Section 1b of the exam
question:
 How was media
language used in your
production?
 Again question 1b is asking you to only talk
about one of the things you have made from AS
to A2 I would suggest analysing your trailer.
What is media language?
 Media language is one of the Key terms that
might be used in the exam.
 Media language is an umbrella term to
describe the way media audiences read
media texts through understanding formal
and conventions structures.
 Media literacy describes our ability to read
and write in this extended 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.
What is media literacy
 If you read the A2 book you will see the importance of
media literacy enough to have an A-level in it, but you will
also be able to create media products based on
conventions, from your research you will produce a mode
of address suitable for your audience. And be able to
theorise your own creativity and support this will academic
theorise such as postmodernism, representation etc.
 So deconstructing i.e. taking apart how you have created
your product using
 to the examiners. That they want to see at A2 you
 Media literacy then is linked to media language because
you can
Media Language
 Is one of the key concepts they might ask you to
write about for question 1b, where they ask you
to pick and write about one of your productions.
In this case I have selected for you to write about
your trailer, as this will help you to also create
your trailer as you are considering how you are
going to make it.
 Other concepts they might ask you about are:
Genre , Narrative , Representation, Audience
 Media language is a big concept as it covers a
bit of all of these
Any media text is made up of
GRANITE. Confused?
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Okay, Every media text belongs to a Genre or group (a horror film, dance track,
teen magazine)
Within that text, a person, place or object is being Represented in some way,
shape or form.
The Audience for that media text will make sense of it using their personal and
shared experiences
The text also contains a Narrative, be it a photograph of war or some bad
gangsta lyrics about pimping your uncle
The text didn't evolve from bacteria, it was constructed by a media Institution
for financial purposes and has elements of their Ideology embedded within the
text.
It was produced using some Technology, be it DTP (Desk Top Publishing
software) or hardware
The Evidence is the product itself which you can then reference against other
Experiences you've had with similar Media
Get it?!
Semiotics
Semiotics what is it
Semiotics
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Is form of media language it is the studying of signs and meaning. There are
different types of signs Semiotics is a way of explaining how we make meaning.
Semiotics recognises that all meaning is encoded in things that create meaning.
When we see objects and images or hear / read words we cannot perceive more
than an idea. This idea is what we call “meaning”. We have learned to decode this
meaning as we grow up and are educated. The important realisation is that such
meaning is not our own idea but someone else’s. For example, if you read the
word “coward” you decode it by referring to values that our culture relates both
to cowardice and its binary opposite term, heroism. In semiotics, a sign is the
smallest single unit of meaning we can decode and which contributes to overall
meaning, e.g. your clothes are a group of ‘fashion signs’ and might have been
‘encoded’ by you – consciously or otherwise – to create the meaning of
‘coolness’; the ‘FCUK’ on your T-shirt, for example, is a group of signs that create
a code of, perhaps, youthful rebelliousness. Simplistically speaking, meaning
exists at two “levels”: a sign always acts at a basic level – called its denotation;
this is a literal meaning; but, when it occurs in certain contexts, a group of signs –
a code – can also suggest or connote extra meaning, e.g. a rose denotes a kind of
flower; but when handed to a girl by a boy, it also acts to connote romance (and,
importantly, in a media text, this would also act to reinforce ways of thinking
about how romance ‘should’ ideally be conducted – one of our society’s
dominant ideologies)
Semiotic signs
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In semiotics, a code is any group of signs that seem to “fit” together ‘naturally’ to create an overall
unit of meaning (e.g. the rose is a sign which when added to the signs of a girl and a boy creates
the ‘romance cultural code’.

Filmic codes are a form of technical code because filmic equipment is needed to create them, e.g.
cameras, microphones, lighting, etc. In semiotics there are three basic types of sign and code need
to know about:
Iconic signs and codes are created to appear exactly like the thing itself, e.g. an image of a
cowboy looks like – signifies – a cowboy. But… importantly, iconic codes always act to represent
more than the thing itself, e.g. when we see an image of a cowboy, our culture associates ideas of
toughness and action with this particular iconic code (which also acts to reinforce what
masculinity ‘means’ in our culture – an ideological meaning).

Indexical signs show a connection between things they are a pointer rather than
representing what they act as ‘cues’ to existing knowledge, e.g. smoke signifies fire, sweating
suggests hotness or exercise. These codes are a kind of media shorthand. They are very common
and useful to media producers.
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Symbolic codes act as signifiers of meaning totally disconnected from what they denote,
e.g. a red heart shape acts only to symbolise love; a white dove symbolises peace; red symbolises
danger, power or sexuality, white symbolises innocence, etc.
Horror and semiotics
 Horror as a genre has a very close connection
with semiotics. Considering that horror as a
genre is all about making various cultural
references it easy to see that most films could
not function on a deeper level without semiotics.
A common theme among horror films is the
victimization of women which relates back to
feminim. Without semiotics in a film would a
teenage girl running away from a serial killer be
anything more than a random victim?
Indexical
 In your own horror film identifying what
signs you have used to create the horror
code
 indexical
 symbolic
 iconic
Semiotics creating meaning
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An important realisation is that the meaning a code communicates is
always culturally determined, i.e. We learn the meaning as we grow up
in a particular group, society or culture, e.g. the national flag means
much more than its denotation of a piece of coloured cloth; it also acts
to connote patriotism and pride. An important filmic and media code is
the enigma code which work by creating an intriguing ‘question’ that the
media text will go on to answer. Cinema trailers and posters use enigma
codes to tempt the viewers. The term convention is important; it refers
to an established way of doing something; we are so used to
conventional ways that fail to account for their effect and often see
them as somehow ‘natural’ – yet are anything but. So: women in
Westerns are conventionally either ‘very good’ (the ‘Madonna’) or ‘very
bad’ (the ‘whore’), and this seems entirely ‘normal’ within this film
genre; equally, the wheels of a car always screech; a guns always kills
outright; a punch always knocks a person out cold. Genre and narrative
are important media conventions (see later), as are editing techniques
and the use of certain shot types (such as an establishing shot sequence
or montage – see below).
Extended learning
 View semiotics Powerpoint available on
mediahubteacher
Genre
Theorists you may use
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GENRE
Daniel Chandler (2001) – genre is a French work meaning ‘type’, ‘kind’ or ‘class’.
Barry Keith Grant (1995) – all genres have sub-genres that have familiar and recognisable
characteristics.
David Buckingham (1993), Steve Neale (1995) – genres evolve and change over time; they are
dynamic. They are a process of ‘systemisation’ and therefore naturally change over time.
Christian Metz (1974) – genres go through a life cycle over time – experimental, classic,
parody,
deconstruction.
Jason Mittell (2001) genres surpass cultural boundaries; they are used by institutions to sell
products
as they as they include familiar codes and conventions and cultural references.
Rick Altman (1999) – genre offers audiences a set of pleasures; visceral, emotional,
intellectual.
