pihfr@d!naicemediastudy: Preliminary Exercise 1: Ferdinand de Saussure's Semiotics Theory

Introduction:

Semiotics. The concept of semiotics are the use of symbolic commutation and there meanings, the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. which was created by Ferdinand de Saussure. Ferdinand was a swiss linguist, semiotician, and philosopher. His ideas of " language is ultimately not a function of reality, but a self- contained system to help build on the idea of modern day linguistics and semiology. In this theory he talks about sign, signifier, and signified which are the most important. A Sign is broken into 2 parts. The 2 parts are the signifier and the signified into a meaningful unit. The signifier: A sign's physical form/object (such as an image, sound, printed word, action, gesture, event, structure and pattern.) and lastly a signified is : The meaning or idea expressed/conveyed by the signifier. For example a white dove is a type of sign of semiotics because it can be broken down. Its signifier is a white dove since its what your eyes can see with no hidden meanings or anything but the Signified is the definition of the signifier like how a white symbolizes peace, hope, new beginnings and love. Codes like this are seen everywhere and everyday in your life. For example when you watch a couple "blow a kiss" to each other its them showing semiotics/signs . The Signified is there lips perked and gesturing their hand as if it was flying and the signified is showing each other love or giving a kiss.

Reflection:

I created this presentation to help others (and myself) better understand semiotics. I'm a visual learner so seeing the definition in my own words next to the picture really helps me see. This way I can easily identify real life examples of it without having to look back at my notes repeatedly. Like How i can identify how two fingers up could mean bye or "peace out", this is an example of semiotics. I used the application PowerPoint on my computer to make this, i been using this app and computer model for years so I consider myself an expert in it since i know a few more things about it than the average person would. I worked on this with my teammate. She did the money slide while i did the rest. I found the color schemes and other pictures and definitions within the PowerPoint. I even had the idea to break it down to each slide so it is easier to read and understand.

But luckily in my experience, it was easy and fast to complete before the deadline without anyone to weigh me down. I learned how important it is to understand and use semiotics in media and real life because of how the smallest thing can have such a big impact and meaning.