Denotation: What an
image shows in simple terms.
Connotation: The
further meaning and what an image implies. What can you infer?
SEMIOLOGY
Signs: Images,
gestures, signs, text, colours, etc.
How information can be communicated within a media text.
Signs in print: Words, images, etc.
Signs in moving image: Editing, sound, etc.
Everything is deliberate,
nothing is accidental.
Arbitrary: The
meanings of signs are random. There’s no clear reason for the meanings or
connotations. For example, there’s no clear reason why, in our culture, white
means purity.
Negotiated
Meanings: A sign’s meanings are shared by people within the same
culture but the sign’s meanings vary between cultures. E.g. Wearing black at a
funeral is disrespectful in China. Here, it is the norm.
Polysemic: Signs
having multiple meanings. E.g. The colour red can mean romance, passion or
danger. Context, anchorage and words influence your interpretation.
Anchorage: The way
that different elements of the image combine to make meaning. How the layout
makes the meaning.
