Key Terms Flashcards
ABC Figures
The Audit Bureau of Circulations is responsible for measuring the reach of different media across a range of platforms
Active audience
This describes an audience who responds and interprets the media products in different ways and who actively engages with the messages encoded in the products.
Actively purchased ciruclation
A term used by the industry to describe the copies of a magazine purchased by an individual. This includes single copy purchases, retail sales and subscriptions.
Advertising Campaign
Run by an advertising agency, a campaign incorporates all of the ways in which a product, event or service is promoted to the audience.
Advertising Spots
The spaces in commercial breaks that are sold to advertisers.
Advertorial
An advertisement that is presented in the style of the media product in which it features.
Algorithm
A set of steps or rules that are followed in order to make a calculation, solve a problem or complete a task.
Alley
The space between columns of text.
American Dream
The idea that every American can every equal chances to achieve their aspirations.
Anchorage
The way in which a caption or piece of written text holds or fixes the meaning of an image in place, encouraging the reader to make a preferred reading.
Android
A robot that looks like a human.
Anthology series
A series that is a collection of free-standing episodes - each episode features a completely different set of characters and story.
Artificial Intelligence
The branch of computer science that is concerned with the capacity of machines to simulate human behaviour by carrying out tasks and actions that normally require human decision making.
Aspirational
Aimed at or appealing to people who want to improve how they look, attain a higher social position or have a better standard of living
Audience surrogate
A character within the text that stands in for the audience. They may think as we do, or act as we ourselves might act in the same situation.
Audio streaming
Where listeners can click on a link to play the radio programme instantly.
Augmented reality
Computer-generated content overlaid on real-world environment commonly used in video games.
Avatar
The player’s representation of themselves within the game.
BBC Writers Room
Website that helps you format your script correctly.
Below the line advertising
An advertising strategy in which a product us promoted on platforms other than radio, television, billboards, print and film.
Billing block
A block of text that contains industry information, including actors, directors, producers, crew members, and population and distribution companies.
Binary opposites
When products incorporate examples of opposite values, for example poverty and wealth.
Binary opposition
Occurs when two people, ideas, concepts or values are set up in conflict with one another.
Binge watching
Watching multiple episodes of a television programme in succession.
Biopic
A film about the life of a real person.
Blog
A regularly updated website or web page, usually posted by an individual or small group, written in an informal or conversational style.
Blogger
Someone who engages in blogging, which is the practise of updating or adding material to a blog. The term blog is short for weblog.
Brand
That which identifies one company’s products from those of another. The branding may be clearly identifiable by a name, logo or some other trademark.
Brand ambassador
A person, often a celebrity, who is paid to endorse or promote a particular company’s products or services.
Brand identity
The image that a brand projects and the associations the audience makes with the brand.
Brand recognition
The extent to which a brand can be quickly and easily identified. Brand recognition is often facilitated by visual codes such as logos.
Broadsheet
Describes a larger newspaper that publishes more serious news.
Burden of representation
The idea that when representations of particular social groups are limited, those few representation that do find their way into the media have to carry more weight as they end up standing in for entire groups or communities.
Buzz marketing
Can be simply termed ‘buzz’ and refers to word-of-mouth advertising whereby the interaction of consumers create a positive association, excitement and anticipation about a new product.
Call to action
An instruction that is issued to the audience with the aim of prompting an immediate response - the instruction ‘subscribe now’ or to click on a link, for example.
Canted angle
A shot filmed from an oblique or slanted angle
CAP Code
This is the advertising code that covers non-broadcast media. The Code is written by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and administered by the ASA. Its full title is the ‘UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct and Promotional Advertising’.
Circular narrative
Where the narrative starts at the end and explores the action up to that point. It is sometimes only at the very end of the film or television programme that the narrative makes sense.
Circulation
A count of how many copies of a particular publication are distributed, including subscriptions. Circulation audits are provided by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC)
Classification
A rating given to a film, informing the audience of its suitability according to criteria that include levels of violence, sexual content and use of inappropriate language.
Cliff-hanger
A narrative device that creates suspense. It is typically used at the end of an episode or, in some cases, before an advert break, as its main function is to persuade the viewer to watch the following installment of the programme in order to find out what happens next.
Codes
These are signs contained within a media product that gives clues to a product’s meaning.
Collaboration video
A video that features two or more content creators working together in collaboration.
Colloquialism
An informal expression that is often used in casual conversation rather than in writing. However, it is used in some media products to establish an informal communication with the audience.
Commissioning
To give a programme the go-ahead for production - to ‘greenlight’ it.
Conglomerate
A large organisation that has interests in spanning across a number of different businesses or industries.
Connotation
Refers to meanings we associate with the sign.
Consumable products
These are products that we use regularly and need to be replaced.
Consume
Another way of saying how an audience uses a media product.
Content analysis
A research method that provides quantitative data. It generally involves counting the number of times a particular feature appears in a given context.
Content creators
Those who are involved in creating and sharing content online.
Contexts
The aspects of the environment that surround a product at the time of its creation, distribution, circulation or reception and that may affect its meaning.
Continuity`
When one frame of your storyboard links to the next in a sequence, in order to effectively convey the narrative.
Continuity editing
To combine a series of shots into a sequence to create a clear and continuous narrative that can be understood by the audience.
Contrapuntal
Sound that does not match what is happening on screen.
Convergence
The process through which different media industries and forms merge with one another or move closer together. This process is often facilitated by digital technologies.
Copy
This is the writing on the media product.
Cover lines
The written text that features on the cover of the magazine providing a preview of the content the features inside.
Cross-platform marketing
When one form is advertised on another media platform.
CPRG
Computer role-playing game
Cultural competences
Within a media context, this concept suggests that the cultural competence of an audience is the shared knowledge, related to heir cultural understanding, of that audience, which means that they will take a particular pleasure from a media product.
Decoding
The process through which an audience interprets a message
Demographic profiling
A way of categorizing audiences by dividing consumers into groups based on age, sex, income, education, occupation, household size, marital status, home ownership or other factors. This information is of use to some media industries.
Denotation
The literal or common-sense meaning of a sign rather than the associated meaning of the sign.
Desensitization
This is a psychological process which suggests that audiences who are exposed regularly to acts of violence through films and video games, for example, are increasingly less likely to feel empathy or concern when exposed to violence, bad language or other forms of aggressive behavior.
