Homework, 11th November 2015

On Monday, I am going to give you a test on the key terms you will need to know for the exam, so you need to revise them. You don't need to memorise the definitions word for word, but you will need to be able to define each term in a way which makes sense. 

Key terms megalist!

So, we're no longer going to do the exam which uses a film clip, as it is too difficult. Instead we're going to do the exam where you have to analyse an extract from a lifestyle magazine. Because of this, I have created a brand new version of the key terms megalist.

MEDIA STUDIES KEY TERMS MEGALIST!!!

Anchorage text	This is the piece of text which explains who the person on the cover is.
Aspirational	We can use this word to refer to the overall tone of a magazine if it makes you aspire (want) to improve your life.
Composition	This is basically another word for layout, but it refers specifically to camera shots.
Coverline	This refers to all the bits of text on a magazine cover which aren’t part of the anchorage text, masthead or skyline.
Direct address	If the model on the cover of the magazine is looking directly at you, this is direct address. If a coverline says something like ‘101 ways to spice up your sex life’, this is also direct address because it is as if the magazine is talking directly to you.
Generic convention	This is something we expect to see in a particular genre of magazine, for example, we expect to see advice on how to improve your life in a lifestyle magazine.
Masthead	The title of the magazine, as it is presented on the cover. Can usually be found at the top of the page.
Register	This refers to the text. The register can either be formal or informal/chatty.
Saturation	If a colour is very bright, we can say that it is highly saturated.
Serif	These are the little extra bits you see on letters in fonts such as Times New Roman. Serif makes text look classy and sophisticated, whereas text without serif could be described as sleek and modern.
Skyline	This is the line of text you sometimes find above the masthead on a magazine cover.
Stereotype	An attractive female being presented as a sex object, or a Chinese man being shown in a Karate outfit are both stereotypes.
Tagline	This is a sentence that sums up the ethos of the magazine, for example, the tagline for GQ magazine is ‘Look sharp, live smart’. Not all magazines have taglines.
Typography	This refers to what the text looks like in terms of the font and whether or not it has serif. It does not refer to the size of the text or where it is on the page; these are covered by layout.

Half term homework

Hi,

Over the half term, you all need to take some photographs for your controlled assessment portfolio (one for the cover and two or three for the contents page and double-page spread). These need to be taken by you (as you are the one being assessed on their quality) and need to be done in a fairly professional way with thought given to the framing of the shot, the lighting and the mise en scene. Take more than you need and make them all slightly different to show in your portfolio that you went through a whole process to get to the finished product. If they are not brilliant it doesn't matter too much, as we can take some more in the Media Suite when you get back. 

Try and stick to the conventions of whatever genre you have chosen for your magazine, so, if you are doing a movie magazine, your cover could feature an 'actor' looking at the camera. The type of pose/expression he/she does will depend on what type of film he/she is in. The actor could be in character or just be themselves. Unless you happen to know a major film star, you will have to get a friend or family member to pretend to be a film star and, if they are going to be in character, the character will have to be made up by you and be from a film which you have also made up. You don't need to write the whole screenplay, you just need to come up with a name and the genre of it. 

If you are struggling for ideas of how to compose your shot, think back to the examples you analysed in class and, if necessary, get hold of some more magazines to look at. 

Model answer, end of year 10 Media Studies exam

SECTION A

1. Explain two ways the characters and/or the events in the extract fit the action/adventure genre. Use examples from the extract. (10 marks)

Events:

There are explosions and gunshots – these are a convention of the genre because they create a sense of excitement and danger. When guns start firing and explosions start going off, this means that the action has either started or is about to start. In the extract, a terrorist fires a gun into the car from a rooftop and causes it to explode, which, in turn, leads to people running and screaming, another convention of the action adventure genre. There is not actually a lot of action in the scene, but it is tense and you get the sense that it is building up to something, especially at the end when Sergeant James discovers the bomb and drops his crow bar. You get the sense that there is a race against time, as they have to diffuse the bomb before it explodes.

Another convention of action adventure movies is that the hero is on some kind of mission or quest and that is the case here – the mission is to diffuse the bomb and he also have to do it as part of a team, with Sanborn on the roof looking out for danger while Sergeant James does the diffusing.

