This post is due by Tuesday, February 18 @ midnight for full credit.
Email late posts to rob.williamsATmadriver.com for partial credit.
Read our MEDIA@SOCIETY book, assigned chapter above.
In a SINGLE blog post below, provide for the chapter:
1. A single sentence, IYOW, that captures the chapter's THESIS (main argument).
2. THREE specific pieces of supporting documentation - ideas, concepts, stats, data - to bolster your thesis for the chapter. (Use 2 - 3 sentences for each.)
3. A single PERSONAL story of 3-4 sentences that connects the chapter directly with your own personal media experiences.
4. A SINGLE specific question you have after reading and blogging on the chapter.
Game on,
Dr. W
1. Photographers use placement and organization to structure a photo which develops a focus or a story that is perceived by the viewers.
ReplyDelete2. -There are several different ways that a photo can be changed to give a different meaning. One of the techniques found in the book to make an image for interesting is Form. Form is where and how something is placed in an image which we can use to “add drama or significance to our message” (57).
-An important method used to draw a viewers’ attention to a certain area is by using the Line technique. The placement and the direction of lines, in an image, can give a different focus because the viewer is directed to a specific area. A perfect example of this would be telephone lines because “telephone lines can slice a frame into numerous boxes and rectangles against the sky…directing viewers to various points of interest” (59).
-Certain objects are placed in an image pertaining to what we know as viewers, this strategy is known as symbolic meaning (signs). Some examples of signs are flowers because they are a sign of spring or dark clouds because we know it may be a sign of rain (63). We use signs to deliver meanings to the viewers to help tell a story within an image.
3. I have experienced the question about what is true in an image. For example, when I was looking at magazines or websites online about vacations, I questioned the images many times because I was not sure if I should believe that the water is actually that blue. Also, I related to the book when it described the question about if someone knows their picture is being taken or if it is someone posing for the picture to be taken. This also leads me to question if an image is displaying the correct reflection of what it truly is or if it is taken to pleasure the people who look at the photo.
4. Many single images attract all different age groups, how does a photographer create an image so that all age groups are appealed to it?
(1) The main point of this chapter is that visual literacy is crucial in being able to interpret underlying stories and meanings behind images in the media.
ReplyDelete(2) One form of visual literacy the chapter discussed dealt with was color. Colors, the book argues, are not just colors. Every color evokes some form of feeling out of people and can affect someone's opinion about the visual. "Red and orange light wavelengths pass through our retina more easily, making these colors the most noticeable" (56). Another form of visual literacy is "form," or the "object inside the frame." I thought it was interesting how the book discussed "frame magnetism," where an object in a frame is closer to one side and it looks as if the correspondent side is drawing the object towards it. "TV producers...routinely make talk show hosts and their guests sit uncomfortably close to each other so that they aren't pulled apart by the sides of the video frame" (57). The chapter also discussed a lot about the study of signs or "semiotics." Signs are broken up into three classifications: iconic signs, index signs and symbolic signs. Symbolic signs are the most complex "because they are determined by culture and therefore are in need of a higher level of interpretation" (65).
(3) One thing that stood out to me was the part that talked about the Food Network host, Padma Lakshmi and her controversial Carls Jr. burger commercial. I remember watching the ad as a kid and not really understanding what was so bad about it. My parents were very upset that they would air that on TV, but I didn't see what the big deal was at the time. Now that I'm older, I definitely see the subliminal sexual messages it provokes in men.
(4) The chapter discusses a good portion on realism. Maybe this doesn't have to necessarily do with the chapter, but I was wondering how there is ANY credibility with photojournalism in todays society. Altering a photo to portray a completely different message has become so easy with photoshop and other such products; how and where are we supposed to invest our trust?
Visual manipulation affects the way society receives an image while also acting as a narrative of the culture, beliefs, and morals of society.
