TERM 1 NOTES
SIGNS
Semiotics is the study of signs. Signs are made of 2 parts. Signifier and signifies. Signifier is the form we see, hear, touch etc. While signifies is the idea that the sign represents
SIGNIFIED
-Denotation - common sense/obvious meaning
-Connotation - our own association
3 types of signs:
- Icon
- Index
- Symbol
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CONVENTIONS
Conventions are the generally accepted way of doing things. Convention is what the audiences expect to see.
CODES
Codes are a system of signs that create meaning.
There are 2 types:
- Symbolic = acting, props, language.
- Technical = Sound, lighting, camera.
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REPRESENTATION
Represent refers to the construction (more than reflection) in any medium (tv, film etc) of aspects of reality (people, places, idea etc)
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SOUND
- Diegetic = What the characters can hear.
- Non-Diegetic = What the characters cant hear.
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MICRO-ELEMENTS
EDITING MIS-EN-SCENE
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GENRE
a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterised by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.
Stephen Neale said that genre is not a system, it is a process that evolves over time. Genres are instances of repetition and differences.
Hybrid genre - is a mix of genres.
Hollywoods' generic regime forms 2 interrelated functions.
1- guarantees meaning and pleasure for the audience.
2 - to offset the considerable economic risks of film by providing cognitive collateral against innovation and differences.
Christian Metz
He explored the development of genre and suggested that genre passes through 4 phases of existence.
- Experimental - when early films helped to formalise convention.
- Classic - phase which establishes the narrative conventions of the genre in its most successful.
- Parody - films that have mimicked the genre in some commercial way.
- Deconstructive - example:warm bodies took the idea of the zombie films and combined it with love
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NARRATIVE
Narrative is a spoken or written account of connected events; a story. It is the order you place information.
Narrative range
-Unrestrictive narrative
When the audience knows more than the characters.
-Restrictive narrative
When the audience learns information the same time as the character.
TZVETAN TORORAV
1- A state of equilibrium (balance)
2- Disruption of the equilibrium by some action
3- A recognition that there has been a disruption
4- Dealing with disruption
5- A reinstatement of equilibrium (usually different from the start)
LEVI STRAUS
- Binary opposites - Set of opposite values which reveal the structure of media texts.
IDEOLOGY - Is a collection of beliefs held by an individual group or society. Set of conscious or unconscious ideas which make up expectations and motivation.
HEGEMANY - GRAVIA - A set of beliefs by dominant social group that is accepted bu the rest of society.
FALSE COSCIOUSNESS - A way of thinking that prevents a person from perceiving the true nature of their social economic situation.
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AUDIENCE THEORY
These include :
HYPODERMIC NEEDLE - Mass media can influence directly and informally. Injecting with values and messages
COPY CAT - Audience will recreate or reenact.
DESENSITATION - The more an audience experiences a shocking event, the less shocked they become in real life
CULTIVATION - Continued exposure to certain situations will change our views on them, to closer match what we have seen in media texts.
USES & GRATIFICATION - People are not helpless victims of all powerful media, but we use media to fulfill their various needs.
