1(b) Media Language
Key concepts: Media Language
You may be asked to write about one of your production pieces in relation to the concept of Media Language. This could be seen as the trickiest concept to define as it is not immediately obvious from the name what you are being asked to discuss – you therefore need to be careful when reading the question to make sure you know what is expected of you. However it can also be seen as a broader category than the others, giving you the opportunity to write about a number of different elements and to discuss any of the other key concepts.
Media Language means the way that meaning is made, using the conventions of the particular medium and type of media product. It is about considering how media texts communicate. One way to look at it is in relation to written language: if writing uses words, nouns, adjectives, sentences, paragraphs, rhymes, rhythms and chapters to convey meaning, how does a media text do it? If a written text uses short sentences, adverbs and similes to convey a sense of danger, a film title sequence might use fast editing, signs such as shadows falling across a wall, carefully composed mise en scene to suggest imprisonment and a specific choice of font and transition for the titles to convey a sense of unease.
You could write about elements of semiotics, genre, narrative, design, structure, codes and conventions, time and space, aesthetics, spoken, written and visual language to name just a few examples.
Louis Saussure’s Semiotics:
žSignifier = the form in which the sign takes
žSignified = the concept it represents
Louis Saussure was interested in the relationship between the signifier and the signified and this is referred to as 'signification.’
žiconic sign = a mode in which the signifier resembles or imitates the signified (recognizably looking, sounding, feeling, tasting or smelling like it) - being similar in possessing some of its qualities: e.g. a portrait, a cartoon, a scale-model, onomatopoeia, metaphors, 'realistic' sounds in 'programme music', sound effects in radio drama, a dubbed film soundtrack, imitative gestures;
žindexical sign = the signifier is directly connected in some way to the signified - this link can be observed or inferred:
e.g. 'natural signs' (smoke, thunder, footprints, echoes, non-synthetic odours and flavours), medical symptoms (pain, a rash, pulse-rate), measuring instruments (weathercock, thermometer, clock, spirit-level), 'signals' (a knock on a door, a phone ringing), pointers (a pointing 'index' finger, a directional signpost), recordings (a photograph, a film, video or television shot, an audio-recorded voice), personal 'trademarks' (handwriting, catchphrase)
Revise the following terms by writing one example of each from your production:
signifier
signified
detonated meaning
connoted meaning
iconic sign
indexical sign
Media Language Practice exam question 1b
“Media texts can communicate to their audiences in various ways.” Discuss the ways in which Media Language has been used within one of your productions.
Cover in your answer:
ž Louis Saussure’s Semiotics – indexical and iconic signs
ž Genre
ž Narrative
ž Design
ž Structure
ž codes and conventions
ž time and space
ž Aesthetics
ž Visual language
Practise taking a semiotic approach by evaluating one of your productions.
Focus on: Signs and their intended meaning
How they interact with each other – would a sign (e.g. the police hat) be read differently if placed in a different context? So how are elements affected by one another?
Anchorage text – how does the font/size/position convey meaning?
Drawing conclusions – what is the overall effect?
Example: Katy Perry's 'One of the Boys' album:What does the darkening sky signify? How does it affect our reading of the rest of the image?
Pink is used a great deal in the composition – overwhelmingly seen as a feminine colour and on first viewing it could seem that the artist is to be seen as traditional (note the 1950s clothes and pose), selling a nostalgic image to women and men. However, the anchorage text suggests…
A white picket fence is symbolic of a perfect home life in American culture– why is it used here? How do the other elements of the image affect our reading of it?
How are we invited to view this as an image of femininity? Consider all the elements of the image together and come to a conclusion. Nostalgic? Objectified? Empowered? Ironic?
Pink flamingos? How do they interact with the other pink elements? How do they affect the reading of the rest of the image?
You may be asked to write about one of your production pieces in relation to the concept of Media Language. This could be seen as the trickiest concept to define as it is not immediately obvious from the name what you are being asked to discuss – you therefore need to be careful when reading the question to make sure you know what is expected of you. However it can also be seen as a broader category than the others, giving you the opportunity to write about a number of different elements and to discuss any of the other key concepts.
Media Language means the way that meaning is made, using the conventions of the particular medium and type of media product. It is about considering how media texts communicate. One way to look at it is in relation to written language: if writing uses words, nouns, adjectives, sentences, paragraphs, rhymes, rhythms and chapters to convey meaning, how does a media text do it? If a written text uses short sentences, adverbs and similes to convey a sense of danger, a film title sequence might use fast editing, signs such as shadows falling across a wall, carefully composed mise en scene to suggest imprisonment and a specific choice of font and transition for the titles to convey a sense of unease.
You could write about elements of semiotics, genre, narrative, design, structure, codes and conventions, time and space, aesthetics, spoken, written and visual language to name just a few examples.
Louis Saussure’s Semiotics:
žSignifier = the form in which the sign takes
žSignified = the concept it represents
Louis Saussure was interested in the relationship between the signifier and the signified and this is referred to as 'signification.’
žiconic sign = a mode in which the signifier resembles or imitates the signified (recognizably looking, sounding, feeling, tasting or smelling like it) - being similar in possessing some of its qualities: e.g. a portrait, a cartoon, a scale-model, onomatopoeia, metaphors, 'realistic' sounds in 'programme music', sound effects in radio drama, a dubbed film soundtrack, imitative gestures;
žindexical sign = the signifier is directly connected in some way to the signified - this link can be observed or inferred:
e.g. 'natural signs' (smoke, thunder, footprints, echoes, non-synthetic odours and flavours), medical symptoms (pain, a rash, pulse-rate), measuring instruments (weathercock, thermometer, clock, spirit-level), 'signals' (a knock on a door, a phone ringing), pointers (a pointing 'index' finger, a directional signpost), recordings (a photograph, a film, video or television shot, an audio-recorded voice), personal 'trademarks' (handwriting, catchphrase)
Revise the following terms by writing one example of each from your production:
signifier
signified
detonated meaning
connoted meaning
iconic sign
indexical sign
Media Language Practice exam question 1b
“Media texts can communicate to their audiences in various ways.” Discuss the ways in which Media Language has been used within one of your productions.
Cover in your answer:
ž Louis Saussure’s Semiotics – indexical and iconic signs
ž Genre
ž Narrative
ž Design
ž Structure
ž codes and conventions
ž time and space
ž Aesthetics
ž Visual language
Practise taking a semiotic approach by evaluating one of your productions.
Focus on: Signs and their intended meaning
How they interact with each other – would a sign (e.g. the police hat) be read differently if placed in a different context? So how are elements affected by one another?
Anchorage text – how does the font/size/position convey meaning?
Drawing conclusions – what is the overall effect?
Example: Katy Perry's 'One of the Boys' album:What does the darkening sky signify? How does it affect our reading of the rest of the image?
Pink is used a great deal in the composition – overwhelmingly seen as a feminine colour and on first viewing it could seem that the artist is to be seen as traditional (note the 1950s clothes and pose), selling a nostalgic image to women and men. However, the anchorage text suggests…
A white picket fence is symbolic of a perfect home life in American culture– why is it used here? How do the other elements of the image affect our reading of it?
How are we invited to view this as an image of femininity? Consider all the elements of the image together and come to a conclusion. Nostalgic? Objectified? Empowered? Ironic?
Pink flamingos? How do they interact with the other pink elements? How do they affect the reading of the rest of the image?
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