A2 Media Coursework

1. A2 Media Studies
Coursework
Research and Planning
Zak

2. Meaning is created in a variety of ways with in
media. The primary elements that make you
understand how meaning is produced are
symbolic and technical codes conveyed by
moving image. Symbolic and technical codes
are the two kinds of codes.

3. Stuart halls
reception theory
Stuart halls reception theory is how different audiences
from different background may interpret the same media
text in different ways.
Preffered reading: preffered reading is when the
audience understands the text the way the producer
wanted them to, to get a preferred reading you would
need to make your message clear and it should be
relavent to the audience's background.
Negotiated reading: This is when the audience
understands the text the way the producer intended but
does not agree with the producer.
Oppositinal reading: this is when the audience doesn’t
understand the text or agree with the producer.
Example: An example would be an advert if a fat person
where to buy a pair of trainers and the suddenly, their fit.
A preffered reading would be if the audience saw the ad
and were encouraged to but it. A negotiated reading
would be if they saw the ad and understood the point,
but still found it offensive. An oppositinal reading is when
the audience doesn’t understand/agree at all.

4. Opening scene analysis
maze runner
• The maze runner The Maze Runner Opening
Scene - HD
•
The viewer can only hear the sound of machines at the outset of the
opening scene this makes the film look more puzzling and will make
the viewer want to continue to watch the film. The movies main
character,Thomas,is still not awake at the start of the scene.As the
viewer can also see nothing on the screen,the directors of the film
did this to make the audience feel more connected to the main
character.The scene was taken to make the viewer feel lost much
like the main character, it's also a mid shot, but the main character
isn't in the frame yet. For a few seconds, the sound of the elevator
becomes quieter, and the character unexpectedly sits up and makes
a lot of noise. Sudden action and noise make the viewer pay
attention to what Thomas is trying to do. Then the mid shot
switches to the long shot so that you can see more of how the cage
feels and see the entire body of the main character. Thomas vomits
and coughs, and as he does the angle of the shot changes from the
angle of the eye to the angle of the bird’s eye view.He gets up when
he hears the noise of an animal. When the animal scares Thomas,
the noise of the lift remains the same.This indicates that the
director didn't mean it was a jump scare or a shock at all. As the lift
keeps going up, it's going faster and faster.The noise of the
computer continues getting louder and louder and the shot
switches to the worms eye view shot showing the ceiling of the
Thomas structure illuminated with red light. The scene is building
up suspense, and then unexpectedly the lift stops.The red light
turns into a green and the rooftop opens.Thomas has been
welcomed by a large group of teenage boys. When Thomas sees the
large group of boys he starts to run away and then falls, he then
gets back up and realizes where he his, the camera then follows him
as he gets more curious.

6. Symbolism
• A symbol in a plot is a object, setting,
character, or occurrence that has
more than one meaning and
therefore signifies something
important in recognizing the scene in
a deeper meaning. In other words,
symbols have both a literal and
figurative meaning, which refers to
what they may signify or
imply. Colors have an agreed-upon
interpretation, such as blue reflecting
a depth of power, but there are
several alternative as this can be
contradicted if you consider that blue
may also signify innocence and
harmony.

7. Symbolic codes
• Setting, acting, color, and mise en scene (what the
film is made up of - costumes/props) are all examples
of symbolic codes in media (continue the stuff on ur
own) It is used to give the film significance and to
assist the viewer in determining the theme/genre.
Symbolic codes are intended to give the viewer a 'real
life emotion.' For example, if you saw someone
receiving a red rose in a movie, you would believe the
two actors had a romantic relationship, and if you
received a red rose in real life, you might hope to have
the same connection as you saw in the movie. This
creates an intimate link between the viewer and the
speaker.

