GCSE

MEDIA
STUDIES
A Basic Guide

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INTRODUCTION
This guide is for use throughout Year 10 and Year 11 to help you
todevelop your use of key terms, theories, and your general
understanding of the topics we are covering. You should use this guide
to help you improve your coursework, classwork and homeworks. It will
also help you when revising for the Y11 exams, however an exam
specific revision guide will be produced closer to the date of the exam.

The sections of this guide are split up as follows:

PAGE CONTENTS
3 Structure of the course
4 Key Concepts and main terminology
16 Assignment 1 - DVD Packaging
17 Assignment 2 - Music Promotion
19 Assignment 3 Magazine Design
22 Theories

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 GCSE MEDIA STUDIES STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE

60% coursework + 40% exam

Coursework topics - 60%

1) Film & DVD Cover Design written analysis of two DVD covers as well as
own DVD cover for an original film idea designed either by hand or on the
computer
2) Music Promotion written analysis of a music video and a cd cover or
music website as well as your own storyboard for a music video and
design for a cd cover or website
3) Magazine Design 12 pages of research and planning as well as 4 pages
of a new magazine (designed individually on the computers), including the
front cover and a contents page, with all images produced by the student.
Plus an evaluation.

All of this coursework should be finished by the Christmas of the students Y11
year.

Exam topic - 40%

Exams will cover all the key concepts of representation, audiences, institutions,
language, ideology, narrative and genre. There will only be 1 GCSE exam
which will happen in the Summer of Y11 and last 1 hour and 30 minutes. There
will be 4 questions, at least 1 of which will be a design (practical) question.
Although the exams will cover all of the concepts above, each year they will be
focused on a very specific topic. Your exam topic for 2018 is TV Drama. This
includes all dramatic fictionalised TV series (not including soaps). Examples
include Downton Abbey, Casualty, Doctor Who, Game Of Thrones, House,
Pretty Little Liars etc.

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 KEY CONCEPTS
At GCSE we study the main key concepts in the first term and then we apply them to our
work throughout the two year course. The concepts are as follows:

R Representation

A Audience

I Institutions

L Language

I Ideologies

N Narrative

G Genre

We use the word RAILING to help us remember the key concepts. It is a good idea to have
an understanding of all the key concepts for Media Studies as they will help you think about
what to write about for coursework and in the exam. It is important to realize that although
there are 7 separate concepts, they all overlap slightly and so being able to see how they
relate to one another is really useful. A brief description of these key concepts can be found
on the following pages, along with some key words that are specific to that concept.

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 REPRESENTATION

Representation is the way people, events and places are shown in the media. Some
representations might be very accurate and some might be very exaggerated or unfair.
Often some representations are very stereotypical and might encourage audiences to
believe particular things about the person or place being represented. For example,
teenagers are often represented in the news as being criminals, aggressive, rude and lazy
etc. Many audiences see these representations so often that they believe them to be true.

Questions to ask yourself about representation:

1) HOW? - how has a particular representation has been constructed by the producers of
the text using media language. Perhaps they have used particular images, language,
colours, costumes, etc?

For example: How have the producers of Attack The Block constructed this shot to
ensure the teenage characters look intimidating?

2) WHAT? - What impact might the representations have on the target audiences for the
product?

For example, how might the average person react when they see the Royal Family
represented in this way? How might they feel? Why might they want to buy a magazine
featuring an image like this?

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 3) WHO? Who produced the product (either the individual or the institution) and what
influence might this have had on the representations?

For example, Shane Meadows was the director of This is England. He grew up in a poor
neighbourhood, and was involved in a lot of crime when he was younger. He had virtually no
money to make the film with. How might this have influenced the way he represented the
town and people in the film?

4) WHY? Why might the producers of the product have created a representation like this?
What benefits might it have for them?

For example, why would Did Disney really want to represent Miley Cyrus (playing Hannah
Montana) as a friendly, family friendly, innocent, sweet, character?

