AS mid-term assessment

Semiotic analysis

Use of media language

 Objectives
• Lesson 1: pre-test warm up analysing
poster as a group using semiotics,
media language and MIGRAIN
• Lesson 2: study period to be used to
re-read notes, look through handbook,
prepare for test.
• Lesson 3: Test
• Lesson 4: Peer marking and test
analysis
 Starter

• Work in pairs

• Annotate poster
using semiotics
and MIGRAIN

• 10mins
• Images

• Colour

• Text
• Title, quotations, prizes, log lines, font,

• Graphics

How is narrative conveyed?

What representations?

Institution.
• What you could comment on:

• Two people: man and woman, implied love story, facing

different direction implies lost love perhaps a search
narrative

• Man’s expression serious, woman running - to or from?

Man looking into shadow, identify hidden, woman running
towards light - hope?

• Words assist in understanding of narrative and suggest

choices for the central character as well as encouraging
audience involvement.

• Denotation: Bright blurred, coloured lights suggests urban

setting, traffic and nighttime.

• Graphics and text above main title make explicit

connection to format of graphics on TV show.
Intertextuality for TV audience.

• Font of main title: broken down, all lower case and

coloured from red through to yellow - tattered look
contrasts with the word millionaire, colour could
symbolise journey from bloody beginning to golden
wealth.

• Coined word slumdog - compound of dog and slum

connotes extreme poverty.

• No stars. Directors name above title, small but significant

for followers of film maker.

• Other institutional issues: website of production company

gives access to further information about film for
audience, prize at head of poster validate film, as does
review from prestigious magazine.

• Further areas to explore: who is target audience for film

and poster.
 Period 2
1. Use this time to prepare for test by:
– Read through semiotic notes

– Read through handbook

20mins

1. MEST 2 preparation -
1. Aim: to complete synopsis for complete story and pick out
scenes / shots to be staged for trailer

2. Continue development of project in groups

• Establish who is doing what within the group
30mins
• Analyse the
poster in detail.

• 5mins to
annotate

• 20mins to
analyse
2. What techniques
does this poster use
to attract an
audience?
3. This film deals with
race and teenage
pregancy through
the story of a 16
year old black girl.
4. How are these
issues revealed in
the poster?

20mins
 Peer Assessment

• Using mark schemes read at least two

students answers and peer assess.

• Write www and ebi at the bottom

after assessment to justify your
grading.
 Homestudy
• MEST 2

• You should be working on synopsis and scene breakdown

for your trailer in conjunction with trailer analysis relevant
to your film production.

• You should also begin deciding on roles in the production.

• On Friday we will be settling our production teams and

looking at your preparations so far.

• Ensure that you keep a detailed log of what you do. Using
the blog facility on your weebly site might be a good way
of doing this. It will help enormously with your research,
prep and evaluation.