A Quarter After Half Past A Quarter Of

Content analysis and compositional interpretation share a small amount of commonality. They both require you to set aside any kind of bias when interpreting and viewing an image. However, the difference between the two is that content analysis does not require you to have a “good eye”. Content analysis is performed by following a set of rules and procedures and is therefore “methodologically explicit”. As a result, the data produced is much more factual and accurate.  Content analysis is very useful in numerous situations because it does not require any kind of art background, or education. It can be used for examining everything from magazine advertisements to movie scenes.

Image list

• Image 1
• Image 2
• Image 3
• Image 4
• Image 5
• Image 6
• Image 7
• Image 8
• Image 9
• Image 10

Categories

• Fire flame
• No flame
• Other kind of flame
• Image heavily enhanced/ altered
• Text in image
• Lighter standing up
• Lighter laying down
• Lid open
• Lid closed
• Lid open left
• Lid open right
• 1 lighter in image
• Multiple lighters in image

Results

• Fire flame: 3
• No flame: 4
• Other kind of flame: 3
• Image heavily enhanced/ altered: 4
• Text in image: 2
• Lighter standing up: 8
• Lighter laying down: 0
• Lid open: 9
• Lid closed: 1
• Lid open left: 6
• Lid open right: 3
• 1 lighter in image: 10
• Multiple lighters in image: 0

When I began this week’s assignment, I did not expect to find much correlation between images of zippo lighters. Never the less I set out on my quest anyway. After performing content analysis on 10 images of zippo lighters I have reached a number of conclusions. One in particular was the lid position. In 9 out of the 10 images I examined, I found that the zippo lighter lid was open. Only one image had a closed lid. Therefore, based off this data set, in images of zippo lighters the lid is open 90% of the time. Obviously, it would take hundreds of images to thoroughly determine whether this conclusion is accurate, but these results are very interesting.

I do not know the exact reason why most of the images had an open lid position, but most all of the 9 images that had an open lid position had something coming out of the lighter. My best guess is that the lighter is positioned like that so that something can be coming out of it. Whether that be a flame of some kind, smoke, or design, etc.. It makes sense because the essence of the zippo lighter is the flame, it is the reason they exist and that is what we think about when we see them. Therefore it is in the image creator’s best interest to capture the zippo lighter’s essence, in action, and this is done with the lid open.

As graphic designers, and interpreters of the visual, we must be able to view an image for its formal compositional elements. We must be able to put aside our bias, our beliefs, our mindsets and even our moods to view and interpret an image for what it is regardless of how it makes us feel. For some, depending on the image, this can be extremely difficult because we as humans are so affected by our emotions and beliefs. However, chapter 3 shows us how to put all of those things behind us so that we can think about, examine, and in this case discuss, how an image looks visually. It covers; content, colour, spatial organization, light and expressive content. All of which are things that should be considered when analyzing the composition of an image. The image of the water flame has all the formal compositional elements. As with any well thought out and well designed image, each of the elements in the image work well together to make up the compositional whole.

The content of this particular image is a zippo lighter with a flame that is made out of water rather than fire. The image content in this case is producing a new concept, and is provoking thought. A zippo lighter is a normal everyday item and an image of just a zippo lighter with a flame coming out of it would not have near the same compositional effect. The content of this image takes something that would otherwise be seen as nothing out of the ordinary and makes it into something foreign and new. Another example are the gatorade sweart ads:

Sweat is a normal thing, there is nothing about it that catches peoples attention, or changes the way they see it. However, Gatorade makes sweat the color of their sport drinks and suddenly you have an entirely different image compositionally and visually. People are looking twice instead of once. The same occurs with the water flame. The content causes people to wonder and consider the irony of having a flame made out of water which is the very thing most widely used to put fires out.

We as designers know very well how color can take an image from mediocrity to masterpiece. We also know how quickly color can destroy an image. In the water flame image the colors most definitely work very well. They are highly saturated, but they need to be. The high color saturation allows the image to look very rich. You can feel the texture of the water and the metal. Whether they were enhanced or not they appear to be the normal colors of water and metal. Leaving the original colors was very important compositionally. If the color of the water was changed it would have left the viewer wondering if it was in fact water that was coming out of the lighter. Changing the color of the zippo lighter would have taken the viewer’s attention away from the flame, which is the point of the picture. The gradient color that was placed in the background also works well. The value change highlights the water flame and also gives the affect that it is actually giving off light. Value change is very important when it comes to composition because it is a way to focus the eye. In the image below we see a value change from the edge of the image to the center. As you look at this image notice how your eye is constantly drawn back to the center point:

Spacial organization could quite possibly be the most important element when it comes to composition. It does not matter if the image is the best drawn image this world has ever seen, if there was no thought put into spatial organization its going to be a terrible image. The image is at eye level. Placing the image at a different viewpoint would have ruined the composition The lighter was placed just off center of the image horizontally. It  was placed that way because of the lid. This technique convinces the eye that the lighter is centered even though it is not. Only so much of the lighter is revealed. The reason for this is because the lighter is not the focus of the image. By having only half the lighter showing allows for a closer shot and more emphasis on the flame. The nice angle that is formed between the lid and the base of the lighter really frames the flame. No matter how hard you try your eye always ends up back at the flame. That is a sign of a good composition.