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Below are some key terms and theories to do with representation that you might find useful
when looking at the topic of representation.

Dominant Ideology A set of beliefs that are widely accepted as being the most normal.
For example, the dominant ideology of men is that they are strong, brave and work to provide
money for their families.

Dystopian a representation of something that is as pessimistic and negative as possible

Hyperbolic Bodies exaggerated perfect physical features eg very muscly men, very
slender, perfect bodies for women etc

Idealised Someone or something that been made to seem perfect with no flaws. We say
that someone has been idealised. This is similar to if someone has been represented in a
utopian way.

Idol Someone who is represented as being someone we should worship.

Male Gaze A theory by a lady called Laura Mulvey which suggests that all media products
encourage the characters and audience to leer at and look at women as though the
audience were make. For example, the camera angle looking down Sarahs cleavage
encourages the audience to take a male gaze over the female character

Matriarchy / Matriarchal society A type of society where women are dominant over men.
It can also be used to specify older women being powerful in society

Misogynistic A belief that women are lesser beings than men. That women are somehow
in need of being controlled by men. Music Videos are often said to be misogynistic as they
portray women as objects.

Objectified If someone has been objectified, it means they have been represented a bit
like an object rather than a person. This is often the way women are represented in the
media. As objects for men to look at or use.

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Patriarchy / Patriarchal society A type of society where men are dominant over women.
Many feminists believe that we live in a patriarchal society where women are forced to be
weaker and subservient. It can also be used to specify older men being powerful in society.

Represented The way someone or something is shown

Reputation The things that people think about a person or product, before they have even
met them / used them. Its what they are famous for. Someone might have a good
reputations or a bad one.

Stereotype An overly exaggerated representation of a type of person that is normally

negative. For example a stereotypical teenager would be a hoodie wearing, knife carrying,
criminal who hated school.

Utopian a representation of a something which is as positive and perfect as it can be. We

say they have been represented in a utopian way.

AUDIENCE

Audience is the key concept, identifying who would buy a particular product or use a
particular service. Audiences are very important because producers need to know how to
attract them in order to make more money or be more successful. In order to attract your
target audience you must know lots about them. Audiences are complex as everyone is
different and they will all react in different ways to different things.

Questions to ask yourself about Audiences are:

1) WHO - Who is the target audience for the product? Can you identify them and
describe them in detail?

2) HOW How have the producers tried to attract that particular audience?

3) WHY Why would audiences purchase a particular product? What are its selling
points? What is attractive?

Below are some key terms to do with audience that might help you with this concept:

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Demographic The factual statistics of the audience. For example their gender, age, class,
ethnicity etc. The demographic of the audience for Top Gear is mainly male, white, aged 20-
40.

Engage To engage an audience means to attract an audience and hold their attention.

Empathy / Empathise A feeling of understanding the emotions and feelings of a particular

character. For example, a director might encourage an audience to empathise with a
particular character by placing the camera at eye level with her so we can see all her
emotions and reactions during the scene.

Mainstream Something that is aimed at the masses, at a large target audience. The X-
Factor is considered to be a mainstream programme.

Niche Something that is aimed at a very small, alternate target audience, not at the
mainstream

Primary Audience The main target audience for a product

Psychographic The emotional and behavioural description of the audience. For example
their hobbies, personalities, interests, attitudes etc. The psychographic for Top Gear is
people who love cars, gadgets, comedy etc. They are often quite cocky, confident people
who enjoy laughing at others and are not politically correct.

Secondary Audience An audience for the product who is not the main target audience but
who also might consume it and enjoy it for other reasons. For example, whilst the primary
audience for Disney Pixar movies is children aged 3-10, the secondary target audience is
parents of children aged 3-10.

Socio-Economic Group A way of describing how much money a company thinks their
audience makes. A being the highest earners and E being the lowest earners. The
socioeconomic group for The Sun newspaper is C2,D&E.

