Key Points

representation

·         Male and Female Gaze: The male gaze is where women are sexually objectified in front of camera and the female gaze is when men are sexually objectified.

·         Multiculturalism: The positive referencing of people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds.

·         Secondary Persona: The representation of a star / celebrity through other media.

·         Binary Opposition: Two very different things that are placed against each other to create meaning for audiences e.g. hero v villain.

sound

·         Diegetic Sound: Sound that is coming from the scene.

·         Non-Diegetic Sound: Sound that is overlaid in post production e.g. music or narrative voice over.

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camera

·         Two Shot: Often used to show two characters within the frame communication with each other, one of the left and the other on the right.

·         Shot / Reverse Shot: A shot where the camera is placed behind the shoulder of one character, looking in talking to him/her and vice versa (the camera cuts to the next shot behind the shoulder of the other character again looking helping audiences understand the relationship between them).

·         Reaction Shots: Where the camera cuts away to a person for a reaction to something in the narrative.

·         High Angle Camera: A camera that is placed higher than a subject – stereotypically it can make them seem more vulnerable although this is not always the case.

·         Aerial Shot / Top Shot: A camera that is directly above a subject to give a different perspective which can be voyeuristic.

·         Steadicam: A camera that is held at the waist on spring suspension that gives the camera operator the chance to film without the frame moving. It also allows for the following of a character through space without the need for a cut.

·         Intercutting: Where the camera alternates between cutting between scenes.

·         Long Takes: A shot that is not edited or cut for a length of time.

·         HD: High Definition (viewing format).

editing

• High Key Lighting: Lighting that is bright and illuminates a scene and help to construct mood/meaning.

·         Diffuse Lighting: Softer lighting.

·         Three Point Lighting: Three different types of lighting that illuminates a whole scene – Key lighting (main), Fill Lighting (from the side), Back Lighting.

·         Flash Cut Editing: Where the edit / cut is accompanied by a flash of white light.

mise-en-scene

·         Mise-En-Scene: Everything in the shot – lighting /colour / setting / dress code / objects and props / pose / body language / facial expressions / make up / acting / camera movement.

other

·         Ensemble Cast: Where TV Drama for example has number of recognisable characters that often for part of tea.

·         Narrative Arcs: Common themes that recur throughout a programme or series.

·         Star Marketing: Where an established star is cast in a particular role.

·         On Location: Where filming is in real life locations, not in a studio.

·         Critical Success: Success that is evidence by awards and positive reviews.

·         Commercial Success: Where success is measured by financial gain e.g. DVD sales.

·         Scheduling: Programmes are deliberately ‘scheduled’ to be broadcast at a certain time depending on their content.

·         Prime Time: 6pm – 9pm.

·         Ratings: How many viewers watch a programme.

·         Clone: Copying the format.

·         Anchoring: Giving something definite meaning.

·         Connoting: A meaning that is established through interpretation of audio-visual symbols.

·         Brand Identity: Where audiences are aware of the name of a media text or in advertising, the name of the manufacturer of the product.

·         Encode: How meaning is put in by the writer/producer of a media text.

·         Voyeurism: The pleasure of looking at other people.

·         Narrative Continuity: Where the storyline continues and audiences see no obvious break or interruption in this.

·         Hybridised: A mix of two genres.

·         Sub Genre: A division of a genre e.g. a genre within a genre (Medical Drama and TV Drama).

·         Enigmatic: Little is known about a character, audiences are kept guessing.

·         Intertextuality: Where one media text references another.

·         Mainstream: Traditional, dominant representations expected by a mass audience.

·         High Production Values: Where a programme has significant funding which can be evidenced by things like Star Marketing, Set and Production Design.

·         Post Watershed: A television programmed that is broadcast after 9pm.

·         Cultural Stereotyping: A common, over generalised and often exaggerated representation based on limited information and often used for entertainment purposes.

·         Mass, Mainstream Audiences: Lots of viewers!

·         Demographic: A detailed breakdown of the target audience.

·         Conventions: Common features found in TV Dramas like Medical Dramas.

·         Escapist: Drama that allows audiences to leave the realism of their everyday lives into a world that they are not familiar with.

·         Hyper Real: Exaggerated, non realist representations.

·         Multi Stranded Narrative: Several storylines happening at the same time.

·         Narrative Theme: A serious social issue that is explored in a media text e.g. a TV Drama.

·         In-House Marketing: Where all the advertising and marketing of a programme is by the organisation that made it e.g. BBC adverts on BBC on programmes.

·         Low Brow Genre Television: Poor quality television.

·         Audience Identification: Where audiences recognise the narrative, genre conventions of issues of representation – they are familiar with it.

·         Escapism: Where audiences can escape from the reality of their lives.

·         Synergy: The ability of two or more compatible forms to sell each other e.g. Casualty and Holby City.

·         Convergence: Where links are available to other media forms – normally in digital media.