Codes and Conventions
Codes are rules to follow whilst creating or producing a product. They can be separated into two different parts, one is technical and one is symbolic.
Technical codes means the way you use different equipment to tell a story in different media related texts such as a movie. Symbolic codes are what we see like a characters actions portrays their feelings.
Some codes go with both categories, one example of this is music videos which are technical and symbolic.
What are Conventions
Conventions means how you do a certain piece of work. There are a certain conventions you follow whilst producing work. One example of this is using interviewee quotes in an article. Just like codes, conventions are also supposed too be used in a specific genre.
How do we use Codes and Conventions in Media Studies
Codes and conventions are used together whilst studying any genre. You cannot say how a technical code such as camera work is used without saying how it is used in a specific genre. One example is that the technical code of lighting in a horror movie when it is used to creates suspense and mystery.
Codes and Conventions of newspapers
There are many different codes and conventions of news papers and they are:
Masthead: Title and logo of the newspaper
Pug: Advert at the top right of left hand corner of the front page of the newspaper
Strapline: Introductory headline
Headline: Large font on the front of the newspaper
Photograph: The photo used to attract the viewers to make them interested so that they read the story
Splash: Main story in the newspaper
Byline: The section where the name of the reporter is included at the beginning of the article
Cross-head: Subheadings that appear in the middle of an article
Caption: Text underneath the photo which explains what is happening in the photo
On the Sun it uses many codes and conventions such as the masthead, a pug, a headline, a splash, a photograph and a strapline. The main codes and conventions used in The Sun that attracts the audience would be the photograph, the headline and the strapline.
On The Times newspaper the codes and conventions used are the masthead, a headline, a photograph, a caption, a cross-head and a splash. The main codes and conventions used to attract an audience is the masthead, the headline, the photograph and the strapline.
There are several differences between these newspapers. One differences is the masthead. The masthead on The Sun uses a lot of colour which makes it eye catching for the audience reading it and The Times uses a pattern which is not eye catching and does not use a lot of colour. The second difference is that on the front page of The Sun it has a pug and Times doesn't. Another difference is that the photograph on the front page of The Sun is much bigger compared to the picture on The Times which makes The Sun newspaper more eye catching. The fourth difference is that The Sun uses a lot of colour which makes it easier to spot compared to the times. The final difference is that The Times uses a lot more text compared to The Sun.
I think the article in The Sun is aimed at ABC1C2 adults because the majority of The Sun's audience is that target audience an I think The Times article is aimed at ABC1C2 as well because the majority or their target audience is that as well.
Key Semiotic Terms
Semiotics, or semiology, is the study of signs, symbols, and signification. It is the study of how meaning is created, not what it is. Below are some brief definitions of semiotic terms, beginning with the smallest unit of meaning and proceeding towards the larger and more complex:Signifier: any material thing that signifies, e.g., words on a page, a facial expression, an image.Signified: the concept that a signifier refers to.Together, the signifier and signified make up theSign: the smallest unit of meaning. Anything that can be used to communicate (or to tell a lie).Symbolic (arbitrary) signs: signs where the relation between signifier and signified is purely conventional and culturally specific, e.g., most words.Iconic signs: signs where the signifier resembles the signified, e.g., a picture.Indexical Signs: signs where the signifier is caused by the signified, e.g., smoke signifies fire.Denotation: the most basic or literal meaning of a sign, e.g., the word "rose" signifies a particular kind of flower.Connotation: the secondary, cultural meanings of signs; or "signifying signs," signs that are used as signifiers for a secondary meaning, e.g., the word "rose" signifies passion.Metonymy: the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant, for example suit for business executive, or the turf for horse racingSynecdoche: a kind of connotation in which a part is used for the whole (as hand for sailor).Collections of related connotations can be bound together either byParadigmatic relations: where signs get meaning from their association with other signs,or bySyntagmatic relations: where signs get meaning from their sequential order, e.g., grammar or the sequence of events that make up a story.Myths: a combination of paradigms and syntagms that make up an oft-told story with elaborate cultural associations, e.g., the cowboy myth, the romance myth.Codes: a combination of semiotic systems, a supersystem, that function as general maps of meaning, belief systems about oneself and others, which imply views and attitudes about how the world is and/or ought to be. Codes are where semiotics and social structure and values connect.
Ideologies: codes that reinforce or are congruent with structures of power. Ideology works largely by creating forms of "common sense," of the taken-for-granted in everyday life.
Semiotics
Semiotics is the theory of signs. It comes from the Greek word 'semiotikos' and this word means 'interpretation of signs'. Signs are important because it is used for communication. Anything used for communication is means sign such as gestures, facial expressions, poetry, rituals, clothes, food, music, films and many more. ]
Index
An index has some sort of connection that points to its original object. For example wet streets portrays that it had rained recently. Smoke signifies fire. A nest image is an icon of a nest and an index of a bird.
Symbol
A symbol has a relationship between the signifier and signified. We understand the symbol through past experiences. It must be learned and agreed upon by both parties. Spoken and written words are symbols.
The Times audience moodboard
A mock up of a magazine for The Sun newspaper
I think that News UK should use this style because I believe that it uses a lot of colour, I think the audience will like this type of magazine as well because it uses celebrities, interviews and reviews. I believe that the audience will be interested in this content.
Two ways in which your client can test the appropriateness of their new publications through audience feedback. How to conduct market research
One way to conduct market research is to do an interview. An over view of this is
- A continuous survey, 12 months of the year, 7 days a week
- A large sample: 33,225 interviews a year with adults aged 15+ per year
- A random sample: interviews only conducted at randomly selected addresses with randomly selected individuals
- Interviews conducted in participant’s own home
- The average interview takes 27 minutes
- Participants asked about their readership of a list of newsbrands, newspaper supplements and magazines, as well as their online behaviour and information about themselves
One other way to conduct market research is to do questionnaires. A questionnaire is a research
instrument consisting of a series of questions
and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information
from respondents. Although they are often designed for statistical
analysis of the responses, this is not always the case.