Target Audience The main people who would buy or use the product. The people who it is
aimed at.

Voyeurism Enjoying looking at people, often when the people dont know they are being
looked at. Music videos and horror films often encourage the audience to take part in
voyeurism.

INSTITUTION & IDEOLOGIES

Institutions are companies. Institutions can be very small or very big and it is important that
you understand a whole range of things about them such as how they were formed, how they
are funded, what they do etc. You also need to know what rules they have to follow, and
ultimately that their goal is probably to get more audiences, and make more money.

Questions you need to ask yourself about institutions are:

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 1) WHO is the institution that made the product and what do you know about them?

2) HOW are they funded and how might this affect the choices they make?

3) HOW do they compete with other similar companies?

4) WHAT have they done with their products to try and engage audiences?

5) WHAT image are they trying to create for themselves?

6) WHAT are the companys ideologies and HOW does this affect their products?

Below are some key words about institutions to help you with this concept:

Brand Image / Brand Identity The kind of ideas that institutions want you to have about
them straight away. The brand image for Marks & Spencers is luxury, quality, special &
delicious food.

Distribution The way a product is moved from the institution that made it, to the audience.
This might include actually sending it from the factory to the shops, it might include the
process of getting it into the cinema, the uploading of content to a website etc..

Horizontal Integration When a company merges with (or buys out) another company that
makes similar products to them. A company horizontally integrates with other companies for a
variety of reasons but it is normally to reduce competition and make money.

Ideologies A set of beliefs or ideas that a company wants to promote in all their products
(see values)

Institution A company

Synergistic Products Products that all relate to each other but which are on different
media platforms. For example a film, a films video game, a films website, a films blog, a
films app etc..

Synergised Relationships Where a company works directly with another company in

order to benefit both of them. For example, Disney might have a synergised relationship with
MacDonalds in order to create Happy Meal toys for their latest films. It will boost both sales
of the Happy Meals AND of the film so it benefits both companies.

Values Qualities or behaviours / traits which are made to see important by a media product.
For example, the John lewis adverts promote values of quality, financial security, family etc..
(see ideologies)

Vertical Integration When a company merges with (or buys out) another company that
could help them distribute or market their products to audiences. A company might vertically
integrate with another company for a variety of reasons but most often it is to save money.
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 MEDIA LANGUAGE
Language does NOT just refer to sound that you can hear. In Media Studies, language refers
to all 4 technical areas including camera, editing, sound and mise-en-scene. You should
have a good overall understanding of all 4 of these technical areas, in particular being able to
identify different techniques used and being able to say WHY they were used. For example,
they might be unusual or interesting for some reason. They might have been used to create
a particular meaning etc.

Questions you should ask yourself about Media Language are:

1) WHAT language has been used here?

2) WHY would it engage an audience?

3) WHAT meaning does it create?

Below are some key terms for language separated into the 4 technical areas:

CAMERA TERMINOLOGY

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Birds Eye View shot a shot taken directly from above something, looking down on it (as
though the camera was a bird flying over the scene).

Canted Angle A shot which is tilted to one side. This is often used to create a feeling of
disorientation, anxiety or chaos. Often called a Dutch Tilt.

Establishing shot: the shot (usually wide or long), often used at the start of a programme or
film, a new section of a programme or at the start of a new scene to establish the relationship
between the set/location and the characters and to show the whole view

Hand-Held shot: A shot filmed with the camera not on a tripod but instead held by the
camera man, often whilst walking. This makes the shots seem quite shaky. This can make
the audience feel the scene is more realistic, or can make us feel like we are part of the
action.

High angle: A shot where the camera is positioned higher than the persons eyeline, looking
down at them. This is often used to make a character in the shot seem weaker, younger or
more vulnerable.

Low-Angle Shot: A shot where the camera is placed lower than the eyeline of the person in
the shot, looking up at them. It can make the character shown seem big and powerful and it
can make us or the character we are seeing through, seem small and weak.

