Sunday 30 October 2011

Film trailers

We looked at film trailers in class with a focus on diegetic and non diegetic sound. You should be able to understand the difference between these and also be able to explain how and why they might be used. For example, film trailers often use non diegetic sound such as voiceovers to tell the audience about the film and what they might expect to see. Certain genres of film might have different conventions according to what is appropriate for that type of film.

Here is the 'UP' trailer.


Post your film trailer below and comment on it. Make sure it is a valuable comment showing what you have learnt so far. It can be about various things and does not just have to focus on sound. Take into account technical codes.

Sunday 9 October 2011

Codes within media

It is important to understand the codes used in both still and moving images as you need to be able to explain these and also employ them in your own production work.

A few things you need to consider are:

Symbolic codes

  • Objects
  • Settings
  • Body Language
  • Colour
  • Clothing
Technical Codes (some of these only apply to moving image)

  • Cropping and Editing
  • Shot types
  • Transitions
  • Angles



Jessie J: Pose suggesting aggression. Direct eye contact suggesting confidence and challenge towards the viewer. Make up and pouting suggesting a seductive side to her.


Professor Green: Open arms and square body suggest a confrontation or perhaps that he is open to being judged. Tattoos hint that he may have a rebellious side. Direct eye contact also suggesting honesty.



David Cameron: Positioning on the stage suggests importance. Sleeves rolled up, no tie and top button open suggests that he wants to appear more casual and approachable to the audience he is trying to reach. Open palm suggests honest or reasoning.


How editing and cropping can affect meaning:

Blurred edges and pink tint suggesting romance, innocence, dreamlike quality.


Black and white suggesting a thoughtful mood.


Green/neon colour and full image revealing beer bottle and blurred shot. A few things suggested were that it looked 'skins-like' and had a youthful, party atmosphere to it. In the previous images, his gaze upwards was interpreted as thoughtful or innocent but with the added images of the graffiti, beer bottle and motion blur it hints that he has been drinking alcohol or is at a party. The graffiti and image on his t shirt also gives a more urban feel.

Moving image:

When you watch any music video, tv programme or trailer from now on you should notice the way it has been made and what that suggests about the message that is being conveyed. Below is one of the music videos we looked at in class. Make sure you keep an eye out for more interesting things!

Notice how the cuts between shots speed up as the music speeds up. Look at your notes to recap on shot and movement types.