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As you know all media products are encoded with signs, codes and conventions
A sign is any individual thing that signifies meaning; for example, the use of red
can signify meaning.
There are two ways that signs create meaning: all signs have a literal meaning,
which is called a denotation; i.e. red is a name, but red can also connote
depending on the use of it danger or love, this is called connotations.
A code is a group of signs that we recognise as going ‘naturally together’ to
signify meaning (e.g. a rose is a sign; but being handed to a girl by a boy could
create a ‘romance ’ and suggest love).
Codes can be both symbolic and technical. Symbolic are clothes, props etc and
technical would be use camera shots and editing to create meaning i.e. quick
editing to create tension high angle and low angle shots to show power positions
in characters.
Convention: Is what we expect to see so for instance certain conventions are
associated with different genres and narratives i.e. the use of establishing shots or
over the shoulder shots to show conversations in drama and the use of multi
strand narratives in soaps, to using stedicam in live action and documentaries.
Conventions are ‘the way things are done within that genre’ what you expect to
see.
The audience then decodes these signs to create meaning i.e. so they know what
they are watching, who is the villain and the hero.
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How we the audience
interpret these signs, codes
and conventions is
debated in the industry.
Thinking point what do
these signs mean, are they
the same for everyone?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK_NinOmFWw
The way that we interpret
these signs, codes and
conventions is referred to as
audience theory.
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Audience theory became
popular in recent years with the
belief that video games and
television programs had an
effect on the way people
behaved. This was seen with the
media coverage of Jamie
Bulger when the film Child’s Play
Three was banned because
people thought it had an effect
on the killers of Jamie Bulger.
This theory is referred to as the
hypodermic needle theory
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Hypodermic needle model is
one theory, which sees the
audience as passive, where
the media injects the
audience with ideas.
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This model is one directional
where the media injects and
form people’s opinions or can
change their behaviour.
Are we all passive waiting for
the media to change out
behaviour?
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Research has shown that
people are not passive and
the way that we interact
with the media is far more
complex.
 The key thing here is that
different people will receive
the media in different ways
 Think about how
demographics and
psychographics effect the
way that people interpret a
film? Not whether they like
the film or not, but also
whether they are offended
or not?
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PSYCHOGRAPHICS
DEMOGRAPHICS
Puritans?
Individualists?
The different
social classes?
i.e. police
officer or
bricklayer?
Young children?
Over 60s?
Male?
REBELS:
Female?
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Although there are weakness with
this model because individual
differences can affect the way we
interpret media, this theory can be
used to interpret copycat crimes,
and incidents where watching
violent films may make children
become desensitised to violence
and see this as normal.
If we look at advertising this has an
effect on the way we buy products,
so why should violence not have an
effect on people?
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However, to what extent the media influence
public perception is debatable, and the
relationship between the media and the public
perception is more complex. As Kitzinger
explains “early notions that the media act as a
‘hypodermic’ directly injecting ideas into
people’s minds have now largely been
discredited” ( 2006: 45). What the media
reflects is their readership’s views and political
leanings. “The media are more likely to
reinforce, rather than to change, existing
attitudes” (Kitzinger, 2006: 44).
Remember demographics such as age, social class and gender can
effect the construction of these products i.e. the Sun newspaper generally
has more pictures than text and less complicated language because it
aims for a c2de audience. The Daily Mail is mostly read by older people
and the Independent is read by mostly ABC1 and liberal people, so here
psychographics plays apart. And the types of people who read the Daily
Mail maybe traditionalists, and the Sun maybe individualists. So both
demographics and psychographics can play apart in interpretation.
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As research has shown that the audience is not just a
passive consumer other theories have developed to
explain how we interact with the media through an
active rather than passive way.
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According to one theory “uses and gratifications
theory” we expect different things from the media and
we make active choices about what we choose to
watch. This theory places more emphasis on how the
audience interact with the media rather than on the
message itself by asking “what people do with media”
rather than “what media does to people” (Katz, 1959).
