The document provides an introduction to key concepts in media studies, including representation, audiences, institutions, language, ideology, narrative, and genre. It discusses how these concepts should be applied when analyzing media texts. Specifically, it focuses on the concepts of media language, exploring how images and their formal elements (framing, mise-en-scene, etc.) and cultural codes create meaning and can be analyzed on the levels of denotation and connotation. Examples are provided to demonstrate analyzing images based on these conceptual frameworks.

31. 1. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA Level Introducingthe KeyConceptsof MediaStudiesThe Key
Conceptsare the single mostimportantframeworkforthe whole MediaStudiescourse.Theyhave
evolvedasameansof understandingatextby usinga critical framework,ratherthanjustmaking
unconnectedandmeaninglessobservations.Throughoutthe course,youwillneedtorefertothe Key
Conceptsanduse the termsyoulearnwhenanalysingmediatextsinyourexamsandcoursework.One
wayof rememberingthe KeyConceptsistouse the mnemonic‘RAILING’:•Representations•Audiences
• Institutions•Language • Ideology•Narrative • Genre However,itisimportantyoudonot see each
KeyConceptas separate andstandalone;infact theyworkin unison.The bestexaminationresponses
do notaddresseach conceptinturn, insteadthe conceptsflow intoeachotherasthe textisbeing
analysed.We will beginbylookingatLanguage,one of the mostimportantof the KeyConcepts,andthe
closelyrelatedconceptsNarrative andGenre.MediaLanguage Whatisa mediatext?Youwill be usedto
associatingthe word ‘text’withsomethingwrittenorprinted.InMediaStudies,the word‘text’isused
to describe anymediaproductsuchas televisionprogrammes,photographs,adverts,film,newspaper
adverts,radioprogrammes,webpagesetc.‘Texts’are therefore the main pointof ourstudyin
understandinghowmedialanguagescreate meaning.One of the keystounderstandingthe meaningsin
textisthe use of codes.KEYTERM CODES Rulesorconventionsbywhichsignsare puttogethertocreate
meaning.The Englishlanguage itself isasetof codes:lettersmade upintowords,wordsmade upinto
sentencesandsentencesmade upintoparagraphs.Justas we learnto readthe letters,wordsand
sentences,so,too,we learnto‘read’mediacodesandlanguages.We learnthatsounds or imagescan
be put togetherinparticularsequences,workingascodes,togive particularmeaning.Justasthere isa
great varietyinthe formand style of mediatexts,sothe codesusedtoconstruct meaningare variedand
frequentlydependuponthe formof the mediatext.Inmostcases,the textwill use avarietyof codes—
visual,audioandwritten—that‘fit’togetherinacertainwayto create a particularmeaning.Mostof us
can easily‘read’abasic printedadvert,butasMediaStudiesstudentswe needtolearntobreakdown
and ‘deconstruct’the image.AsaMediaStudiesstudent,itiscrucial yourresponsesreflectwhatyou
have learnedinclass.Alwaysthink:couldmyresponsehave beenwrittenbysomeone whohasnever
studiedthe media?If so,you will needtorethinkyourapproach.1
2. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA Level MediaLanguage:Image AnalysisLet’sstartbylookingatsome
imagesanddescribingwhatwe see.Thislevel of analysisiscalleddenotation,animportanttermwe will
lookat inmore detail later.Intheory,atthe level ofdenotation,everyone shoulddescribe animage in
exactlythe same way.However,aswe all have adifferentunderstandingof the world(because we have
learnedaboutitindifferentways),thisisrarelythe case inpractice.ActivityLookatthe image above.On
a piece of paper,describe whatyousee inthe picture.Youwill beaskedtoshare whatyouhave written
withthe restof the class.Now,write downwhatyouthinkishappeninginthe picture.Your
interpretationof whatishappeningwill dependalotonthe assumptionsyoumake aboutthe societyin
whichyoulive.Yourresponsewill alsobe basedoncodesyouimplicitlyunderstand.Youwill againbe
askedto sharewhatyouhave writtenwiththe restof the class.Yoursecondresponse will have taken
intoaccount the non-verbal communication(NVC) of the meninthe photograph.NVCisanimportant
code usedby humanbeingstocommunicate,oftenunconsciously.Itispossible toidentifyeightaspects
of NVC:Facial expression:eyebrowsare importanthere,e.g.fullyraisedeyebrowsoftenindicate
disbeliefwhereas fullyloweredeyebrowscommunicate anger.Gaze:the focusof a person’slook.When
twopeople’sgazesmeet,thisiseye contactandparticularlymeaningful.Whatdoesthe gaze of the men
inthe picture sayaboutthem?Gestures:trytotalkto someone without movingyourhands.Lookat
otherpeople whentheytalkandseehow theymove theirhands.Bodilyposture:clearlyaslovenlystance
communicatessomethingdifferenttoanuprightoneBodilycontact:thisisrestrictedinwesternculture
as it conveysintimacyunlessit’sinaprofessional contextsuchasat the doctor’sor shakinghands.Spatial
behaviour:the distance betweenpeople givesyouinformationabouttheirrelationship.Clothesand
appearance:clothesmake astatementaboutus.Evena hair cut tellsyousomethingaboutaperson.

32. What kindof haircut will ahippyhave,forexample?Ora fascist?Non-verbalaspectsof speech:
examplesare tone of voice orgruntinga response.Sowe all interpretthe worldaroundusinstinctively.
How doesthisrelate toimage analysis?2
3. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA Level MediaLanguage:Image AnalysisWewould neverquestion
the needto readwriting,yetwe tendtoassume that because photographsrepresentthe real worldthey
are somehow“natural”soall we needtodo islookat them.Thisisclearlyafallacy.Infact,the word
photographyliterallymeans“writingwithlight”andthe firstobjectiveinMediaStudiesistomove from
a passive consumptionof imagestoanactive readingofthem.The objectof analysisinMediaStudiesis
to understandthe meaningof atext(whetheritbe anovel,afilm, atelevisionprogramme,astill image
and so on).Whenanalysingimages,itiscommontodistinguishbetweentheirform(how the image was
created)andtheircontent(whatisinthe image).One of the keyelementsintermsof formisthe
framingofthe image.FramingFraming definesthe positionfromwhichthe image wascreated,i.e.itis
the borderbetweenthespace we are allowedtosee andthatwhichisout of our sight.All frameshave a
shape—suchastheA4piece of paperthese wordsare printedon.Intermsof framinga still image,you
can vary:Angle:the angle of visionreferstothe camera’sangle inrelationtothe vertical.The most
commonisthe “straighton” position.Othercommonlyusedanglesare low angle,whichisoftenused
toindicate apositionof powerasthe audience isforcedtolookup at the character and highangle,which
meansthe audience hastolookdownon the character so often(butnotalways)
suggestssubservience.Height:Simply,thisisthe heightatwhichthe shotis taken,usuallyeye-level,just
under2m.Level:Thisreferstothe camera’shorizontal angle.Aswiththe vertical angle,usuallyitis
“straighton”butthe cameracan alsobe tiltedonitsside to the leftorright to change the level.Distance:
Thisrefersto the distance of the object fromthe camera. There are sevencategories:1.Extreme long
shot(e.g.a landscape)2.Longshot(e.g.a groupof people)3.Mediumshot(e.g.one ortwopeople)4.
Mediumclose-up(e.g.partof a body)5.Close-up(e.g.face)6.Extreme close-up(e.g.partof face)Depth
of field:Thisreferstothe distance betweenthe nearestandfurthestareafromthe camerawhichisin
focus.Deepfocusphotographywill have the whole scene infocus,whereasaconventional photograph
will focusonthe mainobjectwiththe backgroundoutof focus.Softfocuscanbe createdbyusingspecial
lensesandlayers.Lenstype:wide-anglelensesmake the scene appeardeeperthanitis;an extreme
wide-angle willgive a“fish-eye”effectwhile atelephotolenspullsobjectsclosertogether(e.g.two
athletesmayseemtobe runningclose togetherbutwhenthe shotiscut yousee the true distance
betweenthem).Filmstock:Thisreferstothe speedatwhichthe filmrespondstolight.A faststock will
producegrainyimageswhile aslowstockwill require lotsof light.Slowstockisthe normin cinema
whilemosttelevisioncompaniesuse video(Digibeta) tapes.3
4. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA Level MediaLanguage:Image AnalysisSofar,we have lookedsolely
at still images.Inadditiontowhatwe’ve alreadylookedat,there are six typesof movingimages:1.Pan:
(shortfor panorama): the cameramoveshorizontallyfromastaticposition;2.Tracking(or dolly):the
camera movesontracks (or wheels) togive asmoothmovement;3.Tilt:the camera movesupor down
verticallyfromastaticposition;4.Crane: the camera ismovedona device thatcan move upand down
and laterally(the ultimate crane shotisthe helicoptershot) 5.Handheld:givesthe frame ashakylook,
oftenusedasa point-of-viewshot6.Zoom: Technicallynotmovement,butthe change of the focal
lengthbringinguscloserorfurtherawayfrom the objectinthe frame.Your accompanyinghandouts
lookat camera anglesandtypesof shot inmuch more detail.Toreturnto our still images,we cannow
lookat the form andsay, for example,thatanimage isa highangle shottiltedtothe right.Thisis
description,notanalysis.Analysisinvolvesdescribingthe featuresof animage andshowingwhatthese
featuresmean.Before we candothis,we mustlookat the secondelementof animage:content.
Content(mise-en-scene)KEYTERM MISE-EN-SCÈNELiterallymeaning‘Putintothe Scene’,mise-en-scène
referstoanythingthat goesintoa shot,includingsets,props,actors,costumes,cameramovementsand
performances.Itisoftenseenasthe principal vehicle bywhichafilm’smeaningis conveyed.There are

