We spent some time in class looking at codes and conventions in horror films.
You need to produce a post for your blog titled Research : Codes and Conventions In Horror Films.
In this post, explain what codes and conventions are before then moving on to identify explicit conventions that can be found within the horror film genre.
Try to make this post as 'media-rich' as you can.
Deadline : Tuesday 3rd November
Here is a some help for you:
What are codes?
Codes are systems of signs, which create meaning. Codes can be divided into two categories – technical and symbolic.
Technical codes are all the ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text, for example the camera work in a film, the editing or the use of sound (diegetic and non-diegetic)
Symbolic codes show what is beneath the surface of what we see. Symbolic codes are usually seen through aspects of miss-en-scene. For example, a character's actions show you how the character is feeling, a character's costume can be decoded to help us understand what type of person they are, certain props have suggestions or connotations which can be de-coded by an audience, etc.
Some codes fit both categories – non-diegetic music for example, is both technical and symbolic.
What are conventions?
Conventions are the generally accepted ways of doing something. There are general conventions in any medium, such as the use of interviewee quotes in a print article, but conventions are also genre specific.
How codes and conventions apply in media studies
Codes and conventions are used together in any study of genre – it is not enough to discuss a technical code used such as camera work, without saying how it is conventionally used in a genre.
For example, the technical code of lighting is used in some way in all film genres. It is a convention of the horror genre that side and back lighting is used to create mystery and suspense – an integral part of any horror movie.
Here are the slides we looked through in class:
You need to produce a post for your blog titled Research : Codes and Conventions In Horror Films.
In this post, explain what codes and conventions are before then moving on to identify explicit conventions that can be found within the horror film genre.
Try to make this post as 'media-rich' as you can.
Deadline : Tuesday 3rd November
Here is a some help for you:
What are codes?
Codes are systems of signs, which create meaning. Codes can be divided into two categories – technical and symbolic.
Technical codes are all the ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text, for example the camera work in a film, the editing or the use of sound (diegetic and non-diegetic)
Symbolic codes show what is beneath the surface of what we see. Symbolic codes are usually seen through aspects of miss-en-scene. For example, a character's actions show you how the character is feeling, a character's costume can be decoded to help us understand what type of person they are, certain props have suggestions or connotations which can be de-coded by an audience, etc.
Some codes fit both categories – non-diegetic music for example, is both technical and symbolic.
What are conventions?
Conventions are the generally accepted ways of doing something. There are general conventions in any medium, such as the use of interviewee quotes in a print article, but conventions are also genre specific.
How codes and conventions apply in media studies
Codes and conventions are used together in any study of genre – it is not enough to discuss a technical code used such as camera work, without saying how it is conventionally used in a genre.
For example, the technical code of lighting is used in some way in all film genres. It is a convention of the horror genre that side and back lighting is used to create mystery and suspense – an integral part of any horror movie.
Here are the slides we looked through in class:
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Thanks for your comment. I will get back to you if there is something that I think needs to be picked up.