Semiotics

An image is one of many captured moments in time, the way the image is taken can be in many different angles, settings, lighting, etc but everyone can interpret the image in a different way. The image doesn’t necessarily have only one meaning

This term might sound new to most of us, but it is something all of us practice every day. Nevertheless it is still a difficult term to explain to people whom have never heard of it before.

Definition (short) according to Daniel Chandler: The study of signs

Definition according to Wikipedia: Semiotics, semiotic studies, or semiology is the study of sign processes (semiosis), or signification and communication, signs and symbols, both individually and grouped into sign systems. It includes the study of how meaning is constructed and understood


Gaze/Let’s contemplate..

Briefly describe the medium used, the genre to which the ‘text’ belongs and the context in which it was found
The medium used is a digital camera (photography) and the picture was taken in 2008 at ‘Carmen van het Noorden’ film production kick-off as part of a series of candid snapshots at this event.

Why did you choose this ‘text’?
I chose this ‘text’ because it makes you wonder what is going through their mind/what they are looking at.

How does the ‘text’ relate to your own values?
I believe that no matter the differences in peoples backgrounds shouldn’t be a threshold in their common activities. The film ‘Carmen van het Noorden’, in which a lot of youngsters from mostly Rotterdam took part in creating, is clearly an evidence of this thinking. This photograph shows me (left) with 4 other people all with different backgrounds (age, gender, race, interests, etc.) but still we are sitting next to each other looking at the same thing all unconscious of our resemblance (our focus and posture) of one other. I also like to involve myself in all sorts of group related activities, whether these are activities which demand active ‘doing’ or ‘thinking’. This picture shows me taking part in an activity.

What are the important signifiers and what do they signify?
The important signifiers are created by the body language of the 5 people sitting. In this case, especially the gestures made with their hands and the look in their eyes. They signify ‘witnessing something interesting’ or ‘thought’.

Does it allude to being fact or fiction?
Both, it could have been that we were posing in front of the camera, which it wasn’t (fiction). But it can also directly be seen as a candid picture, taken without our notice (fact).

How might a change of medium affect the meanings generated?
If the medium for instance was to be a painting, I think it will give it a whole different meaning. Paintings are usually a reflection of the mind state in which the artist is at a certain moment. Also, paintings can be imaginary and are not always snapshots. In contradiction to that, pictures are. Therefore you might wonder even more about what the characters might be looking at.

How might a change of shot size affect the meanings generated?
A close up in ones face might give the picture a whole different meaning, because then you might not even know that the person was sitting or actively looking at anything. It is possible that you might think that the person was staring at the sky and thinking/visioning something. Because you can now see the surroundings and the full body language of all 5 people involved it’s clearer for the viewer to see that there is something else going on, plus more people are interested in it.

How does one signifier relate to the others used (do some carry more weight than others)?
In relation to each other they are somehow all sitting in the position. Either with the fingers entwined or hand with the hand supporting the chin. Therefore I do not find that one distinguishes him or herself with more ‘weight’ of significance. In relation to one another they look fairly equal.

How does the sequential or spatial arrangement of the elements influence meaning?
The ‘elements’ in this case are the 5 people sitting influence the meaning of this picture with their body language. They are all doing ‘exact’ the same. You might wonder ‘Why? What makes all of them do this?’ - Could when choosing ‘video’ as a media – this arrangement be emphasized – for instance moving form one person/face to the next…? In that case I think it will emphasize the ‘story’ behind the composition. A moving shot will give more reality to what is happening. But to keep the viewer wondering about the story behind this photograph, it is better to keep it as a snapshot. A video is more relieving due to changing body languages in it.

How direct is the mode of address and what is the significance of this? (e.g. camera angle)
The camera angle is straight forward. This gives the viewer a full portrait of the characters in the picture. In case of a close up or shot from a different angle, the viewer might see it different/not see the whole picture and might interpret the picture different. Depending on what he or she might be seeing.

What insights has a semiotic analysis of this ‘text’ offered?
The insight I have gained from this semiotic analysis is that in photography you need ‘signs’ in visual terms in order to interpret or decode and so to be able to analyze it in terms of semiotics. This photograph is merely a snapshot of time and has no specific meaning unlike certain paintings or symbols have. It can convey different meanings for different people in terms of photography but no actual message of signification.

How important is choice of media form in communicating a certain message/meaning?
The choice of media is very important. Wrong media choice could resolve in misinterpretation or even not ‘reach’ the target group. Also the capturing by different type of media gives can give different meaning to things. Therefore you have to have reasonably enough knowledge of your target group so that the communication will be effective.


“Things have no intrinsic meaning and become signs only when we invest them with meaning.”

Digital sketchbook

The "sketches" below visualize my view of the minor Visual Communication & Knowledge Building. I tried to embed different aspects of VS as well as my understanding of VKB, such as the social web, eLearning, objects, portraits, etcetera..

*View for yourself

My vision on VKB

Like many others, I also have a tough time defining this concept in my own words.

The term visual knowledge building is a combination of two definitions which are visual knowledge building and visual communication.

At first you might therefore think that visual knowledge building could easily be defined as the ability to develop knowledge through visual aids. However, during this minor I have learned that this is not the only way of building knowledge. The mixture of both terms results in a creative approach of knowledge building. It is definitely safe to say that visual aids are often supported by text which enhances and/or helps to build knowledge.

This means that visual (communication &) knowledge building is a form of blended learning in which different aspects combined together optimize our capability to learn in a more efficient manner.

In contradiction of what you might expect of a ‘digital immigrant’, I do not think of myself as being a very visual person. Although we are surrounded be thousands of visual communication each day, I prefer to see myself as a more textual person. The reason for me not being as visual as a lot of other people nowadays is that I think that ‘good’ communication lies in speech and literature. Although visuals are effective and efficient in use, misinterpretation due to lack of explanation is something that happens often. When (modern) visuals are combined with text or words it has even better results, the same conclusion can be applied to traditional and modern techniques such as computers in combination with literature.

