Key term
Eduqas A-Level Media Studies A680QS
Media Language
Topic overviewThe language of media analysis: signs, codes and modesDenotation and connotationBarthes, signification and mythCamerawork, framing and editingMise-en-scène, colour and lightingSound and music as media languageLayout, typography and print designCodes and conventions of genreNeale on repetition, difference and genre changeNarrative structure and TodorovNarrative devices: enigma, character and point of viewLévi-Strauss, structuralism and binary oppositionsBaudrillard, simulation and hyperrealityIntertextuality, parody and pasticheMedia language, ideology and developing technology
Media Representations
Topic overviewRepresentation, selection and constructionHall and representation as the production of meaningCodes, concepts and shared conceptual mapsHall on stereotyping, power and otheringPositive and negative uses of stereotypesUnder-representation, misrepresentation and symbolic annihilationRealism, verisimilitude and claims about realitySocial, cultural and historical context in representationGauntlett, identity and pick-and-mix media resourcesvan Zoonen, gender as discourse and the body as spectaclebell hooks: feminism, race and classButler and gender performativityGilroy, race, civilisationism and postcolonial theoryRepresentations of sexuality, class and disabilityDiscourse, ideology and audience readings of representations
Media Industries
Topic overviewProduction, distribution and circulationOwnership models and patterns of controlConglomerates, vertical and horizontal integrationCurran and Seaton on power and media ownershipHesmondhalgh and the cultural industriesFunding: commercial, subscription and public moneyPublic service broadcasting and the BBCRegulation and the UK regulatorsLivingstone and Lunt on citizens and consumersRegulation in a global and digital ageConvergence, digital technology and distributionMarketing, promotion and maintaining audiencesIndividual producers and the independent sectorGlobalisation and the international media market
Media Audiences
Topic overviewHow audiences are grouped and categorisedPsychographics, lifestyle and cultural capitalTargeting mass and specialised audiencesAttracting, reaching and constructing audiencesMode of address and audience positioningPassive audience models and the effects debateBandura and social learning theoryGerbner and cultivation theoryActive audiences and uses and gratificationsHall and reception theoryJenkins, fandom and participatory cultureShirky and the end of the audienceConsumption, technology and audience measurementAudience interpretation, identity and social context
Contexts of Media
Topic overviewWhat media contexts are and why they matterSocial contexts: values, attitudes and beliefsCultural contexts and cultural changeRepresenting minority groups and products made by themEconomic contexts: ownership and fundingProduction outside the commercial mainstreamPolitical contexts: ideology and powerRegulation and the stateHistorical contexts: genre conventions as historically relativeHistorical change in representationTechnological change, production, distribution and circulationGlobal contexts and non-English-language media
Newspapers
Topic overviewNewspaper front pages: masthead, splash and layoutTabloid and quality press: codes, conventions and registerSemiotics, structuralism and ideology in newspaper languageNews values, selection and the construction of realityRepresentation of events, individuals and social groups in newspapersThe Daily Mirror as an evolving productThe Times as an evolving productNewspaper ownership, conglomerates and controlFunding, paywalls and the decline of print circulationPress regulation, IPSO and the Leveson aftermathNewspapers online: convergence and digital distributionNewspaper audiences: categorisation, targeting and addressAudience responses, reception theory and the end of audience
Advertising and Marketing
Topic overviewAdvertising media language: codes and conventionsSemiotics and structuralism in advertisingIntertextuality, genre and persuasion in advertisingThe Tide print advertisement (1950s)Gender representation in 1950s advertisingThe Kiss of the Vampire film poster (1963)Representation and gender in the Kiss of the Vampire posterSuper. Human. and the language of the Paralympic filmDisability representation in Super. Human.Historical contexts: sixty years of advertising changeAdvertising audiences: grouping, targeting and addressAudience interpretation and reception in advertisingMarketing, branding and cross-media campaigns
Music Video
Topic overviewMusic video as a form: conventions, functions and developmentCamerawork, editing and mise-en-scène in music videoNarrative, intertextuality and postmodernism in music videoSemiotics, myth and ideology in music videoRepresentation, stereotyping and identity in music videoGender, objectification and performativity in music videoEthnicity, race and postcolonial readings in music videoFormation, Beyoncé (2016)Turntables, Janelle Monáe (2020)Underdog, Alicia Keys (2020)Riptide, Vance Joy (2013)Seventeen Going Under, Sam Fender (2021)Little Bit of Love, Tom Grennan (2021)
