Media & Information Literacy Notes

Media Language and Codes

  • Media Language refers to how media texts communicate meaning to an audience. It includes the use of codes, conventions, symbols, and techniques to deliver a message, influence viewers, and create emotional or logical responses.

  • It is how a media product “speaks” to its audience – not just with words, but with images, sounds, colors, camera angles, music, layout, and symbols.

  • Core idea: media texts convey meaning through structured systems (codes and conventions) that audiences interpret.

Learning Competencies (from the transcript)

  • Define genres, codes, and conventions.

  • Discuss the different types of genres and codes within each genre.

  • Explain how codes and conventions are used in constructing media messages.

  • Identify the genre and codes used in a television advertisement.

  • Evaluate everyday media and information with regard to codes, conventions, and messages, considering audience, producers, and other stakeholders.

What is Code?

  • A code is a system of signs that, when put together, create meaning.

  • Codes operate as building blocks for communicating messages within media texts.

What is Convention?

  • A convention is the generally accepted way of doing something within a medium or genre.

  • Conventions guide how creators present content and how audiences expect to receive it.

Technical Codes

  • Technical Codes define how equipment is used to tell the story. They include: camera techniques, framing, depth of field, lighting and exposure, etc.

  • Types of Code: Technical, Symbolic, Written.

Technical Codes: Camera Techniques and Shots

  • Basic Camera Shots:

    • Extreme Long Shot

    • Wide / Long Shot

    • Medium Long Shot

    • Full Shot

    • Medium Close-Up

    • Close-Up

    • Extreme Close-Up

    • Establishing Shot

    • Point of View (POV)

    • Over the Shoulder

    • Reaction Shot

    • Reverse Angle Shot

    • Selective Focus

    • Arc Shot

    • Aerial / Overhead

    • High Angle

    • Low Angle

    • Eye-Level

    • Slanted (canted)

  • Advance Camera Shots (examples of more complex framing and composition)

  • Camera Angles: how the camera is positioned relative to the subject (e.g., High Angle, Low Angle, Eye-Level, Slanted)

  • Establishing Shot: Often used at the beginning of a scene to indicate location or setting; usually a long shot from a neutral position.

  • POV Shot: Shows a scene from a character’s or one person’s perspective.

  • Over the Shoulder Shot: Dialogue scenes; shows a frontal view of a dialogue partner from behind and slightly to the side.

  • Reaction Shot: A short shot of a character’s response to an action.

  • Reverse Angle Shot: A shot from the opposite perspective to the prior shot.

  • Selective Focus: A shot using focus techniques to blur the background (often achievable with apps for phones).

  • Arc Shot: The camera follows its subject in an arc, usually from behind.

  • Aerial / Overhead Shot: Long or extreme long shots of the ground from the air.

  • Camera Movements (Video Presentation): 8 Basic Types of Camera Movements:

    • Pan

    • Tilt

    • Dolly

    • Zoom

    • Dolly Zoom

    • Tracking

    • Arc

    • Follow

  • Summary of camera shots and movements provides the visual language for storytelling and meaning-making.

Symbolic Codes

  • Symbolic Codes show what lies beneath the surface of what we see (objects, setting, body language, clothing, color, etc.).

  • Types of Code: Technical, Symbolic, Written.

  • Objects as Symbols:

    • Ring = commitment or love

    • Broken Glasses = conflict or destruction

    • Dove = Peace or Hope

  • Settings / Location as Symbols:

    • A dark alley = danger or mystery

    • A bright classroom = learning or safety

    • A palace = wealth and royalty

  • Body Language as Symbols:

    • Crossed arms = defensiveness or confidence

    • Pointing = aggression or emphasis

    • Bowing = respect (sometimes cultural)

  • Colors as Symbols:

    • Red = passion, anger, danger

    • White = purity, peace

    • Black = power, elegance, death

  • Clothing / Costumes as Symbols:

    • School Uniform = student identity

    • Suit and Tie = professionalism

    • Dirty or Torn Clothes = poverty, hardship

  • Written Codes (language and text) describe how text communicates beyond visuals, including layout and typography.

Written Codes

  • Written Codes involve use of language, style, and textual layout in media texts (headlines, captions, speech bubbles, language style, etc.).

  • These codes contribute to meaning through word choice, typography, and the arrangement of text on screen or page.

Genre Overview: Entertainment, News, Information, Advertising

  • What is Genre?

    • Genre is a broad class of media content that can be broken down into subcategories.