David Bordwell (1989) – any theme may appear in any genre.
What Is Genre?
• ‘Genre’ is a critical tool that helps us study
texts and audience responses to texts by
dividing them into categories based on
common elements.
• Daniel Chandler (2001) - the word genre comes
from the French (and originally Latin) word for
‘type'.
The term is widely used in literary theory, media
theory to refer to a distinctive type of ‘text’.
Genre
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The Main Genres
Action / Adventure
Comedy
Crime/gangster
Drama
Family
Historical / Epic
Horror
Musical
Science Fiction
War
Westerns
What defines a film's genre?
Characters
Mise-en-scene
Narrative
Music
Editing
But remember: Genre is not 'set' - it is fluid, as it is defined by the audience. Genres
have changed over time they have become parodied, hybrid and subverted

All genres have sub genres (genre within a genre).
•This means that they are divided up into more specific
categories that allow audiences to identify them specifically
by their familiar and what become recognisable
characteristics (Barry Keith Grant, 1995)
Contrasting view held by Neal
•However, Steve Neale (1995) stresses that “genres are not
‘systems’ they are processes of systematization” – i.e. They
are dynamic and evolve over time
How is your trailer identifiable, which
supports Grant’s view or do you agree with
Neale or both?
Genre
 When a range of media texts, whether in print, film , music,
or Tv they share similar forms and conventions the audience
have certain expectations this is called genre. Genre is the
kind of narrative being told, e.g. detective, Western. It
defines a text by its similarities to other texts. Watching a
film, we have many pre-existing memories and
expectations regarding characters, settings and events: it is
this that helps us enjoy predicting what might happen next
and working out where events will lead. Genre allows a
director to create seeming realism because we fail to see
that what we see is not reality but a media convention. So…
in the gangster genre, we don’t mind the owner of a casino
being horribly killed because we see him, within this genre,
as belonging to the side of the ‘villain’.
 .
The great debate
In film theory, genre refers to the method of film categorization based on similarities
in the narrative elements from which films are constructed. Most theories of film
genre are borrowed from literary genre criticism. As with genre in literary context,
there is a great deal of debate over how to define or categorize genre. Besides the
basic distinction in genre between fiction and documentary, film genres can be
categorized in several ways.
Fictional films are usually categorized according to their setting, theme topic mood, or
format. The setting is the milieu or the environment where the story and action takes
place. The theme or topic refers to the issues or concepts that the film revolves
around. The mood is the emotional tone of the film. Format refers to the way the film
was shot, eg widescreen or the manner of presentation eg 35mm 16mm or 8mm. An
additional way of categorizing film genres is by the target audience. Some film
theorists argue that neither format nor target audience are film genres. Film genres
often branch out in subgenres, as in the case of the courtroom and trial focused
subgenre of drama known as legal drama. They can be combined to form hybrid
genres, such as the melding of horror and science fiction in the Aliens films.
Generic features
 Genre share the same elements of paradigms
with others in the same category, this makes
them recognisable to the producers who
create them and the audience. Audiences
recognise these patterns and things brings
about a certain expectations i.e. horror films
the isolated house, the final girl etc.
 (Analyse what paradigms your trailer
contains see next slide?)
Generic Characteristics across all texts share similar elements and can be identified by these
elements. These elements can be referred to as paradigms meaning patters, and audience have
certain expectations, what they expect to see. As Neale (1980) suggests “Genre is a set of
expectations”.
Think about it from an institutions context why is it certain genres get made more than others,
why are certain actors association with certain genres? Think about the success of Twilight, or
the bond franchise?
Paradigms:
1. Typical Mise-en-scène/Visual style
(iconography, props, set design, lighting,
temporal and geographic location, costume,
shot types, camera angles, special effects).
2. Typical types of Narrative (plots, historical
setting, set pieces).
(For section B of the exam notice although genre is a concept it
is also linked to narrative)
3. Generic Types, i.e. typical characters (do
typical male/female roles exist, archetypes?).
Typical studios/production companies…
4. Typical Personnel (directors, producers,
actors, stars, auteurs etc.).
5. Typical Sound Design (sound design,
dialogue, music, sound effects).
6. Typical Editing Style.
How does this apply to your film trailer’s genre,
how have you created it based on these
elements in this paradigm?
What have you used
Mise en
scene
Typical
types of
Narrative
Generic
Types
Typical
Personnel
Typical
Sound
Design
Typical
Editing
Style.
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
Evidence
Using key
words
Evidence
Key words Iconography and Star system
ICONOGRAPHY is an important aspect of genre. We expect to see certain objects
on screen when we see a particular genre, for example, in a Western, dusty lonely
roads, saloon bars, cowboy hats and horses, jails, sheriffs badges, guns, etc.; in a
modern horror film, we expect young girls, ‘normal’ objects, use of dark and
light, etc. These ‘genre indicators’ are called the iconography of the mise-en-scene
or genre. These again are linked to semiotic interpretiatons
‘THE STAR SYSTEM’ Certain film stars can be an important part of a film’s
iconography and become signifiers of meaning; they
create expectations of character and action, genre, and powerful iconic
representations of such as masculinity and femininity. In the past, stars were
contracted to stop them moving studios and genres.
Steve Campsall’s definition of iconography is useful. – ‘Iconography is an
important aspect of genre. We expect to see certain objects on screen when
we see a particular genre,
In a modern horror film, we expect young girls, ‘normal’ objects, use of dark and light,
etc. These ‘genre indicators’ are called the iconography of the mise-en-scene or genre.’
So iconography can be defined as those particular signs
we associate with particular genres. Film producers use
images that belong to the iconography of the genre to
excite audience expectations, and to show that the film is
within a certain genre.
Another way of putting it is to say genre can be identified by
the look of the images in the text – this is the iconography,
or the signs, that are associated with a genre. Iconography
includes a wide range of ‘signs To become part of the
iconography of a genre a pattern of visual signs remain
constant in that genre over a period of time. Some of the
things that make up genre iconography include:
Genre horror conventions how have you made yours?
All Genres have Subgenres
• Genre is a type, but these types can be divided
and sub divided into specific categories that allow
audiences to identify allow the audience to
recognised the, specifically by
their familiar and what become
recognisable characteristics.
•Steve Neale (1995) stresses that
“genres are not systems they are
processes” – they are dynamic and evolve over
time.
Jason Mittell (2001) argues that genres are
cultural categories that surpass the boundaries of media
texts and operate within industry, audience, and cultural
practices as well. This means that genres change over
time, i.e from horror we now have subgenres like slasher,
zombie etc.
In short, industries use genre to sell products to
audiences. Media producers use familiar codes and
conventions that often make cultural references to their
audience’s knowledge of society + other texts.
Genre allows audiences to make choices about what
products they want to consume through acceptance in
order to fulfil a particular pleasure.
Pleasure of genre for audiences
• Rick Altman (1999) argues that genre offers audiences ‘a set of
pleasures’.
