Unit 4 Critical and Contextual Awareness

Write down words, phrases and/or ideas associated with the image above.

Blood Pump Muscle Life

Red

Feeling

Body

Centre

Emotions

Strength

Love

Care

Organ Sincerity Courage Determination Bravery

Denotation Connotation

The direct meaning or set of meanings of a word or expression.

i.e., the heart is a muscle.

The associated or secondary meaning of a word or expression in addition to its direct meaning.

i.e., a heart implies love.

Semiotics

The study of signs/codes.

• Examines how visual, written, audible and technical codes construct meaning.

• Looks at how meaning is made and understood.

Aim

To understand critical perspectives, specifically the study of semiotics within Media texts.

Objectives

• Classify the different modes of address.

• Examine how films use semiotics.

• Analyse how posters make use of semiotics, mise-en-scene, codes and conventions to communicate what a film is about to audiences.

Task 1

Working in pairs, research into the term mise-en-scene.

• Define mise-en-scene.
• Be able to list off the major elements or aspects of mise-en-scene.
• Is mise-en-scene a code? A convention? Or both?

Remember, put your research into your own words.

Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene literally refers to everything that appears on screen.

Acting

Shot Types

Lighting

Costume

Props

Make-up

Setting

Sound Effects (SFX)

Music

Semiotics

Semiotics is the study of signs; or, how films signify.

A way of understanding how meaning is conveyed through the various methods we employ to convey messages to one another.

• Body language
• Gestures
• Letters
• Words
• Pictures

Semiotics is a useful analytical tool for studying and employing means of communication to audiences. Any given moment can be rich in meaning, and good storytelling in film is through its visuals and SFX (not dialogue). But, don't be pretentious. Sometimes a train is just that, a train.

Structuralism

Semiotics is closely related to structuralism, which is when elements within a structure do not possess meaning alone. But, gain meaning when combined with others.

For example, the Kuleshov effect.

Semiotics

Semiotics begins with a 'Sign', which can be anything within the shot that stands for something else.

• A character's face
• Their costume
• A prop
• The setting

The sign is comprised of two parts, the signifier and the signified.

The aspect of the sign we percieve physically.

Signifier

The mental concept to which the sign refers.

Signified

Task 3

In your groups you have been given a film poster. Analyse your poster to determine the genre or genres of said film. Use the famous technique, What? How? Why?

What can you see?

How is it displayed/used?

Why is it used that way?