Representation - Encoding and Decoding, 'Little Bud'

Learning objectives:
Consider how gender and national identity have been represented in a Budweiser TV ad.

Key terms:
Context - where the representation appears, for example the representation of young people may be different in a news bulletin compared to a situation comedy.

Encoding - The ideas and messages that are contained within the media text. These may reflect the ideas of the producers of the text.
Decoding - The different ways in which the audience interprets these messages.

Task 1: Watch the video clip below and consider the question; do boys and girls like "boys/girls toys" because they have been marketed to them, or is there something naturally programmed into our brains to select one type of play over another as a result of evolution and biology.
Write a paragraph and include the key media terms:

• Representation
• Stereotypes
• Encoding - decoding
• Response
• Objectification

What do we mean by Representation?
In the context of Media Studies, this means the way in which aspects of society including gender, age, ethnicity and national or local identity are presented to an audience by specific media texts.
It is also important to consider how events and issues are presented in the media and what effect this ahas on audience response.
The way in which these areas are represented will change according to context.

The following questions are important to consider when dealing with representation:

What kind of world is represented by the media text?
How are stereotypes used in the text? What are their purpose?
Who is in control of the text?
Are there any values or ideas apparent in the text?
'All Geordies are Chavs' for example.
Who is the target audience of the text?
Will different audiences respond to representations in different ways?
What messages are contained within the text?

Encoding and decoding

The media are very powerful and the way in which they represent key areas of society, issues and events link directly to the ways in which audiences interpret, understand and respond.
Repetition by a media text of a particular representation over time makes that representation appear normal. For example, front covers of women's magazines continually bombard the audiences with unrealistic pictures of 'perfect' women.
The producers of media texts encode ideas and messages through the representations contained within the text.
The audience then decode the messages and may respond to them in a range of different ways.

The way in which women are represented in magazines may be accepted by some audiences who 'buy into' the message regarding body size. Other readers may challenge or ignore that message and will decode the text differently extracting from it what matters most to them.

All media texts, fact and fictional are constructed.
They offer versions of reality that have gone through a process of mediation.
The constructions contain messages and will be interpreted differently by different audiences.
The ideology of the creators will often be encoded into the constructed representations.

In the exam, be sure to demonstrate your understanding that representations in media texts
Do Not reflect reality.

Task 1: 
Watch the ad below and discuss how gender and national identity have been represented.

Representation-mediation

Learning objectives: 
To break down broadsheet newspaper reporting of the London riots with consideration given to mediation.

Key words:
Selection: This is what is chosen by the creators of the text to be included in the text.
This selection may reflect the ideology of the creators.

Editorial:
This is the part of the newspaper supposedly written by the editor who comments on the story of the day. It offers the newspaper an opportunity to express its views and to demonstrate its ideology or values.

Starter: How was the representation of young people constructed in the text below? Discuss.

______________________________________________________________

Mediation relates to construction and selection and is the process that a text may go through before it is consumed by an audience. In the English riots of 2011 news of the event came from a variety of sources and then appeared on the front page of newspapers. With an event like this the audience have to rely on how the event is represented and mediated as they can not witness it first hand.

These are the mediation processes:

Aspects of the event are captured by a camera and this immediately gives a focus through what is included and what is left out. Selection and omission.

One of the main front page images was a track suited, hooded, youth in front of a burning car, this was then anchored by a caption suggesting how the audience should view the image. Anchorage.

A headline gave further interpretation, in this case through the use of emotive and hyperbolic language including lexis such as yob, feral and mob rule. Mode of address.

Within the newspaper, the editorial may offer further opinion offering a representation of the event.

The way in which the event was mediated through the use of images, text and representations of young people impacted on the way in which the audience may respond.

Task 1: Orange books: 
Write a paragraph on how the London riots were reported by the Daily Telegraph.
Use media Studies terminology such as polysemic, selection, omission, construction, audience, ideology.

Task 2: Orange books:

Answer the following question: 

How might different audiences respond to the reporting on the riots by the Telegraph.

Representation - construction

Learning objectives: 
To analyse how texts have been constructed to represent young people in Britain.

Key words:

The aspects that make up any media text will have been constructed to achieve an effect.
This finished construction, particularly in factual texts gives an illusion of reality that becomes accepted by an audience as the truth.
Documentary, fly on the wall section of a programme like Strictly Come Dancing constructs a narrative that positions the audience through the editing of film footage. The hours of film footage have been edited down to present a particular view of a character or situation in order to manipulate the emotions of the audience.

