How age is represented in the extract from Waterloo Road.

How age is represented in the extract from Waterloo Road.

In this extract the older generation are shown to be more organised through their clothing, whereas the younger generation are shown to be untidy and chaotic. Immediately, in the first second of this clip a medium close up, low angle shot is shown of Mr Budgen walking steadily wearing brown shoes and grey slacks. Instantly, the costume choice hints towards the character being mature as he is smartly dressed. This clothing choice also hints towards the stereotype that the elderly are boring as the color choices of brown and grey are very bland and give the audience the impression of the elderly being insipid. The clip then shows two young boys, Finn and Josh both with their top buttons done up and their ties fashioned incorrectly. From this the audience will make the generalization that young people are unkempt in the way they dress themselves and are therefore immature. As well as this, the two boys are shown from a medium long shot which indicated that they are of less importance that their elder whose feet alone were shown at a close up angle. Furthermore, the young character of Kyle is similarly seen wearing his tie in the improper manner, as well as having his shirt buttons undone and wearing a non-uniform jacket. This further indicated towards the idea that young people are unable to act maturely and are sloppy with their appearance.

Secondly, this clips shows the older generation to have more authority, particularly over those who are younger than themselves. Evidence of this is when Mr Budgen clicks his finger and says "give it" in regards to the object the two boys are hiding. He says this with a stern look on his face which indicates the seriousness of his use of imperatives. The camera then pans down to show his hand held out and waiting to accept what the boys give him. The immediate pan down suggests that the elderly are so dominant that they receive someone to succumb to their demand immediately as Mr Budgen has only just said this when the camera pans down to his hand held out. and youth succumbing to order shows dominance. As well as this, in the first shot we see of Mr Budgen, a close up of his feet, diegetic sound of his slow footsteps can be heard which adds tension to the scene which therefore gives the impression that his is a dominating character with a lot of power. Additionally, when speaking to the young-adult teacher 'Miss Chaudry' he asks "You did take out insurance?" in a brash manner which indicates arrogance and confidence that he knows best. This is very stereotypical of the elderly, particularly males because they are seen to have more experience of the world because they have lived more years which leads to the idea that they are wiser. The fact that he says this towards a person working in the same profession as him suggests that his obvious older age gives him more influence, which suggests the importance of age regarding authoritative-ness rather than profession.


Whats more, the extract also shows age representing authority when the pupil Kyle Stack is talking to the 'Site Manager' and the older man says to him "go and finish that essay you're supposed to be doing", which Kyle responds to with a moan and the older man then says "no buts". The fact that he is telling him what to do indicates his superiority despite him only being the 'Site manager' thus suggesting to the audience that it is not the profession but his age which results in him having more dominion over Kyle. As well as this, when the imperatives are being used an over the shoulder, medium close up of him is shown as he speaks. This indicates that his words should be taken seriously and regarded as paramount, whereas Kyle's should not, as his face is not being shown. This shot belittles Kyle but magnifies the Site Manager's importance. On the other hand, the angel the shot is shown at is eye level which could have been chosen by editors as it makes the two characters appear to be the same height which therefore indicates a sense of understanding between the two people and age groups showing that the difference in age does not always have to be portrayed as something negative. Furthermore, the use of a high key natural light from a window behind the older man indicates that his authority is not carried out in a negative way, unlike Mr Budgen's, and instead done to enlighten Kyle and to try and encourage him in being a better person.

How Gender is represented in Wire in The Blood

How Gender is represented in Wire in The Blood

Within the first few seconds of the clip from the TV drama ‘Wire in The Blood’ we are introduced to the two main characters Alex, a woman, and Tony, a man. These two characters both differ and conform to the hegemonic view of gender stereotypes.

The character of Alex is shown to be authoritative and in control which is a subverted stereotype of a typical woman. Evidence of her showing her authoritative side is when she is talking to what appear to be her staff and we are shown a medium close up of her instructing them to “talk to the neighbors... I want to know what they’ve been doing the past three days”. The use of the imperatives whilst being prominently shown her face and upper body from the camera angle is evidence of her superiority and strong head. Further proving Alex’s dominance is seen in the mise en scene as the character’s hair is very minimalistically styled and plain; it is less than shoulder length and is a dark brown color. This straight hair has been used for this character to show her sternness and non-conforming style as well as, breaking away from the hegemonic gender roles for women. On top of this the lack of non-diegetic sound that has not been added during editing while she is speaking further shows her importance and how high her character is on the hierarchy within her job because the focus is solely on her and what she is saying and the audience is not being distracted by any sounds other than the ones occurring within the scene, thus proving the importance of her instructions. Her dominance is clearly displayed as when she is talking the camera moves very little showing how the focus should be entirely on her and therefore keeping her in the center of audience attention.

