GCSE Media Studies 2017 Exam

Transcription

1 GCSE Media Studies 2017 Exam Using this Glossary This glossary of terms is intended for use with the above resources for Unit 1 WJEC Summer 2017 GCSE Media Studies examination, News. Purpose To support your understanding of key terms used in the Student Workbook and in the unit of lessons. Media Term with Explanation and Example Anchorage: In Media studies this is the fixing of meaning. A piece of text [words on a poster] or pairing of images in a product s content that attempts to anchor (i.e. fixes to one understanding) the meaning of an image for an audience. E.g.: Happy upbeat music in the opening credits might help us understand that the programme is a comedy or lighthearted. Ominous music would suggest that the product is something that will be tense or frightening. Think of the music pads used for radio news. Alignment: The way that a media product attempts to position an audience in relation to what they are being shown the deliberate attempt to make us feel about a person, place, object, idea the way that the producer wants us to. E.g.: we may sympathise with a character if we are shown situations from their point of view, if we have shared their suffering. The opening beach sequence from Saving Private Ryan is a good example of Spielberg creating a feeling of understanding in the audience for the horror of war and what these soldiers endured to make the world a better place for us. News stories might in their coverage present a point of view of people in a story that makes us sympathise or be hostile to them stories/images of immigrants in the Daily Mail Anti-hero: An antihero (or anti-heroine) is a central character who lacks conventional heroic qualities such as idealism, courage, or morality. An anti-hero is a flawed hero, and therefore, often is much more interesting than the more traditional heroes. They can be working on the side of good, but with a tragic flaw, or a horrible past, or for reasons that are selfish and not entirely pure. These darker heroes can be jerks, pathetic, hard, jaded, or mean. However, all anti-heroes must have enough heroic qualities and intentions to gain the sympathy of the audience. E.g.: Batman; Riddick; Catwoman; Snake Plisken; Suicide Squad Audience: In media terms there are many types of audience that we might refer to. These might include the size Global-mass-cult-niche or refer to their age and interests demographics and psychographics. Often we use the term target or preferred or primary to indicate the group of people to whom a media product is being marketed. E.g.: the target audience for Call of Duty is predominantly young males. The readership of The Sun is predominantly manual and semi-skilled workers. Binary opposition: The contrast between two mutually exclusive concepts or things that creates conflict and drives a narrative e.g. good/evil, day/night, male/female, presence/absence, old/young. A theory or way of understanding media products devised

2 by Claude Levi Strauss which tries to explore the appeal of media products for audiences and the way that an audience might read meaning into a product or a narrative. Brief: Information provided by an institution or client about the content and purpose of a media product. Often contains details of target audience, intended outcome and desired content and approach. Sometimes a brief will give specific details about the form/platform. Censorship: Control over the content of a media text. Different media forms have different forms of censorship. This might range from the ratings given to films [PG; 15 etc.] or the ratings of computer games or the advisory warnings on some CDs. The purpose is usually stated as to protect what are seen to be vulnerable groups of society [usually the young] from content that might disturb or affect them. E.g.: the British Board of Film Classification. This might be linked into Gatekeeping Theory in news. Convention: The widely recognised way of doing something - this refers to content and form. This constructs expectations among the target audience as what they might expect in a product. E.g.: aliens in a science fiction film; futuristic gleaming cities etc. In a game show this might be the use of a host, the podium for contestants to stand at or the seating of panellists, the presence of an audience etc. Sometimes media producers will manipulate these in unexpected ways to create a product that is unconventional which might develop a new audience for such products. Convergence: The way in which technologies and institutions come together in order to create something new. Cinema is the result of the convergence of photography, moving picture technology and sound. The PS4 allows convergence of gaming, films and music. In news this can be the way that different organisations have a range of products Rupert Murdoch owning Sky and The Sun and The Times. Contemporary: Meaning of the current time, the things that are happening now but also things that were happening at the time a media product was produced. E.g.: When game shows were first introduced in the 1950s the TV audience ideas of what made a game show exciting was the prize at stake, and the idea of what made a good prize was influenced by contemporary ideas of value such as the then desirability of refrigerators, holidays or cars. Cut: The sudden transition from one camera shot or audio sequence to the next. This is the manner used for the linking of most shots in a film or TV programme and the one that we are most accustomed to seeing. See also Dissolve and Fade. Demographics: The study of audiences according to factors such as age and gender that allow an analysis of who they are and attempts to understand and explain which type of audience behaves in which way. This is key for institutions and advertisers in deciding both where and who to market their products to. Diegetic: A way to describe sound in a media product. All sound where the source is clear in the product is said to be diegetic. Where the sound is not in the frame [overlaid music in a chase sequence] it is said to be non-diegetic. Most news sound is diegetic, it is the ambient sound of the environment where the report is recorded. Dissolve: A transition from one shot to another that is gradual and used for effect. The slow transition of the dissolve might enable the audience to better understand a relationship between two characters or two locations or events or it might suggest an

