Media Language Flashcards
Analepsis
flash backs
Anchorage
the text-based element that stabilises the polysenic nature of the text
Auteur
a media creative who has an identifiable style or approach that is visible across the products they make or feature in. Actors, directors and sound composers could be auteurs
Auteur Effects
argues that genre subversion is often caused by the effects that key contributors have in production (directors, actors and so on). Auteurs style genre driven content using individual hallmarks
Balancing Elements
a technique whereby background interest is balanced with the foreground subject
Bard
storyteller
Bardic Influence
refers to the nature of the media as a storyteller or information provider within the culture
Baroni
accuses Todorov of confining commentary to an objective view of narrative and structure instead of analysing functions, meanings and sociohistorical contexts
Big Close Up
extreme close up camera shot, usually focusing on the face or close detail of the body
Binary Opposite
when representations are structured as pairs that reflect oppositional values, for example, good vs evil
Binary Opposition
the conflict created between two opposing ideas; this conflict creates the problems that drive narratives forward
Binary Thinking Structures
Strauss argues that humans naturally order the world using binary thinking. This thinking blueprint is expressed in the cultural products of any given society - in myths or television drama for example
CGI
Computer Generated Imagery
the application of computer graphics to printed or moving image media, commonly referring to 3D computer graphics used for special effects in film sequences
Character Fallibility
where writers give heroes character flaws to construct vulnerability and to enable audience relatability; heroes inevitably have to overcome these flaws to successfully complete narrative quests
Character Oppositions
where the construction of characters is juxtaposed; oppositions might be based on age, ability, physical appearance or the moral outlook of each character
Charles Pierce
theorised that there are three types of signs: icon, index and symbol
Cliffhanger
narrative device where suspension is created at the end of an episode or before an advert break in order to persuade the viewer to continue watching subsequence instalments of the programme to find out what happens next
Closed Narrative
a story where all the main narrative threads are neatly resolved
Close-Up
a shot taken at close range
Code
an aspect of text from which the audience can derive meaning through decoding or deconstructing
Hermeneutic/Enigma Code
a mystery within a text that is not immediately answered. As an audience, we assume that this mystery is going to be solved at some point
Proairetic/Action Code
parts of a narrative which are related to things happening
Semantic Code
something within a text that means something, often multiple meanings
Symbolic Code
a part of the text that stands in for, or means, something else