Revision blog

Denotation and connotation 

Denotation: the literal meaning of something

E.g. A rose is a garden plant

Connotation: the suggestion behind this literal meaning (reading between the lines)
E.g .The rose suggests romance and love.

When writing media analysis, you need to consider the following questions:

Denotation: what do you see?

Connotation: what is suggested? What does it mean?

Analysis: what is the effect on the audience? How is this effect created?

Example: Skittles

Denotation: There is some text with colourful streams behind each letter set around a pack shot of the product itself. The background appears to be sky.

Connotation: The advert builds on the slogan for Skittles ‘Taste the rainbow’. The connotation of the colour suggests that Skittles are joyful, fun and will provide a positive experience for the audience. The colours are vibrant and the sky in the background creates connotations of flying – this suggests to the audience that this is an exciting product. 

Analysis: The advert helps the audience understand the product as the colours reflect the actual Skittles themselves. In addition, the text across the top of the advert (referring to a ‘punch in the mouth’) uses humour to connect with the audience and suggests the brand doesn’t take itself too seriously. This adds to the positive, happy brand values that are suggested by the construction of the advert.

Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scène is a French term meaning ‘Putting on Stage’. It refers to the Media language used by the producer in their media product to communicate with their audience so…everything we see on screen. We can remember what this includes using the acronym CLAMPS:

• Costume
• Lighting
• Actor placement and movement
• Make-up
• Props
• Setting

When we look at a clip, image or advert in Media Studies we need to be able to identify aspects of mise-en-scene and explain the effect it has on the audience.

This video explains the power of mise-en-scene in film analysis: 

Camera shots and angles

Learning to accurately identify different camera shots and the effect they have on an audience is a critical skill in Media Studies. 

Before long, you'll find yourself naturally identifying interesting examples of camera shots, movements or angles when you're watching movies, TV or YouTube. The key aspect is always to consider WHY the director has chosen to present the scene in that way - what are they trying to communicate to the audience?

Here's a great YouTuber for Film Studies - Darius Britt AKA D4Darius. Notice that he uses 'full shot' instead of long shot - but otherwise this is pretty much as we learn the shots in class:

 

Camera shots:

• Wide shot / establishing shot (WS/ES) = Used to introduce a location/setting
• Long shot (LS) = Head to toe visible, shows plenty of background fits in plenty of action
• Medium shot (MS) = Waist to head visible. Actor and setting roughly equal in frame
• Medium close up (MCU) = Camera get closer in on the character so that the face and top of shoulders                                             are shown
• Over-the-shoulder shot (OTS)
• Close up (CU)
• Extreme close up (BCU/XCU)

Camera angle:

• High angle: makes subject look small and weak.
• Low angle: makes subject look big and powerful.
• Unusual perspective: can be used to surprise the audience or show danger (e.g. looking down off a cliff)

Here's a reminder graphic courtesy of resource site poetryessay.co.uk: 

Example analysis: The Night Manager (BBC, 2016)

Here's an example of how you write media analysis for camerawork using this BBC drama clip from The Night Manager.

 

1) Three camera shots:

- The opening establishing shot clearly shows the characters getting off a boat and walking into the restaurant. This both sets the scene for the following action and also confirms the characters are very rich.

- The extreme close-up on the main character's eye at 0.52 successfully communicates the intensity of the scene and the mixture of fear and emotion he feels as he watches his son being kidnapped. This has the effect of causing the audience to sympathise with the main character and wonder what will happen to the boy after being taken.

- The over-the-shoulder shot at 1.13 shows the main character recognises the man who saved the boy and that the man with the face injuries is not who he says he is. Like many over-the-shoulder shots, it is also a medium close-up which allows the audience to see the confusion on the main character's face and the realisation that he has seen him before.

2) Camera angles:

- The power between the two key characters is shown using camera angles. The high angle shot at 1.21 looking down on the man who has been beaten up shows his powerlessness and that he will rely on others to make him better. He looks broken and defeated as the close-up shot from above shows him looking up at the main character. In contrast, the main character is shown in a low-angle close-up immediately afterwards (1.23) to show his power over the broken man. The camera is looking up at him from the perspective of the man on the floor. This introduces a clear power relationship between the two characters - emphasised by the dialogue at the end: "We're going to take care of you."

3) Mise-en-scene: 

- The restaurant setting helps to communicate the wealth and power that the main character is dealing with. It is clearly a luxurious destination and the way the family greets the owner shows they go here often. The costumes support this with characters wearing expensive clothes and wearing sunglasses. Arriving by boat also shows how rich and powerful the characters are.

Camera movement

There are a range of key camera movements we need to learn:

Pan: horizontal turn left or right

Used to follow movement. A whip pan (very fast pan) can create a feeling of action or drama.

Track/Dolly: Camera moves on tracks/wheels

Tracks action smoothly – look for in chases or fast-moving sequences.

Handheld: camera held by hand, often shaky

Handheld camera can add urgency, realism, pace or unease to a scene.