ReplyDeleteAn image’s composition affects the way one interprets the visual. An image is arranged in a certain way in order to “direct viewers to notice particular elements within a frame, purposefully communicating ideas through visual language.” (55) Color is always an important factor when constructing an image. Humans are drawn to certain colors; advertisers heavily scrutinize this when considering how to best sell a product to consumers. The wavelengths in the color red pass the retina easier than colder blue colors, that’s the reason stop signs are usually painted red. Colors foster emotional responses, gray spurs a darker bleak reaction where light colors soothe the observer. The form of an image affects its composition as well. Form is the frame of a picture, where our eyes are pulled. If an object is cramped, tension is created and the viewer may not want to look at the image as much as one with space on the frame. Johannes Itten said “the square is resting matter, the triangle is thought, and the circle is spirit in eternal motion. (58) Movement in an image directs where our eyes should be pulled. As a result of the natural left-to-right orientation of our eyes, commercials with left-to-right vectors evoke speed to the viewer. Right-to-left directional vectors conjure up strength, going against the grain. Vectors control the perspective of an image.
I never really considered that companies must always be thinking about what colors they should use in their ads. The red in the Coca Cola logo has been used since it’s beginning. Advertisers probably wanted to evoke excitement for the consumer when they see this color, causing them to associate it with the soda. People are able to identify corporations by just looking at shapes and colors, which is a pretty interesting phenomenon.
If the misrepresentation of reality in images has been occurring for centuries, why has it become a major issue today?
1) The techniques associated with developing images are extremely crucial in how society perceives and interprets certain messages that companies want to put forth by subconsciously affecting people’s mindset.
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Semiotics, (i.e. the study of signs and symbols) is extremely important to advertisers as it lends a hand in helping to convey their message. For example, “beyond a pure compositional reading, we can also read deeper into the image and acknowledge that every element in the frame conveys an independent symbolic meaning” (Media in Society, 63). In this regard, companies have to be extremely conscious of what they put within the frame of an image, where it is located, etc.
The old adage, “a picture is worth a thousand words” rings true in terms of how images affect us. In this way, “images tell a story, which in turn connects to a larger narrative about our culture, values, and society” (Media in Society, 54). Even if an image seems very straight forward in its purpose, there are definitely a bigger commentary on the social construct of our lives engrained in these photos.
In terms of moving images, like those on television, reality is skewed a little in order to make the viewer understand the situation better. For example, “they routinely make talk show hosts and their guests sit (or stand) uncomfortably close to each other so that they aren’t pulled apart by the sides of the video frame. The result is to have them fake their comfort in order to make us comfortable” (Media in Society, 57). Although in real life this is awkward, we perceive through the image on television that this is extremely natural, skewing our perception of what is real.
3) Through my experience in the darkroom working with film photography, I found that the techniques and practices associated with developing a “good” photograph have greatly increased my media literacy. Knowing what type of thought and work goes into forming an image that subtly conveys certain message helps in finding those key techniques applied within advertisements. If younger generations learn through art classes and media classes these techniques by implementing them in their own artwork, I feel as though they would be more likely to analyze and be wary to media that utilize these devices in perhaps detrimental ways.
4) Is there truly any possible way to change our reading of advertisements? In other words, even if our society becomes media literate is there really any way to prevent subconscious message from infiltrating our minds in the few seconds we have to take in a ad perhaps as we pass by a billboard in a car?
1. The use of visual management affects the way we analyze the photographs we see in the media.
ReplyDelete2. One way we can analyze a photographs is the angle that a photo is taken. We can imagine more to the picture such as if a picture is taken from the ground of a tall tree, we can image how large the tree is if we were to be standing there. The techniques in the book show that we can manipulate pictures to “add drama” to pictures or add “significance to our message” (57).
Another way we can analyze photos through their manipulation is by noticing the use of the colors in the image. According to the reading “red and orange light wavelengths pass through our retina more easily”(56), which reminds me of an article that I read about why McDonald’s chose red and yellow as their colors. The colors are so prominent that even when you are in a crowded New York scene, you can still see the McDonald’s M bright as ever.
Lastly, people are more interested in the underlying meaning of famous songs, pictures, videos, etc. For a lot of professionals there is a back story to their art, but to determine it, according to this chapter, we need to use a “higher level of interpretation” (65).
3. My friend Mara is a photographer. One time we went on a hike on a small hill in my town, and she brought her camera. She took pictures the entire way up the hill and when we got to the top she had me stand in “the perfect spot!” She changed the lenses to reflect the sun on my hair changing my complexion and all of my body to be a deep auburn color that looked surreal and gorgeous.
4. How do photographers know what is going to attract peoples attention?
1.) Chapter three focuses on the importance of images, how to get the shot you want and lastly the power they hold.
