Definitions

Typography

The process of design, printing with type; appearance of a printed text 

These things need to be considered:

Tag Line

A catchword or phrase that's identified and associated with something particular person,group or product, often clarifies a point

Technical codes
Things created by equitment or in the process making of the film.

TECHNICAL CODES includes

• Sound – diagetic and non diegetic
• Any ambient noise
• Voicover
• Music
• Shots – range of shots and why they’re used – wide shots? Close ups? High/low angle shots?
• Any camera movement
• Editing – the way scenes change from one to the next
• The pace of the text – fast? slow? why?
• Lighting
• Mise en Scene – what’s in the shot.

Symbolic Codes

VISUAL CODES includes:

• Clothing and physical appearance
• Gesture and body language
• Facial Expressions
• Settings
• Use of colour
• Any use of graphics

Iconography
This is the use of symbolic codes and images to portray a genre or something to fit the criteria of what we might expect to see. 

Intertextuality
The influence media texts have on each other, they might reference each other or have a direct cross- reference.The films borrow sequences, sound and ideas from each other and for the audience this intertextuality makes recognisable references such as the camera angles, mise en scene, sound and editing.

Levi-Strauss- Theory of Binary Opposites

                   "The contrast between two things"

Common Binary Opposites: 

Roland Barthe
- Theory of good vs evil
- Narrative theory of enigma 

Refers to any element of the story that's not fully explained and therefore is a mystery to the reader. This keeps the audience engaged and interested, some times the enigma is revealed in the final scene however sometimes closure is not achieved but this is what keeps the audience keen and involved. 


Films linked to this theory: 
American Beauty- opening 3 minutes, a teenager states she wants her father killed, mystery to the audience is to why she would want him dead= enigma. Little detail about his death therefore left to own assumptions


5 Established Codes
1) Enigma Code, element of the narrative which isnt explained
2) Action Code, refers to an action which leads to a further action, audience question what it might be
3) Semantic Code, connotations that give additional meaning to the narrative
4) Symbolic Code, meanings bought together on a broader level
5) Cultural Code, refering to historical, religious or scientific knowledge for instance





Mise en Scene