33. three maincomponentsof mise-en-scene analysis:•The subject• The lighting• The settingThe subject
There may be more than one subjectinan image andwe bringour cultural knowledge tobearwhen
lookingatsubject.Forexample,if the subjectisaperson,we wouldconsiderall aspectsof NVCaswe
didearlier.The lightingThisreferstohow the image islit.You will lookatlightinginmore detail later.
For nowthinkabout:1. Where isthe lightingcomingfrom:front,side,back,above orbelow?2.Isthe
lightingof equal intensity?(unlikely) 3.Where isthislightcoming(orsupposedtobe coming) from?
Three-pointlightingisthe commonestsetup,made upof a key,fill andbacklight.4
5. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA Level MediaLanguage:Image AnalysisThe keylightisthe main
source of illuminationandisdirectedonthe subject,usuallyfrom45degreesabove andtoone side of
the camera. It isa hard, directlightwhichproducessharplydefinedshadows.Thefilllightisthe softor
indirectlightthat“fills”inthe shadowsformedbythe keylight.Thebacklight shinesfrombehindthe
subject,usuallytodifferentiateitfromthe background.The settingThisisself-explanatory;we have
differentexpectations,forexample,of atropical settingwhencomparedtoanArctic one.So,now we
have the toolsto be able to lookat an image and talkaboutits formand contentonadenotative level.
ActivityAnalysethe image above usingwhatyouhave learnedsofar.Don’tforgetto refertoform
(i.e.framing) andcontent/mise-en-scene(i.e.lighting,setting,NVC).Youshouldaim towrite at leasthalf
a side of A4.Nowwe have learnedhowtoanalyse animage on a denotative level,we needtolookat
connotation5
6. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA LevelKEYTERMDENOTATION What an image actuallyshowsandis
immediatelyapparent,ratherthanthe assumptionthe individual readermaymake aboutit;the
everydayorcommonsense meaningof asignKEYTERM CONNOTATION The meaningof asignwhichis
arrivedat throughthe cultural experiencesareaderbringstoitAs we saidearlier,we have all learned
aboutthe worldindifferentwaysandtherefore will have differentwaysof lookingatitdependingon
our social background,age,gender,ethnicityetc.The waywe interpretwhatwe see isconnotation,
where we,the reader,addourown piecesof information.We fill inwhatismissingfromthe denotation
stage and attemptto identify whatmessage isbeingcommunicated.Connotationsoftenrestonthe
individual’reader’s’response toamediatext.Whenyoulookedatthe photographonthe previouspage
and wrote youranalysis,youprobablynaturallyincludedconnotationinyourresponse.Thisisbecause
whenyoulookat the image,youinstinctivelyunderstandthatthe denotative codes(framing,lighting,
mise-en-scene etc) meansomethingandsoyouattemptto considerwhatthiscouldbe.Activity
Complete the chartbelow:DenotationConnotationThe colourwhite Virgins;surrender;innocence;
cleanliness;honesty;purity(inthe westernworld).A clenchedfistA little blackdressA redFerrari A bald
headThe colourblack6
7. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA Level Beforewe move on,there are acouple of otherterms we
needtolookat:KEY TERM ANCHORING(ORANCHORAGE) fixingorlimitingaparticularsetof meanings.
One of the mostcommonforms of anchorage is the captionunderneathaphotograph.Lookat the
picture opposite.ItwastakeninNewYorkminutesafterthe destructionof the WorldTrade Centeron
September112001. The newspaperrunningthispicture wouldhave “anchored”itbywritingacaption
reflectingthe anguishof the twowomen.Orthe headlinereflectingthe horrorwouldhave anchoredthe
picture.Butimagine whatotherinterpretationscouldbe drawnif the picture wasdifferentlyanchored.
If you sawthis picture ina newspaperandreadthe accompanyingcaption“Twofansare heartbrokenby
ManchesterUnited’sFA Cupdefeat”thenyourperspectivewouldbe verydifferent.Cropping:The
adventof digital photography meansmanypeople athome now have experience of croppingpictures
on theirhome computers.Choosingtofocusonone particularaspect of a picture,so bydefinition
missingsomethingout,will clearlyhave implications.Juxtaposition:Juxtapositionmeans “beingplaced
side byside”.Byplacinginformation,writtenorotherwise,nearanimage islikelytoinfluence your
readingof that image.Forexample,animage of acraggy, handsome manjuxtaposedwithamansionon
the cover of a novel wouldsuggestitwasa romanticstory.The same man,juxtaposedwithagunand

34. the mansion,wouldprobablysuggestamurdermystery.Collage takesjuxtapositiontoextremesby
placingnumerous,usuallyunrelated,imagestogetherwithinaframe.Genre:Youwill lookatthis more
fullylaterbutgenre providesaudienceswithaclearsetof expectationswhichare usedtointerpretthe
text.Forexample,if we readahorror text,we’dbe surprisedif itdidn’tinclude elementssuchasa big,
creepyhouse,thunderandlightning, horrible deaths,monsters,supernatural powersetc.Iconographyis
the objectswe recognise asbelongingtoa particulargenre,e.g.A ten-gallonhatandsix shootersare
linkedwiththe westerngenre.ActivityOnthe nextfew page,youwill findaposter forthe perfume
Opium,featuringthe modelSophieDahl.Thisadvertwasbannedbythe AdvertisingStandardsAuthority
(ASA) in2000 after receivingmanycomplaints.Withapartner,lookatthe image andmake a listof the
formand contentfeaturesof the image.Thendiscussandwrite downthe connotationsof these
features.7
8. Once youhave finishedyourlistwithyourpartner,write afull analysisof the advertbasedonwhatwe
have talkedaboutso far.You shouldbe at the stage where youare usingthe MediaStudiestermswe
have learnedand,intermsof analysis,offeringmore thansomeone whohadneverstudiedmediacould
offer.Rememberthere are norightor wrong answersintermsof connotation,althoughyoumustoffer
reasonsforyour response.Yourresponse will be markedasanassessment.Youmaythinkyouranalysis
of the image isfairlythorough.Infact,thisis justthe beginningofanalysisaswe will see whenwe lookat
our nexttopic:semiotics.8
9. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA Level SemioticsOneof the keytheoretical toolstohelpus
deconstructmediatextsissemiology,more oftenreferredto assemiotics.Thisisanattempttocreate a
science of the studyof sign systemsandtheirrole intheconstructionandreconstructionof meaningin
mediatexts.Itisan excellenttool foranalysingimages,butitcanbe problematicinthe sense thatsome
of the terminologyoftenmakesitseemobscureanddifficult.Whatfollowsattemptstomake basic
semioticsassimple aspossible foryoutounderstand,butplease bearinmindthatthisisa difficulttopic
and one youwill be expectedtohavetoworkatto comprehendfully.We willlookatthe workof three
keyfigures:the SwisslinguistFerdinandde Saussure (1857-1913), CharlesPeirce (1839—1914), who
coinedthe termsemiotics,andRolandBarthes(1913—1980), whoappliedabstractideastodailylife and
culture.Simply,semioticsisthe “studyof signs”butit isimportanttorememberthatthisdoesn’tjust
refertoformal signs(suchasthe onesfoundinthe HighwayCode),butanysystemof
communication.Language,of course,isthe mostfundamental communicationsystemusedbyhuman
beings.Saussure saidthatasignis the sumof the signifierandsignified,i.e:SIGNIFIER+ SIGNIFIED
SIGNThe SIGNIFIERisthe sign’sphysical forminthe real worldwhile the SIGNIFIEDisthe mentalconcept
evokedbythe signifier.So,if we perceive afourleggedanimal withaverylongneck(thesignifier),this
evokesthe mental conceptof agiraffe (the signified).Thiscombinationcreatesthesign“giraffe”.Ina
similarway,the lettersg-i-r-a-f-f-eplacedtogetherare asignifier(atleastforEnglishspeakers)leadingto
the mental conceptof a giraffe (the signified).Youcansee here how inourownperception,the signifier
and signifiedare inseparable,buttheyare separatedforthepurposesof analysis.The basicact of
significationoperatesatthe level of denotation.Denotationisdealtwithmore fullyelsewhere inthis
worksheet,butissimplyaboutidentifyingasign.Thedenotationof animage iswhatit actuallyis,rather
than whatmeaningwe give toit.For example, thecolourredisthe denotation.The meaningwe give to
red,possiblydanger,isitsconnotation.The relationshipbetweenthe signifierandthe signifiedisusually
arbitrary(determinedbychanceanduniversallyagreedupon).Forexample,the factthata four legged
animal witha verylongneckiscalledagiraffe inEnglishisarbitrary.Itcouldequallyhave beencalledan
elephantora lion.Ittherefore followsthatif the signifierdeterminedthe signifiedthanthe wordfora
giraffe inEnglishwouldbe the same inall languages;indeedthere probablywouldbe onlyone language.
The fact thatsignsare arbitrarymeanstheycan have manymeanings—theyare polysemic.Notall signs
areentirelyarbitraryinnature.A photograph,forexample,lookslike whatit represents.Signssuch
asthiswere definedbyCharlesPeirceasiconic(see later).Ourunderstandingof signsrarelystopsatthe