For the programme, Educating Essex, the hidden cameras were placed in the school for several weeks and the final episodes of the programme were constructed from that footage.
Characters were focused upon and narratives were created but we were not really seeing real life in that school, we were only seeing a selected representation.

Task 1: Answer the following question. Orange books.
How have the texts below been constructed to represent young people?
(Daily Star and Newsnight)
Consider the following:

• The connotations of the headline; Anarchy In The UK.
• The visual codes
• The Framing of the photos.
• Narrative construction Todorov.
• Binary opposition.
• The main messages being conveyed about British young people.
• The reasons behind this ideological construction.

A related text is the Newsnight interview with David Starkey about the riots in England.

David Starkey is a historian who stated about the riots that: 'Whites have become black'.

This seemed to equate the ethnicity of black youths with criminality and gang culture.

After the programme, social media erupted and there were 700 complaints about his remarks.

David Starkey can be said to function as an opinion leader (as set out in the two step flow theory).

The interesting part of the event was that because of the unpredictable nature of the outbreaks of rioting, the opinion leaders were community leaders, Twitter users and ordinary members of the public who were witnessing events as they happened and interpreting them for the news audience.

Moving Image - Film Trailers

Learning objectives:
To use grids to organise essay structure when analysing stimulus material.

Key words:

The stimulus material for question 1 of your exam may be film trailers or an extract from a film, for example an opening sequence.
Film trailers are an important way for the film industry to market their product.
The purpose is to raise audience expectations so that they will want to go to see the film.

The main codes and conventions are:

The name of the film. This will usually feature prominently in the trailer.
If the film is new then the name may give a clue to the film's genre.
For example Cowboys versus Aliens.

If it is a sequel then the audience will already be aware of the film's genre.
For example Scream 2.

The use of graphics to reinforce the name of the film and its stars. The font style may help to establish the film's genre. Here the name of the film is bold and is surrounded by a dark stormy sky giving connotations of the action and power associated with the word.

The main characters are often introduced using technical codes, for example close ups to establish them in the minds of the audience.

A tagline may give a clue to the genre and the narrative.
The Truth Can't Stay Inside Forever.

Audio codes. 
These may include a theme tune or soundtrack which may be recognisable to an audience. For example the same theme tune was used in all of the Raiders of the Lost Arc films.
There may be sound effects placing the film in a particular genre, for example gun shots, explosions, in an action genre film.
Atmospheric music may be used to create a mood and suggest the film's genre.

The use of voice over.
The purpose of this is to establish continuity between the scenes chosen for the trailer, to establish the narrative and to give promises of pleasure to the audience.

Genre specific lexis.
This helps the audience to know what to expect from the film.

Highlighting the stars that are appearing in the film. This feature is important as some stars tend to appear in specific genres and often the star will be the key selling point of the film.

Editing.
The trailer will be constructed and the best extracts from the film will be selected to attract the audience. The chosen extracts will also establish the narrative strands in the film and may include some of the plot situations. These may be recognisable to the audience who may be familiar with the genre.

These stills from the trailer for Dream House demonstrate that the film is from the thriller/horror genre.

The lighting is low key.
In three of the shots the characters are only lit by lamps and are surrounded by darkness.
The codes of costume and expression represent the family as vulnerable; this is further enhanced by the Mother wearing white in two of the shots. Connotations of innocence and purity.
The iconography of the knife and the close up shot of the scream are genre conventions for this type of film.
The use of the distorted reflection is also a conventional technical code and is enigmatic for the audience.

Enigma codes.
Trailers withhold information from the audience to encourage them to want to watch the film to find the answers. Sometimes rhetorical questions will be asked by the voice over or by words appearing on the screen. For example, 'What if the mystery you were trying to solve was your own?' appears on the trailer for Dream House.
This, combined with the narrative clues, increases the enigma effect for the audience.

Additional information. This may include the release date for the film and certification.

Task 1:
Identify technical and audio codes within the trailer for Dream house.
Indicate the purpose and effect of the conventions.

MS-1 Exemplar

L.O: To familiarise with MS-1 exam questions and to investigate a suitable audio-visual text.

Your exam will take place on May 19th 2016. You will have 2 hours 30 minutes to complete and you will be required to discuss an audio visual text that will be screened three times at the beginning of the exam.

Assessment
A written examination paper of two and a half hours, assessing AO1 and AO2. This
will consist of three compulsory questions:
Question 1 requires an analysis of an audio/visual or print-based
extract (40).
Questions 2 and 3 will be based on representation and audience issues and
may be subdivided where appropriate (30 and 30).
Note: for questions 2 & 3, candidates will be expected to draw on their own studies of
representation and audience response issues.

