Reality TV and Ludology Quiz

Semiotics

• Signifier: The physical form of a sign, like the word "tree" or the letters that make up the word.
• Signified: The concept or idea represented by the signifier. For example, the signified of "tree" is the concept of a tree.
• Sign: A basic unit of communication, combining the signifier and signified.
• Icon: A sign resembling the object it represents. For example, a photograph of a tree.
• Symbol: A sign arbitrarily connected to its signified. "Tree" is a symbol because there's no natural connection between the word and the concept.
• Index: A sign with a direct, existential link to its object, such as smoke being an index of fire.
• Connotation: Cultural associations of a sign, the word "tree" might connote nature, growth, or strength.
• Denotation: Literal, dictionary definition of a sign.
• Myth: Widely held beliefs reinforcing dominant ideology.

Narration

• Story/Narrative: A sequence of events recounted or told.
• Plot: The arrangement of events in a story.
• Narration: The process of telling a story, focusing on "how" an event is presented rather than "what" happens.
• Disparity of Knowledge: Different characters or the audience having varying levels of knowledge about the story.
• Hierarchies of Knowledge: How knowledge is distributed among characters and audience.

Zero Focalization

• Omniscient: Narrator knows more than any character.

Internal Focalization

• Narrator's knowledge limited to a specific character.

External Focalization

• Narrator's knowledge less than the characters.

Flashbacks/Flashforwards

• Flashbacks: Interrupts chronological flow to depict past events.
• Flashforwards: Shows events that will happen in the future.
• Diegetic Events: Happen within the story world.
• Non-Diegetic Events: Happen outside the story world (e.g., soundtrack).

Omniscient Perspective

• Narrator has unlimited knowledge about the story and characters.

Limited/Restricted Perspective

• Narrator's knowledge limited to one or a few characters.

First-Person Perspective

• Story told from a single character's perspective using "I" or "we."

Cross-Media Narration

• Adaptation: Transforming a story from one medium to another (e.g., novel to film).
• Fidelity Discourse: Discussions and debates about the closeness of an adaptation to the original source.

Narrators

• Implied Author: Hypothetical construct representing the creative force behind a work, distinct from the actual author.
• Visual Narrator: Controls image sequence and transitions, including title cards.
• Auditive Narrator: Manages audio, including voice-overs, dialogue, music.
• Filmic Narrator: Regulates the interaction between visual and auditive narrators, acknowledging potential conflicts.
• Internal Narrator: Can be diegetic (within the story world) or non-diegetic (outside the story world).
• Frame Narration: A story within a story.

Seriality

• Seriality: Narrative structure unfolding across multiple installments.
• Multiple Protagonists: Often present, with a problem and partial climax in each installment.
• "In medias res": Beginning in the middle of action.
• Narrative Enigma: Narrative mystery that develops over time.
• Vast Seriality: Many characters/plotlines with less focus on individual development.
• Dense Seriality: Fewer characters/plotlines with more emphasis on character development.

Mis-en-scène

• Mis-en-scène: Arrangement of everything in a shot's frame (set design, props, costumes, actors' positions).
• Costume: Clothing, accessories.
• Authentic vs. Stylized Setting: Realistic or visually distinct.
• Color: Used to create mood, symbolism, visual interest.
• Props: Objects used by characters.
• Décor: Setting's furnishings and decorations.
• Framing: Composition of elements within the shot.
• High-Key vs. Low-Key Lighting: Bright and even vs. high contrast and shadows.
• Three-Point Lighting: Standard technique using key, fill, and backlight.
• Brechtian Staging: Emphasizes the artificiality of performance and critical audience engagement.
• Transnational Cinema: Films reflecting global interconnectedness of cultures.

Cinematography & Sound

• Contrast vs. Exposure: Difference between lightest and darkest areas and the light that reaches the sensor.
• Perspective: How objects appear in relation to other objects and the viewer.
• Focal Length: Distance between lens and focus, affecting magnification and field of view.
• Depth of Field: Range of distances within a scene that appear in focus.
• Framing & Aspect Ratio: Composition and proportions of the image.

Editing

• Editing: Selecting, arranging, and assembling shots for a cohesive film.
• Continuity Editing: Creating a seamless and logical flow of events.
• Establishing Shot: Wide shot that establishes the setting and context of a scene.
• Shot-Reverse-Shot: Back-and-forth cuts between characters, often for dialogue.
• Re-Establishing Shot: Return to an establishing shot to refresh setting or context.
• Match Cut: Cuts to visually similar or thematic shots.
• 180-Degree Rule: Maintaining consistent screen direction by staying on one side of an imaginary line.
• 30-Degree Rule: Camera movement of 30 degrees between shots to avoid choppy cuts.
• Elliptical Editing: Condenses time by omitting unnecessary or repetitive actions.
• Anchored Flashbacks: Flashbacks clearly linked to a present-day event or character.
• Discontinuity Editing: Intends to disrupt the flow of events.
• Kuleshov Effect: Mental phenomenon where viewers derive meaning from the interaction of sequential shots.
• Cross-Cutting/Parallel Editing: Jumps between contrasting yet simultaneous actions.

Documentary

• Documentary: Film or video using real-life footage.
• Expository Mode: Presents a clear argument or perspective, often with voice-over narration or interviews.
• Performative Mode: Emphasizes filmmaker's personal involvement or subjective experience.

Reality Television

• Reality Television: Genre featuring real people in unscripted situations.
• Extra-Televisual Discourses: Conversations, debates, and coverage around a show.
• Examples: Big Brother, early reality shows, competition shows, celebrity-focused shows.
• Cinema Vérité/Direct Cinema: Documentary styles emphasizing observation and minimal intervention.
• Hidden Camera/Live-In Camera: Techniques.

Games

• Play: Intrinsically motivated and enjoyable activity.
• Homo Ludens: Importance of play in human culture.
• Interactivity: User influence on game outcomes.
• Interpretative Gaps: Spaces for player interpretation.
• User-Generated Content (UGC): Content created by users.
• Narratology: Study of narrative structure and techniques.
• Ludology: Study of games and gameplay.
• Rules: Guidelines for actions and interactions within a game.
• Gameplay: Interaction between player and game system.
• Perspective (in Games): Visual perspective of the player.
• Dimensions (in Games): Spatial dimensions of game world.
• Gamespace: Virtual environment where the game takes place.
• Gamification: Applying game-like elements to non-game contexts.
• Off-Screen Space: Game world elements outside of the player's view.
• Vocalization: Use of sound and voice in games.

Postmodernism on Screen

• Formal Realism: Emphasis on objective reality representation, often through long takes and deep focus.
• Social Realism: Focuses on social and political issues of everyday life.
• Formal Elements of Modernism: Artistic techniques using experimentation, abstraction, and subjectivity.
• Social Elements of Modernism: Social and cultural changes associated with modernization (industrialization, urbanization, rise of mass media).

Social Media

• Creator Culture: Individuals create and share content online.
• Platformization: Social media platforms becoming dominant forces.
• Four Principles of Social Media Logics: Programmability, popularity, connectivity, datafication.
• Platform Vernaculars: Unique languages, symbols, and practices on different platforms.
• Remediation: How new media transform older media forms.
• Autoethnography: Qualitative research method using personal experience.