SEMIOTICS AND DECODING SYMBOLS

 

What is Semiotics?

Semiotics; simply said; is an investigation into how meaning is created and how meaning is communicated. It's foundations is in the study of how signs (visual and linguistic) create meaning. Every culture has specific semiotics. A way people signal something to each other without actually saying it.

 Anything can be a sign. For example, words, drawings, photographs and even street signals. To elaborate this further, let's take some examples. A billboard featuring a private company's user-targeted product can signify reigning capitalism.

If we see a red light on a traffic signal. We automatically, subconsciously know that we should stop. The red light signifies halting. This is a sign that has been ingrained into us by cultural conventions and which we learnt as children.

Viewing and decoding helps us to navigate and live an efficient life in our society. To use this idea into our film project, we will be carefully reviewing each prop we use, and each shot we take, in order to make sure it is conveying exactly what we want to convey, and in a sense that we want it to be conveyed. It's going to be a lovely journey!