Media and Society- Exam 3, Textbook Vocab

angle

the relative height or direction from which a subject is photographed

aspect ratio

the ratio of width to height of a film image

blacklisted

put on a list privately exchanged among employers containing the names of persons to be barred from employment because of untrustworthiness or for holding opinions considered undesireable

blockbuster

a film, show, novel, and so on, that proves to be an outstanding popular success

box office bomb

a film that is considered highly unsuccessful or unprofitable during its theatrical run is said to have “bombed” or “flopped” at the box office

cinema

motion pictures collectively, as an art

composition

the arrangement of elements in a frame and, more generally, in a scene

cut

a sudden transition from one shot to another, achieved by juxtaposing the last frame of one shot with the first frame of another. also called a straight cut or direct cut

editing

the process of preparing a film (or a radio or television program) by selecting, rearranging, or rejecting previously filmed or taped material

films

motion pictures as political works

greenlit

giving permission or a go ahead to move forward with a project

gross

the total office revenue of a movie before expenses are deducted

location

a place other than a studio where shooting of a film or television show takes place

looping

a technique of post dubbing where a performer attempts to match dialogue to performance while watching a short piece of the scene formed into a loop

match cut

a cut from one shot to another in which a certain subject or action is carried over, or matched

mixing

the general term for the work of the sound editor or mixer, who combines and edits various separate sound tracks into one final version

montage

the technique in film editing in which a series of short shots are edited into a sequence to condense space, time, and information

motion picture

a sequence of consecutive pictures of objects photographed in motion by a specially designed camera and thrown on a screen by a projector in such rapid succession as to give the illusion of natural movement

movies

motion pictures as an industry, or as a genre of art or entertainment

pan

horizontal movement of the camera around a fixed axis from one part of the scene to another

piracy

the use of works protected by copyright law without permission, infringing on certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, such as the right to reproduce, distribute, display, or perform the protected work

product placement

the practice of companies paying for their products or services to be featured in movies and television programs

set

a constructed location where filmed action takes place

shot

a single piece of film, however long or short, without cuts, exposed continuously

special effects

visual and mechanical effects used to create illusions on film. currently, the distinction is drawn between “special effects” as being mechanical versus “visual effects”

verisimilitude

the appearance of being true or real

visual effects

special effects achieved by manipulation the film image

acoustics

the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of sound. specifically, musical acoustics studies the physics of music

beat

in music, the basic unit of time, often defined as the rhythm listeners tape their toes to or musicians count while performings

business model

an organization’s plan for generating value from operations

censorship

the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, politically incorrect, or inconvenient as determined by governments, media outlets, authorities, or other groups or institutions

consonance

in music, the level of sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability of the sound intervals in a song. consonance is the counterpart to dissonance

cover

a new performance or recording of a previously recorded song by someone other than the original artist/ composer. also known as a cover version or a cover song

crooner

a label given to male singers of jazz standards, backed by a full orchestra, big band, or a piano. originally meant ironically, denoting the emphatically sentimental and often emotional singing style made possible by the use of microphones, it became the dominant popular vocal style heard on the radio

dissonance

in music, the level of harshness, unpleasantness, and unacceptability of the sound intervals in a song. dissonance is the counterpart to consonance

dynamics

the degree of loudness or softness of a piece of music. composers use abbreviations and symbols to denote when to change the volume of a piece

fair use

a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. examples of fair use include teaching, commentary, search engines, criticism, parody, news reporting, research, library archiving, and scholarship

freedom songs

songs sung by those in the Civil Rights Movement.  also called Civil Rights anthems

freemium

a pricing strategy where a product or service, typically a digital offering or application, is provided free of charge, but money is charged for proprietary features, functionality, or virtual goods

harmony

the use of simultaneous pitches (tone, notes), or chords. harmony is often said to represent the “vertical” aspect of music, while melody is the “horizontal” aspect

high fidelity

the faithful reproduction of sound using electronic equipment with little distortion

hip-hop

a music genre consisting of stylized rhythmic music accompanying rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted rather than sung. also known as rap music

instrumentation

the particular combination of musical instruments used in a composition or an arrangement

master royalties

paid to a label when the label’s recording is used in an advertisement, film, television program, streaming service, or other medium

mechanical royalties

royalties paid for any copyrighted audio composition that is rendered mechanically (i.e., without human performers). this would include tape recordings, DVDs, VHS, MIDI files, computer games, music videos, ringtones, musical toys, and so on

melody

a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. in its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm

music royalties

different types of payments received by songwriters, performers, and companies for music

