Media Studies Terminology Flashcards
What is meant by an Active audience?
This describes an audience who responds to and interprets the media products in different ways and who actively engages with the messages encoded in the products
Stretch: How can you apply Henry Jenkins to this?
What is meant by an 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, for example the packaging, television, print and online adverts.
Stretch: what is the difference between the “I, Daniel Blake” and “Black Panther” advertising campaigns
Define what is meant by Afrofuturism
A movement in the arts including film featuring futuristic or science fiction themes and narratives incorporating elements of black culture and history. The aim is to connect audiences from black diaspora with their African heritage
Stretch: To which set text does this best apply to?
In magazine terms, what is an Alley?
An alley is the space between columns of text (such as in a double page spread article).
What is meant by the ‘American Dream’, and what set texts convey this idea?
The ‘American Dream’ is the idea that every American can have equal chances to achieve their aspirations. It is part of aspirational marketing ploys that are used in texts such the Tide print advert.
Briefly describe what is meant by Anchorage?
The way in which a caption or piece of written text is placed to fix the meaning of an image in place, positioning the reader to make a preferred reading.
What is meant by Aspirational Marketing?
Aspirational Marketing is where a product or representation is 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
What is meant by ‘audio streaming’?
Where listeners can click on a link (PC or mobile) to play the radio programme or podcast instantly. This has increased the global reach of BBC Radio/Sounds, as listeners abroad can tune in to hear the live/recorded programme.
In gaming terms, what is meant by ‘Augmented Reality’?
This is computer-generated content overlaid on a real-world environment commonly used in video games. Augmented-reality hardware comes in many forms, including devices you can carry, such as handheld displays, and devices you wear, such as headsets and glasses.
In gaming terms, what is an Avatar?
An Avatar is the player’s representation of themselves within the game.
In regards to film marketing, what is a billing block?
This is a block of text that contains the industry information & credits of: actors, directors, producers, crew members and production and distribution companies.
What is meant by binary opposites?
When products incorporate examples of opposite values, for example poverty and wealth.
What is meant by binary oppositions?
Binary oppositions occur when two people, ideas, concepts or values are set up in conflict with one another. In a crime drama, there is conventionally a binary opposition between the investigator and the criminal and what they represent, for example.
Define what is meant when something (or someone) is a ‘brand’.
A brand helps to identify one company’s products from those of another. The branding may be clearly identifiable by a name, logo or some other trademark, for example the font style of Marvel Studios or the coat of arms in The Times’ masthead.
What is meant by ‘brand identity’?
The image that a brand projects and the associations the audience makes with the brand. This is something that is built up and structured over time.
What is meant by ‘Brand Recognition’?
This is the extent to which a brand can be quickly and easily identified. Brand recognition is often facilitated by visual codes such as logos.
In the newspaper world, what is a broadsheet?
This describes a ‘quality’ newspaper that publishes more serious news, for example The Times.
What is meant by the ‘burden of representation’?
This is the idea that when representations of particular social groups are limited, those few representations that do find their way into the media have to carry more weight as they end up standing in for entire groups or communities.
In Media Language, describe a canted angle/Dutch tilt.
This is a shot filmed from an oblique or slanted angle.
It is often used to communicate a dream-like sequence in a TV programme or film, or is used to convey disruption within the narrative.
In the world of Advertising, what is the CAP code?
This is the Advertising Code that covers non-broadcast media (such as newspapers, magazines, websites and social media platforms). It is a form of regulation that aims to prevent audiences from being misled by advertising that takes place outside of television and radio.
What is meant by a Circular Narrative?
This is where the narrative starts at the end and then explores the action up to that point. It is sometimes only at the very end of the film or television programme (or video game) that the narrative makes sense.
Within many media industries, what is meant by Circulation?
This is a count of how many copies of a particular publication are distributed, including subscriptions.
What is meant by ‘classification’?
A rating given to a film or video game, informing the audience of its suitability according to criteria that include levels of violence, sexual content and use of inappropriate language.
In television, what is meant by a cliff-hanger?
