The TV drama clip ‘The Fear’ can be used to construct representation of social class using the following components: camera shots, editing, mise-en-scene and sound

During the extract, the social class is shown throughout the clip using four different components. The extract begins with the camera moving about from left to right, in the direction of the two characters, the camera uses a tracking movement. This camera movement has been used to show the audience the setting in which the clip is based in, the camera moves from left to right, rather than focusing on one thing i.e. the character or a particular prop. A long shot has been used by the camera which is quite effective for the audience as it shows them the ‘posh’ type room in which the clip has been set. These camera shots and angles are used so that the audience can identify the characters and the setting at once. It is obvious that social class is portrayed in the scene as the camera uses many angles to show the type of room the characters are in, as it has lavish furniture and large windows at the end of the room in which you can identify a large acre of land which can suggest that the doctors surgery and the people that work there are high class.

The sound in the clip also shows social class, this is because the first male character that appears in the clip (Richie) uses dialogue to the lady receptionist but talks down to her and it comes across as if he is belittling her, which suggests that he possesses more power than her, also because he is a man, he may feel that he has the right to talk down to her, although he is most probably the same class as the receptionist. He says “Looking for doctor Whiting” and by him speaking in a demanding and patronizing tone, makes Richie seem like a powerful and higher class character. The receptionist replies to Richie by saying, “Do you have an appointment” in a softer tone than Richie, but also comes across quite stern. This makes her look as if she is trying to show she is more powerful than him, because she may feel that she is higher class than him or that she does not wish to be spoken down to. As there is not any non-digetic sound and there is just dialogue, it builds tension when the doctor’ receptionist rebels against Richie. More dialogue is used when Ritchie replies, “Just tell him its Richie”. The receptionist replied to the patient again by replying “I’m afraid doctor Whiting can’t see anyone without an appointment” and then pauses to let Richie think but then adds “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to remove your car”. This shows representation of class because the woman who is the higher class is more dominating and demanding, even though at the beginning of the clip, the male character seems more powerful than her. However, by the receptionist telling Richie to move his car, this makes her seem demanding and as if she is now talking down to him.

Editing has also been used in the extract to represent social class. An example of editing that has been used is when the camera movement moves back to the very first tracking to view the whole reception room again. The camera shot of Richie’s close up shot of his face has been edited and has been cut into a long shot. This goes from making Richie look powerful to looking smaller which suggests he may not be higher class. The next shot that is shown of Richie is the close up in the doctor’s room. This editing cut has been done from one long shot to a close up to show his facial expression. Due to Richie’s personality comes across to the audience as aggressive and patronising, it shows that he is not from a very posh or formal background unlike the receptionist who uses a formal tone of voice and vocabulary and also Doctor Whiting who is also formal and seems very dedicated and passionate about his job as a Doctor. You can see this from listening to the dialogue “What do you want Richie?” This dialogue shows that the Doctor thinks Richie must be ‘messing him around’ and wasting his time by joking about. It represents class because the Doctor is clearly from a higher class than Richie and is looking down onto Ritchie who seems to be upsetting or annoying people in the reception area.

Mise-en-scene in both scenes has been portrayed to represent social class because in the reception area and then into the doctor’s room both show representation of class. The reception area is very large, with props used to show that the doctors is for higher class people as the furniture is very posh, such as the couch and the receptionist’s large, wooden desk. The receptionist’s costume is also very smart and formal, much more formal than an ordinary, middle class’ receptionist’s clothes. Even though Richie is in a suit and comes across as quite formal from his costume, the way he presents himself by picking up the prop, a computer keyboard and almost hits the receptionist with it, he comes across as intimidating and violent. This makes Richie look like he is from a high class by being demanding to the receptionist and coming across as powerful. After Doctor Whiting comes to see what the fuss was bout, he sees Richie at reception and caught him with the keyboard prop in his hand and about to swing at the woman.

Overall, social class has been represented in this clip by the use of sound, Mise-en-scene, editing and camera shots. Camera shots and angles are effective by making the character look more or less powerful which can represent their class type and the higher class looking powerful. The sound and dialogue plays a big part in the clip because the tone of voice i.e. the formal language or tone they use can make them seem high class because of their background and the way they have been brought up makes them speak in a different way to those who are from a middle class background. 

