1B) MEDIA LANGUAGETheoretical Evaluation of Production

WHAT IS MEDIA LANGUAGE?

• Media language a term used to define the codes and conventions used by institutions across a variety of media products.

• These communicate certain themes and ideas to the audience, often left open for interpretation.

• It primarily works off the same principle as semiotics, defined by "the science of signs".

• For instance, an example of this would be in the newspaper, the size and positioning of text denotes its importance.

THE KEY CONCEPTS (LIIAR):

L anguageI nstitutionI deologyA udienceR epresentation

CONTENT

• Media language is very broad in terms of potential content; It covers the elements of- genre, narrative, colour, text, image, audio sound and effects, odours, flavours, acts or objects with no meaning alone until the audience invests them with it.

• Meaning is encoded into the product by the institution for the audience to decode it.

FORM• Media language can be seen within all forms of

media including: • Music videos• Televised advertisements• Magazines• News papers• Posters• TV shows• Movies• Movie trailers• Photography• Literature• Fine art• Graphic design, etc.

AN EXAMPLE, ANALYSING THE PARTICULAR ELEMENTS CONTAINED WITHIN THE CLIP AND

HOW THESE COME TOGETHER TO CREATE MEANING AND EFFECT. (VIDEO EMBEDDED

BELOW)Cadbury’s Gorilla Advert - • This is an example of where the institution deliberately breaks

typical conventions expected to be found within an advert in order to create a completely unique, memorable product.

• However, when really looking into the elements Cadbury chose to use, a hidden meaning seams to derive from something which once, was meaningless; The use of the gorilla conveys emotions of strength and power, showing the institution to be well formed and established. The backdrop used in the video is purple and white, these being the signature colours Cadubry used to represent their brand; hence the purple and white packaging used for their products. Their choice of music in this advert reflects on the audiences anticipation to get the chocolate, just like the gorilla has been waiting to drum. These themes come together to create a memorable image that promotes the product, which we can invest with meaning.

SIGNS AND SIGNIFIERS• Linguist Ferdinand de Saussure and Peirce,

originators of the semiotics concept, offered a 'dyadic' or two part model of the sign - he defined a sign as being composed of:

• - a SIGNIFIER - the form which the sign takes (denotation/ description)

• - and the SIGNIFIED - the concept it represents (connotation/ meaning)

• "Nothing is a sign, unless it's interpreted as a sign.” Pierce (1931)

INTERPRETATION AND CONCEPT

• Members of the audience each have different interpretations, resulting in each person creating slightly different meaning from just one source.

• This means the institution’s choices in terms of signs and signifiers are subject to meanings being derived from individual experience, causing an unfixed concept to unfold.

THE DIFFERENT SIGNS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT• Even though de Saussure and Pierce were the ones

to come up with the theories in 1900-1920, it wasn't until 1950's when the concept was properly acknowledged by the public.

• This was thanks to Roland Barthes who took de Saussure's and Pierce's ideas and exploited these to the public as being 'semiotics'.

• This delay in recognition was due too the fact that it wasn't until 1950's America when technology drastically advanced and was becoming more accessible for the general public in the forms of radio and cinema.

SUPPORTING BATHES THEORY…

• Barthes argued that in photography, connotation can be analytically distinguished from denotation.

• As John Fiske states, "denotation is what is photographed, connotation is how it's photographed". Therefore supporting Bathes idea that signified meaning is derived from how images are put together for the audience to de-construct.

IDEOLOGY AND MYTH

• Connotation and denotation combine to make ideology.

• As Ronald Barthes refers to it, 'Myth' denotes the shared ideas interpreted from the subject and meaning at that current point in time.

EXAMPLE• In the 1950's, the perceptions of women in the media

were drastically different to that of the current day. Back in the 50's, women were strongly objectified; Marilyn Monroe was deemed to be the most attractive, well-proportioned, sexually attractive female of the time.

• Ideas and portrayal within the media of ethnicities and religions have also changed considerably over time, with the current day striving for equality and acceptance more so than in past times.

CONCLUSION (SIGNS &SIGNIFIERS)

• The meaning interpreted from the signifier is unfixed; choices are made when producing media reflecting the producers ideologies and those of the societies at the time. Fiske and Hartley described this as being the 3rd order of signification, creating and constructing meaning to portray to the audience.

PARADIGMS AND SYNTAGMS

• This pair of concepts are defined by Saussure regarding his theories surrounding the relationships of signs. Meaning arises from the differences between signifiers; these fall under two categories-

• 1)Syntagmatic (concerning position)• 2) Paradigmatic (concerning substitution)

• "Paradigms" refers to a typical, conventional 'model' in terms of how structure, content, music, location, costume and character come together to create a generic product. This model can be changed to induce more individuality, breaking conventions.

APPLYING THIS THEORY (THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH “SONG FOR

WHOEVER” EMBEDDED BELOW!) • This song is a ballad with a typical 1960s theme. • In sections, a black and white filming effect is used deliberately to

recreate old films. The costumes of the characters include suits, looking very presentable and smart. Locations seen within the clip include the studio and office/ sitting room. In one scene the viewer can see the man writing up the lyrics on an old type writer and giving it to the lead singer to sing it from this, creating a none personal aspect, as well as creating a self reflective effect, being a song about itself. Many conventional shots are used such as a close up of the lead singer. The lyrics clearly make the audience aware of his intentions, for example "I like the PR checks you send me" and "the number I hope to reach“ showing his confidence and ego.

• The video juxtaposes a combination of narrative and performance, interpreted by the viewer to create meaning. An example of this is when the blaming is introduced into the video shown to be a popstar. The fact that it is moulded shows that a manipulated image is more successful in the media. Another pun is used when the newspaper framed the blancmange with the headline of "Set for Stardom!" as blancmange goes hard when you put in in the fridge.