1. MS1 Revision – Key Concepts, Theories &Terminology
Technical Codes:
1. Camera
Framing
Extreme Close Up
Close Up
Medium close up
Medium shot
Medium long shot
Long shot
Extreme long shot
Two shot
Over the shoulder shot
Point of view
Hand held
Steadi-cam
2. Editing
Transitions – moving from shot to shot
Cut
Fade
Wipe
Dissolve
Iris
Split screen
Discontinuity Editing Techniques
Jump cutting
Montage editing – relational cutting
Crossing the line
Contrapuntal sound
3. Sound Codes:
Direct sound
Studio sound
Wildtrack (asynchronous sound)
Diegetic sound
Non-diegetic sound
On screen
Off screen
4. Lighting/Cinematography
High key
Low key
Chiaroscuro
B&W (monochrome)
5. Mise en scene and special effects
Location
Set design
Pyrotechnics
Genre:
Codes (see above list)
Film style
Expectations/foreknowledge
High angle/Low angle
Low level/High level
Bird’s eye view
Voice of God
Pan
Whip pan
Track/dolly
Crab
Arc
Tilt
Crane
Depth of field – shallow/deep focus
Speed (over/under cranked i.e. slo-mo or
speeded up.
Continuity Editing Techniques
Shot Reverse Shot/reverse cutting
Match cutting: match on action
Eye-line match
Insert shot
Cut away
Parallel cutting
Synchronous sound
180 degree rule
Parallel sound
Contrapuntal sound
Sound Bridge
Sound effects
Theme music
Incidental music
Leitmotif
Natural/artificial/ambient
Spot light
Colour
Soft/hard
Colour (de/saturated)
Costume, make up and hair
Iconography/props
CGI
Conventions (narrative, characterisation)
Iconography/tropes

2. Narrative:
Plot (cliché?)
Characters (Archetypes?)
‘Pipe-laying’
Closure/aperture
Setting (temporal/geographical)
Representation:
Construction
Signifier
Denotation
Connotation
Anchorage
Realism
Positive/negative representation
Audience:
Target
Primary
Secondary
Mass
Niche
Active/passive theories
Constructing the audience
Positioning the audience -
Preferred, negotiated and oppositional
readings (Stuart Hall)
Cultural competence
Situated culture
Cultural experience
Gender
Age
Ethnicity
Culture
Narrative devices/tropes
Hero’s Journey/classical narrative
Alternative/counter narrative
Exposition (‘sexposition’)
Enigma-resolution
Social groups/social class
Dominant Ideology
Hegemony
Explicit and implicit values
Myth (stereotypes/archetypes)
Stereotype
Identity
Madonna/whore dichotomy
Male gaze/scopophilia
Beauty Myth/Cult of femininity
Socio-economic categories (ABC₁C₂DE)
Psychographics (VALS)
Lifestyle categories
Geodemographics
Audience response
Hypodermic needle model
Two-step flow
Uses and Gratifications (Blumler/Katz)
Active
Passive
Interactive
‘Pick and mix’ audience (David Gauntlett)
False consciousness
False needs
Revision Tips
 These lists are merely an ‘organising principle’ for concepts and ideas you may have been
introduced to across the academic year. Use iLearn& my screencasts to explore and revise gaps in
your knowledge.
 You should understand that the above ideas, theories and concepts should not be used and
understood in isolation but integrated into an active analysis of any media text and wedded to your
own examples.
 You should practice using these terms and integrate them into your revision programme.
This list is far from complete! Please add to it from your class notes and own research! Use your media text
book, iLearn and the internet to check anything you do not understand.