Week 12: Photojournalism

'An image showing the two vehicles involved in a fatal accident that took place at the traffic light junction of Jalan Jerudong and Jalan Tutong in Sengkurong yesterday. Also seen are personnel from the Fire and Rescue Department. Picture: Courtesy of National Road Safety Council'

'An image, altered due to its graphic nature, of a vehicle driven by a victim who lost her life in a fatal accident that took place at about 6am, at the traffic light junction of Jalan Jerudong and Jalan Tutong inSengkurong yesterday. Picture: Courtesy of National Road Safety Council'

(The images above was taken from http://www.bt.com.bn/news-national/2011/10/27/36th-victim-fatal-car-accident-year)


Why did you choose this news over others?

I chose this news because personally, it has an impact on me until today. I have gotten my driving license last year and this accident happened months after. As a 'freshie' on the road, I have instilled in my mind to always be careful when I am driving on the road. Being on the road is a matter of life and death. The images have affected me as it is a memorable image, although I have not experienced an accident before (not that I wish I would). Lester (2006) stated that "memorable images, either directly experienced or seen through a mediated format, are those that you think about". Needless to say, this news has the compositions to "immediate impact" me. It makes me think of how precious life is and that we only live once on Earth. The above images are two good examples that could touch the rational aspects of my mind's personality. They are pictures that I could accurately picture in my mind even long after the incident itself.

Is the narrative component of the story necessary or is the picture enough to express the intended message of the news?

For me, the two image especially the second one "speaks a thousand words". The blood and aftermath of the crash is enough to express that such tragedy could means "Be more careful and alert on the road". Or "Wear a seat belt". Or "Remember your loved ones". The main point is, the news/image brings a point that every road user is advised to not text while driving (emphasizing on the use of mobile phones), to always wear safety belts/helmets for motor cyclers, make sure that the car is in a good condition and obey to traffic lights and follow the intended speed limits. What more could such images actually aim to the public? Obviously, all that has been mentioned of course!


Did the picture and writings capture the “truth” of the event?

Yes, they do. The second image was altered due to its graphic nature but readers/audience would probably know how far the altered image convey the truth. Road accidents do happen in real life. They happen everyday, anytime and anywhere. Yes, with today's world technology, they have the "ability to manipulate the truth using specific methods of production" (Woo, 2012). But if one has a critical mind, he/she would know if the image and the content of its narrative makes logical sense. Furthermore, in a world of visual communication, we have to have a broad mind and think outside of our comfort zone when analysing the world around us.



References:

Lester, P. M. (2006). Visual communication:Images with messages. USA: Cengage Learning. 

Woo, C. (2012). Photojournalism. Retrieved on November 17, 2012 from https://dl.dropbox.com/u/35336835/Analysing%20Visual%20Communication/Lecture%2012_Photojournalism.pdf

Week 11: Information Grpahics

 Look at the following information graphic broken down into a series of 4 images and answer the following questions:

The original photograph is called “Skull with cigarette, 2007” by Chris Jordan. It has a caption below the photogtaphs which reads: “Depicts 200,000 packs of cigarettes, equal to the number of Americans who die from cigarette smoking every six months”. Why didn’t the photographer just present the information in numbers? Why explain the statistics in graphical form?

According to Lester (2006), information graphic is practical and effective to use, especially to illustrate and describe complicated information with possible clarity and it is widely employed to demonstrate a large quantity of information. This simply means that to present an amount of information by analyzing them, the main purpose of information graphic is to offer such information in the most simplistic yet comprehensible way. As we all know, there are a wide variety of how these informations can be presented. 

A skull signifies death or a disease. Lester quoted that "Memorable images, either directly experienced or seen through a mediated format, are those that you think about". A skull is an example of an image that may have the ability to trigger one's emotion and also rational aspect's of a person's personality. So as you can see, Chris Jordan did know chose to use a skull without a purpose. This way, viewers or readers are able to see how one main skull consists of little skulls with each representing 200,000 packs of cigarettes that represent the number of death of smoking cigarette every six months. 

According to Tidwell (2011) information graphic is used "to communicate knowledge visually rather than verbally". One thing about numbers, is that they are just plain numbers. Knowing how in today's world we are always surrounded by images and colours, it would be rather confusing to collect these information on the number of deaths with the brands of these cigarettes into our heads. More over, by inserting the brands of cigarettes, viewers are able to tell which companies are literally killing us. In addition, the range of data is based on a 6 months data collection. By inserting different brands of cigarettes and the number of death, it would be practical to represent the 'actuality' of such information. 

