MEDIA AND

INFORMATION
MODULE 6

LANGUAGES
 EXPECTATIO
• IdentifyN codes,
convention,
and messages and how
they
affect the audience and
other
stakeholders.
• Present an issue in varied
ways to disseminate
Media Languaes. These codes, conventions,
formats, symbols, and narrative structures that
indicate the meaning of media messages to an
audience.
Codes. In media studies, codes are known as a
system or collection of signs that create meaning
when put together. As boys/girls scout you might
be familiar with the use of morse code, smoke
signals, or signal flags for relating a message to
another. Semiotics is the study of signs.
 Three Types of
• Media Codes
1. The Symbolic Codes
• 2. Technical Codes
• 3. Written Codes
 Symbolic
codes
These codes show what is beneath the surface of what we
see (objects, setting, body language, clothing, color, etc.) or
iconic symbols that are easily understood. Symbolic codes in
media include setting, mise en scene, acting and color.

Example: What does a clenched fist symbolizes?

A clenched fist may convey anger.

a. Setting is the time and place of the narrative. A setting can be a s big as
the galaxy or space, or as small as a specific room. It can even be a created
atmosphere or frame of mind.

b. Mise en Scene means the stage setting, everything within the frame. The
arrangement of actors and scenery on a stage for a theatrical production
(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mise-en-sc%C3%A8ne)
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: Set Design, Costume..

c. Acting. The actors portray characters in media products and contribute to

character development, creating tension or advancing.

d. Color has highly cultural and strong connotations. When studying the use
of color in a media product the different aspects to be looked at are:
Dominant color, Contrasting foils, and Color Symbolism.
TEchnical
codes
The technical codes include sound, camera angles, types of
shots and lightning. 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.
Technical codes in media may include Camerawork, Editing,
Audio and Lightning. The actor portrays a character through:
Facial expression, Movement and Body contact.

Film makers control what the audience focus on and therefore

every shot is chosen for a reason. Changing how an object or
person is framed can drastically alter how audience react to
that character/object. There is no such thing as neutral.
Camerawork refers to how the camera is operated, positioned and moved for specific
effects. Camerawork includes: Positioning, Movement, Framing, Exposure, and Lens
choice.

Editing is the process of choosing, manipulating and arranging images and sound.

Audio is the expressive or naturalistic use of sound. The three aspects of audio are:
Dialogue, Sound effects, and Music.

Lighting is the manipulation of natural or artificial light to selectively highlight specific

elements of the scene. Elements of lighting include: Quality, Direction, Source, & Colour.
Camera shots are an essential aspect of filmmaking and video productions, because by
combining different types of shots, angels and camera movements, the filmmakers are
able to emphasize specific emotions, ideas and movements for each scene.
Camerawork refers to how the camera is operated, positioned and moved for specific
effects. Camerawork includes: Positioning, Movement, Framing, Exposure, and Lens
choice.

Editing is the process of choosing, manipulating and arranging images and sound.

Audio is the expressive or naturalistic use of sound. The three aspects of audio are:
Dialogue, Sound effects, and Music.

Lighting is the manipulation of natural or artificial light to selectively highlight specific

elements of the scene. Elements of lighting include: Quality, Direction, Source, & Colour.
Camera shots are an essential aspect of filmmaking and video productions, because by
combining different types of shots, angels and camera movements, the filmmakers are
able to emphasize specific emotions, ideas and movements for each scene.
 Types of Camera Sizes
1. Extreme Wide Shot (ELS)
2. Long Shot (LS) / Wide Shot (WS)
3. Full Shot (FS)
4. Medium Long Shot (MLS) / Medium Wide Shot (MWS)
5. Cowboy Shot
6. Medium Shot (MS)
7. Medium Close Up (MCU)
8. Close Up (CU)
9. Extreme Close UP (ECU)
Photo caption also known as cut lines, are a few lines of text used to explain or elaborate
on published photographs.

Comic Strips is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels. to display brief

humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions.

Camera Shot Framing is the art and science of placing subjects in your shots. Camera
shots are all about composition. Rather than pointing the camera at the subject, you need
to compose an image.