Zoom: focal length of lens changed to make subject appear closer or further away

A zoom into a character’s face can show realisation or an emotional reaction.

Crane: Camera attached to crane – can pan, track or ‘swoop’ in or out as required

Crane shots are often high angle and show large, epic scenes of dramatic action.

Tilt: Camera tilts up or down from fixed point

The hero or villain can be made to look weak or powerful using a tilt (high/low angle).

If you want to know more about camera movement, or missed the lesson, this episode of the Shot List from Studio Binder goes into real detail:

Editing: notes

Video: cuts and transitions

Film transitions
Cut (Straight cut, jump cut, match cut): Shot changes from one to another – the most common cut.

Dissolve: Shot melts into another – often shows passing of time.

Fade: Shot fades away and another shot appears. Fades to black often signify endings (of the day, scene or film)

Pace of editing
The speed at which the film cuts from one shot to the next makes a huge difference to the experience for the audience. Generally, slow cuts build tension while fast cuts suggest action and excitement.

Juxtaposition
The word juxtaposition literally means ‘the act of placing together side by side’. In editing, this is called Parallel Editing. 

In film, two shots may be placed together to create meaning for the audience. E.g. A shot of the hero may be followed by a shot of his love interest to link these in the audience’s mind.

Rocket Jump film school on YouTube has an excellent video outlining cuts and transitions in editing:

Example analysis: The Night Manager (BBC, 2016)

Here's another example of how you write media analysis for camerawork and editing using the BBC drama clip from The Night Manager.

 

1) Analyse the camera movement:

The camera movement at the beginning of the scene is slow, steady and fits the relaxed atmosphere as they enter the restaurant. The smooth track or dolly shot as they walk to the table (0.14 - 0.17) makes the audience feel as if they are joining the party and included in the exclusive group in the island restaurant. This all changes in the scene where the kidnappers take the main character's son. The camera movement is suddenly handheld and edgy, signalling the tension and danger to the audience. This adds realism and suspense and contrasts strongly with the smooth camera movement of the opening to the scene. The camera continues to move (handheld) throughout this scene as the kidnapping develops - this keeps the audience on edge and creates the idea that danger or something terrible may be happening.

As the kidnappers try to escape, the camera pans loosely from left to right and back again (0.57) to create the effect of someone looking around to see where the next danger will appear from. Finally, when the kidnappers have gone and the boy is returned safely, the camerawork is still handheld but not as shaky as previously. This restores normality to the scene as the danger has passed.

2) Analyse the editing:

The pace of editing suddenly increases when the kidnappers burst into the restaurant (0.22) with a series of rapid cuts to communicate the drama and danger to the audience. There is then a close up of the boy's father juxtaposed with a shot of the main kidnapper holding the boy. This tells the audience these are the two critical characters for this scene and that they will decide what happens next.

Demographics and psychographics

In order to do this, we need to learn about audience demographics and psychographics. These are two crucial aspects of how audiences are classified and identified by media companies. 

Notes from today's lesson on Audience

Demographic classification:

• Age
• Gender
• Education
• Social class
• Race/ethnicity
• Job/profession/earnings
• Home (city/village/countryside)

Social class classification

Advertisers have traditionally classified people into the following groups:

• AB – Managerial and professional 
• C1 – Supervisory and clerical 
• C2 – Skilled manual 
• DE – Unskilled manual and unemployed

Audience profiling

Advertisers these days are interested in more than just a social class classification. Now they try to sell a brand or lifestyle and therefore need to know more about their audience than simply age, gender or where they live.

So we also need to think about the kind of brands audiences are interested in and what this says about their lifestyle and interests. Is this product aimed at people who buy Armani and Porsche? Banana Republic and Apple? John Lewis and The Times? Lush and the Vegan Store? Peppa Pig and Haribo? The brands we buy or like say a lot about our personality and attitudes in life.

Psychographics

Media companies use audience profiling to create a more detailed picture of their audience. This means looking at the audience's personality, interests and the brands and lifestyle they enjoy. Young and Rubicam identified a range of different groups that became known as Psychographics. You can revise the different psychographic groups here.

Reception theory

Stuart Hall is a cultural theorist who looked at the relationship between the text and the audience. He suggested that meanings are fluid and open to interpretation depending on context and the consumer’s experiences as individuals as well as communities.

Hall states there are three readings to any media text:

Preferred reading

The meaning the producers intend to communicate. This builds on the idea that producers can position the audience in a certain way and influence their reading so they accept the intended message by using recognised codes and conventions (such as stereotypes).

Negotiated reading

Somewhere between the preferred and oppositional reading. The message is modified (partly accepted and partly rejected) depending on the individual experiences of the audience (e.g their age, gender or social class).

Oppositional reading

The oppositional reading goes against the meaning the producers are trying to create. The audience reject the intended message and construct an opposite reading instead. This can be due to their own social, political or moral beliefs and values. 

The rest of the Plan B TEDx lecture about his plan to help disadvantaged young people through film and music.