Emotional Pleasures: The emotional pleasures offered to
audiences of genre films are particularly significant when they
generate a strong audience response.
Visceral Pleasures: Visceral pleasures are ‘gut’ responses and are
defined by how the film’s stylistic construction elicits a physical
effect upon its audience. This can be a feeling of revulsion, kinetic
speed, or a ‘roller coaster ride’.
Intellectual Puzzles: Certain film genres such as the thriller or
the ‘whodunit’ offer the pleasure in trying to unravel a mystery
or a puzzle. Pleasure is derived from deciphering the plot and
forecasting the end or the being surprised by the unexpected.
The Strengths Of Genre Theory
The main strength of genre theory is that
everybody uses it and understands it – media
experts use it to study media texts, the media
industry uses it to develop and market texts and
audiences use it to decide what texts to consume.
The potential for the same concept to be
understood by producers, audiences and
scholars makes genre a useful critical tool. Its
accessibility as a concept also means that it
can be applied across a wide range of texts.
Genre Development and Transformation
Over the years genres develop and change as the
wider society that produce them also changes, a
process that is known as generic transformation.
Metz (1974) argued that genres go through a cycle
of changes during their lifetime.
1. Experimental Stage2.Classic Stage
3. Parody Stage
4.Deconstruction Stage
Nicholas Abercrombie (1996) suggests that 'the
boundaries between genres are shifting and
becoming more permeable'
Abercrombie is concerned with modern
television, which he suggests seems to be
engaged in 'a steady dismantling of genre’
Genres are not fixed. They constantly change and
evolve over time.
David Buckingham (1993) argues that 'genre is
not... Simply "given" by the culture: rather, it is
in a constant process of negotiation and change’.
As postmodern theorist Jacques
Derrida reminds us – ‘the law of
the law of genre is a principle of
contamination, a law of
impurity’.
In terms of your coursework...
• How we define a genre depends on our
purposes (Chandler, 2001).
• What was your purpose and the medium?
• Your audience and the industry sector you
were working within will have defined what
you understood as the genre and sub-genre
of the texts you created.
Genre point 1:
 Film companies use genre both to sell and
help make successful films: a popular genre
creates a greater chance of commercial
success, so genre is a cost efficient way of
planning a film, making it cheaper to write
new stories and reducing the need for entirely
new sets; a negative aspect is that it being
‘safe’, it can also act to reduce choice and
creativity.
Point 2
 There are three types of genres : Major, sub
genre and hybrid.
 Major genre: the main one i.e. horror,
western, action etc
 Sub genres i.e Slasher, Zombie,Vampires etc
 (Which genre is your trailer, how does it fit
with the paradigm analysis, is it
unconventional) Consider feminist theory and
what they say about your genre?
Genre point 3
 Genre is embedded into cultural it is what
people expect. Genres also change over time,
until the 1990s reality did not exist. Christian
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Metz (1974) said – genres go through a life
cycle over time –
experimental
classic
parody
deconstruction
Analysing your horror trailer using genre
theory
For instance does your horror trailer challenge or following genre conventions? Use the
writing frame below to focus your thought>.
Explanation
Evidence
Argument
terminolog
y
feminis
m
Here you
must explain
your product
to support
your point ,
again look at
contrasting
theories this
shows high
level thinking.
Use a quotes
and theorist
Here you must
use evidence to
support your
point . I.e. what is
it specifically that
you have used
that makes your
trailer suit that
genre. What
theory (feminism
and genre) what
theorists i.e.
Neale’s
paradigms i.e
mise-en-scene,
narrative etc
Here you must
use both
evidence and
argument to
support your
point and use
theorists. I.e. use
Neale view of
paradigms and
explain how you
have used miseen-scene,
narrative etc
(include theorists
from narrative)
theorists
What
terminology
are you
going to use
Consider
what
feminist
say
about
your
trailer?
Metz
 Metz believed that genre develops through four stages:
Experimental - Bulding blocks for future horrors to go by.
Early stages of horror setting up the general codes and
conventions of the horror genre.
 Classic/Classical - Movies that have followed the general
guidelines set out in the experimental stage.
 Parody - Movies that mock the genre, usually turned into
comedy.
 Deconstruction - Movies that pick that take codes and
conventions from the Horror and Thriller genre and
combine them into one movie
Using Metz formula with
films
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Applying it to these horror films:
Seven
Frankenstein
Dracula
The Blair Witch Project
The Sixth Sense
Carry On Screaming
Nosferatu
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Scary Movie
Abbot + Costello Meet Frankenstein
Scream
Using Metz formual
 Experimental: Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr.
Caligari
 Classical: Dracula, Frankenstein
 Parody:Carry On Screaming, Abbot +
Costello, Meet Frankenstein
 Deconstruction : Se7en, Scream, The Sixth
Sense, The Blair Witch Project
Homework
“Media texts rely on audience knowledge of
generic codes and conventions in order for
them to create meaning”.
Explain how you used or subverted generic
conventions in one of your trailer.
Remember Explanation, Analysis, Argument,
Examples and terminology. Use Quotes and a
structure format on the following pages:
Use this writing frame
Explanation
Evidence
Argument
terminology
What evidence and
theorists?
How are your going What terminology
to explain, provide are you going to
evidence and use
use?
theorists to argue
for and against.
Remember show
both sides to get
those extra points?
Fill this in
Explain your
answer?
Using genre theory and
theorists
 The following uses examples of theorists and
what you might say to support your work.
Remember if they ask you to talk about
Genre this has to be interlinked with
narrative. You must talk about both as they
are inseparable.
Nicholas Abercrombie
 Nicholas Abercrombie identifies the use of genre
for media producers when he writes “Television
producers set out to exploit genre conventions”.
His argument is that media producers can re-use
conventions, creating formulaic and
conventional products that are familiar and
appeal to the audience, but that are also likely to
succeed and therefore are less risky for the
producer. Think about what your audience
expects to see have you followed this or have
you challenged this?
David Buckingham
 Genre is not simply given by the culture, rather, it is
in a constant process of negotiation and change.”
David Buckingham

 It is important to recognise that genres shift and
change over time, and Buckingham’s statement
above acknowledges this. I would argue that this is
vital to understanding music videos, where in order
to appeal to the audience and seem cutting-edge
and new, the producers have to reinvent and revise
generic conventions to create a fresh and appealing
but recognisably packageable product.
Genre - Repertoire of
Elements
 Generic Feature Explanation Link to other Key
Concepts Characterisation This is when stock
characters are present in a media text (we
sometimes call them stereotypes), this can also refer
to stars/actors who play a particular type of role (ie,
Bruce Willis - action/thriller), personal qualities of
main characters (this can include motivations, goals
and behaviours) Representation and Narrative
Setting (Diegesis) The geographical (place) and
historical (context) of the text might help identify
genre. Representation (cultural ref)
Christian Metz
 In creating my horror trailer I was keen to draw
upon familiar generic conventions of the horror ,
but to also try to develop some of these
conventions. In this way, my trailer can be
understood in terms of Christian Metz’s theory
that genres go through stages: the
Experimental/ the Classic/ the Parody/ the
Deconstruction. I would argue that my video
utilises enough classic conventions of the genre
so as to be recognisable as belonging to the
horror genre, but that it also seeks to
deconstruct and take apart some of these
conventions, and in doing so develops the genre.