For filmmakers and videographers, a major consideration for framing is the number of
subjects you feature in our shots, and their physical relationship to each other and the camera.

Based on how you plan to position your subjects, you'll need to adjust your camerawork.
You'll want to capture your framing details on a shot list well before you arrive on set. That
way you have a clear idea for the scene and can communicate your vision with ease.
TYPES OF CAMERA SHOT FRAMING
1. Single Shot. What you shot captures one subject it's known as a single shot. This can be
set and framed in any shot size you like, just as long as there is only one character featured
within the frame.
2. Two Shot is camera shot with two characters featured in the frame. Two shots are often
really useful for allowing performances to play out in a single take, which can be especially
useful for comedy.
3. Three Shot A three-shot features three characters in the frame. Three shots are really
important in adventure films, or really any film that has a group of characters, because it is an
enormous time drain to shoot 3 single just to show every character, not to mention jarring.
4. Over-the Shoulder Shot (OTS). Another elements of camera shots to consider is
the perspective of the shot. An over-the-shoulder shot shows your subject from behind he
shoulder of another character. Because it emulates perspectives, it’s common in conversation
scenes.
5. Point-of-view Shot (POV). is camera shot that shows the viewer exactly what the
character sees. This transports the audience into the character. A point of View shot (POV) is
generally sandwiched between two other shots. A camera shot of a character looking at
something.
camera focus
Depth of Field (DOF) is the tem used to describe the size of the area in
your image where objects appear acceptably sharp. The area in
questions is known as the field, and the size (in z-space) of the area is
the depth of that field. The center most point of the field is known as the
point of focus. The imaginary two dimensional plane that extends from
the point is known as the plan of focus. Any part of your image that falls
directly on this place is officially in focus.

Types of Camera Shot Focus

1. Rack Focus / Focus Pull
2. Shallow Focus
3. Deep Focus
4. Tilt-Shift
WRITTEN
- it is use of language style and textual layout (headlines, captions, speech
bubbles, language style, etc.) The study of written codes includes:
CODES
Headlines/Titles It is the text indicating the nature of the article below it.
Typeface/Font Slogans/Taglines
Captions (print) or inter-titles (moving image)
Style
Choice of words
Emphasis of words.

The use of language style and textual layout also express meaning. In
newspapers for instance, the layout speaks about the degree of importance of a
news story with respect to other news stories. Typically, newspaper editors
follow the inverted "S" of news layout because the mode by which people read
would be from left to right and from the upper fold of the newspaper down to the
lower fold. Captions, titles, slogans, taglines, and some other language
elements are also utilizing in a way suggest a particular meaning.
• Conventions are accepted ways of using media codes. Conventions are
closely connected to the audience expectations of a media product. Different
types of conventions include form conventions, story conventions and genre
conventions.
• Form conventions are the certain ways we expect types of media 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 the headline or
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.
• Story conventions are common narrative structures and understandings that
are common in story telling media products. Examples of story conventions
include: Narrative structures, Cause and effect, Character construction, and
Point of View.
• Genre conventions point to the common use of images, 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.
Types of Signs

A. Regulatory Signs signs that inform road users of traffic laws

and regulations which, if disregarded, will constitute an offense.

1. Priority Signs, like Stop sign, Give way sign, Left turner
must give way
2. Direction Signs
3. Prohibitive / Restriction Signs
4. Speed Signs
5. Parking Signs
6. Miscellaneous Signs
Types of Signs

B. Warning signs. Signs used to warn motorists of potentially

hazardous conditions on or adjacent to the road. It advises
motorists of road conditions. that require caution and may call for
a reduction in speed, in the interest of safety and that of other
road users.

1. Horizontal signs
2. Intersection signs
3. Advance Warning/ Traffic Control Device Signs
4. Road Width Signs
5. Road Obstacle Signs
6. Pedestrian School Signs
Genre is a French word which means "kind" or
"class". The original Latin word is "genus" and means
a class of things that can be broken down into
subcategories. The primary genres that media and
information industry consider are the following in
broad strokes: news, information, education,
entertainment, and advertising.