35. level of denotation.Once we see asign,we haveparticularassociationswithitwhichcolourour
understanding.Forexample,arachnophobeswouldhave negative feelingsaboutthe sign“spider”
whereasatarantulaownerwouldhave the oppositefeeling.These connotationsmeanthatthe original
signhas become anothersignifierwhichevokesanassociatedmentalconcepttocreate anothersign
whichconsistsof “sign”+ “associations”SIGNIFIERSIGNIFIED(physicalforminreal world) (mental
conceptevoked) SIGN (denotative) SIGNIFIERSIGNIFIEDSIGN (connotative) 9
10. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA Level SemioticsThere issocial consensusformanyconnotations.
For example,if yousee abordercollie dog,sittingdown,tonguehangingoutwithitsheadonone side (a
denotative description),itisdifficulttoavoidthe connotationthatthe dogisfriendly.Some signscarry
particularlypowerful connotationsandarediscussedundermythsunderthe sectiononBartheslaterin
thisworksheet.One otherthingtorememberisthatmeaningcannotexistinindividual signsbecauseof
theirarbitrarynature.Meaningisderivedfromcontext.Forexample,the word“dog”canmeana
fourleggedanimalorbe a verbmeaning“topursue tenaciously”.Lookatthe followingsentences:1.The
dog barkedloudlyatthe postman.2.The man saidhe’ddogCharlesforeverIf we usedthe meaning“to
pursue tenaciously”inthe firstsentence,itwouldobviouslybe nonsense.We understandthe meaning
of dogin thiscase by the differencebetweenitandthe othersignsinthesentence.Inotherwords,a
signgetsits meaningfromitsrelationshiptoothersigns.Toputit simply,whatasigniscouldbe saidto
be due to what itisn’t!Langue andparoleSaussure distinguishedbetween:•Langue,the rulesof sign
systems(e.g.grammar)•Parole,the articulationof the signs(e.g.writing)Langue isthe supporting
structure of anycommunication,oftenimplicitlyunderstoodbuthiddenbeneaththe surface.Paroleis
the performance of the rules,referredtobyNoamChomskyas“whatthe speakerdoes”.Touse the
writinganalogyabove,langue isthe grammarof English(the rulesofpunctuation,forexample)and
parole the piece of writingproducedbyapersonwhoimplicitlyunderstandsthe langue.Itishelpfulto
see langue andparole asan iceberg:langue isthe supportingstructureparthiddenunderthe sea,parole
isthe visiblepart.“Whatthe speakerdoes”*Parole “Whatthe speakerknowsimplicitly”*Langue *
NoamChomskyHowdoesthis relate toMediaStudies?Take the Hollywoodcinemaindustry,for
example.There arecertain“codes”associatedwithHollywoodfilms,suchascontinuityediting,use of
diegeticandnon-diegeticsoundsetc.All of thisyouwill learnaboutlaterinthe course.These codesact
as theequivalentof the langue while the waythese codesare actuallyusedinaspecificfilmis
theequivalentof parole.Unlessapersonhaslearnedaboutthe medialanguage of Hollywoodfilms,
thenitisunlikelyhe orshe wouldknowaboutthe rulesof continuityediting,forexample.
However,because mostpeople canmake sense of the editingwhenwatchingfilms(the parole) then
theyimplicitlyunderstandthe langue,asindicatedbyChomsky.10
11. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA Level SemioticsSynchronyanddiachronySaussure demonstrated
anotherwayof structuringmeaning:consideringthe vertical andhorizontaldimensionsof signsystems;
synchronyanddiachrony.Synchronyisthe vertical dimensionofmeaninganddiachronyisthe horizontal
dimension.These are usefulinthe studyof language.Takethe quote fromShakespeare’sHamletbelow:
SynchronicdimensionDiachronicdimension‘Othatthistootoo sulliedfleshwouldmelt’Thesynchronic
dimensioncouldbe aparticularword,say“sullied”,whilethe diachronicdimensioncouldbe the whole
sentence asthe diagramshowsabove.Analysiswouldusuallyfocusonbothdimensions:whatisthe
meaningof “sullied”inthe contextof the sentence?The relationshipbetweenthe twodimensionsis
relative.We couldargue thatthe letter“u” isthesynchronicdimensionwhile the whole word“sullied”is
the diachronicdimension,orthatHamletissynchronicandShakespeare’scollectedworks
diachronic.Whenwe lookatastill froma film, ora freeze-frameof avideo,we are,ineffect,lookingat
thesynchronicdimension:the sequence fromwhichthe still istakenisthe diachronicdimension.Auseful
wayof rememberingthisisthatsynchronicislike freezingtime (asinthe example above)whereas
diachronicisconcernedwithchangesovertime.If we analyse atextina synchronicway,we focusonit
as existingatone historical moment.If we analyse diachronically,we acknowledgethatwhatwe are

