UNIT ONE- Part A: Terms –Film Language
Representation: In media, representation refers to the ways in which a media product refers to or shows the world through its own set of symbols. For example, what are some media representations of teenagers? lazy? crazy? irresponsible? bored? Which media examples, specifically, come to mind? Why? How many types of media products use this kind of ‘coding’ in their representation of young people?
Media Text: a media text is any media product, including newspapers, magazines, TV shows, print and e-books, posters, music, films, comics, advertisements (print and electronic), and radio or Internet products.
Visual Storytelling: The strategic arrangement of visual images in order to convey meaning is called visual storytelling.
A sign is an object, quality, or event whose occurrence implies the existence of something else as well. Signs are the building blocks of the cinema! For example, the camera zooms in on a dead body = there has been a murder. Directors use signs so that the viewer will make associations between what they see and what they do not see. The viewer sees the body, and because of other movies and TV shows they’ve watched, make inferences about how the body got there.
Visual Language: In media, visual language refers to the idea that all visual media is created in order to communicate ideas and to make statements. Instead of using a language, it uses symbols and symbolic systems to convey ideas.
Symbols: Symbols are concrete objects that represent abstract ideas.
Symbolic System: The set of symbols, codes, and conventions within a media product that generate meaning.
Codes and Conventions: A code is simply a set of signs that carries a specific TYPE of meaning. For example, in a Western - the gunslinger tightens his belt in a close-up = trouble ahead, someone may die! Similarly, a convention is a code that, due to repeated use, has come to carry the same meaning each time it is used. For example, the music becomes intense and eerie = something bad is about to happen to the person on screen.
Barthes’ 5 Codes of Meaning
1- Enigma Code: the main puzzle, secret, or problem. This is a structuring device that hooks the audience’s interest. Think of it as the string of questions the viewer continues to ask as the film (or even the commercial) unfolds.
2- Connotative Code: the signs that inject meaning into the setting or character, ie. a man in a suit and tie signifies something very different than does the man in a jean vest with arms covered in tattoos.
3- Action Code: the actions and sets of actions that, given the viewer’s exposure to other texts, carries more meaning than what is immediately visible. For example, the kiss at the end of the romantic comedy implies marriage and a ‘happily ever after’ ending.
4- Symbolic Code: the organization of visual information into sets of contrasts that are symbolic in meaning. For example, pairing good vs. evil, dark vs. light, love vs. hate, hero vs. villain, society vs. the rebel, life vs. death, right vs. wrong, rich vs. poor, etc. These opposites are also known as binary oppositions.
5- Cultural Code: visual texts also reference what is already known and codified in a culture such as its morals, values, and politics. Basically, the cultural code is the common set of beliefs people share about things such as the law, marriage and social responsibility. It is the frame of reference for the struggles that occur in the film.
TASK: Use Barthes 5 Codes of Meaning and apply them to either “The Paperman” or to “Burn-E.” Use the chart provided.
Pause at second 24 of the clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UDJPaN50EE
What is established about Douglas’s character in these 24 seconds?
Apply the 5 codes again. 1) Which questions arise in response to this man in this setting? 2) What can we tell about his character? What can we tell about this particular part of the city? 3) Which actions carry more meaning than what is shown? 4) Which binary oppositions (contrasts) come into play? 5) Describe the cultural frame of reference.