Codes, Conventions, and

Language of Media

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 language is 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.

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).

Codes are the tools we use to create meaning and to construct and analyze media work.

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).

v 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 an atmosphere or build a frame
of mind (Young, 2017).
 v 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).

v Acting is how an actor portrays a character that will lead to character

development and tension making through facial expression, body language
and vocal qualities (Young, 2017).

v Color is used to connect connotation to specific scenes, characters or objects.

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).

v 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.

Basic Camera Shots

Extreme Wide Shot= is when the view is so far from the subject that he/ she isn’t
necessarily the focus anymore, but rather the surrounding area is

-is designed to show the audience where the action is taking place

Wide Shot= is often used as an establishing shot in a film, as it normally sets the
scene and the character’s place within it.
-shows the full length of the subject while also including a large amount of the
surrounding area of the film setting.

Medium Shot= indicates that it was captured at a medium distance from the
subject.

-It is often used for back and forth dialogue within a scene as it allows the viewer
to have a solid view of each character within a film.

Medium Close Up= a shot that frames the subject from just above their head
down to about midway on their torso

-can still easily register the actor's emotions and facial expressions while also
retaining some of the background

Close up= a shot taken of a person or object at a close range, in order to capture
the minute details of the subject.

-This shot is tightly framed and takes up most of the screen, as it is usually used to
frame a character’s face in order for the audience to see what type of emotion is
being conveyed.

Extreme Close Up= is when the surface area of the frame is filled by a subject’s
face

-are a powerful way to convey the emotion that your subject is feeling, without
the need of the character saying much

v Lighting. According to Robert Young lighting is the manipulation of natural

or artificial light to selectively highlight specific elements of the scene(
Young, 2017).
 v Audio is the expressive or naturalistic use of sound. It includes dialogue,
sound effects and music. According to Chris Constantine (Constantine, 2010)
music often defines a scene. An example is the use of ominous music to
communicate danger in films.

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). 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.

Conventions

Conventions are the generally accepted ways of doing something.

Different types of Conventions

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.

Story Conventions
Story conventions are common narrative structures and understandings that are common in

storytelling media products. Examples of story conventions include:

● Narrative structures

● Cause and effect

● Character construction

● Point of View

Genre Conventions

Genre conventions point to the common use of tropes, characters, settings or themes in a

particular type of medium. Genre conventions are closely linked with audience expectations.

Genre conventions can be formal or thematic.