Media Theory

    Now that I've researched different genres, film openings, and credit sequences, I have a clearer image of what I want to do with my opening. My film's plot will tell the story of a teenage girl who has a passion for art, but after society shuts down her dreams, she indulges herself into her studies, causing her to become overwhelmed and stressed. The movie would then follow her as she relearns to love and pursue her passions, despite of what society tells her to do. I know that I can't fully develop this plot within the two minutes that we're given, so at some point in my opening I want to have a moment that juxtapositions her life when she was a child to when she's a teenager, to at least hint at what the story is about. I hope to create this juxtaposition by using media theories, which my teacher also recommended we research and include into our project.

    While researching and looking into different media theories that I could incorporate into my opening, I came across two that I felt as if I could accurately integrate. These two being the semantic code, in which I would use different objects to give signs to the audience that hint at the story's plot, and symbolic code, in which I could use signs and symbols to show juxtaposition or antithesis. Within this blog post, I'll be discussing my ideas for one in specific: symbolic code.

    In media, symbolic codes are used to show antithesis or, as an article by Media Studies entitled Roland Barthes' 5 Narrative Codes describes, they show "a 'battle' between contrasting signs." Films that have used this code include, Star Wars, with the different colored lightsabers; Barbie, the juxtaposition between the pink color-scheme and the dark color-scheme; and The Matrix, with the red and blue pill..

    In my film, I hope to do something similar to what the Barbie movie did. My current plan would be to have the first part of the opening, when the main character is a child, have warm, comforting lighting that represents the character's personality and mental state. Then I'd like to have a moment in my opening where there's a sharp cut that transitions into the character when she's a teenager. This new shot would have gloomier, colder lighting to, once again, parallel the character's identity, but most importantly, serve as that juxtaposition to the lighting in the beginning of the opening. Thus, creating a symbolic code, as the lighting would be what represents that antithesis and opposition.