WELL HELLO THERE Howdy Doody.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Summary
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 Summary
Chapter 4
Chapter 4 Summary
Chapter 6
Chapter 6 Summary
Chapter 7
Chapter 7 Summary
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Chapter 1 I will use the tools mentioned in the text to critically analyze this image. The methodological tools discussed in this chapter refer to sites of: production, image, and audience(s). These sites each have three modalities: technological, compsitional, and social.
Part 1 : Photo Response This image is by Peter Funch titled ” Smoking Smokers”. It belongs to a series called “Babel Tales” taken in New York of dozens of pedestrians photoshopped together in a single frame in relation to the action (or in some cases wardrobe) that each figure has in common.
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The technological modality of the production of this image does indeed affect the validity or truth to this image. The image itself is a photograph taken by a technological device, the camera, while enhanced and edited by another technological device, the computer. This image is altered to propose a “truth� of predominance of smokers in America. Compositionally it portrays this bright and busy lifestyle of America while also depicting smokers in this bright and busy life. This image socially is not intended as a commodity nor is it intended as a stock photo yet may have the potential to be that. It seems to be produced through artistic means rather than commercial. The image itself is not necessarily defined through means of technological modality. However, the social and compositional modalities emphasize the subject of the image.  The composition is constructed through various figures seen in different frames all interacting in a similar way. Socially the image itself portrays smokers and their predominance in society.
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In discussing the site of audiencing, this visual image is interpreted differently by different audiences. Technologically speaking the image meaning is indeed altered by the fact that this is a controlled environment constructed by the photographer and not the viewer or audience. It leaves little to the imagination in that it was structured in this particular way to be visualized and interpreted in this way. The compositionality of the image is determined by the audiences ways of seeing. The audience makes a relation between things in the image and the viewer themselves. Depending on the viewing space of this image it can socially be interpreted in different ways. In this case it is viewed through the internet in the comfort of our homes or a public library leaving the audience to analyze less than if it were being viewed in a gallery exhibit.
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Part 2 : Video Response Brother Sport by Animal Collective, Directed by Jack Kubizne. In this case, the site of production is definitely influenced by the technological aspect of this video. Technology is indeed used in the production of this video in that it is filmed and also animated. It adds to the feel and emotion of the video. The composition of this video is a key point in the production of this video in that the vivid colors, wardrobes, and cinematography were structured to convey a feeling associated with the music. Social modality, however, has little to do with production of this video. The image itself is very effective in choice of technology, the use of animated images integrated with film images creates an effective representation. In composition the cinematography conveys frantic and colorful movements. While social modality conveys a truth of childhood imagination and adventure. The site of audiencing expresses these modalities through the ways of seeing. The technological modality leaves room for the imagination to run wild in expressing the imagination of a child through the animated visuals and extraordinary costume ward-
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robe. Composition also plays a role in this conveying to the audience bright and vivid colors associated with how colors are seen as a child. In viewing this video through your computer screen in a comfortable location the social modality invites a personal interpretation of intention and if it is, to the viewer, indeed referring to childhood experience or innocence.
Chapter 1 Summary This chapter is placed at the beginning to explain certain terminology used through out the text. The terminologies in this chapter refer to sites of: production, image, and audience(s). The sites each have three modalities: technological, compositional, and social. This vocabulary is frequently used through out the textbook in all of the methodologies. I feel this chapter is important, not only as a preface to the rest of the methods but also as a method itself. Understanding these sites and modalities help a designer dissect an image and understand its inner workings. This method allows a designer to absorb information that is not always presented on the surface of an image. With the ability to identify such things, a designer may become more powerful and creative in their future design.
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Chapter 3 Within this post I will critically examine a moving image focusing on the compositional modality using terms discussed in this chapter. The moving image to be interpreted is the music video for Animal Collective’s Brother Sport. In discussing and interpreting this moving image I will refer to the images mise-enscene, montage, and sound. The mise-en-scene refers to what is being shot and how in regards to shots, angles and point of view. Montage refers to how these shots are being presented through means of editing. While sound refers to just that, the types of sound used in the moving image such as environmental, speech and music.
