LemonJam's media blog (Mr Bush)

1) Media consumption audit 2) Language: Reading an image - advert analyses  ( reading an image task: my own ) 3) Reception theory  ( reception theory: my own ) 4) Semiotics: icons, indexes and symbols 5) Genre: Factsheets and genre study questions 6) Narrative: Factsheet questions

Narrative is a vital concept for A Level Media. We look for narratives - stories - to make sense of media texts. Everything from film and television to news and adverts relies on narrative to help audiences understand the message.  There are  narrative patterns  and three key  narrative theories  we need to learn as part of our introduction to A Level Media. The notes as a reminder: Narrative patterns Linear Pattern :  progresses forward towards a resolution - Beginning, Middle and End. Multi-strand Narrative :  popular in broadcast TV (e.g. soaps) and film. Involves more than one narrative running parallel involving different characters and locations. Documentary narrative :  this may revolve round a central theme (e.g. troublesome neighbours) or group of people. Long-running TV series such as  Game of Thrones  or  Breaking Bad  have one major  overarching narrative and lots of mini-narratives. The overarc...

Genre: notes Genres may be identified by the following: Narrative structures Plot Typical situations, characters and relationships Visual iconography Mise-en-scene: props, costumes, locations etc. Cinematography Ideology and themes Representations, values and ideologies Daniel  Chandler   suggests definitions of genre tend to be based on the notion that they constitute particular conventions of  content  (such as themes or settings - iconography) and/or  form  (including structure and style) which are shared by the texts which are regarded as belonging to them. Genre: institution and audience Tolson   (1996) suggests that genre “mediates between industry and audience”. Abercrombie   suggests that “television producers set out to exploit genre conventions... It... makes sound economic sense.”  Abercromie   adds: “Genres permit the creation and maintenance of a loyal audience which becomes used to seeing programmes within a genre.” G...

My 3 favourite films from media awards: MRS POTATOHEAD: I enjoyed watching this short music video/film because the video showed a deeper meaning that the song was synonymous with. The music video also suited the lyrics of the song and the clip went accordingly. The clip that showed the acapella of the 4 girls singing was really interesting too as it made them seem like they were the person actually singing. EARTHQUAKE: I really liked this one because of the time and effort he put into making it. The video suited the lyrics of the song except for the part where I was in it because when we were recording it. he just asked me to do whatever and I didn't know how it ended up untill he showed me the video when his assignment was due. What I enjoyed the most was when I was recording him with the camera and he thought of a really good idea to move the camera in sync with his hand which makes him look like he was controlling the camera. The cinematics were really great too. CLI...

Reception theory: Dominant reading: The dominant reading of this cover of lil pump's new song "gucci gang" is that it makes the audience envy lil pump and look up to him because he wears designer clothes and earns lots of money and it is used to promote himself and make him stand out from others. Negotiated reading: The negotiated reading is that people can see the reason why lil pump would say him and his friends are the "gucci gang" because he wants to flex on everyone but they would also see how everyone is focusing on his money and fame but no one is wondering about all the starving kids around the suburbs in less developed countries. Oppositional reading: The oppositional reading is that lil pump uses his money to promote himself and for him to live a luxurious life whilst that money could be sent to poverty ridden countries and help people get out of poverty instead of using all of his money on clothes/cars/etc.

Semiotics: icon, index, symbol notes An Icon has a physical resemblance to the signified, the thing being represented. A photograph is a good example as it certainly resembles whatever it depicts. An Index shows evidence of what’s being represented. A good example is using an image of smoke to indicate fire. A Symbol has no resemblance between the signifier and the signified. The connection between them must be culturally learned. Numbers and alphabets are good examples. Icons: Index: Symbol: Why are icons and indexes so important in media texts? icons and indexes are important in media texts because they let the audience understand what a picture means such as if there was a poster about computers, the audience would want to know the company and they wouldn't understand what the poster represents however if there was a microsoft icon at the left, bottom, right, wherever, they would understand that its a poster/advertisement from microsoft. To sum it...

Reception theory: notes Studying media language means looking at the way in which the sign or text is interpreted and how the meaning comes across to the audience.  All media is thought to be polysemic in that it can be interpreted in different ways – it is not simply passively accepted by the audience. Stuart Hall introduced the idea of three different readings. Stuart Hall: reception theory Hall suggested there are three types of reading: Dominant, Preferred or Hegemonic Reading : what the producer/creator intends – the ‘natural’ reading Negotiated Reading : a middle ground between the producer’s intentions and the audience’s individual views Oppositional or ‘Counter-Hegemonic’ Reading : an alternative reading that is actively against the producer’s intentions. Reception Theory: Dominant Reading:  The dominant reading from the creator is to promote 50 cent's new single and to promote Reebok's brand by using 50 cent. The dominant reading is als...

According to reception theory, ‘the media attempts to transmit specific messages to audiences, but audiences are free to interpret these messages in a variety of ways – or even reject them’. How valid are reception theory’s claims about audience responses? [25 marks] Reception theory shows how the audience can interpret how they want to interpret the information and the most perceptive of the audience will identify the falseness in information if they are smart enough, the audience has only 3 choices, to read it and agree with what the media is saying even though it be biased, to look at what the media is saying and see how they can agree with what the media is saying and also disagree with what the media is saying because they find it biased and may know the actual truth, or to see how the media is trying to brainwash the audience and see how the media is biased and what they are doing is not the right thing. There is no other way to respond to information the media has give...

POSE: How are the people in the photograph standing? Are they sitting? Relaxed? Angry? LIGHTING: How does lighting affect mood and atmosphere? What does it suggest about the product’s image? SETTING: Was the photograph taken indoors? Outdoors? Somewhere else? SUBJECT MATTER: What is the subject of the photograph? People? Objects? The product? TYPE OF SHOT/ANGLE Is the picture a close up? A medium shot? A long shot? From which angle is it photographed? SIZE How large/small are the images or text? COMPOSITION How the picture or copy are arranged on the page. How are they put together? FRAMING How the pictures and copy are framed by colour, other pictures, lines etc. COLOUR The way colour is used to create a mood, atmosphere or connotation about a product. The colours of the photo is dark and this creates a gloomy and depressing atmosphere. Framing: The other pictures of xxxtentacion and notes are all the same monotone colour which could symbolize a ...

Key media language: Denotation: What the audience can visually see on a page Connotation: Being what the denotation represents. Colour: what the colour represents. E.g. black meaning gloomy or seriousness. green meaning environment, etc. Pose: how the person is standing- what they want the viewer to feel. Framing: The basis of  framing  theory is that the  media  focuses attention on certain events and then places them within a field of  meaning . Composition: how it was put together. Size: why the size is small, medium, large. Type of shot: face shot, medium shot, close-up, etc Subject matter: what the photo is supposed to represent. Setting: where the photo was taken. Lighting: how dark/light the photo is, is the person in the picture in the middle of the light,etc. This photo of 50 cent is a cover photo of his song "gunz for sale" and the picture show's 50 cent in the middle of the frame and the picture is really high contrast to add seri...