Question 1 (b) Theoretical Evaluation of Production

G325 CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES IN MEDIA

Section A: Theoretical Evaluation of Production

The second part to Question 1 of the exam: Question 1(b) Evaluate your coursework in relation to a media concept. In the exam 1 of the following areas will be selected for you to write about: Genre Narrative Representation Audience Media language

How to approach 1b.

You need to understand all 5 concepts, including relevant theories. Over the next few weeks you will need to apply each of these concepts to the piece of c/w you feel is most appropriate. E.g. you may choose to apply representation to your music video and

media language to your magazine fc/dps/contents. If you choose wisely, plan in detail and revise thoroughly, you will be very well prepared for the exam, as you will be going into the exam with 5 prepared essays under your belt.

Prompt Questions
Give a basic definition of your key concept. Can you think of any media terminology

relating to your key concept? Which theories might be relevant to your key concept? How might this key concept be relevant to a magazine cover/contents/dps? How might this key concept be relevant to a music video?

Genre
Genres are categories or types of media text. Genres are recognisable through the repeated use of generic codes and conventions: Iconographies Narrative Representations Ideologies Which of the above codes/conventions does your c/w use and how?

Genre and Audience

Genre offers audiences a structure or framework Audiences gain enjoyment from spotting the

conventions (repetition) and making comparisons with other films of the same genre If a text deviates from the conventions it can confuse us, but at the same time we enjoy seeing the rules broken Audiences like the anticipation of waiting for the predictable features How did you use genre to offer your audience a framework? Do you think your target audience enjoyed spotting the conventions or seeing the rules broken?

Narrative theories
You should aim to apply the narrative theorists which can be applied to your c/w: Propp 8 character roles Todorov equilibrium disequilibrium new equilibrium Barthes 5 codes (action, enigma, cultural, symbolic, semic) Levi-Strauss binary opposites

Narrative
All media texts tell stories. The structure of these stories is

called the narrative. A story must have verisimilitude (appear to be real) in order to engage us how does your c/w have verisimilitude? It might seem more obvious to apply narrative theory to a film (see next 2 slides), but if you created a magazine you need to consider the following: How is your magazine structured? How does the front cover lead the reader into the magazine? How does the contents page lead the reader into the rest of the magazine? Consider enigma codes (Barthes) used in all 3 aspects of your c/w. Analyse your dps in relation to Todorovs theory.

Representation
Everything in the media is a representation - everything we see is being represented e.g. regions/locations, individuals, groups, places, nations, ideas Questions we would ask when analysing representations: WHO or WHAT is being represented? HOW is the representation created? WHO has created the representation? WHY is the representation created in that way? What is the intention? WHAT is the effect of the representation? Consider the representations in your c/w and answer the above questions in detail.

Representation
To maintain a representation of reality, media language elements such as lighting, music,

editing, camera work and mise en scene are used. How did you use these micro aspects to create representations? Sometimes, representations are seen to be a deliberate attempt to create associations and ideas for the audience did you represent any characters in a certain way so as to remind your audience or someone/something else?

Representation theories
You might not have studied many representation theories at AS Level, but consider how the following can be applied to your c/w: Laura Mulvey (the gaze) Marjorie Ferguson (facial expressions) Trevor Millum (facial expressions)

Audience
Consider: age, gender, demographic profile, socio 1. 2. 3.

economic group, existing/new, lifestyle, values, attitude Categories A, B, C1, C2, D, E Is your audience mass or niche? What would the three reactions to your c/w be: A preferred reading (your intended interpretation) An oppositional reading (someone who didnt like it) A negotiated reading (someone who isnt the target audience but might appreciate it for whatever reason)

Audience
Every media text is made with a view to

pleasing an audience in some way how did you try to please your audience? Success is measured by the audiences response to a media text and those that do not attract and maintain an audience do not survive. At the heart of this is the fact that all media texts are created in order to make money.

Media Language
You will need to write about: Denotations Connotations Anchorage And

Media Language
You made lots of decisions regarding the following micro aspects: Camera Editing Lighting Sound Mise-en- Scene Special Effects: visual, sound and lighting Choose 1 page or clip from your c/w and analyse the above aspects in as much detail as possible. Analyse the effectiveness of each area as if you were analysing the unseen exam.