36. lookingatarriveswitha history,notsomethingthatiscomplete withinitself.TheoristWarrenHedges
definesthe termsasfollows:“A diachronicapproachinvolvesanexaminationof origins,development,
historyandchange.Forexample if we examinethe etymologyof aword,or the developmentof agenre.
Diachronicapproachesgive usahistory,like amotionpicture documentary.Theyfocusonhow things
changeovertime.”“Incontrast,asynchronicapproachgivesusa snapshotof a particularsystemata
particularmomentintime.Forexample we mightnote how awordisdistinguishedfromotherwordsat
the moment.Synchronicapproachesfocusonhow a givensystemisata givenmomentandhow each
part fitsintothe system.”ToexpandonHedges’example of words:asynchronicanalysisof the word
“gay” in 2006 wouldfocusonhowyoungpeopleinBritainhave adaptedthe wordtomean“rubbish”or
“worthless”inadditiontoit meaninghomosexual.A diachronicapproachwouldgroundthe word“gay”
initshistorical contextof meaning“happy”andfollow the wayithasevolvedtomeanhomosexual
andnow“rubbish”or “worthless”toBritishschoolchildren.11
12. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA Level SemioticsSyntagmandparadigmThese wordsare difficult
but whenunderstoodgiveyouthe critical abilitytoopenupatexttodifferentinterpretations.
Therefore,itisimportantyouworkhardat understandingthe conceptsinorderforyoutodevelopyour
analytical skills.SyntagmThisisachainof signs,thatis,an elementwhich followsanotherina particular
sequence.Saussureidentifiedasyntagmaticrelationshipinlanguage:language islinearsothere isa
relationshipbetweenthewords:“the catsat on the mat”. Thissyntagmaticlevel canbe seenasthe
structural level fromwhichatextcan be brokenintoitsconstituentparts.Forexample,the sentence
“the cat sat on themat”isa syntagmthat can be reducedtoan analysisof individual wordswithinthe
sentence,particularlythe subject(cat),object(mat) andverb(sat).Intermsof filmortelevision,a
syntagmaticanalysiswouldinvolve ananalysisof how eachshot,scene or sequence relatestothe
others.If youwere analysingastill image,syntagmaticanalysiswouldfocusonthe spatial relationship
betweenobjects.RomanJakobsonusedthe word“combination”whendefiningsyntagm.ParadigmA
paradigmisa classof objectsorconceptswhichare all membersof a definingcategorybutmarkedly
differentinthemselves.Touse the exampleof language,the vocabularyof alanguage is aparadigm.The
use of one paradigmoveranother(i.e.the choice of one wordratherthan the choice ofanotherword)
shapesthe meaningof a text.Forexample,take the syntagmaticsentence:IRAterroristsoverranan
army postin NorthernIreland.If ajournalistwritesthatsentence,thenhe orshe chooseseach“sign”
froma range of alternatives.Thatis,insteadof “IRA terrorists”,the journalistcouldhave chosentowrite
“IRA scum”,“IRAparamilitaries”,“IRA freedomfighters”or“IRA lunatics”.Eachof these choiceswould
havesubstantiallyalteredthe meaningof the text.Equally,the journalistcouldhave chosento
write“Ulster”or“the occupiedcounties”ratherthanNorthernIreland.Asitstands,ananalysisof
thesentencemayresultinspeculationthat itwaswrittenbyan English(orat leastUnionist)
journalistduetothe choice of paradigms.Soa paradigmreleasesone signchoice atthe expense of all
others,justasthe selectionof anEnglandfootballerdeselectsall othersfromthe paradigm
“footballerseligible toplayforEngland”.Tochange the selectionisthereforepotentiallytochange the
widermeaning,whichiscrucial whenitcomestoanalysisinMediaStudies.RomanJakobsonusedthe
word“selection”whendefiningparadigm.Youcanthinkof syntagmandparadigmastwo axes(we will
use the example above):SyntagmaticaxisIRA terroristsoverranParadigmaticaxisfreedomfighters
liberatedguerrillasfreedactiveunitsattackedparamilitariesoccupied12
13. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA Level SemioticsSo,bytheirverynature,paradigmsexpandthe
possible meaningsof asign.Forexample,atelevisionnewsreadermayintroduce a6pmnewsbulletinby
saying“Good evening”.(syntagm).Otherpossibilitiesinthe paradigmof thisgreetinginclude“Hi”,
“Hello”“G’Day” or no salutationatall.Thinkingaboutthese rejectedalternativeshelps toreveal the
contributionwhich“Goodevening”makestothe textasa whole.Paradigmaticanalysisfocusesonthe
creationof meaningbythedeselectionof the signsinthe paradigm.Inthiscase,the paradigmlocatesits
meaninginthespectrumof formality.Byrecognisingthatthe newsreaderhasrejected“Hi”,“Hello”etc,

37. we come tounderstandmore aboutthe newsreader’slevel of formalityandfriendliness.Intelevisionand
film,paradigmsincludewaysof changingshot(suchascut, wipe,fade,dissolve)and cameraangles.The
chosengenre isinitself aparadigm.So,by thinkingaboutwhyadirectorchoosesnottouse a cut, but
usesa dissolve instead,we canstartto reveal more aboutthe waymeaningiscreated.Itisimportantto
recognise thatthere can be more than one paradigmfora sign.Forexample,theword“cat”can belong
to the paradigm“mammal”“domesticanimal”“lazyanimal”or“cat family”.Inthe sentence “the catsat
on the mat”, the syntagmpreventsconfusionbylimitingthe numberofmeanings.We instinctively
realise thatthe paradigmmustbe “domesticanimal”as,for example,“thewhale satonthe mat”
(mammal paradigm) or“the lionsat on the mat” (cat familyparadigm) seeminappropriate,if not
absurd.Tosummarise:paradigmaticelementsare those fromwhichyouchoose (touse arestaurant
analogy:starters,maincourses,desserts).The syntagmisthe sequence intowhichtheyare arranged,i.e.
thethree course meal.Allof thisisparticularlyuseful inimage analysis.Forexample,the use of acat ina
double glazingadvertreliesonthe paradigm“domesticanimal”combinedwiththe syntagmwhich
placesthe catnextto the double glazedwindow.Thiscommunicatesthatthe productiseffective in
eliminatingdraughts.The syntagm“catandwindow”couldsuggestthe cat belongstothe “lazy
animal”paradigmasitislookingoutside,doingnothing.However,the name of the product(double
glazingcompany) anchorsthe meaningof the paradigmas“domesticanimal”asits functionisto
eliminatedraughts.Placingadogin the same positionwouldnothave the same effect,eventhoughit
too belongstothe“domesticanimal”paradigm.The syntagm“dogandwindow”hasdifferent
associations,suchasadog waitingforitsownertoreturn home or wantingtogo for a
walk.CommutationtestInsemiotics,the replacementof one signbyanotheriscalledacommutation
testand illustrateshowpowerful syntagmsandparadigmscanbe inanalysis.Bysubstitutingobjectsfor
othersignsinthesame paradigmanddecodingthe new meaning, we canisolate whatcontributionthe
original signismakingtothe meaningof the image (justassubstitutingthe paradigm“Goodevening”for
“Hello”or“Hi”in the newsreaderexamplegivesusaninsightintothe formalityof the programme).As
JohnFiske putsit:“the meaningof whatwaschosenisdeterminedbythe meaningof whatwasnot.”
ActivityStudythe posterforMarlboroCigarettesonthe nextpage andthenanswerthe questions
underneaththeimage.13
14. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA LevelThe significantparadigmsinthe image above are:the stallion
and,separately,the rider.Trythe commutationtestbychangingthe signwithinthe relevantparadigm.
In otherwords,changethe stallionforsomethingelserelevanttothe paradigm(amule,perhaps).What
effectdoesthischange have onthe advert?Thinkcarefullyaboutwhatthistellsyouabouttheadvert
itself (i.e.whatdoesthe meaningof whatnotwaschosentell youaboutwhatwas chosen).Dothe same
withthe rider.Change himforsomethingelse withinthe paradigmof “humanbeings”.(Often,whena
genderischanged,the effectisridiculousbutyoucan be sure that any alterationstothe meaningof the
image iscausedby genderandour assumptionsaboutit.)Again,whateffectdoesthischange have on
the advert?What doesittell youabout the advertitself?Basedonyourcommutationtest,discusswhat
youthinkare the connotationsof the word“STALLION”.Whatdoesyourcommutationtesttell you
aboutthe waythe adverthas beenconstructed?(don’tforgetthe syntagmaticrelationshipthathelps
anchor this).14
15. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA LevelHopefully,youare able tosee thatby usingthe commutation
test,we can learna lot aboutthemeaningof atextbasedonthe choicesitscreatorhas not made.The
commutationtestdemonstratessemioticsatitsmost powerful andisaparticularlyeffective wayof
unmaskingmyths(see later).ActivityThistime,youare goingtotry a commutationtestwithoutany
directinputfromthe teacher.Decide yourself whatare the significantparadigmsinthe CDcover above.
Remember,theycanbemore variedthanmerelyparadigmsof content:designfeaturesandcamera
anglesalsooperate inaparadigmaticway.Considerthisquote fromFiske andHartleywhenreferringto
commutationtests:“The effectsof eachsubstitutionare consideredintermsof how thismightaffectthe

