a Sunday night, at 17:30. 17:30 not being peak time. Compared to the USA ratings above, the audiences compared to the UK are relatively small. However, the UK is small company compared to the US and Friends is now 20 years old, which gives people a reason to stop watching the seasons as its quite an old programme. Due to research I have done, this was one of the excuses on my questionnaire as to why people don't watch friends. As well as this, people may have seen the episodes before and might have got bored of watching friends. Another reason for the small audiences is that Friends is shown on a smaller TV channel, Comedy Central.

analysing a clip

Analysing a clip

This clip is of the final episode ever of Friends. The clip is a very emotional clip as, the friends are leaving the house that they spent 10 years of their lives together. At the start of the clip the whole group are stood together in a line reminiscing about the past. I can tell this is a sad clip as the actors facial expressions look very upsetting and depressed. A significant part of the clip is when each character hands in their key one by one, this is powerful as it shows each character leaving their own past behind and makes you feel very emotional. Another key part of the clip was when the apartment is empty and the camera just shows you an overview of the empty apartment, this is effective as it shows loneliness and it makes you remember all of the episodes. Then impact of the shot of the front door at the end, is so powerful as it signifies the end and that they're all moving on. The upbeat but depressed tune at the end shows how the characters feel; sad but happy at the same time. I think that's what the audience think at this point, upset because its ending, but happy as they're all moving on.

  

Assessment objective one- P1

Time Warner

Time warner Inc is a multi billion dollar media conglomerate. Time Warner is made up of various different divisions which consist of, Home Box Office, Time Inc., Turner Broadcasting System and Warner Bros. These media divisions then own different companies with in them. Turner Broadcasting System own numerous channels/media publishers such as CNN and NBC.

Time Warner also own the company Warner Bros. Warner Bros a worldwide business which operates in film, television and music Entertainment. Warner Bros has a chain of subsidiary companies which consist of; Warner Bros. Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures,  Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Home Video, New Line Cinema, TheWB.com, and DC Entertainment. Warner owns half of The CW Television Network. Within these subsidiary companies they own television channels and TV shows. 

Time Warner use vertical integration in their business to maximise profit. The companies they own for example, Warner Bro's distribute the product. They also use smaller companies within the conglomerate to distribute the product, for example Warner Bro's owns Times magazine. Times magazine will promote the product in their magazine, therefore more people will know about the product.




Products

Time Warner own a host of many different media companies and products.

Films

Warner Bros- 
The Hangover Trilogy
 Harry Potter Films

Turner Broadcasting-

TV channels/series

Time warner own the subsidiary Turner Broadcasting. Turner Broadcasting owns the news channel CNN, Boomerang and Cartoon Network.

Warner Bros-
 Friends
 Big bang Theory
 Joey

Newspaper/Magazine

Warner Bros has also seamlessly integrated DC Comics content into Warner Bros. DC comics print iconic superhero's such as Batman, Spiderman and Wonder woman.

Turner broadcasting-
 Times newspaper

Warner Bros- 
 Looney Tunes magazines/comics

Tv programmes/series

Turner broadcasting- Family guy
 Ben 10
 Ed, Edd and Eddy

Warner Bros-
 Looney Tunes,
 The big bang Theory,
 Friends

Music

As well as most other media products, Warner Bros also produce music. Warner Bros is the largest music conglomerate in the world and is the third largest global music producer in the world. Global icons such as Cher and Muse are signed to Warner Bros record label. Others include Michael Buble, Jason Derulo and Green Day.

The biggest selling Warner Brothers film ever, is The Dark Knight making $533,345,358. It made $158,411,483 on its opening weekend.

The second biggest selling Warner Brothers film is The Dark Knight Rises, the sequel to the biggest selling Warner Brothers film. Making $488,139,099.

Other films in the top ten best selling Warner Brother films include, 5 Harry Potter films and The Hobbit.


Other products Time Warner own include IPC Media, which owns British fashion magazine Look, and they also own music magazine NME.