This is 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 instalment of that programme in order to find out what happens next.
In Media Language, what is meant by ‘Codes’?
These are signs contained within a media product that gives clues to the product’s meaning.
In the world of social media or music videos, what is a collaboration video?
This is a video that features two or more content creators working together in collaboration. It is a common trope of platforms like Youtube or Twitch.
What is meant by a colloquialism?
This is an informal expression that is often used in casual conversation rather than in writing. However, it is used in some media products (such as The Mirror, Have You Heard George’s Podcast? etc.) to establish an informal communication with the audience.
In TV and Radio, what is meant by commissioning?
To give a programme the go-ahead for production- to ‘greenlight’ it. AT the BBC, for example, there are Directors of Programming for different genres. Producers pitch their ideas to the relevant controller who then decides whether or not to commission the programme.
What is a connotation?
This refers to the meanings we associate with the sign, for example the raised fist of Daniel Blake in the poster for I,Daniel Blake may connote activism or ‘power to the people’!
In relation to Tide, what is a consumable product?
These are the products that we use regularly and that need to be replaced. Some audiences are loyal to a particular brand, whereas others may be persuaded to change as a result of successful marketing devices. (NB: Media/Cultural products are not consumable, because they don’t need to be replaced!)
In Media, why do we use the word ‘consume’?
This is another way of saying how an audience uses a media product. We consume media products for different reasons
Stretch: How are audiences categorised?
In Media Research, what is 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 – counting the number of women who have speaking roles in prime-time television programmes, for example.
In the world of social media, who are Content Creators?
Those who are involved in creating and sharing content online – bloggers and YouTubers for example.
Think about KSI as a content creator across multiple platforms!
Stretch: Apply Clay Shirky’s End of Audience theory to this.
Within our study of Media, what is meant by context?
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.
Contects that we study can include historical, social/cultural, economic, political or industry-based
What is meant by continuity?
When one frame of your storyboard/visual media links to the next in a sequence, in order to effectively convey the narrative.
What is meant by 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.
As an audio code, what is contrapuntal sound?
Sound that does not match what is happening on screen. For example, the introduction of ominous music in a seemingly peaceful scene.
What contrapuntal music can be found in the Super.Human advert?
Stretch: Is this an example of Diegetic or Non Diegetic audio?
What is meant by the term 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. For example, smartphones bring together many different functions in a single device – as well as making phone calls, users can browse the internet, play games, watch video content and listen to music.
What media industries have been most affected by digital convergence?
In advertising, what is Copy?
This is the writing on the media product.
Which of our media set texts uses a lot of copy? Why?
In magazines and magazine-themed websites, what are cover lines?
The written text that features on the cover of the magazine/website providing a preview of the content that features inside.
How do Cover Lines help to promote the ideology or the discourse of the product?
What is meant by cross-platform marketing?
When one form is advertised on another media platform. For example, BBC One will broadcast promotional advertisements for its radio stations; these will also be on the BBC website.
In gaming, what is an RPG?
RPG stands for Role-Playing Game.
What features within the Assassin’s Creed games come from this genre? Why would Ubisoft be interested in adopting RPG elements into it’s games?
Within Media audiences, what is meant by Cultural Competences?
Within a media context, this concept suggests that the cultural competence of an audience is the shared knowledge, related to their cultural understanding, of that audience, which means that they will take a particular pleasure from a media product. For example, the audience who understand and engage with the rules of Assassin’s Creed, and have a certain computer/video game literacy, will enjoy the control aspect of the game and the online sharing of techniques.
Regarding Stuart Hall, what is meant by Decoding?
This is the process through which an audience interprets a message.
What are the key contexts which would cause audiences to decode a message in different ways?
In relation to audiences, what is meant by demographic profiling?
This is a way of categorising 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, for example it can help advertisers determine their target audience for particular products and develop adverts that focus on a specific demographic.
What is the primary demographic for Tide or Super.Human?
What is meant by a Denotation?
The literal or common-sense meaning of a sign rather than the associated meaning of the sign.