38. sense made ofthe sign.Thismightinvolve imaginingthe use of aclose-upratherthana mid-shot,a
substitutioninage,sex,classorethnicity,substitutingobjects,adifferentcaptionforaphotograph
etc.”Then,carry outa commutationtestbychangingthe signwithinthe significantparadigmsyou
haveidentified.Once youhave done this,considerwhatthistellsyouaboutthe CD coverand the wayit
wasconstructed.Writedownyour“reading”of the CDcover.There is no rightanswerbutthe
commutationtestshouldhelpyoufocusyourresponse.Whatwe are doingwhenwe identifyparadigms
isbeginningtosee the textinone of itsprimarycontexts:whatismissedoutorwhatmighthave been.
We are beginningtoexpose the matrix orgridof relationshipsfromwhichall textsare produced,the
mastersetof permutationsfromwhichanyspecificcombinationhasbeenconstructed.Fromthispoint
on,the textisopeninthe sense thatyouhave exposeditsinnerworkings,evenif thismeansyou
recognise itasbeingclosedinthatmany ofthe possibilitiesthatyouhave recognisedhave beendenied.
Thisputs youina strongposition.Inthe A2part of the course,you will take thisastepfurtherto
consideralternativeviewsof texts,basedonideologicalpositionssuchasfeminism, Marxism, post
modernism,poststructuralismandpostcolonialism.15
16. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA Level ActivityA goodwayof demonstratinghow well identifying
paradigmscan be whenanalysinganimage istothinkbackto the Sophie Dahl perfume advertyou
lookedatearlierinthe course.If youidentifytheparadigmof “human”andchange the genderof Sophie
Dahl to male,thenthisrevealsalotabout thewayinwhichthe advertrepresentswomen(whichwould
have beena goodway of beginningtothinkabouthow the advertdealswiththe issue of gender
representation).Infact,the thoughtof a man inthe same positionisalmostcomic:afact seizeduponby
the manufacturerof Newcastle BrownAle,whichparodiedthe advertbycreatinga“male”version(see
image below).Whenamediatextdeliberatelymakesreferencetoanothermediatextandthe audience
isexpectedtounderstandthe reference,itiscalledintertextuality. Thiscanpossiblyleadtoconfusionif
thereference isnotunderstood.Forexample,someone unaware of the SophieDahl advertcouldsee
theadvertbelowandidentifythe paradigmof clothing.The decisiontouse awhite suit,ratherthan
ablacksuitor shirtandjeans,maythenbe takento be significantinrelationtothe type of person
thedrinksmanufacturerisappealingto.One conclusioncouldbe thatNewcastle Brownseesits
drinkersascolonial types.Infact,anyone whoknowsthe Newcastle Brownbrand wouldrecognise this
aswildlyinaccurate;the choice of the white suitisalmostcertainlytomimicthe translucencyof
thenakedSophie Dahl inthe original advert.16
17. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA LevelCharlesPeirce,the othergreatpioneerof semiotics,created
a tripartite categorisationof signs:•Iconic•Index•Symbol Symbolic(orarbitrary) signsA symbolisasign
that representsanobjectorconceptsolelybythe agreementof the peoplewhouseit.Therefore,
symbolicsignshave noobviousconnectionbetweenthe signandthe object.Forexample,the wordDOG
has no obviouslinkwitha furryanimal usuallydomesticatedasapet.Itonlyworksbecause we
understandthe rulesthatsaythe lettersD-O-G,whenputintoacertainorder,meanor‘signify’that
furryanimal.If it wasa different‘we’,forexampleagroupof Frenchpeople,thenthe ‘rules’wouldbe
differentandwe woulduse the lettersC-H-I-E-N tosignifythe animal.Internationally,the colourgreenis
usedintrafficsignsto signify‘go’.Thisisasymbolicorarbitrarysignbecause the worldasa whole has
agreedto itsmeaning.The colourpinkcouldequallyhavebeenchosenif thishadbeenagreedupon.This
meanssome symbolicsignscanhave several meaningsthatare contested,oraboutwhichpeople might
not agree.Forexample,the UnionJackhasa varietyof meaningsdepending uponwhoisusingit—a
groupof football supporters,the monarchy,the UnionistsinUlster,the BritishNationalPartyetc.Iconic
signsOnthe otherhand,iconicsignsalwaysresemble whattheysignify.There isaphysical
similaritybetweenaphotograph,ora gooddrawing,of a dog and mostpeople’sexperience of these
animals.Therefore,unlikethe symbolicword‘DOG’,the photoor drawingisan iconicsign.We are
familiarwithiconicsignsinoureverydaylives,forexampleawheelchairisusedtosignifyfacilitiesfor
disabledpeople andwe canusuallyfindthe men’sandwomen’stoiletswhereverwe areinthe worldby

39. lookingforthe iconicsignsonthe doors.Indexical signsInasense,indexialsignsliebetweensymbolic
and iconicsigns.Indexical signshave some sortofdirectconnectionwithwhatisbeing‘signified’.For
example,smokeisoftenusedasanindexicalsignforfire anda tear runningdownacheekcan be an
indexical signforsorrow.Inthe same way,athermometerisanindex of ‘temperature’andabarometer
an index of ‘weather’.17
18. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA Level ReadingsignsYoumustrememberthatthe three categories
of signare not mutuallyexclusive—infact,asigncanverywell be all three categoriesatthe same time.
For example,take the crossroadssign:Thisroadsignissymbolicbecause itisinthe shape of a triangle,
whichwe have arbitrarilyagreedindicatesawarning.The crossin the middle isiconic,inthatitsshape is
determinedbythe shape of the objectitrepresents,acrossroads,andthe signis alsoindexical because
it isrelatedtothe physical presence of the actual crossroadsfartheralongthe road.Mediatextscan
have several possible meaningsdependinguponthe wayinwhichthe signsare readandthe background
of the individual ‘reader’.Thiscanbe seenthroughthe use of the ‘menat work’road signin Britain.The
image inthe signis iconicas itlookslike aman at work.However,thatisto some extentdeterminedby
our culture andconventionsinherentinoursociety.Forexample,itcouldequallybe animage of
someone tryingtoputup an umbrella.Inarural culture,itcouldbe the signof someone shovelling
manure ratherthan mendingthe road.Inrural cultureswhere womendosuchmenial work,itcould
signifyawomanshovellingmanure.Whensignsare opentodifferentinterpretations,they are saidtobe
polysemic.Thisambiguitycanbepotentiallydisruptiveandone wayof tryingto control the meanings
made by a readerisanchoring,aswe sawearlier.Finally,we will lookatRolandBarthes,whose crucial
contributiontosemioticswashisdefinitionandexplorationof myths.Bartheslookedathow signstake
on the dominantvalue systemof aparticularsocietyandmake these valuesseemnatural.The dominant
value systemof a societyisknownasideology,thatis,a wayof lookingatthingsshared bythe majority
of thatsociety.Tooversimplifygrosslyinordertogive an example ,the political ideologyof the westis
largelybasedondemocracy,freedomof the individual andthe belief inafree marketeconomy,
i.e.capitalism.Thisideologyisnot one sharedbyall parts of the world,where differentdominantpolitical
ideologies(e.g.communism,asystemwhichseeswealthshared)exist.Barthesusedthe example of a
flowerwithredpetals,greenleavesanda thornystem— asignifierevokingthe mental conceptof rose
at the denotativelevel.However,rose canalsosignifythe mentalconceptof romance,particularlyif itis
redand placedinthe contextof St Valentine’sDay.Romanceisamyththat definesheterosexuallove as
tenderandcaring; the female ispassive andthe maleactive inthe relationship.We have alreadyseen
howthe original denotativesigncanbecome thesignifierfora second-ordersystemof signification,
creatinga connotation.BarthesshowedthatSaussure’ssigncanbecome asignifiertocreate,notonlya
connotation,buta myth.Because itisvirtuallyimpossible tounderstand“aredrose onValentine’sDay”
(denotation)asanythingotherthanmeaning“romance”(connotation),itseemsthatwhatappearstobe
a denotation(“aredrose onValentine’sDay”) isactuallyaconnotation(“romance”).Inotherwords,
Barthespointedoutthatsignscandisguise themselves,atrickthat allowsmythstostructure the
meaningofthe communicationwithoutappearingtodoso. Mythspositionthe audience inaspecific
relationshipwithasignandsimultaneouslydisguise themselves.18
19. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA LevelForexample,consideranafter-shaveadvertisementthat
includesanimage of a fastcar: inthis textthe fastcarconnotesmasculine powerandispart of a system
of signswhichcreate the mythofmasculinity.Masculinityisa social creation,gender,ratherthana
biological definition.Tobedefinedasmasculineinthe West,the male needstobe strong(have
muscles),physicallyskilful,ruggedandadeptinthe use of technology.The use of carsin advertising
(theyare almostalwaysfast) oftensymbolisestheseaspectsof masculinity.Inordertodeconstructthis
particularuse of the myth,we coulduse a commutationtestbysubstitutingthe carfora bicycle.A
feministreadingof the car inthe textmay emphasise thatthecar’sspeedsignifiesmen’slackof sexual
stayingpower.Thissortof readinghelpsthedeconstructionof the textbecauseithelpsemphasisethat

