MEDIA AND INFORMATION

LANGUAGES
> Codes and Conventions
> Media and the Audience,
Producers, and Stakeholders
 In media studies, CODES are known as a system
or collection of signs that create meaning
when put together.

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The meaning is agreed
upon by the
communicators because
the rules in
understanding the codes
are shared by members
of a community that use
that particular code.

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 GENRE
◆ Is a French word for “type" or "kind."
◆ Has been a major component in
understanding literature, theatre, film,
television, and other art and media forms.
◆ The grouping into recognizable categories of
content of these forms is what characterizes
genre. Each of these categories is further
marked by particular set of conventions,
features, and norms (Neale as cited in
Creeber, 2003).
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 Role of Genre in Understanding
Media Messages
Genre helps audiences, readers, and viewers to
understand the text by merely looking at those signs that
you can recognize and interpret. Oftentimes, you may not
understand the whole film you are watching but because
there are clues in context that these codes or signs provide,
you are able to form interpretations. This is why those who
construct the message should conform to certain standard
practices within the boundaries of a particular genre
(Bhatia. 1993)." The codes in the genre guide the audience
toward a particular understanding of the message.
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 ◆ CODES consist of signs that have meaning and the meanings
are dictated by agreed rules of interpretation.
◆ Although codes guide the way a message may be
interpreted or understood, it is not guaranteed that all
people will understand the message in the same way that
others would because a genre is not fixed or static.
◆ The message is still open to miscommunication and
misinterpretation because of certain factors.

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 Factors that affect how media
messages are interpreted
These factors may influence how messages may
be understood. The factors include:

1. One's role in the society - i.e., a student may

interpret the message differently compared
to someone who is a working adult.

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 Factors that affect how media
messages are interpreted
2. Group Purposes - your
reasons for consuming the
message affect your
understanding of it, e.g.,
when you watch for
entertainment, you may
tend to be less critical of the
hidden intention of the
message.
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 Factors that affect how media
messages are interpreted
3. Professional and organizational
preferences and prerequisites - your
biases toward the message may also
affect your interpretation of it; and

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 Factors that affect how media
messages are interpreted
4. Cultural Constraints - the
culture you belong to may
have a different way of
looking at things compared
to other cultures.
Culture affects the way codes
are interpreted. For instance, a
salutation in one cultural group
may be different in another.
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 It means that the genre already has
embedded patterns of codes or signs that
you will have to merely identity, rather
than having to force your own particular
pattern just for you to be able to
understand the message of the genre.

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 Perhaps the most common area on which
codes are expected to be strictly manifested
are in audio-visual media messages such as
films and television programs. Some of these
codes may also be seen in printed media
messages.

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 Types of Codes in Media

1. Technical Codes
2. Visual/Symbolic Codes
3. Written Codes
4. Audio Codes

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 1. Technical Codes
◆ These are signs that are produced
when camera techniques, framing,
depth of fields, lighting and
exposure, and juxtaposition are
utilized.
◆ The type of film shot, or the manner
of capturing scene, or even the way
the scenes are spliced and put
Photo by Irina Dimulescu

together through editing suggests a

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particular meaning. Photo by Becky Anderson
 1. Technical Codes
◆ You may find how the video
editing technique, used in
scenes in a film or in a
television program affects the
way we understand the
narrative.
◆ Ex.
A flashback would normally be
shown in black and white or zoom in
very quickly towards the subject.
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 2. Visual/Symbolic Codes
◆ These are codes that are embedded in the
technical codes such as objects, setting,
body language, clothing, and, color.
◆ These codes suggest or connote, rather than
explicitly state the meaning of a media
message.
◆ The understanding of the message may
depend on the receiver of the message.
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 2. Visual/Symbolic Codes
◆ For instance, in a soap opera scene,
you may see a character dressed in
black and crying while seated on a
rocking chair and caressing an
object of importance to him or her.
◆ Because of your familiarity with the
cultural symbolism of wearing black,
you will begin to think that another
character very dear to the one
crying has passed away.
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 2. Visual/Symbolic Codes
◆ Another example is when
a drinking glass suddenly
slips from the hand of a
character which
connotes a premonition
that danger looms,
trouble waits, or a
something shocking is
about to be revealed.
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 2. Visual/Symbolic Codes
◆ Symbolic codes are very effective in
suggesting meaning because they
utilize our sense of imagination and
rely on our familiarity with cultural signs
and symbols.

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 3. Written Codes

◆ The use of language

style and textual
layout also express
meaning

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 3. Written Codes
◆ For example, in
newspapers, the
layout speaks about
the degree of
importance of a news
story with respect to
other news stories.

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 3. Written Codes
◆ Captions, titles, slogans, taglines, and some other
language elements are also utilized in a way that may
suggest a particular meaning.
◆ This is more often dictated by editorial principles and
policies of a particular news agency/organization

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 4. Audio Codes
◆ Include codes related
to sound.
◆ Background music,
sound effects, and
voice-overs are under
this category.

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 ◆ These categories, however, are not mutually
exclusive. In order to convey power, for example,
filmmakers make use of technical, written, audio,
and symbolic codes.
◆ Understanding how a media material utilizes codes
in order to communicate a message equips us with
the capacity to evaluate information more critically.

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 COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN happens
when one of the communicators is not
familiar with the signs and cues used by
the other.

Language is a code. Effective use of a

code means an attempt for a more
effective communication.
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 « Formula »

◆ Formulaic messages are what

they are because of the use of
CONVENTIONS.

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 CONVENTIONS

◆ Refers to the generally accepted way

of doing things that has formed into a
habit because of repeated exposure
and experience of these messages.
◆ Each genre in television, film, and
literature follow certain conventions that
distinguish them from other genres.
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 ◆ Sometimes, a convention may prove to be a
hindrance in critically assessing media content or
messages because people may grow too
accustomed to them and they do not see the values
and biases that are embedded in the content. On the
other hand, recognizing a convention may also be
useful for keeping the audience's guard up. When you
are able to spot the convention used, you may find it
easier if there are any agenda or propaganda in
media messages.
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 Audience, Producers, and Other
Stakeholders
◆ AUDIENCE refers to the group of consumers for
whom a media text was constructed as well as
anyone else who is exposed to the text. They serve
as the ones who will accept and reject the given
information.

◆ The AUDIENCE is the most important component in

the field of media and information languages
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 Audience, Producers, and Other
Stakeholders
◆ TARGET AUDIENCE is the group of readers, viewers,
or listeners to whom a media text is specifically
addressed because of a set of characteristics that
they share, such as age, gender, profession, class,
and interests.

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 Audience, Producers, and Other
Stakeholders
◆ Without the audience, there will be no media and information
languages. Different sectors usually fund a lot of researches
about the audience in launching or continuing their products
and services.
◆ These different sectors refer to the PRODUCERS OR
STAKEHOLDERS that will provide the products and services
needed by the audience.
◆ The producers or stakeholders are concerned simply on a few
demographics profile such as age, gender, and occupation.
◆ The life of a media product is based on the size of its audience.
The more audience that they have, the longer they will be in
the market.
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