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Teacher-made Learner’s Home Task

Media and Information Literacy

Quarter 1 Week 6-7

I. MELC Present an issue in varied ways to disseminate information using the codes, convention, and language of
media
II. Objective/s Knowledge: Identify codes, convention, and message and how they affect the audience,
producers, and other stake holders.
Skills: Present information appropriately through codes, conventions, and messages
Values/Attitude: Reflect on how important information can be conveyed to create the desired
impression.
III. Subject Matter
Media and Information Languages
References
IV. Procedure Readings:
The medium is the message ‘, now a famous quote, was written by Marshall McLuhan in 1964.By
which the medium may be affected how messages are received, the users’/audiences’ own
background/experience may have also affected the interpretation of messages. An important first step in
becoming media and information literate is to understand how information, ideas and meaning are
communicated through and by various media and other information providers, such as libraries, archives,
museums and the Internet. Each medium has its own ‘language’ or ‘grammar’ that works to convey meaning
in a unique way. ‘Language’ in this sense means the technical and symbolic ingredients or codes and
conventions that media and information professionals may select and use in an effort to communicate ideas,
information and knowledge.

GENRE, CODE, AND CONVENTIONS

All media messages are constructed using a particular set of codes and conventions. When we say
media, message is constructed using codes and conventions, we mean that every media product we encounter
is a coherent body with its own rules.
Every medium has its own codes and conventions. Genre. It is a French word which means “Kind” or
“Class”. The original Latin word is “genus” and mean class of things that can be broken down into
subcategories. It tends to be understood to constitute particular conventions of contents and following a
distinctive style in terms of form and presentation. The primary genres that media creators and producers
invoke are the following: entertainment, news, information, education, and advertising. These sample of sub-
category of some of the given primary genre:
1. News. These are stories that have critical importance to community and national life. News
stories are also told following the basic structure of beginning, middle and end. Journalists,
people trained to report news to an audience, are expected to be objective, comprehensive
and bias-free. They work for newspaper, radio stations, televisions, and lately, online or
web-based news services. Major Division for News stories: Hard or straight news; Feature,
Soft News, Investigative News, Opinion
2. Entertainment. It is derived from the French word “entretenir” which means “to hold the
attention, keep busy, or amused.

This a comprehensive movie genres list:

(a)Action movies require stunts, set pieces, explosions, guns, and karate. They are usually about a clear hero
and a clear villain. Action movie stakes are huge, like saving the world or the universe. They're often
bombastic and move quickly. Their pacing and structure are built around scenes like car chases and their
climaxes often have the biggest set pieces.

 (b) Adventure movies are usually built around a quest. They take place in faraway lands or jungles. Many
adventures may be period pieces, although more contemporary adventure stories are coming back to the

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forefront. They can be swashbucklers or treasure hunts.

 (c) Comedy films usually are written with a few laughs a scene. The stakes are usually much smaller or
interpersonal. Comedy films can vary in their darkness and the way they deal with life and death. They tend
to be shorter films, spoofs and can have broader casts.

(d) Drama is regularly mashed up with other genres because most movies and tv rely on character-driven
stories to keep the audience involved. These are serious stories that hinge on events that regularly happen in
everyday life. They usually focus on character and how these people arc over time. (e) Horror film focuses
on adrenaline rides for the audience that dial in the gore, scares and creative monsters. Horror is always re-
inventing old classics, like adding fast zombies, and CGI creatures. It also is seen as the most bankable genre
with a huge built-in audience. Ghouls, ghosts, slashers, creatures, and body disfiguring are some of its
settings

(f) Romance movies are about people coming together, falling apart, and all the hurdles in between. Love is a
universal language. They can be paired with comedy and ram, but a straightforward romance focuses on two
characters or an ensemble falling in love.

 (g) Thriller movies. What would you do when you were over your head? This is usually linked with horror,
action, and drama, but thrillers are about exciting situations that have constant danger. They're about stressed
characters, corrupt investigators, and criminals living on the edge.

 (h) War/Conflict movies are about POWs, men in foxholes, tanks, and planes. They're about people finding
commonalities, differences, and sacrificing their lives.

Codes. These are system of signs that when put together create meaning.
Type of Codes
1. Technical Codes. The way in which equipment is used to tell the story (camera techniques,
framing, depth of fields, lighting and etc.)

