IT 002 - SOURCES, LANGUAGES AND THEORIES IN MEDIA 1.1

Media Language

Denotes how media producers make meaning about a certain medium (advertisement, TV show, film, etc.) It allows the audience to convey the meaning of the text through its signs and symbols.

Connotative and Denotative

2 Types of Interpretation

Connotative

It refers to the various interpretations that the text suggests to the audience which are often associated with their culture, values, beliefs, etc

Denotative

It is the literal meaning of the media text. When words or objects are used denotative in a film there is no underlying or symbolic meaning behind the terms or the objects. You can think of it as the textbook definition of the object or word.

Media Codes

 It commonly has an established meaning, denotation or connotation, to the target audience.

Symbolic Codes

Audience-based. The meaning of the product is not based on the product itself but on the interpretation of the audience. These codes live outside the media product themselves, but would be understood in similar ways in the ‘real life' of the audience.

Technical Codes

Refers to codes specific to a media form alone. The knowledge and connotations of different camera angles and shots make sense when looking at films and photographs but mean nothing outside those forms. It focuses on how frames in visual media are presented and broad. This include camerawork (camera operation, positioning, and movement for desired specific effects), editing (the process of selecting, operating, and ordering images and sound), audio (expression and utilization of sounds), and lighting (the manipulation of light based on the target mood).

Written Codes

 The formal written language used in creating a media product. It includes the printed language (the text visible with the media frame which is the text you can see within the frame) and the spoken language which includes the dialogues and even the lyrics of the song.

Media Convention

Refer to the recognized ways of using media codes. Conventions refer to the possible methods in which codes are organized in a product

Form Convention

Ways in which the types of media codes are expected to be arranged. For instance, the title and main casts are expected to appear at the beginning of a movie while the credits are expected to appear at the end. A number of television series usually begin with a short recap of the previous episode and end with a preview of the next episode.

Story Convention

 It refers to the basic structures of narratives. Examples of this involve narrative structures, character constructions, and point of view.

Genre Convention

It refers to the common use of the elements of narratives such as the characters, settings, or themes in a certain type of media. can be formal or thematic and are usually linked to the expectations of the audience.

Media Procedures

Refer to the people who initiate, plan, and produce media texts. They need to have the skill in assessing the media texts and a thorough understanding of the target product; and the processes that go into creating the products.

Stakeholders

Refer to people or organizations that share the same interests or intentions.

Audience

It is a significant element in delivering media texts.

Audience Analysis

The process of looking into the demographics (age, gender, social status, etc.) and psychology (values, beliefs, attitude) of the audience

Audience Engagement

This refers to the reaction of the audience to the media text. Different people react in varied ways to the same text.

Audience Expectations

This refers to the anticipation of the audience about the text. Producers may satisfy or shatter the audience's expectations. Audience Foreknowledge. This refers to the exact information (not expectations) which the audience brings about the media output.

Audience Identification

This refers to the connection built by the media text to the audience.

Audience Placement

This refers to the strategies producers use to make the audience feel that the media text is made specifically for them.

Audience Research

This refers to the monitoring of the audience before, during, and after the production of the media text.

Cultivation Theory

 This theory suggests heavy television exposure will have a significant influence on our perception of the real world. The more we see a version of reality being depicted on the screen, the more we will believe it is an accurate reflection of society.

Agenda-Setting theory

States that the mainstream media sets the agenda of public discourse. It does this not so much by telling people what to think but rather what to think about.

Uses and Gratification Theory

This theory states that consumers use the media to satisfy specific needs or desires.

Magic Bullet Theory

Theory of mass communication stating that media are able to influence audience opinion through the messages that reach individuals personally.

Semiotic Theory

 Sets forth a model of how media texts are constructed, of how signs are produced or selected and combined into messages.

Reinforcement Theory

This theory would suggest that the media has little power to influence people, it merely reinforces our pre-existing attitudes and beliefs, which have been developed by more powerful social institutions like families, schools, religion, and organizations.