AS level Media Studies Magazine

Important magazine terminology: • Masthead - the title (the bit at the top of your  magazine) • Strap line - strapped across the front page to sell/promote a feature • Covermount - a gift mounted to the cover • Sell lines/skylines - labels on the top/bottom of the magazine. • Main artist credit - the main artist's name (usually with picture) on the front cover • Main image - main image on the front page • Cover lines - labels on the front cover saying what will be in the magazine • Left third - the third that will be seen on the shelf edge • Barcode - contains information for retailing • Issue number - the issue of the magazine • Leading - the space between lines of text • Tracking - the space between letters of text • Modes of address - how the image makes contact with the reader (direct/indirect) • Representation - the construction of reality • Stereotyping/ Typecasting - representing popular rather than accurate images • Web address - the website ...

  What are codes? Codes are systems of signs, which create meaning. Codes can be divided into two categories – technical and symbolic. Technical codes are all the ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text, for example, the camera work in a film. Symbolic codes show what is beneath the surface of what we see. For example, a character's actions show you how the character is feeling. Some codes fit both categories – music, for example, is both technical and symbolic. What are conventions? Conventions are the generally accepted ways of doing something. There are general conventions in any medium, such as the use of interviewee quotes in a print article, but conventions are also genre-specific. How codes and conventions apply in media studies Codes and conventions are used together in any study of the genre – it is not enough to discuss a technical code used such as camera work, without saying how it is conventionally used in a genre.

Codes: are the rules or conventions by which signs are put together to give meaning; codes are socially constructed and are accepted by society as a whole. These include: Dress code Colour code Non-verbal code Technical code Conventions: are the unwritten laws, which are held acceptable at the expense of individuality or sincerity! They construct meaning and are usually genre specific. Semiotics: theory of signs that underlies all forms of communication or anything that is used for human communication is a sign. Examples could be; gestures, expressions, poetry, ritual, food, music, Morse code etc. Media saturation: This term is used to describe the way in which the media today saturate all aspects of our lives and the extent to which our experience of the world is dominated by media. Verisimilitude: Using microelements to create a believable world. Inter-textuality: This is the shaping of a text's meaning by another text.

  Language is basically made up of codes that are established through rules and regulations (rules govern the meaning and usage of the code). Media message is encoded and decoded by the audience! Encoding: is about formulating a message which creates meaning and conveys it; it is the source that performs the conversion of information into text. Decoding: It’s the reverse project that breaks the meaning and converts the text into information that is understandable; decoding  is a source through which we analyze  meaning.

There are some concepts you need to understand to become media literate and they are listed below: Audience: the people towards whom the media product is targeted. Genre: it could also be a mixture of two known as a hybrid genre. Ideology: the main motive or object behind. Institution: the production company for a movie when it's made. Narrative: the writing or script. Production: Who is funding it? Where does the finance come from? Representation: What does it represent? For example, what's its ethical background and what culture it represents?  Media is all about communication. Communication has 3 forms: Visual: basic entertainment - cinema Textual: print media - lithographic, handwritten posters, newspapers etc.  Audio: broadcast widely accessible, such as radio, television, internet. This leads to revolution and social networking and industry formation. 

Print Media (magazines) Main Task: The front page, contents page and double-page spread of a new magazine. All images and texts used should be original and produced by the candidate.

  Hi, my name is Fatima Nawaz. I am 17 years old and currently in AS. I'm really into  arts  and sketching, so I have a good insight into creativity and extracting meaning from abstract material. This is also the reason why I've chosen media studies. I think I'll get to explore a lot about my own capabilities in virtually presenting my ideas and challenge my own imaginations with it. I think a lot of my concepts are still abstract so I'm willing to learn more and develop some tangible skills by studying this subject. We do experience exposure to media as consumers, as in social media users, movie-goers, etc., in our daily lives, but getting an opportunity to experience creating such content from a producer's perspective is very exciting to me. My other A level subjects, Psychology and Sociology have conceptually a lot in common with this subject. I like blogging and writing online articles too as a hobby, so that kind of deepens my interest in this field. In a world...