Tilt: a camera movement that involves moving the camera vertically up and down from a
fixed position. Often used to show something off to the audience like a characters body.

Tracking Shot: a camera shot in which the camera moves along rails to follow the subject.
When the rails are replaced by a moving platform on wheels, the shot is called a dolly shot.
As you wont know how this shot was filmed you can call it either a Tracking OR a Dolly shot.
A tracking shot normally helps us feel like we sympathise with the character, or focuses our
attention on them as important.
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Zoom/Reverse Zoom: the adjustment of the camera lens which makes the scene / character
appear to get bigger or smaller in the frame. A zoom is normally used to focus our attention
on something as important.

EDITING TERMINOLOGY
Cross cutting (also known as Parallel editing) Where an editor cuts between two
separate scenes happening in two separate locations at the same time. This serves to
illustrate a contrast or a link between them. For example, cross cutting between adults
having a quiet drink in a pub, and a wild teenage party will contrast the two age groups.
Another example is in the Godfather where the editor cut back and forth between the
christening of a child in a catholic church, and the violent killing of several men. The cross
cutting in this sequence emphasises the violence as we see it juxtaposed against childlike
innocence and religion.

Fade: a type of moving image editing where the image gradually fades and disappears,
leaving a white or black screen. A fade to black often suggests that time has passed or a
situation has ended. A fade to white often suggests a dream sequence.

Fast Paced Editing Shots which change quite quickly are fast paced. Fast paced editing
makes things more exciting and dramatic.

Graphics Any text or logos which appear on screen on top of the video. Graphics are often
used to communicate information to audiences.

Long take: each time a shot is recorded it is called a take. A long take is one that is allowed
to remain on screen for a long duration before it is cut. Long takes are often used to slow the
pace of the scene down, making it calmer and more peaceful . Alternatively if a REALLY long
take is used, it can make the audience feel uncomfortable as we are forced to watch a scene
with nothing to break it up.

Montage a montage is a series of shots edited together to show time passing and
something happening in that time. It is a popular way of speeding up the narrative and
showing us a lot of narrative in a short period of time. Famous examples are in Rocky where
we see a montage of shots of Rocky training and getting better and better before his fight.

Short take: a short take is one that is allowed to remain on screen for a short time before the
editor cuts to something else. Short takes are often used to speed the pace of the action up,
making it more dramatic and exciting.

Slow motion: used in the editing process to slow down the action for emotional or comic
effect. Often makes something seem more romantic or special or dramatic.

Slow Paced Editing shots which change quite slowly. Slow paced editing slow make
things seem calmer or more boring, or sometimes make things seem uncomfortable.

SOUND TERMINOLOGY
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Contrapuntal sound This is where sound or music has a different mood / atmosphere to
what we are seeing on screen. For example in the film the Shining, during beautiful scenes
of winding roads and countryside on a sunny day, we hear quite scary ominous music to
foreshadow the scary events that are to come. For a second example, in the Godfather film,
we see scary scenes of a man murdering people in cold blood, but hear the friendly, calm
sounds of a priest christening a baby. This contrast emphasises the loss of innocent life.

Dialogue What people in the video clip actually say. Dialogue often tells us what
characters think or how they feel.

Diegetic Sound: sound that you could hear if YOU were one of the characters inside the
scene. This include words the characters say, background noises like traffic, weather and
crowd noise and even music IF it is heard by the characters eg at a club, on a television etc
Diegetic sound can set the mood of the piece, tell us how a character is feeling, and help the
viewer to see a scene as realistic etc.

Lyrics The actual words to a song. Lyrics can sometimes tell us quite a lot about what is
going on in a scene, or how someone feels.

