Lights, Camera, Action: My introduction to the AICE Media Studies AS Course

I am very excited to be taking the AS course for AICE Media Studies. I consider myself a film-enthusiast, as I love to learn to process of how films are made. I love analyzing films and uncovering the meanings that are behind the shots that comprise them. I have taken journalism classes at my school in the past, and am currently still on the Somerset Academy Canyons newspaper department, a department that has brought me nothing but joy, pleasure, and a sense of warmth. I was interested when I first heard the rumors that this class was coming to our school, and am now psyched that it is here. I may not know too much about the formation of magazines, but I am confident my learning prowess will help me become informed. I know I will have a swell time taking part in this course, and am thoroughly thrilled to learn more about the fundamental and advanced techniques of media studies.

In our first few classes, we discussed a more general question: what media is. The media are different technologies that allow communication of information between people. This communication can happen through printed newspapers, film, radio, and many other devices or platforms. Media can convey representation to an audience, the people that consume the media, informing them of ideals, beliefs, or concepts. We also were taught about semiotics and how they relate back to media studies. Semiotics are various signs and codes that tell people something without explicitly stating it. Semiotics are used in media to depict words (spoken or written) and symbols that conveys a certain meaning to something.

Now that I now know about the core fundamentals about media, and how semiotics help to convey messages in the media, I am positive that this will help me with the rest of the course going forward.