Global village
Preliminary Standard English 2013
Visual Analysis Techniques
Visual images, like all representations, “are never innocent or neutral reflections of reality...they represent for us: that is, they offer not a mirror of the world but an interpretation of it.” (Midalia 1999 p. 131)
Visual Analysis Metalanguage
Term
Definition
Composition
What is included (both text and image) or omitted and how it has been deliberately placed. The structure of components placed together is extremely important in conveying meaning.
Compositional Axes
Vertical Axis (Given and New)
Horizontal Axis (Ideal and Real)
The composition of elements in a visual image may be read through its vertical and horizontal axes.
The vertical axis creates a structure called the given or new. The given is usually on the left, elements placed here are familiar or known to the responder. They form the agreed-upon departure point for the message. The new is usually on the right. Elements here are representations of what is not yet known – this is the crucial point of the message.
The horizontal axis. Placing different elements in the upper and lower sections creates a structure called ideal or real. The ideal is “the dream” and appears in the upper part of the image, often the most salient part. The lower section of an image often contains the real; it is the factual or practical information.
Rule of Thirds
Divide an image into thirds from the top and sides and look at the placement of people and/or objects. An object in the top third is usually empowered whereas anything in the bottom third is disempowered.
Omission
That which has been deliberately left out.
Positioning
Consider which objects have been placed in the foreground, middle ground or background. Also consider how each object has been placed in conjunction with the other/s.
Salience
The part that your eyes are first drawn to in the visual. Colour, image and layout determine what the salient image is.
Visual Analysis Techniques
Visual images, like all representations, “are never innocent or neutral reflections of reality...they represent for us: that is, they offer not a mirror of the world but an interpretation of it.” (Midalia 1999 p. 131)
Visual Analysis Metalanguage
Term
Definition
Composition
What is included (both text and image) or omitted and how it has been deliberately placed. The structure of components placed together is extremely important in conveying meaning.
Compositional Axes
Vertical Axis (Given and New)
Horizontal Axis (Ideal and Real)
The composition of elements in a visual image may be read through its vertical and horizontal axes.
The vertical axis creates a structure called the given or new. The given is usually on the left, elements placed here are familiar or known to the responder. They form the agreed-upon departure point for the message. The new is usually on the right. Elements here are representations of what is not yet known – this is the crucial point of the message.
The horizontal axis. Placing different elements in the upper and lower sections creates a structure called ideal or real. The ideal is “the dream” and appears in the upper part of the image, often the most salient part. The lower section of an image often contains the real; it is the factual or practical information.
Rule of Thirds
Divide an image into thirds from the top and sides and look at the placement of people and/or objects. An object in the top third is usually empowered whereas anything in the bottom third is disempowered.
Omission
That which has been deliberately left out.
Positioning
Consider which objects have been placed in the foreground, middle ground or background. Also consider how each object has been placed in conjunction with the other/s.
Salience
The part that your eyes are first drawn to in the visual. Colour, image and layout determine what the salient image is.