OCR GCSE Media Studies media language and representation overview quiz quiz

They are exactly the same thing, and the two words can be freely used interchangeably in any single answer

A code is always about the audience response; a convention is always about the media industries

A code is a sign system that carries meaning; a convention is an expected feature of a form or genre

A code is only ever used in print media; a convention is only ever used in film and television

A masthead on a magazine cover

A genre of music video

A brand logo

A low-angle camera shot

The associated, suggested meaning of a sign, beyond its plain surface sense

The literal, surface meaning of a sign (what it actually is)

The genre or form that a particular media product belongs to

The target audience that a media product is mainly aimed at

What a sign literally shows on the surface, with no suggested meaning at all

A type of camera shot used to frame a subject in a film or photograph

The associated meaning a sign suggests, beyond its literal sense

The price a media product is sold for to its target audience

The state of calm and order at the very start of a story, before anything happens

The end credits and titles that roll once the story has finished completely

A type of character role, such as the hero, the villain or the helper figure

A problem or conflict that breaks the equilibrium and starts the story

They disappear completely and are replaced by an entirely brand-new genre

Two genres combine to form a hybrid, such as a crime drama with comedy

They never change at all and stay exactly the same across every decade

They are banned by the regulator and can no longer be made or broadcast

The media reflect reality exactly, like a clear mirror held up to the real world

Representation has nothing at all to do with values, viewpoints or the personal ideas of the producer

The media re-present reality through selection, construction and mediation, not simply reflect it

Representation only applies to news, and never to drama, advertising or entertainment

A type of audience grouped by age, gender or social class for a media product

A camera technique used to frame, light and carefully compose a subject during filming or studio photography

A genre of television, such as the soap opera, the quiz show or the documentary

The whole process by which the media select, shape and present material, so what we see is constructed

Only by fully accepting it, since the producer's preferred meaning cannot be questioned

By accepting, negotiating or rejecting the preferred representation

Only by rejecting it outright, because audiences always read against the producer's intent

They cannot respond at all, as the audience plays no active part in making meaning

A unique, complex and fully rounded individual character with no shared traits

A type of camera angle used to make a character look powerful or vulnerable

A simplified, widely held and often exaggerated representation of a social group, repeated across the media

A strict rule set by the official regulator that every single media product in a form must follow by law without exception

To repeat the stereotype exactly as audiences already expect to see it

To ignore representation completely and focus only on technical codes

To define what a code is, as opposed to what a convention is, for an audience

To deliberately overturn it for effect, surprise or critique

To confuse the audience deliberately so that the product's meaning is hard to work out

So their connotations reinforce one another and build a consistent preferred reading

To avoid any analysis, by hiding the meaning of the product from the examiner

Because the regulator requires every product to layer at least three different codes