Codes are the tools we use to create meaning and to construct and analyse media work. Codes include Technical Codes (the ways we create meaning by how we record an image), Symbolic Codes (the ways we create meaning by what we see in an image), Audio Codes (the ways we create meaning through the use of sound) and Written Codes (the ways we construct meaning through the use of text). Conventions are repeated ways of constructing media works, using codes that, over time, have become accepted by audiences. (e.g. a fade to black indicates time has passed; a scene of a car chase will include dramatic music) The meanings that are constructed by codes and conventions are culturally determined.