Codes and Conventions

Codes

Codes are systems of signs, which create meaning. These may include both technical codes or symbolic codes.

–  Technical Codes – This is all the ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text (e.g. – camera work or editing).

–  Symbolic Codes – This shows what is beneath the surface of what we see. For example, a characters action can show you how they are feeling and their emotions.

Conventions

Conventions are the widely recognised way of doing something which is to do with content, form and style. There are two types of conventions which consists of:

– Technical Conventions – A convention in a technical area.
– Genre Conventions – this is where conventions are associated with a particular genre.


Difference between Codes and Conventions

The difference between codes and conventions, is that codes might be individual to the media text you are analyzing for example, a music video may use a tracing shot that is significant however completely irrelevant in another video. Whereas, conventions are something they all share within a genre.

The music video by Duran Duran shows many examples of codes and conventions described in the section.