Operating Model

Warner Brothers is a fully integrated company. This means that they sell their products to other institutes such as sky. Friends first started on channel 4 in the UK, it then moved over to E4 and is now aired on Comedy Central. But since its popularity grew, larger companies like sky wanted to offer it to their customers.




Market Position

Warner Bros dominated the movie world in the year of 2013 by being at the top of the market position. Producing $5.03 billion dollars. In 2012 the Warner Bros. Pictures Group grossed 4.3 billion dollars at the worldwide box office.  Overall, Disney is the largest conglomerate in the world, with Time warner in 3rd position.

Competition

One of the main rival companies would be Disney as Disney are at the top of the market position as they're making the most money. Viacom would be another major rival as they produce some of the same programmes as Warner Bros. For example, they own Comedy Central, which is a television channel that Friends is now distributed on.

CBS is also a rival channel for Warner Bros as they released a similar product called 'Chicago Hope' in the mid 90's, the same era as Friends. Chicago Hope is a programme about the lives of a group of people who work in a hospital. This programme was a major threat to Warner Bros as its similar to the programme Friends and was aired at a similar time to Friends.

Paramount is a big rival company for Warner Bros films. Paramount have directed big films such as the Shrek movies and the Transformers films, which have made big amounts of money, they have also made blockbuster films such as Forest Gump. Paramount's highest selling movie of all time is Titanic, making over $600,000,000 dollars. Which is nearly $70,000,000 more than Warner Bros highest selling film, The Dark Knight.  

Major films that have clashed in the past have been, The Hangover (Warner Bros) and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. These were both released at the same time and are both hugely popular. 

The graph shown above shows Time-warmers biggest competitors in the movie industry. The graph is showing that Time-warner is the biggest selling at the box office with a massive 22%.  From the graph you can see that Sony is one of the main rivals, as they have 18% of the Gross Box office share. Viacom is in 3rd place, with Disney in joint 4th place.

Timeline

Friends





Friends is a comedy sitcom about six friends who live together in Manhattan. Friends follows the lives of six young (ish) friends, the six friends are all different In their own unique way. Friends lasted ten years, ten seasons and 236 episodes spanning from 1994-2004.

Friends is mainly aimed at the younger generation due to the sexual references and some bad language. The certificate awarded for Friends is a 12.

Friends is a Comedy sitcom, due to the amount of jokes created and the people who are casted.
One of the main element that defines Friends is the theme tune. The theme tune is really famous all over the world and people relate the song to Friends. Another factor that make audiences familiarise themselves with Friends is the setting. The living room set up and the purple door instantly makes you think of Friends when you see that setting. Also, the coffee shop 'Central Perk' is another famous location of Friends. We associate these particular things with Friends because these locations/places are in most episodes of Friends. Therefore the mise-en-scene is instantly recognisable.

Friends is structured in a particular way. A typical episode starts off with a clip of either the group, or certain people(s). This clip usually sets the tone of the episode and usually has a pun of some sort. The titles then role, with the famous 'Ill be there for You' theme tune. The episode then flows, usually set in the house and generally, the cast, or some of the cast, end up in the coffee shop, Central Perks. Finally, the show ends with another clip of the cast. I like the way the creators add a clip at the beginning and end of the episode, as the clip at the beginning really sets the episode off and the clip at the end closes the show. The show lasts for around 20-22 minutes per episode, the usual duration for a sitcom. these are the elements that make up the formal conventions of Friends.

The stylistic conventions of Friends include the highly distinct setting. The setting is very relaxed and natural. The famous apartment that Monica and her 3 friends live in, the purple door, Central Perks coffee shop and Joey and Chandlers apartment. Not forgetting the famous overlook of NYC. The setting really does make the show. People who aren't even fans of the show immediately identify the scenery. The six different characters are all portrayed equally, the show doesn't just focus around one person but all the different characters. They all have a different personality, which makes the show funnier and more diverse. Monica is like the mother of all the characters, she's bossing but in a caring way. Ross is her older sibling who is very clumsy and is in love with Rachel. Rachel is very likeable and caring even though she can act spoilt at times. Joey is very dim but enjoys the attention he gets of females. Phoebe is very peculiar and idiotic, but she can be a very warm hearted person. Finally, Chandler is very sarcastic and is the one who tells all the jokes. Each cast member has their own individual personality and the audience can relate to each one of the characters.

