Key Media Terms

Hi Guys,

Here are a few key media terms that I have learned. Hope you learn something that you didn't know before

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.

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.
• 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.
• On Location: Where filming is in real life locations, not in a studio.
• HD: High Definition (viewing format).
• Connoting: A meaning that is established through interpretation of audio-visual symbols.

Camera editing and angles

• 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.
• Low Brow Genre Television: Poor quality television.

Representation 

• Ensemble Cast: Where TV Drama for example has number of recognisable characters that often for part of tea.
• Star Marketing: Where an established star is cast in a particular role.
• Secondary Persona: The representation of a star / celebrity through other media.
• Multiculturalism: The positive referencing of people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
• Anchoring: Giving something definite meaning.
• Voyeurism: The pleasure of looking at other people.
• 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.
• Binary Opposition: Two very different things that are placed against each other to create meaning for audiences e.g. hero v villain.
• Cultural Stereotyping: A common, over generalised and often exaggerated representation based on limited information and often used for entertainment purposes.
• 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.
• Hyper Real: Exaggerated, non realist representations.
• Audience Identification: Where audiences recognise the narrative, genre conventions of issues of representation – they are familiar with it.

Marketing

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mass, Mainstream Audiences: Lots of viewers!
• Demographic: A detailed breakdown of the target audience.
• 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.
• 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.

Other 

• Narrative Continuity: Where the storyline continues and audiences see no obvious break or interruption in this.
• Conventions: Common features found in TV Dramas like Medical Dramas.
• Narrative Arcs: Common themes that recur throughout a programme or series.
• Multi Stranded Narrative: Several storylines happening at the same time.
• Escapism: Where audiences can escape from the reality of their lives.

Thanks for reading

Editing

Hi guys,

• Today I have been look at certain types of editing in TV Drama

• Straight Cut - change of shot from one viewpoint to another

• Match Cut - familiar relationship between the shots when the change is smooth

• Dissolve - used to show the link between the two scenes

• Fade - can also show the passing of time from one scene to the next

• Reaction Shot - when a character reacts to an event and shows there views through there emotions

• Wipe - link between two places in the same scene and can show passing of time.

• Motivated Cut - cut to show the viewer something not immediately visible

• Jump Cut - abrupt switch between scenes

• Screen time - is an important transition because a director decides how long a character gets in a scene. For instance if someone had a disability and got less screen time than someone who was not disabled it would suggest that the character is in a minority group and as a result are not as important.

• Slow Motion - editing technique it the director sped something up then it could either be funny or the director could of choose to sped it up as he doesn't think that moment in the scene is important.

•  Graphic match - Any juxtaposition of graphically similar images.

•  Iris-in - Image gradually revealed from blackness through expanding circle of light.

•  Iris-out - Reverse of iris-in.

• Movement match - An action begun in one shot is continued or completed in the next shot.

• Parallel cut - Editing that alternates shots of two or more areas of action occurring in two different places, usually simultaneously, that often run together later in the narrative. It can also create a link between the two scenes.

• Distortion - Can be used for things like if a character is crazy it can helps the audience to feel like the character in the scene

Thanks for Reading

Definition of Mise en scene

Hi guys today I am having a quick look at the defentition of Mise en scene. Mise en scene is everything with in the frame shot including lighting, sound, props and costume. The person who has control of this is the director.The director has control of the position of the camera and who is on stage at any given time. The literal defentition of mise en scene is 'everything in the frame'. Mise en scene helps create a sense of 'realism' about the plot and makes it more realistic. It also helps represents different group of people as well as helping us to understand the role of different characters in the scene.

Thanks for reading

Different lighting used in Tv Drama and Film

Hi guys,

Today I will be looking at different lighting used in Tv Drama and Film. Some of the different lights include:

3-Point Lighting - This is the most common lighting setup in television

•  Three-point lighting is comprised of a back light, a key light, and a fill light. The main source of light is the key light. This light is typically positioned to the front right or left of the subject and helps define the shape of the subject.
  
  
• The key light is always pointed toward the subject. The back light is similar to the key light but is placed behind the subject to bring light to area behind the subject. The fill light is positioned to the front left or right of the subject.
  
  
• Whichever is opposite to the key light. This light is typically a flood-light and provides a wide span of lighting that can diffuse the back light from giving the subject a haloing effect.





Image taken from: http://www.filmmakers-toolkit.group.shef.ac.uk/3point.html





Cameo Lighting

• This lighting technique is achieved by using all directional spotlights, which surround the subject from a number of angles. This technique is typically used in dramatic shows with studio sets where there is a dark backdropp that can absorb a great deal of the light. This is to draw attention to the subject or character.
  
  
• This technique was developed during the time of black and white television, which often makes it a difficult technique to achieve for scenes being filmed outside of the studio.

Silhouette Lighting

• In this situation the subject is lit with spotlights only from behind. This brings attention to the surroundings of the character, while keeping the character and area in front of them cloaked in shadows.

Gels and Coloured Lighting

• Certain scenes call for an abnormal or unnatural colour light scheme. To achieve a certain colour without having the natural circumstances, specially crafted gels can be attached over any of the lights with wooden clothespins. For instance, if a director is trying to achieve the look of a sunset, they would ideally use an orange or red gel.
  
