In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge

forms and conventions of real media products?

By Dan Grayer

Codes are systems of signs, which create meaning. Codes can be divided into two categories – technical and symbolic. Technical codes are all the ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text, for example the camera work in a film. Symbolic codes show what is beneath the surface of what we see. For example, a character's actions show you how the character is feeling. Some codes fit both categories – music for example, is both technical and symbolic.

Conventions are the generally accepted ways of doing something. There are general conventions in any medium, such as the use of interviewee quotes in a print article, but conventions are also genre specific.

What are codes and conventions?

How an audience react to codes and conventions can match or differ from what a director wants the audience to respond to.

Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model says that an audience can either have a preferred response, an oppositional response, a negotiated response or an aberrant response.

A preferred response is one which matches the creators message. An oppositional response rejects the intended response and

challenges the intent response. A negotiated response is a mixture of appealing and unappealing

elements of the message and the audience can still challenge the text.

An Aberrant response is considered an ‘ambiguous or confused’ response, where the reader is way of track with the message.

How audience can impact codes and conventions.

There are different varieties of camera shots, used to achieve different things, much like films.

Editing is cut to the beat to emphasise structure of the song and to make the video flow better. A choice of linear or non linear editing can be employed to follow a continued or discontinued pattern.

Codes and conventions of music videos

Goodwin’s theory says that there are 3 types of music videos, they are performance, narrative and abstract/concept.

A performance narrative is where the band or singer sing the song as if they were actually playing it, possibly to a crowd or on there own.

A narrative video is one which follows a story, most likely involving the artist but not all of the time.

An abstract or concept video, is one where the band or director have an idea that they want to film and will then put it with the song.

Codes and conventions: Andrew Goodwin’s narrative theory

Example of performance video- Rocket Skates by Deftones

Example of a narrative video – Make a beast of myself by Twin Atlantic

Example of a abstract/concept video – Here it goes again by OK GO

Typical conventions of a rap music video.

Casual Clothing Artist looking straight into the camera rapping Expensive Jewellery, or anything to show how

wealthy they are Clear expression of emotions from the artist Usually the video will be a concept and a narrative

video mixed together Usually with a gang of other people, to show

dominance, leadership and also show how popular they are

Codes and Conventions: The Rap genre