Subject: Media and Information Literacy

Topic: Media and Information Languages Genre, Codes and Conventions

Key Terms:

Genre – a system of classification of works of art, based on established conventions.

Codes – system of signs and symbolic meanings embedded in a media and information text.
Conventions – the established and socially accepted ways of doing things. In media, these are the styles
and approaches that have been standardized into the content.

Types of Code:

 Technical Code – ways in which equipment is used to tell the story (camera techniques, framing,
depth of fields, lighting, etc.)

Technical Codes – Camera Techniques

Basic Camera Shots Advance Camera Shots Camera Angles

Extreme Wide Shot Two Shot Eye-level
Long Shot Cut Away High Angle
Medium Shot Over the shoulder Low Angle
Medium Close-up Point of view Bird’s Eye View
Close-up Selective Focus Worm’s Eye View
Extreme Close-up Arc Shot Slanted (Scanted)
  Symbolic Code – show what is beneath the surface of what we see (objects, setting, body
language, clothing, color, etc.)
 Written Code – use of language style, and textual layout (headlines, captions, speech bubbles,
language style, etc.)

Video Treatment – consist of a written condensation of a proposed film or TV dramatic production.

Storyboard – a storyboard is a graphic representation of how your video will unfold, shot by shot.