Thursday, 30 September 2010

Key Vocabulary...

DENOTATION: When you discuss a text or image at a denotive level, you describe what you initially see.

CONNOTATION: Once establishing what you initially see from the image, you discuss these elements on a connotative level, working out what these elements may mean, or signify.

SEMIOTICS: Semiotics is the study of signs. To fully analyse an image you need to look at the signifier, signified and overall signs of the image.

SIGNIFIER: The signifier is the object in the picture.

SIGNIFIED: The signified are the implications, such as expression, of that object in the picture.

SIGN: a sign is an image, object or action which carries significance. It is the combination of the signifier and signified which gives the overall picture.

For example...
     When you look at this picture, what do you see?


SIGNIFIER: kitten
SIGNIFIED: cute
SIGN: cute kitten


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