Similar to Alex’s non-conformist character, Tony also goes against the standard ideologies of how a man should behave. This is seen after he is left with Alex’s son, Ben, to babysit and is very nurturing and comforting towards him. When the two are sat on the sofa there proxemics show how close together they are, their heads tilting towards one another and sat side by side, which shows how instantly comfortable Ben felt around Tony and how Tony was equally as restful. This differs from Tony’s gender stereotype as a male as the media presents them to be hands off when it comes to being around children and being nurturing, however, Tony’s character clearly defies this. Further evidence of this is again when they are sat on the sofa and Ben confides in Tony when talking about his mum saying “Mum’s always lonely. She always angry and she’s always tired.” His dialogue shows how at ease he feels with Tony and the unease he feels towards his mother. But according to the hegemonic stereotypes of men and women, women are supposed to be loving and nurturing towards their children and be very motherly whereas men are more hands off when it comes to caring for children. Women are often considered to be the best parents out of the two sexes, however both characters do not conform to this at all and Tony is presented as the more loving and caring gender, displaying how ‘Wire in the Blood’ reverses stereotypes.

However, there is evidence of Tony conforming to the stereotype of his gender. He is unorganized. This is clearly evident in the scene where Tony and Alex are making popcorn in the kitchen and it is a bit of a disaster. The shots used are mostly medium close ups, big close ups and long shots. The use of many different types of camera angles in such a short amount of time highlights the quick paced action and proves the point of Tony being chaotic in nature . The editing of the quick paced shot changes helps confirm the disorganization of Tony by confusing and disorientating the audience as they cannot get a proper view of what is going on and the action becomes dislocated for the audience. This discombobulated nature of Tony is further proved by the non-diegetic sound that has been added in editing as it is very fast pace and lacks a steady pace. This parallel sound causes the mood of confusion and rapidness to increase as it enhances the uncoordinated feel of the scene, which proves the stereotype of Tony being disorganized and unable to control the situation, because it is a domestic situation; making food and looking after a child. So despite his caring attitude towards Ben and his fatherly figure for Alex’s son, he is still an inept parent. 

"If I Were A Boy - Beyonce"

[Verse]

If I were a boy

Even just for a day

I’d roll outta bed in the morning

And throw on what I wanted and go

Drink beer with the guys

And chase after girls

I’d kick it with who I wanted

And I’d never get confronted for it.

'Cause they’d stick up for me.

[Chorus]

If I were a boy

I think I could understand

How it feels to love a girl

I swear I’d be a better man.

I’d listen to her

'Cause I know how it hurts

When you lose the one you wanted

'Cause he’s taken you for granted

And everything you had got destroyed

[Verse]

If I were a boy

I would turn off my phone

Tell everyone it’s broken

So they’d think that I was sleepin’ alone

I’d put myself first

And make the rules as I go

'Cause I know that she’d be faithful

Waitin’ for me to come home (to come home)

[Chorus]

If I were a boy

I think I could understand

How it feels to love a girl

I swear I’d be a better man.

I’d listen to her

'Cause I know how it hurts

When you lose the one you wanted (wanted)

'Cause he’s taken you for granted (granted)

And everything you had got destroyed

[Bridge]

It’s a little too late for you to come back

Say it's just a mistake

Think I’d forgive you like that

If you thought I would wait for you

You thought wrong

[Chorus 2]

But you’re just a boy

You don’t understand

Yeah, you don’t understand, oh

How it feels to love a girl someday

You wish you were a better man

You don’t listen to her

You don’t care how it hurts

Until you lose the one you wanted

'Cause you’ve taken her for granted

And everything you had got destroyed

But you’re just a boy

Analysis:

I believe the writers and the singer are discussing how a man's life is easier than a woman's as they are not expected to have deep feelings or be emotionally attached to their partner. in the first verse of the song it also discusses how me only "Drink beer with the guys

And chase after girls" and that is the only activities they do, stereotyping them as useless and never achieving anything.  As well as this boys are stereotyped as protecting each other almost as if in a gang, evident in the lyric " And I’d never get confronted for it.

'Cause they’d stick up for me" thus showing how social construction of gender has stereotyped groups of men as being 'ganglike' and very shielding of each other. 

