Encoding our Text

Encoding is the name of the process by which institutions embed ‘signifiers’ into their products to act as a signpost to the audience, which will help them to understand the genre, the narrative, the form, the purpose and the messages they want to get across. The audience will ‘decode’ these signifiers and interpret them to come up with a meaning. As a group we have decided what ‘signifiers’ we are going to include in our opening sequence.


Music:
We have decided that one of our signifiers will be the music we use. The choice of music from the start will be soft and soothing, this will give the audience the initial impression that the genre of the film is romance, but as the opening sequence slowly comes undone, the music will evidently be opposite to the feeling the audience is receiving. This is up until the last few seconds where the music suddenly changes, and there is a loud bang at the end. Although this music doesn’t signify from the actual start, it slowly unravels and this has a greater effect on setting out the genre for the audience, but additionally will help with the message we want to get across, of not making any assumptions when watching opening sequences.


Texts/Fonts:
By choosing to include our credits on top of the scene when the sequence is running, ensures that the audience don’t overlook the action that is happening - but instead make them more cautious of it. By having bold, black and old fashioned writing, any assumption that the genre in hand is a comedy or romance will soon be out of the picture. I think that the type of font which is used is vital and this is because it lays out the mood of the film, but also shows to have a meaningful purpose when making the audience feel uneasy (when referring to a crime-thriller).


Locations:
Likewise, the two diverse locations which are used contradict each other. The first location being a dining room, the audience will feel no worry, but as the opening sequence goes on and the location changes to a dark and dingy forest, this signifies clearly to the audience the genre of the film. This will furthermore help us with our representation of gender. A stereotypical man is publicized to be more powerful and dominant than a stereotypical girl who is shown to always need someone to ‘save’ her and is frail and vulnerable. Where we see the girl tied up in the forest and the man causally eating dinner, it is obvious who the more dominant figure is.