Eduqas Glossary Flashcards
Action code
Something that happens in the narrative that tells the audience that some action will follow.
Active audience
Audiences actively engage in selecting media products to consume and interpreting their meanings.
Anchorage
The words that accompany an image (still or moving) contribute to the meaning associated with that image.
- A text without an anchor is an open text as the audience can interpret it as they wish.
Appeal
The way in which products attract and interest an audience
Arc of transformation
The emotional changes a character goes through in the process of the narrative.
Aspirational?
In terms of a media text, one that encourages the audience to want more money, up-market consumer items and a higher social position.
Attract
How media producers create appeal to audiences to encourage them to consume the product
Audience categorisation
How media producers group audiences to target their products.
Audience consumption
The way in which audiences engage with media products eg. viewing a TV programmed, playing a video game.
Audience interpretation
The way in which audiences ‘read’ the meanings in, and make sense of, media products
Audience positioning
The way in which media products place audiences (literally or metaphorically) in relation to a particular point of view.
Audience response
How audiences react to media products, eg by accepting the intended meanings (preferred reading)
Audience segmentation
Where a target audience is divided up due to the diversity and range of programmes and channels.
Audio
How sound is used to communicate meanings - voice over, dialogue, music, SFX, etc.
Avatar
A players representation of themselves within a game
Back story
Part of a narrative which may be the experiences of a character or the circumstances of an event that occur before the action or narrative of a media text.
Binary opposites
When texts incorporate examples of opposite values (good vs evil)
Brand identity
The association the audience make with the brand, for example Chanel or Nike, built up over time and reinforced by the advertising campaigns and their placement.
Broadsheet
A larger newspaper that publishes more serious news, for example The Daily Telegraph.
Camera angles
The angle of the camera in relation to the subject. (eg a high angle shot may make subject appear more vulnerable)
Camera shots
The type of shot and framing in relation to the subject, eg close up shots often used to express emotion.
Caption
Words that accompany an image that help to explain its meaning.
Channel identity
That which makes the channel recognisable to audiences and different from any other channel. Presenters, stars, programme genres all contribute to a channel’s identity.
Circulation
The reach of media products to audiences/users - the method will depend on the media form.
Connotation
The suggested meanings attached to a sign
Conventions
What the audience expects to see in a particular media text.
Convergence
The coming together of previously separate media industries and/or platforms; often the result of advances in technology when one devices contains a range of different features.
Cover lines
These suggest the content to the reader and often contain teasers and rhetorical questions. These relate to the genre of the magazine
Cross platform marketing
In media terms, a text that is distributed and exhibited across a range of media formats or platforms. (films, tv, print, radio and the internet)
Cultural capital
The media tastes and preferences of an audience, traditionally linked to social class/background.
Demographic category
A group in which consumers are placed according to their age, sex, income, profession, etc.
Denotation
The literal meaning of a sign
Diegetic sound
Sound that comes from the fictional world, for example the sound of a gun firing, the cereal being poured into the bowl in an advert.
Discourse
The topics, language and meanings or values behind them within a media text. The discourse of lifestyle magazines for example, tends to revolve around body image.
Distribution
The methods by which media products are delivered to audiences, including the marketing campaign. These methods will depend upon the product.
Diversification
Where media organisations who have specialised in producing media products in one form move into producing content across a range of forms.
Editing
The way in which the shots move from one to the other (transitions) eg fade cut, jump cut etc.
Encoding and decoding
Media producers encode messages and meaning sin products that are decoded, or interpreting, by audiences.
Enigma code
A narrative device which increases tension and audience interest by only releasing bits of information.
Equilibrium
In relation to narrative, a state of balance or stability (in Todorov’s theory the equilibrium is disrupted and ultimately restored)
Ethnocentric
A belief in the superiority of one’s own ethnic group or culture.
Ethos
The beliefs, value and customs of, for example, media organisations.
Afrofuturism
A movement in literature, music, art, etc, featuring futuristic or science fiction themes which incorporate elements of black history and culture.
Fan
An enthusiast or aficionado a particular media form or product
Feature
In magazine terms, the main, or one of the main, stories in an edition. Generally located in the middle of the magazine, and cover more than one or two pages.
Flexi narrative
A more complex narrative structure with layers of interweaving story lines. This challenges the audience and keeps them watching.
Four Cs
Cross Cultural Consumer Characteristics and was a way of catergorising consumers through their motivational needs. The main groups were Mainstreamers, Aspirers, Explorers, Succeeders and Reformers.
