Task 6-Video Production: technical code and symbolic codes

what do technical codes and symbolic codes do in video games?

just like in movies and TV shows video games have a heavy use of camera angles too, they help add to the plot, create tension, show what s happening and they can also show who's bad and who is good.

technical codes:

technical codes are used to show and tell the story such as the Camera work, lighting, sound and editing. camera work shows the story visually,it shows whats happening in the scene and allows the viewer/player to see whats going on.

lighting can show whether its night or day which can also be crucial to the storyline.

sound allows the viewer/player to hear whats going on around the character or in that scene for example if a character is scared because they hear footsteps coming from another room, it will allow the user to hear these footsteps too and have a better understanding of the scenario.

Editing this can allow the user to understand may things, for example if two characters are having a conversation and you want to be able to see the front of their face while talking Editing allows you to switch between looking at each face while they are talking to show their facial expressions and be able to better understand what they are saying by their lip movement.

all of these allow for the user to understand what is going on in a scene and are crucial in video games.

symbolic codes:

symbolic codes are equally as important for understanding whats going on as technical codes. symbolic codes allow you so see or feel whats beneath the surface, in symbolic code they use; camera angles, lighting, sound and editing. camera angles can be used to represent certain characters or situations for example if a bad guy walks on and they want to show him walking on in a camera show they would be most likely to use a low angle, this makes the character look big and tall and more powerful than the player and the other characters in the game, then if the big bad character walks over to a small vulnerable character and they want to show how small and helpless that character is they might use a high angle because this makes the player feel as if they are looking down on the character.
sound is also very important for symbolic codes because with sound you can put in certain music or sounds that will show how the character is feeling or whats happening, for example if a character is scared they might put in heavy breathing as slightly scary music to create an atmosphere and make the the player be able to relate to the character more by putting the player on edge.
with lighting in video games it can help create an atmosphere because if a room is dark it might symbolize something bad is going to occur, however if the scene is all light it could show that everyone in the scene is happy and nothing bad is going to happen.
With editing you can show something like an intense chase by cutting between the two characters that are chasing/being chased and as the characters get closer and closer the cuts could speed up until they're on the same camera shot, this makes it more intense for the viewer and allows them to feel the panic that the character being chased does.

camera angles:

extreme close up: this allows the viewer to see in depth what emotions that character is feeling it can also build up a lot of tension if its held for a long time.

close up: they allow the user to see the expression on the characters face clearly, showing their whole face.

medium close up: this allow for the viewer to still clearly see the expression on the characters face without it souly being focused on the expression. it shows some of the background and also some of what the character is wearing. this all shows whats going on in the scene while still focusing on the character.

medium shot: this allows the viewer to see half the characters body, showing what state there body is in, what they are wearing while still showing there expression but not as clear as the closer shots. and it also shows more of the characters surroundings.

high angle: this make the character in the shot look small and weak and is usually used when a larger presence than the main character is around.

twin shot: this just simply shows two characters in a shot together side by side. it usually shows that the two characters are some sort of team or pair.

extrame long shot: this can be used for many different things such as to show a large crowd, to show the scenery/setting, it can also be used to make a character look small.

long shot: these can be used to show characters full body along with the background clearly. this allows for a clear understanding as to what is going on around the character and how the character feels about it.