MAIN CONCEPTS - Charlie

REPRESENTATION -

Representation Prezi - Charlie

Summary of Genre - Jarrad

GENRE

What is genre?

Genre in media is usually referred to as a category or a "type" of certain media products e.g. film, TV shows, music, magazines and video-games. There are many different genres in films which are made up by a variety of codes and conventions. As we are the audience we can tell from the codes and conventions in a film, what genre it is which is important as we might want to watch a specific film. Some genres include: Comedy, Horror, Thriller, Romance, Western, Drama and many more. 

 Theorists

Steve Neal - Steve Neal believes that genres are repeated often but are always very similar. He believes that without differentiation within genres, there would be no audience as it wouldn't attract anyone.

David Buckingham - David Buckingham believes that genres are not specifically created the same due to culture, but they are always changing and coming up with new ideas to create a differentiation within genres.

Media Language - Kazumi

Media Language
This refers to the 'tools' used by any text to communicate meaning. Each media text is a collection of signs, codes and conventions that communicate meaning and generate response for the consumer.

Key terms:

Technical codes

• camera work
• mise en scene
• editing
• sound

Conventions

Narrative conventions


Theorists:

• Barthes (action/enigma codes)
• Todorov (classic narrative structures)
• Bordwell and Thompson (plot/story; continuity devices)
• Altman (syntactical and semantic codes in genres)

Narrative - Kazumi

Narrative
Definition: The order of story material, and may be chronological or non-chronological. 

Narrative structures

• Linear structure - (chronological) with closure
• Linear structure - without closure  ex. Harry Potter. Avengers
• Non-linear structure - (non chronological)   ex. Pulp Fiction
• Multi strand - no closure/several narratives  ex. Inception. Momento
• Circular - non linear narrative (the film begins with the end of the story, and takes us on a journey to the same point of view)

Key terms:

• 'Narration' is the telling of a story, through a combination of audio and visual techniques.(by camera or voice over)

• Restricted narration - raises question. limited view of events.

• Unrestricted narration - we see everything

• Diegesis - 'narrative world'. the fiction world experienced by characters.

Narrative theorists:

• Tzvetan Todorov - classic narrative and story structure
• Vladimir Propp - the morphology of the Folk Tale
• Chris Vogler - The Hero's Journey
• Roland Barthes - Enigma and Action codes
• Claude Levi-Strauss - Binary oppositions
• Bordwell and Thompson - Plot and story

Todorov's 5 stages:

1. Equilibrium - when everything's normal
2. Disruption - when equilibrium is disturbed
3. Confrontation - recognition of the disruption and attempts to deal with it
4. Resolutiion - disrution and problems resolved
5. New Equilibrium - a new 'normality' made different from old by events in stages 2 & 3

Propp's character theory:

Hero - who seeks something

Villain - who opposes or blocks the hero's quest

Donor - who provides an object that has some 'magic' property

Dispatcher - who sends the hero on his/her way by providing a 'message'

False Hero - who disrupts the hero's hope of reward by pretending to be the hero

Helper - who helps the hero

Princess - who is the reward for the hero's hope and the object of the villain's scheming

Her father - who rewards the hero for his efforts