Media Languages and Codes - Comprehensive Study Notes

Media Languages are the codes, conventions, formats, symbols and narrative structures that indicate the meaning of media messages to an audience.

Symbolic 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.

What does a Red Rose symbolize? A red rose may convey Romance or Love.
What does a Clenched Fist symbolize? A clenched fist may convey Anger.
What do the colors in a Traffic Light symbolize? Red - Stop, Yellow - Ready, Green - Go.

Written codes use language style and textual layout (headlines, captions, speech bubbles, language style, etc.)

Technical codes are ways in which equipment is used to tell the story.
This includes sound, camera angles, types of shots and lighting as well as camera techniques, framing, depth of field, lighting, exposure and juxtaposition.

EXTREME LONG SHOT: Also called extreme wide shots such as a large crowd scene or a view of scenery as far as the horizon.
LONG SHOT: A view of a situation or setting from a distance.
MEDIUM LONG SHOT: Shows a group of people in interaction with each other, e.g., a fight scene with part of their surroundings in the picture.
FULL SHOT: A view of a figure’s entire body in order to show action and/or a constellation of characters.
MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT: Shows a subject down to his/her chest/waist.
CLOSE UP SHOT: A full-screen shot of a subject's face showing the finest nuances of expression.
EXTREME CLOSE UP SHOT: A shot of a hand, eye, mouth, or any object in detail.

These shots help establish scale, relationships between characters and settings, and the intensity of action.

Establishing Shot: Often used at the beginning of a scene to indicate the location or setting; it is usually a long shot taken from a neutral position.
What does Establishing Shot mean? It establishes where and when the scene is taking place.
Point-of-View (POV) Shot: Shows a scene from the perspective of a character or one person; most newsreel footages are shown from the perspective of the newscaster.
Over-the-Shoulder Shot: Often used in dialogue scenes; a frontal view of a dialogue partner from the perspective of someone standing behind and slightly to the side of the other partner, so that parts of both can be seen.
Reaction Shot: A short shot of a character's response to an action.
Insert Shot: A detail shot which quickly gives visual information necessary to understand the meaning of a scene.
Reverse-Angle Shot: A shot from the opposite perspective.
Hand-held Camera Shot: The camera is not mounted on a tripod and is held by the cameraperson, resulting in less stable shots.

Aerial Shot (Bird’s Eye Shot): Overhead shot of the ground from the air; can show geography or scale.
High-Angle Shot: Shows people or objects from above, higher than eye level.
Low-Angle Shot: Shows people or objects from below, below eye level.
Eye-Level Shot: Straight-on angle; views a subject from the level of a person's eye.

Pan Shot: The camera pans (moves horizontally) from left to right or vice versa across the picture.
Tilt Shot: The camera tilts up (moves upwards) or tilts down (moves downwards) around a vertical axis.
Tracking Shot: The camera follows along next to or behind a moving object or person.
Zoom: The stationary camera approaches a subject by zooming in or moves farther away by zooming out.