"Geezers Need Excitement"

Geezerz need excitement

If their lives don't provide them this they incite violence

Common sense simple common sense

Geezerz need excitement

if their lives don't provide them this they incite violence

Common sense simple common sense

Out the club about three, to the take-away

The shit-in-a-tray merchants, shops got special perchant for the disorderly

Geezerz looking ordinary and a few looking leary

Chips fly round the sound of the latest chart entry

An incendiary waiting to blast

No harm with the contest who can throw the furthest

Behind the counter they look nervous, but

Carry on cutting the finest cuts of chicken from the big spinning stick

Then over flies a chip, flips, and hits you on the back

You spin round on the attack

'Fuck you playing at? he looks like a cheshire cat, almost falls down

Your frowns and superman eye lasers don't even register

By now you want to leather this twat

And forever your gonna regret that, your choice of path

So mash his head up and your girls now fed up

But stop to think and it's never gonna be the Jackie Chan scene it could have been to end up

Geezerz need excitement

If their lives don't provide them this they incite violence

Common sense simple common sense

Geezerz need excitement

If their lives don't provide them this they incite violence

Common sense simple common sense

So you owe someone money subbing scunny

Best pay me billy - no worries

One-fifty on sunday

But in someway that turns into wednesday

Then goes straight to pay on a hazy evening in the local bar-cafe

What a way. What a way

Just to recap for those at the back, this is everyday tit-for-tat you owe your dealer and

can't pay back fee

Suddenly he's the baddy

So you tell your mates you could have him anyway, to look 'geez'.

But he's a shady fuck, beamer three series, lock, stock and two fat fucks backing him up

Can't convey enough of his desire for the paper stuff

In a blunt fashion Billy's angry with a passion

So please just accept it ain't happening

And go back to your runnins

'Cos you might get yourself in trouble one of these days

Geezerz need excitement

If their lives don't provide them this they incite violence

Common sense simple common sense

Geezerz need excitement

If their lives don't provide them this they incite violence

Common sense simple common sense

Get hold of this bird after pub closing hours

Would your girl like this? No don't think so somehow, in the winter showers

But she'll never know and your face will never show shit

This is how goes it and besides she was well fit

And who could resist

Move up to the next place, a smooth club to flex bass beats and your best mates all down

Nice sound, smirnoff ice round.

MC's clowning, ruud boyz frowning

Everything's sweet everything's tucked-in.

And round here were all downing.

But all of a sudden though, just through the smoke, is your bird laughing and joking with a

bloke?

Ain't just that either, as she moves closer,

Miss-shape what looks like their lover - he's tonguing her.

All rage sweeps up through your torso, your moreso ready to go over and show him whos man

Football fan style

Leave it in the can for a while, cos even as they smile you still got choices

Don't listen to them voices

And at the end of the day you may just have caused this

So leave the forces

Geezerz need excitement

If their lives don't provide them this they incite violence

Common sense simple common sense

Geezerz need excitement

If their lives don't provide them this they incite violence

Common sense simple common sense.

Analysis: 
This song depicts a stereotypical young adult male which is evident with the way the lyrics uses the word 'geezer/s' when talking about males. It shows the belief that males need constant attention and big dramatic events happening in their life for them to be satisfied. It also describes the stereotypical view that men have a need to be violent, and if they aren't distracted with "excitement" they "incite violence" (as it describes through the lyrics in the chorus of the film). However, does not consider that this is because society has programmed them to only feel they are asserting their 'dominance' and 'manliness' through fighting. It also suggests males get into a lot of trouble, which frequently is through the means of crime. Furthermore the song also demonstrates that men are unreliable and also take drugs, prominently seen in the lyrics "everyday tit-for-tat you owe your dealer and

can't pay back fee". When talking about women in the song they are described as objects to be possessed only by their boyfriend or whoever they are 'seeing', won and fought over, particularly seen in the lyric "your bird laughing and joking with a bloke?". As well as this by using the slang term 'bird' to describe a girl shows how they are seen as innocent, delicate and naive things, like the animal themselves. 

