Codes and Conventions

What are codes?

Codes are systems of signs, which create meaning. Codes can be divided into two categories – technical and symbolic.

Technical codes are all the ways in which equipment is used to tell the story in a media text, for example, the camera work in a film.

Symbolic codes show what is beneath the surface of what we see. For example, a character's actions show you how the character is feeling.

Some codes fit both categories – music, for example, is both technical and symbolic.

What are conventions?

Conventions are the generally accepted ways of doing something. There are general conventions in any medium, such as the use of interviewee quotes in a print article, but conventions are also genre-specific.

How codes and conventions apply in media studies

Codes and conventions are used together in any study of the genre – it is not enough to discuss a technical code used such as camera work, without saying how it is conventionally used in a genre.

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Preliminary Task: School Magazine - Final Product

Marketing Kit

For the marketing of my magazine I have created a marketing kit.

Planning: Codes and Conventions

Application of codes and conventions on the genre. The above magazine follows the conventions of a teen beauty magazine. The model used for the main image is a young girl in a casual dress-up. The subtle make-up and bubbly expressions denote the innocence and youthfulness that teen girls have. The codes and conventions followed in the above magazine are bold, over the top styling, heavy make-up and extravagant props. The models in this genre usually take up looks that no woman would generally wear, so it's not necessarily a representation of women rather a creative portrayal of beauty as art.

AS level Media Studies Magazine

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