LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET IN MIL 11

Name:_____________________________________ Grade:____ Quarter __

Media and Information Languages

‘The medium is the message, ‘now a famous quote was written by Marshall McLuhan in 1964. By which the
medium may be affected how messages are received, the users’/audiences’ own background/experience
may have also affected the interpretation of messages. An important first step in becoming media and
information literate is to understand how information, ideas, and meaning are communicated through and
by various media and other information providers, such as libraries, archives, museums, and the Internet.
Each medium has its own ‘language’ or ‘grammar’ that works to convey meaning in a unique way.
‘Language,’ in this sense, means the technical and symbolic ingredients or codes and conventions that
media and information professionals may select and use in an effort to communicate ideas, information,
and knowledge.

Learning objectives

1. Discuss concepts of codes, codes, and other media languages

2. Produce and assesses the codes, convention, and messages of a group presentation (MILI11/12MILA-
IIIf-16).
3. Present an issue in varied ways to disseminate information using codes, convention, and languages of
media

Pretest

Answer the following as directed. Strictly no erasures. Write only the letter of your choice.
1. _______ can be recognized by its common set of distinguishing features.
a. Genre b. Conventions c. Codes d. Class
2. _______ are systems of signs, which create meaning
a. Genre b. Conventions c. Codes d. Class
3. _______ are the generally accepted ways of doing something.
a. Genre b. Conventions c. Codes d. Class
4. _______ ways in which equipment is used to tell the story (camera techniques, framing, depth of fields,
lighting and etc.)
5. _______ show what is beneath the surface of what we see (objects, setting, body language, clothing,
color, etc.)
Discussion

Genre, Code, and Conventions

All media messages are constructed using a particular set of codes and conventions. When we say media
messages are constructed using codes and conventions, we mean that every media product we encounter
is a coherent body with its own rules. Take a look at the previous exercise you had done. You are tasked to
illustrate the description of the movie and how this description is illustrated in the set of codes you may
observe in the film.
In this lesson, we engaged with the thought that media messages are constructed.
We have established that the meaning is something that comes out as an interaction between the message
sent and its receiver, both of which are surrounded by a context that bears on how the process of reading
and receiving the encoded message is decoded.
Every medium has its own codes and conventions.
GENRE – It is a French word which means “kind” or “class.” The original Latin word is “genus” and means
a class of things that can be broken down into subcategories. It tends to be understood to constitute
particular conventions of contents and to follow a distinctive style in terms of form and presentation.
The primary genres that media creators and producers invoke are the following: entertainment, news,
information, education, and advertising. These sample of the subcategory of some of the given primary
genre

1. News. These are stories that have critical importance to community and national life. News stories are
also told following the basic structure of beginning, middle, and end. Journalists, people trained to report
the news to an audience, are expected to be objective, comprehensive, and bias-free. They work for
newspapers, radio stations, televisions, and lately, online or web-based news services.
Major Division for News stories: Hard or straight news; Feature, Soft News, Investigative News, Opinion

2. Entertainment. It is derived from the French word “entretenir,” which means “to hold the attention, keep
busy, or amused.

This a comprehensive movie genres list:

(a) Action movies require stunts, set pieces, explosions, guns, and karate. They are usually about
a clear hero and a clear villain. Action movie stakes are huge, like saving the world or the universe. They’re
often bombastic and move quickly. Their pacing and structure are built around scenes like car chases, and
their climaxes often have the biggest set-pieces.
(b) Adventure movies are usually built around a quest. They take place in faraway lands or
jungles. Many adventures may be period pieces, although more contemporary adventure stories are
coming back to the forefront. They can be swashbucklers or treasure hunts.
(c) Comedy films usually are written with a few laughs at a scene. The stakes are usually much
smaller or interpersonal. Comedy films can vary in their darkness and the way they deal with life and death.
They tend to be shorter films, spoofs and can have broader casts.
(d) Drama is regularly mashed up with other genres because most movies and TV rely on
character-driven stories to keep the audience involved. These are serious stories that hinge on events that
regularly happen in everyday life. They usually focus on character and how these people arc over time.
(e) A horror film focuses on adrenaline rides for the audience that dial in the gore, scares, and
creative monsters. Horror is always re-inventing old classics, like adding fast zombies, and CGI creatures.
It also is seen as the most bankable genre with a huge built-in audience. Ghouls, ghosts, slashers,
creatures, and body disfiguring are some of its settings
(f) Romance movies are about people coming together, falling apart, and all the hurdles in
between. Love is a universal language. They can be paired with comedy and ram, but a straightforward
romance focuses on two characters or an ensemble falling in love.
(g) Thriller movies. What would you do when you were over your head? This is usually linked with
horror, action, and drama, but thrillers are about exciting situations that have constant danger. They’re
about stressed characters, corrupt investigators, and criminals living on the edge.
(h) War/Conflict movies are about POWs, men in foxholes, tanks, and planes. They’re about
people finding commonalities, differences, and sacrificing their lives.

