Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
REGION V - BICOL
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF MASBATE CITY
MASBATE NATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCHOOL
MASBATE CITY

Media and Information Literacy

Learning Activity Sheet
Quarter 3 – Module 5

Name of Student: ________________________________Learning Area Grade Level:

_________________________________
Date: _____________________________

I. What I Need To Know

Great day to you dear learner! In this module you will learn the different codes, conventions, and the
language used in media to disseminate information.
Knowledge of these will help you to understand better the messages given to you and at the same
time will equip you to convey your message in different ways to achieve your desired outcome.
After going through this module, you are expected to:
1. Define codes, conventions, and language of media.
2. Identify the codes and conventions presented.
3. Use the codes and conventions of media in presenting an issue.

II. Lesson Objective:

 Present an issue in varied ways to disseminate information using the codes,
convention, and language of media (Based on MELC)
 Present an issue in varied ways to disseminate information using the codes,
convention, and language of media (Based on MELC)

LESSON
Codes, Conventions and
5 Language of Media
Today, media has become very powerful and influential. As a learner, it is not enough that you
can read the information given to you. It is also important to understand media and information codes and
conventions to help you better understand the message that media professionals are communicating.
According to Ute Schaeffer as cited by (Sylvia Braesel, Media and Information Literacy A practical
guidebook for trainers, 2018)“People need to be media literate. This involves knowing where to find
relevant information, how media shape popular culture and opinion and influence personal choices, and
how to navigate the Internet and ensure personal privacy in the cyber world.”

III. Learning Skills

What Is It
 Language pertains to the technical and symbolic ingredients or codes and conventions that media
and information professionals may select 9 and use in an effort to communicate ideas,
information and knowledge.
 Media language are the codes, conventions, formats, symbols and narrative structure that indicate
the meaning of media messages to an audience.
 Messages are the information sent from a source to a receiver.

1 | MIL
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION V - BICOL
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF MASBATE CITY
MASBATE NATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCHOOL
MASBATE CITY

Study the cover pictures of the different movie genres.

Answer the following questions:

1. What kind of movie does each picture show?
___________________________________________________________________________
2. What are the elements that helped you identify its kind?
___________________________________________________________________________

The elements that helped you identify what kind of movie each picture shows are the codes and
conventions of media. Media codes and conventions are like the building blocks of all the media around
us which generally have an agreed meaning, or connotation to their audience (Young, 2017). There are
three (3) types of media codes: symbolic codes, technical codes, and written codes.

1. Symbolic codes are social in nature. Such codes exist beyond the media product themselves but
can be interpreted in similar ways in the everyday life of the viewer (Young, 2017).

Example: which means Christianity

These also include setting, mise en scene, acting and color.

Setting is the time and place of the narrative. It can be the setting of the whole story or
just a specific scene. This will create atmosphere or build a frame of mind (Young, 2017).

2 | MIL
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION V - BICOL
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF MASBATE CITY
MASBATE NATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCHOOL
MASBATE CITY

Mise en scene is a French term meaning ‘everything within a frame’. Costume and props are
included in the analysis in the frame (Young, 2017).

Acting is how an actor portray a character that will lead to character development and tension
making through facial expression, body language and vocal qualities (Young, 2017).

Color is used to connect connotation to specific scenes, characters or object. Red, for instance, is
typically seen as a color of passion, danger, romance, or violence. Green is connected with nature or
sickness, blue with calm or depression. Purple is seen to be connected with royalty (Young, R. 2017).

2. Technical codes. According to Arniel Ping technical codes are all the ways in which equipment is
used to tell a story in a media text like camera techniques, framing, lighting, etc. (Ping, 2016).
Camerawork refers to how the camera is handled, positioned and moved for specific effects like a high-
angle camera shot to create a feeling of power in a photograph.

3 | MIL
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION V - BICOL
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF MASBATE CITY
MASBATE NATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCHOOL
MASBATE CITY

Lighting. According to Robert Young lighting is the manipulation of natural or artificial light to
selectively highlight specific elements of the scene (Young, 2017).

Audio is the expressive or naturalistic use of sound. It includes dialogue, sound effects and
music. According to Chris 14 Constantine(Constantine, 2010) music often defines a scene. An
example is the use of ominous music to communicate danger in films.

3. Written codes are the formal written language used in a media product. These include language
style and textual layout like headlines, captions, speech bubbles, etc. (Frezi.com, Young, R.
2017).

1. What type of fonts or typefaces are used in each picture?

2. What message does the style of font signify?

The simple use of different fonts or typefaces indicate different meaning.

According to Robert Young, conventions are the accepted ways of using media codes. There are three
different types of conventions: form conventions, story conventions and genre convention (Young, R.
2017).

1. Form conventions are the expected ways on how media codes are arranged. In newspapers for example,
the most important news will be at the front page while sports news is found at the back page.
Newspapers also contain masthead.

4 | MIL
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION V - BICOL
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF MASBATE CITY
MASBATE NATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCHOOL
MASBATE CITY

2. Story conventions are common narrative structures and understandings in story telling media products
like cause and effect, character construction and point of view.

3. Genre conventions are the common use of tropes, characters, settings or themes in a particular type of
medium. They can be formal or thematic. You are now familiar with the different codes and conventions
used by media professionals to deliver the message that they want their audience to receive. Your
understanding of the technical, symbolic and written codes will make you media and information literate.

IV. LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Match Me. DIRECTIONS: On the left column are pictures of different movies. On the right column are
movie genres. Match the picture on the left to its correct movie genre on the right. Write the letter of your
correct answer on the space provided before each number.

Inform Me. DIRECTIONS: You will be given a scenario. Based on that scenario, you will think of a
way to cover the incident. You will choose either to make a storyboard, a photo story, or a written blog to
inform people in your community of the said incident to make them aware of the rules and regulations of
the lockdown and the possible consequences once they violate such rules. Remember to use the codes and
conventions for the development of your output. Rubrics are provided for you to be guided on what to do.

SCENARIO: President Rodrigo R. Duterte put the main Island of Luzon on lockdown on March 16,
2020 due to the health risks of COVID 19. Most of the residents stayed at home while few others went
out. Police are starting to arrest hundreds of people for violating curfew, “social distancing”, and
quarantine regulations.

Guide Questions:
1. What will you do to make your report not boring?

2. Would you exaggerate some elements in your report to make it interesting? Why?

5 | MIL
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION V - BICOL
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF MASBATE CITY
MASBATE NATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCHOOL
MASBATE CITY

V. RUBRICS

*Note: USE THE BACK PAGE FOR YOUR ACTVITY ABOVE

Answer Key

Prepared by:

Sharon R. Almodal
SHS-Teacher/TIII

CYRELL JOY P. SAMPAGA

MIL Teacher

Checked by:

MARK BRYAN B. LOTERTE

GAS Coordinator/MT-II

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