News. These are stories that have critical importance

to community and national life. Like the storytelling of
fictional dramas, news stories are also told following
the basic structure of beginning, middle, and end.
 Major Division of News Stories Employed by
Journalists (Sub-genres in delivering news)
1. Hard news (straight news) It is usually found in the first page of a newspapers or make up the
headline of a regular episode of primetime news.

Hard news values two elements: seriousness and timeliness.

Seriousness means topics or issues that are critical to the lives of the community and the body
politics.

Timeliness. It is the stories that cover current events and the current peace negotiations, the
outbreak of war, a significant public statement issued by a leader or a situation of current crisis.

2. Soft news. It is also called human interest stories. The journalist is able to relax in presenting
soft news. This include lifestyle news, travel news, articles offering the best way to do
something.

3. Features. The feature stories are extensions of soft news in a sense that the human interest
 Major Division of News Stories Employed by
Journalists (Sub-genres in delivering news)

4. Opinion and Editorial. Opinion against hard news are reserved for editorials and
opinion columns. Columns are opinion articles and editorials express an individual or
organizational point of view. Editorials can serve many purposes, it can argue for a
certain issue and calls on a person or an entity to act on the issue or respond to the
clamor of the citizens.

5. Investigative News (reporting) It has a very specific relation to power because it

focuses in finding, reporting, and presenting news which the authorities try to conceal.
It is to expose wrong doing, questionable transactions or shady deals brokered by
those in power, there is the more compelling need to be more in-depth and analytical
with the facts that are uncovered in a process that usually takes longer than
conventional news reporting
Advertisements are messages that are created to sell a product or services.

Three established broad sub-genres of Advertising

1. Hard-sell advertisements. These are commercial in nature and utilizes explicit

messages to get the consumers to purchase a product or patronize service.

2. Soft-sell advertisements. These are associate in nature. A major soda company

associates its product with the happiness derived from family togetherness.

3. Infomercial. Derived from the word "information" and "commercials" combine the need
to inform or educate and the intent to sell a product. Advocacy groups use infomercials to
send messages.
Entertainment derives from the French word entretenir which means 'to hold the
attention, keep you busy, or amused," According to Turow, he identified four
Entertainment subgenre which are festival, drama, gaming and comedy.

Genre ENT ERTAINMENT

Subgenre Festival Drama Gaming Comedy

2nd Level Parades Workplace Sports Situation

subgenre comedy

3rd Level Secular Dramas about Professional Work-based

subgenre parades professionals sports sitcoms

4th Level Nonrecurring Hospital dramas NFL footbal Hospital-based

subgenre secular parade sitcoms
 ROLE OF GENRE IN
Genre helps audiences-readers and viewers to understand the text by merely looking at those signs

UNDERSTANDING MEDIA
that you can recognize and interpret. Oftentimes, you may not understand the whole film you are
watching but because there are clues in context that these codes or signs provide, you are able to
form interpretations. This is why those who construct the message should "conform to certain
standard practice within the boundaries of a particular genre (Bhatia, 1993)." The codes in the genre
MESSAGES
guide the audience toward a particular understanding of the message. But a genre is not fixed or
static. There are factors that may influence how message may be understood. The factors include:
• One's role in the society, i.e., a student may interpret the massage differently compared to
someone who is working adult;
• Group purposes-your reasons for consuming the message affect your understanding of it, e.g.,
when you what for entertainment, you may tend to be less critical of the hidden intention of the
message;
• Professional and organizational preferences and prerequisites-your biases toward the massage
may also affect your interpretation of it; and
• Culture constraints-the culture you belong to may have a different way of looking at things
compared to other cultures.
FORMATS
The formats are templates that provide the working and
provisional structures of media and information texts. Formats
provide the architectural foundation of a media or information text
and thus dictate the kind of content that will be generated and the
specific audience a program will attract.

A formula is an established procedure for achieving something.

In media creation and production, the formula is the combination
of elements that will generate the kind of content and the optimal
effect that is envisioned.