The location also fits the genre because it is far away from home for the heroes, and so they are out of their comfort zones. This is something we see in a lot of action adventure films, for example James Bond movies, where he travels to exotic locations to fight the villains and has to contend with unfamiliar surroundings and people.

Characters:

Another convention of the action adventure genre is that the characters are split into heroes and villains, and this is the case here, although we can’t really see the villains as they are hidden. The heroes are American male soldiers, which is very common in action adventure movies. The way they behave, i.e. by holding their guns up, looking around nervously and sometimes shouting, has been seen many times before in military action movies such as Green Zone, the Rambo series and Saving Private Ryan.

2. Using examples from the extract, explain how each of the following is used to create effects that fit the action adventure genre: (20 marks)

a.            Soundtrack

b.            Editing

c.            Mise-en-scène

d.            Camerawork

Soundtrack

The non-diegetic sound in this extract is slightly unusual because it is not exactly music, but it is not diegetic either because it is not the kind of the sound that the characters can here. It is a kind of noise which gets louder as the tension builds and helps create the sense that something bad is going to happen. It sounds kind of Middle Eastern, and so reflects the setting of the extract. There are lots of diegetic sounds too, including the sound of people screaming to convey a sense of panic, sirens going off in the background to highlight the danger, the sound of gunshots and, at the end of the scene when Sergeant James discovers the bomb, the loud clunk of the crow bar hitting the ground to emphasise the fact that he is shocked at what he has found.

Editing

The cutting is generally quite slow by the conventions of the action adventure genre, but that is because this is a scene which builds up to the action, rather than an action scene itself. There are some interesting cuts though: one across time where Sergeant James is talking to a local police officer in his army uniform, then suddenly he is walking towards the car in his bomb disposal outfit. It is a very simple cut without no cross-fade, so it is not even clear at first that time has passed, but this is deliberate as the director wants to take us out of our comfort zone. There is also a cut when he is putting out the fire from long to a slightly closer shot, which creates a sense of unease. At the beginning of the scene there is a very obvious cut across time and space from the bathroom to the outdoor location where the car is. The conversation itself cuts between the faces of the soldiers in the mirror as they talk to each other. There is also cutting between shots of small groups of locals being evacuated and long shots of all of them running away, being guided by soldiers. The cutting keeps the scene moving along and is in stark contrast to, say, a typical Stanley Kubrick movie without much cutting to get you to really focus on the characters and what they are saying, rather than what is going on generally.

Mise-en-scene

Everything you see in the extract is exactly what you would expect to see in a Middle Eastern urban location: there is dust on the ground, white buildings and lots of grey and beige. The location contributes to the tension of the extract because there are lots of places for enemies to hide. We also see wire fencing at one point to emphasise the fact that they are in a military zone. The costumes worn by the American actors are very typical military outfits and some of the locals wear robes and headscarves. There are also military vehicles. The bomb disposal costume worn by Sergeant James is very big and heavy and makes it clear that what he is doing is very dangerous. The Mise-en-scene all contributes to the realistic feel of the extract and it seems that there is a lot of authenticity. There is no use of green screen or CGI technology, which, again, makes it feel realistic, rather than fantastical.

Camerawork

There is a lot of handheld camerawork which has the effect of making you feel like you are part of the action, walking around with the characters. There are some establishing shots, like the one of the people evacuating the building and another from the roof of one of the buildings. There is also quite an interesting shot of Sergeant James walking in the bomb disposal suit showing him from below, possibly to establish his authority as the one person who can diffuse the bomb and save everyone. There is also a Point of View shot from his perspective which puts you in his place and tries to give you a sense of what he must be thinking and feeling. The camerawork very much contributes to the sense of authenticity and realism that the director is trying to convey.