Textual Analysis

• -representation is linked to economic forces
• -representation is shaped by technology, which is described as a fragmented audience

• textual analysis is an advanced form of media literacy and a basic level of it allows somebody to understand the narrative of a tv drama and to make criticisms in relation to other programmes

• For us to deconstruct a tv drama we need to know how its been put together and to do this we need to work at micro and macro levels of the text

• micro level means pulling apart aspects of the texts frame by frame construction

• frame construction includes camera angles and the movement, shot types, editing transitions music/sound effects and mise-en-scene (lighting choices, props and costumes)

• To work at macro level it means drawing up conclusions from micro work about how the sequence represents themes and people

• also witness the interpretations that viewers will create

Representation 

• when people say did you watch the game last night?' you would say yes but strictly speaking your not..because your are really watching a meditated constructed re-presentation of the match

Metaphor

• Gauntlett (2007 developed a research method using lego, he asked people to make a metaphorical model with the lego so it represents their identity, he didn't expect them to make models that resemble them so that way he can get a better sense of how people see themselves and present them

Verisimilitude

• when we look at how a media text represents the world we are usually concerned with the representation of age, gender, ethnicity social groups, places and themes

• to explore representation in a tv/radio drama we will be asking

• What kind of realism is being attempted by the programme, who is being represented in the drama, who is not being represented and why, whether we can identify any stereotypical characters, is there a dominant view of the world that has been represented and what different responses might the audience members make to the representations.

Representational codes

• 'Life On Mars' is a good example of a tv drama that is rich with representational codes. the drama depends on the juxtaposition. Without the audiences complicity in understand the contrast the text is meaningless.

Chapter 2.1- TV drama

• British TV still attracts huge viewing audiences and many of the shows are watched as one off peak time broadcasts
• drama series has huge potential to produce ongoing revenue through sales to other countries and channels as well as DVD sales, but 'propor TV drama' brings prestige to institutions that attempt to make it
• but british TV drama is no longer as big as it was

• Connolly concludes that while British TV drama is now something of a poor relation in comparison to the america producer, it is still a fairly healthy state
• camera shots- establishing shot, master shot, close up, mid-shot, long shot, wise shot, two shot, aerial shot, point of view shot and over the shoulder shot

• camera angles- high, low and canted angle

• camera movement- pan,tilt, track,dolly,crane, steadicam, hand-held, zoom, reverse zoom

• camera composition- framing, rule of thirds, depth of field, deep and shallow focus, focus pulls

• editing- transition of image and sound, continuity and non systems, cutting, shot/reverse shot, eyeline match, graphic match, action match, jump cut cross cutting, parallel, editing, cutaway, insert, dissolve, fade in and out, wipe, superimposition, long take, short take, slow motion, ellipsis and expansion of time

• sound-diegetic, non, synchronous, sound effects, sound motif, sound bridge, dialogue, voiceover, model of address, sound mixing, sound perspective, soundtrack, score, incidental music themes, ambient sound

• Mise-en-scene- production design, location, studio, set design, costume and makeup, properties, lighting, colour design

Background to TV drama

there are different types of tv drama that have different conventions

• teen dramas
• soap operatas
• costume dramas
• medical/hospital dramas
• police/crime dramas
• docu dramas

Teen dramas

• it is a broad sub-genre, generally these are concerned with striking an entertaining balance between social issues that are of concern of the target audience, and creating an attractive representational range of recognisable character types. But the other issue of it is should kids copy the negative behaviour they see?

Examples of teen dramas such as 'grange hill' can be views as a social document that represents a range of social changes.

• teen dramas are unlike the rest of our examples as they do not set out to appeal to such a broad audience

Soap operas

• the soap opera format can be a area of study in its own right and can be the important interplay is between the micro and the macro elements of textual analysis.

• soap operates rely on intertexual or extra textual meanings. However soap trailers have become increasingly sophisticated.

• terms of popularity we need to consider whether the reason for the longevity of the pleasure offered by these texts is to do with representation

Period dramas

• not all of them are literacy adaptation but they do account for a substantial part of the sub-genre.