Regarding audiences, what is meant by Desensitisation?
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 behaviour.
Which theorist is most likely to be associated to this argument?
In audio codes, what is meant by Diegetic?
This is sound that is part of the mise-en-scène and can be heard by characters in the scene. For example, a gunshot as we see it being fired in a crime drama.
Why is diegetic sound important in an advert like Super.Human?
Regarding audio codes, what is meant by the ‘Diegetic World’?
The world in which the story takes place. For example, when we talk about diegetic sound we are talking about sound that appears to come from within the scene itself.
Why is diegetic sound important for a film like I ,Daniel Blake?
Regarding social media, what is a Digital Influencer?
Someone with a significant online following who has the ability to shape and influence the opinions or behaviour of their followers. Also known as an online influencer.
In what ways is KSI a digital influencer?
What is meant by discourse?
The topics and language used by a media text and the way they are used. There are certain topics that would never appear in the discourse of a magazine such as Vogue or Men’s Health. The discourse for this magazine tends to centre on image and how to look good.
What discourses are apparent in a product like Tide?
What is Disposable Income?
The money left when bills, etc. have been paid that can be spent on items such as luxury goods and non-essentials. The people with high disposable incomes can be targeted by advertisers.
In Media Industries, what is meant by Distribution?
The link between the producer and the audience; refers to all the strategies used in the release, marketing and promotion of the product.
How has the distribution process changed due to digital technology?
In Media Industries, what is meant by diversification?
This involves expanding a company’s operations into new or different areas of business.
In what ways has Ubisoft or The Mirror/The Times diversified into other areas of business?
What is meant by the Domestic Sphere?
The private space of the home, as opposed to the public world of work, for example.
How does the Tide advert attempt to empower women who reside in the domestic sphere?
In Reception theory, what is meant by the dominant-hegemonic position?
The position that the media encoder encourages the decoder to adopt when interpreting a text.
If they adopt the dominant-hegemonic position they read or interpret the message in the way that the encoder intended, making a preferred reading.
What audience profile is most likely to adopt this reading for the Tide advert?
Within Media Language and Representation, what is meant by Dominant Ideology?
A set of values and beliefs that have broader social or cultural currency. This may be implicit or explicit as is evident in texts such as tabloid newspapers.
What is the dominant ideology on The Mirror front page set text?
Within Media Industries, what is meant by Dual Revenue Streams?
Media products that generate revenue from two different sources (from readers and advertisers, for example) are said to have dual revenue streams.
How do video games like Assassin’s Creed have dual revenue streams?
What is meant when media language, representations, industries or audiences are dynamic?
It means they are constantly changing, evolving and progressing.
What Component 1 set text demonstrates this at its fullest?
In Media Language (particularly aspects of genre), what is meant by a Dystopia?
A world or society that is as bad or dysfunctional as can be imagined – a world full of crime, violence or oppression, for example
In Media Language, what is meant by editing?
The way in which the shots are put together to create a particular effect. Editing can be described in terms of pace and the transitions that are employed
What style of editing is used in Beyonce’s Formation Music Video?
In newspapers, what is an Editorial?
The part of the newspaper written, supposedly, by the editor who comments on the day’s stories. It offers an opportunity for the paper to express its views and to demonstrate its values, attitudes and beliefs.
Find an editorial in a national newspaper ( e.g.like the Mirror, Sun, Guardian, The Times). What does the editorial tell us about the values, attitudes and beliefs of the paper?
In magazines, what is meant by an Editorial Philosophy?
This refers to a magazine’s underlying values, attitudes and beliefs, and the particular viewpoint that it adopts.
The editorial philosophy helps to determine the style and content of the magazine. It influences decisions regarding what should and what should not be included in the magazine, and shapes and informs the magazine’s mode of address and the way in which the content is presented to the reader.
Have a look at the style and content of a magazine in the library or in one of the Media classrooms. What does it tell us about the magazine’s values, attitudes and beliefs?
Within media language, what is meant by an Effect?
This refers to the impact a code (like a technical, visual or audio code) may have upon an audience.