3. Discuss the ways in which people are represented in the extract. Use examples from the extract and refer to stereotypes in your answer. (20 marks)

There are lots of stereotypes in this extract: the American soldiers are all stereotypes in that they are male, aged roughly in their twenties and thirties and are quite good looking. In this way they fit the stereotype of the action hero who men want to be and women want to be with, like James Bond. The main character, Sergeant James, also has a very casual attitude towards the very dangerous work he does, as if to emphasise how brave he is – at one point he jokes with a local police officer by telling him he should go and diffuse the bomb. He is the stereotypical maverick who breaks the rules but gets the job done. The Americans are very much the heroes in this clip, as it is they who have to come and diffuse the bomb and save the locals, although when Sanborn calls James a ‘redneck piece of trailer trash’ he is subverting the notion of the more traditional flawless hero like Superman or Captain America. He is also subverting stereotypical notions of race and nationality by taking the superior position in the relationship between him and James, who is white. You could even argue that the remark he makes to James is racist.

Another way in which the representation of the action adventure hero is slightly different from the norm is how the protagonist, Sergeant James, has to save the day, not by killing people, but by diffusing a bomb. Usually action heroes are expected to save lives by killing villains, whereas Sergeant James does not kill anyone in this scene. 

There is also a stereotypical army general who implies to an officer that an injured Iraqi should be shot so as not to endanger the mission, even though he might recover from his injuries. He typifies the older soldier who has seen a lot of things and is hard enough to make those kinds of tough decisions with little regard for the enemy. You could also argue though that general is actually a countertype because killing a defenceless man, even if he is an enemy, is not very heroic. There is also the younger, idealistic soldier who insists the injured officer can recover.

The Iraqis are very stereotypical in that they speak Arabic to each other, wear light, baggy clothing, and, in some cases, head scarves. When the terrorist on the roof fires his gun, we see him from behind and only see the back of his head, which is covered by a head scarf. Again, this is a stereotype because people from the Middle East are so often portrayed as terrorists nowadays because of the events of 9/11.

SECTION B

1. Compare and contrast how and why two programmes were scheduled on different channels. State the day, time and channel on which the two programmes were scheduled. (15 marks)

The two programmes I have chosen for this question are Have I Got News For You and Benidorm.

The first programme was first broadcast on BBC 2 in 1990 and is now one of the longest running programmes on television. It became so popular in the ‘90s that it was switched to BBC1 in 2000, which is a more mainstream channel which attracts bigger audiences, especially on a Friday night when people want to relax in front of the TV after a busy week at work. BBC2 is more of a niche channel which shows documentaries and quirky comedies that do not attract big audiences. HIGNFY currently goes out at 9pm on Friday nights, which is significant because 9pm is the watershed, which means that children are expected to be in bed and the content of all programmes is more adult oriented, either because it is violent or scary, or because it is of a sexual nature.

The content of the BBC is also affected by the fact that, unlike almost every other channel in the world, it is funded entirely by public money which comes in the form of the licence fee, which you used to have to pay only if you owned a television, but you now have to pay if you have an internet connection of any kind because of BBC iPlayer. This is the case even if you never watch BBC shows. Because of this, the BBC has a responsibility to make shows which cater for all tastes and, in the case of factual shows like the news and Have I Got News For You, are politically neutral. This is why, during the run-up to elections, they often make jokes on the show where they make fun of someone from one of the political parties, then say they are obliged to make fun of people from all of the other major parties.

Old episodes of Have I Got News For You are currently repeated on Dave, which is a channel that was set up specifically to target men, which tells us something about the content of HIGNFY, which usually has mostly men on it, even though it’s Friday night BBC1 scheduling means it is supposed to represent both genders equally, and a wide variety of ethnicities and sexual orientations.

Benidorm

This was originally broadcast on ITV, with repeats on ITV 2 and ITV + 1 and has to go out after the watershed because of the sexual nature of a lot of the humour and the swearing. It has more of a working class audience because it is set in a budget holiday location and the fact that it originally went out on Thursday nights suggests that it was expected to attract more of a niche audience than HIGNFY.

Unlike the BBC, ITV is a commercial channel, which means it is paid for through the selling of advertising space. When television first started in America, this had a very obvious effect on the content of programmes, some of which were written specifically to advertise certain products such as laundry detergents and soaps (hence the term ‘soap opera’). These shows went out during the day when housewives were expected to be at home cooking and cleaning. Nowadays, the advertising of products in shows is more subtle, sometimes taking the form of product placement, or through the portrayal of a lifestyle with which certain products are associated. Benidorm, therefore, might inspire people to want to book a package holiday and if they then see an advertisement for, say Thomas Cook, during the break, they are more likely to use that company.