8. Color
symblosim
• Color symbolism is a very
important effect. Color means
very different things to different
people and cultures, it is one of
the most important technique to
get right as it as a huge effect on
the audience, it can change
moods ,scenes and ___ for
example red is seen to symbolize
anger or aggression.
Colour Symbol Connotation
Red Love
Passion
Danger
Anger
Black Death
Mystery
Evil
Power
White safety
purity
clean
Green Nature
Growth
money
Yellow Sun shine
happiness
creativity
Blue truth
Innocence
loyalty
Gold Rich
power
cocky
magic
wisdom

9. Lighting
• Lighting can be used to create a range of
different effects. It allows us to focus on
main characters and lose focus on
irrelevant characters in the correct scene
the same goes for objects in the frame.
Lighting can also change the mood and
meaning.
• There are several different lighting that
range from key light, low key lighting to
soft lighting. Key light is the primary and
brightest sources of lighting, another
very popular use of lighting is high key
lighting and low-key lighting, high key
lighting is used to give a bright and full
on effect often used in romance and
comedy and low-key lighting is used to
create suspense and tension often used
in action and horror

10. Facial expression
• Facial expressions convey actors' thoughts and reactions, which inform
us about the character and how they respond to situations. For
example, if a character is terrified when anything happens, a facial
expression will convey the character's feelings.

13. Body language
• Body language's expression in the media has an effect on how it looks on the big screen . The
term "mediation" refers to the process by which the media creates body language in line with
the presentation's goals. Body language is a technique used to express meaning in a narrative
sense in fiction films and television shows.

14. Lighting
• Lighting can be used to achieve a variety
of outcomes. It encourages us to
concentrate on the main characters and
ignore the minor characters in the right
scene, as well as the items in the frame.
The mood and sense of a room can be
altered by changing the lighting.
• There are a variety of lighting options,
key lighting, low key lighting, and soft
lighting. The main and brightest sources
of lighting is key light, high key lighting,
and low-key lighting. High key lighting is
used to achieve a vivid and full-on effect,
and low-key lighting is used to produce
suspense and excitement, and is often
used in action and horror films.

15. Props and
costumes
• Props and costumes help in character
identification, and they make it much
easier for the producers, to express
specific moods and sounds with the use
of various elements of a mise-en-scene.
It represents the actor's feelings, such as
the look of the clothing and props, and it
gives the viewer some insight about
what the performers might be identified
with, such as the color black and red on
a character would most certainly
represent evil. Props are devices used on
stage or on film by performers during a
performance; they are something
movable or portrayable on a stage that
distinguishes one character from
another, such as a character carrying a
gun to emphasize the threat.

16. Camera shots

17. Camera angles

18. Stuart Hall
theory
• The consumer encodes and decodes all media texts, according
to Stuart Hall's Reception Theory. This means that phrases in
media texts are first encoded, which occurs when the user
understands the words or text, and then decoded, which
occurs when the user fully understands the meaning that the
media is trying to portray. The producers encrypt signals and
ideas in their media, which the viewer is expected to translate.
Different audience members, on the other hand, will decode
the media in different ways, understanding the message in
ways that the producer could not have expected.

19. Media Institutions
Broadcasting companies, newspaper and magazine
publishers, film production companies, music and
publishing companies, and some governments are
examples of media institutions. A conglomerate is a
company that owns the majority of the media, such as
several different, companies. In a conglomerate, one
corporation owns a controlling position in several other
businesses that operate independently. These
conglomerates have a 360-degree position, which means
they hold several areas of the media industry, including
music, magazine publishers, radio stations, and film
companies. As gatekeepers, they have authority over
various aspects of the media and what they want
published. In the end, while making a picture, these
conglomerates form an oligopoly because smaller film
production businesses would be unable to compete due to
a lack of funds or equipment to produce something of
comparable quality.

20. Disney – ownership
Disney is one of many corporations that owns various parts of the
mainstream media and has a 360-degree status, making it a Gatekeeper.
They demonstrate their authority by forming an oligopoly across various
industries, making it difficult for others to compete. Smaller institutions
would struggle to compete due to a lack of budget, cast, technology,
and other production benefits/privileges. Disney has a net worth of 176
billion dollars and was able to set aside a 254 million dollar budget for
the film "The beast and the beauty . They used their authority as a
Gatekeeper to hire a large number of well-known, well-known people
to play the primary characters. Emma Watson played the Beauty, and
Dan Stevens played the Beast in the film. Along with other roles played
by Josh Gad, Luke Evans, and others, Disney was able to offer the
actresses large amounts, including Emma Watson, who was paid a
modest $2.55 million. Smaller independent organizations, such as
Awesomeness Road production , struggle to compete, as evidenced by
the film "Before I Fall." "had a 5-million-dollar budget As a result, they
were able to engage unknown actors like Zoey Dutch and Logan Miller,
demonstrating the difference between the two.

