Media Literacy: Mass media Flashcards
What is media?
means or vehicles for the communication of content, Media is the vehicle through which people communicate and express themselves.
What are some examples of media we see everyday?
the newspapers we read, the movies, television, and online videos we watch, the billboards we drive by, the radio and podcasts we listen to, the internet, and even the video games we play.
What is mass media
forms of media used to reach large numbers of people
What is mass media intended to do?
is intended to reach a very large audience.
What are the 4 major categories of mass media?
- print media
- broadcast media,
- digital media,
- outdoor media.
What is print media
mass media
media that uses writing and visual images to communicate
What is broadcast media?
media that transmits content mainly through television and radio; shares audio content through broadcast, electrontic, digital or satelitte technolgoy
What is digital media?
media that transmits content electronically as data; transmits content through the use of numeric data
What is outdoor media?
media that communicates content to people away from home
What is a trend?
a movement or general direction in which something is developing or changing
When advertisers sell a product what else are they doing?
When advertisers sell a product, it’s not just the product they’re selling. They’re also selling ideas about how to live our lives.
To unlock themes and ideas conveyed in mass media, you can ask the kinds of questions you ask of other texts to help you understand them. For example:
I listen to a lot of podcasts, which I like for the feeling of being immersed in the stories. I like hearing voices for what their tone adds to the meaning of words. I like how listening rather than reading sometimes frees me up to imagine more of what I would see if I were in the story.
I don’t like commercial interruptions, which not only disrupt the story but nearly always play at a higher volume and with too much noise for me. I also think the commercials send both explicit and implicit messages that I have no choice but to listen to. That can muddy up how much I enjoy the podcast and its meaning for me.
To unlock themes and ideas conveyed in mass media, you can ask the kinds of questions you ask of other texts to help you understand them. For example:
- What is the mood of the media? What does it intend to make me feel and why?
- What images does the media include? How does this imagery affect me?
- What are any explicit messages conveyed by the media?
- What messages can I infer from the content?
Imagine you are sponsoring an event to raise money for an after-school arts program in your town. If you wanted to reach as broad an audience of students as possible, what category of mass media would you start with and why?
I’d start with digital media because of the number of people who use social networking. In addition, digital media could be used to create a related virtual reality event that lets people experience the arts program in action.
Which of the following describes a current trend in mass media?
A. use of print media surpassing broadcasting media
B use of digital media surpassing print media
C. use of broadcasting media surpassing digital media
D. use of outdoor media surpassing broadcasting media
use of digital media surpassing print media
Say you want to sell a product by conveying the idea that it will improve students’ social lives. Explain how you would use three types of media to communicate that theme. Identify what category of mass media the media belongs to in your response.
Sample answer: I’d start with print media, and specifically a comic book, to write and illustrate a story that shows how my product works. From outdoor media, I’d use billboards on trains and buses for additional scenes from the comic book. Finally, I’d create a virtual reality event, from digital media, where students could experience the product in action.
Digital media is trending! Drawing on your experience with digital media, why do you think it is currently the most popular mass media or vehicle for content delivery to the public? What might be some drawbacks of relying primarily on digital media to communicate with the masses?
Digital media is engaging. It does things other media can’t, like help you experience things with both your mind and your body, as in the case of virtual reality. It also lets you actively interact as part of the experience, like in video games or websites where you follow a journey. It feels like a more active experience than other media can produce.
One drawback may be that you have to know how to move around the digital world to experience it. You also need access to the technology, which many people don’t have. I also think that sometimes there’s so much going on in digital media that it’s distracting and can overload the senses. Overusing digital media could distance some potential consumers and confuse the message.
What are 3 visual techniques filmmakers often use?
three visual techniques filmmakers often use: a close-up shot, a reaction shot, and a wide shot.
What is a close up shot?
image created when a camera focuses tightly on a person’s face or on another object
What is a reaction shot?
image created when action onscreen shifts to a separate shot showing how a character or characters react
What is a wide shot?
image created when a camera films something from far away
What are some editiing techniques?
What you see is also affected by editing, or the way that different shots are sequenced. Editing techniques include:
- cutting or lengthening scenes to affect pacing or rhythm
- using a jump cut, or slightly different angles of the same scene, to move forward in time
- using a cutaway, or abrupt jump from one shot to another, to reveal what a character sees
How does noise affect the watchers experience?
Background music, voices, noise, and even silence all help engage an audience with the media’s content; so do technological effects like surround sound. These sound effects especially help to establish the mood, or atmosphere, of the media, as well as its tone, or attitude toward the content.
How does establishing a clear mood and tone impact an audience?
A clear mood and tone can create emotion and hint at how the audience should feel, which is important, because getting an audience to feel a certain way can make them more open to whatever message the media is sending.
