Codes, Convention, and

Language of Media
LEARNING TARGETS:

1. Define codes, conventions, and language of

media.
2. Identify the codes and conventions presented.
3. Use the codes and conventions of media in
presenting an issue.
Today, media has become very powerful and
influential. As a learner, it is not enough that you
can read the information given to you. It is also
important to understand media and information
codes and conventions to help you better
understand the message that media professionals
are communicating.
According to Ute Schaeffer as cited by (Sylvia
Braesel, Media and Information Literacy A
practical guidebook for trainers, 2018)“People
need to be media literate. This involves knowing
where to find relevant information, how media
shape popular culture and opinion and influence
personal choices, and how to navigate the
Internet and ensure personal privacy in the cyber
world.”
• Language pertains to the technical and
symbolic ingredients or codes and conventions
that media and information professionals may
select and use in an effort to communicate ideas,
information and knowledge.
• Media language are the codes, conventions,
formats, symbols and narrative structure that
indicate the meaning of media messages to an
audience.

• Messages are the information sent from a

source to a receiver.
• Media codes and conventions are like the
building blocks of all the media around us
which generally have an agreed meaning, or
connotation to their audience (Young, 2017).
There are three (3) types of media codes:
symbolic codes, technical codes, and
written codes.
1. Symbolic codes are social in nature. Such codes
exist beyond the media product themselves but
can be interpreted in similar ways in the everyday
life of the viewer (Young, 2017).

EXAMPLES: the Cross it means Christianity

• Acting is how an actor portray a character that
will lead to character development and tension
making through facial expression, body
language and vocal qualities (Young, 2017).
• Color is used to connect connotation to
specific scenes, characters or object. Red, for
instance, is typically seen as a color of passion,
danger, romance, or violence. Green is
connected with nature or sickness, blue with
calm or depression. Purple is seen to be
connected with royalty (Young, R. 2017).
• Setting
Setting is the time and place of the narrative.
When discussing setting, you can describe the
setting of the whole story or just a specific
scene. A setting can be as big as the outback or
space, or as small as a specific room. Setting
can even be a created atmosphere or frame of
mind.
Mise en scene
Mise en scene is a French term that means
‘everything within the frame’. In media terms it has
become to mean the description of all the objects
within a frame of the media product and how they
have been arranged. An analysis of mise en scene
includes:
Set Design
Costume
Props
Staging and Composition
2. Technical codes. According to Arniel Ping
technical codes are all the ways in which
equipment is used to tell a story in a media text
like camera techniques, framing, lighting, etc.
(Ping, 2016).
Camerawork refers to how the camera is
handled, positioned and moved for specific effects
like a high-angle camera shot to create a feeling of
power in a photograph.
Lighting. According to Robert Young lighting is
the manipulation of natural or artificial light to
selectively highlight specific elements of the
scene( Young, 2017).
Audio is the expressive or naturalistic use of
sound. It includes dialogue, sound effects and
music. According to Chris
Constantine(Constantine, 2010) music often
defines a scene. An example is the use of ominous
music to communicate danger in films.
3. Written codes are the formal written
language used in a media product. These include
language style and textual layout like headlines,
captions, speech bubbles, etc. (Frezi.com, Young,
R. 2017)
According to Robert Young, conventions are the
accepted ways of using media codes. There are
three different types of conventions: form
conventions, story conventions and genre
convention (Young, R. 2017).
1. Form conventions are the expected ways on
how media codes are arranged. In newspapers for
example, the most important news will be at the
front page while sports news is found at the back
page. Newspapers also contain masthead.
2. Story conventions are common narrative
structures and understandings in story telling
media products like cause and effect, character
construction and point of view.
3. Genre conventions are the common use of
tropes, characters, settings or themes in a
particular type of medium. They can be formal or
thematic.
Action and Adventure Genre
Action and adventure are sometimes considered
two distinct genres, however, the two go hand-in-
hand: they involve exciting sequences and
obstacles that must be overcome before reaching
a goal. There are many different categories of
action-adventure stories.
Comedy Genre
Comedies are humorous stories intended to make
the reader or viewer laugh. Whether it’s a literary
genre or found in the most popular music genre,
comedy is just funny.
Fantasy Genre
Stories about magic spells, mythical creatures, and
fabled kingdoms are known as fantasies. This
genre sometimes includes witchcraft and
wizardry, dragons and unicorns, and an emphasis
on legend. Check out a few fantasy sub-genres
and examples.
Horror Genre
Horror stories are intended, as the name suggests,
to horrify and scare an audience. The genre of
horror has been shocking audiences for many
centuries and includes many sub-genres.
Mystery Genre
Mystery always leaves you guessing. Not only are
you guessing who did it, but what will happen
next. Explore several different subgenres of
mystery along with music, movie, and literary
examples of each.
Drama Genre
When you are ready for a good cry or just want to
curl up to smile at a good romance, then it is time
to look for drama. You might find a
heartwarming family story or a spicy romance set
100 years ago.
Science Fiction Genre
Any story that uses scientific concepts to explain
the world or the universe is known as science
fiction, sci-fi, or syfy. This genre is very similar in
construction to fantasy, except that science is a
central theme.
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