Non Diegetic Sound Other sound that the characters in the scene could not hear. For
example, a musical soundtrack, a voice over etc. Non diegetic music sets the scene and
time period as well as atmosphere. A voice over allows the audience to hear someones
thoughts and empathise with them. Different instruments have different effects. Violins can
be both romantic and frightening, saxophones sound sultry and sexy, drums can seem
military-like and woodwind instruments seem sad.

Tone Of Voice Describes the way a persons voice sounds. For example, firm, dismissive,
patronising, nervous, apologetic, and aggressive. Their tone will tell you a lot about their
feelings.

Voiceover A voiceover is when someone talks over the top of a video. Often it is
someones internal thoughts showing us what they are thinking. Sometimes it is a presenter
explaining something on screen for us.

MISE-EN-SCENE TERMINOLOGY
Body Language the way a characters body looks and the way they hold their body eg
confident, slumping down, cowering from someone etc It tells us what type of person they
are and how they feel about others or the product / company they are advertising.

Costume What characters or presenters are wearing

Facial Features and Expression the way a characters face looks and shows emotion.
For example a shocked expression, sadness, a look of love. You can also comment on the
way they look such as a interesting features such as bad teeth, small, squinty eyes etc It tells
us what type of person they are and how they feel about others.

High Key Lighting A bright and well lit scene with very few shadows. Often used to make
a location or character seem friendly, happy, safe.

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Low key Lighting a dimly lit scene with lots of shadows. Often used to make a location or
character seem shady, untrustworthy, dangerous, unsafe.

Props The things the characters or presenters can hold

Set The place where the filming was done

NARRATIVE AND GENRE

Narrative is the storyline of a product and how it is told. Genre is the category a product can
be put in. Narrative structure can be manipulated to engage specific audiences in particular
ways. Genre is something that is often made very clear to audiences.

Some questions to ask yourself about narrative and genre are:

1) WHAT is the genre of the product and HOW can I tell this from looking at it?
2) WHAT is the narrative of the product and HOW can I tell this?
3) WHY have particular narrative techniques been used?

Here are some key terms to do with narrative and genre:

Closed Narrative A type of narrative / story where we see the beginning, middle and the
end, and the ending is clear and doesnt leave anything unexplained.

Conventional Something that is seen to be normal. So a conventional female character

would be quite weak, girly, and may be a mother or a housewife.

Genre The type of media product something is. So film genres include horror, action, sci-
fi etc..

Genre signifiers / Genre iconography Things that make the genre clear. For example
the genre signifiers of horror are knives, blood, tense music, dark houses, etc.

Hybrid Genre The combination of one or more genres eg a romantic comedy

Intertextuality When a media product makes reference to another media product, often to
engage an audience and to make a point. For example, in the Simpsons there is a scene
where they make an intertextual reference to the Indiana Jones film, where Bart is escaping
from Homer who is rolled into a ball like a boulder. This is almost identical to a scene in the
Indiana Jones film and would appeal to an audience as a) it is comical but also because b)
many of them would recognise the reference and would feel clever for recognising it.

Juxtaposition Two different things placed next to each other to create meaning. For
example a shot of a baby may be juxtaposed with a shot of a funeral to emphasise the circle
of life.

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Linear Narrative A narrative or story that is all told in chronological order from beginning to
end

Multi Strand Narrative A type of narrative / story where there are several storylines
running throughout the media product. For example Coronation Street features a multi strand
narrative as we might see one story with Dev and Sunita, and then cut to another story with
Steve and Tracey, and then to the Rovers Return, and then back to Dev and Sunita etc..

Narrative The way the story is told eg the order or the structure of a story etc

Unconventional Something which is seen to not be normal. For example an

unconventional female character might be powerful, the boss of a company, and very
dominant over other male characters.

Antagonist The leading villain in the show (or the one the protagonist has to go up against)

Binary Opposites Two contrasting characters or scenes that are seen in one show, that
are clearly meant to be total opposites. For example there may be a sweet innocent girl who
is scared and weak, paired against an evil powerful man. They would be binary opposite
characters. Binary opposites could be concepts such as good/evil, light/dark, male/female,
old/young

Connotation Hidden Meaning. For example, the connotation of the main female character
wearing black is that she might be evil and have a dark side.