21. BBFC
The BBFC was added to ensure that
younger audiences are not exposed
to inappropriate content or films
that are not intended for them. This
is also only added to actual prints of
films and cinemas where they are
used to ask for identification; age
ratings have since been added to
several various video subscription
sites, such as Amazon Prime or
Netflix, to make life easier for their
parents and to ensure that their
children are not exposed to
inappropriate content.

22. M.I.G.R.A.I.N – Genre:
Despite the fact that genre is a
convenient method to locate a
movie, many people feel that if a
film can be classified into only
one genre, it is commonplace and
lacks uniqueness and innovation.
To add to that, many others feel
that genre is defined by two
things: recurrence and difference,
owing to the work of a well-
known man named Steve Neale.
According to Steve Neals, all
genres feature repetition and
differences. For example, in a
horror film, we can see the
repetition of dark lowkey lighting,
tense soundtrack, jump scares,
and other elements that we are
all familiar with.

23. Steve neals theory
Neale believes that genre is
transmitted through specific
expectations and hypothesis
that viewers have when they
go to the movies, and that
these expectations and
hypotheses link with the
films during the viewing
experience.
Steve neal
suggests that
there are two
reasons why
films rely on
genre
1)To guarantee
meaning and
pleseure for the
audience
2)genre is linked
to econmic
context
He also aruges that
genre is also marked
by difference
variation and
change
For example genre can have a
hybrid of genre that involve
more than one genre. They
can range from a mix
between romantic comedy
like the wedding singer and
scfi horror for example
stanger things

24. Rick altman
• Although genre is a convenient way to To find a
movie many people believe if a movie can be put
into just 1 genre the movie is ordinary and lacks
originality and creativity. To add to that many other
people believe genre is just built through just two
things repetition and difference this is because of a
famous man, Steve Neale’s. Steve neals states that
genres all contain instances of repletion and
differences for example in a horror film we might
get the repetition of dark lowkey lighting, tense
music, jump scares and many more that we are all
familiar to in a horror film

25. Rick Altman – Semantics/Syntactics

26. Semantics
The study of linguistic development by classification and examination
of changes in meaning and form is known as semantics. Semantics,
according to some views, might be the actual prop, costumes, or
lighting, as well as the viewers' understanding of the items. A toy
block, for example, might be referred to as a block, a cube, or a toy. A
child can be referred to as a child, a boy or a girl, a son or a daughter.
Semantics is employed because it allows individuals to communicate
across media; there are standards that people must agree on in order
to give meaning to specific symbols and phrases. When people assign
diverse interpretations or views to the same term or phrase,
semantics can be readily misconstrued, causing misunderstanding.

27. Syntactics
Syntactics is a branch of semiotics that deals with the links
between signals or expressions and the meanings and
interpretations of those signals or expressions. Some may
say that they are frequent themes in media, such as
narrative twists, while others may say that they are buried
or implied messages throughout the piece of media. It's
about the structural relationships. Syntactics are themes
that consumers stereotype in media texts, such as implying
that elderly people are helpless, and so on.

