Media Language key terms and theorists Flashcards
1
Q
What is social context?
A
- the environment of the people that surrounds something’s creation or intended audience
- reflects how the people around something use and interpret it, influences how something is viewed
2
Q
What is historical context?
A
- reflects the time in which something takes place or was created and how that influences how you interpret it
- the events that took place around something through which makes you understand that thing
3
Q
What is cultural context?
A
- what was happening culturally at the time the text was produced
- how that reflects the attitudes, values and beliefs of a culture or a group
4
Q
What is economic context?
A
- concerned with the organisation of the money, industry, trade of a country, region or society
5
Q
What is political context?
A
- defines the political scenario directly or indirectly influencing the productions of documents
6
Q
What is a sign (semiotics)
A
- a discrete unit of meaning, the way in which information can be communicated within a media text
- can include images, gestures, words, sounds
7
Q
Ferdinand de Saussure ( 3 elements of a sign)
A
Sign - the object/thing
Signifier - the physical existence of the sign e.g. sound, word, image, red/leaf/round = apple
Signified - the mental concept of the sign e.g. fruit/apple/healthy,
8
Q
Charles Pierce’s (icon)
A
- an icon has a close physical resemblance to what it signifies
9
Q
Charles Pierce’s (symbol)
A
- a symbol has no resemblance between the signifier and signified at all.
- it is our framework of knowledge which helps us understand the meaning of these signs e.g the symbols used to identify gender
10
Q
Charles Pierce’s (index)
A
- an index shows the physical relationship with what it represents and point towards its meaning, but will not be directly related to the signified
11
Q
Roland Barthes’ (denotation - signifier)
A
- the process of analysing the signifiers of a sign, a literal description of what you can see or hear
12
Q
Roland Barthes’ (connotation - signified)
A
- the process of analysing the meaning of a sign, what is signified from the sign or connotations could be
13
Q
Roland Barthes’ (mythology)
A
- myths are shared cultural connotations that reflect the dominant ideology, ways in which we share ideas about our society and ourselves
- seen to be a part of a higher level of signification and help establish ideologies within a society
- mythology is something we assume is true but it is actually constructed
14
Q
What is ideology?
A
- shared systems of values, beliefs and social attitudes and underlying assumption about a society
- we accept them as fixed and don’t question them.
15
Q
What are dominant ideologies?
A
- the value, beliefs, attitudes held by the majority of people in a society and benefiting those groups with most power.
16
Q
What is a paradigm?
A
- a class of objects or concepts which are all members of a defining category but markedly different in themselves
- smaller parts of the whole, sign sets which construct the whole syntagm
- e.g. the vocabulary of a language is a paradigm
17
Q
What is a syntagm?
A
- a chain of signs that is, an element which follows another in a particular sequence
18
Q
What is anchorage?
A
- used to describe how the combination of elements within a sign fit together and fix the meaning
- the way different media language elements combine to help fix the meaning that a producer wants to convey to the audience
19
Q
What are dominant signifiers?
A
- the most prominent image or language code used to communicate the message
20
Q
What is preferred reading?
A
- the reading a text’s producers would like its receivers to make
- the manipulation of sets of codes, the messages constructed that producers want the audience to understand
21
Q
What is genre?
A
- a critical tool that helps study texts and audiences responses to texts by dividing them into categories based on common elements
22
Q
What are iconographies?
A
- the specific types of media language choices that make a genre recognises
- e.g. spaceships,aliens,planets = sci-fi genre
23
Q
What are representations?
A
- the specific types of representations that we associate with a genre.
- e.g the hero of a crime drama is likely to be a detective and be a lone wolf and have a dark personality caused by personal problems
24
Q
What are themes?
A
- different genres will deal with different themes
- e.g. crime dramas deal with the consequences of violence
25
Genre and audience pleasure - Rick Altman
- argues that genre offers audiences a 'set of pleasures'
26
Rick Altman's (emotional pleasure)
- the emotional pleasures offered to audiences of genre films are significant when they generate a strong audience response
27
Rick Altman's (visceral pleasure)
- 'gut' responses and are defined by how the text's stylistic construction elicits a physical effect upon its audience.
- can be a feeling of revulsion, 'roller coaster ride'
28
Rick Altman's (intellectual puzzles)
- certain film genres such as thriller offer pleasure in trying to unravel a mystery or puzzle
- pleasure is derived from deciphering the plot and forecasting the end or being suprised by the unexpected.
