Media and Information Literacy Week 6

z
Media and Information Literacy

Week 6
MEDIA CODES AND

CONVENTIONS
Robert Young
https://media.codes/media-codes-and-conventions-c03423c06aa8
COMPETENCY
The learner presents an
issue in varied ways to
disseminate
z information
using the codes,
convention, and language
of media.
Media codes and conventions are like the building
z
blocks of all the media around us. Media codes
generally have an agreed meaning, or connotation,
to their audience. There are three types of media
codes
1.symbolic codes
2.technical codes
3. written codes.
Conventions are expected ways in which codes
are organized in a product.
z
Symbolic codes
 are social in nature.
 For instance, if you saw somebody receive a red rose in a

film, you would assume there is a romantic relationship
between the two characters. If you gave somebody a red
rose in real life, you might be hoping the same.
 Symbolic codes in media include setting, mise en scene,
acting and colour.
z
Setting
is the time and place of the narrative (or
story). When discussing setting, you can
describe the setting of the whole story or just
a specific scene.
Mise en scene
z
 is a French term that means ‘everything within the frame’. In

media terms it has become to mean the description of all the
objects within a frame of the media product and how they have
been arranged. Compositions of Mise en scene are
1. set design
2. costume
3. props
4. staging composition.
Actors z
portray characters in media products and contribute to character development, creating tension or advancing the narrative. The actor
portrays a character through: facial expression, body language, vocal qualities, movement, body contact.
Colour
has highly cultural and strong connotations. When studying the use of colour in a media product the different aspects to be looking at are:
* dominant colour
* contrasting foils,
* colour symbolism z
z
Technical Codes
are codes that are specific to a media form and
do not live outside of them. Technical codes in
media include camerawork, editing, audio and
lighting.
Camerawork
z
refers to how the camera is operated, positioned and moved for specific effects. Aspects of camerawork include:
Positioning
Movement
Framing
Exposure Lens choice.
Editing z
is the process of choosing, manipulating and arranging images and sound. Editing is generally done for four different reasons:
Graphic edits
Rhythmic edits
Special edits
Temporal edits.
z
Audio
is the expressive or naturalistic use of sound.
Audio can be diegetic or non-diegetic. The three
aspects of audio are:
1. dialogue
2.sound effects
3.music.
z
Lighting
is the manipulation of natural or artificial light to
selectively highlight specific elements of the
scene. Elements of lighting include:
1. Quality
2. Direction
3. Source
4. Colour
Written Codes
z
are the formal written language used in a media

product. Just like technical and symbolic codes, written
codes can be used to advance a narrative,
communicate information about a character or issues
and themes in the media product.
Written codes include printed language which is text
you can see within the frame and how it is presented,
and also spoken language, which includes dialogue and
song lyrics.
z
Conventions
are accepted ways of using media codes.
Closely connected to the audience expectations
of a media product.
Different types of conventions include
1. form conventions
2.story conventions
3. genre conventions.
z
.
Form conventions
Form conventions are the certain ways we expect
types of media’s codes to be arranged. For
instance an audience expects to have a title of the
film at the beginning, and then credits at the end.
Newspapers will have a masthead, the most
important news on the front page and sports news
on the back page.
Video games usually start with a tutorial to explain
the mechanics of how the game works.
z
.
Another example would be continuity
editing. Most video forms follow a set of
editing rules and techniques called
continuity editing which allows for the
audience to easily understand what is
going on in a scene and who is talking to
who.
Story Conventions
z
.
Story conventions are common narrative
structures and understandings that are common in
story telling media products. Examples of story
conventions include: Narrative structures, Cause
and effect, Character construction, Point of View.

Media and Information Literacy Week 6

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Media and Information Literacy Week 6

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Media and Information Literacy Week 6

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

z

Media and Information Literacy

MEDIA CODES AND

 For instance, if you saw somebody receive a red rose in a

 is a French term that means ‘everything within the frame’. In

are the formal written language used in a media

You might also like

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.