I support blended learning, because I see it as the best way to learn. The combination of traditional means as well as modern methods makes our learning process faster and easier. Visual knowledge building is not only a good way of learning for digital natives (myself), but for instance also digital immigrants (my mother) experience the benefits of blended learning.

The traditional way of learning is not a bad thing; just take a look all that has been established in the past. But at the same time you might also see that “building” knowledge of certain things used to be a slower process. For example, learning a foreign language 20 years ago used to be very different. Now you do not have to go to class or learn from books only, but instead you can follow e-classes from your own house. You can learn the same thing faster, due to traditional learning methods in combination with modern technology such as the internet with all its benefits.

Although modern technology in combination with human urge to discover new things has always been the reason for innovation (which is a huge factor for visual knowledge building), I do not know how visual knowledge building will manifest itself further in the coming years. It is not for me to foresee the future. But I do think that, seen developments and innovations in the past, that there will be more forms of blended learning available, having said that I haven’t got a clue what/when/how. An example of human innovations/futuristic inventions is the electronic newspapers, which are supposed to change the way we know newspapers now. This form of modern technology (personally I do not believe this will replace the current form of the newspaper as we know now anytime soon) is currently still in the developing-phase. It is supposed to a more efficient way of reading our daily newspaper, on which we can not only read the newspaper but also can participate in an interactive way and use for other purposes, such as surf the web, GPS, etcetera.

Participating (web 2.0) in social communities has almost become a human necessity these days. Almost everyone, who knows how to work with a computer, is somehow linked to a community on the web. Whether this community is based on learning, gaming, socializing, special interest, work or any other kind, most people are active on the web. I do think that in the future we will be more subordinated to functions of the World Wide Web. Having said this (people ‘connecting’ in all sorts of ways), the term Connectivism is also a very relevant learning theory during this minor.

This is a learning theory of the digital age developed by George Siemens and based on the limitations of the three broad conventional learning theories; Behaviorism, Cognitivism and Constructivism. These three theories were developed in a time when learning was not impacted through technology. Over the last twenty years, technology has shown how people live, communicate and learn. Effective learning techniques should be reflective of underlying social environments. Learning should be a way of an ongoing set of attitudes and actions by individuals and groups to keep abreast of new events. It should overlap social environments in order to bring across information in a known context (grey text from Jessica de Korte’s vision on VKB). According to George Siemens learning is not about knowing things, but more so it is about knowing how to discover and make the right connections with your mind between bits of information and doing so ‘creating’ new information. Because I agree with the definition of Connectivism and I find it being such a common process that everybody does, it is very possible that this theory, due to its modern approach, will (in the coming years) grow to be a theory which will be applicable to a lot of things.

In conclusion, I think that Visual (Communication &) Knowledge Building is a growing form of our modern age learning. We have already found different techniques which able us to learn ‘faster’ than before. Technology enhancements such as digital encyclopedia and search engines for instance have giving us the opportunity to learn (or find) things ‘faster’, due to saving time. Also blended learning such as e-learning wherefore we do not have to ‘travel’ to certain locations save us a lot of energy and time. We can now use the time and energy saved to ‘learn’. Modern technology also gives us the opportunity to communicate (mobile communication and internet) faster that ever before.

In the future maybe schools will implement this form of learning more into their systems. Whatever the outcome may be, VKB will manifest itself more into our learning.



- We are constantly building knowledge and now the time has come in which we are able to learn anything at anytime.

Posing

During this class all the students had to select a picture. Following to that we had to take 2 pictures. One while holding this photo and a second picture while trying to pose like what we saw on th photo. Picture "L" you can see me trying to enbody the photo that I chose (a doing heavy fisical labour, by carrying heavy jars of water on the beach). While studying this picture it was clear to see that the person on the picture does this work often, seen by his muscular body and the way he's doing what he does. My pose is not similar to his, but by holding my hands in that position I am trying to show the viewer that the photo has something to do with heavy fisical labour (as if I am trying to hold something heavy). The following class we did a assignment about this, in which we studied the second picture series that we took and tried to match them with the correct photographs. (Trust me, it wasn't always as easy as it seems, when people are trying to pose like "trees" or "buildings").

Instruction video

The assigntment was:
Make an instruction movie about a very special subject which is very common for you but not for others. The movie will give instruction to people who are initerested in this topic.

I think this instruction movie explains itself. No need for further explenation. I tried to make a simple instruction video which did not need an instructing voice(over) as well as moving film. This video consists out of pictures I took.

*Pardon my my editing skills.

In case of any problems during practise, contact me.

Below you can find a link to an instruction video that I found on YouTube. The video is totally different compared to the one I made. But despite the lack of real life video and instructions given I think they are both very informative, seen the different dimension of subject. The guy in the video breaks the dance down into easy-to-follow steps. At the end he does the complete dance.

Youtube: Instructional video "How to do the scuba hop" (click to view)

Photo sequence

I created a photo sequence in which an apple plays the lead role.

17 pictures.

1 apple.

Click here to download my photo sequence: "Moulding" an apple

Digital natives and Digital immigrants

These terms do not have so much to do with where people are from, but more about the periode they come from.

Today's generation, also known as digital natives, are a part of a speedy traditional anymore due to the fact that almost everything has become digital. Said that, the new generation continues to grow up with the digital technology such as computers, internet, mobile phones. mp3's, dvd's and many more..



As you can see in the picture above, a digital immigrant is elderly individual who grew up without digital technology and adopted it later. A digital native, is a younger person who basicly grew up with technology. Usually they are faster adapters to technological changes.