    • Major classes include: Entertainment, News, Information, Advertising.

  • Entertainment (Origin and Purpose):

    • From the French word entretien, meaning to hold the audience’s attention, keep them amused and engaged.

    • Aims to grab audience attention and generate pleasurable feelings through story, production, and visuals.

  • Subgenres in Entertainment (examples):

    • Festival, Drama, Gaming, Comedy

  • Second-level subgenres (examples):

    • Music festival, Workplace drama, Sports, Situation comedy

  • Third-level subgenres (examples):

    • Popular music festival, Dramas about professionals, Professional sports, Work-based sitcoms

  • Fourth-level subgenres (examples):

    • Annual popular music festival (e.g., SXSW, Lollapalooza), Forensic-themed crime dramas (CSI, Bones), NFL football, Hospital-based sitcom (e.g., House, The Mindy Project)

  • News (Definition and Role):

    • News are stories of critical importance to community and national life; journalists are trained to report objectively, comprehensively, and without bias.

  • Subcategories within News:

    • Hard News / Straight News

    • Features / Soft News

    • Investigative News

    • Editorial and Opinion

    • Investigative Reports (focus on uncovering information authorities try to conceal)

  • Hard News (Characteristics):

    • Seriousness: topics critical to the lives of the community and the body politic (e.g., political/economic developments, crime, disasters)

    • Timeliness: current events and timely reporting (e.g., wars, negotiations, public statements)

    • Objectivity: fair, balanced, impartial reporting free of judgement or interpretation

  • Soft News:

    • Lifestyle, travel, human-interest pieces; aims to entertain or inform with a lighter tone and relatable content

  • Features:

    • An extension of soft news, with a human-interest angle presented in a longer, more elaborated format

  • Editorial and Opinion:

    • Opinions against hard news; reserved for editorials and opinion columns; expresses a particular point of view

  • Investigative Reports:

    • Focus on uncovering information authorities may conceal; in-depth investigation and reporting

Advertising Genre

  • Advertising aims to sell a product or service; messages can be commercial, informational, or advocacy-driven.

  • Subcategories:

    • Hard Sell: explicit, commercially-driven appeals to purchase or patronize

    • Soft Sell: associative, emotionally-driven, linking product to positive experiences (e.g., family happiness)

    • Infomercial: combines information and commerce to inform and sell

Information Genre

  • Information is the raw material that circulates and gives rise to news; anything that provides data about the world (e.g., Blogs, Wikis).

  • It serves as a reservoir for news and interpretation and can be used as a basis for other genres.

Practical and Ethical Implications

  • Codes and conventions shape audience interpretation; producers influence perceptions through visual and textual choices.

  • Objectivity in journalism is a guiding principle but may be challenged by bias, framing, or contextualization; awareness of this is crucial for media literacy.

  • The use of symbolic codes can advance or manipulate messages (e.g., Dove symbolizing peace or a dark alley signaling danger) – audiences should interpret symbols critically.

  • Advertising strategies (Hard Sell vs. Soft Sell vs. Infomercial) raise questions about consumer autonomy, persuasion, and transparency.

  • The information genre’s reliance on sources like blogs and wikis highlights issues of credibility, accuracy, and the need for verification.

Connections to Foundational Principles

  • Media language as a system of signs parallels semiotics: sign, signified, and signifier in communication theory.

  • The distinction between Hard News and Soft News reflects the tension between immediacy and human-interest storytelling in shaping public perception.

  • Genre classifications help organize media ecosystems and guide audience expectations, production practices, and critical analysis.

Summary of Key Terms (Quick Reference)

  • Media Language: means of communication through codes, conventions, symbols, and techniques.

  • Code: system of signs that conveys meaning.

  • Convention: accepted method or practice within a genre.

  • Technical Codes: how equipment and technique convey meaning (shots, angles, lighting).

  • Symbolic Codes: underlying meanings conveyed via symbols (objects, colors, settings, body language).

  • Written Codes: language, typography, and text layout.

  • Genre: major content categories (Entertainment, News, Information, Advertising).

  • Entertainment Subgenres: festival, drama, gaming, comedy; further nested subgenres.

  • News Subgenres: hard news, features, soft news, investigative, editorials.

  • Advertising Subtypes: hard sell, soft sell, infomercial.

  • Information: raw data sources (blogs, wikis).

Closing

  • The slides emphasize a comprehensive framework for analyzing media messages, focusing on how codes and conventions are used to shape meaning, audience interpretation, and real-world impact.