Media Language Essay

Every medium has its own language (using familiar codes and conventions that are universally understood) that it uses to communicate meaning: The Secret, for example, uses verbal and written language as well as the languages of moving images and sound.

Mise-en-scene makes up a large part of this language - location, character, cinematography and everything in the diegetic world. The location of our film is a house in suburban Belfast, Northern Ireland which connotes the views and beliefs which are prominent in our film (such as homophobia and petty quarrels in politics) assuming that the viewer has had cultural experience living in NI. The set-design also denotes many things which help to shape the viewers opinion and stance on the situation: school books and use of a mobile phone will show that the protagonist is a teenager and the appearance of videos such as musical theatre on his computer screen may be a connotation of his sexuality.

As for the character, there are many signifiers (the sign’s physical form) throughout the film which leads to the signified (the mental concept evoked by the signifier). The clothes of the protagonist are relaxed and casual, as is his body language and actual language, so he is seen as being young and informal however his sister’s clothes are much darker and more formal, which connotes to the viewer that she is more conservative and may be a problem later in the film. Her homophobic comments (calling gay people “fags”), in a synchronic dimension, may seem a joke that can be brushed off however when they are heard among the debate on the radio and Will’s struggle with his sexuality, in a diachronic dimension, they appear more harmful and her character therefore becomes an evil force. 

In terms of camerawork, there are 4 main aspects: shot types, camera composition, camera movement and camera angles. The most common shot type found in this text is an over the shoulder shot, which denotes the relationship between two people (mainly Will and Taylor). The connotation is that they are romantically involved, which the viewer derives from the flirtatious language and actions used such as emoticons seen in the texts and the line “maybe you’ll hold my hand in public this time”. All of the shots at the beginning of the film are taken at eye level which helps the audience connect with the characters being shown, however, once the sister enters the text, she is shown from a low angle (showing the audience that she is very dominant) and will is shown from a high angle (which makes the audience see him as being very submissive and child-like in regards to his sister). The close up shots of certain objects such as Will’s phone or his keys make sure that the audience knows that they have to focus purely on what is being shown - these objects in themselves are signifiers. The rainbow flag on the keys is a signifier as it is a cultural reference in the Western world, where a rainbow pattern is generally understood to represent gay pride. This leads to the signified which is the audience comprehending that Will is in support of this movement, strongly enough to have memorabilia, so may be a part of it and he could be a part of this community.

This rhetorical question also leads into the subject of media language conveyed through sound - the rhetorical question creates suspense as a sort of cliffhanger and the audience can then understand that there is an underlying tension in the relationship. The music playing at the beginning of the film is upbeat and happy pop music, which makes the film appear to be in the “teen” genre - the audience can set expectations for the film and its plot, characters and more from this point on. Another aspect of the sound in our film is the dialogue used. As media language and how it is interpreted often depends on the culture in which the film is set and in which the audience is immersed in, we had to make sure to use colloquial Northern Irish language and accents so that the audience can clearly see that the text is based in a society that they know to have political problems that are largely based in stereotyping and discrimination.

The script is constantly referencing the culture in Belfast, and this is particularly prominent through the radio dialogue. The viewer should by this point be acutely aware of the setting of the text which prefaces the discrimination faced by certain communities. In hearing the subject being discussed on the radio, the viewer can begin to understand the theme of the film and through this, and many other signs combined with it, the viewer can piece together clues about Will’s sexuality which is the centre of our plot point.

Editing also helps to put the intended meaning across to an audience. The juxtaposition of shots in the film means that the audience can greatly see the contrast of two different types of people and the relationship between them, especially when paired with short lengths of shots. For example, the shots whenever Will’s sister enters the room are very short when going between Will and his sister which creates an atmosphere of panic, and signifies to the audience that Will feels flustered in this situation, so it is clear that something is not right. As this text uses mostly enigma code and very little action code, these shots are badly needed to build suspense and propel the narrative since the focus is on creating tension and ambiguity of the situation, rather than many events happening at once.