Keywords Flashcards
(64 cards)
ACTION CODE
Something that happens in the narrative that tells the audience that some action will follow, for example in a scene form a soap opera, a couple are intimate in a bedroom and the camera shows the audiences the husbands car pulling up at the front of the house
ACTIVE AUDIENCE
Audiences actively engage in selecting media products to consume and interpreting meanings
ANCHORAGE
The words that accompany an image (still or moving) contribute
to the meaning associated with that image. If the caption or voice-over is changed then so may the way in which the
audience interprets the image. An image with an anchor is a
closed text; the audience are given a preferred reading. 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,
e.g. through the use of stars, familiar genre conventions etc.
ARC OF TRANSFORMATION
The emotional changes a character goes through in the
process of the narrative. The events in the story mean that they
will ‘transform’ by the end of the story.
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
AUDIENCE CATEGORISATION
How media producers group audiences (e.g. by age, gender
ethnicity) to target their products.
ATTRACT
How media producers create appeal to audiences to encourage
them to consume the product.
AUDIENCE CONSUMPTION
The way in which audiences engage with media products (e.g.
viewing a TV programme, playing a video game, reading a blog
or magazine). Methods of consumption have changed
significantly due to the development of digital technologies
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. For
example, audiences may be positioned with a particular
character or positioned to adopt a specific ideological
perspective.
AUDIENCE RESPONSE
How audiences react to media products e.g. 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. This makes it difficult for
one programme to attract a large target audience.
AUDIO
Where a target audience is divided up due to the diversity and
range of programmes and channels. This makes it difficult for
one programme to attract a large target audience.
AVATAR
A player’s 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. It is a device that gives the audience
more information and makes the main story more credible.
BINARY OPPOSITES
Where texts incorporate examples of opposite values; for
example, good versus evil, villain versus hero. These can be
apparent in the characters, narrative or themes.
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
CAMERA ANGLES
CAMERA SHOTS
CAPTION
CHANNEL IDENTITY
CIRCULATION