40. the association—inthiscase,speedwithmasculinity—isnotnatural buta social construct.Lookingat
readingsalternativetothe consensus(suchasMarxism, Post-Colonialism,Feministetc) will be
emphasisedatA2Level.The identificationof myths,becausethe appearnatural,canbe difficult,but
theyare a potentwayofmakingmeaningsinsociety.BinaryoppositionsOne of the mostpowerful
creatorsof a sign’smeaningare binaryoppositions.Here,signsarecontrastedwithsignswhichhave
meaningsthatoperate inopposition.Forexample,townandcountry,manandwoman,childandadult,
publicandprivate,civilisationandsavagery.Binaryoppositionsare notnatural descriptionsbutcultural
creations.Some theoristsclaimthatthewestusesbinaryoppositionssuchaswhite-good,black-evilto
perpetuate andlegitimise westernpowerstructuresthatfavour“civilised”whitemen.Thefollowing
adjectivescouldbe appliedtotown:artificial,polluted,over-crowded,exciting,commercial,dangerous.
The followingcouldbe appliedtocountry:natural,clean,deserted,boring,non-commercial,sage.These
listsare essentiallyconnotationsof bothtownandcountry.Takentogether,theyformmythsof urban
and countrylife.The mediaoftenuse binaryoppositionstostructure theirrepresentations.Soa
portrayal of a town,forinstance,mayuse pollutionasastartingpoint.A textthat usesbinary
oppositionsusuallyassignsapositivevalue toone side againstthe other;bystatingthatone side isgood,
it followsthatthe othersideisbad.ActivityOnthe nextpage,youwillfindfive images.The firstthree are
all stillstakenfroma Lynx (men’sdeodorant) advertisingcampaigninBritain.The bottomtwoare
advertsformen’saftershave.Withapartner,lookatthe firstthree imagesseparatelyandthentogether.
What mythscan youidentify?Discussyourownpersonal interpretationof the adverts.Isthisadvertising
campaigntongue-in-cheekandharmlessordoesithelptoreinforce westernmythsaboutgender?Go
back tothe Sophie Dahl advert.Canyouidentifyanymyths?Doesthe advertreinforce mythsor
dosomethingdifferent?Lookatthe two aftershave adverts.Canyouidentifyanymyths?Whatis
yourowninterpretationof the adverts?Byanalysingthe medialanguage inthe adverts,youhave also
beenlookingatthe KeyConceptofrepresentation.BadresponsesinMediaStudieslookatthe Key
Conceptsas single entities:studentswriteaboutlanguage,forexample,thenaudience,then
representationetc.The bestresponses“flow”more withKeyConceptsnaturallylinkingtoeachother.
Bear thisinmindwhendoingwrittenwork.19
20. 20
21. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA LevelWe have lookedinsome detail athow to analyse still images,
yetwe have not lookedinanydetail atthe analysisof movingimages.Therelationshipbetween still and
movingimagescanbe understoodata veryearlyage:the “stickperson”animatedbyflickingquickly
throughthe pagesof a bookis a commontrick learnedbyyoungpeople.The rapidjuxtapositionof
images,eachslightlydifferentfromthe previous one,givesthe illusionof movement.The same principle
isusedin the cinema;a still image (orframe) isprojectedmomentarilyontoa screento be immediately
followedbyanotherandso on.EditingTheword‘edit’oftenmeansto‘cutout’but inaudio-visualtextsit
referstothe joinbetweenshots.Thepurpose of conventional editingistomake thisjoinas smoothas
possible—invisible,infact.The needforanarrative flow,totell astory,ledto the developmentof the
continuitysystemofediting.Thiswasperfectedbythe film-makersinHollywoodandisone reasonwhy
thisparticularpartof the USA has dominatedfilmproductioninthe Westernworldeversince.Continuity
editingOneobjectiveof continuityeditingistocreate a coherentcinematicspace in whichthe action
cantake place.Earlycinemaplacedthe camera as if it wasin a theatre’sstalls,andthe playersacted
infrontof it.Thiswas clearlyverylimitingwithnodifferentcamerapositionsormovement.Once
thecameramoves,whetherthe movementisseenonscreenorif it’sdone betweencuts,itisessential
theaudience know where ithasmovedto,ortheywouldbecome disorientated.Toprevent
confusion,thefollowingrulesare used;these rulesformthe codesof continuityediting.If the audie nce
didnotunderstandthem,theywouldbecome disorientated.The factthat audiencesunderstandthese
rulesunconsciously,andcannotdescribe them(unlessthey’ve studiedfilmormedia) isatestimony
totheireffectiveness.The 180-degree ruleThe 180-degree rulewasestablishedasthe bestwayof

41. facilitatingcontinuityof cinematicspacewithinone scene.Bystayingonone side of the imaginaryaxis,
the ‘axisof action’,whichisformedthroughthe subject(s) inthe scene,the audience willalwayshave a
clearideaof where the charactersare inrelationtoone anotherandwhere theyare withinthe scene.If,
however,the 180-degree lineiscrossedandthe cameraremainsfacingthe characters,theneverything
appearsthe otherway around.See the diagrambelow. The cameracan be positionedanywhere tothe
rightof the two men(the axisof action) andthe man in the lighthairwill alwaysbe onthe left.Butif
youcross the 180-degree line,the lighthairedcharactersuddenlyappearsonthe right.Thiscould
confuse anaudience!21
22. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA LevelEstablishingshotThe positionof the 180-degree lineis
usuallyestablishedbythe firstshotof the scene,the‘establishing’shot.Thiscreatesthe ‘axisof action’
and itis necessarythatthe characters andthespace are seenwithinthisshot.Re-establishingshotOnce a
scene’sspace hasbeenestablished,anumberof mediumorclose-upshotsmayfollow,whichwould
fragmentthe space.Inthe case,a ‘re-establishingshot’mightbe requiredtore-anchortheaudience’s
perceptionof the scene’sspace.Shot/reverseshotOnce the scene hasbeen established,mediumshots
can showeach endof the 180-degree axis,althoughtheymustalwaysstayonthe same side.The angle
of these twoshotsfromthe axisof actionmustbe the same.Thistechnique isusuallyusedinfilming
conversationsbetweencharacters;forexample,anover-the-shouldershotcouldshow one person
talking,cutto over-the-shoulderof thispersonwouldshow the otherlistening.Thisisashot/reverse
shotpattern.30-degree ruleWheneveracamerapositionischanged,itmustmove at least30 degreesin
relationtothe shot’ssubject(s) fromitspreviouspositioninordertomake the movementobvious.
Anythinglesstendstohave ajarringeffect.Eyeline matchWhenacharacterlooksoff-screenfollowedby
anothershot,the secondshotshowswhatthecharacteris lookingat.Matchon actionIf a characterstarts
to move ina particulardirection,itispossible tocutto a shot where the characterisstill movingbuthas
coveredspace that wasnot shown.Because of the 180-degree rule,andtheconsistencyof the
character’sdirection,audiencestendnottonotice the missingspace andtime.The cutIntermsof
editing,there anumberof waysof gettingfromone shotto the next.The mostcommonisthe cut,
where one sequence of filmisimmediatelyfollowedbyanother.Youcanalso:Fade-out:the scene
simplyfadestoblack—ithasendedFade-in:the scene appearsfromablackframe,whichsignifiesthe
beginningDissolve:the secondshotfades-inandissuperimposedoverthe firstshot,whichfadesout,
usuallytakinglessthanasecond.Thisusuallysuggestsapassage of time orlinkstwoshotstogether.
Intelevision,thisisoftenreferredtoas a mix.Wipe:The secondshotflowshorizontallyacrossthe first,
as if it were a curtainbeingpulledacrossthe frame givingthe effectof anabruptconclusiontothe
scene.Editingpackagesoftenallowyoutouse lotsof different(oftencheesey) wipes,suchasthe second
shotwipingoff the firstthrougha pageturn,orflyinginas a shape fromdifferentareasof the
screen.Continuityeditingappearstobe invisible asaudiencesassume there isaspatial relationship
between22
23. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA Leveloneshotandthe next.ThiswasprovedbySovietfilm-maker
LevKuleshovinthe 1920s. Kuleshovfilmedanactorwitha neutral expressiononhisface andcut this
togetherwithvariousotherimagessuchasa babyor a bowl of soup.Whenaudienceswatchedthe
resultandwere askedtonote theemotionof the character,theycommentedonhow hungryhe
appearedwhenhisface followedtheshotof the soupandhow lovingandfatherlyhe appearedafterthe
shotof the baby.The shotof theactor,of course,neverchanged.The audience assumedthe shotof the
actor and the objectoccupiedthe same space.Inreality,of course,theydonot.Whenwe analysemoving
images,we mustcommentonthe effectthatthe juxtapositionof differentimageshasuponthe creation
of meaning.Fourrelationshipsbetweenimagesatthe editshouldbeconsidered:Graphical relationships:
Graphicsrefersto a shot’sbrightnessandthe patternsof line,shape,volume,depth,movementand
stillness.The focusof analysisisonwhetherthe graphicpropertiesof shotsareeditedtocreate either
continuityorcontrast.Rhythmicrelationships:These are createdbythe lengthof a shot,how longa shot

