Media Studies - A Guide for Students

Activity One - Analysing Codes and Conventions in Films

Step One:

Watch the clips above and take notes of under the following headings:

Symbolic Codes                                                                                                                                   

E.g. Setting, costume, appearance, lighting, etc

Written Codes (If any?)

E.g. Titles, slogans, fonts, size, etc

Audio Codes

E.g. Sound effects, music, voice overs, etc

Technical Codes  

E.g. Camera angles, framing, lighting, special effects, etc

Step two:

• How have these codes and conventions been used in these clips?
• Are there any similarities or differences between how they have been used?
• From these short clips what genre would say each film belongs to? Why?
• Identify a target audience for each film. Why have you selected this particular audience?
• Are any stereotypical characters present with in each of these clips? How have they been presented?