"Hard Out Here"

I suppose I should tell you what this bitch is thinking

You'll find me in the studio and not in the kitchen

I won't be bragging 'bout my cars or talking 'bout my chains

Don't need to shake my ass for you 'cause I've got a brain

If I told you 'bout my sex life, you'd call me a slut

When boys be talking about their bitches, no one's making a fuss

There's a glass ceiling to break, uh-huh, there's money to make

And now it's time to speed it up 'cause I can't move at this pace

[Bridge:]

Sometimes it's hard to find the words to say

I'll go ahead and say them anyway

Forget your balls and grow a pair of tits

[Chorus:]

It's hard, it's hard, it's hard out here for a bitch

It's hard for a bitch (for a bitch) for a bitch,

It's hard

It's hard out here for a bitch

It's hard for a bitch (for a bitch) for a bitch,

It's hard

It's hard out here

If you're not a size six, then you're not good looking

Well, you better be rich, or be real good at cooking

You should probably lose some weight 'cause we can't see your bones

You should probably fix your face or you'll end up on your own

Don't you want to have somebody who objectifies you?

Have you thought about your butt? Who's gonna tear it in two?

We've never had it so good, uh-huh, we're out of the woods

And if you can't detect the sarcasm, you've misunderstood

[Bridge]

[Chorus]

A bitch, a bitch, a bitch, bitch, bitch [4x]

Inequality promises that it's here to stay

Always trust the injustice 'cause it's not going away

Inequality promises that it's here to stay

Always trust the injustice 'cause it's not going away

[Bridge]

[Chorus 2x]

Bitch

Analysis: 

This song is an attempt to break the stereotypical views that the media have on women, such as "you'll find me in the studio and not in the kitchen". This lyric is evidence of Allen going against the age old view of what woman's role was (cooking, cleaning and children). This song by Lily Allen is iconically feministic. It shows how women are stereotypically viewed by the media and how the media feels a woman should look and behave. An example of this is the lyric "if you're not a size six then you're not good looking" which shows how the only women who are considered attractive in the eyes of the media are those who fit a certain body shape ('skinny') and weight, denoting how a woman's worth is measured by her dress size not her achievements and personality, like a males is. Lilly Allen also references the 2013 song 'Blurred Lines' with the lyrics "have you thought about your butt who's gonna tear it in two" which is similar to a lyric that featured in the Robin Thicke song. Allen may have used this as the song had strong connotations of glorifying rape and non-consensual sex which could have been Allen's way of showing how rape is viewed within the media and how it is not considered the serious topic that it should be. This lyric from the singer could also be showing how women are considered to be good for a singular thing: sex. However Allen also covers the subject of Slut Shaming women for having sexual relations and talking about them but not men, she does this with the lyrics, "If I told you 'bout my sex life, you'd call me a slut, When boys be talking about their bitches, no one's making a fuss". This shows how it is considered normal for men to brag and gloat about their sex life however when women do the same thing it is considered wrong and 'slutty' as they are expected to have no opinion on sex and Allen addresses this headstrong. 

 Alien Picture: experimenting with lighting.

Sound and Music

In this lesson we learnt what Diegetic and Non-Diegetic sound is. Diegetic sound is the sounds inside of a scene, such as: dialogue, alarm clocks, door slamming, glass and cups moving etc. Non-Diegetic sounds are sounds that are added to a scene during editing such as: soundtrack/music, voice over,  theme tunes etc.

We also learnt that sound can be either parallel, meaning a soundtrack that fits the mood of the scene, or Contrapuntal, in which the sound contradicts the mood of the video track.  Another type of sound we encountered were 'Sound Bridges' which are sounds that comes from one scene and brings you into another. Effective sound in a scene should be able to: reinforce the atmosphere of the scene, enhance audience's emotional experience, suggest a characters thoughts and feelings and build a sense of continuity. 

We looked at some theories regarding sound as well. One of these was 'Enigma Codes', a theory by Roland Barthes. In this theory Barthes said that all media texts are encoded and have enigmas (which are questions the audience ask that need an answer) inside of them. These questions are often 'what's going to happen' or, the most common one in the crime genre, 'who dunnit'.

Another theory we looked at was the theory of 'Readings' by Stuart Hall. He says that there are 3 ways that an audience can 'read'/understand a text. The first way being Preferred Reading. This is where the audience understand a product in the exact way the producers intended (for example they may hate the antagonist). The second is called Negotiated Reading. This is when a member of the audience only partly agrees with the message of the text (for example they may see the antagonist as a bad person but understands why). Finally, the third is called Oppositional Reading. This is when the audience are in complete disagreement with the text's message (for example really like the antagonist).