Protagonist The leading character in the show, normally a good character

ASSIGNMENT 1 - DVD PACKAGING

Assignment 1 of the GCSE Media Studies coursework is to study DVD Packaging. The focus
is on:

Audiences who they are, and how they have been attracted to buy the DVD

Language What Media Language has been used and what it signifies or connotes.

Written Task: Analyse 2 x DVD covers (front, back and spine) making sure you focus on the
two concepts above. (10 marks)

Production Task: Design your own DVD cover for a new film (front, back and spine) either
by hand or on the computers. (5 marks)

DVD COVER TERMINOLOGY

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Age Certificate Small round logo showing what age you have to be legally to watch the
film. In Britain these are currently, U, PG, 12A, 12, 15, & 18. They are issued by a company
called the BBFC.

Blurb The paragraph on the back of the DVD explaining the storyline of the film, hinting at
the exciting parts, and trying to make it sound exciting or engaging. The blurb often includes
cast information as well.

Cast The stars or actors that are in the film. Cast names will often be displayed on both
front and back for important or very famous actors.

Content Warnings Warnings about any material that might be unsuitable eg references to
drugs, scenes of a sexual nature etc. These content warnings often appear in a box at the
bottom of the back cover.

Crew The people who worked on the making of the film eg the producer, the director etc.
Crew names will only be displayed on the front if they are very famous in the industry. Crew
names and their job titles often appear in small print on the back.

Institutional Logo the logo for the film company that made the film

Stills Pictures or screen shots from the middle of the films most exciting scenes. Usually
shown on the back cover.

Tag Line The slogan for the film, often shown on the front cover, under the title for the film.
Used to make the genre of the film really clear, or to hint at the storyline.

ASSIGNMENT 2 MUSIC PROMOTION

Assignment 2 of the GCSE Media Studies coursework is to study Music Promotion. The
focus is on:

Representation the image of the singer or band, and how this has been constructed, and
why

Institution the record label background, how they have designed the two products with
consistent branding, how they have ensured they will make money etc..

Written Task: Analyse a music video plus either a CD cover or website for one singer / band
making sure you focus on the two concepts above. (20 marks)

Production Tasks: Design your own 10 frame storyboard for a new music video, plus either
a CD Cover or a website for the same singer or band (either by hand or on the computers.
(10 marks)

MUSIC TERMINOLOGY
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Album - Artist/s The singer or band

Breaking the 4th Wall When an artist looks directly at the audience through the camera
and sings to them etc

Choreography The dancing / movement within a music video

Cross Promotion When a company uses one product they have made to advertise
another product they have made. So for example, if on the Rihanna website, her record label
also advertised another artist that they manage, etc.

Dance Routine A choreographed dance that is performed by the artist and / or their back
up dancers

Distribution The process of getting the music from the record label to the consumers. Eg
CDs, online streaming sites, I-tunes etc

Hyperbolic Bodies Extremely over the top body types often featured in music videos

Independent Often used to describe record labels / companies that are not large, and
operate on their own with small numbers of staff etc

Lip Synching When an artist mimes to their song in a music video

Lyrics The words to a song

Merchandise Products that can be sold to promote an artist or make more money eg t-
shirts, key rings etc..

Misogynistic A word used to describe any behaviour that infers women are objects, and
that men are dominant over them etc

Promotion The advertising of a product or artist

Record Deal The contract between the artist and the record label.

Record Label A word for a music production company that signs artists and helps them
produce records.