ReplyDelete2.) The idea of color in our media world is hardly ever questioned. In 2014, if some media platform doesn’t have color it is because they are going for a certain old school feel. “Color choices have great impact on an image,” (55) I found it humorous that they didn’t even bring up the subject about not having color. All these focused on was the idea of what colors do to our brain and how we react. I found the movement section very interesting because it was interesting to find new ways to present speed or power on film. “We understand a slope that starts at the bottom left-hand corner of a frame and ends at the top right as an ‘uphill’ slope; we easily interpret a slope that begins from the top left and ends at the bottom right as ‘downhill.’” (60) This concept blew my mind. I have never heard this before but it makes complete sense. This certain section was filled with pointers on filming so it was a very fun read for myself. Last but not least I found the section about manipulation because all the leaders that killed large amounts of people were all guilty of altering their photos. I had no idea this was common for many people. “In many cases they retouched people out of the photograph s who had fallen out of favor with them.” (72) It does not surprise me that these leaders did this but I was not aware of it.
3.) My father, Thomas, had a business partner that screwed him over some years back. He had a picture of his friends and himself but the guys that screwed him over was in the photo. Thomas made the executive decision to cut his face out of the picture. When my friends would come over they would always ask me what was with the decapitated man. I told them this story.
4.) What was the first film to be in all color?
In a culture where a picture is worth a thousand words, one must understand the compositional forces, signs, possibility of digital manipulation, and context of an image in order to successfully interpret the truth.
ReplyDeleteFor example, with the existence of Photoshop, images can be manipulated in a way that deceives the viewer. This was done in a 1937 photograph where Hitler had Joseph Goebbels removed from a photograph because they “had fallen out of favor” (72). Symbols in photographs are also used to send a message and when people interpret and read these symbols they “borrow from [their] own lived experience to determine how the signs contribute to the overall narrative” (65). Form, which is part of the composition of an image, especially comes into play during talk shows or interviews, where having a pair stand uncomfortably close actually gives off the perception that a more friendly, or balanced, relationship exists between the people in the frame.
I’d been taught previously that food advertisers use the colors red and yellow often because it stimulates appetite. That can be seen in the logos of fast food chains like Burger King, McDonalds, and Wendy’s. The “Color” section of Media In Society only cemented the idea that color plays a large role in visuals and a lot of time and thought is put into creating the right image with the right colors.
Western advertising places emphasis on left to right movement, so does the rest of the world’s advertising follow a more right to left approach?
1. The techniques used in manipulating images skew the way we perceive them to the way that the media wants us to distinguish them.
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One way that the media skews pictures is through the way that they place the image. Placement of the image is very important because we “notice particular elements within a frame purposefully communicating ideas through visual language.” (p. 55). A picture is worth a thousand words, and it is worth thousands of dollars to create so every frame counts.
A second way the media influences the way we perceive a picture is through colors. As human beings we see “red and orange light wavelengths pass through our retina more easily.” (p. 56). The quicker we react to colors, the more time we have to process the information and the better chance we have of remembering it.
Thirdly, the media influences our perception of images by the way of taking things out and altering pictures in Photoshop that do not suit their fancy. “In many cases they retouched people out of the photographs who had fallen out of favor with them.” (p. 72). Nothing is the way it seems, retouching photos are a way for the media to make the photo just as they want and just the way they want us to perceive it.
3. In high school, I took black and white photography where we developed pictures in a dark room and then took regular photography where we would take pictures digitally and use Photoshop and manipulate them. I took digital photography first before black and white photography and it made me appreciate digital photography a lot. If we had to make a picture darker in a dark room, you had to keep it in the developer longer, if you wanted to make a picture darker in digital you drag it into Photoshop and in a click of a button you can make it darker, or add a tint, etc. Digital photography can be manipulated in a click of a button, but nothing is the same as developing a picture and see the picture and all your hard work develop before your own eyes.
4. Would the media be as powerful as they are if they did not retouch pictures and manipulate them as much or at all?
Chapter 3 discusses the importance of images in this day and age and the way in which they can influence people.
ReplyDelete“Color choices have great impact on an image. We consciously and unconsciously respond to color every day, and we are constantly making aesthetic choices related to color.” (55) This sentence is very true because color can definitely affect peoples’ moods. This makes me think of how they paint different walls certain colors in order to portray a certain mood depending on what goes on there.