Below are front page instructions for examiners:

Below are some examples of past papers:

1. 

2. 

3. 

_______________________________________________________________

Below is the mark schemes for the above paper 2:

2. 

Task 1: Below is the video shown for the exam. Answer question 1 in relation to the audio visual clip.

Study the opening sequence of the BBC’s coverage of Rugby’s 2012 Six Nations Championship (broadcast, February 2012). This introduces England’s match against Wales.

Q.1 Analyse the extract commenting on:

• visual codes
• technical and audio codes
• narrative

Audio Codes

L.O: To familiarise with audio codes

Sound Terminology

DIEGETIC

A sound that is part of the film world and usually heard by those is it

NON-DIEGETIC

A sound which is added later during editing for effect and therefore cannot be heard by those in the film world

MUSIC

A soundtrack added during editing and the sound and tone can affect the meaning of the scene

ASYNCHRONOUS SOUND

Sound which does not appear to arise directly from the scene, such as soundtrack music or voiceover

SYNCHRONOUS SOUND

Sound which is directly matched to a moving image. The term is used in two ways in different sources:

-  Sound recorded at the same time as the images – for example, dialogue spoken by the actors on set. This does not include any sound added in post production

-  Sound which appears to the audience to come from the scene, whether or not it was actually recorded with the images. Thus includes post-synched dialogue, sound effects and foley. Also known as parallel sound

SOUND EFFECTS

Usually added to film in post-production, they may be used to build up ambience or reinforce action.

SOUND BRIDGE

Film and TV editing technique in which visual cuts are deliberately not matched with audio cuts. For example, the editor may cut to a completely new scene, but allow sound from the preceding scene to run on for a short time. Alternatively, we may hear the sound of the next scene before we see it.

VOICE OVER

A type of non-diegetic, asynchronous sound in which the audience hear a voice that does not have a source either within the frame or within hearing distance, and which is not heard by the people on screen. Voice overs allow us to see things from a particular character’s point of view

CONTRAPUNTAL SOUND

Sounds that do not easily match the images they are accompanying, or even go against them. This can have a disorientating effect upon the audience and make them question what they are seeing.

TASK 1:

Watch the clip from the film 'The Strangers' and using the time code as a reference, note down the different types of sound you can hear.

AS Media Studies Glossary

De La Salle AS Media Studies Glossary

Anchorage - how meaning is fixed, as in how a caption fixes the meaning of a picture

Audience – viewers, listeners and readers of a media text. A lot of media studies is concerned with how audience use texts and the effects a text may have on them. Also identified in demographic socio-economic categories.

Binary Opposites – the way opposites are used to create interest in media texts, such as good/bad, coward/hero, youth/age, black/white. By Barthes and Levi-Strauss who also noticed another important feature of these ‘binary opposites’: that one side of the binary pair is always seen by a particular society or culture as more valued over the other.

Catharsis – the idea that violent and and sexual content in media texts serves the function of releasing ‘pent up’ tension aggression/desire in audiences.

Censorship – Control over the content of a media text – sometimes by the government, but usually by a regulatory body like the British Board of Film censors.

Code – a sign or convention through which the media communicates meaning to us because we have learned to read it. Technical codes – all to do with the way a text is technically constructed – camera angles, framing, typography, lighting etc. Visual codes – codes that are decoded on a mainly connotational level – things that draw on our experience and understanding of other media texts, this includes Iconography – which is concerned with the use of visual images and how they trigger the audiences expectations of a particular genre, such as a knife in slasher horror films.

Consumer – purchaser, listener, viewer or reader of media products.

Context – time, place or mindset in which we consume media products.

Conventions – the widely recognised way of doing things in particular genre.

Denotation – the everyday or common sense meaning of a sign.Connotation – the secondary meaning that a sign carries in addition to it’s everyday meaning.

Diegetic Sound – Sound whose source is visible on the screen

Non Diegetic sound – Sound effects, music or narration which is added afterwards

Enigma – A question in a text that is not immediately answered and creates interest for the audience – a puzzle that the audience has to solve.

Feminism – the struggle by women to obtain equal rights in society

Gaze – the idea that the way we look at something, and the way somebody looks at you, is structured by the way we view the world. Feminist Laura Mulvey suggests that looking involves power, specifically the look of men at women, implying that men have power over women.

Genre – the type or category of a media text, according to its form, style and content.

