Setting The location where the action takes place.

It may reflect genre and be used to

create atmosphere. A setting can be symbolic of a larger idea. E.g. a graveyard is
symbolic of death and/or mortality.
Appearance/Costume Are a key component of developing character. Costumes and appearance can help
convey age, financial status, occupation, class position, membership to a particular
social group, religion or club etc.
Colour/hue/tone Colours are symbolic of different emotions and moods. They can be used to evoke
corresponding responses in audiences. Purple is a colour of royalty, wealth and
luxury. Red symbolises lust, passion, anger etc. Also, consider how saturated they
are (are they bright and vivid or dull and faded).
Objects Objects can be used to symbolise ideas, develop characters or ideas. These can be
objects in the setting or character props
Body language/facial These are used to show a character’s attitudes, mood or personality. Positioning
expressions/gestures within the shot can also provide information about the character’s power and
emotions.
SWAT Codes: Visual Language
Symbolic Codes

Consider the following images and what ideas they create. What is symbolic about them? What do they
communicate?

What do we think about her financial status/age/occupation based on her appearance/costuming?

What about this man’s facial expressions communicate his emotions?

Written Codes

Headlines Provided in print texts to orient the reader.

Captions To support reader understanding of images or visual data
Text Also referred to as Body Copy. Used to provide information to or to persuade viewer
respond in a particular way.
Logos Logos are used to help viewers recognise and remember a brand.
Graphics/ Visual representations of data, used to simplify, summarise or present information i
Charts interesting ways.
Credits Written information at the beginning or end of a film. The size, colour and style can
meaning or reflect genre. Objects, action, colour and font style can be used to create
 atmosphere and expectations in the audience.
On Screen Text Provide written information to help tell the story. It might include things like location, time
frame, and prologue or epilogue information.
On Set Text Writing that is part of the set including signs on buildings or billboards. Alternatively, may be on
objects such as newspapers, text messages, gravestones etc.

Left: On Screen Text (Spongebob)

Right: On Set Text (Nightmare on Elm Street)

Audio Codes

Diegetic Sound The literal sound created by objects and people within a shot that viewers assume characters
are hearing as well. E.g. A door closing, sounds made by objects, rain etc.
Dialogue Words spoken aloud by the characters to develop character and the plot
Non- Diegetic Sound added after filming that the characters cannot hear. This may include music (film
Sound score), voice-overs, sound effects etc.

Music The film score is used to create an emotional response in the viewer and reflect the
action/mood/emotions or atmosphere on screen.
Sound Effects Created and added to emphasise events or action in the film.

Voice Over Dialogue added to allow viewers to hear the character’s internal dialogue or thoughts.
Heath Ledger’s scene in 10 Things I Hate About You features diegetic sound of Ledger’s character singing Frank
Sinatra’s song, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You”. He is accompanied by the school band playing the backing track.
Both his song and the instruments are diegetic sound because they are natural to the scene.

This differs from the pre-wedding scene in Shrek, where a cover of Leonard Cohen’s song, “Hallelujah”, has been
“added” to the scene. It does not naturally take place in the action of the scene.

Technical Codes: Camera Angles

Overhead When the camera is directly over an object or

shot scene, facing down. This can make a city look like a maze or an object or figure look small
and weighted down.
High angle The camera is above and looking down on the subject but not directly overhead. This
angle can make the subject look small and powerless, suggesting vulnerability or
weakness.
Eye level The camera is level with the subject; similar to a normal eye- view. It provides a ‘real life’
effect and can give the impression of equality between the characters, or between the
audience and the characters.
Low Angle The camera is below and looking up at the subject but not directly underneath it. This
makes the subject look powerful, large and dominant.
Point of view This is where the camera is placed so the effect looks like the viewer is seeing directly
through the character’s eyes to heighten the viewer’s response to the situation.
Canted When the camera shot is taken on an angle as if viewing the action on an angle instead of
the horizontal. It can be used to heighten a sense of chaos or mental instability.

