Term
| Name the four hypotheses about visual literacy |
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Definition
1. Visual literacy is a prerequisite for the comprehension of visual media
2. experience with visual media leads to enhancement of cognitive abilities
3. visual literacy makes viewers more resistant to manipulations via visual media
4. visual literacy increases aesthetic appreciation |
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Term
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Definition
| Balance: the perceived equilibrium which imposes a felt and unconscious axis on a given scene. All visual patterns have a center of gravity which can be technically computed, but no method is as fast, as accurate, and as automatic as the intuitive sense of balance inherent in human perception. |
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Term
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Definition
| visual elements which appear not to have stability. ex: person teetering on edge of cliff about to fall in |
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Term
| how can a visual/image be both balanced and stressed? give an example. |
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Definition
| an example of this is an upside down triangle; the triangle looks as though it is unstable, but in fact if we were to vertically split the image of the triangle directly in the center of a paper, it would be balanced because it would have equal weight on both sides |
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Term
| What is the difference between the Charlie Chaplin movie we saw in lecture and a modern movie? |
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Definition
- there are fewer close ups in the charlie chaplin movie than in a modern movie
- the charlie chaplin movie is more stage-like than a modern movie
- the camera shots in the charlie chaplin movie rarely take a third person's perspective, unlike a modern movie |
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Term
| Difference between indexical and iconic? |
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Definition
indexical signs: proof that something exists (ex: photograph, bullet hole in a wall, a picture of slope day)
iconic signs: images which resemble some aspect of reality. An image, picture, or representation. A sign or likeliness that stands for an object by signifying or representing it either concretely or by analogy (ex: cartoon picture, drawing)
The difference between the two is that indexical is proof something exists and iconic is a representation of some aspect of reality |
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Term
| What is syntactic indeterminancy? |
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Definition
| Syntactic indeterminancy explains that visuals lack an explicit set of guidelines for the interpretation of analogies, metaphors, or any other relationship other than those of space or time. |
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Term
| a strength of syntactic indeterminancy |
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Definition
one advantage of syntactic indeterminancy is that it allows advertisers to get across points that would otherwise be deemed as politically incorrect.
implying connections between products and sex or status increases the effectiveness of advertisements |
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Term
| a weakness of syntactic indeterminancy |
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Definition
one disadvantage of syntactic indeterminancy is that, since much of the visual is up to the mind of the viewer, the viewer may wrongly interpret the visual in a way that the advertiser did not intend.
also, visuals lack a set of explicit devices for indication causality, analogy, or any relationship other than space or time.
Visuals cannot with precision communicate an argument
ex: what visuals cannot say: junk food is bad for your health |
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Term
| What is the theory as to why direct eye gaze attracts attention in visuals? |
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Definition
- direct eye gaze attracts attention in visuals and is the most commonly used technique
- direct eye gaze occurs in most human interactions and our attention usually focuses on the eyes and mouth of individuals
- most importantly, direct eye gaze mimics real life and makes the ad seem as though it is directed and connected to the audience members viewing the visual |
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Term
In one of our readings, Messaris describes situations in which drawings are used instead of photographs to demonstrate "proof." However, drawings are not indexical.
What is his point about why drawings may be superior to photographs in some circumstances?
the ad: drawing of Komatsu equipment pouring a glass of wine + the waiter looks surprised |
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Definition
- the basic point of the ad is that komatsu's new excavator is so precise that it can be used to pour wine into a glass.
-- the point of the diagrams is not to prove that a certain piece of equipment can perform some function or other but to explain how that equipment works.
- if a photograph had been used in place of the drawing, some of that efficiency might have been sacrificed.
- at the same time, however, precisely because a photograph has not been used, the ad has to rely on its verbal text to confirm that the picture represents a real situation
--"what you see here is face, not fiction," the body copy tells us. If the picture had been a photograph, the assurance would have been implicit in the image itself.
- consequently, the indexicality that a photograph would provide is not needed in such circumstances. Rather, it is iconicity that really matters, and line drawings therefore are perfectly adequate. |
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Term
| Ansel Adams is known for "straight" photography. Based on one of our readings, which of the following best captures what he meant by "straight photography?" |
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Definition
| A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed. |
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Term
| The reading on Documentary films points out that a documentary film may seem to represent reality objectively but it does not. How, then, did the reading define documentary film? What is the key difference? |
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Definition
| - the documentary is not reality. It is an intermediary between reality and the viewer. |
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Term
Martin suggests that (T/F)
A photograph asserts that the contents are real, or true |
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Definition
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Term
Martin suggests that (T/F)
That the presentational context of the photograph makes an assertion |
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Definition
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Term
| What is the viewfinder test? |
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Definition
| If a photographer looks out of the lens of a camera and captures what they see and what is actually being viewed through the lens, it passes the viewfinder test. If the photo is altered in any way though, it does not pass the test because it is not what is actually seen through the lens. |
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Term
| When we try to understand whether film needs to be learned or not, why aren't children good study subjects? |
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Definition
| - It is often hard to tell whether a child's difficulties with a particular cinematic device stem from insufficient exposure to that specific device, or instead, are an inevitable consequence of the child's general level of mental development. |
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Term
| How do you see motion from a series of still photos? |
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Definition
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Term
We have concluded that when a character on the screen looks in a particular direction, the convention (code) says that the next shot is what the character is looking at.
Some have suggested that in The Birds, Hitchcock made an editing mistake in the scene outside the schoolhouse where the character is waiting on a bench. What conclusion can you draw from that scene? |
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Definition
| the story tells you what's happening (the context of the story). We understand it because of the content/story, not the way it is edited. It wasn't a mistake; you understand what happened from the context, not the code. Also, because of reality, not the way its constructed, basic understanding comes from the context. |
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Term
| In a reading, Messaris notes that film transitions have become shorter over the years. Which of the following is Messaris' point of view, and how does he support it? |
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Definition
| Audiences have always been capable of understanding transitions such as time and location, even without the transitional effects. |
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Term
| A reading talks about what has been described as the most successful TV ad of all time--the computer ad. Viewers experienced considerably uncertainty about the meaning of the ad. What explains why it was so successful? |
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Definition
| Messaris argued that the advertisement was so successful because people felt intrigued by it, and the uncertainty caused a desire to learn more about the brand, it also stimulated discussion among viewers. Due to the advertisement's ambiguous nature, there was a lot of media coverage on it, which caused a lot of publicity about the ad. |
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Term
Text reading asks the question that "if viewers have an explicit understanding of the visual syntax in ads will they be more discriminating in their responses in advertising?"
conclusion was:
that substantial numbers of viewers may not have an explicit understanding of the cause and effect implications of visual syntax. Less educated viewers were less aware than more educated viewers.
What was the concern about the study? |
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Definition
| Less educated viewers may not be able to articulate their understanding of visual syntax. |
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