2013 Post 17- Media Language: Camera

Media language explores the way in which the meaning of a media text is conveyed to the audience, this is through signs and symbols inferred by the audience in way the scene is set up and filmed, which are polysemic, meaning that they are open to many interpretations. Media text meanings can be formed in two different ways, how the signs and symbols are understood and the cultural background of the viewer.

Media language includes the way in which meaning comes across through the camera, such as shot size and camera angle. The Director has control over selecting the shots to help the audience unravel the meaning of a scene, focusing on the camerawork and lighting which is known as the cinematography.

To further understand media language I looked at the camerawork in a short drama film called ‘Codename: Simon’, by doing this I could form an idea of what techniques I could incorporate into our drama film.

Jibbing shot travelling up a character, they are the main focus and mysterious as the audience cannot see their face to form an identity. The camera comes to rest on a wide shot of a child, the audience realises that the astronaut is actually a cut-out and is surprised by the young child that is the focal centre of attention on the screen.

 

The camera is tilted in this scene from the short drama film ‘Vacuity’,(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDbm4hpVs58) this disorientates the audience. The viewer is encouraged to be confused just like the character on screen, and they can gain an understanding of what is happening on scene as the situation is made clear to them.

This wide shot is used in the short drama film ‘Husky’(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btbsueqSviA)  to convey the man’s isolation; he sits at the end of the bench, furthest from the camera and is thus more detached from the audience. There is a lot of empty space visible in this shot, reinforcing how alone he is, and because only his back can be seen he appears mysterious and is the sole focus of attention.

For our short film, a wide shot would be effective at distancing our main character from others and making him stand out. As well as this, a wide close up can have the effect of disorientating the viewer and providing a new perspective on our main character.