3 emotional response from the audience. It will always allow time for the audience to consider what they have just seen or heard in the previous scene/shot. Dissolves and fades are used to create a specific effect as opposed to the more functional cut. When dissolves or fades are used you should always consider why this choice was made and do the same for your own use of it in your storyboard or script. In radio news the cut is used more than the dissolve in using sound clips in news reports. Edit: The process by which a still image [such as a movie poster or magazine cover] or clip of film or a section of audio is treated to create the intended outcome of the photographer, editor, director, artist, producer etc. who is constructing it This might include cropping, changing the brightness or contrast or using specialized software to add effects. Enigma: A question that is not immediately answered and thus draws an audience into a media product. This might be as simple as a whodunit ion a murder or crime film but might also include puzzles in a trailer or poster. Newspaper photographs or the above the fold blurbs to intrigue the reader to purchase the newspaper. Expectation: Very much linked into convention, the idea that an audience will have pre-knowledge of the kind of experience or pleasures that a media product will offer them. Linked into genre, this allows media producers to market products on linked and shared understandings. E.g.: an audience will know what a horror film is and thus expect it to be scary; a comedy to be funny etc. They would expect a newspaper or radio news [marketed on its format] to be exciting, funny, tense, knowledgeable etc. Format: The way that a media product presents its content to the target audience. It involves a set way of doing things. This might be that in a game show there are set rounds each week or set challenges that contestants have to negotiate to win the prize. It might also be that the host has a role where they act in a certain way [Dara O Brien in Mock The Week; Paddy McGuiness in Take Me Out] or begins the show with a joke with the audience etc. For newspapers and radio it might be the structural layout the front page; the location of the sports section etc. Franchise: Media products based on the same background characters or situations. This might be a simple series of one successful film Fast and Furious is now in its seventh release or it may involve a range of media forms and platforms (Star Wars the films, website, animated adventures, games, toys, etc.; Spiderman - films, games, comic books, clothes, merchandise etc.) Sometimes this may take the form of a spin-off programme such as the CSI series which takes the format or some minor characters and then creates a new series around them. Genre: The linking of media products by a series of common elements or ideas. Horror films share certain similarities in character types and narrative plots. Science fiction share similar ideas about the shape of future worlds. Genres are a marketing invention that aid media producers in identifying profitable markets for their products and allows audiences to make quick decisions about the vast range of products available to consume. These can be narrowed further into sub-genres to allow very specific and targeted marketing. Hammocking: The term used by TV schedulers when a less popular [or new] programme is scheduled to air between two more popular programmes. The idea is that the attraction of the programmes either side will entice viewers to keep on the station and thus watch the hammocked programme that is hung between the two bigger programmes. This gives the hammocked show exposure to a much larger audience than

4 it might otherwise attract by itself and makes it more valuable to advertisers. E.g.: programmes aired between Coronation Street [7 million viewers average] which airs 19:00 till 19:30 and I m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here [ 9 million viewers average] which airs at 20:00. A good example is the placing of Gino s Italian Escape which in August 2016 was hammocked between two episodes of Coronation Street [19:00 19:30 and 20:00 20:30 with Gino s programme aired 7:30 8:00]. Icon: An instantly recognizable actor, character or location or event. E.g.: Batman is an icon; A view of the Staue of Liberty is iconic of New York. Institution: In Media Studies we are concerned with using the meaning of an organization that creates and distributes media products. Ideology: This is a complex concept. In simple terms, for this subject at GCSE it is a set of ideas or beliefs which are held to be acceptable by the creators of a media product. E.g.: A text might be described as having a feminist ideology, meaning it promotes the idea that women are the equal of men and should not be discriminated against on the grounds of gender. Or, on the other hand, it might be criticized [as many action films and game shows are,] for promoting a heavily male dominated narrative with women reduced to minor roles. Narrative: The way in which a story, or sequence of events, is put together within a text. All media texts have some sort of narrative. In the pack we look at the most used theory of film narrative, that of Todorov who saw films as following a basic storyline pattern of: equilibrium - disequilibrium - new equilibrium. Masthead: The title and main details of a newspaper or magazine printed in a fixed position on every product. For newspapers this may include a logo, a mission statement and in some cases details of articles or offers in the newspaper. Mise-en-scene: From the French - everything in the frame - what is included within a particular shot in a film or TV programme. Mise-en- scène is linked to creating a mood in a film and has specific conventions linked to the kind of film its genre. It might be the ominous dark castle in the thunderstorm at night of a horror or the long establishing shot at the start of a sci-fi revealing a distant planet or strange civilization. It is the combination of sound, costume, image, lighting, music that creates the tone and meaning of the sequence as well as establishing the kind of film we are watching. In news this is linked into the way that sound clips and reports convey the idea of the product. News values: A theory developed by Galtung and Ruge, two Scandinavian researchers, who found in an analysis of newspapers from around the world a striking similarity in both the content of news [what was reported] and the prominence given to it [the space and position in newspapers]. These values also operate in radio and TV news and on internet news sites such as Vice. The values include issues of proximity [people like those accessing the news] celebrity [the relative fame of those in the news event] and bad news [tragedy more likely to be reported than good news. Palette: The range of colours used in a film. Often a filmmaker will follow a restricted colour palette to help create an understanding of the films narrative. In Sci-fi this is often a cold palette of blues and greys or one where much of the bright colour has been washed out to give a cold, futuristic alien effect. Sound can fulfil this role too. In newspapers the layout and format of the newspaper uses a range of palettes that are familiar to readers.

