week 6

• 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 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.
• 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). This 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.
• Setting

  Known as the time and place of the narrative, the setting describes where the story or a specific scene took place. It can be as big as an open space or as small as a room. It can even be a created atmosphere or frame of mind.
• Mise en scene

  In the world of media, mise en scene is a French term that means ‘everything within the frame’. It also refers to all the objects within a frame the way they are arranged. To analyze this, you should look into the media’s set design, costume, props, staging and composition.
• Acting

  In media, actors portray a variety of characters that contribute to character development, creating tension or interpreting the narrative. An actor portrays his/ her assigned character through the following elements: facial expression, body language, vocal qualities, movement and body contact.

   
• Color

  In media, color has strong cultural connotations. As a student, analyzing the use of color in media and its various aspects, you have to look at the following: dominant color, contrasting foils and color symbolism.
• Technical codes - The second kind of codes are specific to a media form and do not live as a separate entity. To help you analyze this, look at different camera shots and their connotations in films and photographs. You have to remember that these may mean nothing to you or the general audience outside of those forms. These codes include camerawork, editing, audio and lighting.
• Camerawork

  How the camera is operated, positioned, and moved to achieve certain effects is also important in analyzing media. These include positioning, movement, framing, exposure, and choice of lens.
• Editing

  Another important consideration in studying media is editing. It is the process of choosing, manipulating, and arranging images and sound. Generally, it is done for graphic edits, rhythmic edits, spatial edits and temporal edits
• 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.
• Lightning - Manipulating light, either natural or artificial, to selectively highlight specific elements of certain scenes, is also one of the important elements of media. These elements of lighting include: quality, direction, source and color.
•  Written Codes - A type of code that is written usually includes formal written language used in media. Similar to technical and symbolic codes, written codes can be used to interpret a narrative and communicate information regarding a character. Also, it can convey issues and themes emergent within the media product. Examples of this code are printed and spoken languages. The simple use of different fonts or typefaces indicate different meaning.
• 3 types of media codes

  • Symbolic codes
  • Technical codes
  • written codes
• CONVENTIONS

  To use media codes in some sort of a norm where it is accepted by everybody, there has to be a convention. These are closely connected to what the audience expects from media.
• According to Robert Young (2017) conventions are the accepted ways of using media codes. There are three different types of conventions: form conventions, story conventions and genre conventions 
• Form conventions - are the distinct ways that audiences expect codes to be arranged in media. Examples of these expectations are the title of the film at the beginning or the credits at the end. In printed media, it is expected that newspapers will have a masthead or a banner story as the most important news, then the sports news usually at the back. Mobile games usually begin with a step- by-step with help texts on how the game works
•  Story conventions - These story conventions are common narrative structures and expectations from media. Examples of these are narrative structures, cause and effect, character construction and point of view (POV)
•  Genre conventions - Genre conventions include the common use of tropes, characters, settings or themes in a certain media. These are closely linked with how the audience expects from the media product. They can be formal or thematic.