terminology: media bias and film techniques

5.1, 7.5, 7.6

importance of lighting

The importance of lighting in film refers to how it affects the mood, tone, and visibility of a scene, influencing the audience's perception and emotional response. Proper lighting can enhance storytelling by emphasizing certain elements and creating atmosphere.

high-key lighting

is a style that uses bright, even lighting to reduce shadows and create a cheerful or open atmosphere, often used in comedies and romantic films. This look can also imply truth and openness

• Effect: Creates a cheerful, optimistic mood, often used in comedies and musicals.

• Emotional Impact: Evokes feelings of joy, happiness, and lightness.

• Emphasis: Highlights the characters and their actions, minimizing the importance of the setting.

chiaroscuro lighting

• Strong contrast between light and dark.

• Effect: Creates a dramatic, stylized, and often morally ambiguous atmosphere, commonly used in film noir.

• Emotional Impact: Evokes feelings of intrigue, mystery, and moral ambiguity.

• Emphasis: Highlights the character's inner turmoil and moral conflict.

low-key lighting

is a style that uses high contrast and harsh shadows to create a dramatic or mysterious mood, often utilized in thrillers and horror films.

• Effect: Creates a suspenseful, mysterious, or ominous mood, often used in thrillers and horror films.

• Emotional Impact: Evokes feelings of fear, suspense, and unease.

• Emphasis: Creates a sense of mystery, danger, and the unknown.

how can the use of shadows contribute to a films narrative?

The use of shadows in a film can create depth, evoke emotions, and symbolize conflict or secrets. By manipulating shadows, filmmakers can enhance suspense and highlight key aspects of the narrative.

high angle

is a camera angle that looks down on subjects from above. This angle can create feelings of vulnerability or insignificance, often emphasizing the power dynamics between characters.

low angle

is a camera angle that looks up at subjects from below. This perspective can create a sense of power or importance, often making characters appear more dominant or heroic.

eye-level angle

is a camera angle taken at the height of the subject's eyes. This perspective provides a neutral viewpoint, allowing the audience to connect with the characters on a personal level.

close-up shot

is a camera shot that tightly frames a subject, usually focusing on a person's face or a specific detail. This technique emphasizes emotions and significant details, drawing the audience's attention directly to the subject.

medium shot

is a camera shot that captures a subject from the waist up. This perspective balances the subjects and their surroundings, providing context while allowing for emotional connection.

wide shot

is a camera shot that captures a subject in its entirety along with its environment. This technique establishes context and setting.

panning

The camera moves horizontally from side to side.

tilting

the camera moves vertically up and down

tracking

The camera moves forward or backward, following a subject.

rule of thirds

A compositional guideline that divides the frame into nine equal parts. Important elements of the scene should be placed at the intersections of these lines.

leading lines

A compositional technique that uses natural lines in the scene to draw the viewer's eye towards the main subject or point of interest.

mise-en-scene

The arrangement of everything that appears in the framing of a shot, including settings, props, actors, and lighting.

Spin bias

Definition: Presenting information in a way that creates a particular opinion or feeling.

Key characteristics:

Word choice manipulation

Emotional language

Selective presentation of facts

Examples: "Tax relief" vs. "Tax cuts OR " "Crushing defeat" vs. "Lost by 2 points".

Look for: loaded language, dramatic adjectives, emotional triggers

unsubstantiated claims

Assertions made without sufficient evidence or proof to back them up. Often used in media to influence opinions without valid support. These claims can mislead audiences and promote misinformation.

key characteristics: Lack of credible sources, vague assertions, reliance on anecdotal evidence.

look out for these words: "believe," "always," "everyone"

opinion statements as facts

Assertions presented as objective truths, misleading audiences by lacking proper evidence. They often blur the line between subjective beliefs and verifiable information.

How does media bias affect society and the public's trust in media?

• decreased trust in journalistic integrity and credibility.

• promotes misinformation

• polarization of society

• long-term damage

sensationalism/emotionalism

A style of reporting that exaggerates or dramatizes story elements to provoke strong emotional reactions from audiences. This technique is often used to attract attention, but can distort the truth and mislead the public.

words to look out for: shocking, unbelievable, insane

mudslinging/adhominem

A tactic used in arguments or debates that involves attacking the character or motives of an opponent rather than addressing the actual issues at hand. This technique aims to undermine the opponent's credibility and distract from the topic.

words to look out for: stupid, liar

slant

A biased presentation of information that highlights certain aspects while downplaying or ignoring others.

words to look out for: always, only, never

mind reading bias

A fallacy where one assumes to know the thoughts or feelings of another without direct evidence or communication.

words to look out for: secretly, obviously, wants to

omission of source attribution

The practice of failing to credit or cite the original source of information or ideas, which can lead to misrepresentation or misinformation.

words to look out for: experts say, statistics show

word choice media bias

The influence of specific language and terminology used in media that can affect audience perception and interpretation of information.

words to look out for: violent, heoric, outbreak

bias by omission

The practice of deliberately leaving out important information or perspectives in reporting, which can skew the audience's understanding or interpretation of events.

words to look out for: not naming sources, lack of context/data

vibrant colors

•  Evokes feelings of excitement, energy, and joy.

muted colors

Colors that are softer, less saturated, and often convey feelings of calmness or subdued emotion.

complementary colors

creates visual tension and drama, on opposite sides of the color wheel

monochromatic color palette

consists of variations in lightness and saturation of a single color, creating a harmonious and cohesive visual effect.

• Creates a sense of unity, simplicity, and focus.

Ethical standards of journalism

• truth and accuracy

• Humanity

• Fairness and impartiality

• Independence

• Accountability