Signs and Symbols in Film

The Sign Says…

If you think about it, a film is made up of nothing but images. Made up of light or pixels, these images and symbols along with music, effects and dialogue are the building blocks of your screenplay in its realized form.

Using these images and symbols creatively and judiciously is where the art of screenwriting lies. Dialogue, images, sounds, music and more are the tools that enable you to engage a reader in your script and evoke the response that you want from them.

Semiotics

This is what “Semiotics” is all about. Semiotics is the study of how signs and symbols affect human beings as they try to communicate ideas to one another. If you’re interested, there is an entire school of thought and tons of literature out there. Right now, let’s take a look at the basic principles of this thought to see how it can help us as screenwriters.

Levels of Meaning

On one level, the most meaningful signs are those which complete an idea. Like an international traffic sign or words in a sentence. These units or “signs” each consist of a signifier and a signified. The signifier is the object in question and the signified is the meaning that it implies.

But for the signs to have any meaning, there needs to be an audience. Someone has to see these…