• period drama is expensive to produce because of the high demands and fees earned by the kinds of acting personnel expected by the audience.we can say that they tend to be more 'filmic' in quality and that those that are based on literature will represent people and issues largely in keeping with the original novel or play

Hospital dramas

• they balance two different narrative themes; public health and the treatment of illness and workplace interactions and relationship, this shares many conventions with soap operas

• they feature a range of character types that are referred to as stereotypes

Crime dramas

• there are 2 kinds; one off crime tends to focus on the kinds of crime that create the most anxiety among the viewing public and long running tv crime dramas will have a variety of sub-plots over time that build up sustained audience interest, each one will have its own unique representational aspects that are not directly related to the crime being investigated

• media representations of crime normally set up 5 key binaries

• crime/the police, criminals/the justice system, lawyers versus courts, social workers versus the police and victims versus the public, each one can be analysed using this system to get a sense of how each programme represents crime and law differently

Discuss the ways in which the extract uses camera shots, editing, sound and mise-en-scene to construct representations if teenagers/generations

In the clip of ‘Some Girls’ teenagers are represented in different ways using camera shots, editing, sound and mise-en-scene.

Firstly, at the start of the clip, a theme song and montage is played, as any other television series would have. The montage is used to show short frames that slide across (a wipe) of the four main teenage girls being typical teenagers. Camera shots are used to construct representations of this. The very first slide is of one of the girls talking on her mobile phone and making a ‘stroppy’ facial expression, this is showing a stereotypical teenager which is what this series is all about. The camera shot shows a close-up of the teenager on her phone to show the audience her facial expression and the fact that she is using her mobile phone. Towards the end of the montage an extreme close up is used to show the same girl putting on her makeup before school. We can identify that is she is going to school because she is in her uniform. This constructs a representation of teenagers because many stereotypical teenage girls of today are now seen with lots of makeup on and ‘re-designing’ their school uniform by wearing short skirts, knee-length socks, short ties and their own cardigan or jumper over the top. Therefore, the audience would know that from seeing the girl who is applying makeup before school is just a stereotypical teenage girl. At the end of the montage, one of the girls is shown on camera walking out of the estate she lives on to get to school. Two boys not in uniform are shown pushing around a shopping trolley and one of them falling out of it, a wide shot is used to show this and how they are being typical teenage boys as they are behaving badly in public and not in uniform, this could be showing that they are not going to school meaning they may have been expelled or are too misbehaved for school. This constructs a representation of typical teenagers.

Secondly, I looked at types of sounds that was used in the extract to construct representations of teenagers. A lot of non-digetic sound is used throughout the episode of ‘Some Girls’. Throughout the montage at the start of the episode, the frames of the 4 main characters are being shown being ‘typical’ teenagers, sound is played over the top and their voices and sounds have been cut out (non-digetic sound) whilst the theme song is being played, which is a funky, girly, modern type of music which relates well to the series. This type of music constructs representations of teenagers, as anyone who was to only listen to the music would know that the episode would be about young/teenage girls. A series that is about crime would most probably have a theme song at the start that is quite tense and dark to relate to the series. Once the montage at the beginning ends, the music is still playing but behind the sound of the actors speaking (digetic sound). The start of the episode is quite happy and fun, we can see this because one of the main characters of the series is riding her bike in her school uniform and smiling whilst incidental music is used to enhance this particular atmosphere which is happy. The sounds/music that is used throughout the episode is very girly and ‘funky’ which constructs representation of teenagers because the music relates directly to the episodes storyline which is about teenage schoolgirls.

Thirdly, the editing of the extract gives a construction of teenagers through use of fast editing and slow motion shots. The extract begins with a montage in which different frames use a wipe effect to show shots of the four main characters. The montage is very important to the whole episode because this is where the audience can gain an impression of what sort of characters the actors play. The montage is played at the start of every episode and uses short frames to show clips of the characters, which is where the construction of teenagers are shown the most. A key example of this is when the four main characters are shown dancing around in a bedroom but has been edited to be played in slow motion. The slow motion has been used to show the facial expressions that the teenage girls have at this point and to also show their clothing, which can actually determine what sort of character they are and to most importantly construct the representation of a typical teenage girl.  In this part of the extract, all girls are seen smiling and jumping around together looking into the cameras direction. The slow motion edit has been used to show what the girls are wearing. They are wearing their school uniform, and as I previously discussed, it has been re-styled to make it their own. The ‘slow-mo’ effect allows us to identify that their school ties are very short, one of the girls is shown with their own cardigan and they are all clearly wearing a lot of make up. When a wipe effect has been used to switch to this slow motion effect, it is to clearly show the audience how they are presenting their idea of teenagers.