In conclusion, information graphs are supposed to give an effect, especially by relating such information to smokers and the public. Such graphs could directly create awareness - which I find is the main objective. This graph does not only tell a story but also, it is an interactive way to reach the target audience. 

References:

Lester, P. M. (2006). Visual communication:Images with messages. USA: Cengage Learning. 

Tidwell, J. (2011). Designing Interfaces (2nd ed). California: O'Reily Media Inc. 

Week 10: Games and Avatars in the Information Age

Do you agree that you are Cyborgian in nature?


What is a cyborg and am I one already? According to Clynes (1960) who coined the term 'cyborg':


"The cyborg deliberately incorporates exogenous compo- nents extending the self-regulatory control function of the organism in order to adapt it to new environments."


In other words, a cyborg is used to explain mankind to artificially improve and intensify biological functions in order to survive in the unfriendly environment of Space. Simply, a cyborg refers to a human being with bodily functions that are literally controlled or aided by technological devices. It was mentioned in our lecture slide by our lecturer Chris Woo (2012) that in 1998 Lury wrote in her book Prosthetic Culture that we live in a world where it is impossible to survive without technological prosthetics. We live in a cultural period that is sometimes called the Information Age. We are overwhelmed with so many information that the mind and body is not capable to handle pressure and thus we need prosthetics to overcome these pressure. What I meant by prosthetics are things like memory cards, softwares, pen drive, oxygen tanks, insulin pump, photographs and so on.

How can we not say that we are cyborgs in nature? Before we go to bed, we would hold our mobile phones and set our alarm. Some times we would play whatever game applications there are installed until we fall asleep. Other times, people like me, we would go through social sites such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram where we basically just scroll down and read and view whatever there is to view online. There really is no purpose to it, personally saying but it seems like the hands are set to do such things. We grab our mobile phones to talk and chat with our family and friends. We update one another with the latest 'in thing' or 'hot story' that goes on in Brunei.. is the evidence not clear enough? More over, we wake up in the morning and it seems automatically that we would reach out for our mobile phones (set setting the alarm clock off) or iPads and just literally scroll our fingers on the touch screen and wait until we sober up from sleep. I mean, I do that. So yes, I agree that I am a Cyborg in nature.  

In addition, we are the generation that rely so much on technologies that even our academic research is usually based on the internet. We make full use of eBooks just to finish up our thousands of words essay by using the Google engine. We type down our essays in the Word Document and then we use printers to print our papers. Are printers not a part of technology? Yes, yes it is. As far as we can remember, since the time that we are able to use the computer, we would learn the functions of these computes. One of them is by copy pasting. How easily life has become due to that. Well, obviously we cannot copy paste easily though, we'd have to paraphrase every little thing now and then just so we're not plagiarizing. See what I mean by how we rely and think that technologies (in this case: the computer and the Internet) is the reason why we survive?

To end this post, I would like to come to a conclusion that we can see very clearly how true Lucy Lury's argument was. We are already living in a world where it is literally impossible to survive without technological prosthetics. This highlights James (1996) where he claims that "the concept of human being as being cyborgs, half-man, half-machine is when their physical capabilities are broadened and largely greater than their physical deficiencies".





References:


Clynes, M. & Kline, N. S. (1960). Cyborgs and Space. Retrieved on November 17, 2012 from http://cyberneticzoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/cyborgs-Astronautics-sep1960.pdf

James, J. (1996). Thinking in the future tense. Industrial and commercial training. 28(7), 28 – 32.

Woo, Chris. (2010). Analyzing Visual Communication Reader. Brunei Darussalam: Universiti Brunei Darussalam

Week 9: Cinema and television: Cultural literacy and the question of “What’s it for?”

Name your favourite television and film. Explain how the film could shape a person's identity.

A very famous quote was coined by Marshall McLuhan and that was "The medium is the message". According to Griffins (2012), we are used to thinking that the message is separated from the medium itself but in reality, "the medium delivers the message". Harry Potter is a book and Harry Potter is a movie. However.. More often than not, we always complained how "the movie was not exactly like how it is supposed to be in the book". This proves the statement that the medium IS the message. Message delivered through different mediums are capable of influencing the way the message is being portrayed.

Today, I am going to focus on television and film. I have been surrounded by the media since I was a young girl, and I believe every one was too. Anytime a child cries, all you have to do is switch Barney on, or what ever kids love to watch nowadays.. turn the volume on on a maximum level and the next thing you know, they'd stop crying and their attention would divert towards the television. As a kid, television and films have had led me to become imaginative. I would use an example of a television show that I currently enjoy watching.

