Keywords/Terminology

Question 1

Action Code

Answer 1

Something that happens in the narrative that tells the audience
that some action will follow, for example in a scene from a soap
opera, a couple are intimate in a bedroom and the camera
shows the audience the husband’s car pulling up at the front of the house.

Question 2

Active Audience

Answer 2

Audiences actively engage in selecting media products to
consume and interpreting their meanings.

Question 3

Anchorage

Answer 3

The words that accompany an image (still or moving) contribute to the meaning associated with that image. If the caption or voice-over is changed then so may the way in which the audience interprets the image. An image with an anchor is a closed text; the audience are given a preferred reading. A text without an anchor is an open text as the audience can interpret it as they wish. The same image of a school in a local newspaper could include a negative or a positive headline, which may change the way in which the same image is viewed by the reader.

Question 4

Appeal

Answer 4

The way in which products attract and interest an audience,
e.g. through the use of stars, familiar genre conventions etc.

Question 5

Arc of Transformation

Answer 5

The emotional changes a character goes through in the
process of the narrative. The events in the story mean that they will ‘transform’ by the end of the story.

Question 6

Aspirational

Answer 6

In terms of a media text, one that encourages the audience to
want more money, up-market consumer items and a higher
social position.

Question 7

Attract

Answer 7

How media producers create appeal to audiences to encourage them to consume the product.

Question 8

Audience Categorisation

Answer 8

How media producers group audiences (e.g. by age, gender
ethnicity) to target their products.

Question 9

Audience Consumption

Answer 9

The way in which audiences engage with media products (e.g. viewing a TV programme, playing a video game, reading a blog or magazine). Methods of consumption have changed
significantly due to the development of digital technologies.

Question 10

Audience Interpretation

Answer 10

The way in which audiences ‘read’ the meanings in, and make sense of, media products.

Question 11

Audience Positioning

Answer 11

The way in which media products place audiences (literally or metaphorically) in relation to a particular point of view. For example, audiences may be positioned with a particular character or positioned to adopt a specific ideological perspective.

Question 12

Audience Response

Answer 12

How audiences react to media products e.g. by accepting the intended meanings (preferred reading).

Question 13

Audience Segmentation

Answer 13

Where a target audience is divided up due to the diversity and range of programmes and channels. This makes it difficult for one programme to attract a large target audience.

Question 14

Audio

Answer 14

How sound is used to communicate meaning - voice-over, dialogue, music, SFX, etc.

Question 15

Avatar

Answer 15

A player’s representation of themselves within a game.

Question 16

Back Story

Answer 16

Part of a narrative which may be the experiences of a character
or the circumstances of an event that occur before the action or
narrative of a media text. It is a device that gives the audience
more information and makes the main story more credible.

Question 17

Binary Opposites

Answer 17

Where texts incorporate examples of opposite values; for
example, good versus evil, villain versus hero. These can be
apparent in the characters, narrative or themes.

Question 18

Brand Identity

Answer 18

The association the audience make with the brand, for example Chanel or Nike, built up over time and reinforced by the
advertising campaigns and their placement.

Question 19

Broadsheet

Answer 19

A larger newspaper that publishes more serious news, for example The Daily Telegraph has maintained its broadsheet
format.

Question 20

Camera Angles

Answer 20

The angle of the camera in relation to the subject. For example, a high angle shot (shot of a character from above) may make them appear more vulnerable.

Question 21

Camera Shots

Answer 21

The type of shot and framing in relation to the subject, for
example, close-up shots are often used to express emotion.

Question 22

Caption

Answer 22

Words that accompany an image that help to explain its meaning.

Question 23

Channel Identity

Answer 23

That which makes the channel recognisable to audiences and
different from any other channel. Presenters, stars, programme genres and specific programmes all contribute to a channel’s identity.

Question 24

Circulation

Answer 24

The dissemination of media products to audiences/users - the method will depend on the media form e.g. circulation of print magazines, broadcast of television programmes etc.

Question 25

Connotation

Answer 25

The suggested meanings attached to a sign, e.g., the red car in the advert suggests speed and power.

Question 26

Conventions

Answer 26

What the audience expects to see in a particular media text, for example the conventions of science fiction films may include:
aliens, scientists, other worlds, gadgets, representations of
good and evil, etc. Useful headings to discuss conventions are:
characters, setting, iconography, narrative, technical codes and
representation.

Question 27

Convergence

Answer 27

The coming together of previously separate media industries and/or platforms; often the result of advances in technology whereby one device or platform contains a range of different features. The mobile phone, for example, allows the user to download and listen to music, view videos, tweet artists etc. All this can be done through one portable device.

Question 28

Cover Lines

Answer 28

These suggest the content to the reader and often contain
teasers and rhetorical questions. These relate to the genre of
the magazine.

Question 29

Cross-Platform Marketing

Answer 29

In media terms, a text that is distributed and exhibited across a range of media formats or platforms. This may include film,
television, print, radio and the Internet.

Question 30

Cultural Capital

Answer 30

The media tastes and preferences of an audience, traditionally linked to social class/background.

Question 31

Demographic Category

Answer 31

A group in which consumers are placed according to their age,
sex, income, profession, etc. The categories range from A to E
where categories A and B are the wealthiest and most
influential members of society.

Question 32

Denotation

Answer 32

The literal meaning of a sign, e.g. the car in the advert is red.

Question 33

Diegetic Sound

Answer 33

Sound that comes from the fictional world, for example the
sound of a gun firing, the cereal being poured into the bowl in
an advert, etc.

Question 34

Discourse

Answer 34

The topics, language and meanings or values behind them
within a media text. The discourse of lifestyle magazines, for example, tends to revolve around body image and narcissism.

Question 35

Distribution

Answer 35

The methods by which media products are delivered to
audiences, including the marketing campaign. These methods will depend upon the product (for example, distribution companies in the film industry organise the release of the films, as well as their promotion).