Semiotics

1. Sign – an object, quality, or event whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else.
2. Code – Symbolic tools used to create meaning
3. Convention – Accepted ways of using media code
4. Dominant Signifier – Any material thing that signifies
5. Anchorage – Words with an image to provide context

Ferdinand de Saussure

1. Signifier – a sign’s physical form (such as a sound, printed word, or image) as distinct from its meaning.
2. Signified – the meaning or idea expressed by a sign, as distinct from the physical form in which it is expressed.

C S Pierce

1. Icon – A sign that looks like its object
2. Index – A sign or measure of something.
3. Symbol – A sign that has a more random link to its object

Roland Barthes

1. Signification – the representation or conveying of meaning
2. Denotation – the literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests
3. Connotation – an idea or feeling which a word invokes for a person in addition to its literal or primary meaning
4. Myth – a widely held but false belief or idea

Semiotics:

1. Sign – Something that expresses a form of communication.
2. Code – A symbolic tool used to construct meaning in media products/forms.
3. Convention – Accepted ways of using media codes.
4. Dominant Signifier – Is the thing, item or code that we ‘read’.
5. Anchorage – The words that go along with images to give them a specific meaning.

Ferdinand de Saussure:

1. Signifier – Any material thing that signifies (e.g words on a page).
2. Signified – The concept that a signifier refers to.

C S Pierce:

1. Icon – Signs that represent the signified (e.g a picture).
2. Index – Signs where the signifier is caused by the signified.
3. Symbol – Signs that is understood as representing an object, idea or relationship.

Roland Barthes:

1. Signification – Levels of meaning.
2. Denotation – A literal meaning of a sign.
3. Connotation – A secondary meaning for a sign.
4. Myth – Stories that are shared and widely believed by the media.
5. Ideology – Signs that support powerful structures.
6. Radical – Something that goes against something that’s expected.
7. Reactionary – Something that agrees with typical ideas.

1. Paradigm – A collection of similar signs.
2. Syntagm – The sequence which words have been put in to.

Semiotics

1. Sign – Something which can stand for something else.
2. Code – Technical, written and symbolic tools used to construct or suggest meaning in media forms or products eg use of a camera, special effects, typography.
3. Convention – The generally accepted way of doing something.
4. Dominant Signifier – The main representative.
5. Anchorage – words that go along with an image to give it meaning in a specific context eg taglines in adverts.

Ferdinand de Saussure:

1. Signifier – What you call the object, word, image or action.
2. Signified – the concept behind the object, word, image or action being represented.

C S Pierce:

1. Icon – A sign which has characteristics in common with the thing that it signifies.
2. Index – A sign that has a link with the thing that it signifies.
3. Symbol – A sign which has a random link to the thing that it signifies.

Roland Barthes:

1. Signification –  Structural levels of signification, meaning or representative.
2. Denotation – Often refers to something literal – the first level of analysis.
3. Connotation – Something suggested by a word or a thing – the second level of analysis.
4. Myth – How words and images are systematically used to communicate cultural and political meanings
5. Ideology – A set of ideas or beliefs that people have regarding different kinds of technologies.
6. radical – Something that goes against and challenges dominant, typical ideas.
7. reactionary – Something that goes with and agrees with dominant, typical ideas.

1. Paradigm – A collection of signs that all have some sort of connection.
2. Syntagm –  How signs and things are put together and fitted together.

Pose – subject positioning, stance or body language	Fourth Wall Breaks: where the subject meets gaze with audience – can be confrontational, aggressive, invitational etc… Off-Screen Gaze: upward can suggest spirituality; right-frame gaze can suggest adventure, optimism; left-frame gaze can suggest regret, nostalgia Body Language: open, closed, passive, active, strong, weak Subject positioning: positioning and angle of group shots illustrates the characters with more powerful/dominant role Proxemics: if subjects are positioned closer together, often shows close relationship
Mise en Scene – props, costume, setting	Prop Symbolism: props are rarely accidental, use and placement often have symbolic connotations Setting Symbolism (Pathetic Fallacy): settings and scenery are often symbolic of a characters emotions Costume Symbolism: stereotypes can be constructed through costume, helping us discover characters narrative function
Lighting	High-Key: lack of shadow, producing a lighter more upbeat tone Low-Key: emphasises shadow, producing a darker and serious tone Chiaroscuro: high contrast lighting eg light beams penetrating pitch black conveying hopelessness or misery Ambient: infers realism
Compositional Effects – distance, angle, positioning of subjects	Long Shot: implies subject is dominant of environment Closeup: intensifies character emotions or suggests impending drama Left Compositions: left of screen is generally reserved for characters whom the audience is to sympathise with Right Compositions: right screen usually reserved for unfavourable characters Open frame: suggests freedom Closed frame: suggests entrapment Tilt-up and High Eyeline: conveys power Tilt-down and Low Eyeline: conveys vulnerability
Post-Production Effects	Colour Control: often exaggerated for a specific connotative effect – red conveys anger; white conveys innocence; blue conveys sadness etc… High saturation: increased colour levels creates a cheery tone Desaturation: decreasing colour of an image creates a serious, sombre tone

Sign – Stands in for something else.

Code – used to construct meaning in media forms

Convention– the accepted way of doing something.

Dominant signifier– the main thing that stands in for something else.

Anchorage– words that go along with an image to give meaning of context.

1. Paradigm – A collection of signs that all have some sort of connection.
2. Syntagm –  How signs and things are put together and fitted together.

Ferdinand De Saussure – Swiss linguist, semiotician and philosopher. Ferdinand de Saussure: Saussure believed in a concept, that can be described as “the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.” One of the two founders of semiotics, introduced these terms as the two main planes, these terms being the ‘signifier’ and the ‘signified’.

1. Signifier, stands in for something else
2. Signified, thing or idea trying to be evoked

C S Pierce: Pierce believed that there were only 3 signs ever, Iconic, Indexical and symbolic. Furthermore this implies that everything is made up of these 3 signs.

1. Icon, a sign that looks like its object (think of camerawork, sets, props, and Mise-En-Scene) (eg. a picture of a cat)
2. Index, A sign that has a link to its object (Think of sounds, props) (campfire smoke, or the smoke coming from a campfire.)
3. Symbol, a sign that has an arbitrary or random link to its object (think of colours, textures, shapes, sounds)

Roland Barthes: Barthes semiotician work focused on the signs in the news and how to read them, he would take apart scenes in the news to analyse them more easily and find out what the news is actually saying.

1. Signification – The process of constructing meaning the from the sign itself.
2. Denotation – The first level of analysis (what the person can see)
3. Connotation – The meanings or associations we have with the image
4. Myth – Information that is being told with assets which may differ the way you view it from reality of the information
5. Ideology – To grasp the idea between relation and power
6. radical – something that goes against people thoughts and ideas (eg. driving through a red light is normal)
7. reactionary – something that everyone accepts (eg. like the fact that you should stop at a red light)
8. Paradigm – A typical sign or ideal of something in a collection.
9. Syntagm – Where objects have relations symbolic of each other in a sequence