29
Steve Neal - genres and audiences
- believes that genre labels are familiar to the audience and important to them
- audience find the action of prediction based on audience expectations, if they are not fulfilled the text can be a production disaster
30
Steve Neal - problems with genre
- the nature of genre is based on repetition, genre repeat codes and conventions so that audiences recognise the genre and know which products to select
- this creates reassurance for the audience as they know what to expect but too much repetition can lead to audiences becoming bored
- identifies that the balance between 'repetition and difference' is one that media producers are always trying to achieve
- media producers are always trying to create a balance between giving audiences the comfort of something familiar while also creating something new that will interest the audience
- genres also change because as cultural attitudes and values change, approaches to representations and themes within genres will also alter, genres need to be able to respond to avoid being repetitive as well as to respond to cultural changes
31
Thomas Schatz - genres of order
- value individualism and personal sacrifice, sees violence as justified in certain circumstances and the heroes' role is to reinstate the social order that has been undermined by the threat
32
Thomas Schatz - genres of intergration
- value collectives and groups who communicate and cooperate for the general good
- negotiation and compromise are often used to help solve problems so that whatever has threatened the equilibrium can find a way to be integrated into the community
33
Conventions of a crime drama
- lead characters often have a back story, flashbacks to fill in gaps in the audiences knowledge
- story usually centred around a detective trying to solve a crime, often a murder, killer's identity often revealed at the end of the episode
- there may be an interrogation scene
- theme of justice and good vs evil is prevalent
- format is episodic usually with stand alone episodes
- iconography - police cars, guns,flashing lights
- sound - serious, dramatic, brooding
- settings - interview rooms, urban settings,police stations
34
Conventions of a serial drama
- characters
- narratives usually dramatic
- setting
- camera work
- dialogue, sound, music
- ensemble cast - each character has their own story line
- expressive lighting techniques
- high production value
- exaggerated representations
- scheduled prime time
35
What is a masthead? (magazines)
- the name of the magazine and associated with the strapline
36
What are straplines? (magazines)
- make claims about the magazines or give out information about content
-
37
What are cover lines? (magazines)
- lets the audience see the scope of the articles, particularly the lead article
- often use a very personal mode of address and help signify the genre codes
38
What is a sweet spot?(magazines)
- the area in the middle and to the left of the cover, where the eye tends to rest, is sometimes used to engage the audience by positioning either a prominent cover line
39
What are menu strips?
- usually found at the bottom of the page, used to display regular content
40
Awareness-Interest-Desire-Action (AIDA)
- defines the aim of most print advertisers who have limited space of only a page and a billboard to construct the message
41
What are composite images?
- composite means to present the image in a montage sequence, so all the images working together at the same time but representing different spaces for example
42
What is conceptual adverts?
- the product is represented through an idea or feeling on occasion the product itself may be almost incidental
43
What is information/demonstration adverts?
- the product may be shown in action
44
What is pseudo scientific or practical adverts?
- often combining graphics to construct the product as one that makes the most of advanced technologies.
45
What is a narrative advert?
- takes the reader on a journey of some kind
46
What it continuity editing?
- editors can manipulate time by selecting which footage to include and which to leave out
- creates the illusion of continuous time without showing everything that happens
47
What is montage editing?
- series of short shots are edited into a sequence
- used to make trailers
48
What are editing transitions?
- fade out - used to suggest time has passed but that the narrative is continuous, common in film trailers and often used at an ad break
- could be used to denote someone going to sleep or lapsing into consciousness
49
Mise-en-scene
- helps to access many meanings of the text
- media texts such as music videos, crime dramas, beauty product adverts are recognisable to an audience
- media producers select what they include in the frame in order to create particular perspectives on their subject matter
50
What is setting?
- can mirror the emotions of a character, establish place, time and offer information about themes of a film
51
What is decor?
- shown in the place or room, in which a scene occurs and adds meaning to the event shown
- the decor of a room can mirror a characters psychological or emotional state, can also represent a theme or construct genre
52
What are props?
- the objects which are included in the scene are essential in the generation of meaning, giving information about genre, historical period or character
- these objects can be used to infer a specific message and can be referred to as iconography
53
What are costumes?
- central to a director's construction of character because it gives the audience information about genre and character type
- it can indicate specific time periods, shifts in character traits and roles within the society
54
What is make up?
- essential for actors and actresses because it further constructs their character on screen and can make them look a certain age or appear in a certain manner
55
How is colour used?
- used to convey mood, theme and character
- producers often use bright colours or filters to construct a lighter mood in relation to the character or theme vice versa
56
What is body language and movement?
