Denotation and connotation

Understanding denotation and connotation is the starting point for all Media Studies analysis.

Remember the definitions:

Denotation: the literal meaning of something
E.g. A rose is a garden plant

Connotation: the suggestion behind this literal meaning (reading between the lines)
E.g .The rose suggests romance and love.

When writing media analysis, you need to consider the following questions:

Denotation: what do you see?

Connotation: what is suggested? What does it mean?

Analysis: what is the effect on the audience? How is this effect created?


Example: Skittles

Denotation: There is some text with colourful streams behind each letter set around a pack shot of the product itself. The background appears to be sky.

Connotation: The advert builds on the slogan for Skittles ‘Taste the rainbow’. The connotation of the colour suggests that Skittles are joyful, fun and will provide a positive experience for the audience. The colours are vibrant and the sky in the background creates connotations of flying – this suggests to the audience that this is an exciting product. 

Analysis: The advert helps the audience understand the product as the colours reflect the actual Skittles themselves. In addition, the text across the top of the advert (referring to a ‘punch in the mouth’) uses humour to connect with the audience and suggests the brand doesn’t take itself too seriously. This adds to the positive, happy brand values that are suggested by the construction of the advert.

Denotation & Connotation blog tasks: advert analysis

Create a new blogpost in your GCSE Media blog called 'Denotation and connotation'.

1) Write an analysis of the WaterAid advert above using denotation, connotation and analysis. What can you see? What are the deeper meanings in the advert? What does the advert communicate to the audience? How might an audience react after seeing the advert?

2) Now choose your own choice of advert from Google images. Save it to your documents, insert it into your blogpost and write an analysis using denotation and connotation, explaining what the advert is communicating to the audience.

Extension: Print advert research

Read this design blog on some of the best print adverts of all time. Choose one advert that you feel is particularly powerful in terms of its use of connotations and analyse why it is so successful

Finish this for homework if you don't complete it in the lesson - due date on Google Classroom.

Introduction to Photoshop: fruit bowls

The fruit bowl task is a wonderfully creative way to learn some key skills in Photoshop.

Once you have finished your fruit bowl, you need to post it to your blog. Create a blog post called 'Photoshop fruit bowl' and complete the following tasks:

1) Save your fruit bowl as a JPEG image in Photoshop - remember to save it in your own folder on the Media Shared drive. To save as a JPEG image, go to 'Save as' and then use the drop-down menu for 'File type' and choose JPEG.

2) Post your fruit bowl (or fruit bowls if you did more than one) to your blog by clicking the 'add image' icon and locating the correct JPEG image from your folder on Media Shared.

3) Write a short explanation of the colour palette you used and the effect you were trying to create when designing your fruit bowl.

GCSE Media Key Concepts: blog task

Everything we study in GCSE Media over the next two years will be based around the theoretical framework. This means four key concepts: Language, Industries, Audience and Representation.

If you missed any of the notes from the lesson this should help:

Language

• The Language of Media Studies
• How we ‘read’ media texts
• Recognising the codes and conventions of media texts
• Key media terms e.g. genre… denotation… connotation… narrative… 

Industries

• The companies, organisations or regulators behind the media
• Most aspects of the media are a commodity: something that is bought and sold. There is competition and a demand for profit.
• Huge institutions are called multinationals e.g. News International
• Smaller institutions can include media texts we create ourselves (blogs etc.)

Audience

• The people who consume media products
• How does the media influence its audience? Who holds the power?
• How is an audience targeted? What do the audience enjoy or learn from the media product?
• Audience research: who exactly is buying our product?

Representation

• The people who consume media products
• How does the media influence its audience? Who holds the power?
• How is an audience targeted? What do the audience enjoy or learn from the media product?
• Audience research: who exactly is buying our product?

Key Concepts homework blog task

Create a new blogpost called 'Key Concepts film poster analysis' and complete the following tasks:

1) Find a film poster of your choice (use Google images) and add it to your blog post. You'll need to save it to My Pictures or a similar folder and then import the image using the 'insert image' icon in Blogger.

2) Write an analysis of the film poster on your blog using the four key media concepts: language, industries, audience and representation.

Grade 8/9 Extension task: choose a different media text - for example, a magazine cover or advert - and do another key concept analysis using language, industries, audience and representation.

The key questions to ask:

Language: how do we know it is a film poster? What key conventions (typical features) of a film poster can you spot and what do they communicate to the audience?

Industries: who are the companies behind the film? Who directs or stars in the film? Who is making money from this media product? You may need to research this on the internet if it isn't clear on the poster.

Audience: who is the target audience for this film? How can we tell?

Representation: what representation of people or groups can we find in this poster? What does it tell the audience?

