To begin, the study of these signs, codes and conventions is called semiotics. ‘Semiotic analysis’, is a way that we analyze these signs, and then translate them into meaning.

Codes – What are codes? Codes are, ‘systems of signs, which create meaning’. Codes are extremely common among films across the media industry. By the same token, codes can be divided into two categories.

• Technical – Ways in which equipment, both during and after filming, is used to convey meaning, provoke feeling, and tell a story for a films audience.

• Symbolic – Things that go on underneath the surface of what is very obvious in a film. A very common example is a character action which could be used to depict what the actor is feeling.

Conventions – “Codes and conventions are used together in any study of 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.” For example, it is not JUST how the technical code of lighting is used, it is also how it may be used conventionally.

Mise en scene – The arrangement of both physical and virtual elements in a scene. Examples such as costumes, actors, location, color, and CGI objects make up Mise en Scene.

As you can observe above, US can be clearly assumed to be a ‘horror’ movie. We can conclude this through the use of technical codes such as dark lighting/dark coloring in clothing. This is solely the cover/poster of the movie, yet with just one picture, the audience can easily assume what the movies genre is.

In the scene above, one can see how the use of technical codes was used. From what is easily observable, one can see that our actor is in a grimy, dark setting. The use of limited lighting, and dark coloring on the walls can make a location appear eerie. Moving on to our actor themselves, she is quite visibly covered in blood and dirt. Having a ‘beat-up’ actor can provoke suspense or fear in the person viewing these scenes. Furthermore, this is not the only way codes are used, symbolically, the actors shaking and heavy breathing in the actual film are ‘hidden’ messages that can very sneakily yet obviously show distress. The most common form of symbolical codes are by character actions.

Above is an example from the very successful movie, Man Of Steel (2019). The scene quite clearly depicts a battlefield between what could be the two characters standing up, though it doesn’t necessarily have to be between them. A very big technical code used here is the fire in the background. Editing was the equipment used to accomplish this, and it provides for a look into what is most likely a very high energy, sci-fi, fighting scene. One can clearly see a figure in the distance that stands quite tall and has an almost alien-like form. Since this was also achieved through the use of physical and virtual equipment, one can say that a technical code was used to inspire the ‘sci-fi’ genre.

Though codes and conventions may seem purely dominated by physical/visual elements in a scene, audio can also be used to portray a story. As seen above, the movie it is most likely a horror film. Diegetic and Non-Diegetic sounds can both be used to provoke fear.

• Non-Diegetic: Sounds that have been edited into the scene in post production.

• Diegetic: Sounds that are naturally part of the film/scene which havent been edited in.

In the trailer for the movie ‘IT’, the use of non diegetic sounds can be clearly heard. Sound effects such as creaking and eerie music is a VERY usual element in both the trailer and the film.

Above are a few films put into a ‘Genre Mood Board’ depicting multiple movies.There are many different film genres out there that specifically pertain to the film making area. These genres include but are not limited to:

Action – Action films include high energy/budget special effects and physical stunts. They usually have a ‘hero’ character and a ‘bad guy’ character. They are also usually thrust into a series of events that include violence, extended fighting, physical feats, and frantic chases. I enjoy action movies since they provide for a suspenseful, heavy, yet fun genre.

Adventure – Exciting stories with new experiences and exotic locations/characters. Adventure genres usually consist of protagonists going through new experiences at the same time as the viewer does, leaving you on the edge of your seat constantly and providing an enjoyable movie.

Comedy – A film which its main objective is to produce laughter in the audience watching it. Most comedy films have well known actors in them. Though not extremely popular, it is my personal favorite. By having a joke cracked very often throughout the film, I’m quite usually caught laughing uncontrollably while enjoying my favorite movie genre.

Crime – Crime films usually have to do with sinister and criminal activity coming from a group/ individual. Things like robberies or assaults commonly take place in these. It is quite low on my list since most of these film are quite inconsistent regarding that they can be either very fast paces or extremely slow paced.

Horror – Horror films are designed to provoke fear in the audience viewing it. Grimy, dark place are used to usually film it. Coming in at my second film favorite film, the horror genre always provoke massive fear for me.

Above are 10 different ideas that I came up with for our upcoming film. In order to brainstorm these story basis, I excluded any ideas that were either too difficult, or out of our budget.

I will now be answering a set of questions regarding my film and the details surrounding it.

1. Rate on a scale from 1-10 how did your group work as a team. Support your rating. What could have made it a 10? On a scale from 1-10, Id say me and my group worked as a 9. The reason for this number would most likely relate to the fact that our storyboard communication was not on point and so it was slightly difficult to get out shots done.
2. Explain how you organized and prepared for the project. What went well and what could have been improved? After finishing the rough of what the film would be in the end, we set up a date to film our shots all in one day at a house of our friends.
3. What difficulties did you encounter when filming? How did you overcome them? We encountered the difficulty that the location we were shooting in was not very well lit, and so in order to overcome it we had to set up lights in other creative ways.
4. What difficulties did you face when editing? Again, due to the low level of light in some rooms, it was hard for us to get a decent looking image in post.
5. Discuss how you prepared for the audio of your film? Due to the facts that our script had no dialogue in it apart from a sentence that is inaudible to the viewer, all sounds hear in the final product are non-diagetic.
6. If you were to repeat the project again what would you do differently? I would most likely choose to get more angles of each shot in the film in order to have a more diverse and less cramped-looking film.
7. Analyzing the final production, what aspects are you happy with? What could have been improved? I am very happy with the flow of the film and the smoothness of all audio in it since it has all been edited in. I could have improved on some color grading and SFX choice.

We utilized storyboards in order to be more organized during the shooting of our film. This did essentially improve my production skills… Things such as audio, visuals, and camera movements were used in order for the overall production to be easier.

Above is the second example of the storyboards we used, you can observe how even facial expression had to be recorded in order for us to film with ease.

In my first movie called inspiration, my team member Sofi and I depicted a boy whos dreams were to visit space. Our film Genre would best be connected to Sci-Fi/Adventure. A kid that goes to our school volunteered to act as the protagonist.

The film was named inspiration thereafter we finished filming since it fit what would be going on in the final product. I believe the end product however was quite decent since we did nail the Color Grading/Editing flow. There were all kinds of shots used including, hand-held, zoom, and sliding shots.

What I have learned throughout this entire process, is how key lighting is. By using all natural lighting we didn’t achieve what we desired as our final product which caused the ‘quite decent’ as our movie rating.

Above is the story board that we used in order to guide ourselves through the filming of our first shoot. As you can tell there is not much detail in terms of audio and visual qeues for us to use, causing us to struggle whilst remembering the exact scenes that came after the ones we were filming.

My name is Sebastian. I am a 15 year old high school sophomore that attends Mast Academy and I am currently taking AS level Media Studies.

Why did I choose Media Studies?

• My original intent was to get into film-making at school since I viewed it as a future possible hobby. After choosing Media Studies as an elective course, I immediately liked the course and what I was being offered to learn about.

My few hobbies include e sports gaming, drawing, and editing. I have been in love with these three things from as long as I can remember. Since editing pertains to film making I assume this class will come with ease, but I must never underestimate the obstacles ahead. As my first project pertaining to this class, I must film a short 1 minute film. I have already decided that the short will be about a young boy who dreams about space.

Once I finish this set brief, I will complete a Creative Critical Reflection using a digital format; answering these next four following compulsory questions:

1. How does your product use it challenge conventions, and how does it represent social groups or issues.
2. How does your product engage with audiences, and how would it be distributed as a real media text?
3. How did your production skills develop throughout this project?
4. How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware, and online – in this project?