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Media Theory & Application. This is not a pipe. What is René getting at? Hint: The painting is somethings called The Treachery of Images . Semiotics specifics. signifier + signified = sign city word, sound, image, etc. mental concept.
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This is not a pipe. • What is René getting at? • Hint: The painting is somethings called The Treachery of Images
Semiotics specifics signifier + signified = sign city word, sound, image, etc. mental concept
Aspects of what is "Signified" 1st order: Denotation 2nd order: Connotation The "deeper" meaning, socio-cultural and personal associations. Analog <--------> The literal meaning of a thing or sign. Digital (bonus level) 3rd order: Myth Major culturally-variable concepts underpinning a particular worldview – e.g. masculinity, femininity, freedom, individualism, colonialism, etc. The Matrix
Aspects of what is "Signified" Denotation Dinner + place setting Connation We're open tonight, selling sit-down meals, including dinner [Mass produced, inexpensive] homey food after hours 50's-flavored diner restaurant (waitresses + gruff male cooks?) Highway and driving culture Myth WASP Americana nostalgia -> warmth & authenticity
Code – definitions & examples • A set of practices familiar to users of the medium operating within a broad cultural framework • An ever-evolving system of explicit social conventions A few codes of the moving picture medium: • Genre (narrative, characterization, themes, setting, iconography) • Camerawork (shot size, focus, lens movement, camera movement, angle, lens choice, composition) • Editing (cuts & fades, cutting rate & rhythm) • Manipulation of time (compression, flashbacks, flashforwards, slow motion) • Lighting • Color • Sound (soundtrack, music) • Graphics • Acting technique • Narrative style • Authorial style
Signs Codes Syntagms* * syntaxes, grammars,structures repeated over time become Conventions
Why is any of this relevant? Intentionally or not… • Every scrap of media you will create has denotations, connotations, & even myths • Every scrap of media you will create follows/uses/twists/breaks codes and conventions In this class, let's be intentional about what we're communicating to whom with our creations.
For the following media samples, think connotations, conventions used/borrowed, values displayed, myths conjured, for some [which?] audience. What is it saying to whom?
Wicked Witch, 2013 Wicked Witch, 1939
ICE: Media Theory Analysis In small groups, discuss a favorite/memorable game or website in terms of: Audience Conventions of any kind (technical and socio-cultural) Connotations Myths
Homework • Media Theory Analysis