Introduction to Semiotics

                                             Media Language and film production 


-New Media is a Sign Language that we read more or less fluently, but we also often read media      language without working our meanings...
-We are surrounded by Media texts. On an average day you will probably see 300 adverts for instance and not even notice most of them.

-The reading of media texts such as a film or a film poster can be understood through SEMIOTICS.
SEMIOTICS-sign language-the reading of signs.

-We can devise the media language of a media text up into its Technical Codes
-Its Mise-en-scene
-And the representative codes of the actors/subjects

Iconic-signs that represent something
actors can also become icons in cinema

-Indexical-signs that can be linked to a certain meaning
E.g.(Lightening in a film could indicate a horror film or a thriller for instance or indicate danger
        -A river could indicate a journey
         A tower block could indicate a 'realist' drama in a film.)

Symbolic Signs
A flag can be a symbol in film: a symbol of freedom in Captain America
Or have a more ambiguous meaning as in Born on the Fourth of July
Audiences 'read' media language and makers create meaning for the audience through signs
-The signs can be signifies of genre.

Signifiers and the Signified

-The sinifier is the physical form of the sign... the signified is what it means...

The Camera Shot-Low angles shot-shoot someone from below and they can look powerful often used on posters.
we could say that this use of came angle Signifies power.

The camera Angles-shoot someone looking directly into the camera at eye level and they meet your eyeline- it looks like they are appealing to us directly.

Where the camera is placed is important to representation of gender and genre...(making the the character look young)

Camera and Lighting work together to make meaning:
-the camera shot, form beneath the use of lighting from above to create a halo around the actresses head is vital and soft 3-pint lighting creates a feminine look.

The lighting is crucial in a film Noir...
-Here Janet Jones is shown as turning into noir 'anti-heroine' by stealing the money from her boss. The lighting shows it is a thriller.

The costumes and sets of a musical are key to its genre.

Colour is an important sign that the audience 'reads'
-However the color could have more than one meaning...
-This means the sign is Polysemic=has many meanings:for instance how could we read this poster?
The use of color does not suggests a straight forward meaning.

The meaning of a sign can be anchored or 'fixed' with text or dialogue or a caption.

-There are several meanings suggested in this poster by the imagery, camera shots, the presentational codes of the character and the colours.
-but the story of the film still seems mysterious.
-Remember you want to create an Enigma for your audience with a film or poster or trailer so they have clues but cant fully predict what will happen.


Key Terms
Semiotics-The Audience reads signs
Connotations-The meaning behind the different camera angles and symbols.
Polysemic-a sign or image or color may have.
Anchorage-text and explanation is used to create meaning( name of the product)
Enigma -creating a puzzle or a mystery for the audience
Continuity Editing-
Digetic and non digetic sound-
Ellipsis-
Presentational Codes-
Indexical Images-
Signifiers and the signified-
Iconic Images-




Link to:
Word Document-Give us a Hand (Poster)