Lastly, mise-en-scene is also another component which is used in the extract to construct a representation of teenagers as it shows the different characters and their environments and when they are out of those environments. For example, when in the montage the four girls are showing dancing and jumping around in one of the girl’s bedroom, the audience will quickly be able to identify that it is a very girly, teenage bedroom due to the bright pink walls and slight ‘clutter’ over the floor. This has been constructed to represent a typical teenager as they are stereotypically known to be quite messy, but also the bright pink walls shows us that it is a very girly, young adults bedroom. Mise-en-scene is used to represent teenagers outside of their environment too. An example of this is right at the end of the montage when the four girls are shown with their backs to the camera walking together by a parade of shops, this constructs a representation of teenage girls because it shows that they are in quite an urban area and stereotypical teenagers are often found ‘hanging around’ the local shops. One of the girls on the far right of this clip is shown walking with a bicycle, this can also be constructing a representation of teenagers because the four of them are shown walking with one walking along side their bike meaning that they do not drive as not as many older people would be seen walking in a big group or riding a bike.

In conclusion, the representation of teenagers in the extract is constructed through the use of close-up camera shots, and also slow motion editing to allow us to identify what sort of teenagers and characters they are. Moreover sound is used to create a ‘funky’ and ‘girly’ representation and one of the most important components, mise-en-scene which is used to represent the teenage girls inside and outside of their environments to allow us to decide what sort of representation they are trying to create.  

Media essay question

Discuss the ways in which the extract uses camera shots, editing, sound and mise-en-scene to construct representations of relationship

The ways in which the clip ‘Cutting It’ constructs representation of relationship is by using camera shots, editing, sound and mise-en-scene.

The clip constructs representation of relationship by using a selection of camera shots such as an extreme close-up, close-up and cut-ins. At the start of the clip the clip the newly wed husband and wife Allie and Gavin are in a London taxi. They seem very close in this part of the clip as they are holding hands, the camera uses a cut-in to show both the Allie and Gavin holding hands in the taxi and you can see Allie is wearing her wedding ring. The camera uses a cut-in to show that this is important so that the audience can understand that their relationship plays a big part in this scene.

Another camera shot that is used to construct representations of relationship is when the camera is filming over the top of the husband and wife’s bodies lying on the pavement together at the end of the scene. This camera angle/shot is used to show both Allie and Gavin lying closely together staring into each others eyes as the camera slowly zooms out to show this. This constructs representation of relationship as the audience can clearly see they are in love or at least a very happy couple. If the camera angle was to be filmed on the side of one of the characters, the audience would not be able to get a full view of how the couple are lying next to each other and we would not be able to recognise that they are in a relationship or in love. Therefore this is why this particular angle is used, so that we can recognise that Allie and Gavin are close together and staring at one another. 

Not only are camera shots used to construct a representation of relationship but also sound is used to represent this. Towards the end of the scene when Allie had been knocked over by a passing bus, Gavin who is across the road who watched this happen stared at her in shock, unsure what he should do. As he is about to run across the busy road, the sound of a heartbeat is played loudly in the background of the scene to add effect. This represents that he is scared and anxious, but also because it is the sound of a heartbeat this could be representing love, which constructs the representation of the relationship he has with Allie who is lying on the pavement across the road. If no sound was to be played at this time, the audience may not know what his emotions were as he does not speak or a make a sound when his wife is knocked over. Therefore, by having this particular sound effect, it adds emphasis and tension to the scene, but because it is the sound of a beating heart, this can be seen as representing the relationship that Gavin has with his wife Allie.

