Subject Specific Vocabulary A-C Flashcards
ABC figures
The Audit Bureau of Circulations is responsible for measuring the reach of different media across a range of platforms.
Aberrant reading
A reading of a product which does not recognise the preferred meaning but produces instead a deviant or unanticipated reading.
Action code
A narrative device by which a resolution is produced through action eg a gun fight.
Active audience
The theory that media audiences do not just consume a text passively, they actively engage with it because of personal and social contexts.
Agenda setting
The importance ascribed to news stories by news media. Those deemed most important will take prominence in coverage.
Anchorage
The text (copy) that fixes (anchors) an image and its meaning.
[/topic/body/title {"- topic/title "}) Antagonist (title] In a plot, the character whose function is to disrupt the protagonist – often, but not always, a villain.Anthology series
A series that is a collection of free-standing episodes – each episode features a completely different set of characters and storyline.
Artificial Intelligence
The branch of computer science which focuses on the capacity of machines to simulate human behaviour.
Archetype
A universal type of character found in various media texts, eg anti-hero, hero.
Audience
The people who are intended to see, hear, consume a media text.
Audience positioning
Each media text that is constructed to position its intended audience in a particular place and to respond in a certain way to it.
Audience surrogate
A character in a text that stands in for the audience. They may think and act as the audience might in the same situation.
Audio streaming
Listeners can click on a link to play a radio programme instantly. It is used to increase the global reach of radio programmes so that people can access radio content from abroad.
Augmented reality
Computer-generated content overlaid on a real-world environment, commonly used in video games.
Avatar
In gaming this is the player’s representation of themselves within the game.
BARB
Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board – the organisation that measures and collects television viewing data in the UK.
BBFC
British Board of Film Classification – responsible for deciding the age classification and censorship of all films and video content released in the UK.
Big Close Up (BCU)
An extreme close up camera shot, usually focusing on the face or close detail of the body.
Binary opposition
The contrast between two ideas or concepts, such as good/evil, male/female. Usually the contrast causes conflict that drives the narrative.
Brand
A type of product that is manufactured and marketed under a particular name, logo and design.
Brand identity
The image that a brand projects and the associations the audience then make with the brand.
Bricolage
When signs or artefacts are borrowed from different styles or genres to create something new.
Broadsheet
This is a larger newspaper that focuses on more serious news for example, The Guardian.
By-line
The printed line of text in a newspaper/magazine that names the writer of an article.
Call to action
An instruction aimed at the audience with the hope to provoke an immediate response – can take the form of ‘subscribe now’, for example. Often used in advertising and marketing.
Canted angle
A shot filmed from a slanted angle. Also known as ‘Dutch tilt’ or oblique angle.
Censorship
The controls and regulations that exist about media content. Censorship powers can be held by governments or regulatory bodies.
CGI
Computer-generated imagery is the application of computer graphics to printed or moving image media. The term CGI commonly refers to 3D computer graphics used for special effects in film sequences.
Circular narrative
Where the narrative starts at the end and then explores the action up to that point. Circular narratives are often only understood clearly by the audience at the end of a film.
Circulation
The number of copies of a media product that are distributed, this includes subscriptions. Circulation audits are provided by the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC). A rating given to a film, DVD or video game which informs the audience the suitability for different ages of audience according to the criteria of violence, sexual content and inappropriate language.
Close up (CU)
A common camera shot that tightly focuses on a person or object.
Code
Codes are the systems of signs that are used to create meaning in media texts. Codes can be both symbolic and technical.
Colloquialism
An informal expression, often used in casual conversation as opposed to writing. May be used to establish an informal communication with an audience.
Colour palette
The suite of colours that are used in the creation of media texts, such as websites and magazines, to reflect a brand and appeal to its audience.
Commercial broadcasting
Privately owned media broadcasting of television and radio programming.
Concentration of ownership
Refers to the number of organisations or individuals who control ownership of the media. Fewer stakeholders holding increasing shares.
Conglomerate
A media conglomerate is a large corporation that owns a large number of media companies, such as television, radio, internet, publishing – giving the conglomerate control in the market.
Connotation
The way meaning is created, or the deeper meaning, in a media text.
Constructed reality
A type of TV series where people talk naturally but are placed in pre-arranged situations by the producers.
Copy
The written material, as opposed to images, that features in a media text.
Countertype
A positive stereotype that reinforces the positive qualities of a person/type of person.
Cover lines
The written text that features on the cover of a magazine, they usually give a preview of the content inside.
Cover price
The price printed on the cover of a printed media text.
Cross platform marketing
When one form is advertised on another media platform.
Crane shot
A camera shot that is taken from above the ground high on a crane (also known as a jib).
Cross-head
Words used as a title or sub-heading to break up text in a newspaper or magazine.
Cross cut
An editing technique used to establish that action is occurring at the same time.
CRPG
Computer role-playing game.
Cultural capital/competence
The knowledge, experience, taste and skills an audience possess which shapes their choice and interpretation of media products. It is related to social class and other divisions such as education and career. A simple editing technique. One shot ends and another begins, with no transitions or effects added.