Signed An artist that has a record deal with a record label

Single A particular song (see track)

Studio A building where music is recorded and music videos may also be filmed

Track A particular song (see single)

Track Listing The list of songs, often found on the back of a CD cover, so the buyer knows
what songs will be on the CD

Unsigned An artist that does NOT have a record deal with a record label

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WEBSITE TERMINOLOGY
Banner Ad An advert appearing on a website, which when clicked on, takes you to a
different page

Blog An online diary style web page where content can be added every day and people
can follow the blog and comment on each entry

Forum A webpage that allows users to start discussions on particular topics. Each topic is
called a thread.

Home Page the main page of a website which is often the first one you see when you go to
their site

Navigation Bar a bar of links either at the top r side of the page, that allows users to
navigate their way round a site

Pop-Up Something which is designed to pop-up on peoples screens, often an advert

Rollover Part of a webpage, often an advert, that if the user hovers the mouse over, it
changes in someway

Social Networking Sites Any website which allows people to have their own profile page,
and to link somehow to other peoples profile pages, allowing communication and interaction

Thread a specific conversation happening online about a specific topic. Eg on a forum,

there might be a thread about which characters is best from a tv show and people would just
talk about that topic on that page

Unique Selling Point Something which makes the product seem special in comparison to
others

Sexualised Images Images which portray the person on camera in a very sexual way eg
with very little clothing etc.

User Generated Content Any media content that has been produced by the audience
rather than the company. For example on a website, it might ask people to send in their own
stories and these would be user generated content

Voyeuristic Images Images that make it seem as though the audience is staring at the
subject on camera, often without their knowledge eg hidden cameras, CCTV, sexualised
images, etc

ASSIGNMENT 3 MAGZAZINE PRODUCTION

Assignment 3 of the GCSE Media Studies coursework is to study Magazines. The focus is
on all 4 key concepts including:
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Audiences who they are, and how they have been attracted to buy the magazine

Language What Media Language has been used and what it signifies or connotes.

Representation the image the audience is given of the magazine, or people / products in
the magazine and how this has been constructed, and why

Institution the company behind the magazine, how they have a consistent style and
branding, how they are funded and how they compete with other magazines etc..

Written Task: Complete a range of research and planning tasks about magazines amounting
to 12 side of A4 (individually). (15 marks)

Production Task: Work on your own to create 4 pages of a new magazine (including the
front cover and contents page). (20 marks)

Evaluation: Individually, write an evaluation of your magazine pages, tackling all 4 of the key
concepts above. (10 marks)

MAGAZINE TERMINOLOGY
Alliteration When a letter is repeated within a sentence to help to engage the reader. Eg
Silver Sparkly Shoes

Banner Strip A strip of block colour, often on the front of a magazine, designed to go
behind some text to highlight or draw the readers attention to a particular cover line or
feature

Breakout Box A box or other shape of block colour, often within an article, designed to go
behind text, to highlight or draw the readers attention to a portion of the article that has been
picked out such as a quote or a fact.

Byline The name of the journalist for an article, often appearing under the headline
somewhere or at the end of the article.

Caption Some words that accompany a picture to explain the image to the reader

Columns The way a text is laid out in vertical lines

Cover Lines Found on the front cover, cover lines are the headlines of articles, designed to
attract someone to buy the magazine and advertise what is inside

Direct Address Addressing the audience using you or your. For example, Can YOU
beat our quiz?

Direct Gaze / Demanding Gaze When a person in a photo is starting straight at the
camera / reader to attract their attention

Editor The person who runs the magazine and co-ordinates all the journalists / articles etc

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Editors Letter Often found at the front of the magazine, this is a mini letter from the editor
to the audience, encouraging them to read the magazine

Graphic Any shapes or lines found on a page

Headline The main title of an article designed to grab the readers attention

Hero Image The main image on the page

House Style The main style of a company or magazine. It will be consistent eg a small
range of colours, a particular type of font, a particular way of laying out pages etc. It should
be easily identifiable and consistent between pages and different issues of the same
magazine

Issue A particular months / weeks edition of a magazine

Issue Date The date the issue is released

Jargon Complex technical language

Journalist The person who writes articles

Masthead The name of the magazine

Publisher The company that makes the magazine

Pun A play on words that is often funny in some way

Repetition (power of 3) When words are used repeatedly in some way to grab attention or
focus the reader on someone eg. Its all about shoes, shoes, shoes!

