An Understanding of "Semiotics"

Semiotics is a way of visually coding objects and anything we see around us and we mentally associate them with references to pre-existing information that we have collected through the media/experiences/perception etc. Semiotics are used when we are understanding signs around us by making mental connections with perceptions allowing us to process the sign and develop our links.

A sign is polysemic meaning that it has more than one meaning; this is deeply compelling simply due to the fact that your references and experiences in regards to any given sign that you see, will play a toll on your perception of the object. Ultimately the perception we allude to in regards to understanding visual representations of any given object; this is when signifiers play apart due to our to the pre-existing forms of information effecting our assumptions of particular signs causing us to allocate a given sign with depicted pieces of information provided by sources such as the media. The media tends to fixate and highlight certain aspects of information, manipulating the way in which we perceive signs around us. In some cases this idea of highlighting or depicting aspects of a sign may cause us to allude away from the truth; this principle is fundamentally important in association to the news.  

This diagram elaborates on the concept of signs through visual representation demonstrating that the sign is what we're seeing for example a dog's footprint: through our perception we'd link it through connotations to interpret any forms of danger or through experiences we'd link it to information presenting animal prints therefore causing us to ultimately conclude to what it is and presenting it with a title. 

There are 3 forms of links we'd associate with polysemic signs which  help us amplify our perception and understandings by broadening our connections regarding any given signs.

Iconic

Are aspects of the sign that works with resemblance,such as fire being a source of light or heat.

Symbolic

Aspects of the sign that are learned, such as fire can pose a form of danger.

Indexical

These are links we make in regards to the sign, such as smoke can indicate fire or forms of civilisation.

Within the media, particularly forms of visual representation. Signs play a significant importance in regards to the audience gathering an understanding of the visual representation.

Within films/television, directors highlight these aspects of particular signs to emphasis their story in order for the audience to grasp on the tone of the project and remain engaged.

This is a shot from the film “Prisoners” there are many shots throughout the film that bare many symbolic meanings which the director has included to provide the audience with extra visual depth to the telling of the story which he has achieved through the use of mediation; a process of selecting and organising material for his audience but including relevant and appropriate signs that will advance the scene visually.

Iconic

 An aspect within the frame that is ionic is that it takes place within an interrogation room in which is iconic to the audience due to the fact that this setting presents an area in which individuals are questioned upon their acts against society ultimately acting immoral.  This is fundamentally why this polysemic shot is in fact iconic simply because of the location presented makes the audience feel psychologically uneasy as a relation of the audience associating the setting as a place where they are questioned of their sins and is why this shot is so rememberable,ironic and ultimately intriguing.

Symbolic

The way in which the director has chosen to not only position the two characters within the frame at a great distance away from the camera but to confine them to only a small section of the room conveys the idea of power. The character the audience would recognise as the interrogator due to the handcuffs placed in his back-pocket is refraining the suspect from moving away but to remain in the corner of the room and the interrogator is achieving this without any physical means of force nor actions required; this then justifies the symbolism of power and dominance over an individual (the suspect) who holds no authority or control within the situation he has brought upon himself.
Another form of symbolism within the shot is presented through the emptiness of the room; this highlight the notion hopelessness in both the suspect and the interrogator which also can further elaborate on the idea that both characters are striving to achieve their goals of the suspect bleeding his innocence and the interrogator attempting to solve his case ultimately symbolising the concept of desperation.

Indexical

Within this shot, the contents indicated the fact that the location is indeed an interrogation room; the audience would associate this with criminal activity and linking it to the suspect within the frame there by linking his appearance to archetypes of people whom the media presents to be criminals and then help the audience to contemplate their given connections to subconsciously decide whether they believe the suspect is guilty or innocent.

The audience would also make links to the idea of the proximity in which the interrogator could be an invasion of personal space which some may argue that this is a link to a form of violating the suspects human rights which is depicted through the gesture and body language of the suspect leaning himself as far back as possible in order to provide himself with as much space he can conjure himself with:  the audiences may link this with the ideas of instinct of our nature to not tolerate discomfort which is expressed through the suspect’s body language.


Semiotics is a compelling and effective way for the media to alter our perspective on particular aspects of our society. Due to our perceptions on the signs around us having a major influence through our sources of information; particularly the news playing a toll on the way we form stereotypes or political rivals due to the way the media chooses to manipulate the meanings behind signs. 

Do generic conventions help or restrict film-makers?

Before producing a film, firstly the creative team behind the project must ultimately decide what genre the motion-picture will be.Once that has been decided; the conventions surrounding that given genre will play a major influence on the director's ideas and choices in regards to the story such as presenting iconographies associated with the genre. Once that gap within the director's story has been filled then the creative team can begin planning how they will visually present the story by deciding casting choices, choosing/creating relevant settings, selecting effective sounds and ultimately deciding on a colour pallet for the cinematography which can visually represent the genre that the film-maker has requested. Conventions can be both helpful in regards to the film-maker being provided with necessary plot points in which the director can decide to arrange in any particular fashion they believe could help play as a benefactor to the telling of their story.Although, convention can to a degree restrict film-makers in some aspects in regards to the fact that the director's story is confined to the generic conventions associated with the given genre due to audience's expectations towards that specific genre.

