Basic Media & Film Terms

viewers, listeners, consumers and readers of a media text.

a sign or convention through which the media communicates meaning to us because we have learned to read it.

the secondary meaning that a sign carries in addition to it's everyday meaning.

purchaser, listener, viewer or reader of media products.

time, place or mindset in which we consume media products.

the everyday or common sense meaning of a sign.

the type or category of a media text.

a visual representation of something.

the means by which the media communicates to us and the forms and conventions by which it does so.

a text that has been designed to be consumed by an audience. E.G a film, radio show, newspaper etc.

see above. N.B Text usually means a piece of writing

putting together of visual images to form a sequence.

computer technology that allows text, sound, graphic and video images to be combined into one programme.

a way of describing the conventions or elements that an audience has come to expect to be included in a story.

factors that influence whether a story will be picked for coverage.