In this particular scene of ‘Cutting It’ many different components are used to construct different representations, one of the main components being mise-en-scene. Mise-en-scene is shown to represent relationship in this scene especially at the end when the husband and wife are lying down on the pavement with flowers scattered over the pavement from where they had fallen over near where they were lying together. This is quite ironic seeing as they are both laying closely together on the pavement after Allie had been knocked over and seeing that there are flowers scattered around them this could be seen as romantic. Another way in which mise-en-scene has been used to construct the representation of relationship between Allie and Gavin is when they are both in the taxi (which I previously discussed about camera shots) and Allie takes hold of Gavin’s hand and holds it tight, which is clearly representing that they are in a relationship. They are also sitting very closely together in the taxi which represents that they may have a close relationship, this clearly shows that they have a good and close relationship.

Editing is also a component used to construct the representation of a relationship between the couple. One type of editing used in the scene to show a relationship is when Allie is shown in the hospital with her consultant but no sound is made a part from slow, sad music. Gavin is then shown waiting outside across the road, and the camera goes back and forth showing Allie again in the room with her consultant whilst music is being played. The sad music that is being played over the sound of the cars going past where Gavin is and the sound of the voices where Allie is, could show that because they are both a part from each other that they may feel quite sad as they come across as inseperable when they are in the taxi at the start of the scene. If happy music was to be played at this point of the scene when they are both a part, the audience may get the wrong message.

In conclusion, camera shots, editing, sound and mise-en-scene are all used to construct the representation of a relationship between the man and woman in this clip, as it shows that they are very close and loving towards each other. Particular camera shots and angles are used to show this, as well as editing, sound and mise-en-scene which clearly show that they are very much in love and happy together which is representing that they are in a good relationship. If any of these components were used in the wrong way, the audience may get a different message to what the director is intending to get across to them, therefore they are used very accurately to show Allie and Gavin’s relationship.

Task 7

Develop a pitch for your own TV drama, specifying plot, setting, characters/actors

Setting: small, village neighbourhood, set in modern time (2012)

   Characters:

   Pat (67) - Librarian 

   Owen (34) - Butcher

   Kelly (14) - Student of local high school 

   Eddy (40) - Kelly's father

   Caroline (38) - Kelly's mother

   

   Plot: Caroline is having an affair with Owen and is caught by Pat. Pat is a good family friend of Caroline and Eddy, she is unsure whether to tell Eddy that she has seen Caroline with Owen. Pat, months later decides to pluck up the courage and tell Eddy what has happened. He strangely takes it very well and says to Pat that he will handle the situation and thanks her for telling him. 

     Pat is in shock but feels like a huge weight has been lifted. On her way home from telling Eddy at his house, she walks through the dark village streets, she discovers Owen, dead. She knows it couldn't have been Eddy who killed Owen, as he was at home with Pat when she was telling him the horrible news. So who was the murderer?

   

Task 2

What proportion of the Television Schedules are Drama?

About a quarter of the Television Schedules are Drama TV Shows. Between 12:00am and 9:00am, most Televisions Schedule important or reality-based shows including the News, things like Masterchef, Rip off Britain, The Jeremy Kyle Show and even Countdown. They mostly schedule repeats or missable shows because most people are asleep and will not be watching the TV at this point in the day. Then, from 9:00am to 3:00pm, 'Daytime TV' takes up most of the schedule, these shows are also relatively unimportant, they include things like Homes under the Hammer, This Morning and Loose Women. Between 3:00pm and 6:00pm, Children's Television and Family friendly shows are shown, this is because people are starting to return to their houses from work and school. These are shows that will probably be on the TV when dinner is served or when Children do their Homework. Lastly, and most importantly, between 6:00pm and 12:00am, Drama is scheduled. Shows like Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Eastenders start at this approximate time. Then throughout the Evening, more adult shows are broadcast, and later even programmes that may be rude or with bad language.

Task 5

Selection of stills from TV dramas demonstrating the range of shot types

Very Wide Shot (VWS) Very Wide Shot is used to show a large environment without showing us too much or too little, it shows what is necessary but also makes it more realistic. In this example, Lola is at the front door but the VWS is used to show what is around her to hopefully give the audience an idea of where she is. The type of social group represented is middle class, as you can see the girl is wearing a jumper and the house she is standing near looks slightly shabby and not too modern.

