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?

In order to help you structure your media analysis on your blogs. 

Think about:

What is shown in the advert? Setting/image/posture/costume?

What is the message of your advert? What is the mood?

How do the colour(s) of your advert reinforce the message and suggest the mood?

P - Point - Clear opening sentence where you establish your idea

E - Evidence - Referring a specific detail from one of our CSPs/Texts

T - Terminology/Technique/Theory - Apply media studies language to your chosen reference

A - Analysis - Analyse the effect of your chosen reference, linking it back to the question.

Example: Skittles

The Skittles print advert communicates meaning to an audience through the use of a symbolic media code. The symbol of the fist is being used to draw audience attention to the anchorage text (key information). The use of the word ‘fist’ is repeated in the text which could connote that this flavour is extremely sour and not everyone can handle this extraordinary taste. The producer’s message could be to communicate that this product is quite unique and their advertisement techniques are quite playful and add humour.

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 point, evidence, terminology, 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 (point, evidence, terminology, analysis), 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 Show My Homework.

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.

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?

Challenge: choose a different media text - for example, a magazine cover or advert - and do another key concept analysis using language, industries, audience and representation.

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.

Due date: on Show My Homework

Welcome to GCSE Media!

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/ 

You will need to click the 'View blog' button in the bottom left in order to see your blog on the internet and copy the URL.

IMPORTANT: It is absolutely essential you remember your log-in details for this blog - it is your Media work book for next two years. The easiest way to do this is to use your school Google account to create your blog on blogger.com. 

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 Media are you looking forward to the most?

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

3) What grade are you realistically hoping to achieve in Media?

4) What device do you use most to access the media? (The media = news, TV, music, film, social media etc.) 

5) What is your average 'screen time' (or equivalent) on your phone each day. Is this about right, too little or too much? Why? 

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

7) What device or subscription do you use to listen to music?

8) Do you play videogames? If so, what do you play games on and what is your favourite game?

9) Are you on social media? If so, what social media do you have and why do you like it? 

10) Finally, do you think the media is a positive or negative thing for young people? Why?

Extension tasks

Watch this clip from acclaimed BBC drama series Doctor Who - recently revamped in conjunction with Disney:

Why was the casting of Ncuti Gatwa a significant moment in the history of Doctor Who?

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. 

How is this scene constructed to tell the audience the history of Doctor Who? Think about the script, camerawork and acting.

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. 

What would a Doctor Who fan ('Whovian') like or dislike about this scene?

Note: If the YouTube clip isn't working please let your Media teacher know.

Finish these questions for homework if you don't manage to get through them in the lesson - due date on Show My Homework.

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.