Types of Camera Angles:

1. Extreme Long Shot: can be as far as 1/4 of a mile away, its often described as a scene setting shot, its often shows the exterior of the setting or scene rather than inside an area or building, frequently used in thrilling actions scenes.
2. Long Shot: this is a full shot and image of an object, its shows a person from head to toe, its ensures the audience is focused on the character as well as the mise en scene and background detail.
3. Medium Long Shot: over the shoulder shots are often used at this length and they are also, the person is in shot from the waist/knees up. 
4. Close Up: this shot included very little background, it concentrates on the person's face or the detail of an object, the background and mise en scene is often blurry, this shot often has the effect of making the audience feel especially comfortable or uncomfortable with a character. Variations of this shot are Medium Close Up (which is a shot of a person from the bust up), Further Close Up (which is a little closer to the main focus, its shows less background but still includes partial body language) and Big Close Up which shows more of the face and creates a very dramatic atmosphere and mood. 
5. Extreme Close Up: this shot magnifies beyond the human eye so has low levels of verisimilitude and is not likely to be used in soap operas or TV Dramas. It shows no detail of the background or the character and usually focuses on the mouth or eyes alone. This shot is really good at creating mass amount of drama and tension and showing strong emotions or reactions. 
6. Low Angle: this shot is great at creating a sense of confusion and powerlessness in a scene to the audience, the background that can be seen in this shot is usually just the sky or ceiling and is of little importance, this lack of background creates disorientation to the viewer. 
7. Birds Eye View: shows a scene from directly overhead and is a very unnatural and strange angle, most of the objects seen from this angle look completely unrecogninable which is why it creates confusion to the audience. It puts the audience in a Godlike position and make the characters in the scene look insignificant. 
8. Worms Eye View: this angle views the object or person from right down low, from the floor almost, whereas the low angle is slightly higher up. This is the opposite of a birds eye view because of the way it views things from below rather than from directly above, its often used to create a 3rd perspective and to make the object look strong, tall and, mighty. 
9. High Angle: this is not as extreme as birds eye view as the camera is only elevated above the action not looking down on it completely. This creates a general overview of the scene and makes the object look smaller and less significant and is often used to show a weak character. 
10. Eye Level: this is a fairly neutral shot as the camera is positioned to make the audience feel like they are the character observing the scene occurring at that time.
11. Canted Angle: this is when the camera is tilted to suggest imbalance and instability (hence why it is often an angle used in the horror genre very regularly). It can sometimes be used in a POV shot, it disorientates the viewer and is often used when correlated with alcohol or drug use from a character.

Using lighting to create and showcase different genres and moods of films.

We really liked this image as we weren't expecting the results we got when we first took the photography. At first we were just trying to show a half face in which we held a long stick of wood in front of our key lighting in attempt to completely black out half of the face in order to create a mood of mystery and nervousness. However, instead when we moved the camera to the right and took the picture we realized that the shadow created from the block of wood on her face has in fact bent around her main features to create what appears to be the facial silhouette of another person. This creates a lot more mystery and drama to the image as not only is half the face covered but why is the silhouette directly on her face?

 

This image is good as the softness of the fill lighting which is angled from below creates a romantic look to the object in the photo. We created the softness by covering a torch with a tea towel that was off white and had red stripes which is why there are some lighter red/orange tones in the image. If it was just red the image would be a lot more sinister that is is romantic which is why the softness works well. Also the use of the front facing fill lighting and no key or back light creates a obvious silhouette so the audience's focus is clearly on the object of the image. The connotations of the soft pink and off white color are emotions such as love, gentleness and innocence, all of which are evident in this image. 

This is the image we were originally supposed to create when using the wooden stick to block out some of the key lighting. I really like this image because it creates confusion to the audience as only half of the face can be seen. It also creates a feeling that the person involved is dangerous or a terrifying person because of the vivid contrast in the bright right side and the blacked out left, thus creating disorientation to the viewer which would be perfect in a film in the horror or thriller genre. 

This images create quite a scary atmosphere and looks as if it belongs in a film in the psychological thriller or horror genre as it creates quite a lot of confusion for the audience as only certain areas are lit up. We did this by putting a strongly lit torch beneath a colander and moved it around until one of the openings focused on the eye of the person and lit up only some other areas of them. This creates very low levels of verisimilitude as it not a lighting set up  you would usually see in real life. This low level of verisimilitude creates further disorientation to the viewer as they feel concerned with the surreal and unlikeliness of the scene. 