However there have been projects throughout cinematic history which have proven that no matter what the genre; so long as the creative team behind the film are imaginative enough then they can still bring an innovative idea to the silver screen which audiences with appreciate and fully enjoy. There have been films over the past year in fact that have embodied this form of creativity due to the directors behind the camera finding inventive ways of manipulating generic conventions in order to apply hybrid genres within those particular films whilst remaining firmly within the conventions of the titled genre. 


"Guardians of the Galaxy" was a film this year that was able to captivate audiences across the world with it's unique take on the science fiction genre due to the 
director "James Gunn" creatively incorporating many sub-genres within the film to endorse a range of preferences that would appeal to all audiences.

This film is an example of a 
film-maker who not only understands the conventions and the expectations surrounding a science fiction epic but is able to apply layers of sub-genres such as superhero,drama and comedy.

James Gunn was ultimately able to cleverly merge all various genres into one whilst maintaining the generic conventions of a sci-fi adventure therefore meeting the audience's expectations in relation to the film's iconographies to not only the science fiction genre but by indulging the audiences to a degree of exceeding their own expectation to present generic conventions belonging to various genres. 
This is an example of a film-maker who found the principles established through the generic conventions remarkably helpful due to his ability to recognise plot points within the story that could be coated with elements of humour and drama without the combination feeling forceful but profoundly natural and flowed well with the story and also provided extra dimensions and trade-marks to individual characters. This film ultimately highlights that with the right talent; can find the dynamics of the generic conventions associated with those genres to be remarkably helpful providing the film-maker with infinite possibilities in regards to the direction of a story so long as you are creative... 

"The Lego Movie" is another perfect example of a film with film-makers that not only understood the generic conventions of their titled genre but embraced the conventions to allow their creativity to roam free.

"The Lego Movie" is obviously a children's animation film but don't let this allow you to overlook this film; because you'd be overwhelmed at some of the life lessons and moral questions this film brings to mind.
The genius aspect of the conventions within this film is that the directors were able to recognise formulaic and generic conventions of their story which have been replicated many times prior to theirs and will continue to do so.




Which is why the directors chose to highlight those cliché plot points within their story and have the entire film mock itself in a clever and believable manner due to the concepts of the world in which the character belong to: which are created within the mind of a child therefore making any outrageous cliché plot point to be acceptable. This in fact not only makes it humorous for the film's target audience which is clearly children but is also entertaining for adults due to the tremendous amount of iconographies to iconic and symbolic pieces of cinema. 

However due to some extent, this film did to a degree in regards to its content were restricted due to the clear conventions in relation to the film being targeted a young child. This left a majority of the jokes being expectedly forceful and predictable at times due to the simplistic nature of the humour but this can be argue simply because the film does ultimately achieves it's purpose as an animated film and meets the expectation of child.

Ultimately "The Lego Movie" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" justify that regardless of the genre, conventions still can remain helpful to film-makers ultimately because it provides them with potential concepts on possibilities for a story and then is able to use these references to meet the expectations of their particular audience by including iconographies that is expected to be associated within the cinematic world within certain genres.
However to a certain degree; the film-makers may encounter few restrictions in regards to the content within their story due to the confines of some aspects of genres due to the fixations they may have in regard to the genre they belong to. 
Otherwise in the eyes of the film-maker, conventions are necessary when creating a story and is vital that they stick to them otherwise it will ultimately effect the film they are intending to make. 

Continuing my journey through media

As I delve deeper in my approach to media, I have managed to unravel more of my understanding in regards to genre.

Since the birth of cinema, genre has played an important role on behalf of the studios producing films due to the simplistic nature of the term "genre" back in the golden age of cinema; a time when each genre was confined to a simplistic set of conventions in which the studios and the film-makers were able to produce and market films with the studio's original intentions whilst providing their audience with a film the audience wanted to see and the studio were happy to produce. However in 1954,the American film industry gave birth to the genre known as "Science-fiction".Due to the innovative concept of incorporating conventions to apply to the science fiction genre which ultimately gave film-makers a revolutionary way of exploring their own imagination which led to such cliché conventions that have established the science fiction genre due to their use of iconographies associated with the sci-fi genre such as 
extra-terrestial beings,distopian/utopian futures,flying cars and space exploration adventures.

Particularly due to the success of the 1953's box office hit 
"The War of the Worlds" audiences were in utter shock at the sheer scope and creative principles associated with the genre such as divine beings walking amongst us which lead the audiences craving for more and only wanting to see films like it: putting studios in a predicament.