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The model is very simple it suggests people seek out the
media to gratify their need, this is an audience centred
model, unlike the hypodermic needle model which sees
the producer of the media injecting the passive
audience.
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This theory suggests that the audience may seek out
media for different reasons based on gratification.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Information-we may want to find out about
society and the world. We want to satisfy our
curiosity.
2. Personal Identity-we may watch television
for models for our behaviour. For instance -we
may identify with soap characters or their
situations.
3. Integration and Social Interaction-we use
the media to find out more about the
circumstances of other people perhaps
through empathy or sympathy.
4. Entertainment -enjoyment, relaxation
The hypodermic needle model sees people
as being strongly affected by the media,
where the media inject ideas to a passive
audience who have no say on the media’s
influence.
 The Uses and Gratifications model has
developed against this that people are not
helpless against all-powerful media, but
choose and select media to suit their
needs. In this model the audience plays an
active role.
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As has been shown with advertising, which can have an effect on
consumption, sometimes we cannot just choose to watch certain things but
are bombarded with media. People do not tell the media what to make, the
media choose what they put on TV and films they create. With only a few
companies controlling the global media, is there that much choice? This is a
weakness as we don’t choose based on gratification, but are given options
of media.
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Both model also suggest that the public can become dependant on the
media.
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Further reading: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A770951
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Consider how both models
may have a different view
on censorship in films?
Is it possible now to have
censorship?
How do you think the use
of the internet and online
media effects censorship
and particularly what
does it say about these
two theories?
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Preferred reading: The idea of the Preferred Reading is the audience
interprets the film in the way the producer intended in a passive way.
The audience does not analyse the meaning but only looks at the
product for what it is based on the codes and conventions which the
audience has been trained to understand. They do not question. (this is
similar to the hypodermic needle model)
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Oppositional reading: The audience reads the product in a total
different way they may misinterpret the codes and conventions. For
instance a teenager may find something which was meant to be serious
to be funny. This is based on both social and cultural differences.
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Negotiated readings. Is where the audience partly accepts the text's
code and broadly accepts the preferred reading, but their
interpretation reflect their own opinion and experiences. So the
interpretation is a negotiated between what is intended the preferred
reading and the audience own interpretations so the meaning has
been modified. This can be based on demographic and psychographic
variables. I.e. a football match will be interpreted differently depending
where you live or even what parts of the match you have seen.
When answering task 3 here are some tips:
 1. Explain what audience theory is
 2 Explain the different models offered to account for how people
consume media products i.e. ‘hypodermic needle’ and ‘uses and
gratification,’ explain why you have picked this model to analyse
your film. For a higher mark use some compare and contrast
between the two theories; discuss the strengths and weakness in
both theories use examples to support your argument .
 3. Explain how these models view the effects of exposure to media
i.e. the impact of violence and sex on TV, and the people’s
consumption of this.
 4. Link these models to how the audience responds to the media
product i.e. preferred, negotiated and oppositional .
 4. Apply this theory or theories to your trailer how will your audience
understanding these signs, codes and conventions
 5. Or does how the audience interpret the trailer depend on what
theory you have used?
Green: how to get a higher mark
 Bold: Areas you specifically talk about.
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Based on what you know you need to analyse a film trailer using the
following framework to help you
1. What genre does it belong to what codes and conventions would you
expect to see?
2: How do the following codes work to create meaning:
Symbolic codes (Mise-en scene) everything you can see props, clothes,
body language etc.
Technical codes use of use of camera angles, composition, editing and
Sound.
3.Do either these symbolic or technical codes create meaning through
connotations to create representations of people?
4. What type of narrative structure is used single strand, multi-strand, closed,
open,
linear, nonlinear; restricted , equilibrium etc
5. How are people and groups represented by these codes and signs in the
trailer to create meaning. What types of stereotypes are these positive or
negative .Look at the juxtaposition in the trailer how are opposites shown in
media texts i.e. good vs. evil, or how are opposites like men and women,
young and old represented through these signs to create a negotiated,
preferred or oppositional reading.