Video Clips: Taking Charge of Your TV
TV Smarts for Kids
How media producers use music, lighting, and special effects to achieve specific audience reactions. This four-minute clip illustrates some of the techniques used on television.
View Smart to Vote Smart A majority of Americans get most of their news about politics and government from television. So shouldn't we know more about how it all works? Shouldn't we be more media literate? Media literacy helps us understand how political candidates use the media to deliver their messages-and how television shapes those messages as it delivers them.
Download
Viewer's Guide, a resource guide containing explanations, examples, and activities.
STAGE Campaign Video By the time a political event airs on TV, it has already been shaped and edited twice. First, by the campaign - to make the candidate look good. And second, by television - to make the story interesting enough to attract viewers and brief enough to fit within program time constraints. So be on the lookout for:
Symbols: What meanings are conveyed by the symbols used?
Techniques: How are lighting, setting, camera work, and sound used?
Action: What actions or movement capture viewers' interest and attention?
Groups: Who is targeted by the event?
Engage: What is done to engage or involve the viewer?
Edited Campaign Coverage Campaign coverage is edited to (a) tell a story and (b) fit a time slot in a newscast. The editing process can have a dramatic impact on the viewer's perception of political events.
Candidate Advertising Candidates use advertising for a number of purposes: to create name recognition, to promote issues, to keep supporters enthusiastic, and to convince potential voters. Today we're all aware of the ways in which advertisers attempt to influence us to buy their products. Surely we should be just as smart when it comes to political ads-messages that are "selling" a candidate or a particular set of policies. Look for the:
Symbols: What meanings are conveyed by the symbols used?
Narration: How do the narrator's voice and words affect you?
Angles: How does the camera work affect your perception of the candidate?
Implied: What are the implied messages in the commercial?
Lighting: What effect does the lighting have on your perception and emotions?
Scare Tactics: When the commercial is negative, how is it trying to scare you?
SNAILS Clip #1 SNAILS Clip #2
Living Room Candidates Watch and analyze more than 250 commercials from every presidential election campaign since 1952.
