Media Language Essay plan

You may be asked to write about one of your production pieces in relation to the concept of Media Language. This could be seen as the trickiest concept to define as it is not immediately obvious from the name what you are being asked to discuss – you therefore need to be careful when reading the question to make sure you know what is expected of you. However it can also be seen as a broader category than the others, giving you the opportunity to write about a number of different elements and to discuss any of the other key concepts.

Media Language means the way that meaning is made, using the conventions of the particular medium and type of media product. It is about considering how media texts communicate. One way to look at it is in relation to written language: if writing uses words, nouns, adjectives, sentences, paragraphs, rhymes, rhythms and chapters to convey meaning, how does a media text do it? If a written text uses short sentences, adverbs and similes to convey a sense of danger, a film title sequence might use fast editing, signs such as shadows falling across a wall, carefully composed mise en scene to suggest imprisonment and a specific choice of font and transition for the titles to convey a sense of unease.

You could write about elements of semiotics, genre, narrative, design, structure, codes and conventions, time and space, spoken, written and visual language to name just a few examples.

Ferdinand Saussure’s Semiotics:
Signifier = the form in which the sign takes
Signified = the concept it represents
Ferdinand Saussure was interested in the relationship between the signifier and the signified and this is referred to as 'signification.’

Charles Peirce iconic, indexical and symbolic signs

Icons resemble what they represent (photograph)

Symbols only represent something by agreement (words written on a page)

Indexical Signs indicate something by association (smoke = fire)

Revise the following terms by writing one example of each from your production:
signifier
signified
detonated meaning
connoted meaning
iconic sign
indexical sign                                                                                                                                              symbolic sign


Media Language Practice exam question 1b

“Media texts can communicate to their audiences in various ways.” Discuss the ways in which Media Language has been used within one of your productions.

Cover in your answer:

·         Ferdinand de Saussure - sign signified and signifer

·         Charles Peirce - iconic, indexical and symbolic signs

·         Roland Barthes - denotation, connotation and myth

narrative & structure linear, montage,
design
codes and conventions of your genre
time and space - non continuity
visual language mise en scene, camera, sound, editing                                                                                                                                               

Practise taking a semiotic approach by evaluating one of your productions.
Focus on: Signs and their intended meaning
How they interact with each other – would a sign (e.g. the police hat) be read differently if placed in a different context? So how are elements affected by one another?
Anchorage text – how does the font/size/position convey meaning?
Drawing conclusions – what is the overall effect?

Examples
What does the darkening sky signify? How does it affect our reading of the rest of the image?
White is used a great deal in the composition – overwhelmingly seen as a colour of innocence and purity and on first viewing it could seem that the film maker is to be reverse this myth by using this colour for the villain. However, the anchorage text suggests…

A terrace house is symbolic of normal everyday British home life– why is it used here? How do the other elements of the image affect our reading of it?
How are we invited to view this as an image of femininity, power, animosity? Consider all the elements of the image together and come to a conclusion. Nostalgic? Objectified? Empowered? Ironic?