Key Media Concepts

"What we learn with pleasure, we never forget."

Today's class was an exciting mix of future prospects and facts. We learned about key media concepts through a very interesting mnemonic 'MIGRAIN', which will perhaps later act as a Freudian slip! 

What are key media concepts you may ask. They're the basic components used by media creators to communicate to their audience and perfectly project their thoughts within their art or more technically known as their media product. 

M  edia forms and language

I    nstitutions

G  enre

R  epresentation

A  udience

I   deaology

N  arrative

Media forms and language, to put it simply, are the way of doing things when it comes to the makings of an media product, print or otherwise. Media forms are the various different platforms on which media is produced, for example, film or radio. 

Media languages encapsulate media codes and conventions.

There are two types of media codes; technical and symbolic. These codes aid the making of certain scenes or genres (more on that later). While technical codes may look something like the camera angle, perfect lighting or the subtle soft tunes playing in the background, often missed by the naked eye, symbolic codes are the objects which build a scene like cold sweats in a psychological thriller or a Prada bag in an angsty teen movie.

Conventions are the established rules of media. We'l often see stereotypes heavily employed so the masses can comprehend what they're being communicated or certain techniques used to showcase a certain genre. You will always see sudden camera movements when a jump scare is lined up.

An institution is a company which produces said media products, markets and sells them to the general public. some of my favourite institutions are Mappa Studios, Marvel Studios and Warner Bros.

In a time and age where there is a vast presence of an array of media types, categorising is important. We do this by diving media into different genres such as young adult, romance or thrillers to help the audience access it easily.

Once we're done setting up the tone of the narrative we have to choose the characterisation of that media product. Representation is not only plausible through the characters, ethnicity,culture, religious beliefs,gender or sexual orientation but also by things like the setting. For example black representation can occur not just through a black person playing a part in the media product but if That media product is based in Harlem.

All this sweat and blood to create a media product at the end of the day is for the audience. This is anyone and everyone who views and/or critiques your media product.

As to appeal to the audience every media product should have an ideology behind it. An idea the creator is trying to project to the world, the main purpose of the media product's existence.

All this is folded into the narrative. That is the story the media product tells when its completed. The final story. No matter if its print media, film or a simple photograph, it should be a tale of not only what went into the making of the media product but also its own individual unique story. "A picture is a thousand words" Successful narratives are the ones the masses are likely to relate and sympathise with.

Thrilled to see what we learn next class and one day soon produce my own media product.