Rhetorical Questions A question posed to the reader, that is not designed to be answered
or may have an obvious answer and is there to make a point. eg Do you want to be
popular?

Slang informal words, often used to make a reader feel that something is less formal, more
friendly, and down to earth etc.

Subscription When a reader pays in advance to get copies of the magazine each month

Subheading Often found under the headline, and designed to give the reader a very short
summary in a few words to intrigue them even more

Strapline The slogan for a magazine, often found just under the masthead on the cover, or
on the spine

Typeface The style of font

Unique Selling Point What makes the magazine special or better than others

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Theorist / Explanation
Theory

Blumler & A theory which suggests that audiences USE the media for different
Katzs Uses & reasons. They think audiences are active and that the media plays a
Gratifications function for audiences. They think the main functions of the media are:
Theory
Escape
Entertainment
Education & Information
Social Interaction
Identification
Richard Dyers A theory which suggests that audiences use the media to experience
Utopian perfection which they cant get from their real lives. The theory suggests
Solutions that products which offer these utopian solutions to audiences problems
Theory will be the most successful. Below are the main problems and solutions
that Dyer mentions in his theory

Isolation Social Interaction

Confusion Clarity

Boredom - Excitement

Maslows A theory which suggests there are main needs that every human has.
Hierarchy of
Needs

Young and An advertising agency which suggests that audiences can all be classified
Rubicams by their different personalities and behaviours. They have several main
Audience categories that help them target audiences in different specific ways:
Classification
System
Explorer needs new experiences and liked discovery

Aspirer materialistic, worries about what other people think of their

superficial qualities

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 Succeeder enjoys control and prestige brands

Reformer anti-materialistic and intellectual

Mainstream enjoy family values, and value for money. Enjoy security

Struggler enjoy junk food / alcohol / gambling and need escape from
their own lives

Resigned enjoy tradition, nostalgia and survival

Claude Levi A theory which suggests that a good story revolves around conflict
Strausss between binary opposites (two things represented as totally different to
theory of one another). Examples of binary opposites include good vs evil, men vs
Binary women, young vs old, Britain vs Germany etc..
Opposites

Tzvetan A theory which suggests that all stories follow a very similar structure.
Todorovs
Narrative Equilibrium
Structure Disruption
theory Battle for Resolution
New Equilibrium
Vladimir A theory which suggests that all stories feature very similar character
Propps types who all play specific roles in developing the narrative. He thinks the
character characters make it easy for an audience to understand the story. His
types theory character types include

Hero
Villain
Dispatcher
Donor
Helper
Princess / Prize
Laura Laura Mulvey is a feminist theorist who believes that women in the media
Mulveys are treated as objects. She thinks there are only two main roles for
Feminist women in the media and she calls this the Virgin / Whore Dichotomy.
Theories These are the two roles she thinks women are offered in media products:

Virgin represented as innocent, weak, subservient to men, sweet,

virginal, an object to be cared for etc..

Whore represented as sexually promiscuous, sexually strong,

provocative, a sex object etc

Andrew Goodwin believes that there are 7 key conventions of music videos
Goodwins including:
Music Video
Theory Different genres of music have different conventions
Stars sell records so companies use lots of close ups of their main
stars
Stars can have their own conventions (eg Michael Jacksons moonwalk
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 etc)
Voyeuristic Images are featured regularly
Intertextuality is used regularly
There will be a link between the lyrics and the visuals
There will be a link between the music and the visuals
Alvorados Alvarado believes there are only 4 main roles for ethnic minorities in the
Four key media and these are:
Racial Themes

Exotic
Humourous
Dangerous
Pitied

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