I enjoy watching Adventure Time with Finn and Jake with my siblings. It is a time when I get to sit together in the living room with them and laugh my heart out to anything amusing. As the name has already suggested, this television series is about two close friends who is always on a mission for an adventure. In the land of "Ooo" these characters are often surrounded with lots of other interesting creatures -  cupcakes, cinnamon bun, rainbow unicorn, marshmallows, etc. This television series has shaped me to become quite an imaginative person. I have always had a thing with cute and adorable characters and Adventure Time could fulfill my imaginations as I am always drawn to silly humor, imaginative story lines and richly populated world. To me, watching this series is like taking a break from reality. A few of the characters in this series, in way, too portray who I am in real life. For example Princess Bubblegum, is kind and well-mannered, but some days I could be crazy and sarcastic just like Lumpy Space Princess. I would like to see myself that way. In Griffins (2012), Gerbner's research associates gave a clear definition of "cultivation":

"The concept of “cultivation” thus refers to the independent contribution television viewing makes to audience members’ conceptions of social reality. Television view-ing cultivates ways of seeing the world—those who spend more time “living” in the world of television are more likely to see the “real world” in terms of the images, values, portrayals and ideologies that emerge through the lens of television."

How I see myself (my identity) is how I can make myself similar to these characteristics in Adventure Time. My interest towards cute and adorable characters can be seen purely as a result "by what emotions are most prevalent and how they get expressed" (Solomon and Higgins, 2010). Let me further elaborate more by providing another example on one of my favourite film and how it could actually shape my identity.

Marley and Me (2008) is a comedy-drama that was based on a memoir by John Grogan about a couple who is trying to find out whether or not they are fit to have a family since Jenny (Jennifer Aniston) has been thinking of having a baby. A co-worker suggested that they adopt a dog to see if they could actually manage to raise a family (A dog is called a man's best friend for a reason). Unfortunately, taking care of the dog has been a challenge in the first place. However, the dog is a stepping stone for the family to have a better life. In a way, the family is taking Marley for granted until they realize the bond that they have towards the dog. Marley is then euthanized as he cannot be saved through surgery. 

So how does this film has shaped my identity? Anyone who knows me best would know how passionate I am about animals (except for creepy crawlies). To watch such film has touched me emotionally in a way that it makes me cherish the moments I have with my family and towards my house pets. To have a pet means to create a special bond between a human being and the animal itself. We get to feed them, talk, play and watch them grow. Solomon and Higgins (2010) has illustrated that ".. who we are depends on what we feel about things". 

In conclusion, these are the things that could help shape a person's identity. There are other factors such as a person's family background, experience and religion. However, the media could be a powerful tool in shaping one's identity. 

References:

Griffin, Em. (2012). A First Look At Communication Theory. 8th Ed. NY: McGraw-Hill

Solomon, R. C. & Higgins, K. M. (2010). The Big Question: A Short Introduction to Philosophy. 8th Ed. USA: Wadsworth

Week 8: Photography - Reconceptualising culture, memory and space.

 How do captions and cutlines re-frame the meaning of an image? 

Images can be seen everywhere. In the classroom, the library, the toilet, on t-shirts as well as on any random walls. Advertisements, especially the ones with big yet simple texts and captions, or articles with bold head lines tend to catch attentions easily. Captions and cut-lines are examples of "anchorage".    Barthes (1977) introduced the idea of anchorage. It is an agreeing relation between picture and text, in a way that each contribute to its own part of the overall sum of the message. According to Prosser (1998), captions are used to set the photographs according to their appropriate and conventional text. Meaning to say, they are often there with the image itself to give and provide a slight idea for the receiver/viewer/audience/reader for example: news paper headline. 

Lester (1995) claims that it is significant to possess the ability to make decisions about "various sizes for headlines, subheads, captions, cutlines, and the body of the text". Otherwise, it will be quite puzzling to actually understand what a certain image is portraying. For example, this grumpy cat:

We do not know what exactly the cat is trying to say but by adding captions, it could be that the cat is saying:

Having captions and cutlines give the ability to connect the texts with images provided. That way we could seek to know the truth or story behind the image itself. However, Lacey (1998) argued that an image's meaning may often be ambiguous. In today's modern world, photography is used as post modernity. Photography could be a form of simulacrum. For example, the second image has been edited by inserting captions. The original picture was just the image of the cat itself and nothing more. My point here is that captions and cutlines could re-frame the meaning an image by altering and manipulating its captions and cutlines. According to Stovall and Mullins (2005), "It is the description of the caption that is associated with the photograph". This shows that such captions and cutlines could provide answers towards viewers' question on the image.

