Key Knowledge
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Key Skills
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Representation is one of the main concepts in media. All media practitioners work to portray or 're-present' a particular version of a reality. For example, filmmakers begin by consciously thinking about the ways they can represent events, characters and ideas on film.
Heinemann Media (2nd edition)
Introduction to RepresentationThe following video, Media Representation - Media in Minutes offers an excellent introduction to this unit of study.
This video (and the series of Media in Minutes videos) was created by Brett Lamb; a VCE media teacher and co-author of our textbook Heinemann Media, and the creator of the media education website www.lessonbucket.com. |
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EXAMPLES OF REPRESENTATIONSNow, I'm sure we've all thought about this before ... the burger you order from Maccas never looks like the real thing. Well, this video shows us that we were right.
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OBAMA'S 'SELFIE' - A MISUNDERSTANDINGThe photographer who took the infamous picture showing President Obama posing for a selfie at Nelson Mandela's memorial said that the world was getting a very skewed interpretation of his snapshot. Read the article below - an interesting look at an event (mis)represented by the media.
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We also have to think about two key terms in reference to making documentaries as well; selection and omission.
Consider making a documentary about your best friend, a doco that you'd like to show your grandparents. If you wanted to show how amazing your BFF really is, you would show them at their best; how funny they are, how kind and caring they are, and how they act as the bestest friend ever! You wouldn't want to show them in their worst mood, or having just woken up in the morning, or hitting their younger brother or sister. This is the process of selection and omission; due to time constraints of an episode / series / news report, the media selects the things they want to show, and they omit the things they don't want you to see. Hence the reason why we can only ever see the media, in any case, as a representation of reality and life. |
Watch the short advertisement below. This ad was created for the British daily newspaper The Guardian, to prove that in their reporting of the news they give you the whole picture. Through the processes of selection and omission we see three very different versions of this scene. Also pay attention to the way in which these two characters have been represented in this short advert.
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DenotationDenotation: a literal meaning of the word (or image)
What can you actually physically see in the picture? e.g. Old man in torn clothes sitting on a pavement |
Connotation Connotation: an association (emotional or otherwise) which the word evokes
What does the image suggest or imply? e.g. Possibly homeless, hungry, lonely expression |
Case study: you and another classmate are given one single image to study, and each person must write a list of denotations and connotations.
Which is the more likely scenario? You and another classmate are likely to have;
Why do you think this is so? |
Well, while you should both physically see the same things in the image (eg. two people, a beach, waves, sky, sand) you are both likely to have a different opinion of what is happening in the image, and you may even have different feelings towards it. Are they lovers on a romantic walk along the beach on their honeymoon? Or two friends about to hit the surf on a hot day? Or two strangers walking uncomfortably close together?! |
Media products are governed by particular codes and conventions that are established ... they are the associated 'rules' by which a media form is structured, created or understood. The audience expects these codes and conventions to appear consistently within particular media forms.
Heinemann Media (2nd edition)
Okay, so what does that mean? Essentially, the media follow rules when creating products, so that the audience can identify and understand them. Take the example of magazines. What makes a magazine a magazine?
Well, let's focus on just the cover; it usually has a barcode, a title, lots of colours (sometimes matching), text, different fonts, a photo / picture, article / story titles and teasers, etc. Right, so that makes it a magazine. But how do we know as an audience that it's not a newspaper? Or a book? Or a pamphlet? Now, still using the magazine cover as our example, how can an audience identify and understand what type of magazine it is? How do we know if we're buying a sports / fashion / gardening magazine? What makes each of these genres of magazines different? What are the codes and conventions that help us to identify the genre? Have a go at listing examples of a specific genre of magazine (just focusing on the front cover). |
Watch the funny clip below which points out the use of a very familiar font in movie titles, posters, and DVD covers. Trajan: the movie font.
What is this media commentator saying about the use of codes and conventions? |
Click on the link to 'predictable yet popular movie posters'.
TASK 1: What do you notice about the 'predictable' movie posters? Comment on the use of the following elements:
TASK 2: Choose one genre, and focus on the representation of the films within this genre. How are codes and conventions used and applied within this film genre? |
TASK 3: Choose two posters from differing film genres, and compare and contrast the way that codes and conventions allow the audience to understand the film and it's possible narrative.
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As discussed in our textbook: Heinemann Media (2nd edition), codes and conventions of television news are a good example of narrative codes in action.
Think about a typical news broadcast, and how you are positioned as an audience member.
It is expected that the stories will be presented in a certain order (e.g. important or lead, national, local, international, sport, weather, novelty) and that a story or report will contain interviews and opposing viewpoints. These conventions are so familiar that to the audience they define a news broadcast, and they seem to be the 'natural' or 'normal' way of delivering the news. (Heinemann Media (2nd edition)). |
Watch Charlie Brooker's How to Report the News. This humourous video actually sums up news codes and conventions very well.
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In this scene from HBO's hit drama The Newsroom, the characters deconstruct a popular news segment to understand how news stations 'grab' the viewers' attention, and hold their interest through a news piece.
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Genre is a French word that means ‘type’, and refers to a category of artistic composition. In film genre refers to the way that we group or categorize different types of films, which are characterized by similarities in form, style or subject matter.
Genre has a lot to do with Codes and Conventions, as they help to shape these genres, which include; horror, comedy, romance, sci-fi, action, and musicals. |
Think of your favourite film ... what genre would you classify it as? Think about the codes and conventions that are employed in the film; this will give you a hint.
Films can actually cross genres, meaning that they can be a mix of a number of different genres. This gives the film power to reach a large and varied audience, but at the same time can lead audiences to be confused. |
PLOT DEVICE - SHORT FILMWatch Plot Device, in which a filmmaker obtains a device that unleashes the full force of cinema on his front lawn!
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Plot Device from Red Giant on Vimeo. |
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One man and six portraitsThis video was made by Canon. Its shows the same man being photographed by 6 different photographers. The catch is each photographer has been told a different back story about the subject matter. This is an example of how values influence the way we construct representations.
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