“This is why advertisers and graphic designers typically place product logos on the right, the last place a viewers’ eye will rest.” (60) I never really thought of it, but now that I do it makes a lot of sense. Advertisers and graphic designers use so many little tricks that we don’t even think about to help influence the consumers.
“Then the commercial cuts to Lakshmi on the steps of a brownstone, taking huge, lusty bites out of a Thickburger.” (67) This type of advertisement is so common. If you think about it, they often times use very attractive, famous women in advertisements for men in order to draw them in.
Even as I read about all of these images and advertisement tricks that the professionals use and am aware of them, I still find myself being influenced by them. When I’m at a store and see an ad for some sort of beauty product, I want to buy it. So, clearly, the advertisers and graphic designers are doing something right. I feel like it’s really hard to people to not get sucked into these influences.
How do graphic designers know what gets people’s attention?
Chapter 3 focuses on the visible manipulation of photos and how important it is to be critical of the meanings behind them.
ReplyDeleteThe section on composition talks about how just framing a picture can change your view of it. The arrangement of images, words, and other elements “direct viewers to notice certain elements within a frame, purposefully communicating our ideas through visual language” (55). It also talks about how color, form, line, and movement skew the consumers’ view of the photo. The section on realism talks about how easy it is to manipulate an image, even before advanced technology like Photoshop. Some theorists believe that photographs should capture a moment in real life, that “photographs are mere mirrors of the real scene at hand” (69). Staging images or using props diminishes the reality of the photo. The chapter also brings up the ethics behind digital manipulation. “Men’s biceps and pectoral muscles are inflated, women’s arms and legs are thinned, wrinkles are ironed out, and teeth are altered and whitened” (73). This can create a false idea about beauty and distort peoples’ views of themselves and cause unrealistic expectations about products.
I’m currently taking a photojournalism class and a big part of it is editing photos but also the ethics behind it. We recently spent a lot of time reading textbook chapters on the history of photo editing and how it causes people to believe certain things because if it’s a picture, it must be real. When we edit our photos our professor wants us to focus on lighting and color, not our subjects and their features.
How can you tell if an image is actually “true” or if its been edited in today’s society?
1. Thesis: Images are powerful media tools that can include underlying meanings, but to fully understand any image, the complete context in which the image was created must also be considered.
ReplyDelete2. One aspect of understanding media images is analyzing the production techniques in an image, especially the colors used. Color speaks volumes to the conscious human brain, as well as to our subconscious. Different colors appeal to different emotions, and are able to trigger many different reactions, including how for example: “red can agitate or provoke, then green can soothe; blue can yield to emotions of melancholy and coolness” (page 56). Another example of images being interrupted differently depends on the symbols included in an image. Symbols contribute to deeper meanings behind pictures, and need to be included into the interpretation of any single image. ‘Symbolic signs’ are a very specific type of symbols that have a much more indirect significance and carry more weight depending on the cultural context. “Symbolic signs are the most complex of all signs because they are determined by culture” (page 65). A third example of how images vary depending on their creation depends on who they were created by and why. Advertisers frequently use varying production techniques to manipulate images to specifically appeal to an audience’s emotions or primal needs, or even create false authenticity. Many advertisers even “intentionally misrepresent[ing] reality” (page 70) through images to create a false reality to promote their product and/or service.
3. Images more often than not trigger an emotional response, even if the picture itself is not purposely emotional; colors, framing, background, and shape may effect how an audience perceives an image. Pictures are each said to be worth one thousand words, yet in our modern culture, we pass by thousands of purposeful images per day. I think that if we stepped back, and analyzed our daily lives more, we would see more of the symbols and meaning and causes behind the images we see and emotions we feel from them.
4. How much underlying meaning and symbolism is our subconscious able to process from images [without our conscious effort]?
Media in Society Chapter 3
ReplyDeleteEverything that is done to make the image affects how the viewer perceives the photo.
There are many techniques that can make images more interesting. Depending on how the photo is frames can tell a lot about the feeling of the photo. “The interviewer pair on the left look uncomfortable in part because the frames magnetic forces are pulling them away from each other…” (57) Even if the interview was completely comfortable as the viewer we don’t know how the tone of the interview was, we can only tell based on what we see.