42. runs before theedit.If asequence consistsof shotsof the same length,thenarather monotonous
rhythmwill becreated;conversely,aseriesof longshotsfollowedbyrapideditingislikelytocreate an
excitingeffect.Some documentariesuse “longtake”,thatis,verylittle editing,inordertocreate a sense
ofreality.Spatial relationships:Asalreadydiscussed,continuityeditingusesvariousrules,suchasthe
180-degree rule,tocreate coherentspace.Temporal relationships:Theseare abouthow on-screentime
isconstructed.It isunusual foron-screentime tomatch‘real time’.A textcan take place across any
lengthof time;froma fewhourstocenturies.Editingisoftenusedtocutout redundantactions:for
example,acharactermay standup toleave the room;animmediate cutshowsthe characterexitingbya
door—the movementtothe dooristakenout.Thisisan ellipsis.Linearandnon-lineareditingBefore the
developmentof digital technology,editinghadtobe carriedout ina linearfashion.Inotherwords,the
filmhadto be made in orderfrom start to finishwithshotsplacednexttoeachother.The development
of digital technologyallowedimagestobe digitised,givingthe editoraccesstoallthe footage atall
times.Thisgivesthe editorthe flexibilitytochange whathas alreadybeenmade orthrow awaypartsof
the filmandstart again.Continuityeditingisnotthe onlyeditingsystem.Montage isdistinguishedfrom
continuityeditingbyitsdiscontinuity.Montage isaseriesof shotsthat establishesconnectionsbasedon
a conceptualrelationship.One definitionof montage is:the juxtapositionof seeminglyunrelatedshots
or sceneswhich,whencombined,achievemeaning(asin,shotA and shot B togethergive rise toa third
idea,whichisthensupportedbyshotCetc).ActivityYouare aboutto showna seriesof televisionorfilm
clips.Ineachclip,lookathowcontinuityeditingisusedtoensure the audience doesnot
becomedisorientated.Lookatthe editsandcamera anglesandwrite downanythingyounote.Youwill
see eachclipmore than once. 23
24. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA LevelSoundSoundisimportantforthe audiencetomake sense of
whattheyare seeing.Evensilentfilmshadsome kindof soundeffectsaswell asmusical
accompaniment,oftenfromamanplayingthe organinthe cinema!Soundplaysmore of an important
role infilmsandtelevisionprogrammesthanyouprobablyrealise andisascrucial as visuals.Soundwill
be somethingyouneedtothinkcarefullyaboutforyourcoursework.Itisdifficulttogetsoundright—
evenprofessional organisationsconstantlyencountersoundproblems.Itisthereforeunrealisticto
expecttobe able to make an amateurfilmwithexcellentaudio,especiallyasmanyoftoday’scheaper
camcordersdo not evenhave the facilitytoaddexternal microphones.ActivityOne of the keyrolesof
soundisto tell the audience howtoreact at differentpoints inafilmortelevisionprogramme.
Distinctive sounddevicesare usedforparticulargenre.Infact,soundisanimportantdevice in
establishingthe genre foranaudience andgettingtheminthe moodforwatchingsomething.Listento
the five sound-trackexamplesandjotdowninthe spacesprovidedwhichgenre youperceive themtobe
from.In the Why? sectiontryto describe the kindsof instrumentsyouhear.Soundtrackno.Genre
Why?12345 24
25. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA LevelThe type of soundyouhave justheard,the soundtrack,isan
example of whatisknownasnon-diegeticsound.Inotherwords,itissoundthatcomesfrom outside
the worldof the filmorprogramme.Theme musicthroughoutthe programme/filmcansimilarlybe
definedasnon-diegeticandisoftenusedtotell the audience whatisgoingtohappennext.Forexample,
inthe filmStarWars,the evil force of Darth Vaderisknowntobe presentbecause histheme isplayed.
Evenif he isnotonscreen,hisinfluence canbe indicatedthroughmusic.Theopposite of non-diegetic
soundisdiegeticsound.Thisisthe soundthatcomesfrom the worldofthe film/programme.There are
fourdimensionsof soundtobe analysed:Dialogue (ormonologue):the mostobviousdiegeticsound—
whatcharacters are sayingonscreen.Dialogue isusuallycarefullymixedtomake itclear.It is either
recordedat the same time or may beaddedlater(post-dubbed).Soundeffects:non-verbal,diegetic
sounds,the source of whichisclear to the audience.These areoftenpostdubbed.The soundsof afist
fight,forexample,are usuallyaddedlater.Ambientsounds:backgroundsounds,againdiegetic,which
add to the atmosphere.Oftencalledspoteffects,anexample of ambientsoundisthe noise of insectsor

43. birdsina countryscene,ortrafficin acityscene (whetherthe insects,birdsortrafficare actuallyseenor
not).Non-diegeticsounds:notoriginatingfromthe on-screenspace,suchassoundtrack or voice-
over.Aswe have justseen,musicisparticularlyeffective asnon-diegeticsoundandisoftenusedto
evokeaperiodorgenre.Rememberthatmusicisnotalwaysnon-diegetic.If itiscomingfroma radio,or
aband,thenit ispart of the diegeticworldof the film.Inthe openingof Touchof Evil,whichyou
sawearlier,OrsonWellestriedtoensure all the musicwasdiegetic.Musiccan be heardcomingfrom
theradioandout of bars etc. Thisispart of the diegeticworldof the film.NarrationThere are,of course,
manydifferenttypesof dialogue,includingnarration.Sometimesthe storyistoldbyone of the
characters at the start of the filmandthenit driftsintodialogue andreturnstoavoice-overnarrationat
the end.ThishappensinAmericanBeautyandThe Big Lebowski,forexample.Here are some different
typesof narration:Thisoftenacts as an expositorydevice.Inotherwords,itputsthingsVoice overin
contextandexplainswhatpeople will see.The narratorhere can see all andhear all,hence the name
Voice of Voice of God God.It is unlikelythe narratorwill be seenonscreen.Usedinprogrammessuchas
Dawson’sCreekwhenacharacter Epistolaryvoice leavesaletter forsomeone andwe heartheirvoice
readingit.Thisiswhenwe hear whatsomeone isthinkingandwhentheySubjective voice imagine
conversations.Six FeetUnderisinterestingasitusesdialogue fromcorpsestoact like aconscience for
the characters. 25
26. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA LevelSoundcanbe usedinmanydifferentwaysforartisticeffect.
Here are twoterms youneedtoknowabout:Synchronoussoundsare matchedtowhatisviewed.For
example,if yousee someone playthe piano,youheara pianoplaying.ThisaddstotheSynchronous
realismof filmandalsohelptocreate a particularatmosphere.Forexample:the “click”of a door being
openedmaysimplyserve toconvincesoundthe audiencethatthe image portrayedisreal,andthe
audience-mayonlysubconsciouslynote the expectedsound.However,if the “click”of anopeningdoor
ispart of an ominousactionsuchas a burglary,the soundmixermaycall attentiontothe “click”withan
increase involume;thishelpstoengage the audience inamomentof suspense.Asynchronous
Asynchronoussoundeffectsare notmatchedwitha visible source ofsoundthe soundonscreen.Such
soundsare includedsoas to provide anappropriate emotional nuance,andtheymayalsoaddto the
realismof the film.Forexample:afilmmakermightopttoinclude the backgroundsoundof an
ambulancessirenwhile the foregroundsoundandimage portraysanarguingcouple.The asynchronous
ambulance sirenunderscoresthe psychicinjuryincurredinthe argument;atthe same time the noise of
the sirenaddsto the realismof the filmbyacknowledgingthe films(avowed) citysetting.Choosingto
use soundinan asynchronouswaycan be veryeffective.Youare aboutto watcha scene fromThe
Godfatherthatmakesgood use of asynchronoussound.Watchthe scene and be preparedtotalk about
the effectthe use of soundhas on you.ActivityThese activitiesare designedtogetyouthinkingabout
howimportantthe use of soundisinfilm:1) Youare about to watcha scene fromAlfredHitchcock’s
Psycho.Firstly,youwill watchthescene withnosound.Thenyouwill watchitagaintwice—thistime
withsound.Be preparedtotalkabouthow effectivethe use of soundis.2) Youare aboutto see a
montage of imagestakenfromthe Baz Luhrmannfilmof RomeoandJuliet.Youwill watchexactlythe
same montage a numberof differenttimes,but the musicaccompanyingthe sequencewillchange each
time.Forgettingwhatyoualreadyknowaboutthestoryof RomeoandJuliet,thinkabouthow yourview
of the relationshipbetweenthe twocharacterschangesemotionallydependinguponwhichsoundtrack
isused.3) You are about to watch a scene fromJamesCameron’sTitanic.How importantdoyouthink
therole of non-diegeticsoundisinthisscene?How importantdoyouthinkthe role of non-
diegeticsoundistothe filmasa whole?Now youhave learnedalittle aboutsound,be sure tocomment
on itin analysis.Itiseasyto getcaughtupin talkingaboutvisualsasthe mindtendstoprocessthis
informationfirstandthe soundgetsputsomewhereinthe background.But,aswe saidearlier,soundis
crucial to a film.StevenSpielbergsays“half the success”of JawsissimplydowntoJohnWilliams’
inspiredtheme.Aswehave seen,soundplaysamajorrole inPsycho,fromthe chillingscore duringthe