  
  Thanks for reading



Impact of Sound in Misfits

Hi Guys,
Today I will be looking at the impact of sound in Misfits and how when watching it without out sound can change the way you look at it compared to if you were watching it with sound.

After watching a short two minute clip without sound I expected there to be the sound of a clock ticking at the beginning as it showed a picture with a timer counting down. One of the characters threw a plan and therefore I expected the sound of wind accompanying it to show that he was outside. In addition, I expected to hear the sound of the locker when the picture was focused on the women doing her community service. I also though that I we would hear the sound of the man running over the building along with a heavy breathing sound to show that he had been running along with heavy footsteps. I also believed that we would hear the sound of the door shutting and the click of a light switch when the lights went out.

However, what we actually saw was some music at the beginning of the scene and as the scene went on it became louder which helped create atmosphere as you knew something was going to happen . To represent the clock we heard a buzzing noise like what you would get on a alarm clock and this helped to portray that time was passing quickly. In between different moments there was the sound of rustling. This again helped create the idea that something was going to happen. When the door slammed the music changed was to indicate a change in tempo. When the music changed there was no new diegetic sound when the characters speaking. However, when the main character was speaking the diegetic sound increased. This portrays to the audience how the guy is quite an important person in the scene. Furthermore, we saw an image of a man in a freezer who was dead and at the same time we heard the noise of the freezer lid opening and closing which enabled us as audience to picture and hear what the character was seeing and to share in there thoughts and feelings. When the man was jumping over the roof we heard the sound of his running feet and then when he landed on something we heard the a thudding sound. This sound helped make it realistic and in addition increased the tension as it was combined with a quick sound track which got louder as the scene went on. This helped increase the tension and helped make us as audience think whats going to happen next.

Overall, I got some things right but got certain things wrong for instance the clock. When watching a Tv Drama without sound allows you to focus more on the picture and think why have they put that there. When I predicated what was going on before I listened to the sound I used what was in the picture to work out what was going on for instance when there was a clock in the picture I made a logical guess that there might have been a noise which represented a timer ticking. When you add sound you can see how the picture and sound work together in a scene to help create certain things for example atmosphere.

Thanks for reading

Shameless Camera Angles and Sound

As part of our media course we were asked to select a 5 minute TV Drama clip and analyse the different Sound features and camera angles used. I have picked the TV Drama of Shameless.

One of the camera angles used in Shameless is the extreme close up when the camera is showing the character face. This happens to draw in the audience and makes us feel what the character is feeling . In addition, it helps draw us in to the story and in this case makes us syphasize with the character who is visiting a grave yard to lay some flowers has someone he knew has just died after being knocked over by a card. Another shot that is used is the over the shoulder shot when two teenagers are sitting having a drink at a cafe. When the characters are talking we can see there surroundings behind them and this helps us to build up a image of the setting e.g. where they live and also because they are looking out for someone the camera focuses behind them as the person so that the audience sees the person they are looking for before them. This also makes the audience think why do they want to see and talk to this person? At the very beginning Frankie is on the screen and is talking and behind him we see different images of where he and his family live in Manchester. This is called an establishing shot as we learn from this where they live which is a Manchester estate. Also from the litter and the graffiti we get the impression that this might be quite a rough place to live. In the clip of Shameless that I watched we see the use of a two shot between two of the characters. Here the two shot shows shows that they are friends and the facial expression that the characters use in the two shot e.g smiling backs up. Also it shows that the two character are of similar status in the TV Drama because one does not dominate over the other. As well as different Camera angles and shots being used there is also a different range of sound features that are used to help tell the story of the TV Drama. At the beginning of the dialogue when Frankie is talking we hear some background music. This accompanies the TV Drama and helps set the scene. When one of the characters is having a flash back we see the shot of a watch accompanied with the sound of a watch ticking to indicate a passing of time. This is called selective sound because it is helping us as audience hear exactly what the character is hearing. In Shameless there are several places where pauses are used and this is helps create atmosphere.

Thanks for reading.

Downton Abby - Social Status and Camera Shots

As part of my media course I was asked to to watch a four minute clip of Dowton Abby and then pick out certain Camera Angles and Shots that were used.

At the beginning of the dialogue the camera showed a long shot of two women one who was dressed in black while the other one was dressed in grey. The grey women was shown as being closer to the camera as well as being closer to the the centre frame. This shows us that the women in grey is more upper class and more significant than the women in black. In Downton Abbey we saw two women sitting on the lawn with the mansion in the background. This is called a long shot and in this clip it is used to show us as the audience the setting of the scene and from that we get the impression that the two women who are in the shot are very important as the camera focuses on there conversation. In addition, we learn from the long shot that the butler who serves the two ladies there afternoon tea on the lawn is not as important and his from a working class as the camera only shows him briefly serving the ladies before switching to a mid shot of him walking back to the mansion. One of the most important characters that we saw in the 4 minute clip was the owner of the house. Also in Downton Abbey different angles are used when the Butler and the Chauffeur are talking . When the Butler is talking we see the camera angle go up to make the Butler look more important compared to the Chauffeur where the camera angle goes down to show that the Chauffeur is less important than the the Butler who is in a higher position within the house. This is in contrast to to when the owner and the butler are speaking as the buttler is always shown to the side of the shot compared with the owner who is nearly always in the middle which show that he is the most important person in the shot.


Thanks for reading