The

Essential

Media

Studies

Guide

Key concepts in Media Studies

Media audiences

Who is watching? How audiences are

identified, constructed,

addressed and reached;

how audiences find,

choose, consume and

respond to media texts.

Media technologies

How do they do that? What kinds of

technologies are

available to whom, how

to use them, the

differences they make to

the production process as

well as the final product.

Media agencies/

ownership

Who made /owns what? Who produces the text;

roles in production

process, media

institutions, economics

and ideologies,

intentions and results.

Media languages

How do they convey

meaning?

Film Language; codes

and conventions;

narrative structure.

Media categories

What is it? Different media

(television, radio, cinema

etc); forms

(documentary,

advertising etc); genres,

other ways of

categorising text; how

categorisation relates to

understanding.

Media representation

How are things, places

and people portrayed

(shown) in the media?

The relation between

media texts and the

actual places, people,

events, ideas;

stereotyping and its

consequences.

Introduction to Media

Key Media Terms

Sound

Diegetic Sounds which can be seen and heard by the characters

Non diegetic A sound that does not exist in the ‘real world’ of the film, for

example, soundtrack which the characters cannot hear

Sound effects Sounds added during post-production to build up mood or to

reinforce action eg gun shot

Sound bridge When sound carries on from one scene to another or when we hear

a sound and then cut to the scene where the sound comes from

Dialogue Conversations between characters

Voice over When the audience can hear a character speaking over the top of a

scene, often telling us what they think or feel

Soundtrack A complete audio component of a film to include all sounds,

specifically the music track

Incidental music Background music. It adds atmosphere to the action

Ambient sound Sound that is natural to the setting. It can be added in at the

editing stage

Camera Shots

Establishing shot The opening shot in a scene that establishes the location,

where people are in the location and the mood of the scene

Close up A shot showing a person from their shoulder up – often used to

show emotion

Mid shot A shot of the subject from the waist up – often used to show

relationships between people and/or objects

Wide shot A shot that shows a location and the people in it

Long Shot A shot that shows a person from the top of their head to their

feet and we can see the location that they are in and how the

feel about the location

Birds eye view shot A shot directed vertically downwards towards the subject

Point of View Shot A shot from the perspective of the character from the scene

Over the shoulder

shot

A shot in which the subject of the shot is filmed from behind

a person’s head and shoulders

Camera Angles

High angle Shot taken from a higher level than the subject and angled

down towards them to give the effect of making the subject,

look weak

Low angle Shot taken from a lower level and angled up towards the

subject in order to give the effect of power and authority of

the subject

Canted angle A shot taken at an angle so that horizontal and vertical

surfaces appear diagonal. It can be used to show that

something is wrong or strange or that a character has a

troubled mind.

Birds eye view shot A shot directed vertically downwards towards the subject. It

is used to emphasis the scale of things.

Camera Movements

Pan A horizontal movement of the camera from left to right or

right to left on a fixed axis

Tilt A camera movement up or down on a horizontal axis

Track Movement typically used to follow a character or object in

motion. The camera may move along a track. Can move left and

right or in and out.

Crane A Crane shot is where the camera, mounted on a crane, moves

around at a distance above ground level.

Steadicam Used on a harness with a system of weights and balances to

minimise unwanted movement when filming hand-held

Handheld cam Movements of a camera that is not mounted and usually held by

the cameraperson

Editing

Transition Any kind of editing from one shot to another

Cut One image is suddenly replaced by another.

Graphic match Objects with common characteristics of shape or colour are

used in successive shots

Action match When an action that begins in one shot is continued or

completed in the next eg opening a door.

Crosscutting/Parallel

Editing

Jumping between different scenes in order to create a link

between them

Dissolve One images changes into another

Fade in A shot gradually and smoothly appears on the screen

Fade out A shot gradually and smoothly disappears from the screen and is

usually followed by black.

Long take A shot of long duration (time)

Short take A shot of short duration (time)

Fast Paced When shots are short in length (duration). It can make the

audience feel anxious, or add to the speed of the action

Slow Paced When shots are long in length (duration). This may make the

scene feel more relaxed and the audience relaxes

Slow motion The action on screen is reduced in speed

Special Effect Technology that has been used to create some kind of illusion

Mise en scene

Costume, Hair and

Make up

What the character is wearing and how they have been made to

look. It can tell us a lot about their personality

Setting and Props The location of the scene (and time period) and all the objects

we can see in the location.

Facial Expressions

and Body Language

The feelings expressed on a person’s face and what their body

is doing. It can tell us a lot about how they feel and what they

think of other people

Lighting and Colour Light can be used to highlight a special object or tell us about a

person eg dark lighting means that a person is bad.

Certain colours also make us think of certain things eg red could

mean blood, white means innocent

Position of object in

the frame

Where objects/people are placed in the shot. If they are in the

middle it often shows they are important

Track Left Track Right

Crane Up Crane Down

Editing Techniques

Montage

+ + =

Rocky is getting stronger and stronger for a fight.