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Codes and Conventions: Technical, Print, Symbolic, Verbal

Media products are built, not found. Learn the four families of codes that producers use to create meaning: technical, print, symbolic and verbal, from camera shots and fonts to costume and body language.

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What you'll cover

Media is made

A film, a magazine cover or an advert does not just happen. Every part is chosen by its makers to send a message. These choices are called codes, and they fall into families: technical, print, symbolic and verbal. Learn to spot each one and you can explain how any media product creates meaning.

Four families of code

Media language is built from four kinds of code. Learn what each one covers.

Match the code

  • Technical code
  • Print code
  • Symbolic code
  • Verbal code
  • How a product is filmed: shots, camera movement, editing
  • The layout of a page: colour, fonts and house style
  • What is placed in the frame: costume, props and setting
  • The words and language used, and how the audience is addressed

Which code?

A close-up shot of a face is an example of which type of code?

  • A technical code
  • A print code
  • A symbolic code
  • A verbal code

Two kinds of sound

Sound is a technical code. Whether it comes from the world of the scene or is added on top changes its effect.

Match the term

  • Close-up
  • Pan
  • Mise-en-scene
  • House style
  • A shot showing a face or a detail filling the frame
  • The camera turning left or right on the spot
  • Everything placed in the frame: costume, props and setting
  • The consistent look and design a media brand keeps

Everything in the frame

Mise-en-scene means everything the makers place in the frame on purpose: the costume a character wears, the location, the props, the lighting, and the hair and make-up. Nothing is there by accident. Reading these details is how you uncover the meaning a symbolic code carries.

Complete the sentence

Sound that comes from within the scene, like a character speaking, is _____. Music added over the top for the audience is _____. Everything placed in the frame on purpose is called _____. The colour, fonts and layout of a magazine are its _____ codes. When a presenter looks straight at the camera, that is a _____ mode of address.

diegetic non-diegetic mise-en-scene print direct technical symbolic indirect verbal editing

Spot the mise-en-scene

Which of these are part of mise-en-scene, the symbolic codes in a frame? Choose all that apply.

  • The costume a character wears
  • The props in the scene
  • The location or setting
  • The editing between shots
  • The movement of the camera

Find the technical codes

An interactive activity.

Talking to you

A vlogger talks straight to the camera as if speaking to you directly. What mode of address is this?

  • Direct address
  • Indirect address
  • Diegetic sound
  • A non-verbal code

From wide to close

An interactive activity.

Name the code

An interactive activity.

Explain the codes

An interactive activity.