LESSON 13: WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?

AN IMAGE IS MADE UP OF 3 VITAL ELEMENTS:

POSITION

TECHNOLOGY

CONTENT

By examining these elements and the way in which they interact it is possible to find out how the meaning in an image has been constructed into it. Generally, by adopting this approach, you will find that there is more meaning in the image than you first thought.

POSITION: Places the viewer in a particular position relative to the objects in the image. You need to be aware as to [1] why we are placed in the particular position and [2] the impact this has upon our understanding [‘reading’] of the image as a whole.

TECHNOLOGY: We need to consider elements of lighting, use of photoshop, cropping etc

CONTENT: The objects in the image and the relationship between them. In looking at the elements of denotation and connotation we explore how inter-linking of objects creates a complex meaning for audiences.

In the PowerPoint IMAGE ANALYSIS a number of images are offered that allow students to explore the idea of each element in turn before exploring the interplay of these in the images for the DKNY advert and the DIESEL campaign.

The DKNY product attempts to link the brand’s identity to the idea of the fast-paced lifestyle of New York. It manipulates iconic images of yellow taxis, traffic police, skyscrapers by adding motion blur and a challenging image of a young woman dressed in red squatting on the pavement. It emphasises independence and an attitude to life designed to appeal to the target audience. it offers the aspirational [looks; life; life-style; attitude] as much as it does any sense of the actual style of the dress or shoes. The male counterpart product offers a similar take on lifestyle and the brand’s identity.

We call this attempt to link product and celebrity or product and ideology or cause borrowed identity.

The Diesel product offers a take on the idea of global warming. The campaign takes a serious issue [global warming] and creates a world where the sole survivors are a fashionable attractive young couple whose survival seems to have been owed to their choice of clothing. We see them in a variety of situations apparently content with their situation.