Unit 11 Writing for the Media

Week 1

Were going to:

introduce the unit; identify genre and how it is constructed/written; talk about codes and conventions; apply codes and conventions to genre; and present the results.

Unit 11 Writing for the Media

For some sectors of the media industry such as the press, writing is an end in itself. In many other sectors writing underlies a different final product. Each of these activities requires the application of different specialist writing skills, but all of them require writers to be at ease with the written language, able to express themselves clearly, and highly capable in the basic skills of spelling, punctuation and grammar.

This unit first introduces learners to the different applications of writing for the media, and then to the techniques and conventions of writing for a specific sector of the industry. Beginning with research into the methods used by professional writers, the unit then requires you to generate ideas and to turn these into fully realised written material which is correctly presented for the chosen medium and form.

Or
1 Know about different types of writing produced in the media industry. 2 Be able to generate ideas for written material. 3 Be able to produce written material. 4 Be able to review own writing work.

Lets start at the beginning

How does a writer construct a story/script/article?

Genre is a French word meaning type. Give me some examples. There are ways of identifying genre by studying its content.

Codes and Conventions

Codes: things we see and hear that give additional meaning. Conventions: things we expect to see and hear in any genre.

Codes are confusing but you use them everyday.

And
omg, lol, lmao, !!!!!!, ??????, !?! etc, etc.

Types of Codes
Technical Codes:
Camera techniques (framing, shots, angles and movement) and lighting.

Symbolic Codes:
Objects, body language including facial expressions, clothing and colour.

Written Codes:
Headlines, captions, speech bubbles, language style.

In a few minutes Ill be asking you to analyse a genre. Before that well go over an example together.

The fantasy genre

A convention would be a dragon. It would be shown from a low angle and fill the screen (technical code) giving the impression of strength and power . Its arrival may be during a storm or at night (symbolic code) suggesting danger. Its victim would be seen from a high angle (technical code) giving the impression of weakness. He/she will be afraid and their body language and facial expressions (symbolic code) will reflect this.

In that example the genre is identified through the convention, the dragon. Can you think of any codes that are commonly associated with the fantasy genre?
The scale. Fantasy is often portrayed as epic. How can that be represented in film? Landscapes. Panoramic/sweeping shots. Crowds: armies, monsters, animals, mobs (fight and flight), Good versus evil. What is used to represent the two sides? Colour. Weather. Music. Equipment/weaponry/clothing. Lighting. Animals.

Themes
Best summed up as an idea or an emotion. For example: Ideas: Vengeance. Frontier. Exploration. Masculinity. Femininity. Innocence. Corruption. Good. Evil. Emotions: Love. Hate. Friendship. Happiness. Sadness. Fear. Bravery.

Conventions of Disney

Codes of Disney Themes of Disney

Your turn now

In groups you are to analyse a genre for codes, conventions and themes and present your analysis to the rest of the group.

Assign roles: you need a scribe and a spokesperson(s).

Then approach the following four tasks either individually or as a group. You have twenty minutes.

1. List as many conventions of your genre as you can think of. 2. What themes are often present in your genre? 3. How are those themes represented? Think of a story - book, film or TV - and use examples from this to illustrate your analysis. 4. Does your genre have anything in common with other genres? Can you think of an example from your genre that could also be interpreted as another genre?

So what are codes and convention? Can you think of another way to describe them?

Formula. Recipe.