CODES – These are a system of signs that, when put together, create meaning.
Type of Codes
1. Technical Codes
The way in which equipment is used to tell the story (camera techniques, framing, depth of fields, lighting
and etc.)
3. Written Codes
These are the formal written language used in a media product. It can be used to advance a narrative,
communicate information about a character or issues and themes. It includes printed language, which is
the text you can see within the frame and how it is presented, and also spoken language, which includes
dialogue and song lyrics.

CONVENTIONS – These are the accepted ways of using media codes. These are closely connected to
the audience’s expectations of a media product.

Types of Conventions
1. Form conventions. These are certain ways we expect types of media’s codes to be arranged. For
instance, an audience expects to have a title of the film at the beginning and then credits at the end.
Newspapers will have a masthead, the most important news on the front page and sports news on the back
page. Video games usually start with a tutorial to explain the mechanics of how the game works.

2. Story Conventions. These are common narrative structures and understandings that are common in
storytelling media products.
Examples of story conventions include:
✓ Narrative structures
✓ Cause and effect
✓ Character construction
✓ Point of View

3. Genre Conventions. It points to the common use of tropes, characters, settings, or themes in a
particular type of medium. Genre conventions are closely linked with audience expectations. Genre
conventions can be formal or thematic.
Today the capacities of the human mind aided by technology enable the process of construction of media
and information messages. The media employ more than words to construct a more complex society. Film
and broadcast communication use the language of the camera, the tools, and techniques of editing and the
power of words – as dialogue and narration – to capture the world of a story, deliberately making choices
on what not to include, what to highlight, and what should serve as a backdrop. It is very important to keep
in mind: every media, every media form or, media text whether it is a printed advertisement prominently
lining on the streets we pass through to the television we watch every day.

Activity 2 Ads, Ads, Ads

Single out a commercial on television meant to sell skin products for women.
1. Name all the elements you hear and see.(People, places, time or historical period, objects, ways of life
and even identity.
2. Where is the setting?
3. Since this was a shot using a camera, try to discern the language of the camera by listing the angles and
corresponding scene that it tries to capture.
4. What is the beginning, middle and end?
5. A commercial product always selling a product. How is this commercial selling its product? What is its
most potent way of selling the product?
6. Are there memorable lines or visual effects? What makes it memeorable?

Generalization

Complete the sentence stem below. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.
1. Genres are defined as _____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________.
2. Codes are illustrated as the _________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________.
3. There are three types of codes which are: ______________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________.
4. Conventions, on the other side, is defined as ___________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________.
5. Of which, classified into three types: __________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________.

Posttest

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Encircle the letter of your choice. Be wary of options; choose only the best. ONLY
THE BEST.

1. What shot is used to represent a character as having power?

A. High angle shot C. Establishing shot
B. Low angle shot D. Canted shot
2. What shot is used to show the emotions on a character’s face?
A. Extreme close up C. Aerial shot
B. Close up D. Scooby doo shot
3. Why is a shot-reverse-shot used?
A. To show the location C. To manipulate situations
B. To show something forwards and backward D. To show two-sides of a conversation
4. An establishing shot/long shot is used to set the location of a scene
A. True B.False

5. What is this shot?

a. Medium shot
b. Long shot
c. Canted shot
d. Extreme long shot

6. What is a wide shot?

A. When it makes a character looks really fat
B. When a character takes up the whole frame
7. What shot would be used to establish the full costume of a character in TV drama?
A. Establishing shot C. Close up
B. Long shot D. Extreme close up
8. Why is a mid-shot used?
A. To show a character facial expression while still showing a lot of their body
B. To show someone’s feet
C. To show someone walking

9. This is an aerial shot

A. True
B. False

10. What does an over the shoulder shot represent?

A. Someone’s facial expressions
B. To show one persons side of the conversation
C. The view someone can see
6. What is a wide shot?
A. When it makes a character looks really fat
B. When a character takes up the whole frame
7. What shot would be used to establish the full costume of a character in TV drama?
A. Establishing shot C. Close up
B. Long shot D. Extreme close up
8. Why is a mid-shot used?
A. To show a character facial expression while still showing a lot of their body
B. To show someone’s feet
C. To show someone walking