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Chapter 3, titled ‘the good eye’, expresses means to interpret an images composition. It begins by stressing that without acknowledgment of the power of a visual image there is no reason for researching any aspect of that image. In the process of interpreting the compositionality of the image itself one must first develop a ‘good eye’ and connoisseurship. The chapter moves forward in expressing various vocabulary in researching and interpreting an image calling this approach compositional interpretation. There are several different elements in the composition of an image: content, color, spatial organization, light and expressive content. The chapter continues by also describing different vocabulary and means to describe and interpret moving images. Three aspects used to describe moving images are mise-en-scene, montage and sound. Mise-en-scene expresses the spatial organization while montage expresses the temporal organization. The chapter concludes with an assessment and summary. In expressing my interpretation of this image I will focus on the aspects more specific to compositional interpretation of moving images. The mise-en-scene of this image the opening begins with a crane shot tilt showing a deep focus of a small building. It begins with a long shot in a closed screen frame. The closed screen continues this way through out the video. An example of a closed shot used in the text refers to a scene in Oceans Eleven to express a boring situation. In the beginning of this video there is a few still closed shots of two men sitting outside of a trailer home which similarly expresses a boring situation in contrast to the fun the children are having. The rest of the video changes its angles and often shows the children in a medium shot while often showing the dog in close up shots. It keeps a third person perspective 7
through out the video. In expressing the montage of this image, it has many jump cuts to animations that seem unrelated to the rest of the shots but still keeps its continuity in the process. Most edit cuts are unmarked cuts in a fast paced rhythm that progresses faster. Sound plays a large role in this moving image in  the fact that it is a music video using music through out its entirety. It begins and ends with environmental sounds. The beginning uses the sounds of birds chirping while the end uses the sound of the dog eating the eggs. In interpreting composition of an image, or in this case a moving image, one must focus on the compositional modality of the image itself and some attention to production and technologies of that image. With a moving image the terms of mise-en-scene, montage, and sound are key elements in the interpretation of a moving image.
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Chapter 3 Summary The method described in this chapter is compositional interpretation. Its focus is primarily on the site of the image and the compositional modality. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an understanding of how an image is presented through its composition. Ways to interpret a composition include: content, color, spatial organization, light and expressive content. In addition to understanding the composition of a still image, this chapter also expresses ways to interpret motion pictures through mise-en-scene, montage and sound. This method provides a great starting point for the other methods; it poses as a more powerful once combined with other interpretations. It seems as though this method plays an enormous role in the way a designer may successfully or unsuccessfully discuss a composition. Compositional interpretation demands a very close look at the visual, which is something that is (or should be) very important for a designer to continuously do.
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Chapter 4 The ten images selected will be in relation to the image titled “Smoking Smokers” in that the common bond is a depiction of groups of people smoking.
Chapter four explains content analysis in how it is conducted and when and why it is appropriate. Content analysis is typically used when one is analyzing large quantities of images. Originally this type of analysis was intended for written texts and spoken texts but applies in visual imagery as well. This was also developed with intentions to analyze mass media, such as newspapers, magazines, television, etc. In this case it also will apply to mass media images. Content analysis has a specific focus on the site of image with its compositional modality. In analyzing larger numbers of images it may only focus on the image itself compositionally while not being able to focus on other sites. The subsections of this chapter then examine how to find your images, devise categories for cod10
ing, coding the images and then analyzing them. There are several methods described in the selection of images: random, stratified, systematic, and cluster. Coding categories described are: exhaustive, exclusive and enlightening In finding these images I chose them through Google search image database. While not choosing entirely random, as some images were not relevant, the method used seems similar to the one described called “cluster�. Categories: 1. Men smoking 2.Women smoking 3. Black and White 4. Color 5. Cigarrettes 6. Cigars/Other 7. Glamourous 8. Casual Results and Findings: - Within category 1, including men smoking, I counted a total of 7/10. - In category 2, including women smoking, I counted a total of 7/10. - Categories 3 and 4 are whether the image is in color or black and white. In black and white I found 4/10, and color 6/10. - Categories 5 and 6 determined what time of smoking utensil was used. 7/10 were cigarettes, while 4/10 were either cigars, pipes, and others. - Categories 7 and 8 splits between the depiction as glamourous or casual. 7/10 show a sense of casual smoking, the other 3/10 show glamour in smoking.
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The results of casual smoking versus glamourous smoking interests me in the fact that advertisements years ago depicting smoking usually displayed one of these two categories. The more common portrayal was more often a glamourous one showing handsome/beautiful individuals enjoying their cigarettes (and/or smoking apparatus). (using this image as reference to past glamourous depictions of smoking but not including this to ten previous images or their categories) In choosing these images I did not have a specific idea as to how I were to be categorizing these images. Yet in being conditioned by advertising of the past, I still would have assumed the majority of these works would indeed be glamourous portrayals. I grab from this information that smoking has become this “casual” phenomenon in that cultures perception of what is glamourous is now what our culture would describe as the “cool” or the “hip”. Our younger culture no longer thrives on glamourous conformity but individualized hip-ness and what it is to be “cool”. Casual is a more “cool” depiction of smoking. Smoking has always been a casual thing and mass media is utilizing that to continue to appeal to what culture is looking for. 12
Chapter 4 Summary Content analysis is the method expressed in this chapter. It explains how content analysis is conducted and when and why it is appropriate. This method is typically used when one is analyzing large quantities of images. It has a specific focus on the site of image with its compositional modality. This method has a very big impact on studying images. It could pose as a great tool when investigating the similarities and differences in large groups of images. As a designer, one must understand what is predominant and successful in imagery or advertising. A designer could utilize this method when gathering information about a specific type of image such as researching advertisements of a certain decade.