In conclusion, the main objective of captions and cutlines is to assist viewers to further comprehend the meaning of a specific picture. Not only does re-framing of these anchorage provide a brief idea or narrates a story, but it could also be used to manipulate and fool viewers for whatever purposes.








References:



Barthes, R. (1977). Image-Music-Text. London: Fontana

Lacey, N. (1998). Image and Representation: Key Concepts in Media Studies. New York: St. Martin's Press

Lester, P. M. (1998). Visual Communication: Images with Messages. California: Wadsworth Publishing Company

Prosses, J. (1998). Image-based Research: A Sourcebook for Qualitative Researchers. London: Routledge

Stovall, J. G. & Mullins, E. (2005). Writing cutlines or captions. retrieved on 13th November 2012, from http://www.jprof.com/onlinejn/webjn-cutlines.html

Week 7: Visual Narrative and the Media

Why is narrative important when shaping a visual image to the audience?

Narrative is simply story-telling. As stated in our lecture slide, narrative consists of a series of events, actors, time and location (Woo, 2012). People have been narrating stories from time to time and the prove is that history has been made, and we know stories of them because it was written during a time of an important event, along with its people (characters/actors) and specific time and location. Everyone is capable of writing a story. As explained by Sikes and Gale (2006), "human beings are 'storying' creatures making sense of the world and the things that happen to us by constructing narratives to explain and interpret events both to ourselves and other people".

So why is narrative important when shaping a visual image?

According to Chatman (1978), narratives are made up of a story and a discourse. Without a story, it cannot be defined as a narrative, more over a visual image because as human.. we always want to know the story in chronological order. We wish to see and hear about what is being told. It is what makes up a narrative. For example:

This image tells a story. Simply: Lumpy Space Princess thinks she is going to be so hot. How do we know that this image tells a story? First, you can see the character herself; open-mouthed, gasping and eyes wide (though she has beady eyes but you can tell from her expression). Characters are paradigmatic and it is one of the elements in narrating. Imagine the image without a character and just its narrative, no one's going to know what's going to be "so frickin' hot" at all. However, it is not only the character that could actually make a story understandable. The story line makes up the syntagm. An image with just the character(s) included can be comprehensible but it could still be vague.

What is the image above trying to say? The expression of the girl above gives a message as if she is saying something like...

"Mmmhm, my Mummy's fingers look delish..."
"I love my Momma's nail polish. I can't wait to grow up so I could paint my nails with lots of colours!"
"I don't know whether that's a jam or corned beef my Mum's spreading on my bread"

Putting in texts makes the message even more clear.

Mieke Bal (1983) in the lecture slide explains that there are three parts to narrative structure: fabula, plot and texts. For example, narratives are used to make films.

This film uses a first-person pronoun. The producer of this story line was the speaking subject herself and the subject of speech as this film was based on what she had gone through year's ago. For those who has watched this movie before, you could see that this movie has all the stages in narrative structure. Events were shown in chronological order (from the time she departed the country for New York, to feeling depressed, attempting suicide, falling in love, last chaotic moment before hitting the iceberg, sinking of the ship, rescued). There were lots of characters involved and the film takes us back to 90 years ago until the present. Temporalities (flashbacks) were shown to make audiences understand what was going on. You could also tell that Titanic is such a heart-wrenching love-story-between-different-classes in which the main's character's mother was against. This touches on the stratification seen between the upper, middle and lower class. You could also see how they were treated in terms of what they do and where they spend their time on the ship. The discourse of that was something that viewers can relate to. Not only that, but this film has triggered million of viewers to display a little bit of a water work because of the hopes and dreams they wished they lived never happened. It shows how one a narrative is important.  

Narratives are not only shown in advertisements and films but are also used in public relations, politics and also architecture. According to Huisman (2005) in Narrative and Media with Fulton, Murphet and Dunn, narratives in any medium and genre are ways of structuring and representing lived experience. We can experience visual image as much as we can experience in terms of language. Moreover, visual images allow in-depth experience by using concepts of language and also by using "semiotic analysis of signifying elements" and this is why narrative plays an important role in shaping visual images.








References:

Chatman, S. (1978). Story and Discourse. United States: Cornell University Press

Huisman, R. (2005). Narrative concepts. In Fulton, H., Huisman, R., Murphet, J. and Dunn, A. (eds.), Narrative and Media (pp. 11-27). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Sikes, P., Gale, K. (2006). Narrative Approaches to Education Research. Faculty of Education, University of Plymouth, retrieved November 17, 2012 from http://www.edu.plymouth.ac.uk/resined/narrative/narrativehome.htm

Woo, Chris. (2010). Analyzing Visual Communication Reader. Brunei Darussalam: Universiti Brunei Darussalam