Media language essay
Media language can be defined as the codes and conventions of a particular media text. This means that what you see in films have a specific meaning that is typical and usual to people involved with the media however to everyone else it would be seen as holding a deeper meaning. In this essay I will be explaining the way I have used camera, editing, sound, mise-en-scene, and semiotics in my trailer 'last man standing'.
Semiotics can be defined as the study of signs which create a meaning through language and codes, a sig in a horror film for example can be anything such as blood signifying death, or a corridor holding the meaning of a yonic object. In my trailer we had a sharp crafting tool that was lodged into a tree that was holding a blood stained t-shirt up, the tool signified not only death but a phallic object.
This ties in with symbolic codes, this can be objects that signify religion, death or it can be the colours of a costume or the costume itself, it can also be positioning, lighting, masks, weapons. All of these codes lead to the key theme/ sub-genre of the horror film or trailer. In my trailer one of the characters were wearing a black and white jacket which could signify a good v evil theme for the trailer. The antagonist was wearing a black jacket which showed that he was evil and suggested that he was the enemy. Another example of a code would be that the fact that there was blood on the white t-shirt could symbolise that a good protagonists innocence had been taken away. In-addition to this all of our characters are male which shows patriarchy and male dominance, we also have one person left alive which shows that he could have been the typical hero who is masculine and brave enough to survive. For the trailer we chose the sub-genre slasher but we didn't have enough blood through-out the trailer.
In the trailer Jigsaw 2017 there are several shots that have excessive amounts of blood that signify evil and death and danger, in this trailer a majority of the shots are done in low-key lighting which signify danger and builds suspense for the audience as they think that something bad or scary could happen. my trailer did not follow this stereotype as it was shot in the day meaning that it was too light for any dramatic effect which took away the fear factor for the viewers. however the fact there there is light could show that at least one protagonist will survive.
camera codes or technical codes are to do with the camera positioning, angles, frames and editing. these codes are useful as it can create different emotions for the audience to feel for example; a low angle could make the viewer feel inferior to the antagonist and make them feel intimidated, another example would be a high angle which would make them feel powerful and dominant. The amount of camera shots for a certain amount of time is very important when making a trailer as you need to have done 20 seconds worth of texture shots which show the protagonists and antagonists. then the middle 20 seconds show the disruption and the last 20 seconds end on a cliff hanger or jump scare or a montage. With my trailer we did not manage to use multiple different camera angles as we tried to base our trailer on a POV film. In-addition to this we did not successfully follow the 3 stage trailer template as a main part of our editing which could have created confusion for the viewer as we subverted the typical structure.
There are two types of audio codes which are diegetic and non-diegetic, diegetic are sounds that are in the actual film that the characters can hear for example; you the viewer and the characters in the film can hear the antagonist running away from the bad guy or when one of he characters is speaking were as non-diegetic sounds are sounds that only the audience can hear; for instance only the viewer can hear the intensifying background music but the characters can't this allows the viewer to feel sympathy for the viewer as they can anticipate what might happen e.g. if there is background music that is slowly increasing in speed the viewer can anticipate that the protagonist is about to be killed or hurt. Audio codes were used through out our trailer for example; there was heavy breathing at 0:52 seconds which is a diegetic code as everyone can hear it. An example of non-diegetic sound was at 0:58 seconds when there was a background noise of a heart beat which only the viewer can hear as it builds tension.
Written codes are defined as text that is shown in the media product such as the titles used or the one-liners in between camera shots, typically done from a fade to black. You don't need the font of the title to symbolise anything but can be used to add extra effect. We did this in our trailer as we had quite a broken rough font making it look like it was hand done which supported the POV technique we used as it could suggest that the survivor had written it.
Semiotics can be defined as the study of signs which create a meaning through language and codes, a sig in a horror film for example can be anything such as blood signifying death, or a corridor holding the meaning of a yonic object. In my trailer we had a sharp crafting tool that was lodged into a tree that was holding a blood stained t-shirt up, the tool signified not only death but a phallic object.
This ties in with symbolic codes, this can be objects that signify religion, death or it can be the colours of a costume or the costume itself, it can also be positioning, lighting, masks, weapons. All of these codes lead to the key theme/ sub-genre of the horror film or trailer. In my trailer one of the characters were wearing a black and white jacket which could signify a good v evil theme for the trailer. The antagonist was wearing a black jacket which showed that he was evil and suggested that he was the enemy. Another example of a code would be that the fact that there was blood on the white t-shirt could symbolise that a good protagonists innocence had been taken away. In-addition to this all of our characters are male which shows patriarchy and male dominance, we also have one person left alive which shows that he could have been the typical hero who is masculine and brave enough to survive. For the trailer we chose the sub-genre slasher but we didn't have enough blood through-out the trailer.
In the trailer Jigsaw 2017 there are several shots that have excessive amounts of blood that signify evil and death and danger, in this trailer a majority of the shots are done in low-key lighting which signify danger and builds suspense for the audience as they think that something bad or scary could happen. my trailer did not follow this stereotype as it was shot in the day meaning that it was too light for any dramatic effect which took away the fear factor for the viewers. however the fact there there is light could show that at least one protagonist will survive.
camera codes or technical codes are to do with the camera positioning, angles, frames and editing. these codes are useful as it can create different emotions for the audience to feel for example; a low angle could make the viewer feel inferior to the antagonist and make them feel intimidated, another example would be a high angle which would make them feel powerful and dominant. The amount of camera shots for a certain amount of time is very important when making a trailer as you need to have done 20 seconds worth of texture shots which show the protagonists and antagonists. then the middle 20 seconds show the disruption and the last 20 seconds end on a cliff hanger or jump scare or a montage. With my trailer we did not manage to use multiple different camera angles as we tried to base our trailer on a POV film. In-addition to this we did not successfully follow the 3 stage trailer template as a main part of our editing which could have created confusion for the viewer as we subverted the typical structure.
There are two types of audio codes which are diegetic and non-diegetic, diegetic are sounds that are in the actual film that the characters can hear for example; you the viewer and the characters in the film can hear the antagonist running away from the bad guy or when one of he characters is speaking were as non-diegetic sounds are sounds that only the audience can hear; for instance only the viewer can hear the intensifying background music but the characters can't this allows the viewer to feel sympathy for the viewer as they can anticipate what might happen e.g. if there is background music that is slowly increasing in speed the viewer can anticipate that the protagonist is about to be killed or hurt. Audio codes were used through out our trailer for example; there was heavy breathing at 0:52 seconds which is a diegetic code as everyone can hear it. An example of non-diegetic sound was at 0:58 seconds when there was a background noise of a heart beat which only the viewer can hear as it builds tension.
Written codes are defined as text that is shown in the media product such as the titles used or the one-liners in between camera shots, typically done from a fade to black. You don't need the font of the title to symbolise anything but can be used to add extra effect. We did this in our trailer as we had quite a broken rough font making it look like it was hand done which supported the POV technique we used as it could suggest that the survivor had written it.
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