Friend is set in the heart of Manhattan in  the borough of New York. The actual filming is in front of a live studio audience in the Warner Bros Studio in California.



Characters

Jenifer Aniston as Rachel Green

David Schwimmer as Ross Geller

Courteney Cox as Monica Geller

Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing

Lisa Kudrow as Pheobe Buffay

Matt Le Blanc as Joey Tribbiani

Dallas was a television soap opera that aired from 1978-1991 on channel CBS. They produced 14 seasons and a total of 357 episodes. The duration of each episode was 60 minutes. The television series was about a rich Texan family who own a oil plantation. The show focuses on the marriage of Bobby Ewing and Pamela Barnes and is most famous for it's cliff hangers. The show was a crime/drama type genre. Compared to Friends this is a totally different genre. Friends is a comedy with romantic aspects, aimed at teenagers and young adults. Whereas, Dallas is a soap opera, aimed at all different ages. Dallas is more dramatic and tense due to the controversial story lines although, Friends is much more relaxed maybe because its aimed at a younger audience and due to the genre of the programme. Joey is another programme produced by Warner Bros and aired in the year of 2004-2006. Both programmes aired for a long time, proving that Warner Bros is a very successful company and produce shows that the public want to watch. Joey is a follow on from Friends, about Joey Tribbiani trying to become an actor. Joey was aired on NBC channel. It has all the humour Friends had, without the five other characters. The programme is very much like Friends as it's almost like a follow on from the show, it's aimed at the same age group and same type of people. The show was even aired on the same day as Friends used to be on but at 8:00pm and not 8:30pm. The show ran for the same amount of time as Friends. However it only lasted two series.


Dallas and Joey are two very different programmes, just like Friends and Dallas. Joey is the follow on series to Friends and had the same audience as Friends did. Dallas is a totally different genre, meaning that different people are watching it. The duration of Dallas is 60 minutes whereas the duration of Joey lasts for 20-22 minutes.


How I met Your Mother is an American comedy sitcom starring Josh Radnor and Jason Segel. The series sees main character Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) in the year 2030, trying to describe to his children the adventure on how he met their mother. While living in New York with his best friends.The show premièred on the channel CBS on the 19th September 2005 and the ninth and last series is set to air on 31st March 2014. 

Compare/contrast

First of all, both shows are set in the magical city of New York. Even though Friends isn't actually filmed there, but filmed in front of a live TV audience in California, Friends is all about friendship and about what the friends get up to. (Hence the name 'Friends') Similarly, How I met Your Mother is also about Ted's best friends. Characterisation plays a huge part in both sitcoms. Characters that appear in both programs, have similar personalities. For example, Ted (HIMYM) is very much a like Ross. (Friends) Two other characters that are almost identical are Robin (HIMYM) and Rachel (Friends), both very sweet and kind. Aswell as all the characters being very similar, there is also an aspect of a 'will they wont they' relationship between a couple in each sitcom. Between Rachel and Ross and then between Ted and Robin.  

Another programme very much like Friends is the programme 'Seinfeld.' Seinfeld was an American sitcom aired between 1989-1998 and was a highly popular show, just like Friends. The show is about Jerry Seinfeld and his friends going through everyday life. Both shows share the same, friendly humour. Both programmes were filmed in front of a live studio audience. Similarly they are both set in New York and about a group of friends.

Friends: Case study P2

Friends (1994-2004) - Case Study

Content

Friends is an American Sitcom about the lives of 6 friends who live in Manhattan. Friends is probably one of the most watched TV series in the world, spanning for 10 series, with a total of 236 episodes.

