Visual Techniques Flashcards
(24 cards)
Angles
High, medium and low.
Body language
Posture, facial expression and gestures.
Camera shots
Close-up, extreme close-up, long shot, establishing shot, tilt (up/down), tracking shot, panning, point of view.
Colour, hue and tone
Elements strongly tied to emotions; symbolic, associative or evocative depending on the context. Hue = colour itself, value = brightness (light/dark), intensity = purity or strength (bright/dull).
Font
The type of font used.
Lighting
High key and low key; creates mood. Shadows can suggest concealment of fear and despair, light = hope and inspiration, soft light = romance, etc.
Lines
Curved, jagged, and straight.
Perspective
Where objects have been placed. E.g. foreground, middle ground, background. What is placed in the foreground is often more important than what is in the background.
Positioning
Where objects/elements are placed. Are they centred or off-centre?
Rule of thirds
Divide the image into thirds and look at the placement of people. Top third denotes power, bottom denotes disempowerment.
Salience
The most conspicuous or notable element of the image that attracts the viewer’s attention. Salience is created through placement, colour, size, focus, distance.
Size
Sizing of objects/people.
Vector
A line that leads your eye from one element to another. May be visible or invisible; can be created by things like pointing fingers or extended arms, and can be objects/part of objects (arms, legs, poles, side of a house).
Gaze
Refers to where the figure in the image is looking.
Demand gaze
When a figure in the image gazes directly out of the page at the viewer, establishing a connection.
Offer gaze
When a figure gazes at another object in the image, encouraging the viewer to look at that object; the viewer is a detached onlooker.
Reading pathways
The path you take through a visual text (viewer’s gaze around text). Moves from the most salient to the least salient elements. Influenced by elements like vectors, salience, gaze, etc.
Centrality
Placing of the main object/figure in the centre of the image/close to the centre. Images in the centre are the nucleus info., and margin images are subservient.
Social distance
A close-up is intimate and creates a connection, while a long shot creates objectivity and distance.
What are some things red can represent?
Action, passion, masculinity, emotion, danger.
What are some things yellow can represent?
Cheer, joy, lightheartedness.
What are some things blue can represent?
Coolness, calmness, wisdom, sadness.
What are some things black can represent?
Evil, mystery, power, fear, death.
What are some things white can represent?
Purity, innocence, timelessness, mystical.
