MEDIA AND

INFORMATION
LANGUAGES
LESSON 5-6
PRIMING ACTIVITY
Video Analysis
Watch and analyze the video entitled
“HAYSKUL CRUSH Moments”
PRIMING ACTIVITY
Guide questions:
1.What is the video all about?
2.What can you say about the story?
3. What can you say about the editing
style of the video?
 Media and information literacy
involves a full understanding of how
information, signs, symbols, and
meanings are being communicated
through various media. Language is
considered to be one important
medium to communicate.
 As a medium of communication,
language is defined as a “system of
arbitrary, vocal symbols that permit
all people in a given culture, or
other people who have learned the
system of that culture, to
communicate or to interact”
(Finocchioro, in Jiang, 2010).
 MEDIA LANGUAGE
Media language denotes how media producers
make meaning about a certain medium
(advertisement, TV show, film, etc.) they are
producing and how they transfer that meaning to
their target audience. It allows the audience to
convey the meaning of the text through its signs
and symbols.
 MEDIA LANGUAGE
These signs and symbols used in media text do not
have a single meaning. It is expected that
audiences have different interpretations and will
use different meaning systems. In interpreting
these signs and symbols, audiences may interpret
the media text denotatively or connotatively.
 MEDIA
Denotative meaning is the literal meaning of
the mediaLANGUAGE
text while connotative meaning
refers to the various interpretations that the
text suggests to the audience which are often
associated with their culture, values, beliefs,
etc.
 MEDIA
LANGUAGE
For example, the use of the nonverbal signal
“thumbs up” may mean “Job well done!” in
western cultures but it is a rude gesture in
some countries in the Middle East.
 Media Codes and
Media codes Conventions
and conventions are the very
foundations of all the existing media. Media codes
commonly have an established meaning,
denotation or connotation, to the target audience.
Meanwhile, conventions refer to the possible
methods in which codes are organized in a product.
 TYPES OF MEDIA
CODES
There are three types of media codes:
symbolic codes, technical codes, and
written codes.
Symbolic codes are audience-based. The
meaning of the product is not based on the
product itself but on the interpretation of the
audience. For example, a film with a scene waving
a white flag symbolizes “retreat” or “surrender”. In
reality, the audience who sees someone waving a
white flag may interpret it the same way. The
symbolic codes in media include setting, mise en
scene, acting and color.
Symbolic codes are
audience-based. The meaning of the
product is not based on the product
itself but on the interpretation of
the audience.
Symbolic codes
• Setting refers to the time and place of the
narrative or a specific scene
• Mise en scene is a French term that means
“everything within the frame”. It describes
all the features (set design, costume, props,
staging) within a frame of media products.
Symbolic codes
• Acting refers to the portrayal of the
actors in creating media products.
• Color considerations are highly
connotative when it comes to
interpretations. It is also usually
associated with cultural aspects.
Technical codes refer
to codes specific to a media form alone. The
knowledge and connotations of different
camera angles and shots make sense when
looking at films and photographs but mean
nothing outside those forms.
The technical codes include camerawork
(camera operation, positioning, and movement
for desired specific effects), editing (the process
of selecting, operating, and ordering images and
sound), audio (expression and utilization of
sounds), and lighting (the manipulation of light
based on the target mood).
Written codes are the formal
written language used in creating a media
product. It includes the printed language (the
text visible with the media frame which is the
text you can see within the frame) and the
spoken language which includes the dialogues
and even the lyrics of the song.
Types of Conventions
Conventions refer to the recognized
ways of using media codes. The types
of conventions include form
conventions, story conventions, and
genre conventions.
Form conventions are
ways in which the types of media codes are
expected to be arranged. For instance, the
title and main casts are expected to appear
at the beginning of a movie while the
credits are expected to appear at the end.
Story conventions refer
to the basic structures of narratives.
Examples of story conventions
involve narrative structures,
character constructions, and point
of view
Genre conventions
refer to the common use of the
elements of narratives such as the
characters, settings, or themes in a
certain type of media.
 Media producers,
stakeholders, and audience
The media producers refer to the people who
initiate, plan, and produce media texts. They need to
have the skill in assessing the media texts and a
thorough understanding of the target product; and
the processes that go into creating the products.
Meanwhile, the stakeholders refer to people or
organizations that share the same interests or
intentions. The audience, on the other hand, is
a significant element in delivering media texts.
All media texts are made with a target audience
in mind. Producers conduct an audience
analysis before coming up with a media text.
Audience analysis is the process of looking into
the demographics (age, gender, social status,
etc.) and psychology (values, beliefs, attitude)
of the audience. Producers also consider the
reaction of the audience by looking into the
following:
• Audience Engagement. This refers to the
reaction of the audience to the media text.
Different people react in varied ways to the
same text.
• Audience Expectations. This refers to the
anticipation of the audience about the text.
Producers may satisfy or shatter the
audience’s expectations.
• Audience Foreknowledge. This refers to the
exact information (not expectations) which
the audience brings about the media output.
• Audience Identification. This refers to the
connection built by the media text to the
audience.
• Audience Placement. This refers to the
strategies producers use to make the
audience feel that the media text is made
specifically for them.
• Audience Research. This refers to the
monitoring of the audience before, during,
and after the production of the media text.
 Thank you
for listening!