glossary

• Action code


  Something that happens in the narrative that tells the audience that some action will follow
• Active audience


  Audiences actively engage in selecting media products to consume and interpreting their meanings
• Anchorage


  The words that accompany an image (still or moving) contribute to the meaning associated with that image. If the caption or voice-over is changed then so may the way in which the audience interprets the image. An image with an anchor is a closed text; the audience are given a preferred reading. A text without an anchor is an open text as the audience can interpret it as they wish.
• Appeal


  The way in which products attract and interest an audience, e.g. through the use of stars, familiar genre conventions etc.
• Arc of transformation


  The emotional changes a character goes through in the process of the narrative. The events in the story mean that they will 'transform' by the end of the story.
• Aspirational


  In terms of a media text, one that encourages the audience to want more money, up-market consumer items and a higher social position.
• Attract


  How media producers create appeal to audiences to encourage them to consume the product.
• Audience categorisation


  How media producers group audiences (e.g. by age, gender ethnicity) to target their products.
• Audience consumption


  The way in which audiences engage with media products (e.g. viewing a TV programme, playing a video game, reading a blog or magazine). Methods of consumption have changed significantly due to the development of digital technologies.
• Audience interpretation


  The way in which audiences 'read' the meanings in, and make sense of, media products.
• Audience positioning


  The way in which media products place audiences (literally or metaphorically) in relation to a particular point of view. For example, audiences may be positioned with a particular character or positioned to adopt a specific ideological perspective.
• Audience response


  How audiences react to media products e.g. by accepting the intended meanings (preferred reading).
• Audience segmentation


  Where a target audience is divided up due to the diversity and range of programmes and channels. This makes it difficult for one programme to attract a large target audience.
• Audio


  How sound is used to communicate meaning - voice-over, dialogue, music, SFX, etc.
• Avatar


  A player's representation of themselves within a game.
• Back story


  Part of a narrative which may be the experiences of a character or the circumstances of an event that occur before the action or narrative of a media text. It is a device that gives the audience more information and makes the main story more credible.
• Binary opposites


  Where texts incorporate examples of opposite values; for example, good versus evil, villain versus hero. These can be apparent in the characters, narrative or themes.
• Brand identity


  The association the audience make with the brand, for example Chanel or Nike, built up over time and reinforced by the advertising campaigns and their placement.
• Broadsheet


  A larger newspaper that publishes more serious news, for example The Daily Telegraph has maintained its broadsheet format.
• Camera angles


  The angle of the camera in relation to the subject. For example, a high angle shot (shot of a character from above) may make them appear more vulnerable.
• Camera shots


  The type of shot and framing in relation to the subject, for example, close-up shots are often used to express emotion.
• Caption


  Words that accompany an image that help to explain its meaning.
• Channel identity


  That which makes the channel recognisable to audiences and different from any other channel. Presenters, stars, programme genres and specific programmes all contribute to a channel's identity.
• Circulation


  The dissemination of media products to audiences/users - the method will depend on the media form e.g. circulation of print magazines, broadcast of television programmes etc.
• Connotation


  The suggested meanings attached to a sign, e.g., the red car in the advert suggests speed and power.
• Conventions


  What the audience expects to see in a particular media text, for example the conventions of science fiction films may include: aliens, scientists, other worlds, gadgets, representations of good and evil, etc. Useful headings to discuss conventions are: characters, setting, iconography, narrative, technical codes and representation.
• Convergence


  The coming together of previously separate media industries and/or platforms; often the result of advances in technology whereby one device or platform contains a range of different features. The mobile phone, for example, allows the user to download and listen to music, view videos, tweet artists etc. All this can be done through one portable device.
• Cover lines


  These suggest the content to the reader and often contain teasers and rhetorical questions. These relate to the genre of the magazine.
• Cross-platform marketing


  In media terms, a text that is distributed and exhibited across a range of media formats or platforms. This may include film, television, print, radio and the Internet.
• Cultural capital


  The media tastes and preferences of an audience, traditionally linked to social class/background.
• Demographic category


  A group in which consumers are placed according to their age, sex, income, profession, etc. The categories range from A to E where categories A and B are the wealthiest and most influential members of society.
• Denotation


  The literal meaning of a sign, e.g. the car in the advert is red.
• Diegetic sound


  Sound that comes from the fictional world, for example the sound of a gun firing, the cereal being poured into the bowl in an advert, etc.
• Discourse


  The topics, language and meanings or values behind them within a media text. The discourse of lifestyle magazines, for example, tends to revolve around body image and narcissism.
• Distribution


  The methods by which media products are delivered to audiences, including the marketing campaign. These methods will depend upon the product (for example, distribution companies in the film industry organise the release of the films, as well as their promotion).
• Diversification


  Where media organisations who have specialised in producing media products in one form move into producing content across a range of forms.
• Editing


  The way in which the shots move from one to the other (transitions), e.g. fade, cut, etc. Fast cutting may increase the pace and therefore the tension of the text, for example.
• Encoding and decoding


  Media producers encode messages and meanings in products that are decoded, or interpreted, by audiences.
• Enigma code


  A narrative device which increases tension and audience interest by only releasing bits of information, for example teasers in a film trailer or narrative strands that are set up at the beginning of a drama/film that make the audience ask questions; part of a restricted narrative.
• Equilibrium


  In relation to narrative, a state of balance or stability (in Todorov's theory the equilibrium is disrupted and ultimately restored).