27.11.18- Published notes

Roland Barthes and 'the rhetoric of the image'
In 1977 , Roland Barthes wrote 'The Rhetoric of the image' and through a considered analysis of advertising , argued that there are two levels to any sign or visual representation. 
Barthes suggested that denotation tends to be described as the definitional, literal, obvious or common sense meaning of what is seen. Connotation, however, is when the audience brings the established or naturalised meaning to what they see.
Barthes conducted many semiotic analyses of advertising in order to demonstrate how products were sold and how ideologies become naturalised. This theory must be applied when analysing the technical codes of any media product. If we take the sound in TV or film, then the off-screen , denotive noise of an ambulance siren will connote danger or disruption for the character. 
We can apply this idea to the basic Mise en scene elements such as colour. Red is often believed to connote danger and pink symbolises  love.
Layout- This is how the elements on the page are presented. If you think about the juxtaposition of elements on a page, for magazines and newspapers it is the main image and the masthead.
House style and colour scheme- These are important elements because they give the product a brand identity. The fonts, colours and style of text layout will remain similar across all marketing material. 
Photography techniques- This is important in particular for advertising and magazine design. Close ups and medium close ups for example, are used on magazine covers to denote the main cover star.
Captions- These are used to anchor the meaning of a product. Captions are used on newspapers and magazine photographs to tell the audience what the image is about and who it is of.