- the way that a character sits , stands and moves within the frame and is central to the way the story is told
- it can reveal info about the character in terms of their role in the story
57
How is lighting used?
- vital in showing the audience a narrative
58
What is a key light?
- main source of a light in a video or photo, results in brightly lit subjects with more full light
- they are used to increase the amount of ambient light in a scene and reduce contrast
59
How is high key lighting used?
often used in commercial for food and beauty products, brightly lit scenes suggest an upbeat mood and positive message
- involves using bright and even lighting to illuminate the entire scene
60
How is fill light used?
- lightens shadows created by the key light, allows for a more natural and balanced look, softens harsh shadows and adds depth and dimension to the subject
- typically positioned opposite of the key light to fill in the shadows
- doesn't create shadows or its own characteristics
61
How is back light used?
- placed behind the subject, creating a layer between and the background
62
How is lowkey lighting used?
- used dim, hard lighting to accentuate shadows creates a high contrast between dark and light tones
63
What is chiaroscuro and how is it used?
- emphasises the contrast between shadows and light creates a dramatic mood and sense of mystery
64
How is natural lighting used?
- involves using the sun,moon and creates a sense of authenticity
65
What is cinematography?
- the art of motion picture photography and includes all moving image work on film, video and digital media
66
Close up shots and how they are used
- these shots suggest intimacy and emotion which could either be friendship or conflict
- allows the audience to see a character's facial expressions and understand their emotions
- used to draw attention to an object that has significance in the narrative
67
How is eye line match used?
- it is essential that the character's eye line is in the top third of the frame
- the eye line of the two people must match, both people's eyes should be in the same area of the frame even if in real life they are different heights
68
How are medium shots and variations used?
- suggests some emotional involvement with the character
- represents the normal physical distance of a conversation
- not intimate or emotional and can be used with characters who are known to each other
69
How are long shots and variations used?
- represents public distance
- unemotional as the subjects are too far away for an audience to appreciate their feelings
70
How are over the shoulder shots used?
- used to illustrate a conversation and will often be used in conjunction with shot - reverse - shot
- reverse shot would be over the person's shoulder shows the character's reaction
71
How is point of view shot used?
- shot that puts the audience into the position of a character so that the viewer sees through the eyes of the character
72
How is tilted frame used?
- tilting the camera while the subject remains in a normal position
- shows that the character feels disoriented as a result of being ill or drunk
73
High angles (camera angles)
- camera is high, looking down on the subject
- suggest that the audience are in a position of authority and are dominant over the subject in the frame
74
Low angles (camera angles)
- camera is low, looking up at the subject
- suggest that the audience is weak and powerless compared to the subject in the frame who is powerful
75
Camera movement
- height of the camera indicates the viewpoint camera will correspond with the eye line of the character
- angled framing used to suggest the superiority or inferiority of characters
- tracking shots are achieved by putting the camera onto a track and pushing it at the desired speed
76
Crane shots (camera movements)
- are achieved by the camera moving up or down on a mechanical crane
77
Hand held camera (camera movements)
- held in the operators hand or balanced on their shoulders
78
Stedi cam (camera movements)
- light weight camera that can be fixed on the operators body to create a smooth shot
79
How is sound used in media?
- used to create dialogue, special effects, atmosphere and tension
- central to constructing genre
- central to evoking atmosphere and giving the audience more information about the genre
80
Diegetic sound
- within the frame, sounds which take place as part of the narrative
81
Non diegetic sound
- sound which takes place outside of the frame and is part of the way emotion is created within the narrative
82
What is a narrative?
- the way stories are structured, the way of telling and formatting a story
83
What is the master plot?
- the most basic overview of events
84
What is the plot?
- the content of a story - what happens
85
What is narration?
- the telling of the story and the narrative style linear or non linear
- linear meaning it is in a coherent time order
- non linear meaning it is moving back and forth through time
86
What is diegesis?
- the act of telling a story through narration
87
What is mimesis?
- the act of telling a story by showing via representations
88
What are narrative codes?
- the media language used to tell the story
89
Binary Opposition - Levi Strauss
- believes that myths consist of nothing but binary opposition e.g. rich/poor, black/white
- considered the job of the myth to be an association of a binary opposition creating the belief that the former had been resolved
- binary opposites structure cultures and give members of the culture information about value, power, status
- used to understand how representations are placed in binary opposition to ensure the dominant culture is maintained and the minority representation is marginalised
