Enigma Code Media

[Geraldine Ferraiz]

Theseare used to give the audience extra information, usually about the past of a character, which helps drive the story. Flashbacks also manipulate time and space - Sherlock is a good example of this: often the same event or crime is shown more than once, but with additional clues highlighted, or from a different, more revealing perspective.

These give the audience the same view of the action as a particular character. A great example is when the audience see the point of view of the shark in the Jaws movies. These are particularly effective in horror films or thrillers where the camera takes on the point of view of the villian stalking a victim.

These are camera shots designed to give unusual perspectives of the action, such as an aerial shot. You can see this in the opening scene of Skyfall where a droneclosedroneA small, remote-controlled aircraft which can be used for filming aerial shots. was used to film some of the motorbike chase.

This is when the camera places the audience in a position where the viewer sees aspects of the narrative that other characters cannot see. This is used in murder mystery or detective dramas where the audience often know more than some of the characters making it clear to them who the culprit is.

For example, in Love Island the voiceover recaps what has happened in the last twenty four hours in the house, without the need to show all of the footage on screen, giving the continuing narrative context.

Murder mystery and detective dramas use enigma codes to slowly reveal the narrative, with key information needed to solve the case saved until near the end of the programme to create a thrilling conclusion.

For example, in an episode of Casualty, actions early in the episode often give clues to what might happen later on. For instance, a character forgetting to switch the iron off might lead to an accident which results in them attending the casualty department.

When a writer deliberately withholds information from the audience to leave a plot point unexplained, they are using a hermeneutic code. We are left to form our own interpretation of the event or question how it might be resolved later in the story.

More commonly known as enigma codes, this narrative technique is used by mystery writers who want the reader to keep on guessing who committed the crime until the final reveal at the end of the story.

You already know a narrative is the sequencing of events into a coherent and meaningful order. Proairetic codes are plot points which are caused by previous events and lead to other actions.

These beats of the story are easily defined: a car chase through the crowded city in an action film; the hero battling the evil villain at the end of the computer game; and the actor using whatever product is being advertised and transforming their lives.

Writers create a pleasing sort of tension by making the audience wonder how the event will be resolved. Will the criminal evade capture during the car chase, and will the protagonist defeat the boss and save the world?

Although these examples come from comic books and novels, the signs will continue to function as semantic codes when they are adapted for the big screen. Put simply, the establishing shot of Wayne Manor in every Batman film connotes his immense wealth.

Barthes admitted it was difficult to separate semantic and symbolic codes because they both work on a connotative level. Remember, the use of antithesis is the key difference between the two narrative codes.

Many stories allude to concepts and ideas that exist outside the text. In order for these signifiers to be decoded fully by the audience, that information needs to be part of our framework of knowledge. These cultural codes include historical, social, psychological or literary references.

The joke is straightforward: even the intervention of an alien monolith cannot help Homer Simpson to evolve. It is important to note that audiences also appreciate this sort of clever intertextuality.

Barthes argued the unusual title was a hermeneutic code because it forced the reader to question the meaning of the word. It is not revealed until much later in the story that Sarrasine actually refers to a sculptor of that name.

The sequel relies more on hermeneutic codes than the first film. When Elsa hears a mysterious voice calling out to her in the night, it leads her on an incredible journey to the Enchanted Forest and the mythical river, Ahtohallan, to discover the truth about her family and the past. The enigma is solved when she learns about the source of her own magical powers and the origins of the terrible conflict between Arendelle and Nuthuldran.

The use of secret messages to communicate sensitive information is as old as the art of war itself. The ancient Greek Histiaeus shaved the head of his most trusted slave, tattooed a message on it, and then sent the slave to deliver it after his hair had regrown. But cryptology, the use of coded messages, has proved more practical. During World War II the Germans achieved what they thought was the epitome of impenetrable cryptology with their family of cipher machines known as Enigma.

About the size of a breadbox and containing a lampboard, a typewriter keyboard, and a plug board for electric cables, the heart of the Enigma system was a series of rotors (usually three or four) containing the alphabet. Using a prearranged code system in a codebook, code combinations for Enigma machine typed messages ran into the tens of millions. The Germans believed breaking an Enigma code was impossible.

They were wrong. Through a combination of applied genius, analysis, luck, and capture of Enigma machines and codes, Allies cracked the Enigma system, giving its messages the highest classification of the war: Ultra. The Poles were the first to crack Enigma codes, and when Poland was overrun in 1939, that team made its way West and offered its services to Britain and France.

On the morning of Aug. 27, 1941, U-570, under the command of Kapitnleutnant Hans-Joachim Rahmlow, surfaced off the coast of Iceland and was immediately spotted by a British Hudson bomber on anti-submarine patrol. As the Hudson dove to attack, Rahmlow ordered a crash dive, but before U-570 could escape, it was bracketed with four depth charges. The U-boat suffered only minor damage, but the inexperienced crew, many suffering acutely from seasickness, panicked. Rahmlow himself was new to U-boats and U-570 was his first operational command. U-570 surfaced and crewmembers unfurled a white sheet. Rahmlow, meanwhile, sent out a radio message to U-boat command stating what happened and that he had surrendered.

Barthes suggested that there are five codes used to describe the meanings and interpretations of texts: the hermeneutic/enigma code, proairetic/action code, semantic code, symbolic code, and referential code. The hermeneutic/enigma code refers to unexplained elements that create mystery for the audience. The proairetic/action code builds tension by indicating that future events will occur. The semantic and symbolic codes add extra layers of meaning through references and symbolism. The referential code connects elements of a text to external bodies of knowledge.Read less

This article was first published in a magazine called Inside the Story back in 2013. The quarterly digital magazine focused on the art of storytelling and is no longer available to view. I found my final draft during a recent inbox sort out and so as the topic is relevant to Fourth Wall Content, I'm republishing here without any updates or edits.

Hitchcock's movies have made an indelible impression on cinema and although his stories were fiction, they are great case studies in relation to media codes that anyone involved in fictional or factual storytelling can learn from.

For Barthes narrative was complex, a weave of questions and possible routes that could be accessed at several points and was ripe for analysis. Texts like this were open. If a text had only one obvious thread then it was closed.

The enigma code poses questions and brings mystery to the narrative. Will John Doe escape from the burning building. These codes ask questions that the story will answer later on. If they remain unanswered then audiences can be left frustrated.

Semic codes rely on connotations for the audience to derive additional meaning from the story. Despite being black and white, Hitchcock was able to use these two tones to bring additional meaning to Psycho. Before Marion Crane steals the money she is seen in a hotel room wearing white underwear. White has connotations of purity and innocence. Once the money has been stolen Marion is later seen wearing black underwear. Black has connotations of evil, darkness and villainous behaviours. This is well documented as being a conscious decision by Hitchcock who used the audiences pre-existing knowledge of colour and connotations to his advantage.

Having a knowledge of media codes can help you construct a media text that is intelligent, targeted and able to offer the best experience for your audience. Whether you seek to thrill, move, inform or with any other motivation as a storyteller, we can apply theories from times gone by to make our modern day stories better.

A campaign run by an advertising agency which incorporates all of the ways in which a product, event or service is beneficial to the audience. This can be in the form of packaging, television, print and online adverts.

UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct Promotional Advertising. The advertising code that covers non-broadcast media. It is written by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and administered by the ASA.

This relates to the amount of readers/viewers that access a media product. This can be measured in sales (magazines and newspapers), unique visitors (websites), listening/viewing figures (TV and Radio via BARB, YouTube viewing figures) etc.

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