(above: Camera Angles – overhead, high angle, eye level, low angle,
point of view, canted)

Technical Codes: Shot Types

Extreme close up This shot focuses on an aspect of an object in great detail or part of a person’s face. For
example, the headline of a newspaper, an eye at a keyhole, a finger on a button etc.
Close up This shot contains almost no background and focuses on the whole of an object or a
person’s face. The close up is used to show detail and to create intimacy or tension.
Medium shot Figures are seen from the waist up and some background is included. It is often used on
characters in conversation, as it shows emotional reactions, body language and
relationships.
Full shot Contains the whole figure in the frame and some background.
Long shot Taken from a distance to take in the landscape or background. Any figures in the shot
are recognisable as human and male or female.
Extreme Long Shot Contains lots of landscape. It establishes location and likely atmosphere. It is often used
at the beginning of a film.
Focus:

o Blurred Background: Only the object or character is in focus. This can be used to indicate the
character is disconnected from their current surroundings.
o Out of focus: The whole shot is blurred. This can be used as point of view to allow the viewer to see
the world through the character’s eyes (they may be ill, drugged or drunk).
 Camera Movement:
o Pan: The camera is fixed but swivels horizontally.
o Tilt: The camera is fixed but is tilted up or down a subject.
o Zoom: The camera’s lenses are adjusted for the shot to move in towards or out from a subject.
o Tracking: The camera is mounted on rails or carried by a person and moved with a subject.
o Dolly: The camera is carried or mounted on a rail, truck, crane or mechanical arm (even a helicopter
or drone) and is capable of being moved in many directions.
 Lighting
o Soft Lighting- refers to light that tends to "wrap" around objects, casting shadows with soft edges.
Sometimes referred to as fill lighting. When the sun is behind clouds in the sky, this creates soft
lighting.
o Hard Lighting- often creates harsh, sharp-edged shadows. Direct sun overhead on a bright sunny day
is an example of hard lighting.
o Key lighting- lighting which selectively illuminates from the front various prominent features of the
image, such as faces or hands, and provides the reflected gleam in an actor’s eye.
o High-key (realistic) lighting - lighting style in which all parts of the set and the screen are relatively
evenly lit, suggesting a familiar world containing few surprises or mysteries.
o Low-key (expressionistic) lighting - lighting with strongly contrasted areas of light and shadow, often
with one feature of the image lit from one side or below and the rest dark, creating a sense of
lurking mystery (called low-key because the key light is turned ‘low’ or ‘off’).
Additional Techniques:

 Allusion: References to other images/visual media, including art, films, pop culture, religious icons etc. These
usually change the meaning of the original media.
 Angles/lines: The ‘direction’ of an image based on the angles or lines within it. Horizontal lines create a
sense of calm; verticals create a sense of structure and diagonals a mood of unease or being off-balance.
 Composition: What an image is made up of – where things are placed, how it is frames, the colour and
lighting used etc. This generally refers to the image as a whole.
 Connotation: a feeling or idea that is suggested by a particular word although it need not be a part of the
word's meaning, or something suggested by an object or situation. E.g., the word "lady" has connotations of
refinement and excessive femininity that some women find offensive.
 Contrast: Placing things that are considered opposite close to each other. Contrasts can be between colours,
size, textures to create interest and complexity.
 Foreshadowing: an indication of something that will happen in the future, often used as a literary device to
hint at or allude to future plot developments. This may be a lingering shot of a potential weapon in a thriller
or horror film.
 Framing: The camera shots and angles used in images/films to create different audience reactions and
emotions. E.g. Types of shot.
 Gaze: Where a character looks, which then directs the viewer’s eyes. It can be used to express emotion or
intent.
o A ‘demand’ gaze: involves direct contact between a character and the viewer.
o An ‘offer’: has the character look at something within the image, drawing the viewer’s eyes there
too.
 Juxtaposition: When two images/ideas are placed close to one another to emphasise their differences or
make a point of the contrast.
 Law of Thirds: By dividing an image into equal thirds along the horizontal, the vertical axis you can break it
into nine equal sections, which each have different connotations. Movement is expected to go from the left
thirds to the right thirds; otherwise, it is read backwards (literally or figuratively). Characters in the top third
are seen as powerful or in control, while those in the bottom left thirds are weaker or are being controlled.
 Leading lines/ Vectors: The lines or paths the viewer’s eyes follow when looking at an image. Usually,
vectors are deliberately created to lead the eyes to a focal point or important feature.
 Mise en scene: Mise en scène – literally “placing on stage” in French. Mise en scène refers to what we see
onscreen in a film. It’s the film’s visuals; meaning, all of the elements that appear on camera and their
arrangement. It can include, but is not limited to the setting, decor, lighting, depth of space, and costumes
and makeup - together, they comprise the mise en scène.
 Salience: How much any section of an image draws the viewers eyes – the most salient feature of an image
is whatever/whenever the viewer’s eyes are first drawn when they look at it. Salience is always deliberate
and usually created through contrast, colour, framing and layout.
 Size and position: The size and position of a subject or object will determine how important it is. Consider
where they have been placed, how large they are in comparison to others.
 Symbolism: The use of one image/object to represent and idea or concept that is more complex than it is.
Religious symbolism, pop culture symbolism and animal symbolism are all common.