28. M.I.G.R.A.I.N –
Representation:
Media representations are mostly representations
that have been created, through an image or a
thought through some one else's eyes. What is the
concept of a stereotype? A stereotype is a false
belief held by a large number of people about
someone or a group based on their outward
characteristics. Stereotypes may be completely false
or partially accurate. People are stereotyped as a
result of what they look like on the outside, which is
just a small part of who they are. For example an
often stereotype in movies is often Russian people
are often seen as part of a mafia gang and very cold
hearted this is seen in the series arrow where the
Russian mafia ‘the bratva’ are after the hero arrow

29. Audience:
The phrase "audience" refers to a large group of unknown people who are brought
together by their involvement in media such as concerts, performances, and films.
All producers can hear the Wud voice of the audience. They evaluate, consume,
and inform the product in order to determine whether it will be a success or not.
Not everyone in the audience agrees on everything. Some people may enjoy a film
while others may despise it. For it to be a success, the producer would want the
majority of the audience to like it. Because the media industry is so competitive, all
media texts are written with a specific audience in mind. If a media text does not
have an audience, it will fail to communicate its message or, if it is a commercial
media text, to make money for its creators. Media producers use demographics to
define and categorize their target audience. There are many ways audiences are
identified and broken up into through age, gender, race and many more.

30. Audience: demographics
Age
Gender
Location
Ethnicity
Religion
Socio-economic groups
AB: professional
business and
white collar
C1:higher skilled
manual
C2:lower
skilled manual
DE:semi and
unskilled
manual
The way the producers target the
product to specific audiances
Con- doesn’t tell me what
they actually like
(trending)

32. the Hypodermic
Needle Theory
The hypodermic needle theory
was developed in 1920-1930 after
researchers observed the effect
during world war one. it is a
linear communication theory
which suggests media messages
are injected directly into the brain
of an passive audience which
suggests we are all the same and
we’ll all respond to media the
same way.
This hypothesis was established in the
1920s and 1930s after scholars noticed
the impact of propaganda during WW1.
This hypothesis is a sequential.
communication theory that implies that
media signals are pumped directly into
the minds of a passive audience. It.
implies that we are all the same and.
that we all react in the same manner to
the media. While these findings are.
blamed for lack of scientific evidence, it
was one of the first media hypothesis
ever to have been developed.

33. The cultivation
theory
The cultivation theory states those who watch
large amounts of tv wil be more suseptble to
media than those who watch small amount of
television. The cultivation theory was founded
by george gerbner and his colluges in 1960.
what happens with this theory is that the
audience goes out and seeks media that is going
to reinforce their idea and what starts to happen
is that those who are consiming the media are
going to start and see a disorted view of reality .
The more you consume media the more you will
be impacted by it . For example lets say you
don’t like president trump there fore you will be
gravidated to the media that bashes donald
trump as a result this may reinforce your
worldveiw, it starts to change and you become
close minded and only start too see one
perspective and become more passionate .

34. M.I.G.R.A.I.N – Ideology:
An ideology is a set of ideas or beliefs that a group of people hold in common. It could be a collection of
ideas, a way of thinking, or a worldview. Political/economic philosophies such as communism, socialism,
and capitalism are examples. Many political parties have an ideology that guides their policies and
programs. Messages are attempted to be conveyed by media producers. Even if there is an intended
message for the audience, audiences may take these messages differently based on their worldview.

35. Todorov theory
• Todorov is a Bulgarian-French literary theorist . According to
Todorov's narrative theory, every tale or piece of media text
goes through the same five stages: first, there is a state of
equilibrium, in which the storyline is quiet, tranquil, and in its
original condition; second, there is a disruption, in which the
audience is aware that there is a problem but the characters
are oblivious; and finally, there is a disruption, in which the
public is aware that there is a problem but the characters are
ignorant. Something shifts out of place, disturbing the piece It
then progresses to a realization of the problem, in which the
story's characters recognize that there is a problem, and it
then progresses to a disruption of the characters as they
realize the problem. The attempt to restore the disturbance
may take the place of a fight, chase, or war, depending on the
scenario. Finally, the problem is rectified, and natural balance
is restored, and the plot returns to normal or balance is
restored

36. Todorov
example

37. Propps theory
• Vladamir Propp was a Russian
literacy critic and academic. He
was born on April 17th, 1895.
According to Vladamir's theory,
there were seven basic categories
of characters in every narrative or
film: the hero, villain, donor,
dispatcher, helper, false hero, and
princess and her father.