This also means that the producers have to be careful about what the characters say; if some advertising space has been sold during the break to Carling, for example, the characters can’t then make a joke about how Carling is a disgusting beer.

2. Discuss in detail how one programme offers audience pleasures. Give examples from the programme. (15 marks)

There are several audience pleasures offered by Have I Got News For You.

One is that it features celebrity guests who are being themselves, as opposed to playing characters. If you recognise them, there is familiarity because you might have seen, say, Paul Merton doing stand-up comedy. There may also be familiarity with the news stories which are being discussed.

Another pleasure the show offers is that, like all comedies, it is funny and makes you laugh. A lot of the humour comes from political satire, and the panellists have the opportunity to make fun of public figures. The show has quite a broad appeal in terms of the comedy because one of the team captains, Ian Hislop, is quite posh and panellists sometimes make fun of him for the fact that he went to a private boys’ school, whereas the other captain, Paul Merton, is from a working class background and often makes reference to this in his jokes.

Another pleasure people get from watching panel shows is that they can play along at home. HIGNFY is essentially a quiz show, so viewers have the opportunity to try and answer the questions themselves. The audience for HIGNFY is generally people who pay attention to the news, especially politics, so the humour relies on the viewers having some prior knowledge and they would therefore get some pleasure out of correctly answering the questions and feeling like it was worth reading the paper that morning. The show, therefore, would not bring much pleasure to people who are uninformed.

One final pleasure you get from watching panel shows such as HIGNFY is that there is an element of spontaneity because it a lot of what is said is unscripted, and although it is recorded and edited the day before it is broadcast, they do sometimes leave mistakes in for comic effect and this gives it an element of unpredictability which you don’t get with sitcoms. 

Revision materials for half term

Television Comedy

Benidorm

·        First aired on February 1^st, 2007 (a Thursday). Repeats go out on ITV 2 and ITV 2+1 at 9pm (right on the Watershed). Must be broadcast after the watershed because of language and sexual references.

·        Aimed at a working class audience and is an alternative to ‘safer’ middle class comedies such as My Family.

·        Set in the Spanish resort town of Benidorm, where thousands of British tourists go every year for cheap holidays in the sun.

·        Shot almost entirely with hand held cameras on location with no laughter track, so in this sense reflects more modern, edgy comedies like I’m Alan Partridge and The Office, although in terms of the content, has more in common with the ’80s sitcom Hi-de-Hi!, which was set in a fictional Butlins-style holiday camp.

·        Audience pleasure comes from situations which people who take holidays in resorts can relate to, like avoiding paying for things and parents using foul language around their children. 

Have I Got News For You

·        The original panel show, first aired in 1990 on BBC 2. Switched to BBC 1 in 2000 due to its popularity (BBC 2 is generally for programmes with smaller audiences). Now goes out at 9pm on Friday nights and old episodes are repeated on the Dave channel, which specialises in programmes aimed at men (hence the name). The show must be broadcast after the watershed because of language, although because of the style of humour (political satire), does not generally appeal to children anyway.

·        Has a fairly broad appeal, reflected in the range of guests such as Reginald D. Hunter, a black American comedian, Grayson Perry, a male cross-dressing artist, and Germaine Greer, a female writer and broadcaster famous for her feminist politics.

·        The regular team captains, Paul Merton and Ian Hislop, represent contrasting sections of society. Hislop, whose day job is to edit the satirical newspaper Private Eye, was educated in a private boys’ school and always wears a suit, therefore representing the middle and upper classes. Merton, by contrast, is from a working-class background and spent many years on the stand-up comedy circuit before moving into television.

·        Audience pleasure comes from seemingly improvised jokes about topical events, although some are prepared before the show is recorded.

Would I Lie to You?

·        A panel show originally broadcast in 2007 and still going. Goes out on BBC 1 at 8.30pm on Fridays (just before Have I Got News For You).

·        Hosted by Rob Brydon, a Welsh comedian and actor who also appears in Gavin and Stacey. He is famous for his impressions, which he frequently does on Would I Lie to You, even though it does not really fit in with the format of the programme, but appeals to people who watch the show specifically because of him.

