5 Things Reated To The AS Course

Media Studies: AS & A2

1. Representation

Media can represent…
· Age
· Gender
· Race
· Disability
· Socio-economic Status
· Nationality
· Sexuality

Questions you might ask…
Who or what is being represented?
Is this a positive or a negative representation?
How is it being established? (visually, aurally, juxaposition against mise en scene, use of camera…)
How does this representation telate to the target audience?
What ideologies are suggested by this representation?
Is it a stereotypical representation?
Is it a fair and/or accurate representation?
Are the representations conventional or subversive?
Are there representations which you would have expected to see which are not used in the text?

2. Mise-en-scene

Setting:
· Is the sequence set on location or is it filmed in a studio?
· How is the colour being used to convey meaning?
· What props that are used on the setting have symbolic importance? (Red buses of London)
Lighting:
What is shown in light or shadow?
Is the lighting harsh or soft?
Is it natural lighting or are special effects being used? (Diegetic or Non-diegetic)
What is lighting being used to emphasise?

3. Magazine Codes And Conventions

· An advice colomn.
· A contents page.
· A letters page.
· Some form of make-over article.
· Competitions.
· An ‘in the next issue’ page.
· Price, bar code and issue number, date.
· A recognisable masthead.

4. Audience

How to describe the target audience?
· Is the text made for children or for retired people?
· Is it for a norrow audience or a broad audience?
· Is it a male or female audience?
· Is itfor a particular type of audience such as aspirers or homemakers?

5. Soap Operas

Codes And Conventions:
· They have a serial narrative told through a series of episodes.
· The narrative progresses between episiodes.
· There is a cliffhanger at the end of each episode, to hook audience into watching again.
· Characters change and develop over time in a soap opera.
· The audience Usually Identifies with particular characters and follows their progressin over time.