ANALYSING 3.

What aesthetic Artwork

(Fine art, comic books
MEDIA decisions were made? etc.)
•How are the basic components or
Screens & visual communication permeate our lives. elements arranged? Framing?
•Balance (symmetrical, asymmetrical,
These forms of visual communication usually strike a radial), Colour (light, tone, hue, warm/cool),
chord for the receiving audience. This can be done intuitively Composition, Contrast, Direction, Emphasis,
or be highly calculated. When constructing or deconstructing Form, Line, Movement, Repetition, Rhythm,
media, consider the following: Scale, Space, Shape, Size, Symmetry,
Texture, Value
•Does the medium influence or impact
1. Initial Reaction & Description Photography the message/meaning etc?
•What kind of a shot is it?
What do you see?
•What significance do long
What is your first impression?
shots, medium shots, close-up
What is happening in the work? shots have?
What is the story and what significance does it have? •What about the lighting, use of
color, angle of the shot?
•Framing: rule of thirds etc.
2. Analysis, Interpretation & Evaluation •Focus/Depth of field/Lens
What is the purpose? Is there an intended audience for the work? •Colour vs. BW
What is the general ambience of the work? Design
What mood does it create? How does it do this? (Advertising: print,
What signs and symbols do we find? What role do they play in the mediums’ impact? commercial, websites)
What is the ideology of the piece (what is the idea behind it)? •How are the basic components or
What is the agenda of the producer? elements arranged?
If figures are included, what can be said about their appearance, relations or •How are the following elements/
emotions? principles used? (Alignment, Colour, Contrast,
Is the background significant? Direction, Dominance, Emphasis, Font, Harmony,
Are any themes evident (jealousy, ambition, passion etc.)? Proximity, Repetition, Scale, Space, Layout, Type,
Size, Texture, Value, Variety, Unity)
How is language used? Does it provide information or generate emotional
•What is the relationship between pictorial
response? Were any techniques such as humour, alliteration or
Film, elements and written material and what does this
innuendo used? tell us?
What typefaces were used and what do they convey? Video & Video
•How is space used? (positive/negative?
What sociological, political, economic or cultural Games empty/full?)
attitudes are indirectly reflected in the work •Mise-en-scene: costumes, props, lighting, •Does the item being advertised play a
characters (as represented by actors or
(sexism, alienation, conformism etc.)? role in culture and society?
models), special effects, sound effects and
anything else which is "put into the frame".
Resources: •Framing: rule of thirds etc.
•Camera placement
How to Analyze an •Editing/montage, camera angle, soundtrack,
Advertisement http://tinyurl.com/ atmosphere, lighting, contrast, stillness vs. movement
78of9sh Created by: Frank Curkovic (to move the camera or not?), metaphor,
perspective, titles Think! How does the use of
Celebrating the Art of Cinematography •Focus/Depth of field/Lens media influence culture? How
http://tinyurl.com/73sp5fp •Colour can the use of media influence
what we do in the classroom and
Image Analysis (via Mediknowall)
http://tinyurl.com/6qfkouj how we learn? How can we learn
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ to evaluate and create our own
media?