Question 1B

Section A: Theoretical evaluation of production

• section a - question 1b of the A2 exam is worth 25 marks

focus on - 

1. genre
2. narrative
3. representation
4. audience
5. media language

• micro/macro elements

genre theories

• steve neale (1980) - all genres are instances of repetition and difference
• douglas pye - films have to conform to audience expectations about narrative
• tom ryall - conventions = narrative, themes, characters/stereotypes, iconography

Genre and audience

• genre offers audience a structure or framework
• audiences gain enjoyment from 'spotting the conventions' and making comparisons with other films of the same genre

narrative theories

• propp - 8 character roles
• todorov - equilibrium - disequilibrium - new equilibrium
• barthes - 5 codes (action, enigma, cultural, symbolic, semic)
• levi strauss - binary opposites

narrative

• all media texts tell stories, the structure is called the narrative
• a story must have verisimilitude (appear to be real) in order to engage us

- technical code

- verbal code

- symbolic code

- structure

- character

- narrative conflict

Representation

• who or what is being represented?
• how is the representation created?
• who has created the representation?
• why has the representation been created in that way? what is the intention?
• what is the effect of the representation?

to maintain a representation of reality, media language elements such as lighting, music, editing, camera work and mise en scene are used

sometimes representations are seen to be a deliberate attempt to create associations and ideas for the audience

Audience

every media text is made with a view to pleasing an audience in some way - how did you try to please your audience?

• consider: age, gender, demographic profile, socio-economic group, existing/new, lifestyle, values, attitude
• categories A, B, C1, C2, D, E
• is your audience mass or niche?
• what would the 3 reactions to your coursework be:

1. a preferred reading (your intended interpretation) 
2. an oppositional reading (someone who didn't like it)
3. a negotiated reading (someone who isn't the target audience but might appreciate it for whatever reason)

Media Language

• Denotations
• Connotations
• Anchorage

lots of decisions were made regarding micro aspects such as:

• camera
• editing
• lighting
• sound
• mise en scene
• costume
• special effects (visual, lighting and sound)

- chose 1 page or scene from coursework and analyse the aspects above in great detail.