Camera Techniques
 Extreme Wide Shot. Shot of, e.g. a large crow or a view of scenery as far horizon.
 Wide Shot. A view of situation or setting from a distance Medium Shot Shows a subject down to his or
her waist with a space above to his or her head.
 Medium Close- up. Shows a subject down to his or her chest with a space above to his or her head.
 Close- up. A full screen shot of a subject face,
 Two Shot. A two shot is a type of shot in which the frame encompasses two people. The subjects do not
have to be next to each other, and there are many common two shots which have one subject in the
foreground and the other subject in the background.
 Cut Away is the interruption of a continuous shot by inserting a shot of something else. Usually, you
then cut back to the first shot. These can be done within the same scene, cuts to other scenes, or even as
one continuous shot as the camera pans across to something else.
 Over the Shoulder. The Over the shoulder shot is a camera angle used in film and television, where the
camera is placed above the back of the shoulder and head of a subject. This shot is most commonly used
to present conversational back and forth between two subjects.
 Point of View also known as POV shot, is an angle that shows what a character is looking at. Typically,
POV shots are placed in between a shot of a character looking at something and a shot showing the
character's reaction.
 Selective Focus. Using a shallow depth of field the subject can be rendered in sharp focus with the rest
of the image blurring into the image foreground and background. This technique isolates the subject
within the image, drawing the eye of the viewer to the exact point which the photographer wishes to be
observed.
 Eye-Level. It refers to when the level of your camera is placed at the same height as the eyes of the
characters in your frame. It also simulates standard human vision and thus present visual information
through a familiar viewpoint.
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 High Angle. It is a cinematic technique where the camera looks down on the subject from a high angle
and the point of focus often gets "swallowed up". High-angle shots can make the subject seem
vulnerable or powerless when applied with the correct mood, setting, and effects.
 Low Angle. It is a shot from a camera angle positioned anywhere below the eye line, pointing upward.
 Bird's Eye View. A shot in which the camera shoots a scene from directly overhead. It usually has an
extreme long shot, to establish setting. We use this angle to look down at the scene from a higher point.
 Worm’s Eye View is a shot that is looking up from the ground, and is meant to give the viewer the
feeling that they are looking up at the character from way below and it is meant to show the view that a
child or a pet would have.

Please watch this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVdVK5dS6GI

2. Symbolic Codes
It shows what is beneath the surface of what we see (objects, setting, body language, clothing, color,
etc.)

 Setting is the time and place of the narrative. When discussing setting, you can describe the setting
of the whole story or just a specific scene. A setting can be as big as the outback or space, or as
small as a specific room. Setting can even be a created atmosphere or frame of mind.
 Mise en scene. It 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. An analysis of mise en scene includes: ü Set Design ü Costume ü Props ü
Staging and Composition
o Actors portray characters in media products and contribute to character development,
creating tension or advancing the narrative. The actor portrays a character through: ü Facial
expression ü Body Language ü Vocal qualities ü Movement ü Body contact
o Color has highly cultural and strong connotations. When studying the use of color in a
media product the different aspects to be looking at are: ü Dominant color ü Contrasting
foils ü Color symbolism 

3.Written Codes
These are the formal written language used in a media product. It can be used to advance a narrative,
communicate information about a character or issues and themes. It includes 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.
CONVENTIONS.
These are the accepted ways of using media codes. These are closely connected to the audience expectations
of a media product.

TYPES OF CONVENTIONS
1. Form conventions. These 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.
2. Story Conventions. These are common narrative structures and understandings that are
common in story telling media products. Examples of story conventions include:

o Narrative structures
o Cause and effect
o Character construction
o Point of View

3. Genre Conventions. It points to the common use of tropes, characters, settings or themes
in a particular type of medium. Genre conventions are closely linked with audience
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 expectations. Genre conventions can be formal or thematic.

Unlock the Definitions

1. Technical codes include sound, camera angles, types of shots and lighting. They may include, for
example, ominous music to communicate danger in a feature film, or high-angle camera shots to create a
feeling of power in a photograph.
2. Symbolic codes include the language, dress or actions of characters, or iconic symbols that are easily
understood. For example, a red rose may be used symbolically to convey romance, or a clenched fist
may be used to communicate anger
3. Convention - In the media context, refers to a standard or norm that acts as a rule governing behavior.
4. Messages - the information sent from a source to a receiver.
5. Audience - the group of consumers for whom a media message was constructed as well as anyone else
who is exposed to the message.
6. Producers - People engaged in the process of creating and putting together media content to make a
finished media product.
7. Other stakeholders - Libraries, archives, museums, internet and other relevant information providers.
8. Language - pertains to the technical and symbolic ingredients or codes and conventions that media and
information professionals may select and use in an effort to communicate ideas, information and
knowledge.

