Terminology

Question 1

Technical codes

Answer 1

technical elements of a media product that create meaning e.g. sound, camera

Question 2

Symbolic codes

Answer 2

symbolic elements of a media product that create meaning e.g. costume, body language

Question 3

conventions

Answer 3

widely recognised and expected elements of a genre / media form

Question 4

symbol

Answer 4

a sign / image that symbolises an idea

Question 5

Index

Answer 5

• a sign that works by a relationship to the object / concept it is referring to e.g. skull is indexical of death

Question 6

syntagm

Answer 6

combination of signs that are linked together in a particular way to convey meaning e.g. a sentence is a syntagm because the words are placed in a certain sequence to convey meaning

Question 7

anchorage

Answer 7

text which anchors an image to its meaning

Question 8

house style

Answer 8

overall design style of a media text

Question 9

mode of address

Answer 9

relationship between text and audience established through language, tone, text etc.

Question 10

Masthead

Answer 10

name of magazine / newspaper

Question 11

tag line / cover line

Answer 11

text around a magazine cover, usually short phrases

Question 12

Headline

Answer 12

• larger that tag lines but smaller than masthead usually

- indicate what the content is

Question 13

Copy

Answer 13

the writing of an article (journalists write copy)

Question 14

Standfirst

Answer 14

an introductory paragraph in an article which summarises the article

Question 15

feature

Answer 15

an article that deals in depth with a particular subject / topic

Question 16

editorial

Answer 16

article that expresses opinion / topical issue

Question 17

Call to action

Answer 17

provokes a immediate response from audience e.g. subscribe now

Question 18

Establishing shot

Answer 18

indicates to the audience the area/place/time that the scene is about to take place in

Question 19

long shot

Answer 19

the whole of the subject can be viewed

Question 20

medium shot

Answer 20

about half of the subject can be viewed (head to waist)

Question 21

close up

Answer 21

close to the subject (just the face)

Question 22

extreme close up

Answer 22

really close to the subject (just the eyes maybe)

Question 23

worms eye view

Answer 23

an extreme low angle

Question 24

birds eye view

Answer 24

an extreme high angle

Question 25

canted angle / dutch tilt

Answer 25

camera is filming from a diagonal

Question 26

Pan

Answer 26

when a camera swivels from a fixed point (left to right)

Question 27

Tilt

Answer 27

when a camera swivels from a fixed point (up to down)

Question 28

Crab

Answer 28

when a camera travels in a sideways direction

Question 29

Track

Answer 29

when a camera travels away / towards / with a subject

Question 30

pedestal (ped) shot

Answer 30

moving the camera vertically (up or down) in respect to the subject

Question 31

Diegetic sound

Answer 31

sound within the world of the scene e.g. street noise

Question 32

Non-diegetic sound

Answer 32

sound added in post production which the characters cant hear e.g. music

Question 33

Ambient / amos

Answer 33

sounds which are present in the scene / location e.g. office noises, traffic, phone ringing for office

Question 34

incidental music

Answer 34

music that enhances the atmosphere of the scene

Question 35

Contrapuntal sound

Answer 35

sound that doesn't match the action on screen

Question 36

Foley sound

Answer 36

sound effects added in post production to enhance audio quality

Question 37

cut

Answer 37

one shot ends and another begins

Question 38

transition

Answer 38

within the end and beginning of scene e.g. cross fade, dissolve, wipe

Question 39

cross-cut

Answer 39

used to establish that action is occurring at the same time

Question 40

Shot-reverse-shot

Answer 40

when two characters are opposite and the camera cuts from two over the shoulder shots

Question 40

mise en scene

Answer 40

everything that is in the shot

Question 41

iconography

Answer 41

the visual aspects within the media product

Question 42

Hook

Answer 42

image or tag line which entices the audience

Question 43

connotation

Answer 43

the deeper meaning

Question 44

denotation

Answer 44

the literal meaning

Question 45

intertextuality

Answer 45

when a media text refers to another text / references pop culture to interest and engage the audience

Question 46

diegesis

Answer 46

the time and space of the audio-visual narrative world

Question 47

Juxtaposition

Answer 47

placing two things close together to create a contrasting effect

Question 48

closed narrative

Answer 48

a story where the main threads of the narrative are neatly resolved

Question 49

inter-weaving plot narratives

Answer 49

the media product will include several narratives e.g. love actually

Question 50

linear narrative

Answer 50

plot that moves forward in straight order from beginning to end

Question 51

non-linear narrative

Answer 51

jumps between different times of the story