ACTIVITY NO. 1Look at the movie poster below.

What do you think is the movie genre (comedy, action, romantic, horror,
adventure, drama, etc.)?
What are the things that made you decide about that genre?
Codes, Convention and Language of Media
Media and Information Language is the way in which the meaning of a
media text is conveyed to the audience. It is conveyed through media
codes and conventions. The system of signs and symbols in media is
called Media Codes while Media Conventions refer to the generally
accepted ways of presenting messages in media.
Signs and symbols in media texts are polysemic which means they are
open to many interpretations. This is the reason why you have to use the
appropriate languages; signs, symbols and conventions in media. It
suggests what we have to feel about a media product. It also helps us
understand and interpret media messages easier. In film for instance
media codes and conventions are predicators of movie genres.

A genre refers to a class or category of artistic endeavour having a

particular form, content, technique or the like. Media codes and
conventions draw the audience to identify if it’s a horror, action, drama or
a fantasy film because each genre uses different codes and conventions
to make the audience feel happy, sad, terrified and thrilled.
Media codes are systems of signs which create meaning. They
are like building blocks of all media around us. There are three
types of media codes. The three types are symbolic code,
technical code and the written code.
1. Symbolic Codes – are social in nature which means that
these codes live outside the media products themselves, but
would be understood in similar ways in the real life of the
audience.
Symbolic codes include:
Setting – is the time and place of the narrative. Your setting must
always fit your message.
Example: if you want to portray a horror scene in your video,
then the setting should look creepy.
Mise-en-scene – is the description of all the objects within a
frame of the media product and how they have been arranged. It
includes set design, make-ups, costumes, accessories and props.
Acting - actors portray characters in media products and
contribute to character development, creating tension or
advancing the narrative. The actor portrays a character through:
appearance, movements, gestures, facial expressions and vocal
delivery.
Color – has highly strong connotations. Every color
elicits a different and unique emotional response in
the viewer, thus when you produce media, you have
to be clever with your color choices.

COLOR EMOTIONS
Red passion, strength, power, danger
Green safety, healing, money
Blue stability, trust, health
Yellow happiness, intellect
Orange joy, enthusiasm, encouragement
Brown confidence, casualness
Gold wealth, prestige, wisdom
Purple power, luxury, ambition
Pink feminism, romance
Black power, elegance, mystery, death
White purity, perfection, safety
2. Technical Codes – refer to the ways in which equipment is used
to tell the story
Camerawork – refers to how the camera is operated, positioned and
moved for specific effects. Proper camerawork gives the audience an
actual feel what is happening in a video
Basic Camera Shots
Extreme Close-up frames the subject precisely to emphasize the
specific portions of the body it is often used to reveal horror in a
subject like an extreme close-up of the actor’s mouth as he/she
screams.
Close-up shot – frames the subject at a close range to show a
detail. This shot is tightly framed and it takes up most of the screen
Medium Shot – a type of camera shot shows an actor
approximately from the waist up, this is used if the person is doing
something with their hand movements
Long shot/Wide Shot – oftentimes used as an establishing shot in
films as it normally sets the scene in the character’s played within
it. This camera shot shows the full length of the subject while also
including a large amount of the surrounding area of the film setting.
Basic of Camera Angles
Eye level shot – this is when your subject is at eye level. It can
result in a neutral perspective, not superior or inferior. This mimics
how we see people in real life, our eye line connecting with theirs
and it can break down boundaries.
Low angle shot – frames the subject from below their eye line.
These camera shots most often emphasize power dynamics
between characters. Low angle camera shots are a perfect camera
angle for signalling superiority or to elicit feelings of fear and dread.
Over the shoulder shot – is a camera angle used when the camera
is placed above the back of the shoulder and head of the subject.
This shot is most commonly used to present a conversational back
and forth exchange between two subjects. This connotes a closer
relationship between the two characters.
The high angle shot – the camera points down at your subject. It
usually creates a feeling of inferiority or looking down on your
subject. It is a versatile shot that can be used in many situations.
The most common usage is to make the character seem vulnerable
and powerless, but there are always exception to the rule.
Basic Camera Angles
Dutch angle shot – the camera is landed to one side with the
horizon’s lines tilted, you can create a sense of disorientation, a
destabilized mental state or increase the tension.
Overhead shot – is from above looking down on your subject.
These are typically shot 90 degrees and above, anything less
might be considered a high angle shot instead. These are great
for providing perspective on a scene, it is often used as either a
neutral or sometimes divine point of view.
Aerial shot – whether taken from a helicopter or drone is captured
from way up high. It establishes a large expanse of scenery

