Media definitions

Media definitions Page

Media : Is a way to communicate information from person to person.
media text is any media product we wish to examine. Every description or representation of the world, fictional or otherwise, is an attempt to describe or definereality, and is in some way a construct of reality, a text.

Anchorage is when a piece of media uses other pieces of media to reduce the amount of connotations in the first, therefore allowing the audience to interpret it much more easily. For an example in a newspaper there is a caption next to the picture so you can understand what the picture  is about.

          Stereotype a social shared set of beliefs and traits that are characteristics of members of a social category.

caricature is a over exaggerated picture or character. To create a comic or grotesque effect.

       media language

         narrative   a spoken or written account of connected events; a story.

        mise en scene   he arrangement of the scenery, props, etc. on the stage of a theatrical production or on the set of a film.

       editing  is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information.

         camera work  the way in which cameras are used in a film or television programme.

       Dominant or Preferred Reading

–   This is when the text is read in the way the producer intended the text to be read.

–   The audience agree with the messages and ideology that the producer has placed behind the text.

       Negotiated Reading

–  This is a compromise between the dominant reading and the oppositional reading of the text.

–   The audience accepts the views of the producer but also has their own input and understanding of the text.

        Oppositional Reading

–     The audience rejects the producers preferred reading and creates their own reading of the text, usually this is the opposite of what the producer intended.

–      The reader rejects the meaning completely as they do not agree with the message that is being presented to the audience.

Halls Theory of encoding and decoding

The theory states that media texts are encoded by the producer meaning that whoever produces the text fills the product with values and messages. The text is then decoded by the audience.

Different spectators will decode the text in different ways, not always in the way the producer intended. A text can be received in one of three ways;
The semantic code points to any element in a text that suggests a particular, often additional meaning by way of connotation which the story suggests. 
Connotation= cultural/underlining meaning, what it symbolises.

Representation

Representation is how media texts deal with and present gender, age, ethnicity, national and regional identity, social issues and events to an audience.

 Stereotypes,

These are a simplified representation of a person, groups of people or a place, through basic or obvious characteristics - which are often exaggerated.

Counter stereotypes

         •Are  positive stereotypes. They Focus on positive elements of a group traditionally represented as bad.

Identity.

 is a socially and historically constructed concept. ... Social and cultural identity is inextricably linked to issues of power, value systems, and ideology . The media uses representations—images, words, and characters or personae—to convey specific ideas and values related to culture and identity in society.

Mediation.

Every time we encounter a media text, we are not seeing reality, but someone’s version of it.

IdeoIlogy

These are ideas and beliefs, held by media producers, which are often represented in their media texts.

Social power

In social science and politics, power is the ability to influence or outright control the behaviour of people. The term "authority" is often used for power perceived as legitimate by the social structure.

Hegemony is the dominance or leadership of one social group or nation over others. Just like the way USA dominates over other nations.

          Regional Identity refers to the part of the United Kingdom someone is from. It could refer to a general area such a “North” or “South”, a country such as “English” or “Scottish” or specific towns such as “London” or “Manchester.”

  Working class  Those individuals engaged in manual work, often having low levels of educational achievement. The classic, traditional working class jobs include heavy labouring and factory based work. 

         Middle class  Those individuals engaged in non-manual work, often having higher levels of educational achievement. Classic middle class jobs include everything from doctors and lawyers to clerical workers. 

         Upper class  The elite class that controls the majority of wealth and power in British society.

          connotations -    An abstract meaning or intention 

           semiotics      - The studying of signs + symbols and their use of interpretation 

   Emotive Language – the use of language to generate specific emotional reactions in the target audience

         •Headlines – The text highlighting the main story being given priority by the producers of the print media text. Often designed to be eye-catching.

          •Inverted pyramid structure - Newspaper stories start with the main events. Then they give more details and eyewitness comments in short paragraphs. The paragraphs at the end of the story are less important than those at the beginning. This allows sub-editors to shorten stories by cutting paragraphs from the end.

        •Layout – How the print media text has been designed and formatted.

  •    Masthead - The top section of a newspaper which gives the paper’s title, price and date

       •Sans Serif font – Font type which does not have lines perpendicular to the ends of letters e.g. Comic Sans – often seen as more contemporary. Think of Apple’s advertising.

       •Serif font – Font type which does have lines perpendicular to the ends of letters e.g. Times New Roman – generally seen as more traditional or higher class.

       •Splash – The front page story

       •Sub-headings – Smaller, typically one line headlines for other stories.

       •Tabloid - Smaller newspapers aimed at a large audience. News is reported in less depth and emphasises human interest stories. The language level is lower, paragraphs and stories shorter, with more use of images. Content often includes more celebrities, media news and gossip. Examples: The Sun, The Mail, The Mirror, The Express

       •Text to image ratio – This involves considering how weighted the print media text is with regards to text and image – you need to ask yourself why the ratio exists.

