Media and Information Literacy, Lecture notes of Computer science

Download Media and Information Literacy and more Lecture notes Computer science in PDF only on Docsity! MEDIA CODES AND CONVENTIONS MEDIA CODES AND CONVENTIONS WRITTEN CODES CONVENTIONS SETTING CAMERAWORK PRINTED LANGUAGE FORM CONVENTIONS MISE EN SCENE EDITING SPOKEN LANGUAGE STORY CONVENTIONS ACTING AUDIO GENRE CONVENTIONS COLOUR LIGHTING The elements of setting PLACE Where the narrative takes place, the physical location. This could include a galaxy far far away or Times Square in New York City. TIME The time of the setting is when the narrative is set. The setting could be historical, futuristic or contemporary. The time of a setting could also refer to how long a time the narrative takes place over. A narrative could span over 100’s of years or just 24 hours. CONTEXT A setting may provide some contextual information to help the audience understand some aspect of the narrative. There may be social, political or cultural contexts in an environment that has an impact on the narrative. The functions of setting Extension of character Sometimes a setting can reflect or emphasize certain character/s. Think of the antagonists lair, the boss’ office or the love interest’s bedroom. Contribute to a mood or atmosphere The combination of different elements of a setting can add to the overall mood or atmosphere to a narrative. This mood may have a connection to the genre of the narrative and is connected to the audience expectations of what will happen in the story. Create tension A setting can have an effect on the plot of the narrative by creating pressure or stress that causes a character to act in a certain way. Elements of Mise en scene Set Design Whilst setting is about the time and location of a narrative or scene, the set design discusses how that setting is being presented. In ‘10 Cloverfield Lane’ the design of the bomb shelter is connected to the character of Howard and his need for a family. The stark bomb shelter’s walls have been painted pink using lamp shades on the lights. realistic or stylistic Costume Costume includes the wardrobe choices and make-up that is used to convey a character’s status or personality. Costume can have a wide variety of other functions. They can help signify the setting or era of the narrative, can play important roles in the plot of the film, draw the eye to a specific character or help point out the difference between characters or the setting. Props Prop is short for property, another term borrowed from the theatre. When an object in the setting has a function within the ongoing action, it is then called a prop. Props are often closely linked to the plot of the narrative, or a cause and effect relationship. If a prop is repeated throughout the narrative, it may become a motif, and connected to a theme or moral of the story. Colour(Symbolic codes) Media products may have a colour palette, a set of colours that are used consistently throughout to create a tone or mood. Elements of Colur Dominant colour The dominant colour of a shot within a mise en scene or throughout a media product has the effect of setting the mood or tone. For instance, ithe screenshots below, the dominant dirty green colour of the ‘fake’ world within The Matrix creates a mood that the world is “sick” whilst the screenshot from ‘In The Air has a dominant colour of a cold blue, which is sets an overall melancholy mood. Elements of Colur Contrasting Foils Colour can be used to draw the audiences eye to something in the frame by using contrasting, or complementary colours. Elements of Acting Gaze is also an important part of facial expression — it’s a term used to describe the focus of a person’s look. Is the person looking at the camera, at someone else or outside the frame? Elements of Acting Body language Body language Is about the way an actor controls their body through gestures, posture and body contact. Elements of Acting gesture is a kind of visible expression made by the actor, a type of movement. Posture is the general way that the body is held, it’s the attitude of the body. Body contact is a very powerful symbolic code that suggests intimacy Elements of Acting GESTURES POSTURE MOVEMENT VOCAL QUALITIES TECHNICAL CODES Technical codes are codes that are specific to a media form and do not live outside of them. For instance, our understanding of different camera shots and their connotations make sense when we look and films and photographs, but mean nothing to us outside of those forms. Technical codes in media include Camerawork, Editing, Audio and Lighting. Technical Codes Camerawork Camerawork refers to how the camera is operated, positioned and moved for specific effects. Aspects of camerawork include: Camerawork elements B. Movement C. Framing Is the technique of drawing attention to the subject of your image by blocking other parts of the image with something in the scene. Frames for photographs come in all shapes and sizes and can include shooting through overhanging branches, shooting through windows, using tunnels, arches or doorways - you can even use people (for example shooting over shoulders or between heads) etc. Some Rules of Framing Look for horizontal and vertical lines in the frame (e.g. the horizon, poles, etc). Make sure the horizontals are level, and the verticals are straight up and down (unless of course you're purposely going for a tilted effect). The rule of thirds. This rule divides the frame into nine sections, as in the first frame below. Points (or lines) of interest should occur at 1/3 or 2/3 of the way up (or across) the frame, rather than in the centre D.Exposure is an umbrella term that refers to two aspects of photography - it is referring to how to control the lightness and the darkness of the image. E. Lens Choice Editing(Technical Codes) Editing is the process of choosing, manipulating and arranging images and sound. Editing Is generally done for four different reasons. Graphic matches Graphic matches, or match cuts, are useful in relating two otherwise disconnected scenes, or in helping to establish a relationship between two scenes. By ending one shot with a frame containing the same compositional elements (shape, color, size, etc.) as the beginning frame of the next shot, a connection is drawn between the two shots with a smooth transition. Rhythm Rhythm editing describes an assembling of shots and/or sequences according to a rhythmic pattern of some kind, usually dictated by music. It can be narrative, as in the clip from Woody Allen’s Bananas below, or, a music video type collage, as in the second clip from Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. In either case, dialogue is suppressed and the musical relationship between shots takes center stage. SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS The Establishing Shot or sequence serves to situate the audience within a particular environment or setting and/ or to introduce an important character or characters. The establishing shot is usually the first or the first few shots in a sequence, and as such, it must be very efficient in portraying the context. Typically, establishing shots are Extreme Long Shots or Long Shots, followed by progressively closer framing. SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS Cut-out or away is bringing the viewer from a close view to a more distant one. The sequence opens with an extreme long shot of the area’s landscape, a high-angled tracking shot (probably via helicopter) - giving us a wide panoramic view of the area. A cut suddenly transports the viewer somewhere within the landscape to a medium shot of character lying on the floor in his room. Temporal edits Match on Action is an editing technique used in continuity editing that cuts two alternate views of the same action together at the same moment in the move in order to make it seem uninterrupted. This allows the same action to be seen from multiple angles without breaking its continuous nature. It fills out a scene without jeopardizing the reality of the time frame of the action. Temporal edits Parallel editing is a technique used to portray multiple lines of action, occurring in different places, simultaneously. In most but not all cases of this technique, these lines of action are occurring at the same time. These different sequences of events are shown simultaneously because there is usually some type of connection between them. This connection is either understood by the audience throughout the sequence, or will be revealed later on in the movie.