Hegemony – Traditionally this describes the predominance of one social class over another, in media terms this is how the controllers of the media may on the one hand use the media to pursue their own political interest, but on the other hand the media is a place where people who are critical of the establishment can air their views.

Hypodermic Needle Theory – the idea that the media can ‘inject’ ideas and messages straight into the passive audience. This passive audience is immediately affected by these messages. Used in advertising and propoganda, led to moral panics about effect of violent video and computer games.

Ideology – A set of ideas or beliefs which are held to be acceptable by the creators of the media text, maybe in line with those of the dominant ruling social groups in society, or alternative ideologies such as feminist ideology.

Indexical sign – a sign which has a direct relationship with something it signifies, such as smoke signifies fire.

Image – a visual representation of something.

Institutions – The organisations which produce and control media texts such as the BBC, AOL Time Warner, News International.

Intertextuality – the idea that within popular culture producers borrow other texts to create interest to the audience who like to share the ‘in’ joke. Used a lot in the Simpsons.

Media language – the means by which the media communicates to us and the forms and conventions by which it does so.

Media product – a text that has been designed to be consumed by an audience. E.G a film, radio show, newspaper etc.

Media text – see above. N.B Text usually means a piece of writing

Mise en Scene – literally ‘what’s in the shot’ everything that appears on the screen in a single frame and how this helps the audience to decode what’s going on.

Mode of Address – The way a media product ‘speaks’ to it’s audience. In order to communicate, a producer of any text must make some assumptions about an intended audience; reflections of such assumptions may be discerned in the text (advertisements offer particularly clear examples of this).

Montage – putting together of visual images to form a sequence. Made famous by Russian film maker Eisenstein in his famous film Battleship Potemkin.

Moral Panic – is the intensity of feeling stirred up by the media about an issue that appears to threaten the social order, such as against Muslims after 9/11, or against immigrants, or against ‘video nasties’ following the Jamie Bulger murder.

Multi-media – computer technology that allows text, sound, graphic and video images to be combined into one programme.

Myth – a complex idea by Roland Barthes that myth is a second order signifying system ie when a sign becomes the signifier of a new sign (2^ndyears only this one!)

Narrative code – The way a story is put together within a text, traditionally equilibrium- disequilibrium, new equilibrium, but some text are fractured or non liner, eg Pulp Fiction.

News values – factors that influence whether a story will be picked for coverage.

Non-verbal communication – communication between people other than by speech.

Ownership – who produces and distributes the media texts – and whose interest it is.

Patriarchy – The structural, systematic and historical domination and exploitation of women.

Popular Culture – the study of cultural artefacts of the mass media such as cinema, TV, advertising.

Post Modernism – Anything that challenges the traditional way of doing things, rejecting boundaries between high and low forms of art, rejecting rigid genre distinctions, emphasizing pastiche, parody, intertextuality, irony, and playfulness. Postmodernism favours reflexivity and self-consciousness, fragmentation and discontinuity (especially in narrative structures), ambiguity, simultaneity, and an emphasis on the destructured, decentered, dehumanized subjects! This is tricky!

Propaganda – the way ruling classes use the mass media to control or alter the attitudes of others.

Reader – a member of the audience, someone who is actively responding to the text.

Reception Theory (Hall) - Preferred Reading the interpretation of a media product that was intended by the maker or which is dictated by the ideology of the society in which it is viewed. Oppositional Reading – an interpretation of a text by a reader whose social position puts them into direct conflict with its preferred reading.Negotiated Reading – the ‘compromise’ that is reached between the preferred reading offered by a text and the reader’s own assumptions and interpretations

Regulation – bodies whose job it is to see that media texts are not seen by the wrong audience (eg British Board of Film Censors) or are fair and honest (EG Advertising Standards Association)

Representation – The way in which the media ‘re-presents’ the world around us in the form of signs and codes for audiences to read.

SFX – special effects or devices to create visual illusions.

Shot – single image taken by a camera.

Sign – a word or image that is used to represent an object or idea.

Signifier/Signified – the ‘thing’ that conveys the meaning, and the meaning conveyed. EG a red rose is a signifier, the signified is love (or the Labour Party!)

Sound Effects – additional sounds other than dialogue or music, designed to add realism or atmosphere.

Stereotype – representation of people or groups of people by a few characteristics eg hoodies, blondes

Still – static image.

Sub-genre – a genre within a genre.

Two Step Flow theory - the idea that ideas flow from mass media to opinion leaders, and from them to a wider population.

Uses and Gratifications – ideas about how people use the media and what gratification they get from it. It assumes that members of the audience are not passive but take an active role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives.