Spy Kids - Textual Analysis

1. Watch the clip.
2. Identify the different elements of camerawork.
3. Screenshot the different shots and angles etc.
4. Explain their use in the clip. Do this in word - you will print this out and add it to your book.
5. Do the same for mise en scene, editing and soundtrack.

Moving image - terminology

Candidates should be able to recognise and describe a range of media language techniques and

explain how they are deliberately used in a text to create connotative effects. Candidates are

expected to know the following terms and how to comment on their use. However, this is not a

definitive list and candidates should be encouraged to be as flexible as possible in adapting to the demands of the specific extract they are to analyse.

Moving image – Camerawork:

• establishing shots
• low angle, high angle, canted angle or aerial shots
• elaborate camera movement such as tracks, steadicam or crane shots
• hand-held camera
• point-of-view shots
• shallow focus and focus pulls.

Moving image – Editing:

• shot/reverse shot
• juxtaposition
• non-continuity editing
• crosscutting
• fast-paced editing
• less common transitions: dissolve, wipe, fade
• post-production effects.

Moving image – Soundtrack:

• music
• synchronous and asynchronous sound
• diegetic/non-diegetic sound
• sound effects
• sound bridge
• voiceover.

Moving image – Mise en scène:

• lighting (especially low-key lighting)
• location/set
• costume and make-up
• props
• casting and performance style
• blocking (the composition of elements within the shot).

Magazine Analysis Improvement

When analysing your magazines, it is essential that you use the correct media terminology.

TASK

Read the three posts below and improve your analysis by identifying and then including the correct terminology in your work.

Extension task

Reflect on what you have found by answering the following three questions

1. What do you think is the most important element of a magazine page and why?
2. What idea will you use in your own work and why?
3. What will you not use in your own work and why?

Magazine Double Page Spread Analysis

When analysing magazine double page spreads, you should be able to identify all of the following elements:

Alley: the space between columns within a page.

Bleed: when the image is printed to the very edge of the page.

Byline - A journalist's name at the beginning of a story.

Copy - Main text of a story.

Cropping: the elimination of parts of a photograph or other original that are not required to be printed. Cropping allows the remaining parts of the image to be enlarged to fill the space.


Deck - Part of the headline which summarises the story. Also known as deck copy or bank.

Drop cap: a large initial letter at the start of the text that drops into the line or lines of text below.



Headline - The main title of the article. Should be in present or future tense to add to urgency. Must fit the space provided. If it doesn’t, you are using the wrong words.

Kicker - The first sentence or first few words of a story's lead, set in a font size larger than the body text of the story.

Pull quote: A brief phrase (not necessarily an actual quotation) from the body text, enlarged and set off from the text with rules, a box, and/or a screen. It is from a part of the text set previously, and is set in the middle of a paragraph, to add emphasis and interest.

Standfirst - Lines of text after the headline that gives more information about the article, or about the author.
Talkie headline: a quote from one of the people in the story used as a headline

This vocabulary is essential for any student aspiring to a B or above.

Magazine Contents Analysis Terms

When analysing magazine contents, you should be able to identify all of the following elements:

Alley: the space between columns within a page.

Bleed: when the image is printed to the very edge of the page.
Boost: picture boost (usually front page) pic promoting a feature or story in later pages

Strap boost: as above, but with a strapline, not a picture

Cropping: the elimination of parts of a photograph or other original that are not required to be printed. Cropping allows the remaining parts of the image to be enlarged to fill the space.

Flush left: copy aligned along the left margin.

Flush right: copy aligned along the right margin.

Sell - Short sentence promoting an article, often pulling out a quote or a interesting sentence.

Talkie headline: a quote from one of the people in the story used as a headline

This vocabulary is essential for any student aspiring to a B or above.

Magazine Cover Analysis Terms

When analysing magazine covers, you should be able to identify all of the following elements:

Boost: picture boost (usually front page) pic promoting a feature or story in later pages

Strap boost: as above, but with a strapline, not a picture

Centre of visual interest (CVI) - The prominent item on a page usually a headline, picture or graphic.

Cropping: the elimination of parts of a photograph or other original that are not required to be printed. Cropping allows the remaining parts of the image to be enlarged to fill the space.

Filler: extra material used to complete a column or page, usually of little importance.

Flush left: copy aligned along the left margin.

Flush right: copy aligned along the right margin.

Golden ratio: the rule devised to give proportions of height to width when laying out text and illustrations to produce the most optically pleasing result. Traditionally a ratio of 1 to 1.6.
 Masthead - Main title section and name at the front of a publication.

Sell - Short sentence promoting an article, often pulling out a quote or a interesting sentence.