·        The team captains are Lee Mack, a stand-up comedian who also appears in the sitcom Not Going Out, and David Mitchell, a comedy actor who appears in the sitcom Peep Show and the sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Look.

·        Based on the guests telling stories about themselves, and the other guests trying to work out if they are telling the truth by asking them questions about the story.

·        Due to its timeslot, there is no swearing and the humour is generally light.

·        It is one of a host of panel shows which have been inspired by Have I Got News For You, including Mock the Week and 8 Out of 10 Cats.

My Family

·        Originally ran from 2000 to 2011, and was one of the BBC’s most successful ever sitcoms. Currently goes out on the BBC Entertainment channel at various times of day, including mornings.

·        Filmed in front of a live studio audience and, like many American sitcoms, used a team of writers, rather than one or two.

·        Starred Robert Lindsey and Zoe Wannamaker, two established and popular British actors.

·        Focussed on a supposedly dysfunctional family and the disputes they had with each other, although they were very stereotypically middle class. Unlike The Simpsons or Family Guy, the jokes were very clean and based on situations which were not that implausible.

·        Designed to be watched by parents and children as young as around ten. 

Christmas holiday homework!

Here it is: all the key words and terms you need to know for Media Studies. Unfortunately, the pictures didn't copy across for some reason, but you've got them on the paper copy that went home in your holiday envelopes. Your homework is to make sure you know what each of these terms means and how to spell them by the time you come back in January. You will not be tested on them, but you will need to be able to use them in your controlled assessment and any exam preparation work we do. 

Merry Christmas!

MEDIA STUDIES KEY TERMS MEGALIST!!!

Antagonist

The character in a story who makes life difficult for the protagonist. Usually, but not always, a villain, e.g. Bane in The Dark Knight Rises.

Camerawork

The positioning and movement of the camera in a film or television programme, usually referred to in terms of shots, e.g. long shot, close-up, etc.

Countertype

The opposite of a stereotype, i.e. a character who is somehow different from what we expect, e.g. Lara Croft, because she is a female action hero.

Editing

The cutting between shots in a film or television programme. Generally speaking, in action sequences, the shots get shorter as the action builds up so it feels like things are happening more quickly.

Ethnicity

This refers to whether a character is white, black, Chinese, etc.

Gender

This refers to whether a person is male or female.

Generic convention

Something we expect to see in a particular genre, e.g. explosions in an action adventure or love in a romance.

Genre

This word refers to types of film/game/TV programme, e.g. action, sci-fi, rom-com, etc.

Mise en scene

Everything we can see in a scene, e.g. costume, scenery, props, etc.

                                  

Misogyny/misogynist

A misogynist society is one where people believe that men should work and earn money while women stay at home cleaning the house and looking after the children. Similar to sexism.

Objectify

To objectify someone is to view them as an object and quite often involves men viewing women as sex objects.

Protagonist

The main character in a story, around which everything happens, e.g. without the character of Superman, there would be no storyline in the Superman films. Usually, but not always, the hero.

Soundtrack

Everything you hear in a film/TV programme/game. Can be divided into:

·      Diagetic: everything the characters can hear, e.g. gunshots, talking, a door slamming, etc.

·      Non-diagetic: everything we can hear which the characters can’t, e.g. the music (unless it is coming out of a radio in the scene) and voiceover, i.e. a narrator explaining what is happening or one of the characters thinking.

Stereotype

A character who looks and behaves exactly as we expect them to, based on their gender, ethnicity and/or job. A Mexican man who speaks with a strong accent, is covered in tattoos and deals drugs for a living is an ethnic and gender stereotype.

Submissive

When someone is being controlled by someone else, e.g. a female following instructions given to her by a male, they are in a submissive position.

Subvert

When you take a common idea and reverse it, e.g. a female action hero subverts the stereotypical idea of the action hero as a male.

Homework, 12th November, 2014

Hi,

You are all still working on the poster/cover analysis task I set over half term. To help you with this, I have given you an example of the kind of thing I would like you to do (which I can't copy and paste into here because the formatting is too complicated). 

Therefore, at home this week, you can work on your own analysis, using the example I have given you. Make sure you bring any work you do at home into school on a memory stick, or email it to yourself.