44. showerscene tothe diegeticsoundof aknife slashingintoflesh(achievedbysimplythrustingaknife
intoa melon!) 26
27. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA LevelSofarthistermwe have lookedcloselyatthe skillsneeded
to analyse mediatextsandyouhavelearnedquite alotaboutimage analysis.A lotof what youhave
learnedaboutmovingimageswill beappliedpracticallywhenwe starttalkingaboutyourcoursework
and youstart storyboarding,filmingandeditingapractice piece.InHow ToStudyTelevision(1995),Selby
and Cowderyofferacomprehensive frameworkforanalysingtexts.Thisusesmediaterminologyandis
methodical initsapproach.Ineffect,theframeworkisasummaryof all the work we have done on
medialanguage sofar.It is therefore ahelpful wayof revising.Althoughthe frameworkoriginatedfrom
a studyof televisionandthemovingimage,itcanalsobe appliedtostill imagesand,inpart,to radioor
soundtexts.Let’slookatthe frameworkandfinishoff ourintroductiontomedialanguage byanalysing
somemovingimage texts.SelbyandCowderysplitthe toolsneededfordeconstructingatextinto
twogroups:technical codesandmise-en-scène codes:Technical codesMise-en-scène codes•Shotsize •
Setting•Cameraangle • Props• Lenses•NVC(non-verbal communication)•Composition•Dress•
Focus• Lighting•FilmStock•Filmcolour•Sound/music/soundeffects•Coloure.g.golden=warmNB
Sound/music/soundeffectsandcolourwere notincludedinSelbyandCowdery’sbookandhavebeen
addedlater.A range of possible connotationsof eachcode isgivenbelow tohelpyousee how thismodel
can beappliedinpractice:Technical codesDenotationConnotationShotsize—e.g.longshotA character
shotfrom far awayseemsremovedfromthe audience,distanced,isolatedandalone Cameraangle—
e.g.low-angle shotA lowdownshot,lookingup,impliesthe subjectispowerful,more importantthan
the audience Lenses—e.g.telephotolensSelectingandfocusingonone objectorsubjectgivesit
exclusiveimportanceComposition—e.g.symmetrical framingThisimpliesthe filmedspace hasorder
and that the inhabitantsof itare organisedandtidy27
28. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA LevelTechnical codesDenotationConnotationFocus—e.g.blurIn
a still image (e.g.advert),ablurredbackgroundandafocusedimage of a car implyspeedLighting—e.g.
low-keystate The lightingimpliesasombre feelingwithoutthe needforspeechFilmstock—e.g.
grainy/speckled/under-Thisgivesadocumentaryor‘realist’effectexposedFilm colour—e.g.
Technicolor,overallIf the colourof a filmisunusuallybright,ithasa finishfantasyfeel;if it’sgreyits
connotationisdullnessSound/music/soundeffects—e.g.solemnThe soundtrackemphasisesasolemn
feelingmusicColour—e.g.characterwearingwhite Whitehasconnotationsof purityandinnocence,
implyingthe charactersharestheseMise-en-scène codesDenotationConnotationSetting—e.g.affluent,
well-decorated,The inhabitantsare successful,probablyyoung;middle classhome withhi techgadgets
theyare proudand have wealthandgoodtaste Props—e.g.amuddybike ina house Characterenjoys
openspaces;indifferenttogettingdirty.Notconcernedaboutbike inhouse NVC—e.g.hunched
shoulders,headThe characterisvulnerable,unhappyorhangingdowndepressedDress—e.g.ayoung
character wearsa The character rejectsfashioninfavourof brown,chunkycardigancomfort(and
perhapssecurity).Thisapproachshouldgiveyouconfidence withModule1,yourunseenmediatext
examination.Althoughitisimportanttoapplycritical frameworkstothe studyof mediatexts,the
dangerof doingsoisthatyou can endup producingamechanical response thatsoundslike ithasbeen
writtenbyacomputer.Like inEnglish,youcaneasilymake the mistake of “spotting”or“listing”what’s
thereratherthananalysingeffects.The examplesonthe nextpage show youhow youneedtotry
todevelopyouranalysisbeyondthe superficial.28
29. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA LevelImagineyouare analysingascene froma film.Youmay
write:The womanwearsareddress.Therefore she issexuallychargedandpassionate.She livesin
ahigh-rise flatsoshe mustbe poor.There isa bottle of wine onthe table soshe must like to
drinkalcohol.Thisisfartoosimplistic.Whatif the reddressis one she wearsforwork?In any case,it
doesn’tnecessarilyfollowthatshe isfeeling‘sexy’atthismoment.Nordoesthe flathave tobe hers.The
followingisbetteranalysis(althoughthere maybe otherwaystorespondto the same material):The

45. womanwearsa red dress.The colourcouldconnote passionandlust,buther non-verbalcommunication
seemstosuggestotherwise.She appearstired,perhapshavingjustcome homefromwork.The bottle of
wine anda single glassthatsiton the table connote that she leadsahecticlife andmayfindsome
comfortin relaxingwithadrinkafterwork.Overall,the image,whichlookslikeanattempttocapture a
realisticmoment,hasadocumentaryfeel toitandcouldperhapsbe commentingonthe damaging
nature of twenty-firstcenturylifestyles.Youcansee how the qualityof analysisisliftedusingmedia
language terms.Asthe courseprogresses,youwilllearnlotsof othertechnical mediatermsandtheories
that youshouldintroduceintoyourwriting.Fornow,itisimportanttopractise usingthe termswe have
learntso far.ActivityLaterinthe course,youwill lookathow narrative,genre,institution,audiencesand
valuesandideologyall contribute tothe effectamediatexthason the person‘reading’it.Fornow,you
shouldconcentrateonusingwhatyouhave alreadylearnttobeginanalysingsome movingimage
texts.Youare aboutto be shownFIVEshort filmclips.Youwill be showneachclipFOURtimes.Donot
write anythingduringthe firstshowingof eachclip.Whenyouwatchthe clipfora secondtime,write
downanythingyounote abouttechnical codes(i.e.shotsize,cameraangle,composition,focus,lighting,
sound,music,soundeffectsetc).Whenyouwatchthe clipfora thirdtime,write downanythingyou
notice aboutthe mise-en-scène(i.e.setting,props,non-verbalcommunication,dress).Watchthe clipfor
a fourthtime and addanythingyoumissedearlier.Whatgenre doyouthinkeachfilmis?How canyou
tell?Don’tforget,we are all the subjectsof socialisation; ourdifferentexperiencesandinteractions
meanone person’sreactiontoa textwill be differenttoanother’s.Thisdoesn’tmake one person‘right’
and one person‘wrong’,sodon’tbe afraidto say whateveryouwantaslongasyou can make a reasoned
argumentforyour particularpointof view.A classdiscussiononeachclipwill take place beforethe next
clipisshown.The clipsare:1.Ocean’sEleven(2001)2.Trainspotting(1996)3. The VirginSuicides(1999)4.
AmericanBeauty(1999)5. The WickerMan (1973) 29
30. RingwoodSchool MediaStudiesA Level AssessmentYouwill be shownthe openingof afilm THREE
times.Donotwrite anythingduringthe firstshowing.Make notesduringthe secondandthirdshowing,
focusingonhowthe directorusestechnical codesandmise-en-scènetocreate effects.Write ananalysis
of the openingof the film,commentingonhow effectiveyouthinkthe openingis.Don’tforgettotryand
use as many technical termsasyoucan.Thisformat issimilartothe one usedfor the Unit 1 examination,
althoughyoucouldbe askedtoanalyse amovingimage,printedmaterial orevenanextract froma radio
programme.Lateron,youwill be expectedtocommentingreaterdepth,butfornow focuson whatyou
havelearnedaboutmedialanguage sofar.