        •Typography – The collective term when considering elements of print media relating to the style of the text such as the font, colour, serif, sans serif etc.

      

        

       •Anchorage - Fixing of meaning e.g. the copy text anchors (i.e. fixes to one spot) the

       •meaning of an image

       •Banners – Typically found at the top or bottom of a print media text.

       •Broadsheet - Large format newspapers that report news in depth, often with a serious tone and higher level language. News is dominated by national and international events, politics, business, with less emphasis on celebrities and gossip. Examples: The Independent, The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph

       •Byline - A journalist's name at the beginning of a story.
Captions – Text below an image that describes the image or informs the audience who

        •took the image.
Copy - Main text of a story.

       •Coverlines – Captions on a magazine front cover

                    

        Saturated colours in font: refers to the intensity of a colour, it is colour in its purest form… 

•They are bright and stand out, expecially when set against “complimentary colours)

Muted Colours in font are less eye catching but work effectively

fon    t-Particular size,weight and style

splash- front cover page story 

puff- Something placed on a front cover to make it stand out eg.offers

Left page third- will contain cover lines

tag  what goes underneath the cover line to get extra meaning 


media text is any media product we wish to examine. Every description or representation of the world, fictional or otherwise, is an attempt to describe or definereality, and is in some way a construct of reality, a text.

•media language: how the media through their forms, codes, conventions and techniques communicate meanings

•media representations: how the media portray events, issues, individuals and social groups

•media industries: how the media industries’ processes of production, distribution and circulation affect media forms and platforms

•media audiences: how media forms target, reach and address audiences, how audiences interpret and respond to them and how members of audiences become producers themselves.

•‘media product’ refers to media texts, such as television programmes, newspapers, radio programmes etc., as well as to online, social and participatory media platforms

•‘intertextuality’ refers to the way aspects of a particular media product relate to another and thus accrue additional significance.

Verisimilitude, in a narrow sense, is the likeness or semblance of a narrative to reality, or to the truth. It comes from Latin: verum meaning truth and similis meaning similar.

circulation. the total number of copies of a magazine, newspaper, newsletter, film, etc.

Distribution: The way the film gets to screens; distribution company.

•Marketing: The process of raising awareness; targeting an audience; creating publicity through various methods.

1.Blue Screen technology allows actors to perform in front of a blue background moving subjects are filmed and which allows a separately filmed background to be added to the final image.

2.Motion Capture the process or technique of recording patterns of movement digitally, especially the recording of an actor's movements for the purpose of animating a digital character in a film or video game.

3. Previsualization (also known as previs, previz, pre-rendering, preview or wireframe windows) is the visualizing of complex scenes in a movie before filming. It is also a concept in still photography.

Production:  The making of the film; pre-production and funding; shoot (format); post-production (SFX).

Distribution: The way the film gets to screens; distribution company.

•Marketing: The process of raising awareness; targeting an audience; creating publicity through various methods.

•A distributor is responsible for marketing a film

Exhibition: The way we view; getting the film to a paying audience.

Who Owns the film Industry?

•Media Ownership is dominated by the Big 6 Media Corporations.

What is Public Service Broadcasting?

In the United Kingdom, the term "public service broadcasting" refers to broadcasting intended for public benefit rather than to serve purely commercial interests.

•Their remit is to "inform, educate and entertain"

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Anaylising -Movie

Anaylising Movie

Infinity war is a Franchie owned by Marvel studios and Disney.It also uses enigma (mystery),logos,equilibrm. 
All media products are 'texts'. When you read, watch, play, listen to a media text, you make meaning of the sounds and imagery presented. 

DECODING = understanding a media text.  

CODES can be visual (you can see them) or aural (you can hear them). Codes have symbolic value. For example in our society wearing a pair of glasses (glasses are the code) symbolises, or connotates, that you are clever. TV drama, magazines and videogames use these symbolic codes to generate character types and character archetypes.

Niko textual analysis:

He (Niko) looks aggressive because of his facial expression - he has bags under his eyes, as well as an unshaven beard - this makes him look unkept and erratic. Furthermore, in contrast to the background of the second image, he is found under a bridge which could make it seem more industrial and therefore more edged, as if he could be an issue. His clothes he's wearing could be linked to negativity, as he is wearing very dull colours. It links to how he might want to be a grey man (blend in - not be seen), or that he is only barely getting by. In addition to this, he looks like he is preparing to fight someone as he seems to have just put on the gloves he is wearing, while clenching his fist.

