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Unit 3: Media art
Quick questions on Media languages, codes and conventions: WACE Year 12 Media Production and Analysis Unit 3
3short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What are the four families of codes?Show answer
Technical codes are the choices made with equipment. They include camera angle, shot size, camera movement, focus, lighting, editing pace and transitions. A low angle can make a figure appear powerful, while a slow dissolve can suggest the passing of time or a dreamlike state.
What are conventions?Show answer
Conventions are the repeated, expected ways codes are combined within a form or genre. Continuity editing, the establishing shot, the eyeline match and the use of a musical sting are all conventions audiences have learned to read. Conventions create fluency: because viewers already understand the pattern, a producer can communicate quickly and can also surprise the audience by deliberately breaking the pattern.
What is manipulating codes in media art?Show answer
Media art prizes personal expression and aesthetics, so Unit 3 producers often manipulate codes for artistic rather than purely narrative reasons. A film artist might use jarring jump cuts to unsettle the viewer, desaturated colour to create a cold emotional tone, or layered ambient sound to build atmosphere. The manipulation is deliberate and the meaning is constructed, never accidental. When you analyse a media artwork you are reverse-engineering these decisions.
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