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Chapter 6
Psychoanalysis is composed of theories that deal with human subjectivity, sexuality, and the unconscious. This analysis derives many of its terms from revised concepts developed by Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis is often used to interpret film, and is primarily concerned with the compositional modality and the sites of the image and audiences. This type of analysis examines how sexual difference is expressed visually and how subjectivities and sexualities are formed. The penis is referred to not only as an anatomical piece but as something meaningful which is refered to as the phallus. It further explains phallocentrism as the way cultural meaning is structured around masculine terms. This form of analysis is not a proper tool in analyzing the following chosen moving image but is successful in analyzing the still image.
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This music video depicts children running and playing while interweaving animated images of imaginary creatures. Psychoanalysis focuses on the sexuality, subjectivity and unconscious. The elements presented in this film may not apply when analyzing sexuality. While unsuccessful in analyzing this moving image, the still image chosen poses as a better example to analyze. This piece shows men and women together with little interaction. It lacks qualities to be analyzed such as a voyeuristic male gaze or fetishistic scopophilia. It depicts a larger number of male figures in comparison to female figures. This indicates a phallocentric world. Both the males and females are smoking what can be viewed as a phallic symbol. This image can be interpreted as an example of Freud’s castration complex. The females, seeing them15
selves as lacking and castrated, smoke from a phallic apparatus to not only fulfill a supposed desire for a phallus, but to also conform to masculinity in a masquerade. Women can often be depicted as a smooth surface displayed for the male gaze. The masquerade acts as a mask being worn to express femininity and hide masculinity. In this case the female is integrated in a phallocentric world using the masquerade in a reverse effect. The masquerade is instead a mask of masculinity hiding the stereotypical femininity. This offsets the idea of active males and passive females. Females then become active and no longer seen as lacking. While psychoanalysis may not be successful in analyzing moving images of young children playing, it shows to be very successful in analyzing an image of a group of smokers. The subtle expression of a phallocentric world gives the viewer insight into a larger framework the image could be working within. The idea of the masquerade shows the constructs of masculinity and femininity, and highlights how they are viewed and defined in relation to one another.
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Chapter 6 Summary Psychoanalysis is the subject described in this chapter. It is composed of theories that deal with human subjectivity, sexuality, and the unconscious. It is primarily concerned with the compositional modality and the sites of the image and audiences. This type of analysis examines how sexual difference is expressed visually and how subjectivities and sexualities are formed. It expresses our world as phallocentric and occularcentric and that cultural meaning is structured around masculine terms. This method may not always apply in the design world, depending on the designs one intends to create. Although, It does provide some very important incite on the audience in masculine, phallocentric terms. Using this method, as a designer, one can apply this towards creating an image for the typical male gazer. One may also apply these theories to help change our phallocentric world.
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Chapter 7 Discourse analysis is focused on the interpretation of written and visual textual material. Discourse is knowledge that structures the world and how it is understood and reacted upon. In the analysis of discourse one must consider the social modality pay attention to the image itself. This type of analysis is similar to and different from previous analysis’s discussed. Psychoanalysis believes we are not born human subjects. Discourse analysis too believes human subjects are constructed and produced. While similar in these views, discourse analysis pays attention to the socials modality where psychoanalysis does not. This type of analysis may be effective in interpreting effects in relation to social difference, but does not think about how those social differences are constructed and experienced. Content analysis takes large amounts of images to compare and contrast, while discourse analysis may do the same it does not depend on the materials quantity but its quality. Semiology intends to understand how the structure of an image produces cultural meaning. This is similar where discourse analysis intends to understand how the cultural meaning produces an image. 18
As a designer, understanding how to utilize discourse analysis can pose as a very important tool. All viewers have a discourse that construct the ways they view an image. Â Discourse analysis can help determine how an image is interpreted by different individuals of different discourses. In understanding a discourse that may shape the views of an audience, this may help in creating an image that speaks to certain viewers. A designer is able to use the knowledge of socially constructed notions in their images to persuade their audience. Using discourse analysis while viewing my chosen image one may analyze it in several ways. An individual that is a non-smoker, with a negative smoking discourse, may feel it as an anti-smoking message. An smoker, who has had positive smoking discourses, may view the image as a pro smoking advertisement expressing the joys and pleasures of smoking. This image can be interpreted either way depending on the viewers discourse. As a non-smoker myself, who has a discourse relating to negative smoking connotations, i directly relate the image to notions of negative view points of smoking. Understanding that split perspective would aide in creating visual imagery as a designer. 19
Chapter 7 Summary This chapter’s focus is on discourse analysis. Discourse is knowledge that structures the world and how it is understood and reacted upon. This type of analysis focuses on the interpretation of written and visual textual material. It focuses on the social modality of the image itself. Understanding how to utilize discourse analysis can pose as a very important tool. Every audience has a discourse that constructs the way they view an image.  Discourse analysis can help determine how individuals of different discourses interpret an image. In understanding a discourse that may shape the views of an audience, this may help in creating an image that speaks to certain viewers. A designer is able to use the knowledge of socially constructed notions in their images to persuade their audience; very similar to psychoanalysis’ phallocentric audience appreciates scantly clad women.
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Design by Joseph Nunez