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Media and Information Literacy - Senior High School

Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 1 - Module 3: Media and Information Languages First
Edition, 2020

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Borrowed materials (i.e., songs, stories, poems, pictures, photos, brand names,
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effort has been exerted to locate and seek permission to use these materials from their
respective copyright owners. The publisher and authors do not represent nor claim ownership
over them.

Development Team of the Module:

Author: Marilou L. Lora
Reviewers: Therese Mae C.
Maandig Arian M.
Edullantes Abihail L.
Gimena
Illustrator: Jay Michael A. Calipusan
Management Team:
Chairperson: Dr. Arturo B. Bayocot, CESO III
Regional Director
Co-Chairpersons: Dr. Victor G. De Gracia Jr., CESO V
Asst. Regional
Director Mala Epra B.
Magnaong CES,
CLMD
Members: Dr. Bienvenido U. Tagolimot, Jr.
Regional ADM Coordinator
Elson C. Jamero
EPS-Designate-TLE

Printed in the Philippines by: Department of Education – Regional Office 10

Office Address: Zone 1, Upper Balulang Cagayan de Oro City 9000
Telefax: (088) 880-7071, (088) 880-7072
E-mail Address: region10@deped.gov.ph
 Senior High School

Media and Information

Literacy
Quarter 1 - Module 3:
Media and Information Languages

This instructional material was collaboratively developed and reviewed by

educators from public and private schools, colleges, and or/universities. We encourage
teachers and other education stakeholders to email their feedback, comments, and
recommendations to the Department of Education at action@ deped.gov.ph.

We value your feedback and recommendations.

Department of Education ● Republic of the Philippines

 Table of Contents

What This Module is About .................................................................................................... I

What I Need to Know ............................................................................................................. I
How to Learn from this Module .............................................................................................. I
Icons of this Module .............................................................................................................. II

What I Know ......................................................................................................................... III

Lesson 1:
The Concept of Constructedness ................................................................................ 1
What’s In .................................................................................................................................... 1
What I Need to Know ................................................................................................................. 1
What Is It .................................................................................................................................... 1
What’s More .............................................................................................................................. 3
What I Have Learned .................................................................................................................. 4
What I Can Do ............................................................................................................................ 4
Lesson 2:
Media Codes, Conventions and Messages ................................................................. 5
What’s In .................................................................................................................................... 5
What’s New ................................................................................................................................ 5
What Is It .................................................................................................................................... 6
What’s More .............................................................................................................................. 9
What I Have Learned ................................................................................................................ 10
What I Can Do .......................................................................................................................... 10
Lesson 3:
Audience, Producers and Other Stakeholders of Media ......................................... 11
What’s In .................................................................................................................................. 11
What’s New .............................................................................................................................. 11
What Is It .................................................................................................................................. 12
What’s More ............................................................................................................................ 12
What I Have Learned ................................................................................................................ 13
What I Can Do .......................................................................................................................... 13
Summary .......................................................................................................................................29
References ....................................................................................................................................38
What This Module is About
According to Marshall McLuhan (1964), “Language is a source of misunderstanding”.
Indeed, one of the most serious problems in the world is that people do not understand each
other. As a country with different dialects, multiple languages can be hard to use. Many times
what we mean does not always have the same meaning for others. And it can take place in
various circumstances and conditions: at home, at work, between social and ethnic classes,
between religions and nations. They can lead to small complications or troubles in our everyday
life and even large-scale conflicts between groups and nations. This is basically the reason
why we need to understand media and its languages.
This module contains lessons and activities that can help you as a Senior High School
student to not just be an information literate individual, but a creative and critical thinker as well
as a responsible user and competent producer of media and information.

The following are the lessons contained in this module:

1. The Concept of Constructedness
2. Codes, Conventions, and Messages
3. Audience, Producers, and Other stakeholders

What I Need to Know

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. Identify codes, convention, and message and how they affect the audience, producers,
and other stake holders. (MIL11/12MILA-IIIf- 15)
2. Reflect on how important information can be conveyed to create the desired impression
(MIL11/12MILA-IIIf- 16)

How to Learn from this Module

To achieve the objectives cited above, you are to do the following:
• Take your time reading the lessons carefully.
• Follow the directions and/or instructions in the activities and exercises diligently.
• Answer all the given tests and exercises.
Icons of this Module
What I Need to This part contains learning objectives that are
Know set for you to learn as you go along the
module.
What I know This is an assessment as to your level of
knowledge to the subject matter at hand,
meant specifically to gauge prior related
knowledge
What’s In This part connects previous lesson with that of
the current one.