During the following year of 1954,Universal studios had already produced a film titled "Creature from the black lagoon" which was intended to be marketed as a horror film but due to the profound love that the audience had in regards to Sci-fi,there was no space or interest for a horror film within the market at that moment in time.This resulted in the studio re-classifying their film from a horror to a science fiction film by marketing the creature within the story who'm is lead to believe is from outer space but in all honesty the creature's place of origin is exposed within the title of the project. This in the end was a successful cunning marketing scheme which Universal studios executed in order to gain attraction and profit from their film.

This marketing technic of studios re-classifying a particular film has played its role in many situations throughout cinematic history; which has ultimately proven it's ability for studios to ensure financial success but may in fact impact the way in which the film is received...

Back in 2011, the film "Drive" despite the fact that it was a captivating piece of cinematic gold in eyes of cinephiles due to it's breathtaking directing and writing with a strong character driven story ultimately creating a visually stunning film through it's cinematography whilst remaining immersive with its dramatic yet compelling character arches infused with outstanding directing talent to convey many themes and ideas within the film; which was all captured and crafted beautifully by the film's director "Nicolas Winding Refn". 

Unfortunately the general audience was unable to fully appreciate the story the film-maker had produced due to the fact that the team behind marketing and distribution (Film District) decided to market it as a heist film. The various forms of promotional contexts and media such as posters and trailers all conveyed the notion that the film is nothing more than a heist film: Due to the imagery within the posters and trailers supported through the way in which the film's trailer was cut and edited to included quick frames of a chase-sequence and various shots of guns and gratuitous violence to emphasis to the audience that this film contains elements of entertaining action sequences as a marketing ploy to lure audiences into seeing the film. 

These promotional materials established the audience's expectations to include heists and car chases therefore causing the audiences to be confined to the fixation they may have in regards to the story alluding them away from the real story behind the film which is that of a stunt driver in search of a better life who'm from time associates himself with jobs involving him as the driver for thieves who'd participate in heists.

The term "re-genrification" in my opinion failed miserably in relation to this particular film due to the simplistic fact that it's been received poorly by the general public due to the misconceptions in relation to the film's genre causing the general public to receive the film poorly due to the way in which it was marketed and re-classified as an alternative film which it didn't fixate on any of the tradiational conventions a typical heist film would incorporate.

The concept of re-classifing a film's genre has changed my perspective on the way in which studios handle their productions simply because they never give any thought to the audience's appreciation of the film-makers work but more or less is anxious on the project's potential income and revenue.
Despite that this argument has flaws due to the nature that this marketing scheme does in fact result in a large financial profit for the studio but unfortunately "re-grenrification" does indeed play a interesting toll on the way in which the audience receive a given film due to the expectations being influenced on pre-existing information and imagery that convey a particular notion in regards to the film prior to it's release...

Introduction to AS Media

An Introduction to Genre

Over the past 3 lessons I've had of media, I have already learned the relevance and importance of genre within the media. For now we've been taught genre's impact within the film industry and the impact it has on not only the audience but may provide the films with a given amount of success depending on the audience's preference of genre at that moment in time.


Genre also provides film-makers fixed concepts for possibilities in regards to the telling of a story provided by the conventions established by the genre due pre-existing re-presentation of any given genre established within previous films. These conventions then play a toll on the cinematography, sounds and casting choices for the particular film project to embody the characteristics bestowed upon within the given genre.

In regards to the audience, genre plays an important role as acting as a way of luring them into seeing a given film simply due to their expectation.

Every genre has established their conventions by many films belonging to those genres using similar settings, archetypes and tone which then become formulaic ultimately helping the audience choose a film they'd like to see and due to their expectations;this allows some genres to catch the attention of their audience due to the assumptions that the audience has and the expectations in which they believe should be met mostly due to the audience's love for particular themes or story arks such as good triumphing evil in horror stories. 

However I believe that genres aren't just fixations of stories being repeated in many forms, I do believe that genres have a deep effect on the audience's mental well-being simply due to the profound illusion that those individual genres create: Genres tend to depict aspects of our reality and tend to either choose to exploit harsh aspects of the reality for those members of the audience or emphasis on our hopes/dreams/desires in life but either path leads to the same and effective outcome which is that the story within those genres are relatable therefore making the audience appreciate the film for what it truly and ultimately is which is in fact a window into another reality in which the audience can immerse themselves in for the duration of the film and for a brief moment to escape their reality and embrace a new one of a brief moment in time. Audiences can find the lessons and themes being highlighted through the film to be therapeutical due the compelling ideas associated within those stories within selective genres. Some genres do tend to re-enforce conventions of our reality and depict moral choices and the possible outcomes of those choices; which some may argue is another way for the media to control our behaviour implementing it through the overwhelming pressure of consequences. 

I've barely scratched the surface of the art that is "genre" 
I am already baffled at what I've unveiled and I'm curious to know what else I can learn and discover...