Robert Stam
 While some genres are based on story
content (the war film), other are borrowed
from literature (comedy, melodrama) or from
other media (the musical). Some are
performer-based (the Astaire-Rogers films) or
budget-based (blockbusters), while others
are based on artistic status (the art film),
racial identity (Black cinema), locat[ion] (the
Western) or sexual orientation (Queer
cinema). (Stam 2000, 14).
Problems with genre theory?

Defining genres may not initially seem particularly problematic but it should already be apparent that it is
a theoretical minefield. Robert Stam identifies four key problems with generic labels (in relation to film):
extension (the breadth or narrowness of labels); normativism (having preconceived ideas of criteria for
genre membership); monolithic definitions (as if an item belonged to only one genre); biologism (a kind of
essentialism in which genres are seen as evolving through a standardized life cycle) (Stam 2000, 128-129).

Conventional definitions of genres tend to be based on the notion that they constitute particular
conventions of content (such as themes or settings) and/or form (including structure and style) which are
shared by the texts which are regarded as belonging to them. Alternative characterizations will be
discussed in due course. The attempt to define particular genres in terms of necessary and sufficient
textual properties is sometimes seen as theoretically attractive but it poses many difficulties. For
instance, in the case of films, some seem to be aligned with one genre in content and another genre in
form. The film theorist Robert Stam argues that 'subject matter is the weakest criterion for generic
grouping because it fails to take into account how the subject is treated' (Stam 2000, 14). Outlining a
fundamental problem of genre identification in relation to films, Andrew Tudor notes the 'empiricist
dilemma':

To take a genre such as the 'western', analyse it, and list its principal characteristics, is to beg the question
that we must first isolate the body of films which are 'westerns'. But they can only be isolated on the basis
of the 'principal characteristics' which can only be discovered from the films themselves after they have
been isolated. (Cited in Gledhill 1985, 59)

End essay with: Try and use Stam as this shows a problem with the theory, and then suggest that genre is
useful so producers know what people what to see and as Neale suggests audiences have expectations
about genre
Narrative
What is narrative
 A narrative can be both a work of fiction and
non fiction a book, writing, song, film,
television, video games, photography or
theatre
Narrative
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In media terms, narrative is the coherence/organisation given to a series of facts. The human
mind needs narrative to make sense of things. We connect events and make interpretations
based on those connections. In everything we seek a beginning, a middle and an end. We
understand and construct meaning using our experience of reality and of previous texts. Each
text becomes part of the previous and the next through its relationship with the audience. What
does narrative mean? The way that stories are told, how meaning is constructed to achieve the
understanding of the audience.
Groups events into cause and effect – action and inaction.
Organises time and space in very compressed form.
The voice of the narrative can vary; whose story is being told and from whose perspective?
Narrative plot refers to everything audibly or visibly present, i.e. selective.
Narrative story refers to all the events, explicitly presented or referred.
In film, narrative is constructed through elements like camerawork, lighting, sound, mise-enscene and editing.
The difference between Story & Narrative:
"Story is the irreducible substance of a story (A meets B, something happens, order returns),
while narrative is the way the story is related (Once upon a time there was a princess...)" (Key
Concepts in Communication - Fiske et al (1983))
Media Texts
Reality is difficult to understand, and we struggle to construct meaning out of our everyday
experience. Media texts are better organised; we need to be able to engage with them without
too much effort. We have expectations of form, a foreknowledge of how that text will be
constructed. Media texts can also be fictional constructs, with elements of prediction and
fulfilment which are not present in reality. Basic elements of a narrative, according to Aristotle:
Narrative
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Plot is the basic structure of any story but narrative can have a variety of internal structures
related to style, temporal elements and codification of the message. Plot describes a series of
events that happens to the characters in a described setting. Ideally, all events should follow
logically in order to maintain the continuity of the story. Larger texts often have subplots that run
simultaneously with the main one.
A-Plot is the term used for the main plot that binds all the subplots. The A-plot is not necessarily
the most important one.
A Subplot or Side Story is a plot that has no direct connection to the A-Plot, but is important for
understanding various aspects of the characters' personalities and the world created by the
author.
There are several kinds of subplots:
A Character Arc describes the events happening to a (secondary) character and allows the reader
to learn more about his background.
A Story Arc is a partial plot that is typical for episodic storytelling media such as TV series. It
describes events that happen to the characters over several episodes, but is not crucial for
understanding the events that occur in various episodes.
Story-within-a-story is a technique used to tell a story during the action of another one. This is
more properly called a Frame Narrative.
Other possible plot patterns include:
A Quest is a journey toward a goal typically used as a plot in mythology. In literature, the quest
requires great exertion on the part of the hero, typically including much travel, which allows the
storyteller to introduce exotic locations and cultures. Side-quests are often used to develop
character depth by give opportunity for a seemingly perfect character to have flaws that can
possibility provoke his downfall. Often side-quests are stepping stones to the completion of a final
goal.
The Monomyth (often referred to as the Hero's Journey) is a cyclical journey found in myths as
discussed by Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces.
Narrative
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NARRATIVE Narratives are stories. They are our way of making sense of our lives and the world.
When we want to tell or hear about life, we want to tell it and hear it in the form of a story. This
means that we frequently follow a particular form and structure when we tell about things,
whether we tell about real or imaginary events. We have learned to use narrative as the means of
telling about people and events such that it has become ‘hard wired’ into our mind as the most
interesting way to tell about events in life and the world. Because we have grown so used to using
it, narrative has become “transparent”, i.e. we don’t know we use it. This means we can call it a
convention; it seems the natural way to tell of things. The paradox of narrative is that despite
massively simplifying reality, it creates the illusion of offering authenticity and truth. A narrative
typically begins with a sense that the world is in equilibrium – a calm place; this equilibrium
becomes disrupted before eventually returning to a new equilibrium; because we believe that the
world should be in astate of calm, we expect any disruption to be resolvable and to be returned to
calm. This results in a connected beginning-middle-end structure in which the calm of a ‘hero’s’
world is disrupted by a ‘villain’. In the real world, of course, people are never wholly good or wholly
evil; life is not necessarily ‘naturally’ calm and events are never so simply related one to another.
