Visual Media Analysis

Part 1:
Rhetorical Analysis
of Visual Media

Visual Texts make Arguments

They engage the rhetorical triangle
writer, audience, purpose
They engage rhetorical appeals
Logos, pathos, ethos

Compositional Terms

Distance: close up (intense) v. long shot (blended with environment)

Angle: Low (larger, dominant), high (small, subject), level (equal)

Lighting: artificial, natural, bright, soft, harsh (effects mood)

Line: balance, symmetry (stasis) v. disjointed (movement/action)

Scale: natural, minimized, exaggerated (emphasis & mood)

Color: mood (warm, vibrant, cool, dull)

More tools for analysis

Setting or scene
E.g. Dimly lit living room
Objects (the semantic units)
E.g., Egyptian woman
Characters/action (narrative situation)
E.g. Marital tension

Distance: close up v. long shot

Angle: Low, high, level
Lighting: artificial, natural, bright, soft, harsh
Line: balance, symmetry v. disjointed
Scale: natural, minimized, exaggerated
Color: mood

Distance: close up v. long shot

Angle: Low, high, level
Lighting: artificial, natural, bright, soft, harsh
Line: balance, symmetry v. disjointed
Scale: natural, minimized, exaggerated
Color: mood

Typography

Choice of font and positioning of type has social meaning

Serif fonts

are classy, traditional (ethos of tradition

and stability, timelessness)

Sans Serif fonts are modern, sophisticated (ethos

of progress)

Playful, novel fonts convey eccentricity,

spontaneity (ethos of hope, freedom, artistic spirit)

Syntax of Visual Texts

1. Spatial-orientational metaphors
a. up/down (good/bad, control/subjection, etc.)
b. center/periphery (dominance/subservience)
c. left/right (temporal sequence)

2. Juxtaposition
(meaning is transferred metaphorically)

3. Highlighting and hiding

(what gets emphasized/deemphasized?)