Another technique used to capture a photo is movement. Movement in photos can make the viewer think there is speed going on or they can see power in a photo. “If the message is “rugged and powerful” advertisers might show the car (or more probably, truck) traveling right to left uphill.” By having an object going against the grain it makes the object look as though it’s twice as hard.
In the section about image misrepresentation and manipulation it talks about how photographers have “intentionally misrepresent reality since the earliest days of photography.” (70) How are people supposed to know what is real and what if fake after the photographer changes the photo? If the photographer wants you to feel a certain way about a photo they may try and distort it.
One of my friends is really good at taking pictures. I like looking at her photos because I feel like I am looking at life through her lens. She edits the photos herself and she has a certain way about editing that makes me think someone else wouldn't just be able to take the same photo the way she did.
If you see a photo you have never seen before how might you be able to tell if it was altered with?
1. An image can have meaning and connotations far beyond the simple facts behind it.
ReplyDelete2. “The photo [of the saluting soccer team] disappeared from public view but emerged sixty-five years later in a BBC documentary…to renewed British outrage…as a “moment of shame” that still haunts British sport.” (54)
One person raising their hand is no big deal; an entire soccer team raising their hands in Nazi Germany during WWII is symbolic. The salute is an iconic image, invoking thoughts of Adolf Hitler, the Holocaust, and worldwide discrimination. Because of its connotations, it still makes modern Britons cringe in shame.
“TV producers usually strive to achieve balance…[making] talk show hosts and their guests sit (or stand) uncomfortably close to each other so that they aren’t pulled apart by the sides of the video frame.” (57)
Something as small as one person’s proximity to another can convey a near infinite number of emotions: fear, anger, subordination, comfort, love…. When watching TV, viewers like to see hosts and their guests engaged in a friendly and comfortable conversation. If the camera angle was even a little bit off, it can activate feelings of discomfort and uneasiness.
“Beyond a pure compositional reading, we can also read deeper into the image and acknowledge that every element in the frame conveys an independent symbolic meaning. In other words, we can add more narrative layers through our understanding of the signs implanted within an image.” (63)
In the Bermuda commercial we saw in class, dozens of symbols were used to convey sensuality and intimacy. The opening of a flower, and the wind inflating a flag both implied a sexual relationship between the characters in the commercial. It’s not just a pretty picture, it means something much more.
3. During my senior class trip last May, my friends and I were enjoying popsicles. As I was eating mine, a friend took a picture with her phone and posted on just about every social network. This photo caused much amusement, as my face and the implied innuendo combined. It was a beautiful moment.
4. How do we come to recognize the symbols in modern media?
Powerful stories and summary here, DIG MEDIA colleagues.
ReplyDeleteAaron and Jane - don't be bashful. Weigh in!
Dr. Rob
1) The ways in which photographers capture a moment is important in understanding what is actually going on in the picture and what society will take away from it.
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• Color is particularly important because “we consciously and subconsciously respond to color every day, and we are constantly making aesthetic choices related to color” (55). We make choices everyday partly relying on our color preference. Color is also a big factor because it can bring up certain feelings; “we may walk into a room that makes us uncomfortable, feel the intense urge to leave, and then realize upon reflection that it’s color was the thing that turned us away” (55).
• Framing is also an effective technique to get the viewer to see what you want them to see. “We can use the pull of the frame t oadd drama or significance” (57). Just by placing the figure off center, it can add intensity to it and ultimately make it less boring to look at.
• The use of line can be crucial too; they can represent and provoke certain feelings. For example, “Horizontal lines evoke calm and stability; verticle lines convey energy and upward thrust. Diagonal lines, like triangles, are dynamic, exciting, somewhat unstable…” (59).
3) I have always been really interested in art, and a lot of these techniques apply there too. Like in photography, a piece is always more interesting when pulled closer to one side of the frame. Color is also very important because it can make you feel certain things and draw you to certain parts of the painting. Colors, as well as lines, can also drag the viewers eyes across the photo or painting, drawing, whatever it may be, in the way that the artist/photographer intended it – they can make you eyes move to certain places in a particular order.
4) How does a photographer know what certain elements to use in order to make people think in a fixed way?