This image has a really sinister look which was created by using a red piece of tissue paper over the light we used and holding the light below the persons face thus creating depth and shadows on the higher areas on their face, especially around their eyes. Not only is the color red symbolic of danger in many ways but the use of the dark shadows around the eyes creates an evil and dangerous look as it ensures that the character subject to this lighting technique  shows only dark emotions. I am certain that even with a happy face the character in this lighting would still look menacing, and the smile would only add creepiness to the image. 

Here we again used the colander in assisting us to create a fractured light effect. This one is less disturbing than the previous fractured lighting, i believe this is because of the focus not being on a certain part of the face. However, this would still perplex the audience as the light has low levels of verisimilitude and is unrealistic. 

First Filming Task

Our first filming and editing experiment, testing our recently learnt knowledge of camera angles and movements and the impact they have on the story line and audience.

First basic edit of the film:

What is good about this is the way we used camera movements to establish the scene, setting and characters. It shows a variety of camera angles and movements, for example a long shot to present the initial scene, a POV shot to show the positions of different characters and also we used it in this film to show the wandering personality of the character and to show how the other two characters attention is on the person in the. We also used a pan shot as well as a zooming in shot. Both of these helped to capture the attention of the audience and helped enhance the emotion and intent behind the words being said by each character. Also when edited together i think the different shots transitioned and fitted together really well and made the story very understandable to the audience.

What i would've changed is tried to add a few more different transitions and not faded each clip together all the time, i think this because most reality TV shows, soap operas or TV dramas do not use special effects or fade their clips together all the time as it looks unprofessional and doesn't always make the finished product as smooth as you would like it. 

From this initial edit i learnt how to do the basic actions when editing a video, like how to join clips together in a set sequence and how to fade them in and out from each and other. I also learnt how to trim different clips to cut sections of them out or make them the length you desire. And through the actual filming of the scene i learnt how to position a camera when filming and realised how much you have to think about each shot and how it will be carried out during the action.

Second edit of the film in which we were testing serifX5, the editing software

What is good about it is that it shows a lot of creative ideas in one short film and follows a particular internet trend that i wanted to try out myself as part of a idea explosion. But even though it follows a trend i also added some individuality into the video. As well as this it shows how much i really experimented with the software and as a first go using the editing software i think the second edit of the film really shows a burst of initial creative ideas. I think it shows a wide range of initial skills that i learnt as well, for example; I learnt how to add audio on top of clips in a film and how to change the length and volume of that audio, however i haven't quite learnt how to completely cut out previous audio and replace it which is something i would like to learn, and will very soon. I also learnt how to overlap different images or visual clips on top of the already existing clips and how to move the image around on the screen into the area that i wanted and how to re-size and change the angle of that image. I also learnt how to add a zoom effect after filming as well as different color schemes for an image; for example adding a black and white effect. This will be really useful if i ever need to create a different feel for a film, for example a darker visual effect will be really useful in horror films and a black and white effect will come in handy if i ever do a film in a traditional 'old timey' film. I would like to learn how to slow mo or speed up a clip as i did not learn how to carry that out in this editing experiment but would really like to know how to. 
At the end of this i really would've liked to try and focus on making smoother and more relevant transitions and figuring out how to use different transitions to each clip for various reasons and intentions, however as this was just an initial experiment and a practical idea brainstorm it would make more sense to practice this another time. I would also try adding different types of long audio tracks and music instead of short clips of audio, for example longer songs playing quietly in the background of the visual track. 

First Lesson

September 3rd 2015

1st lesson

Semiology : The study of signs. 

In the first lesson of AS media studies we focused on Semiology, which is the study of signs. We discussed how a sign can be anything that's meaning is something other than itself. We learnt how signs are often culturally specific, for example, in the western world, a thumbs up is a sign that something is good and okay. However, in china and some other east Asian continents a thumb shown in public is a sign of disrespect and is a rude gesture. This means that the sign is Polysemic, which means they can have more than one meaning. 

We also discussed the denotation and connotation of signs. A denotation being the physical sign that is shows and the connotation being the message that is taken from a sign. 

We learnt how there are 3 types of signs:

1. Symbolic - which is a sign that does not look like what they signify. For example, a toxic sign does not look like toxic material, therefore it is a symbolic sign. 
2. Iconic - these are signs that resemble what they look like and what they symbolise. An example of an Iconic sign would be photographs, cartoons or drawings of certain objects.
3. Indexical - these are signs that act as evidence that something else has previously occurred, for example smoke is indexical of fire, footprints is indexical to the fact that someone has been walking.