What is a code?
Codes are elements that can be decoded by the audience to provide meaning. They can be divided mostly into two seperate groups of codes; technical codes and symbolic codes.
Technical codes include the 'technical' aspects of creating a piece of moving image media. Some examples of technical codes are things such as camera shots, angles and movements, editing, sound, titles and lighting.
Symbolic codes include the main elements of mise-en-scene within a film. Mise-en-scene is a french term which stands for 'put in the scene'. Examples of elements this may include are things such as costume, make up, setting and props. If in a film we were to see a girl in a short dress with red lipstick on this would lead the audience to make an assumption about her. This is due to the symbolic value that comes with these items.
What is a convention?
A convention is very similar to a norm in the sense that it is what the expected rules are. In film, a convention is what the audience expect in a specific genre. For example, in a horror film we expect to see conventions such as the victim being stuck in a remote location (no help), a mobile phone running out of battery or having no signal when a call is about/needed to be made and quite often a young, vunerable female being the victim. There are many more examples of horror films conventions that could be used.
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