Characters:

Jenifer Aniston as Rachel Green

David Schwimmer as Ross Geller

Courteney Cox as Monica Geller

Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing

Lisa Kudrow as Pheobe Buffer

Matt Le Blanc as Joey Tribbiani



Production Process

Friends was created by Kevin S. Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane. Their original idea was to call the show 'Friends like Us' and also "Insomnia Café" in November 1993. However, after numerous new ideas with NBC, they finally named the show 'Friends.' They presented the idea to Bright, a man who they had worked with before, and together they pitched a seven-page treatment of the series to  TV giants NBC. After several script rewrites and changes, the series was finally named "Friends" and premiered on NBC's coveted Thursday 8:30 pm timeslot. Friends was set in the Warner Bros studio in Burbank, California to a live studio audience. The writers thought that having six equal characters would be more appealing than having two main characters. The first season was shot on Stage 5 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. Although Friends is shot in a studio, Friends is set in New York. The creator of Friends, Kevin Bright, thought that the episodes were "less funny" when shot outside of the studio. He thought the live studio audience played a vital part.

Form

The show lasts for around 20-22 minutes per episode, the usual duration for a sitcom. The show uses circular narrative as, most of the time the show starts off in the apartment or starts off in local coffee shop 'Central Perks', the show also ends up again, in either the apartment or Central Perks. Most episodes have a storyline for each one, with all characters in each episode. However, there has also been some 2 part storylines, which consist of a story lasting for 2 episodes. For example, The One with the Rumour had two episodes for this storyline and The One with Monica and Chandlers wedding lasted two episodes.
Friends doesn't really have a specific point of view, the characters are all equal and the point of view is of everyone, not just one specific person. As friends is such a natural and realistic show, the show doesn't have any hero's or villains. Certain episodes may have a hero in it or villain, Although, people may have their own view on a hero or villain, the whole show doesn't tend to have a hero or villain.

The mise-en-scene

The setting is very normal, just like an apartment would look like, with the sofa, TV, kitchen area, just like any ordinary apartment. The lighting is ambient, very natural. The lighting doesn't change too much, it gets darker to represent night time and that's about it. The costume portray the personalities of the characters. Fore example, Rachel is wearing white, which could represent that's she's quite timid and girly. Chandler and Joey are wearing brown colours to represent their masculine nature. the dominant colour of the set is a light colour, as its the most natural and realistic. The humour is a mixture of visual humour, character traits and verbal gags. For example, when Joey says 'What d'ya have against the duck?' This is a very Joey like thing to say as he's portrayed as the dumb character and is usually the character with who gets the most laughs as he is the dumbest. Visual humour is portrayed when Ross asks the question: 'In what part of the body did Monica get a pencil stuck at aged 14?' Chandler then whispers an answer in his ear and Ross immediately says 'No!' at this point we imagine what Chandler might have said and automatically laugh at what his answer could've been due to Chandler being Chandler, we then laugh when Ross says 'No.'
 Most of the scenes are quite lengthy, but are edited to ensure that the audience laugh at the appropriate times. The scenes don't really build suspense as its a comedy sitcom and suspense as its mostly laughs.



Friends has aired on different channels in the UK, including Channel 4, Sky1, E4, and Comedy Central UK. Friends was originally aired on the terrestrial Channel 4 from 1995 onwards.


The pilot of friends aired on 22nd September 1994 and was watched by 22 million Americans. 

The opening themes to Friends is 'I'll be there for you' by the Rembrandts and has become one of the most recognised songs to date. The song was co written by producers Marta Kauffman, David Crane and Marta's Husband. Along with, Phil Solem and Danny Wilde from the band. The song was originally offered to Rock Gods R.E.M and They Might Be Giants.

The friends series finale was watched by 52.5 million Americans, making the fourth most watched television series in history and the most watched episode of the decade.

The show was nominated for 63 Primetime Emmy Awards

The show is aired on various different channels in UK such as: Channel 4, Comedy Central, Sky 1 and E4.