Cherry textual analysis:

On the contrary to the first image, she seems weak and vulnerable, which is shown from her posture - she is leaning to the right of the image, looking away from the viewer - giving a submissive impression. This could also give mystery (or an enigma) of what she is looking at. She is wearing red clothes which links to her name in the game - Cherry. Furthermore, she is wearing very revealing clothing which could link to how she is a very stereotypical link to being a prostitute, as she is trying to show off her body to the viewer. In addition to this, the name Cherry could be considered a stage name for her work, as people in that occupation usually have nicknames that roll off the tongue, while also linking to things like passion and lust, which is exactly what the word "Cherry" connotes. Moreover, she has bags under her eyes and a slightly unkept appearance, which could make her seem like she is "overworked" or that she hasn't been able to get sleep. Her face also seems like she would be a smoker, which could link to how she lives a very stressful life. Finally, she is shown in the foreground of the Statue of Liberty which could make it seem that she's either well-travelled, or that she wants to be seen by other people. 

• Semantic code- points to any element in a text that suggests a particular, often additional meaning by way of connotation which the story suggests.
• enigma code - The Hermeneutic Code refers to any element of the story that
•  is not fully explained and hence becomes a mystery to the reader.

 

close up 

wide shot 

This wide shot shows the viewer  where about the character is  context and setting is shown in this scene.You can see the sand suburbs in the background.The male figures face is unidentified making the audience question what he is doing in the the middle of nowhere?

midshot 

The wide mid shot here shows the female and male looking rather confused,you can see their surroundings,looking as though they're in a laboratory.Their facial expressions look as though theyve seen something shocking making the audience question what they've seen. Making this scene look dramatic.

extreme close shot

This extreme close shot is a tightly framed shot showing extra detail as you can see the pain and anger this is shown through his squinted eyes and his mouth wide open.This allows the audience to have sympathy towards the character,thus makes it more intense as it seems more realistic,his sweat dripping down his face is emphasizes ,allowing the audience to connect with the man.

diegetic

This is when the character can hear the same thing as the audience.For an example; an aeroplane is flying above the character and they look up, conveying the character can hear the noise as well.

•voices of characters and sounds made by objects in the story 

non diegetic 

This is when the noise doesn't link to the scene. Sound whose source is neither visible on the screen nor has been implied to be present in the action: for an example commentary in the film,the character is un aware of the noise. For example:(Voice overs allow us to see things from a particular character’s point of view),mood music (Certain types of music have become synonymous with particular genres)

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Editing 

action=multiple shots 

•Is multiple cuts to show one continuous action. 

•Match on action is part of invisible editing which creates flow when watching a scene.

•The cuts MATCH together so that the audience know it is one action.

•Shot reverse 

shot is when a shot goes from shot A, shot B, shot A, shot B etc.

•It goes continuously back and forth between the 2 shots to show there is a connection between them

•It is often used in conversations so you see what both characters are saying

•It is a form of eye-line matching if the character is looking at someone and the next shot is what they look at 

continuity editing:cross cutting

•Technique of continuously alternating 2 or more scenes that often happen simultaneously (at same time) but in different locations.

•As they cross, pace gradually gets faster and fast and tension builds

•Often the parallel scenes will intersect to create a climax. 

•B&w –often used to show memory or time period

•Contrast – to altar the lighting (or contrast = very light lights and dark darks sometimes with memories

•Colour  - to add a colour filter to show a specific mood

Example ‘The ring’ – many scenes are very blue-ish, which show sterile/coldness etc.

•Animation – titles of shows or cartoons

•CGI – computer generated images (example = avatar, planet of apes, polar express)

•Fast forward/slow motion – speeding up or slowing down footage 

•Ghost trail – see multiple actions (overlapped) to show someone drunk or on drugs 

•Blur – to show un-clarity, or fuzzy memory/flashback  (bee sting scene – some is blurry when Peeta coming)

Mise en scene 

jungle book 

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•         muted colours 
•         young boy is isolated 
•          peaceful 
•         the black animal is blended in with the setting
•         wide shot 
•         non diegetic music 
•         enigma- don't know for sure if he gets attacked 
• 
•         silent music 
•         panning      
•         non diegetic music 
•         muted colours   
•         sympathy from the audience as the boy is isolated 
•         wide shot 
•          contrast of dark and light

• 
•         Tiger looks angry as it roars 
•         Agressive
•          Muted colours-dark can refer to the anger 
•        wide shot
• 

• 

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•         diegetic sound of the snake hissing 
•            enigma- don't know if the snake is a 
•           Dark imagery and muted colours 
•           young boy is facing away from the audience 
•          Camera zooms into the boy -creates the sense of  danger 
•           snake refers to temptation 
•           The snake played by Scarlett J is represented as being seductive and soothing however he intensions are milieus and sinister.Her being a female tries to fulfil the roll of a innocent,motherly snake as she acknowledges the young bog is all alone and is searching for a parentally figure.
•            Green represents self awareness and jealousy 
•             Evil fairytale imagery- The trees are curved,curling up 

• 
• 
• 
•         serif font
•         dark muted background showing the darkness the young boy is about to go into 
•         The font is a gold colour 
• 
•        close ups on paws 
•         muted colours