Media language · GCSE Media Studies

Codes and conventions

Media language is how media products create meaning, using codes and conventions.
Technical codes: camera shots (close-up, long shot), angles (high, low), movement, editing, lighting and sound.
Symbolic codes: colour, costume, props, setting, body language and facial expression.
Written codes: fonts, headlines, captions and slogans.
Conventions are the expected features of a form or genre, such as a magazine's masthead or a trailer's voiceover.

Denotation is what we literally see or hear, such as a red rose.
Connotation is what it suggests, such as love or passion. This idea is linked to semiotics and the theorist Roland Barthes.
Anchorage is text that fixes the meaning of an image, such as a caption.

Magazine covers: masthead (the title), main image, cover lines, puff (a feature like "free gift"), strapline and a house style.
Newspaper front pages: masthead, headline, the splash (the main story), standfirst, bylines and photographs.
Mode of address is how a product speaks to its audience: direct (using "you") or indirect, formal or informal.

Media language: How media products create meaning through codes and conventions.
Technical codes: Camera, editing, lighting and sound choices.
Symbolic codes: Objects, colours, costume and body language that carry meaning.
Denotation: The literal meaning of a sign.
Connotation: The associated meaning a sign suggests.
Anchorage: Text that fixes the meaning of an image.
Masthead: The title of a magazine or newspaper.
Mode of address: How a product speaks to its audience.