Media Languages - codes, conventions, formats, symbols and narrative structures that indicate the meaning
of media messages to an audience.

Drill 1:
Direction: Single out a commercial on television meant to sell skin products for women.
1. Name all the elements you hear and see. (People, places, time or historical period, objects, ways of life and
even identity.
2. Where is the setting?
3. Since this was a shot using a camera, try to discern the language of the camera by listing the angles and
corresponding scene that it tries to capture.
4. What is the beginning, middle and end?
5. A commercial product always selling a product. How is this commercial selling its product? What is its
most potent way of selling the product?
6. Are there memorable lines or visual effects? What makes it memorable?
Drill 2:
Scenario: A local government official was charged of graft and corruption and was suspended from his
office. The government official announced that the charges were all fabricated and that he will not step down
from his office. A large group of supporters are present to protest. They barricaded the building where the
official has once taken office. A struggle seems to start breaking out between the protesters and the police.
Questions:
1. Predict how this event will be covered by television, radio, print and Internet?
2. How are the presentation of facts may vary from medium to medium?
3. How are the codes and conventions vary from medium to medium?
4. How much of these differences will be based on the unique characteristics of the medium?
5. If you will be a reporter, are you going to use the conventional way of how each media will
broadcast the given scenario?
6. What will you do to not make your report boring? Elaborate your answer?
7. Would you exaggerate some elements in your report to make it interesting? Why?

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 Drill 3:
Direction: Using your mobile phone or a simple point-and-shoot camera, explore what you can do with the
features of the camera. Familiarize yourselves with its features- how to turn it on, how to turn it off, the
capacity of the lens to zoom in and zoom out, how to move for shots that will pan right to left, or tilt up and
down. If it has a manual, turn to the manual so you can read about the features.
After getting thoroughly familiar with its features, you can now prepare for a 5 - minute video shoot. You
will prepare a video portrait of a person in your home as a subject of your interview or just a small talk
( small talk means light conversation about common, everyday things; chitchat).
1. Do an interview. Use open-ended questions that would elicit a substantial response.
2. Shoot the subject doing his/her work, something like capturing his/her life in a fragment of a day.
3. Evaluate your work. Go back to the decisions you made with the use of the camera, the angles that you
created, the use of the magnification capacity of the lens that zooms in and out, and the capacity of the
camera to pan and tilt. Why did you do it? What was the effect on how you portrayed your subject? How did
the camera help you tell the significant work that your subject does?
4. Please send the video via messenger / email.

Application/ Drill 4:
Assessment Direction: MULTIPLE CHOICE. Encircle the letter of your choice. Strictly no erasure.
1. What shot is used to represent a character as having power?
A. High angle shot C. Establishing shot
B. Low angle shot D. Canted shot

2. What shot is used to show the emotions on a character’s face?

A. Extreme close up C. Aerial shot
B. Close up D. Scooby doo shot

3. Why is a shot-reverse-shot used?

A. To show the location C. To manipulate situations
B. To show something forwards and backward D. To show two-sides of a conversation

4. An establishing shot/long shot is used to set the location of a scene

A. True B. False
5. What shot would be used to establish the full costume of a character in TV drama?
A. Establishing shot C. Close up
B. Long shot D. Extreme close up

6. Why is a mid-shot used?

A. To show a character facial expression while still showing a lot of their body
B. To show someone’s feet
C. To show someone walking

7. What does an over the shoulder shot represent?

A. Someone’s facial expressions
B. To show one person’s side of the conversation
C. The view someone can see

8. A master shot is when you can see all the action taking place in one shot
A. True B. False

9. A close-up shot will show____________.

A. A shot of a hand, eye, mouth, or object and foot in detail.
B. A full screenshot of the subject’s face showing the detail of their facial expressions
C. A view of a figure’s entire body in order to show action or a group of characters

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10. This includes the ways in which equipment is used to tell the story (camera techniques, framing, depth of
fields, lighting and etc.) A. Technical Codes
B. Symbolic Codes
C. Written Codes

Prepared by:

Ken Virgin L. Ferrolino

Subject Teacher

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