What’s New An introduction of the new lesson through

various activities, before it will be presented to
you

What is It These are discussions of the activities as a

way to deepen your discovery and under-
standing of the concept.

What’s More These are follow-up activities that are in-

tended for you to practice further to master the
competencies.

What I Have Activities designed to process what you

Learned have learned from the lesson

What I can do These are tasks that are designed to show- case
your skills and knowledge gained and applied into
real-life concerns and situations.
 What I Know

Multiple Choice. Select the letter of the best answer from among the given choices.

1. Media is a collective term for all communication medium such as books, newspapers,
radio, television, film and the Internet.
A. True B. False
C. Maybe D. Neither True or False

2. A media and information literate individual knows how to examine and take apart the
media message so that its parts are exposed to him.
A. True B. False
C. Maybe D. Neither True or False

3. It pertains to the codes, conventions, formats, symbols and narrative structures that
indicate the meaning of media messages to an audience.
A. Languages B. Media Types
C. Media Languages D. Media Sources

4. These are systems of signs which when put together create meaning.
A. Languages B. Codes
C. Media Languages D. Conventions

5. It refers to the recipients of information or the consumers of media.

A. Media audience B. Media producers
C. Media Languages D. Media Sources
 Lesson
Lesson 1
Media Codes, Conventions and
2 Messages

What’s In

In our previous lesson, we learned the first principle of Media Literacy which
stresses that all media messages are constructed. Additionally, the first step in fully
appreciating the “constructedness” of media and information messages is to deconstruct. It
means closely examining and taking apart the media message so that its parts are exposed.

What’s New

Activity 1: Guess What

Below are five (5) signs and symbols that are used to convey information (ex. directions,
locations of attractions, others). Identify each one. The first one serves as an example. You
may place your answer in paper and send it on the link provided.

Symbol Meaning/What it represents

Example: Facebook
 What Is It

The exercise given above is designed to prime you to the idea that media codes and
conventions are like the building blocks of all the media around us.

Image courtesy of media.codes Link?

Codes are systems of signs which when put together create meaning. There are three
types of media codes: symbolic codes, technical codes and written codes. Conventions
are the rules, habits or generally accepted ways of doing things. Now we will look at these in
detail by examining the table below.
(1) Symbolic codes include the language, dress or actions of characters, or iconic symbols that are
easily understood. For example, a red rose may be used symbolically to convey romance, or a
clenched fist may be used to communicate anger. Symbolic codes in media include setting, mise en
scene, acting and color.

Setting is the time and place of the narrative. A
setting can be as big as the galaxy or space, or
as small as a specific room. Setting can even be
a created atmosphere or frame of mind.
Mise en scene means ‘everything within the
frame’. In media terms it has become to mean
the description of all the objects within a frame of
the media product and how they have been
arranged. An analysis of mise en scene includes:
Set Design, Costume, Props, and Staging and
Composition.

Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/sunset-

panorama-dusk-nature-3084651/ Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/
caf%C3%A9-piazza-san-marco-86681/
Color has highly cultural and strong
connotations. When studying the use of color
in a media product the different aspects to be
looked at are: Dominant color, Contrasting foils,
and Color symbolism.
Acting. Actors portray characters in media
products and contribute to character
development, creating tension or advancing the
narrative. The actor portrays a character through:

Facial expression, Body Language, Vocal

qualities, Movement, and Body contact.

Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/crystal-ball-

photography-ball-lights-3894871/

Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/people-

play-costumes-acting-691440/

(2) Technical codes include sound, camera angles, types of shots and lighting. They may
include, for example, ominous music to communicate danger in a feature film, or high-
angle camera shots to create a feeling of power in a photograph. Technical codes in media
may include Camerawork, Editing, Audio and Lighting.

Camerawork refers to how the camera is Editing is the process of choosing,

operated, positioned and moved for specific manipulating and arranging images and sound.
effects. Camerawork includes:
Positioning, Movement, Framing, Exposure, and
Lens choice.

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/EWaoo-

Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/photo-edit-
picture-photography-2298945/
Audio is the expressive or naturalistic use of
sound. The three aspects of audio are:
Dialogue, Sound effects, and Music.
i7qIs
Lighting is the manipulation of natural or
artificial light to selectively highlight specific
elements of the scene. Elements of lighting
include: Quality, Direction, Source, & Colour.

Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/micro-

https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-studio-with-
mixing-audio-sound-radio-4520681/
white-wooden-framed-wall-mirror-134469/
(3) Written codes are the formal written language used in a media product. Written codes
include printed language which is the text you can see within the frame and how it is
being presented, and also spoken language, which includes dialogue and song lyrics.

Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/micro-mixing-audio-sound-radio-4520681/

Conventions are accepted ways of using media codes. Conventions are closely
connected to the audience expectations of a media product. Different types of conventions
include form conventions, story conventions and genre conventions.

Story conventions are common narrative
structures and understandings that are common
in story telling media products. Examples of story
conventions include: Narrative structures, Cause
and effect, Character construction, and Point of
View.
Genre conventions point to the common use
of images, characters, settings or themes in a
particular type of medium. Genre conventions
are closely linked with audience expectations.
Genre conventions can be formal or thematic.

Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/rock-music-

Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/glasses- artist-concert-2658355/
reading-glasses-spectacles-1246611/
Form conventions are the certain ways we expect types of media codes to be arranged. For
instance an audience expects to have a title of the film at the beginning, and then credits at the end.
Newspapers will have the headline or the most important news on the front page and sports news on
the back page. Video games usually start with a tutorial to explain the mechanics of how the game
works.

Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/micro- mixing-audio-sound-radio-4520681/

 What’s More

Activity 2: Post Card

Below is a postcard of the Camiguin Province. Identify the key symbolic and technical
codes of it. What information about Camiguin is communicated through the use of these
codes? What information is omitted?

Image credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/camiguin-philippines-beach-islands-781449/

References
Pixabay.com. Accessed January 16, 2020, https://pixabay.com/photos/shooting-
videographer-model-3621806/

Robert Young. “Media Codes and Convention.” Accessed January 16, 2020, https://
media.codes/media-codes-and-conventions-c03423c06aa8

Tki.org. “ Codes and Coventions.” Accessed January 16, 2020, https://media-studies.

tki.org.nz/Teaching-media-studies/Media-concepts/Codes-and-conventions

Pixabay.com.”Hands Heart Woman Man.” Accessed January 16, 2020, https://pixabay.

com/photos/hands-heart-couple-woman-man-1150073/

Pixabay.com.”Sunset Panorama Dusk Nature.” Accessed January 16, 2020,https://

pixabay.com/photos/sunset-panorama-dusk-nature-3084651/

Pixabay.com.”Cafe Piazza San Marco.”Accessed January 16, 2020, https://pixabay.

com/photos/caf%C3%A9-piazza-san-marco-86681/

Pixabay.com.”People Play Costumes Acting.”Accessed January 16, 2020,https://

pixabay.com/photos/people-play-costumes-acting-691440/

Pixabay.com. “Cyrstal Ball.” Accessed January 16, 2020, https://pixabay.com/photos/

crystal-ball-photography-ball-lights-3894871/

Pixabay.com. “Fantasy Adventure Woman Model.” Accessed January 16, 2020, https://
pixabay.com/illustrations/fantasy-adventure-woman-model-1358031/

https://pixabay.com/photos/photo-edit-picture-photography-2298945/

Pixabay.com. “Photo Camera Photography Old Retro.” Accessed January 16,

2020,https://pixabay.com/photos/photo-camera-photography-old-retro-219958/

Pixabay.com. “Micro Mixing Audio Sound Radio.” Accessed January 16, 2020,https://
pixabay.com/photos/micro-mixing-audio-sound-radio-4520681/

Pixabay.com. “Boy Sitting Lantern.” Accessed January 16, 2020,https://pixabay.com/

photos/boy-sitting-lantern-outdoors-asia-1822614/

Pixabay.com. “Flower Ranunculus Blossom Bloom.” Accessed January 16, 2020,https://

pixabay.com/photos/flower-ranunculus-blossom-bloom-1312828/

Pixabay.com. “Rule Hook Check Mark Hammer.” Accessed January 16, 2020,https://
pixabay.com/illustrations/rule-hook-check-mark-hammer-1752625/

Pixabay.com. “Change World Man Newspaper Read.” Accessed January 16,

2020,https://pixabay.com/photos/change-world-man-newspaper-read-4039486/

Pixabay.com. “Glasses Reading Spectacles.” Accessed January 16, 2020,https://

pixabay.com/photos/glasses-reading-glasses-spectacles-1246611/

Pixabay.com. “Rock Music Concert.” Accessed January 16, 2020,https://pixabay.com/

photos/rock-music-artist-concert-2658355/

Pixabay.com,” Camiguin Philippines BAech ISland,” Accessed January 17, 2020,

https://pixabay.com/photos/camiguin-philippines-beach-islands-781449/