musical instruments

an instrument created or adapted to make musical sound

performance royalties

royalties received for the performance of a song or composition. such performances can be live, recorded, or broadcast

piracy

copyright infringement in the use of works protected by copyright law without permission, infringing upon certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, such as the right to reproduce, distribute, display or perform the protected work, or to make derivative works. some U.S. courts now regard the term “piracy” or “theft” to be pejorative

pitch

the quality that makes it possible to judge sounds as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies. pitch is a major auditory attribute of musical tones, along with duration, loudness, and timbre

popular music

a term applying to a number of musical genres seen as having wide appeal and typically distributed to large audience through the music industry. popular music stands in contrast to both art (classical) music and traditional (folk) music. while popular music is sometimes known as "pop music," the two terms are not interchangeable (pop music denotes the popularity of rock and roll during the 1950s and 1960s)

protest songs

songs that express support or disapproval for a political subject, usually associated with a movement for social change

rhythm

in the performance arts, the timing of musical sounds and silence, the steps of a dance, or the meter of spoken language and poetry

royalties

a payment made by one party (the "licensee") to another that owns a particular asset (the "licensor") for the right to ongoing use of that asset. royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or a fixed price per unit sold of an itch of such

tempo

the speed or pace of a given piece or subsection of music. typically written at the start of the score and usually indicated in beats per minute

theme

in music, the material, usually a recognizable melody, upon which part of all of a composition is based

timbre

the quality of a musical note, sound, or tone that distinguishes different types of voice and musical instruments, even when they have the same pitch and loudness. also known as tone color or tone quality

topical songs

a song that comments on political and/or social events, typically offering a mix of narrative and commentary

broadcasting

originally using wireless technology to simultaneously reach a wide audience, now taken to be the act of transmitting speech, music, visual images, and so on, as by radio or television. the term also applies to radio or television as a business or profession

daypart

the time segments that divide a radio or television day for programming and ad scheduling purposes

download

any file that is offered for downloading or that has been downloaded, or the process of receiving such a file

downloading

receiving data to a local system from a remote system, or to initiate such a data transfer

electromagnetic spectrum

the limited range of frequencies that can be used for transmitting radio waves with electricity

Federal Communications Commission

the government agency in charge of regulating broadcast communication

format

a consistent programming formula for the content broadcast over a radio station

morse code

a system of dots and dashes invented by Samuel F.B. Morse that was used in transmitting telegraph message

payola

the illegal practice of record companies paying radio station personnel to play certain records on the air

pirate radio stations

unlicensed broadcast or short wave signals

public interest, convenience, and necessity

a key phrase from the Radio Act of 1927 requiring that broadcasting serve the public good

radio feature performance

defined by BMI as the performance of a popular song “that lasts 60 seconds or more and is the sole sound broadcast at the time of the performance.”

shock jocks

radio personalities who make lewd and tasteless comments to drive up ratings for their programs.

spectrum scarcity

the limited number of broadcast frequencies available for radio and television

stream

a sequence of data elements made available over time

streaming media

multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a provider

webcasting

a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source simultaneously

wireless telegraphy

using radio to send telegraphic messages; the early name for radio before the human voice replaced Morse Code

analog television

the original television technology that uses analog signals to transmit video and audio

black comedy

a comic work that makes light of serious and/or taboo subject matter

cathode-ray tube

a vacuum tube used to reproduce images in television receivers

comedy

professional entertainment consisting of jokes and satirical sketches, intended to make an audience laugh

couch potato

someone who spends a lot of time watching television instead of exercising

digital television

a television broadcasting technology in which signals are transmitted as a sequence of binary numbers. Also, a television set that can receive these digital signals

dramedy

a movie, play, or broadcast program that combines elements of drama and comedy

parasocial interaction

an illusionary experience in which people interact with personas on television such as characters, celebrities and talk show hosts, as if they were engaged in real relationships with them

rating

the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned to a particular station at a particular time

share

the percentage of homes in which televisions are turned on and tuned to a particular station at a particular time

strip programming

showing the same television program in the same time period five times a week

superstation

a television broadcast station other than a network station that is secondarily transmitted by a satellite carrier

sweeps months

the months when television stations compile ratings, which are then used to set the basic advertising rates for the next three-month period

syndication

licensing broadcast rights for television/radio programs to multiple television/radio stations directly rather than through a broadcast network

time shifting

recording television programming and playing it back at a later time

video on demand (VOD)

systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video/audio content when they choose to, rather than having to watch at a specific broadcast time