But, that’s the way we see the world and by presenting a word of people and events in the form of
a narrative, media texts work easily to trick us into believing we are being shown a ‘window on the
world’ – reality. TV ads are mini-narratives in which we add in missed aspects in our desire to see a
story unfold and be resolved. Often we become the hero and the advertised product becomes the
‘helper’ – equivalent to the magical potion of ancient fairy tales that helps change the frog into a
handsome prince and so on…
Approaches to study
narrative
 Branigan
 Propp
 Barthes
 Todorov
 Levi-Strauss
 Allan Cameron
 Kate Domaille
Branigan
 Edward Branigan
 Branigan argues that narrative is ‘ a way of
organising spatial and temporal data into a
cause-effect chain of events with a beginning,
a middle and end that embodies a judgement
about the nature of events.’
 What is Branigan saying? Can you think of an
example?
 Branigan’s key point is that the narrative will
embody a judgement – ideology and narrative.
Todorov theory: 5 stage narrative
1. Stage 1: A point of stable equilibrium, where
everything is satisfied, calm and normal.
2. Stage 2: This stability is disrupted by some kind of
force, which creates a state of disequilibrium.
3. Stage 3: Recognition that a disruption has taken
place.
4. Stage 4: It is only possible to re-create equilibrium
through action directed against the disruption.
5. Stage 5: Restoration of a new state of equilibrium.
The consequences of the reaction is to change the
world of the narrative and/or the characters so that
the final state of equilibrium in not the same as the
initial state.
5 stage narrative
Vladimir Propp’s Theory of
Narrative
 Propp’s approach to narrative Vladimir Propp studied
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hundreds of Russian folk and fairytales before deciding that
all narratives have a common structure.
He observed that narratives are shaped and directed by
certain types of characters and specific kinds of actions
He believed that there are 31 possible stages or functions in
any narrative. These may not all appear in a single story, but
nevertheless always appear in the same sequence.
A function is a plot motif or event in the story.
A tale may skip functions but it cannot shuffle their
unvarying order.
Propp also said there were 7 different narrative character
Propp's 31 stage Narrative function
•1.. A member of a family leaves home (the hero is introduced as a unique person within the tribe,
whose needs may not be met by remaining)
•2 An interdiction (a command NOT to do something e.g.'don't go there', 'go to this place'), is addressed
to the hero;
•3.The hero ignores the interdiction
•4.The villain appears and (either villain tries to find the children/jewels etc; or intended victim
encounters the villain);
•5.The villain gains information about the victim;
•6.The villain attempts to deceive the victim to take possession of victim or victim's belongings (trickery;
villain disguised, tries to win confidence of victim);
•7. The victim is fooled by the villain, unwittingly helps the enemy;
•8.Villain causes harm/injury to family/tribe member (by abduction, theft of magical agent, spoiling
crops, plunders in other forms, causes a disappearance, expels someone, casts spell on someone,
substitutes child etc, commits murder, imprisons/detains someone, threatens forced marriage, provides
nightly torments); Alternatively, a member of family lacks something or desires something (magical
potion etc);
•9.Misfortune or lack is made known, (hero is dispatched, hears call for help etc/ alternative is that
victimised hero is sent away, freed from imprisonment);
•10Seeker agrees to, or decides upon counter-action;
•11Hero leaves home;
•12Hero is tested, interrogated, attacked etc, preparing the way for his/her receiving magical agent or
helper (donor);
•13.Hero reacts to actions of future donor (withstands/fails the test, frees captive, reconciles disputants,
performs service, uses adversary's powers against them);
•14.Hero acquires use of a magical agent (it's directly transferred, located, purchased, prepared,
spontaneously appears, is eaten/drunk, or offered by other characters);
•15.Hero is transferred, delivered or led to whereabouts of an object of the search;
•16.Hero and villain join in direct combat;
Propp Continued
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17.Hero is branded (wounded/marked, receives ring or scarf);
18.Villain is defeated (killed in combat, defeated in contest, killed while asleep, banished);
19.Initial misfortune or lack is resolved (object of search distributed, spell broken, slain person
revived, captive freed);
20.Hero returns;
21.Hero is pursued (pursuer tries to kill, eat, undermine the hero);
22.Hero is rescued from pursuit (obstacles delay pursuer, hero hides or is hidden, hero transforms
unrecognisably, hero saved from attempt on his/her life);
23.Hero unrecognised, arrives home or in another country;
24.False hero presents unfounded claims;
25.Difficult task proposed to the hero (trial by ordeal, riddles, test of strength/endurance, other
tasks);
26.Task is resolved;
27.Hero is recognised (by mark, brand, or thing given to him/her);
28. False hero or villain is exposed;
29.Hero is given a new appearance (is made whole, handsome, new garments etc);
30.illain is punished;
31. Hero marries and ascends the throne (is rewarded/promoted).
Although the plot is driven by the actions and choices of the hero (the protagonist), these
narrative functions are spread between the main characters. Propp also defined these
character categories:
Props 7 character types
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The hero, usually male, is the agent who restores the narrative equilibrium often by embarking
upon a quest (or search). Propp distinguishes between the victim hero, who is the centre of the
villain's attentions, and the seeker hero who aids others who are the villains victims. The hero is
invariably the texts central character.
The villain who usually creates the narrative disruption.
The donor gives the hero something, it may be an object, information or advice, which helps in
resolution of the narrative.
The helper aids the hero in the task of restoring equilibrium.
The princess (the victim) is usually the character most threatened by the villain and has to be
saved, at the climax, by the hero. The father's (who in fairy tales was often the king) role is usually
to give the princess away to the hero at the narrative's conclusion. He may also despatch the hero.
The dispatcher sends the hero on her or his task (who can typically be the
princess father)
• The false hero appears to be good but is revealed, at the narrative's end, to
have been bad
Characters can fulfil more than one sphere character type, for example; a princess may also be a
helper.
Propps’s characters applied to Harry Potter
and Twilight
The villain – Tom Riddle (Lord
Voldmort)
The hero – Harry Potter
The donor – the Phoenix provides
sorting hat, which provides a
sword
The helper who aids the hero –
Ron Weasley
The princess – Ginny Weasley
Her father – Dumbledore, he
rewards Harry, however is not the
father but may be looked up to as
a father figure
The dispatcher – Moaning Myrtle,
helps show the entrance to the
chamber.
The false hero – Professor
Gilderoy Lockhart
Propps’s characters applied to and Twilight
The villain – Victoria, James
The hero – Edward Cullen
The donor – Alice, her
ability to see the future
The helper who aids the
hero – Carlisle,
The princess – Bella Swan
Her father – Charlie
The dispatcher –
The false hero – Laurent,
warns the Cullens of James
tracking power
Propps’s characters applied to and Twilight
The villain – Victoria, James
The hero – Edward Cullen
The donor – Alice, her
ability to see the future
The helper who aids the
hero – Carlisle,
The princess – Bella Swan
Her father – Charlie
The dispatcher –
The false hero – Laurent,
warns the Cullens of James
tracking power
Beyond Propp and criticisms
Propp's lists are easy to learn - but are they
so easily applied to every narrative you
come across? Why 31? We live in a world of
very sophisticated narratives - many of
them non-linear - which deliberately defy
the conventions of traditional folk tales.