Camera Movement is a technique that causes a change in frame

or perspective through the movement of the camera. Specific
types of camera movements can create a psychological and
emotional effect on the audience. These effects can be used to
make a video more immersive and engaging.
 Basic Camera Movements
Static shot – has no camera movement at all. It is achieved by
locking a camera in a fixed position typically with the use of a
tripod. Thus stability of a static shot makes it non-distracting.
Pan – directs a camera horizontally left or right. The camera
pan movement is typically achieved with a tripod head but can
also be done as a handheld movement or with a stabilizer. Pans
are often motivated by a character’s actions. They can also be
used to reveal new information to the audience. When done at a
really quick speed, the fast camera movement is known as the
whip pan.
Whip pan is one of the best camera movements to add
energy to a shot. Whip pans can be used between two characters
rather than cutting to establish a more energetic connection.
Tilt – are just like pans, only vertical. Tilt camera movements
direct a camera upward or downward. Camera tilt can be used to
give a character dominance in a shot or to reveal new information
to the audience. Tilt enables to capture the verticality of a film in
moments of awe and spectacle.
 Basic Camera Movements
Push-in – moves the camera closer to a subject typically with a dolly
camera movement or steady cam. Push-ins can draw the audience
attention toward a specific detail. Filmmakers also push in towards
characters to try and infer what is occurring internally. This can be a
reaction, thought process or internal conflict.
Pull out – is the exact opposite of the push in. A pull out is a smooth
camera movement that moves the camera further away from a subject.
This movement causes the subject to grow smaller while simultaneously
revealing their surroundings. It can be used to reveal setting and
characters emotionally. Pull out can highlight a character’s isolation or
loneliness.
Tracking Shot – is any shot that physically moves the camera through
the scene for an extended amount of time. Tracking camera movement
often follows a travelling subject though they can be used to simply show
off the scene.
Arc Shot – orbits the camera around the subject in an arc pattern. Arc
shots are typically used to add energy to a shot in which characters have
minimal actions.
Proper camera work moves your story. It has a voice too that says
look at this, look at that, this is more important over here. There is
embedded information in the way a camera works that gives us a hint as to
what the message is all about.
Audio/Sound – Media language involves the use of sound and
music to convey meaning and often to work on the emotional
impact of a scene. A change in sound will affect the overall mood
of a video. If we use suspense music, a scene will suggest that
something bad is going to happen, but if we change it to
motivational music, the scene will suggest that something good is
going to happen.
In radio production (just like our IPT last quarter), sound
effects are one of its most important elements because it
visualizes scenes that are only heard.
Lighting – is a code that gives an accent to visual media. Light
gives a video sense of atmosphere. Some genres have lighting
conventions such as horror where monsters and characters are
leaked from underneath. Lights give drama to your scenes.
Editing–is a non-linear digital process that allows the editor to put
pictures and sound together in any order and in any way he or
she chooses. Editing makes the message organized so that it can
easily be understood by the people. Special visual effects are also
done in editing to achieve what message you’d like to portray.
3. Written Codes – are the formal written language used in a
media product. Written codes include font style and font size
used, captions, choice of words and emphasis of words. The
written code of a media product must be appropriate to the genre
or message you want to convey. For instance, if you’re making a
poster for a horror film, you have to choose words that are creepy
and use font styles that appear scary. In print media, newspapers
use texts that are simple and easy to read and the choice of
words is formal, while comic books use decorative font styles
depending on its genre. Your font styles and choice of words must
complement the genre of the media product that you opt to
produce.

Media Conventions
Media conventions are the accepted ways of using media codes.
Conventions are closely connected to the audience’s expectations
of a media product.
1. Form Conventions – are the specific ways we expect the types of
media codes to be arranged. For instance, an audience expects to
have the title of a film at the beginning and then credits at the end.
Newspapers will have a masked head the most important news on the
front page and sports news on the back page.
2. Story Conventions- are common narrative structures and
understandings that are common in story telling media products. For
example, all stories have a beginning, rising action, climax, falling
action and ending. It is conventional for Filipino films to have a poor
character beset with misfortune at the start who will turn into a rich
and influential character in the end.
3. Genre Conventions– point to the common use of tropes,
characters, settings or theme in a particular type of medium. Genre
conventions are closely linked with the audience expectations of a
genre. For example, a character who wears black or dark colors is
usually the antagonist. Horror films usually use old houses, old
hospitals or isolated places as settings. Love story usually show that
love conquers all. However, media products today no longer stick to
the conventions. Media producers are now trying to get out of the box
exploring ways to break the conventions and finding new styles in
expressing messages.