Season	Season premiere	Season finale	TV season		Viewers  in millions)
1	September 22, 1994	May 18, 1995	1994–95		24.3
2	September 21, 1995	May 16, 1996	1995–96		29.4
3	September 19, 1996	May 15, 1997	1996–97		25.0
4	September 25, 1997	May 7, 1998	1997–98		24.1
5	September 24, 1998	May 20, 1999	1998–99		23.5
6	September 23, 1999	May 18, 2000	1999–2000		20.7
7	October 12, 2000	May 17, 2001	2000–01		20.2
8	September 27, 2001	May 16, 2002	2001–02		24.5
9	September 26, 2002	May 15, 2003	2002–03		21.6
10	September 25, 2003	May 6, 2004	2003–04		22.8

Production Process



Purpose

The purpose of Friends is to Entertain, as its an entertainment programme. Friends is a comedy due to the amount of gags/jokes. They use visual comedy by having a character like Joey. Joey is a bit dumb and slow, which most of the jokes are about him or about his actions. 

Friends was aired at various times between 8:30pm-9:00pm, 9:00pm-9:30pm and 9:30pm-10:00pm in the US. In America, this is classed pre watershed as it was broadcasted before 10:00pm. However, when broadcasted in Britain it was classed as post watershed as Friends was aired after 9:00pm, programmes shown after 9:00pm in the UK are classed as post water shed as they're deemed for adults. 

Genre/Audience

Friends is a sitcom typically aimed at older teenagers and adults. A big part of Friends is the Comedy aspect to it due to the many jokes and references. It's also a comedy due to some of the cast that is involved. E.g.- Matt Le Blanc and Matthew Perry are commonly known in comedy shows, While Jenifer Aniston and Courteney Cox are usually recognised in Romantic/drama shows/movies.
 
Friends is structured in a particular way. A typical episode starts off with a clip of either the group, or certain people(s). This clip usually sets the tone of the episode and usually has a pun of some sort. The titles then role, with the famous 'Ill be there for You' theme tune. The episode then flows, usually set in the house and generally, the cast or some of the cast, end up in the coffee shop, Central Perks or again in the apartment again. Finally, the show ends with another clip of the cast. I like the way the creators add a clip at the beginning and end of the episode, as the clip at the beginning really sets the episode off and the clip at the end closes the show. The show lasts for around 20-22 minutes per episode, the usual duration for a sitcom. These are the elements that make up the formal conventions of Friends.

First of all, both shows are set in the city of New York. Even though Friends isn't actually filmed there, but filmed in front of a live TV audience in California, Friends is all about friendship and about what the friends get up to. (Hence the name 'Friends') Similarly, How I met Your Mother is also about Ted's best friends. Characterisation plays a huge part in both sitcoms. Characters that appear in both programs, have similar personalities. For example, Ted (HIMYM) is very much a like Ross. (Friends) Two other characters that are almost identical are Robin (HIMYM) and Rachel (Friends), both very sweet and kind. As well as all the characters being very similar, there is also an aspect of a 'will they wont they' relationship between a couple in each sitcom. Between Rachel and Ross and then between Ted and Robin.  

Another programme very much like Friends is the programme 'Seinfeld.' Seinfeld was an American sitcom aired between 1989-1998 and was a highly popular show, just like Friends. The show is about Jerry Seinfeld and his friends going through everyday life. Both shows share the same, friendly humour. Both programmes were filmed in front of a live studio audience. Similarly they are both set in New York and about a group of friends.





Stylistic conventions

The stylistic conventions of Friends include the highly distinct setting. The setting is very relaxed and natural. The famous apartment that Monica and her 3 friends live in, the purple door, Central Perks coffee shop and Joey and Chandlers apartment. Not forgetting the famous overlook of NYC. The setting really does make the show. People who aren't even fans of the show immediately identify the scenery. The six different characters are all portrayed equally, the show doesn't just focus around one person but all the different characters. They all have a different personality, which makes the show funnier and more diverse. Monica is like the mother of all the characters, she's bossing but in a caring way. Ross is her older sibling who is very clumsy and is in love with Rachel. Rachel is very likeable and caring even though she can act spoilt at times. Joey is very dim but enjoys the attention he gets of females. Phoebe is very peculiar and idiotic, but she can be a very warm hearted person. Finally, Chandler is very sarcastic and is the one who tells all the jokes. Each cast member has their own individual personality and the audience can relate to each one of the characters.

