Research : Codes and Conventions

In class, I learnt about codes and conventions which I found really interesting and useful. Below is some brief information which is going to help me greatly during the main task. 

Codes: 

Codes are elements that can be decoded by the audience to provide meaning. These can be divided most easily into 2 groups; technical codes and symbolic codes.

Technical codes include the 'technical' aspects of creating a piece of moving image media. This includes things such as camera shots, angles and movements, editing, sound, titles and lighting. 

 Symbolic codes include the main elements of mise-en-scene within a film. Mise-en-scene is a French term that literally means 'put in the scene'. This covers things such as costume, make-up, setting and props. If we see a man in his twenties, dressed up in a suit we may, as an audience, make an assumption about him. We do this because of the symbolic value attached to these items.

Examples of codes: 

We can identify the genre of the film by simply looking at the poster of the film. For this one, the title "LIKE MIKE" is written in a friendly manner and the predominant colours are red and blue. This is to match with the clothes Lil Bow Wow (the boy in the left) is wearing. The two main characters are in a long shot and there are four other characters who are in the background. 
As for the symbolic codes, the costumes are mainly basketball equipment, which instantly tells us that the characters are all basketball players. As for the young boy in the right, he is wearing normal clothes and glasses, which might suggests that he's the geek of the troop. The props utilized are mainly basketballs, which are only held by the characters in the background. It again suggests that the movie is about basketball in general. Also, the setting is on a basketball court, which confirms the overall genre of the movie. 

Conventions:

Conventions are the expected rules that, as an audience, we expect in a specific genre. Most horror films follow a set of conventions consistent throughout the genre, however many chose to bypass these. Examples include dark/shadowy lighting, isolated location, female victim, disruption of normality, defeat of monster, power cut etc...

Why are they both so fundamental to the piece?

• Codes and conventions are used together in any study of genre
• I will need to know all the codes and conventions of films (which is in this case horror films)
• My audience should be able to identify my film opening as being that of a horror film. I will be able to do this by utilizing the right codes and conventions.