Media Language

Key Concepts in Media:

·         Form & Style – for example, a game show such as ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ would have a more formal style, with presenters dressed in smart clothing and a set format, whereas a talk show such as ‘The Rob Brydon Show’ would perhaps have a more relaxed style, with the host having interactions with the audience, and guests sitting on sofas.

·         Convention - a convention is a widely recognised way of doing something. For example, a film or TV show would use the convention of moving image and sound, whereas a radio show would rely on just sound alone.

·         Signification – signification is to do with how important an action, character or scene is within the piece of media. For example, in a film, the presence of a bystander may not be very significant in one film, but this may be different in another, as the bystander may get in the way of one of the main characters, thus affecting the outcome of a scene.

·         Representation – this is to do with how accurately something is represented in a piece of media. For example, in EastEnders, it could be considered that life is represented very accurately in the programme, as many people can relate to some of the things that happen in the programme. On the other hand, a film such as ‘The Bourne Identity’ could be considered as a poor representation of life, as many people could see it as being quite far-fetched, and not a lot of people have the opportunity to do some of the things in the film.

·         Audiences – it is important for a piece of media to target a specific audience. For example, the show ‘East Enders’ targets a more middle-class market, whereas a period drama such as ‘Upstairs, Downstairs’ perhaps attract a more upper-class market, because of some of the language and themes used.

·         Narrative & Genre – a narrative is the name given to a series of events or facts. For example, the show ‘EastEnders’ would have a very sophisticated narrative, meaning that the show can continue on, as a representation of life. This is particularly difficult to achieve, as many shows are written as a whole series, but with EastEnders, a long-running series, the show must be written whilst it is in production. The genre is the word used to describe the type of media something is. For example, the film ‘The Bourne Identity’ would fit into the Thriller genre, whereas a film such as ‘The Titanic’ would be fit into the Romance genre.

·         Creativity – in order for media to capture the imagination of the audience, the writers must remain creative when writing the media. For example, the television show ‘The Peep Show’ would be considered as creative, as it is filmed from the perspective of the characters, by using head –mounted cameras.

·         Connecting the Micro to the Macro – this is connecting smaller events in films, to larger events that shape the way the film develops. For example, in the television programme ‘The Syndicate’, the armed burglary of a shop, which leaves the owner in hospital, means the character discovers he has a brain tumour, meaning he has only months to live. 

·         Multimodal Literacy- this is the name given to pieces of literacy that communicate their message using more than one convention. For example, a book may use words as well as pictures to convey a message, or a television may use sound, vision and movements to convey the message of the plot.