If you can see something in an image, there is a light source. Unless someone decides to make an image of nothing but black, they have to take into consideration what direction the light source will come from, how much light is needed and what kind of light is needed. The light source in the water flame image is coming from the left. The light source needs to come from the left so that it can highlight the lid. If the light source were coming from the right the lid would be left in the dark causing the lighter to lose visual appeal. The lighting used was artificial. Artificial light allows for more intricate focus on details such as the texture of the metal and the flame itself. Natural light would have been too much. It would have taken away from the affect of being someplace dark, lit up by the flame.

This image has a certain level of mystery to it. You do not really understand why the flame is made out of water, nor do you know how. However, you do not really question it either. The image is peaceful. Everything is centered and balanced. The flame being made out of water does not implicate the same feelings that a normal flame does. The metal is smooth, shiny, and without imperfection. Even though the image is dark, you feel safe because of the light coming from the flame. There is nothing to disrupt your eye. You are simply left staring at it with a certain level of awe.

With every mark, brush stroke, and/or click of the mouse there is thought. Because in order to make a good composition and to include all the compositional elements, one has to think very hard about every move they make in the creation of an image. Everything has a purpose. However, this is not only the case for us as creators of the visual, it is also the case for us as consumers of the visual. It is imperative we be able to see and analyze an image for its “face value” regardless of how it makes us feel. If we cannot acknowledge and recognize a good composition through disagreement and/or dislike then we may as well have lost our sight all together.

Site of Production:

-Technological

-Cameras,  computers, props, people, audio equipment, etc. (anything used in the making of a cinema production)

-The way a movie is made effects how we view it

-Compositional

-The category in which a movie is placed (i.e., drama, romantic comedy, action thriller etc.) effects how we view the movie itself

-V for Vendetta falls under the category of action/ thriller/ drama and knowing this before seeing the movie causes a certain mindset

-Social

-The society we live in and the type of government we have effects the way we view movies

-V for Vendetta is filled with political issues, and we view it in comparison to our own society and government

Site of Image:

-Technological

-Movie screen

-Television

-Computer screen

-Compositional

-This clip from V for Vendetta purposely uses dominos to illustrate that horrific things happen as a result of a “Domino Effect”

-As the dominos fall you get this feeling of uneasiness because more and more things are spiraling out of control causing more damage

-Social

- We as a society associate the “Domino Effect” with the idea that “one thing leads to another”

-Having that relation changes the way we view the scene, as soon as we see dominos we immediately think of the “Domino Effect”

Site of Audiencing:

-Technological

-Movie screen

-Television

-Computer

-Depending on where we see it has an effect on the way we see it

-Watching V for Vendetta on a laptop screen is not going to have the same effect as seeing it in a movie theater.

-Compositional

-The “Domino Effect” and the short clips seen within the clip cause the viewer to feel the escalating panic that is taking place

-Without the “Domino Effect” the scene would not be nearly as successful and the viewer would not view the scene in the same way

-Social

- As humans we know all about death and destruction because we see it on the news, in the newspaper, and perhaps sometimes even in our own lives

-When viewing this clip we can relate to it because the things we’re seeing on the screen actually happen in real life.

Site of Production:

-Technological

-Computer

-Photography

-Compositional

-Photograph is heavily edited and enhanced

-Final image looks nothing like the photograph

-Image is meant to be visually stimulating and to look perfect.

-It is meant to make us curious

-Social

-We as humans are intrigued by strange things and imaginary things, which effect the way we view images

-If an image is anything out of the ordinary we are immediately interested because it is something that breaks the “normal”

-This aspect is thought about in the production of an image because the first thing an image has to do is capture the viewer’s attention.

Site of the Image:

-Technological

-Photographs are taken first using a camera with a high definition lens

-Image is changed/ added to through computer software (editing, cropping, enhancing)

-Compositional

-Image is placed directly in the center

-Light is illuminating from behind the water flame, suggesting that the water flame is illuminating the darkness just as it would if it were a real flame.

- The metal is enhanced to be very reflective

-The water droplets make you imagine the cold temperature of the metal

-Social

-We as a society relate zippo lighters to flames, because that is after all what they produce ad that has an effect on the way we view this image

-We know that the flame is water, but when you look at it you still see a flame because of the lighter and because of the shape of the flame itself

Site of Audiencing:

-Technological

-The fact that the image was made on computer and will be viewed on a computer effects how we see it.

-The fact that the water flame clearly is not real also affects the way we see it.

-Compositional

-The way the flame is directly in the center places all emphasis on it

-The flame is where we start and also where we end

-The composition was set up so that we would focus most all our attention on the flame itself, thus effecting the way we see the image

-Social

-We view this image on a computer screen, rather than in person in a specific place

-This image is not real, and will never be, therefore we cannot go somewhere and see it with our own eyes or touch it with our hands

-We view it differently on a computer screen because we are in the comfort of our own homes or offices rather than a place

-There is always a boundary between you and the image