Example: Splice (2009)

Language

The title and tag-line, release date and billing block (information about the Director and the production company) all follow the expected codes and conventions of a film poster. The effect created here is…

Industries

The film was produced by Dark Castle (for Universal Entertainment) who are associated with horror… It was executively produced by Guillermo del Toro who is a well known director. It was commercially successful (being the highest grossing Canadian feature film in 2010)…

Audience

This looks like it would be targeted at an audience of mixed gender (although perhaps slightly more female?) An adult age range might apply due to the 15 certificate and the content which includes hybridity and genetic experimentation…

Representation

The focal picture shows a female in a dominant position with another female confronting her. There is a male in the background which is perhaps unusual, particularly in science fiction…

Example: The Meg (2018)

Language

The Meg film poster is immediately recognisable as a film poster because the actor names are placed across the poster along the bottom just above the film's title. The title 'The Meg' is the largest text on the poster which clearly communicates to the audience that this is the title. The title is in bright green which stands out against the murky blue background and the greenish blue colour scheme has connotations of the sea and the science fiction film genre. The central image is of one person above a shark which is in turn above a much bigger shark. The light in the top left of the image could suggest safety or life - emphasising the danger and death of the sharks below. This image suggests the film has elements of horror. 

Industries

The Meg is a Warner Brothers film starring Jason Statham and it made $530m at the worldwide box office against a production budget of $130m. The director was Jon Turteltaub.

Audience

The target audience for The Meg would likely be teenagers - perhaps from 13-37 years old. The film was rated 12A by the BBFC. The target gender for The Meg would be both males and females but perhaps slightly more males as it involves giant sharks. In terms of audience pleasures, someone might enjoy The Meg because the shark attacks will be dramatic and full of action and danger. The film will provide escapism and jump scares to make them forget about normal life. The audience will also want the main character to survive and will be scared when they are in danger.

Representation

There is only one person on the film poster which makes it difficult to analyse the representation. However, the main star is Jason Statham and the character on the poster appears to be male so this perhaps reinforces the stereotype that action heroes are male. The sharks are represented in a very stereotypical way as they are presented as dangerous, hungry beasts. This is emphasised by the size differences of the sharks and person.

Welcome to GCSE Media!

Welcome to GCSE Media Studies - we have a brilliant two-year journey ahead of us and can't wait to get started! 

Over the next two years you will create some amazing production work, learn a huge amount about analysing the media and end up with an excellent GCSE grade. All you need to do is work hard and be creative! 

Your first job is to start your GCSE Media blog and sign up to Google Classroom. 

You can find step-by-step text instructions to starting your blog here. 

Once you have your blog URL, email it to your teacher. The URL is the address on the browser that ends with .blogspot.co.uk or similar. For example:

Mr Pall's blog: http://mediamacguffingcse.blogspot.co.uk/ 

IMPORTANT: It is absolutely essential you remember your log-in details for this blog - it is your Media work book for next two years. Make sure you do the following:

1. If possible, add your mobile phone number so you can get a code by text if you forget your password
2. Email your log-in details to yourself using your SCHOOL email address
3. Write a reminder of your blog URL, log-in and password in your planner

First blog task

When you have set up your blog, it's time for your first blog post! Click on 'New Post' and put the title as 'First 10 questions'. You need to answer the following questions (detailed answers in full sentences please) as your first post:

1) Which part of the course are you looking forward to most?

2) What knowledge and skills do you hope to learn in Media?

3) What grade are you realistically hoping to achieve in Media (5-9)?

4) What was the last TV programme or film you watched?

5) Why do you think that TV programme or film appealed to an audience? Why would an audience like it?

6) What technology have you used to access the media in the last 24 hours? (Radio, TV, phone etc.)

7) What device do you use most to access the media?

8) Watch this clip from acclaimed BBC drama series Doctor Who:

9) Why was the casting of Jodie Whittaker a significant moment in the history of Doctor Who?

10) What aspects of this scene do you think an audience might enjoy? List at least three things and explain why the audience would enjoy each aspect. 

Extension question: What can you spot in Doctor Who that you will find in most television dramas? (E.g. characters, dramatic music etc.) These are called key conventions - list as many as you can think of. 

Extension question 2: What would a Doctor Who fan ('Whovian') particularly enjoy about this scene?

Note: If the YouTube clip isn't working please let your Media teacher know. While you're waiting for the issue to be resolved, read up on this episode of Doctor Who on the brilliant IMDB website.

Finish these questions for homework if you don't manage to get through them in the lesson - due first lesson next week.

If you DO finish everything - well done! Spend some time looking through our Media blog, particularly at last year's Media student blogs. This will give you an idea of the fantastic work you will be producing over the next two years.