 

This clip is the end of one episode of Friends.  This due to the credits at the end of the clip and also because the Friends are gathered at Central Perks. This clip helps justify the way friends is structured, as the group are all together and in the coffee shop, one of the places they usually get together at the end of an episode.

 

 

 



This is another clip to shows the structure of Friends. In the clip above, it shows the group gathered in the coffee shop Central Perks, one of the places the group usually end up in at the end of an episode. In this clip its showing that Friends are gathered in the apartment together. Notice that all the end clips are usually of them all either in Central perks or the apartment. This shows a circular narrative, as they end up in the same two places almost at the end of every episode.

If you have watched many episodes of Friends, the majority of episodes the group end up in either Central Perks or the apartment. As well as this, every episode title starts off with 'The one that..', again showing circular narrative. The reason they start off with 'The one that..' could be because the audience usually remember the episodes by saying do you remember the one that? So its easier for the audience to remember certain episodes.

Meaning

During the beginning of Friends, the cast were all young and single. Throughout the many episodes and series of the show, the cast began to settle down in their own unique way. Ross had a child named Ben with ex wife Carol. Also, he had another child with Rachel Green, named Emily. As well as this, Monica and Chandler got married. Being one of the most immature members of the cast, for Chandler, this was a big commitment and finally a time to start maturing. Even though at the start they are close, the cast became even closer towards the final episodes, both through their characters and their actual selves.

All the characters in Friends had relatively well paid jobs in the sitcom. Rachel worked for Ralph Lauren, Ross was a professor at the local University, Chandler was a statistical analysis and data reconfiguration executive. While, Monica was a Chef, Joey was an actor and Phoebe was a masseuse. All well paid jobs, some of them well paid than others, however, they were jobs and quite good ones. None of the characters looked as if they were struggling for money or desperate in anyway shape or form.  As you can see from their lifestyle and their homes, they didn't have the normal battle for money as other people may have had. Their apartments were clean and spacious, looked like any other normal apartment would for people their age. Except Phoebe in some circumstances, as she used to be homeless. As well as this, in a variety of episodes, Chandler is seen borrowing money off Joey. All of their lives were pretty comfortable, they were happy to loan each other money, which could suggest the closeness of all their relationships. They all had pretty close relationships, even if there were the odd falling out. Ross and Rachel were on and off for six years, but all that changed when Rachel and Joey kissed. Rachel and Ross also have a child together, called Emily. Monica and Chandlers relationship soared in the middle of the season, they previously hid their relationship from the other cast members, maybe due to embarrassment, which suggests the closeness of their relationships at this point in the season. Which resulted in them having children. However, Monica and Chandler can't conceive children, so they have to adopt. The birth mother ends up having twins called Jack and Erica.



Ownership

The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros.Television in the media conglomerate Time Warner. Friends was firstly found on NBC, which is a commercial operating model as it has advertisements throughout the program.  Friends was premiered on NBC's coveted on Thursday 22nd September 1994, at 8:30pm. Warner Bros made many films and TV series before the production of Friends such as, Dallas, The Dukes of Hazard and Free Willy.  

The filming was in front of a live studio audience in the Warner Bros Studio in California.

Casting

The original contracts for the first series cast members were paid $22,500 each episode. The stars were paid $75,000 per episode in season three, $85,000 in season four, $100,000 in season five, $125,000 in season six, $750,000 in seasons seven and eight, and rapidly rose to $1 million in seasons nine and ten.

Having worked with David Swchimmer previously, producers Kauffman, Bright and Crane wrote the character Ross with David in mind. He was then the first actor cast. Courteney Cox wanted to play the role of Monica however, producers had other ideas and wanted her to play the character of Rachel because of her 'Cheery and upbeat' energy. After Cox's audition Kauffman, Bright and Crane agreed that she would get the role of Monica. Matt Le Blanc's audition of the character 'Joey' was different, the producers never imagined Joey to be a dim character. However, it was found to be a major source of comedy. Le Blanc also gave Joey a heart which the writers didn't intend realise he had until after the audition. Although, the producers didn't want Le banc for the role, they were told by the network to give him the role. Aniston, Perry and Kudrow were casted based on the quality of their auditions.
 