Over-the-shoulder shot (OSS) This shot is used to show that their is a conversation going on often between two people which is shown in the clip on the left. This particular shot is used to portray the Point of View of the subject without actually taking them out of shot. (Clip from New Tricks)

Close up (CU) This is used to show facial expression, the character is on the phone and is obviously being told something important or is having an important conversation. The shot is accompanied with a zoom In to make it more dramatic for the audience. (Clip from Haunted)

Cut-In - Cut-In is used to show something relating to the situation within the scene or some other part of the subject in detail. It is useful as it gives the viewer something to look at other than characters or settings. In this clip, legs are shown walking down the stairs, this could be because the director may want the audience to think about who the character is by showing a part of their body to make them guess, the camera then zooms out to show who.

Two-Shot - Two Shot is used to show two people in the frame, they are usually talking, arguing etc. Here in this clip, it seems that there is an intense conversation between both the girl and the boy as you can see they have very serious facial expressions. Two-shot is often zoomed into the characters faces or from the chest up.

Mid-shot (MS) Mid Shot is used to show the subject without much detail. Character's face can be seen and character's body can be seen, this is so the audience can see the subject, but not to the extreme of their whole body or just their face. Here in this clip, most of their body is shown but not to the point where every detail is on show, as the audience can see what is around them rather than just looking at their faces.

Wide Shot (WS) Wide Shot is used to show a large area, but not a very large area. The whole of the subject can be seen as well as the environment he is standing in. Here, 5 characters are shown, only parts of their bodies are shown and you cannot see all of their faces. You can see that they are outside as there is a police care and a fence. In this clip, the police car and police officers would be the most important part of the scene as it would be quite serious, because a the police officers would mean that there has been a crime

Cutaway (CA) Cutaway is used to show something other than the characters already on screen. It can be something related to the scene or something completely unimportant. In this example, the 5 people standing outside the pub looking at the Taxi have nothing to do with the main part of the story, they are just passers-by on the streets, you can see this as two people are walking by, the three other people have stopped to look at what is going on by the taxi. They all look about middle-class type as they are wearing jeans, jackets (nothing posh) just normal outdoor clothing.

Sound Glossary

Diegetic sound – sound that comes from a person or object in the diegesis (the world of the story) and seen within the field of vision.

Non-diegetic sound – sound that comes from nothing within the field of vision and has been added afterwards in the editing process. The clearest examples of this are soundtrack music or voiceover.

Soundtrack – a recording of the musical accompaniments to a movie.

Theme – The subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person's thoughts, or an exhibition; a topic

Tune – A melody, esp. one that characterizes a certain piece of music

Incidental music – Music used in a film or play as a background to create or enhance a particular atmosphere

Sound effects (FX) – A sound other than speech or music made artificially for use in a play, movie, or other broadcast production

Ambient sound – In atmospheric sounding and noise pollution, ambient noise level (sometimes called background noise level, reference sound level, or room noise level) is the sound pressure level at a given location, normally specified as a reference level to study a new intrusive sound source.

Dialogue – Conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or movie

Voiceover - Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice that is not part of the narrative (non-diegetic) is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations.

Sources: http://www.slideshare.net/raybloggs/glossary-of-sound-terms-for-tv-drama and Google web definitions

Task 6 Continued...

Camera Shot Types Terminology

EWS (Extreme Wide Shot)
The view is so far from the subject that he isn't even visible. Often used as an establishing shot.

VWS (Very Wide Shot)
The subject is visible (barely), but the emphasis is still on placing him in his environment.

WS (Wide Shot)
The subject takes up the full frame, or at least as much as comfortably possible.
AKA: long shot, full shot.

MS (Mid Shot)
Shows some part of the subject in more detail while still giving an impression of the whole subject.

MCU (Medium Close Up)
Half way between a MS and a CU.

CU (Close Up)
A certain feature or part of the subject takes up the whole frame.

ECU (Extreme Close Up)
The ECU gets right in and shows extreme detail.
Variation: Choker

Cut-In
Shows some (other) part of the subject in detail.

CA (Cutaway)
A shot of something other than the subject.

Two-Shot
A shot of two people, framed similarly to a mid shot.

(OSS) Over-the-Shoulder Shot
Looking from behind a person at the subject.

Noddy Shot
Usually refers to a shot of the interviewer listening and reacting to the subject.

Point-of-View Shot (POV)
Shows a view from the subject's perspective.

Weather Shot
The subject is the weather. Can be used for other purposes, e.g. background for graphics.

