Media language theory

1. Medialanguage
Technical elements
 Mise-en-scene –setting,performance,lighting,costume,colour,props,composition.
 Editing– referstothe joinbetweenthe shots.The purpose of conventional editingisto
make thisjoinas smoothas possible –invisible.The needfornarrative flow,totell astory,
ledto the developmentof the continuitysystemof editing.
 Sound – usedtotell audienceshow toreactat differentpointsinthe film.Distinctive sound
devicesare usedforparticulargenre.It’sanimportant inestablishingthe genre foran
audience andgettheminthe mood forwatchingsomething. Diegetic,non- diegetic,
synchronous,asynchronous.
 Camera– framing,angle,type,movement
In media,the word‘text’isusedto describe anymediaproductsuchas televisionprogrammes,
photographs,adverts,film,newspaperadverts,radioprogrammes,webpagesetc.
Codes– rulesor conventionsbywhichsignsare puttogethertocreate meanings
In mostcases,the textwill use a varietyof codes – visual,audioandwritten –that fittogetherina
certainwayto create a certainmeaning.
Semiotics:the studyof signs
Thisis an attemptto create a science of the studyof signsystemsandtheirrole inthe construction
and reconstructionof meaninginmediatexts.
SwisslinguistFerdinandde Saussure –signifier+signified=sign
The form that the signtakes the conceptit represents
‘Opensign’ the shopisopen
But inorder forthemto work,there mustbe a sharedreference orexperience.
 Symbol – a signthat representsanobjectorconceptsolelybythe agreementof the people
whouse it. Therefore,symbolicsignshave noobviousconnectionbetweenthe signandthe
object
 Iconic– alwaysresemblewhattheysignify.There isaphysical similarity betweena
photograph,ora gooddrawing,of a dog and mostpeople’sexperiencesof these animals.
 Index – lie betweensymbolicandiconicsigns.Indexical signshave some sortof direct
connectionwithwhatisbeingsignified.Forexample smokeisoftenanindexical signfor
fire.
RonaldBarthes – applied abstractideastodailylife andculture
Barthes;looked athowsignstake on the dominantvalue systemof aparticularsocietyandmake
these valuesseemnatural.The dominantvalue systemf asocietyisknownas an ideology;awayof
lookingatthingssharedbythe majorityof society.

2. BarthesshowedthatSaussure’ssigncanbecome a signifiertocreate,notonlya connotation,buta
myth.
Anotherexampleisared rose,it’shardto see a red rose and notthinkof anythingotherthan
romance.The denotationsof ared rose on Valentine’sDayhasto become a connotationof
romance.