Simple explanation of key concepts for G325 Section B Media Studies Exam

1. G 3 2 5 S E C T I O N 1 B
Key Media Concepts

2. Concepts...
TextGenre
Representation
Audience
Narrative
Media
Language

3. Applied to your own text

4. In simple terms
Concept Definition
Media Language
The techniques I used to communicate meaning(s) in my
production work.
Narratives The way I put a story together in my media text.
Representation
How I constructed characters, places and important
objects in my text, to be decoded in a particular way by a
particular audience.
Audience
How I made my text to suit the wants and needs of a
particular audience.
Genre
How I made my text according to rules pre-defined by its
genre.

5. Concepts = Questions

6. What questions?
 Questions which arise from the concepts:
 Genre
 Representation
 Audience
 Narrative
 Media Language

7. Simple Questions:
Who? What? How? Why?

8. Concepts are linked...
Genre
Representation
AudienceNarrative
Media
Language

9. ....and overlap
Audience
Representation
GenreNarrative
Media
Language

10. Some help

11. Genre
 Which other media texts is my work similar to?
 Can my media text be defined with a generic label?
 Why/why not?
 What features from my text mean that it belongs in
this genre?
 Does my text try to surprise the audience in any way?
 Does my text mix genres?

12. Representation
 Who is being represented in my text?
 Who is the audience that would have a preferred
reading?
 What ideas did I want to communicate about my
star/characters?
 What micro features encode this meaning?
 Does my text try to use or subvert stereotypes?

13. Audience
 Who is the audience for my text?
 Why will the audience enjoy my text?
 How will the audience relate to the star/characters in
my text?
 What features in my text communicate meaning /
ideas to the audience?

14. Narrative
 What happens?
 How is the audience feel in my story?
 Who or what is in conflict in my text?
 What is the theme(s) in my story?
 What order is my story told in?
 Who is the audience position with in my text?
 Are there any twists / surprises in my text?

15. Media Language
 What are the important meanings and messages in
my text?
 What techniques did I apply in production to add or
alter meaning to my text?