41. Trailer research
A trailer is a commercial promo for a futre film that will be released in in
a theater or online . A teaser trailer is a brief video clip about an
upcoming film or television program that is frequently produced long
before the product is launched in order to "tease" the viewer. It's utilized
to draw people in to the movie and give them a sense of what's going to
happen. ​
Trailers for movies are now available on DVDs and Blu-ray discs, as well as
the internet and mobile phones. In November 1913, the first trailer was
presented in an American theater. The trailer was promoted as "an
completely unique and innovative stunt," and it featured moving images
of rehearsals and other occurrences that occurred throughout the
production. Trailers were displayed after the feature movie, but the
technique was proven to be unproductive, since spectators who departed
directly after the major picture typically disregarded them. Later,
exhibitors adjusted their practices such that trailers were just a small
portion of the overall picture presentation, which also contained cartoon
shots .
In most trailers, there is an introduction to the tale or a character to
describe their past or past. In most superhero movie trailers, scenes
detailing how the characters acquired their capabilities are included. The
introductory sound is intended to attract the audience's interest. The
music should be able to set the tone and create emotional responses
from the listener. The fast cuts create a sense of excitement in the
audience and may be utilized to create tension. A voice over might assist
the viewers understand what the film is about.

42. Trailer 2
The purpose of a movie poster is to capture the
audience's curiosity in a film so that they may go watch
the trailer to learn more about it. Movie posters provide
information to the audience that they should be aware
of before seeing the next film, such as the plot and age
rating (the BBFC rating). These are all vital and valuable
aspects of a movie poster that should be carefully
considered. For example, suppose a parent wanted to
take their child to see a movie and didn't bother to check
at the poster before buying a ticket. The youngster is too
young to see the movie on the day they arrive; this is
their fault for not paying attention.
A promotional package is a collection of media items and
information designed to draw the target audience's
attention to a particular product, such as a movie. A
promotional package contains information about the
company, a logo, contact information, and a description
of the product. Short movies created by brands and used
as a marketing tool are known as branded films.
Branding is vital to add in promotional packages since it
attracts more attention and consumers tend to gravitate
toward well-known businesses. This would also provide
the institution that is vertically integrating a positive
name.

43. Trailer – 3 Act Structure:
A 3 Act Structure contains three essential parts that build it up, they are the
Establishing section, the Disturbance and the montage. During the Establishing
section, either characters will be introduced or the tale environment will be
revealed. There is some form of disagreement or issue that develops during the
Disturbance, such as a major difficulty. Finally, throughout the montage, the
viewer is teased with a variety of quick clips from throughout the film. ​

44. Analysis fast and furious 8
trailer
https://youtu.be/JwMKRevYa_M
Genre
The movie's genre is clearly indicated in the trailer due to numerous conventions.
We can see this from the car racing varied missions portrayed in the trailer
extreme and scenarios like the guy being chased by a submarine and by police in
many portions of every action movie. Every action film follows the same rules. The
trailer also has non-digestive background music that is fast paced and energetic
with links to the action and adventure genre, as opposed to a sad solemn song
that would be played in the background in a movie like this. As a result, the trailer
also has very fast pace shots and transitions that match the tempo of the music.
KEY CONCEPTS:
Meaning
Institution
Genre
Representation
Audience
Ideology
Narrative

45. Narrative
From the trailer, it appears that the film's plot revolves on good vs. evil. The
viewers may assume that one of the brothers has abandoned his family and
begun working with the evil girl and her "army." The plot includes racing ,
explosives, deaths, and other high-risk situations that are typical seen in
an action movies. The trailer does not give us the entire narrative or the
reason for him abandoning his family because this creates enigma and makes
the audience want to watch the movie to find out the entire story. If all of this
and the entire narrative were shown in the trailer, there would be no enigma
and the audience would not watch the movie. Since they already know what's
going to happen.

46. Branding:
Branding is vital since it not only
creates a lasting impression on
customers, but it also informs
them about what to anticipate
from you and your project. It's a
technique of standing out from
the crowd and stating exactly
what you have to offer that
makes you the superior option. ​

47. Example of
branding
Through out the john wick sequel there is a noticeable
pattern with bold clear texts this may be due to act more
appealing to the audience and more eye catching