5 PoV [point of view]: A first-person camera shot that shows a scene from an individual character s viewpoint. Used to help the audience understand what is happening in a character s head. E.g.: A predator stalking his/her prey is shown as if we are the predator and we watch events unfold from that point of view. Linked with Alignment this helps create a sense of identification or understanding of the character and their motives. Preferred reading: The meaning of a media product which the producers intended. The opposite of preferred reading is aberrant reading, such as when people interpret a product differently to that intended. E.g.: We are meant to see that Marks and Spencer food products are worth the extra money and thus we ourselves are deserving of it. They are advertised as not just chocolates but Marks and Spencer chocolates suggesting that this immediately makes them better and worth the additional cost. Representation: The way in which the media re-presents the world around us in the form of signs and codes for audiences to read. Scheduling: The timing of when programmes air on TV stations. The day and time are key elements in ensuring that the right audience is enabled to watch the show at what is considered the premium time for that genre of show to be viewed. This might include understanding what the competition for the audience is we often hear that Strictly will not be scheduled against X-Factor or The Voice against Britain s Got Talent or the big soaps scheduled at the same time. Strap-line: The line of text on a poster that adds interest and sometimes might create an enigma to help in the marketing of a film. E.g.: In space no-one can hear you scream. In newspapers the teaser for stories inside or the continuation of a front page lead. Storyboard: A visual breakdown of a script often produced by a director in order to demonstrate to a camera operator or production team how a scene is designed to be shot. Often includes elements of mise-en-scène as well as camera movements, types of shot, accompanying sound and other technical information which a camera operator might need. Might also be used during the editing process. Can be very simple or quite complicated, depending on the needs of the production or the team. Usually produced as part of the pre- production process after a script has been produced. Star: A person who has become famous appearing in many sorts of media, whose image is instantly recognisable as a sign, with a whole range of meanings or significations. Often they have celebrity status they are recognizable for things they have done or [sadly] for merely being famous [Big Brother contestants; Kardashians etc] but celebrity does not always mean that someone is a star. Stereotype: Stereotypes are representations of people that rely on ideas about the group that person is perceived as belonging to. It is assumed that an individual shares personal characteristics with other members of that group and thus shares further attributes associated with them. E.g.: blondes are all stupid, people who wear spectacles are clever etc. Sub-genre: A smaller off-shoot of one of the main genre forms. E.g.: In horror the slasher sub-genre; in action films the buddy film etc.

6 Syndication: Media products [usually TV, Radio and print] are licensed to different organisations to be broadcast or printed on their own station. This is seen as cost effective as the stations may not have the means to produce programmes themselves or they are using what is an established product with a known audience. In TV, Game of Thrones is made by HBO who then license it to be shown around the world on other networks. In news, over a hundred local and national commercial radio stations syndicate their news feed from the IRN saving on the cost of employing their own journalists, reporters and editors. Trailer: A short advert made up of edited highlights of the film being promoted, often including a voice-over and giving key information about elements such as stars, genre and release date. A key element here is often the reference to existing or known media products that might attract that audience or the use of enigmas or stars. Viral: The name given to any kind of promotion which spreads in the manner of a virus. Often communicated via word-of-mouth rather than more traditional distribution mechanisms giving the viral an exclusive quality. Users are encouraged to pass on materials by themselves. Increasingly used by film institutions as a means of advertising their film cheaply and with some sort of fashionable or quirky edge to it.