image analysis
TRANSCRIPT
IMAGE ANALYSIS
Understanding Media Texts
WHAT IS A MEDIA TEXT?
A TEXT is the term used to refer to all media products. This can be TV programmes, articles in papers or mags, radio programmes, billboards, etc.
These are the main point of our study in understanding how media languages create meaning.
One of the keys is the use of codes.
CODES: Rules or conventions by which signs are put together to create meaning.
The English Language is a set of codes.
What are they?
Just as we learn to read English, we learn to ‘read’ media codes and language.
SOUNDS + IMAGES together in particular sequences give meaning.
TEXTS use a variety of codes – visual, audio + written – to create meaning.
Our task in media studies is to break down or ‘DECONSTRUCT’ the image into its component parts to reveal its meaning.
One key theoretical tool to assist process of deconstruction is semiology or semiotics.
SEMIOTICS is the Study of Signs.
IMPORTANT:
MOST SIGN SYSTEMS, LIKE IMAGES, DO NOT NECESSARILY HAVE ONE PARTICULAR ‘FIXED’ MEANING.
The Meaning is dependent upon social and cultural background of the ‘Reader’ (that is you).
‘Reading’ is something we learn to do + we bring our own cultural and personal experiences to a text.
IMAGE is a SIGN.
The image consists of a SIGNIFIER, the image itself, and something that is SIGNIFIED, the ‘idea’ or ‘meaning’ conveyed by the SIGNIFIER.
SIGNIFIER + SIGNIFIED = SIGN
CODES
Signs often work through a series of codes that are usually socially constructed and , therefore, agreed upon by society as a whole.
Different types of code:
Dress codes, colour codes, non-verbal codes, technical codes.
Dress Codes: evening dress = glamour, wealth, sophistication
Colour Codes; Black = mourning. In Asia it is white.
Non-Verbal: gesture, body language, expressions, posture, proxemity to others. Hand shake = greeting. In parts of Europe kisses on cheek = greeting.
Technical: B&W film in photography or movies conveys idea of realism. Close up shot used to convey character’s strong emotions.