Task 6

Terminology

Audience – viewers, listeners and readers of a media text. A lot of media studies is concerned with how audience use texts and the effects a text may have on them. Also identified in demographic  socio-economic categories.

Code – a sign or convention through which the media communicates meaning to us because we have learned to read it. Technical codes – all to do with the way a text is technically constructed – camera angles, framing, typography, lighting etc. Visual codes – codes that are decoded on a mainly connotational level – things that draw on our experience and understanding of other media texts, this includes Iconography – which is concerned with the use of visual images and how they trigger the audiences expectations of a particular genre, such as a knife in slasher horror films.

Consumer – purchaser, listener, viewer or reader of media products.

Context – time, place or mindset in which we consume media products.

Conventions – the widely recognised way of doing things in particular genre.

Denotation – the everyday or common sense meaning of a sign. Connotation – the secondary meaning that a sign carries in addition to it’s everyday meaning.

Diegetic Sound – Sound whose source is visible on the screen Non Diegetic sound – Sound effects, music or narration which is added afterwards

Enigma – A question in a text that is not immediately answered and creates interest for the audience – a puzzle that the audience has to solve.

Feminism – the struggle by women to obtain equal rights in society

Genre – the type or category of a media text, according to its form, style and content.

Ideology – A set of ideas or beliefs which are held to be acceptable by the creators of the media text, maybe in line with those of the dominant ruling social groups in society, or alternative ideologies such as feminist ideology.

Indexical sign – a sign which has a direct relationship with something it signifies, such as smoke signifies fire.

Image – a visual representation of something.

Institutions – The organisations which produce and control media texts such as the BBC, AOL Time Warner, News International.

Media language – the means by which the media communicates to us and the forms and conventions by which it does so.

Media product – a text that has been designed to be consumed by an audience. E.G a film, radio show, newspaper etc.

Media text – see above. N.B Text usually means a piece of writing

Mise en Scene – literally ‘what’s in the shot’ everything that appears on the screen in a single frame and how this helps the audience to decode what’s going on.

Montage – putting together of visual images to form a sequence. Made famous by Russian film maker Eisenstein in his famous film Battleship Potemkin.

Multi-media – computer technology that allows text, sound, graphic and video images to be combined into one programme.

Narrative code – The way a story is put together within a text, traditionally equilibrium- disequilibrium, new equilibrium, but some text are fractured or non liner, eg Pulp Fiction.

News values – factors that influence whether a story will be picked for coverage.

Non-verbal communication – communication between people other than by speech.

Ownership – who produces and distributes the media texts – and whose interest it is.

Patriarchy – The structural, systematic and historical domination and exploitation of women.

Popular Culture – the study of cultural artefacts of the mass media such as cinema, TV, advertising.

Post Modernism – Anything that challenges the traditional way of doing things, rejecting boundaries between high and low forms of art, rejecting rigid genre distinctions, emphasizing pastiche, parody, intertextuality, irony, and playfulness. Postmodernism favours reflexivity and self-consciousness, fragmentation and discontinuity (especially in narrative structures), ambiguity, simultaneity, and an emphasis on the destructured, decentered, dehumanized subjects! This is tricky!

Propaganda – the way ruling classes use the mass media to control or alter the attitudes of others.

Reader – a member of the audience, someone who is actively responding to the text.

Regulation – bodies whose job it is to see that media texts are not seen by the wrong audience (eg British Board of Film Censors) or are fair and honest (EG Advertising Standards Association)

Representation – The way in which the media ‘re-presents’ the world around us in the form of signs and codes for audiences to read.

SFX – special effects or devices to create visual illusions.

Shot – single image taken by a camera.

Sign – a word or image that is used to represent an object or idea.

Signifier/Signified – the ‘thing’ that conveys the meaning, and the meaning conveyed. EG a red rose is a signifier, the signified is love (or the Labour Party!)

Sound Effects – additional sounds other than dialogue or music, designed to add realism or atmosphere.

Stereotype – representation of people or groups of people by a few characteristics eg hoodies, blondes

Still – static image.

Sub-genre – a genre within a genre.

Uses and Gratifications – ideas about how people use the media and what gratification they get from it. It assumes that members of the audience are not passive but take an active role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives.