This week is part of your initial assessment. Lesson one assessed your abstract creativity. Lesson two was about how you can apply structure to abstract concepts. This lesson is an assessment of how you use written language to communicate.
What is textual analysis?
Much of Media Studies, and indeed your grade will come from the analysis of media products. We sometimes refer to this as textual analysis. A text is anything that can be read (as in 'derive meaning from'), for example a book, TV show, music video or film.
In short,
Textual analysis...
...is how the producer (person or group who made the product)
... uses media language (shot types, camera angles, colour, editing, etc)...
...to create meaning...
...for the audience
This is media studies in a nutshell. Everything else is just gravy. And you need to get used to offering suggestions for what something means
Task one: Analyse your narrative using the following headings, using full sentences - TWO PARAGRAPHS
COLOUR
SHOT TYPE (close-up, mid shot, long shot)
FOCUS (in focus, out of focus)
FRAMING (what is included in the shot, and what is not...)
MISE-EN-SCENE (this refers to everything that is 'put in the scene', for example props, costumes, setting and so one)
Example sentences
"The bold use of red here creates a sense of power and violence, which suggests to the audience that something terrible is about to happen
My use of close up here puts the audience in an uncomfortable position. I hope that the audience may feel threatened or intimidated by this shot, though some audience members may choose to feel sympathy instead
The clear, in focus nature of this shot forces the audience to concentrate on the hand as it grips the door handle, thus heightening the anticipation of the tragedy to come
The mise-en-scene of the watch, shot in close-up here emphasises the importance of time, and communicates to the audience that time is indeed running out for Claire"
Task two: analyse a music video - ONE PARAGRAPH
Pick a music video. Any music video! Write a hot paragraph, using the headings about to explain how this music video creates meaning for its audience. It is likely to be very different from the meaning of your photo narrative!