Can you apply Propp consistently if the
hero is female? Can you substitute "science"
for "magic"? Are all narratives about
struggles between heroes and villains - or
do we oversimplify them if we try to claim
that they are? Propp's theories rely on
'good' and 'bad' characters. Have we moved
beyond fairy tale thinking into a era of
moral relativism — many interesting
narratives spring from a conflict between
two characters who are not easily identified
as a protagonist and an antagonist. Levi
Strauss who was inspired by Propp, also
criticued his work and put forward an
argument for binary opposites
Claude Lèvi-Strauss(1958) Binary Opposites
Narrative amount to the fact that he believed all stories operated to
certain clear Binary Opposites e.g. good vs. evil, black vs. white, rich
vs. poor etc.
The importance of these ideas is that essentially a complicated world
is reduced to a simple either/or structure. Things are either right or
wrong, good or bad. There is no in between.
This structure has ideological implications, if, for example, you want to
show that the hero was not wholly correct in what they did, and the
villains weren’t always bad. (Postmodernism?)
•Levi-Strauss also looked deeper into the way that narrative were
arranged in terms of themes within that were ultimately always
systematic oppositions.
The order of events can be called the syntagmatic structure of a
narrative, but Levi-Strauss was more concerned with thedeeper of
paradigmatic arrangement of themes. There is a choice of elements
(paradigms) and they are arranged/dealt with in a particular way
(syntagms).
ExamplesBlack vs white of binary opposites
Good vs evil
Boy vs girl
Peace vs war
Civilised vs savage
Democracy vs dictatorship
Conqueror vs conquered
First world vs third world
Domestic vs foreign/alien
Articulate vs inarticulate
Young vs old
Man vs nature
Protagonist vs antagonist
Action vs inaction
Motivator vs observer
Empowered vs victim
Man vs woman
Good-looking vs ugly
Strong vs weak
Decisive vs indecisive
East vs west
Humanity vs technology
Ignorance vs wisdom
•Roland Barthes Structuralist approach
1.Barthes identifies 5 narrative codes which
readers use to decode texts.
2.He emphasises the active role of readers in
creating meaning, and their ‘culturally formed
expectations’.
3.The narrative codes are: The 5 Narrative Codes
1. Action Code - applies to any action that implies a
oAction
further narrative action.
oEnigma
2. Enigma Code - refers to any element in a story
oSemic
that is not explained and, therefore, exists as an
oSymbolic
enigma for the audience.
oCultural
3. The Semantic Code - any element in a text that
suggests a particular, often additional, meaning by
way of connotation.
4. The Cultural Code - any element in a narrative that
refers 'to a science or body of knowledge'. In other
words, the cultural codes then to point to our shared
knowledge about the way the world works.
5. The Symbolic - Levi-Strauss also a structuralist
argued that the narrative structures have binary
oppositions, eg. good vs evil.
Allan Cameron’s types of narratives
Cameron has identified four different types of modular narrative:
• Anachronic
• Forking Paths
• Episodic
• Split Screens
Anachronic modular narratives involve the use of flashbacks and/or flashforwards,
with no clear dominance between any of the narrative threads. These narratives also
often repeat scenes directly or via a different perspective. Examples include: Pulp
Fiction and Memento.
Forking-path narratives juxtapose alternative versions of a story, showing the
possible outcomes that might result from small changes in a single event or group of
events. The forking-path narrative introduces a number of plotlines that usually
contradict one another. Examples include Groundhog Day and Run Lola Run.
Allan Cameron’s types of narratives
Anachronic modular narratives involve the use of flashbacks and/or flashforwards,
with no clear dominance between any of the narrative threads. These narratives also
often repeat scenes directly or via a different perspective. Examples include: Pulp
Fiction and Memento.
Forking-path narratives juxtapose alternative versions of a story, showing the
possible outcomes that might result from small changes in a single event or group of
events. The forking-path narrative introduces a number of plotlines that usually
contradict one another. Examples include Groundhog Day and Run Lola Run.
Allan Cameron’s narratives continued
Episodic narratives are organised as an abstract series or narrative
anthology. Abstract series type of modular narrative is characterized by
the operation of a nonnarrative formal system which appears to dictate
(or at least overlay) the organization of narrative elements such as a
sequence of numbers or the alphabet. Anthology consists of a series of
shorter tales which are apparently disconnected but share a random
similarity, such as all ‘episodes’ being survivors of a shipwreck.
Split screen narratives are different from the other types of modular
narrative discussed here, because their modularity is articulated along
spatial rather than temporal lines. These films divide the screen into two
or more frames, juxtaposing events within the same visual field, in a
sustained fashion. Examples include Timecode.
Analysing narrative
•Narrative Analysis
•Apply one of the narrative theories to the analysis of your trailer.
•Narrative analysis involves considering how a range of elements
(including mise-en-scene, editing, camerawork, sound, as well as
events) create meaning for the audience.
•Narrative analysis focuses on how the meanings made by the
audience are constructed?
How useful is this approach?
What theorist are you going to use to support this
structure
Narrative structure
 Every moving image is constructed around a narrative
structure and classified and understood in terms of genre.
 Narrative structure is best understood as how the story or
event unfold through actions of the characters.Soaps opera
narratives can develop over years, music videos in minutes.
Originally told in books narratives have now developed
through films, internet and newspapers. Narrative and
construction is not a random act, but they have been
constructed (encoded) delibately to allow the audience to
decode these. Narrative organise a plot to convey
meaning. In order to understand how audiences respond
you need to be able to decode how media producers have
encoded these.
Narrative structure
 Narrative structures:
 single strand
 multi-strand
 closed
 open
 linear and non-linear
 alternative
 narrative; enigma; climax; equilibrium
Narrative structures
 Single strand focus on single characters such
as Spiderman, multi-strand focus on several
characters i. friends or Lost.
 Linear: Narratives can be linear where events
are shown in a chronological order with one
following another.
 Non-linear, where stories feature flashbacks,
like flashbacks i.e in Lost.
Hollywood narrative
structure
 Single diegsis (one manin storyline)
 Logical chain of events, governed by the
action of a central character(s)
 Audience emphasises with central characters
pattern of enigma (mystery/problem) and
resolution (closed not open narrative)
dominated by versimilitude (realism) through
mise-en-scene, editing and how they
construct space and time.
Narrative development
Roland Barthes (1977)
Establishment of plot
or theme. This is then
followed by the development
of the problem, an enigma,
an increase in tension.
Finally comes the resolution
of the plot.
Such narratives can be unambiguous and
linear.
According to Kate Domaille (2001) every story
ever told can be fitted into one of eight
narrative types. Each of these narrative types
has a source, an original story upon which the
others are based. These stories are as follows:
1. Cinderella:
The dream comes true,
e.g. Pretty Woman.
2. Achilles: The fatal flaw
that leads to the destruction
of the previously flawless,
or almost flawless, person,
e.g. Superman, Fatal Attraction.
