Semiotic toolkit

Indexical signs

signifer / signified

signifer

the sign

signified

what it points to/suggests

denotation

literal interpretation

connotation

metaphorical interpretation

code

collection of signs

encode / decode

how meaning is mediated in a text

iconography

visual, technical, audio and written codes

Visual codes

mise en scene - gestures, facial expressions, blocking, composition, framing, camera angles, props, costume, setting

Technical codes

lighting (natural/artificial/industrial/high key/low key/halo);  editing (montage/continuity); camera movement (zoom, track, dolly, tilt), typography, layout

Audio codes

diagetic/ non-diagetic, sound effects, sound bed, ambience, volume, crescendo/fade

Paradigmatic Choices

the toolbox of signs within a culture available to the producer

Myths

the ‘stories’ that underpin the structures of our society eg ‘the underdog’ ‘hard work pays off’

Ideologies

the belief systems that form the structures of society

Cultural capital

the cultural awareness an audience uses to decode a text

Hegemony/Hegemonic

the dominant viewpoint/messaging in a society often used as a form of systematic control to maintain an imbalance of power

Levi - Strauss

The structures in society are organised into binary oppositions that help us to make sense of the world around us. These binary oppositions create conflict from which we derive meaning

enigma code

mystery within a text

action code

parts of a narrative which are related to things happening

Semantic codes

the literal meaning of language

Symbolic codes

deeper meanings or connotations of language

Referential code

a part of a text refers to something outside of the text