Media Terminology

Anchorage - Fixing of meaning. E.g. the copy of text anchors (ie fixes to one spot) the meaning of an image in a print advertisement.

Cropping - The practice of cutting and trimming photographs for publication in newspapers and magazines, either to fit available space or to emphasise or alter key elements of the image. E.g. Mark cropped the background of an image to emphasise the focus on Brenda in the photograph.

Semiotics - The study of signs. E.g. Breaking down each part of an image and analysing what each part symbolises.

Juxtaposition - The state of being close together or side by side. E.g. The baptism part in The Godfather constantly cut from one scene to the other symbolising two opposite meanings to the film. This is an example of a Juxtaposition.

Mise - En - Scéne - The arrangement by a film maker of everything that is to be included in a shot or frame. E.g. Mise-en-scene includes the acronym "Clamps", which stands for Costume, lighting, acting, make-up, props and setting.

Homage - When one film director pays tribute to another by including images, scenes or sylistic features typical of the other director as an agknowledgement of his/her influence and importance. E.g. Quentin Tarantino often used John Hughes' framing in his movies as a homage his death.

Demographics - Information concerning the social status, class, gender and age of the population.
E.g. The Demographic of the move "Shrek" refers to any class, any gender, and any age of the population.

Psychographics - Attributes relating to personality, values, attitudes, interests or lifestyles. E.g. The Psychographic of the movie "Brokeback Mountain" probably refers to homosexual individuals.

Binary opposition - A term used by Clause Levi-Strauss as part of his argument that narratives are structures around oppositional elements in human culture. E.g. Good and evil, life and death, night and day, raw and cooked.

Iconography - The distinguishing elements, in terms of props and visual details, which characterise a genre. E.g. Guns seen at the beginning of a movie iconograph an action/violent movie.