3. Candide:
indomitable hero
who cannot be put
down, e.g. Indiana
Jones, James Bond,
Rocky etc.
4. Circe: The Chase, the
spider and the fly, the
innocent and the victim
e.g. The Terminator.
5. Faust: Selling your
soul to the devil may bring
riches but eventually your
soul belongs to him, e.g.
Devil’s Advocate,and
Wall Street.
6. Orpheus:
The loss of something personal, the gift
that is taken away, the tragedy of loss or
the journey which follows the loss, e.g.
The Sixth Sense, Born On the Fourth Of July.
7. Romeo And Juliet:
The love story, e.g. Titanic.
8.Tristan and Iseult: The love triangle. Man
loves woman…unfortunately one or both of them
are already spoken for, or a third party
intervenes, e.g. Casablanca and Eclipse.
Exam question; Apply theories of narrative to one of your coursework?
Explanation
Evidence
Narrative is
What evidence
and theorists?
linked to
genre. You
could explain
here how you
have followed
on challenged
conventions,
i.e so your
audience has
expectations
Argument
i.e.
Terminolog
y
How are your going What terminology
to explain, provide are you going to
evidence and use
use?
theorists to argue
for and against.
Remember show
both sides to get
those extra points?
Codes and conventions
Codes and conventions of film
trailers: watch this its really good
http://www.ehow.com/video_4872071_basic-conventionsfilm-trailers.html
Codes and Conventions
Codes and conventions for
film trailers
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Remember one is the length of the trailer whether its a teaser trailer or a normal trailer
The codes and conventions for film trailers are:
Establishing shots
- Edits/Montage-dip to black shows passing of time, fast paced editing
- Music
- Voice-over
- Dialogue
- Captions
- Non-linear
- Restricted narration
- Exposition
- Production company
- Release date
- Title
- Use of stars
Most of these codes/conventions are included in movie trailers, they are the basic things that you
will see in a movie trailer. If you look at most films trailers you will see these things in them.
Genre/Genre
- trailer - has a genre of it's own
- the film is already going to have a genre
Spoken written and visual
language
Horror Movie Conventions 1 spoken, written and visual
language
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Blood
Death
Killing
Villain
Victims
Haunted houses and isolated settings
Monsters
Evil
Horror Movie Conventions 2 spoken, written and visual
language
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Weapons
Darkness
Storms
Chase sequences
Gore
Violence
Screams
Ghosts
Design
 Where is your film set, think about the design
how is this a code or convention of horror i.e
isolated house.
Media Language
 Use any of the theorists from these slides
Camera Shots, Angle,
Movement and Composition
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Camera SHOT TYPES
A shot is a single take. An establishing shot is usually a long shot that
helps to set the scene; it helps the spectator locate him or herself within
the narrative
 CAMERA ANGLE
 Eye-line match/high/low/tilt Camera angles always act to signify
meaning, e.g. a subjective POV high angle shot can suggest superiority;
a low angle shot can connote weakness.
 CAMERA MOVEMENT: Zoom track/pan/hand-held Camera movement
always creates significant meaning. A zoom into a close-up of a face can
suggest emotion, a pan across a war scene can suggest widespread
chaos; a POV tracking shot or a POV handheld camera shot can create
tension and involvement by making the spectator feel as if he or she is a
part of the action. A following shot pans or tracks (on rails or a wheeled
platform - a ‘dolly’) to keep the subject in the shot. A hand-held shot can
be kept from overly shaking by the use of a steadicam.
Lighting and sound
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LIGHTING
High key, neutral, low key
Lighting can create atmosphere and mood as well as signify meaning, e.g. in the horror genre,
light and
shade are codes of meaning. High-key lighting is harsh; soft-key lighting creates romance;
spotlighting picks out a character from a group, etc. Available light suggests natural light. Full-face
lighting suggests openness and honesty; shadow can suggest fear or lack of trust, and so on.
‘DIEGESIS’ AND SOUND The diegesis is the ‘world of the film’: if something is on the screen
(including sounds from objects within
the mise-en-scene) it is ‘in the diegesis’ or said to be ‘diegetic’. Sound that is a part of the action is
diegetic,
e.g. wind noise, screeching cars, music from a hi-fi, etc; sound that is added to create mood or
atmosphere
is non-diegetic. Diegetic sounds may, of course, also be dubbed after filming, or may be
exaggerated for
effect (e.g. loud footsteps, whistling wind, etc.).
Mise-en-Scene
 Cinema and TV codes are created within an area bounded
by the edges of a screen. What is shown is entirely
controlled by the producer or director and by controlling
what is in the frame controls the audience or spectators
understanding. Asking ‘who, what and where’ of the
characters and objects and their relative positions,
expressions, appearance, costume, make-up, scenery,
props, lighting, sounds, etc. in the mise-enscene will help
you analyse and understand it. What effects are created in a
particular mise-en-scene, what meaning do they have (both
denotation and connotation), how they have been created
and why created that particular way (which is director’s
purpose – perhaps to develop a character, a mood, the
storyline or plot and always to contribute to the exploration
a deeper meaning or idea, i.e. a theme).
Editing

Editing is the cutting and joining of lengths of film to place separate
shots together yet still manage to suggest a sense of a continuing,
connected and realistic flow of events and narrative (see below). A
montage is an edited series of shots that works as an ‘individual unit’ of
meaning greater than the individual mise-en-scenes from which it is
created.
 Continuity editing refers to editing techniques that keep the sense of
narrative flow such as matched or eye-line cuts. A jump-cut is a dramatic
edit that breaks time / space continuity yet still appears continuous and
‘natural’; an MTV edit is a rapid sequence of fast jump cuts that creates a
conscious effect such as in music videos; a cross-cut follows action in
two separate scenes; a follow-cut follow action to its consequence, e.g.
a character looking out cuts to what they look at. Fades (sometimes to
black) and dissolves create the sense of scenes moving forward. A
sound-bridge carries sound across shots.
 Parallel action allows two scenes to be viewed yet still retain the
continuity and realism and uses cross cuts. A sequence is a series of
shots (i.e. a montage) that leads up to a climax as in a story sequence.
Continuity
 Continuity is an underlying principle of filming
and takes many different conventions. As long as
continuity is used, the story can unfold. I.e. in a
film we never see everything that happens, but
because of continuity the viewer can follow what
is happening. The purpose is to smooth over
disjointed nature of editing to make things more
logical for viewers through time and space.
Montage editing i.e. rocky montage is different
this shows symbolic connections rather than
chronology of events.
Key rules of continuity
 Mise-en-scene- you must make sure that props, clothing
remains the same, this is very important especially when
filming over weeks, remember all the continuity errors we
watched in the first year, even big budget producers make
mistakes.
