Here is a refresher on the SWAT codes we investigated last year:
Viewing Codes and Conventions:
SYMBOLIC
Symbolic codes refer to the conventions that will develop some form of implicit or suggested meaning within a media text. Symbolic codes include: costume, props, setting, lighting, colour & character performance.
If we see a character wearing black clothing with silver spikes and chain accessories; heavy black boots and make-up which shows a white face with black lips and eyeliner or eye shadow; and black, spiky cut hair hanging partly over a face, we would probably guess that this character represents a Goth. When we see this Goth character we would expect him or her to have a brooding and mystical personality rather than a bright and bubbly one.
Although a Goth has a striking style of dress, we also recognise other, more 'normal', types of costume. A blue uniform may indicate police or a law officer of some sort. An all-white uniform may indicate a health worker and so on. The point is that we make assumptions about characters in film based on what they are wearing.
Elements of costume to look for are anything that a character wears to help show his or her personality and role in the film. We are encouraged to make interpretations about characters by simply looking at how they appear.
- Clothes: style - fashionable or not, colour, fitting well or not, clean or dirty-looking, era of clothes - today, from times past or futuristic
- Accessories: bags, scarves, jewellery, gloves, hats or headgear, socks and stockings
- Footwear: boots, shoes, sandals or bare feet
- Hairstyles: cut, colour and style
- Make-up: on the face with a natural or characterised look and/or on the body
- Overall appearance: well groomed, scruffy, fashionable, different from others or not.
We learn about the type of person a character represents not only by what is said and how dialogue is spoken, but also through the character's body language, facial expressions and movements. When we look at family members or close friends, the nonverbal clues we see usually indicate the mood they are in. We transfer our knowledge of emotions shown by facial expressions, body language and movement to the stories being told in films, usually without realising it. Some viewers think that acting is easy and that a person simply has to 'do' it. But taking on a role is an in-depth study for any actor. Analysing how to walk or smile or react has to be done very carefully, so that the character's role becomes believable; facial expression and body language have to look normal for that type of character.
For instance, if we see a person bent over a little (body language), walking slowly and carefully (movement), we assume that the person is old or sick. A close-up of the face (facial expression), with appropriate make-up (costume) will tell us which it is: old or sick.
WRITTEN
Written codes are associated with the printed word when it appears on screen. This can also include logos and icons. Elements that fall under written codes include:
Titles, captions, subtitles, credits, Font size and Typeface.
AUDIO
Audio codes are associated with any sound made in a media text.
In film and television, Audio codes deal with everything we hear while watching a feature film. Music, background noises, sound effects and spoken words are all elements included in this category of filmic codes. The element of spoken words is further split in the following way:
- What words are spoken
- Who is speaking - an actor, or a voice-over
- How the words are spoken - accents, slang, formal or foreign language
- The use of silence; we hear this too.
What a character says and how the dialogue is spoken adds to our understanding and acceptance (or not) of the character. If an actor speaks his or her lines well, then we will automatically replace the actor with the believable character that he or she represents.
Audio codes are either digetic or non-diegetic.
Diegetic:
sound that happens within the film. This includes actor dialogue, the music heard by the actors and sounds heard by the actors.
Non-diegetic:
sound that happens outside the film world. This includes voice over narration, film score, soundtrack, off-screen sound fx.
TECHNICAL
- Mise en scene:
- everything is placed in the frame with purpose
- Camera Angles:
- High camera angle:
- looks down on the subject
- viewer has power
- Eye level angle:
- both subject and viewer are equal in power
- Low camera angle:
- looks up at subject
- subject has power
- Birds eye view:
- shot directly above
- Worms eye view
- shot directly underneath
- Camera Shots:
- Establishing shot
- shows setting/location from a distance
- Long shot
- shows setting relating to subject
- Mid shot
- subject waist up and some background
- Close Up
- subjects shoulders and head
- Extreme close up
- detail of object or body part
- e.g. eyes
- Point of view shot (POV)
- usually handheld
- from the perspective of the subject
- Camera movement:
- Tracking shot
- follows action along horizontal plain
- Dolly shot
- follows action along vertical plain
- Panning shot
- camera stationary, but follows the action
- Zoom
- size of shot visibly changes in scale
- Crane shot
- camera moves from ground to aerial shot (or vice versa)
- Rule of thirds
- when the frame is divided, key areas are in ‘hot spots’ and along ‘third’ axis.
- Leading lines
- lines in the frame that draw the viewers focus
- usually created by the natural environment
- Editing
- manipulation of shot duration
- rapid editing
- builds tension and action
- long take
- no cutting and follows action for an extended period of time
- usually involves dolly or handheld
- Film stock
- how clear or grainy the image looks
- colour or black & white
- grainey
- harsh or gritty setting or theme
- high contrast
- happy or hyper-reality
- CGI
- computer generated imagery
- allows things outside the real world to become real or plausible
- Lighting
- how light is used to frame image or to highlight the subject
- can be different colour
- to suggest the time of day
- interior or exterior
- can be made to look from nature
- the sun
- made to look like they come from objects
- a lamp, streetlight, campfire***Happy WritingMrs P