Radio
Topic overviewRadio as a form: its history, formats and the listening experiencePublic service broadcasting and the BBC's missionFunding radio: the licence fee, advertising and sponsorshipRegulating radio: Ofcom, the BBC Charter and impartialityOwnership and concentration in the commercial radio industryPodcasting and the on-demand audio economyDigital technology, convergence and BBC SoundsRadio audiences: reach, targeting and measurementAudience theory applied to radioWoman's HourHave You Heard George's Podcast (BBC Sounds)
Video Games
Topic overviewVideo games as a media formThe Assassin's Creed franchiseUbisoft: ownership, structure and global productionMaking a major game: budgets, teams and working conditionsDistribution, platforms and monetisationMarketing, regulation and the debate about effectsGame audiences: who plays and how they are reachedGames and historical context: representing the pastGlobal markets, localisation and cultural adaptationConvergence and the franchise across mediaHardware cycles, technology and accessGames, society and contemporary debate
Film Industries and Marketing
Topic overviewProduction in the film industryDistribution and release strategiesExhibition, box office and the cinema audienceFilm funding, budgets and public subsidyConglomerate ownership, integration and diversificationThe independent and specialised film sectorFilm marketing across convergent platformsRegulation, classification and the film industryBlack Panther: production and the Marvel blockbuster modelMarketing and distributing Black PantherI, Daniel Blake: independent production and fundingMarketing and distributing I, Daniel Blake
Television in the Global Age
Topic overviewTelevision in the global age: transnational production and co-productionPublic service broadcasting in a global marketplaceStreaming services and the changing distribution of televisionOwnership, funding and the economics of television dramaRegulation of television in the UK and across bordersMarketing television drama and targeting audiences nationally and globallyFandom, niche audiences and how audiences interpret television dramaGenre, narrative and media language in television dramaRepresentation, identity and ideology in television dramaPeaky Blinders (BBC Two, 2013)The Bridge (Denmark/Sweden, 2015)Black Mirror: 'San Junipero' (Netflix, 2016)The Returned (France, 2012)Killing Eve (BBC America/BBC Three, 2018)Tehran (Israel, 2020)
Magazines: Mainstream and Alternative
Topic overviewMagazine cover codes, layout and designSemiotics, structuralism and ideology in magazine languageGenre conventions and the historically relative magazineGender representation in magazines and feminist theoryStereotyping, ideology and under-represented groupsMagazine industries: ownership, funding and circulationMagazine audiences: targeting, niche and specialised readersAudience reception, interpretation and cultivationWoman (23–29 August 1964)Adbusters (May/June 2016)Woman's Realm (7–13 February 1965)Huck (February/March 2016)Vogue (July 1965)The Big Issue (17–23 October 2016)
Media in the Online Age
Topic overviewMedia language of the home page and the YouTube channelConvergence, participatory culture and user-generated contentSelf-representation and identity onlineRepresenting under-represented groups onlineOnline media industries: production, distribution and circulationInfluencers, monetisation and the economics of vloggingAlgorithms, curation and the attention economyRegulating online contentOnline audiences: fandom, niche reach and the end of audienceZoe Sugg's YouTube channelJJ Olatunji (KSI) and his YouTube channelThiiird online magazineAttitude magazine and website
Media Language
Codes and conventions of genre
- 3 things to know
- Components 1 and 2
Overview
Repertoire of elements, term subgenre and genre hybridity.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
What is iconography?
Key term
What is meant by a repertoire of elements?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Define genre.
Model answer
Genre is a category of media product identified by shared conventions. Audiences and producers both use genre to organise expectation.
- 2
What is iconography?
Model answer
Iconography is the set of recognisable objects, settings and figures associated with a genre. Trench coats and rain-slicked streets belong to the iconography of noir.
- 3
What is meant by a repertoire of elements?
Model answer
A repertoire of elements is the pool of conventions a genre draws from. Products draw on some conventions and leave others unused.
- 4
Explain the term subgenre.
Model answer
A subgenre is a narrower category inside a larger genre. Nordic noir is a subgenre of crime drama.
- 5
What is genre hybridity?
Model answer
Hybridity combines conventions from two or more genres in one product. Science-fiction horror and romantic comedy are hybrid forms.
- 6
Why do industries favour genre products?
Model answer
Genre reduces risk because a proven formula has a known audience. Marketing can also promise the audience something familiar.
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