Competition

 When friends was first released, Chicago Hope was one of Friends' main rival programmes. CBS is also a rival channel for Warner Bros as they released a similar product called 'Chicago Hope' in the mid 90's, the same era as Friends. Chicago Hope is a programme about the lives of a group of people who work in a hospital. This programme was a major threat to Warner Bros as its similar to the programme Friends and was aired at a similar time to Friends.

Present day rivals, will include How I Met Your Mother, as the programmes are quite similar and are aired on different channels at similar times.


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Running up to the season finale Friends, NBC charged up to $2 million per 30 second advertisement of Friends, due to the enormous amount of people expected tot tune into the finale. As well as this, there was pre and post programs related to Friends. Before the 9pm season finale, there was an hour long tribute program dedicated to the cast of Friends. Then after the season finale at 10pm, the cast of Friends appeared on "The Tonight Show"





Merchandise

All ten series have been released on DVD, either separately or in one whole box set. In September 1995, 'Friends Original Soundtrack' the soundtrack was released, containing the hit single 'Ill be there for you' plus, other songs from past, present and future episodes. The DVD board game 'Scene It?' has also released a Friends version. The Friends theme tune 'Ill be there for You" sold 500,000 copies in 1995. Also, they have released a Friends edition of 'Scene It?'


Season 1-10 was released in the US on November 15th 2005. Warner Brothers created a limited edition box called "The One With All Ten Seasons" which fitted in all individual ten seasons into a wooden and black case, with a plastic door with a picture of all the Friends on it. A year later, Warner Brothers released 'The Complete Series' cased in a red box with an exclusive booklet about the show, cast and original pilot pitch. Unlike the previous collection, the DVDs were not individually boxed by season, this collection organised 40 discs into volumes sorted by how many episodes per disc, and are spilt up by a disc holder for each cast member. This collection was released on 12th November 2007 in the UK.

DVD Box set Sales

The Complete First Season	April 30, 2002	October 25, 2004	October 4, 2006
The Complete Second Season	September 3, 2002	October 25, 2004	October 4, 2006
The Complete Third Season	April 1, 2003	October 25, 2004	October 4, 2006
The Complete Fourth Season	July 15, 2003	October 25, 2004	October 4, 2006
The Complete Fifth Season	November 4, 2003	October 25, 2004	October 4, 2006
The Complete Sixth Season	January 27, 2004	October 25, 2004	October 4, 2006
The Complete Seventh Season	April 6, 2004	October 25, 2004	October 4, 2006
The Complete Eighth Season	November 9, 2004	October 25, 2004	October 4, 2006
The Complete Ninth Season	March 8, 2005	October 25, 2004	October 4, 2006
The Complete Tenth Season	November 15, 2005	October 25, 2004	October 4, 2006

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Life after Friends

Jenifer Aniston-  Is probably one of the most famous movie stars on the planet and has been in a string of movies such as Bruce Almighty, Marley and Me and most recently, We're The Millers. Aniston is also well known for her relationship with movie God Brad Pitt.

Courteney Cox missed out on a role in hit TV series Desperate Housewives and has been relatively obscure ever since. She was in U.S. TV drama Dirt - cancelled after two series.

David Schwimmer-  Has had many theatrical roles including the play 'Some Girls' in London alongside comic Catherine Tate. He also directed 2007 British film Run Fatboy Run.

Matt Le Blanc-  Matt Le Blanc went on to work on the hit TV show called 'Joey' carrying on his role from friends. The show lasted two seasons between 2004-2006.

Lisa Kudrow- Has had many small roles in big films such as PS I love You and Easy A.

Matthew Perry- Starred in 17 again, famous for his breakdown and many trips to rehab.