Codes and conventions

The types of codes and conventions are going to be explained

1. Codes and Conventions Media

2. Symbolic Codes Symbolic codes live outside the media product themselves but be understood in similar ways in real life for the audience. The acting, mise en scene, colour , setting and props all can have symbolism which can be understood both in films and in reality.

3. Technical Codes Technical codes are specific to media form and don’t live outside of them. That means that they have the connotation only when we watch the film which feature them but it doesn’t have any meaning in real life. Technical codes are the codes that build meaning with the help of technical elements such as camerawork, editing, lightning and sound.

4. Written Codes Written codes are the formal written language used in media. Just like technical and symbolic codes, they are used to advance narrative, communicate information about a character or issues and themes. Written code include printed language which is the text written and spoken language which includes dialogues, monologues and even song lyrics.

5. Form Conventions Form conventions are the certain ways we expect types of media’s codes to be arranged. For instance an audience expects to have a title of the film at the beginning, and then credits at the end. Newspapers will have a masthead, the most important news on the front page and sports news on the back page. Video games usually start with a tutorial to explain the mechanics of how the game works.

6. Story Conventions Story conventions are common narrative structures and understandings that are common in story telling media products. Examples of story conventions include character construction, narrative structures, cause and effect and point of view.

7. Genre Conventions Genre conventions point to the common use of tropes, characters, settings or themes in a particular type of medium. Genre conventions are closely linked with audience expectations. Genre conventions can be  formal  or  thematic . For formal conventions there are aspects of real life and aspects of film as an art form that shape the way in which the audience experiences a single film. Thematic conventions use themes to set the mood and atmosphere of story which happen to overlap with other stories of the same genre.