Glossary

A feature film whose story is about heroic characters who solve problems through physical feats, including violence

Someone who either is not trained in a job, who does it without being paid, or both.

An opinion that is supported by relevant facts.

In comics, a bleed is a panel without any lines around it.

When the subject is shown very large, It lets the viewer see detail and may show that something is important.

"Coding" means showing a character in a way that reminds us of a real group, without actually showing them as part of that group.

Sources we use to help us verify information of find out if another source is reliable.

A media work that tries to represent something in the real world as accurately as possible

A major revision of a work. The first finished work is called the "first draft." The published work is called the "final draft."

A media work that tries to teach a specific thing to its audience

Feeling what other people feel (affective empathy) or recognizing how other people feel (cognitive empathy)

A statement that can be conclusively proven or disproven.

A full-length video that does not claim to represent the real world and tries to entertain its audience

The sharpness of an image, or the different parts of it. An image that is in focus will have clearly defined lines, while an image that is out of focus will have fuzzier lines.

Framing is what the media makers choose to show us or how they choose to present it.

A kind or category of media work that makers use and audiences recognize.

In comics, the gutter is the space separating panels.

When the viewer is looking down on the subject. It usually makes the subject seem weaker or gives us a broader perspective.

A media work that demonstrates how to do a particular thing

An icon is a picture that stands for something. In apps and programs, an icon like a question mark might stand for getting help.

Information is anything you can learn - from the current weather, to a recipe for cookies, to a news story or the history of Canada.

When the viewer's "eye" is a long way from the subject. It's usually used to give context or situate the subject in their environment.

When the viewer is looking up at the subject. Usually used to make a character seem powerful or impressive.

A mascot is a character that stands for a brand.

A media work is anything you can watch, read, play or listen to.

The channel or system through which a text is conveyed, determined by the text’s mode(s), purpose, and audience, and including print, audio, visual, audio-visual, and digital means. For example, the medium for a written text might be a handwritten letter or book; the medium for an oral text might be a podcast or video clip. The plural is media. Media for reaching mass audiences include print, radio, television, artifacts, and the internet.

Not favoring one side or another of an issue.

Things that don’t happen on the internet are offline.

When you’re using the internet you are online.

A panel without any lines around it.

Something that can’t be proven conclusively.

When part of one shape or image covers part of another shape or image.

A single drawing in a comic.

Information that could be connected to you, or used to identify you.

A literary device in which a thing or abstraction is represented as a person or by a figure in human form (e.g., The sun smiled down on us. Or The stairs groaned as we walked on them.)

An app (or a feature of a photo/video app) that changes what you look like.

Believing that there is something bad about a whole group of people, based on who they are.

A media work that uses footage of real people to entertain its audienc

The specific tools that each medium uses to get and direct your attention.

The reason that a news outlet (or any other product) gives for you to buy it.

An image or picture of a kind of person that makes it seem like they are all the same.