Codes and Conventions

In class today we had a brief look at codes and conventions and established the different kinds that we would be taught about. The introduction  to this was not long due to the previous experience we had from the AS course.

Codes

Codes in a media text are the way to establish a meaning in texts. There are three types of codes:

• Technical codes: The way the text is constructed technically  camera angles, framing, typography etc

• Verbal codes: Everything to do with language either written or spoken.

• Symbolic codes: Codes that can be decoded on a mainly connotational level. These are things that draw upon the audiences personal experiences and understandings of other media texts, cultural frame of reference.

Conventions

These are commonly understood ways of doing things in a media text which are the easiest points to identify the genre of a media text. There are two types:

• Technical: This would be something such as the narrative of the music video as it easy to identify and would most likely be associated with indie music 

• Generic: Generic conventions are the features shown by media texts that allow them to be put into a specific genre for example In a rock music video you'd expect to see a drummer or lead guitarist.