 Storyboarding: Make sure when filming that if a character
walks through a door you must make sure that your next
shot shows where the character is heading, not show them
walking in the other direction. Equally if a character is
wearing glasses, then in the next scene if the character is
shown asleep wearing glasses, then the audience will
assume that the character has fallnd asleep wearing glasses
Continuity filming
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principles
 Match on action: Connects physical action
i.e. a shot of football being kicked and how
the shot connects showing the motion of the
ball-see AS PowerPoint editing
 Shot reverse shot: conversation
 180 rule:
 Establishing shot: Show the audience where
they are.
Continuity editing
 Continuity editing is the style used in films to
smooth over the inherent discontinuity of the
editing process and to establish a logical
coherence between shots. This will include
 Digetic sound: using sound to smooth over
cuts
 Match on action: to pick up where the cut left
off
 Fade out i.e dip to black show passing of time
Media Language and moving
image
 In both your AS and A2 you have to understand
how to encode products like a media producer,
but also how to decode products like an
audience.
 You must remember though that when decoding
audiences don't always decode in the way you
want and with web 2.0, British based films which
were only ever intended for a British audience
can be upload and watched world wide, ask
yourself whether someone in India, would
understand and Interpret Little Britain in the
same way you do.
Media language how to
analyse
 Mise-en-scene, editing, Camera Shots,
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Angle, Movement and Composition and
sound
Semiotics: Signs, codes and
conventions.
Narratives
Genre
Iconography
Realism
Conventions of moving image
 Conventions are the ingredients which make
the product recognisable. For instance we
know that in films there are certain
conventions that they follow.
Iconography, star system and
versimilitude
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ICONOGRAPHY Iconography is an important aspect of genre. We expect to see certain objects on
screen when we see a
particular genre, for example, in a Western, dusty lonely roads, saloon bars, cowboy hats and
horses, jails,
sheriffs badges, guns, etc.; in a modern horror film, we expect young girls, ‘normal’ objects, use of
dark and
light, etc. These ‘genre indicators’ are called the iconography of the mise-en-scene or genre.
‘THE STAR SYSTEM’ Certain film stars can be an important part of a film’s iconography and
become signifiers of meaning; they
create expectations of character and action, genre, and powerful iconic representations of such as
masculinity and femininity. In the past, stars were contracted to stop them moving studios and
genres.
REALISM
‘Verisimilitude’ ‘Generic verisimilitude’ ‘Cultural verisimilitude’. The media can offer ultra-high
levels of seeming ‘realism’: the bright screen, clear and powerful Dolby sound, darkened room,
etc. are highly compelling and persuasive. Such ‘appearance of reality’ is called verisimilitude. This
is a convention as there is nothing genuinely ‘realistic’ about media images. There are two
important types of verisimilitude: generic verisimilitude convinces us because of the genre we are
watching (in horror it seems realistic for a vampire to sink its teeth into a person’s neck); cultural
verisimilitude seems realistic because it mimics real life.
Iconography
 Iconography is an important aspect of genre. We
expect to see certain objects on screen when we
see a particular genre, for example, in a Western,
dusty lonely roads, saloon bars, cowboy hats and
horses, jails, sheriffs badges, guns, etc.; in a
modern horror film, we expect young girls,
‘normal’ objects, use of dark and
 light, etc. These ‘genre indicators’ are called the
iconography of the mise-en-scene or genre.
Practice Time

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?
How to answer the question

para 1 Intro: which of your projects are you going to write about? briefly
describe it
para 2: what are some of the key features of the concept you are being
asked to apply? maybe outline two of the theories/ideas of particular
writers briefly
para 3; start to apply the concept, making close reference to your
production to show how the concept is evident in it
para 4: try to show ways in which ideas work in relation to your
production and also ways in which those ideas might not apply/could be
challenged
para 5; conclusion
Again remember you only have 30 minutes and that you really need to
analyse the finished production, rather than tell the marker how you
made it
How to quote
 You do NOT need to:
 Learn a load of quotes
 Explain their theories in great depth
 Know them all
 You DO need to:
 Use a few
 Be able to apply them to your work/ case studies
 Consider how useful/ not useful they are when
discussing your work
 Use authors name and date accurately.
Theorists
Genre

Gunther Kress Genre is “a kind of text that derives its form from the structure of a
(frequently repeated) social occasion, with its characteristic participants and their
purposes.”
Denis McQuail “The genre may be considered as a practical device for helping any mass
medium to produce consistently and efficiently and to relate its production to the
expectations of its customers.”
Nicholas Abercrombie “Television producers set out to exploit genre conventions... It...
makes sound economic sense. Sets, properties and costumes can be used over and over
again. Teams of stars, writers, directors and technicians can be built up, giving
economies of scale”
Christine Gledhill “Differences between genres meant different audiences could be
identified and catered to... This made it easier to standardise and stabilise production”
Katie Wales “Genre is... an intertextual concept”
John Fiske “A representation of a car chase only makes sense in relation to all the others
we have seen - after all, we are unlikely to have experienced one in reality, and if we did,
we would, according to this model, make sense of it by turning it into another text, which
we would also understand intertextually, in terms of what we have seen so often on our
screens. There is then a cultural knowledge of the concept 'car chase' that any one text is
a prospectus for, and that it used by the viewer to decode it, and by the producer to
encode it.”
Andrew Goodwin
Genres change and evolve:
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Christian Metz - Stages of genres: Experimental/ Classic/ Parody/ Deconstruction
David Buckingham - “Genre is not simply given by the culture, rather, it is in a constant process
of negotiation and change.”
Narrative
 Tzetvan Todorov – Argues that narratives always have a structure of
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Equilibrium/ Disequilibrium/ New equilibrium
Story versus plot
Claude Levi-Strauss – Argues that human cultural understanding is
based upon a system of binary oppposites (good/ bad; black/ white;
male/ female…). Narratologists have taken this theory and applied it
to narrative, arguing that binary opposition forms a fundamental
way of understanding narrative.
Roland Barthes: Enigma code; Action code. Also, Open and Closed
texts.
Vladimir Propp – argued that narratives always have certain
character types who perform certain actions. Characters are agents
of action.
Pam Cook argues that the Hollywood narrative structure includes:
“linearity of cause and effect within an overall trajectory of enigma
resolution” and “a high degree of narrative closure”
Representation
 Laura Mulvey – argues that cinema positions the
audience as male. The camera gazes at the
female object on screen. It also frames the male
character watching the female.
 We watch the girl; we see the male watching the girl;
we position ourselves within the text as a male
objectively gazing at the female.
 Can be applied to other media forms also.
 Hegemony (dominant ideology)
 Anyone from the Collective Identity powerpoint
Audience
 Stuart Hall: Encoding and Decoding; Preferred/
negotiated/ oppositional readings
 Denis McQuail – Uses and Gratification theory
(audiences consume media texts for Suveillance;
Personal Identity; Personal Relationships;
Escapism/ Diversion.
 Ien Ang - “Audiencehood is becoming an even
more multifaceted, fragmented and diversified
repertoire of practices and experiences.”
Media language
 Use any of these theorists as media language
you should draw upon all of these i.e
 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-continuity editing