Jack Pearson. Genre’s Visual Language Collage & Montage Semiotics Culture and Meaning Images and Text Clichés.

Media and CultureJack Pearson

The Challenges

Genre’s Visual Language Collage & Montage Semiotics Culture and Meaning Images and Text Clichés

Genre

The Challenge:

Pick 4 films of different style, form and subject and research into the Genre and Sub-Genres exhibited.

Genre is a category for any form of artistic composition, such as, film, music and paintings.

Genre does not always rely on what is contained in a media text but also on the way it’s put together.

My Chosen Films:

Genre: High Fantasy

Sub-Genre: Action,

Adventure

Genre: Comedy

Sub-Genre: Romance

Genre: Animation

Sub-Genre: Adventure,

Musical

Genre: Drama

Sub-Genre: Thriller

Visual Language

The Challenge:

Select 3 films that fall into the same main GenreSelect 3 photographs that fall into the same GenreSelect 3 paintings that fall into the same Genre

Listing all elements that define the Genre in these medias and discuss

List all research sources using Harvard referencing

Films – Horror Horror genre in film is used to create fear, panic and keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Horror films usually contain spooky slow music with scenes of fears and nightmares that will disquiet its audience.

Harvard Referencing:Psycho (1960) – IMDb. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.imdb.co.uk/title/tt0054215/. [Accessed 10 March 2013].The Shining (1980) – IMDb. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.imdb.co.uk/title/tt0081505/. [Accessed 10 March 2013].Friday the 13th (2009) – IMDb. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.imdb.co.uk/title/tt0758746/. [Accessed 10 March 2013].

Photography Genre – DocumentaryDocumentary photography focuses usually on astonishing historical events, which are most commonly used in photojournalism; these are images that cover real life events.

Harvard Referencing:

Magnum Photos Photographer Profile. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31_9_VForm&ERID=24KL53ZMYN. [Accessed 10 March 2013].

Harvard Referencing: Lewis Hine : Biography. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/IRhine.htm. [Accessed 10 March 2013].

Harvard Referencing: Dima Gavrysh. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.dimagavrysh.com/#Bio. [Accessed 10 March 2013].

Paintings – Surrealism A movement that began in the 20th century, enabling artists and photographers to use their own imagination to express their thoughts and dreams into their work.

Harvard Referencing: Marcel Duchamp. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.marcelduchamp.net/artworkspage.php. [Accessed 10 March 2013].

Harvard Referencing:Famous Paintings by Salvador Dalí. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.show-your-own-art-gallery.com/paintings-by-salvador-dali.html. [Accessed 10 March 2013].

Harvard Referencing:20 Inspirational Surreal Paintings | Cuded. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.cuded.com/2012/10/20-inspirational-surreal-paintings/. [Accessed 10 March 2013].

Collage and Montage

The Challenge:

Selecting a number of copyright free images, create a collage using digital or analogue techniques that explore one of the following themes:- Ship Wreck- Aggression- Slipping Away- Dream Time- Mechanical Action

A CollageA composition of materials and objects pasted over a surfaceA Montage A single composition created by Juxtaposing a wide range of pieces of paper, images or any other media to create an overall artistic image

First Attempt

Second Attempt

The Semiotics of Photography

The Challenge:

Select four photographs and describe what the author meant by the image, what the image means to us, and what they might mean to others.

Semiotics is basically the study of meaning. It looks at how we attach meaning to; the real world, images, words and sounds.

Semiotics was invented by a Swiss linguist named Ferdinand de Saussure, who argued that that written and visual language is a system of signs, which is divided into two parts; A signifier and Signified.

The signifier is the form of the message, so in photography it will be an image that we see that is easily recognisable and the signified is the concept of the signifier and what it represents.

Culture and Meaning

The Challenge:

Take 5 photographs that you feel in some way define “University culture”.

Write down alongside each photograph a list of by looking for signifiers you can see and their possible signifieds

Culture focuses on the the behaviors and beliefs of particular social, ethnic, or age groups

For example, in some cultures, the colour ‘red’ is seen from different prospects across the world:China: Good luck, celebration, summoningRussia: Bolsheviks and CommunismWestern: Excitement, danger, love, passion, stop, Christmas (with green)

More examples. the colour ‘blue’ is seen different between Iran and Western. Iran: Colour of heaven and spirituality Western : Depression, sadness, conservative, corporate, "something blue" bridal tradition

The colour ‘white’ has different interpretations between Japan and Western.Japan: White carnation symbolizes deathWestern: Brides, angels, good guys, hospitals, doctors, peace (white dove)

Images and Text

The Challenge:

Select four of the following images (stored in xstream folder) and create a headline/caption or combine image and text in any of the combinations shown

Take two photographs and create headline/caption or combine image and text in any of the combinations shown

The combination of Images and Text Examples:

Manuscripts Propaganda Newspapers

The combination of Images and Text Examples:

Comic Books BBC News Collages

Clichés

The Challenge:

Select a subject types that demonstrates Clichés in social photography and source 8 examples.• What are the common visual signifiers in your selection?• 5 likes and 5 dislikes of social media … discuss

Clichés are figurative phrases with an implied meaning. Many Clichés have meanings that are very clear however some maybe less transparent if you are not aware of the context

Clichés maybe interpreted based on the actual context, for example, ‘He’s fallen head over heels for her’ would imply a person has taken a tumble, whereas, this actually implies that he has fallen in love with her.

Selfies – my eight examples

Likes of social media

Staying Connected: Using Facebook or Twitter I am able to stay in contact with friends who live in different cities because of university or work related.

Intriguing: I am an incredibly nosy person, so in my spare time I like to browse down my news feed on Facebook to see what’s happening. I find some people’s images and videos amusing.

Research: Communicating with other people and sharing ideas can be useful for working to a project, whether it’s for job or university.

Inspiration: Looking at other photographers work inspires me into travelling different places to take photographs and develop my ideas.

Promotions: As I aim to have a future career in photojournalism, using social networks to share my work will help promote myself

Dislikes of social media

Bullying: Some people have nothing better to do so they will cyber bully others by judging them on their images, statuses, videos. They will do anything to make someone else’s life a misery.

Attention Seeking: People feel that they must do something to look popular, for example, a minority of girls will post naked images of themselves begging for likes and comments from guys.

Distracting: I will sit down at the computer determined to get on with some work, but the next minute I will be browsing through Facebook for hours on ends, resulting in little work being achieved.

Misleading: Not everything posted onto social sites is the truth. Be careful what you read.

Depressing: When you come across some news on Facebook that is upsetting and you don’t want to see, it will ruin your day.

http://jackpearsonphotojournalist.wordpress.

com/category/media-and-culture/