Representation: A Simple(ish) Explanation

Representation refers to the construction in any medium (especially the mass media) of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Such representations may be in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures


The term refers to the processes involved as well as to its products. For instance, in relation to the key markers of identity - Class, Age, Gender and Ethnicity (the 'cage' of identity) - representation involves not only how identities are represented (or rather constructed) within the text but also how they are constructed in the processes of production and reception by people whose identities are also differentially marked in relation to such demographic factors.


Consider, for instance, the issue of 'the gaze'. How do men look at images of women, women at men, men at men and women at women?


Representation In The Media

By definition, all media texts are re-presentations of reality. This means that they are intentionally composed, lit, written, framed, cropped, captioned, branded, targeted and censored by their producers, and that they are entirely artificial versions of the reality we perceive around us.



When studying the media it is vital to remember this - every media form, from a home video to a glossy magazine, is a representation of someone's concept of existence, codified into a series of signs and symbols which can be read by an audience. However, it is important to note that without the media, our perception of reality would be very limited, and that we, as an audience, need these artificial texts to mediate our view of the world, in other words we need the media to make sense of reality. Therefore representation is a fluid, two-way process: producers position a text somewhere in relation to reality and audiences assess a text on its relationship to reality.

Representation

The area we will be covering is Textual Analysis and Representation.

You need to familiarise yourselves with the 7 areas of representation and the 4 areas of analysis. These are the areas we will be covering in class over the next 14 weeks.

As a starting point I want you to think about how you construct your own representation.

Use UK Tribes (password is on the wall in H2 but you may not need to sign in and can use it as a site for research instead) to find the group or groups (there can be crossover) that you think you belong to. Why do you belong to this group(s).

What media figures (actors, musicians, sportspeople, celebrities) do you consider similar to you. In what way are they similar to you/ are you similar to them?

Do you consciously 'model' (copy modes of dress, style yourself, act like) yourself on any of these media figures? Why is that?

Construct a representation of yourself using the above information. Add images of the type of clothes, accessories and gadgets you prefer. Add images and descriptions from UK Tribes to further illustrate your self representation. Post directly to your blog, or if using word embed in Scribd before uploading.

The 4 Key Areas of Textual Analysis

Camera Shots, Angle, Movement, Composition

Shots: establishing shot, master shot, close-up, mid-shot, long shot, wide shot, two-shot, aerial shot, point of view shot, over the shoulder shot, and variations of these.
Angle: high angle, low angle, canted angle.
Movement: pan, tilt, track, dolly, crane, steadicam, hand-held, zoom, reverse zoom.
Composition: framing, rule of thirds, depth of field – deep and shallow focus, focus pulls.

Editing

Includes transition of image and sound – continuity and non-continuity systems.
Cutting: shot/reverse shot, eyeline match, graphic match, action match, jump cut, crosscutting, parallel editing, cutaway; insert.
Other transitions, dissolve, fade-in, fade-out, wipe, superimposition, long take, short take, slow motion, ellipsis and expansion of time, post-production, visual effects.

Sound

Soundtrack: score, incidental music, themes and stings, ambient sound.
Diegetic and non-diegetic sound; synchronous/asynchronous sound; sound effects; sound motif, sound bridge, dialogue, voiceover, mode of address/direct address, sound mixing, sound perspective.

Mise-en-Scène

Production design: location, studio, set design, costume and make-up, properties.
Lighting; colour design.

Textual Analysis and Representation (The 7 key areas of Representation).

You need to understand how the technical elements (in the last post) create specific representations of individuals, groups, events or places and help to articulate specific messages and values that have social significance.

Particular areas of representation that may be chosen are:
Gender
Age
Ethnicity
Sexuality
Class and status
Physical ability/disability
Regional identity

Representation

The area we will be covering is Textual Analysis and Representation.

You need to familiarise yourselves with the 7 areas of representation and the 4 areas of analysis. These are the areas we will be covering in class over the next 14 weeks.

As a starting point I want you to think about how you construct your own representation.

Use UK Tribes (password is on the wall in H2 but you may not need to sign in and can use it as a site for research instead) to find the group or groups (there can be crossover) that you think you belong to. Why do you belong to this group(s).

What media figures (actors, musicians, sportspeople, celebrities) do you consider similar to you. In what way are they similar to you/ are you similar to them?

Do you consciously 'model' (copy modes of dress, style yourself, act like) yourself on any of these media figures? Why is that?

Construct a representation of yourself using the above information. Add images of the type of clothes, accessories and gadgets you prefer. Add images and descriptions from UK Tribes to further illustrate your self representation. Post directly to your blog, or if using word embed in Scribd before uploading.

How to read a film still - Taken from MediaMonkey

Keep this in mind whenever analysing a moving image clip's mise en scene. These are all the elements you need to consider.

Mise en scene from The Henley College

 

TASK

Select a film still and annotate/analyse it using each of the categories on the work sheet provided.

Let us do the first together

How to Read Film Still

Introduction To Year 12

You need to complete the following tasks:

1.Set up a blog using Blogger.

The address needs to be yournamelcmedia1617.blogspot.com

IN THE HIGHLY UNLIKELY EVENT THAT THE COLLEGE NETWORK DOESN'T ALLOW BLOGGER TO WORK, SKIP TO NUMBERS 5 AND 6 AND PUT YOUR WORK ONTO A WORD DOCUMENT

e.g. johngreenlcmedia1617.blogspot.com

2. Add the following gadgets to your blog (as a minimum):

• labels
• blog list
• link to teacher blogs (also follow both teacher blogs )

3. Set up accounts in the following:

Scribd - used to embed text documents.
Slideshare - used to embed powerpoint. This may be blocked in college,you can create the account at home.
Flickr - used to embed image galleries and slideshows.
Dropbox - useful for saving files
Soundcloud - you'll use this for some of your presentations
Mixcloud - this will enable you to post themed mixes that will link to your music magazine coursework

4. The area we will be covering is TV Drama.

Please add this link to your favourites 

http://mrsmithasmedia.blogspot.co.uk/

http://fordasmedia.blogspot.co.uk/

5. As a starting point I want you to think about some of the TV Dramas that you've seen recently (this links to the summer hmwk) and produce a blog post which answers the following prompts in detail (this means around 250-500 words).

• What made you want to watch these shows (cast, channel, storylines, reputation of show, recommendation from friends, press hype)? Explain your decision fully
• Did you find the drama believable? 
• Is believability or realism important?
• Did you find the characters relatable?
• What factors impacted or your enjoyment or lack of enjoyment?

6. Complete the 5x5 task (see separate post).