Talkie headline: a quote from one of the people in the story used as a headline

This vocabulary is essential for any student aspiring to a B or above.

Terminology

Antagonist       The character whose function in a plot is to oppose the protagonist. In straightforward hero's journey plots (most action adventures), the antagonist can be referred to as the villain. However, in character drama, the antagonist might not be a "bad" character, just someone who stands between the protagonist and his/her goals.

Archetype        A universal type or model of character that is found in many different texts, e.g. ingenue, anti-hero, wise old woman, hero-as-lover, hero-as-warrior, shadow trickster, mentor, loyal friend, temptress

Audience         The recipients of a media text, or the people who are intended to read or watch or play or listen to it. A great deal of media studies work is concerned with the effects a text may have on an audience.

Binary Opposition       The contrast between two mutually exclusive concepts or things that creates conflict and drives a narrative e.g. good/evil, day/night, male/female, presence/absence, old/young.

Connotation    Way in which meaning is created.

Connote = meaning by association, the deeper meaning (e.g. red connotes anger, passion, love, danger).

Convention      The widely recognised way of doing something - this has to do with content, style and form eg the conventions of music video they are the same length as the song (somewhere around 4 minutes, say) they present the band, who look as though they are singing  they have lots of fast edits.

Denotation      Way in which meaning is created.

Denote = literal or surface meaning e.g. red is the colour of a flower

Genre   A way of categorising a media text according to its form, style and content. This categorisation is useful for producers (who can utilise a genre's conventions) and audiences (who can utilise their expectations of the genre) alike.

Ideology          This is a complex concept - in its basic form it is a set of ideas or beliefs which are held to be acceptable by the creators of a media text. For example, a text might be described as having a feminist ideology, meaning it promotes the idea that women are the equal of men and should not be discriminated against on the grounds of gender.

Narrative         The way in which a story, or sequence of events, is put together within a text. All media texts have some sort of narrative, from a single photographic image to a sports report to a feature film. Narrative may be reduced to one simple equation which is equilibrium - disequilibrium - new equilibrium.

Preferred Reading      The meaning of a text which the producers intended. The opposite of 'preferred reading' is 'aberrant reading', such as when people deliberately interpret a text (the Bible is the source of a lot of mixed messages) to further their political agenda rather than the author's original intent.

Protagonist      The character who drives the narrative forward, through the choices they make and the actions they take.

 

Realism           The techniques by which a media text represents ideas and images that are held to have a true relationship with the actual world around us. Realism means different things in different texts - realism in animation (eg the movement of single hairs in computer animation) means something entirely different to realism in soap opera (eg the depiction of people eating breakfast and talking with their mouths full). it is important to assess how much a text strives for realism, how much audiences are expected to think it is realistic.

Representation           The way in which the media "re-presents" the world around us in the form of signs and codes for audiences to read.

Stereotype       Stereotypes are negative (usually) representations of people that rely on preconceived ideas about the group that person is perceived as belonging to. It is assumed that an individual shares personal characteristics with other members of that group eg blondes are all stupid, accountants are all boring. Although using stereotypes saves a lot of explanation within a text, it can be a very lazy method of characterisation. Stereotypes may be considered dangerous, as they encourage audiences to think large groups of people are all the same, and often have the same negative characteristics.

10Z Media - sound and editing analysis

To enable you to complete your essay to a high standard you should analyse the two clips below with the focus on sound and editing. This will ensure you have used the correct terminology and help some of you achieve an A*.

Apply the following terms (definitions can be found in the moving image glossary post below):

Editing

• Continuity editing
• non-continuity editing
• shot reverse shot
• cross cutting
• fast paced editing
• CGI

Sound

• diegetic sound
• non-diegetic sound
• synchronous sound

Cinematic Techniques

Goodfellas Dolly Zoom

Audience

Choose two magazines that appeal to different ages. Analyse the covers in terms of audience appeal. Use LIAR and magazine terminology to help with this. Layout both images on a landscape word doc. and label appropriately. You can of course choose your own magazines (the ones below are just examples).

Key Magazine Terms: Using Terminology

Choose a magazine cover from the following list:

• Q
• Grazia
• OK
• Kerrang!
• Heat
• Empire
• NME

On a word doc. label your magazine with the key terminology from the handout that you've been given. Then answer the following questions:

1. Why do magazines use straplines?
2. Comment on the main image. Camera shot/ subject/colour/costume. What types have been used and what is their effect?
3. How many colours have been used on the cover and why these colours?
4. What is the appeal of your magazine to the audience?
5. Why does the barcode appear where it does?
6. How do the cover lines entice the reader?
7. Why has the image or images been used on your magazine cover? What is their impact on the reader?
8. Who publishes your magazine?