IMAGE

Sudan Child and Vulture Image Analysis- Brandon Loureiro

IMAGE

Andrew Unvericht

Evaluate an Image

October 3, 2011

Professor Tom Hammond

Evaluate an Image

The image that I choose was the cover of a book about Ben-Hur that I had in my room when assigned this assignment. It was very appealing to me because it shows a great scene from the movie that can be viewed many different ways but it will still remain beautiful. The image represents a pinnacle scene from the movie, which shows the protagonist, Judah Ben-Hur during a chariot race. I the main reason I choose this image is because it has many aspects that we went over in class and also is a very beautiful image from one of my favorite movies. I’m not quite sure if it is the best image to analyze because it can’t be interpreted to many ways but it still represents something both beautiful and expansive.

I thought I would start off by going over the details that we talked about in class. First of all the picture is presented in open frame and widescreen, which allows the viewer to see more of the image. Its open frame shows that there is much more that can be going on that we cannot see. It is a dynamic image because it shows the films protagonist in a chariot moving from end of the image to another, which implies that he is racing away from something. In the background we can see that there are more people in the chariots and that there is an audience watching said chariot race. The audience is also a bit blurry which implies that the main protagonist is far away from the audience while the other racers in the image are much closer to them.

Now I am going to move onto the color of the image. The image is lacking color in certain areas but the majority of the color is there to represent the main protagonist and the chariot that he is currently in. I personally found this to be the best part of the image because it shows that the man in the chariot is the main character and that everything going around him is not as important as the main characters journey throughout the film. I thought it was a good thing to do to the image because it lets the main character, Judah Ben-Hur, stands out in a crowded image like the one I picked. I don’t know how to explain the color theme but it was a good choice in my opinion and I think it makes the image beautiful and a work of art even if it is just a movie still.

The distance of the image is a medium shot with a long shot background. I feel that it is better if it is a medium shot because it focuses more on the main character rather than focusing what going on around him. It lets the person who is viewing the image to know that this is the character that the story is going to focus on and how he is the person who is triumphant in the scene that the image is depicting. There is a lot going on in the image and it is a good quality to focus on who the character is and how he relates to the rest of the image. As I asked my brother and his girlfriend about the image and how they thought about it they had the same reaction to the image that I did. My brother specifically feels that it is an image that is meant to represent the main character and his girlfriend spoke about the motion of the picture and how it represented what the main character was doing in the image.

I think that the image best displays that main character and what he is doing in the picture. I liked the picture when I saw it and thought that it would work well for this project. It is a beautiful image that really makes me think more about the image from the film and how I feel about the way it is shown. Like I said earlier I choose this image because it depicts a great scene from one of the most entertaining films that I’ve seen.

Close Analysis of an Image

Matt Borzomati

October 4, 2011

Visual Literacy

Hammond

Close Analysis of an image

The image I chose to analyze was a photograph of Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, home of the Philadelphia Phillies, before the conclusion of the 2008 World Series. As a diehard Phillies this photo is of significant value to me and will always remind of me of the first World Series won by the Phillies in over 25 years. The reason this photo can be studied is that it is a relic of time and cannot be changed. I remember looking at photos of ebbets field and the polo grounds and seeing how different things were then, in another 50 years someone can look at this photo and say the same thing and they will still know what took place because baseball should always stay the same. From my point of view, many people may not agree, but I can feel the life at the ballpark just looking at it. The players waiting for the pitch to be thrown, the thousands of fans in the crowd all are watching the same thing, and the colors that are seen because of the light towers with a dark sky.

The preferred reading of this photo can be simple, it’s just a baseball field, but it can also be read complex by picking apart each individual aspect of the field and the atmosphere. When I look at this photo I think of the movement that transpired just seconds after it was taken, the players moving after and the crowd either cheering or booing for the outcome of the play. Obviously I see these things because of my passion for the team and the game but also for what baseball stands for in my life. as someone who does not always see eye to eye with my father the one thing that we always had in common is baseball so we use it as a bridge to become closer, not to sound cliché but my father and I are closer because of the game. I believe that someone who is not a fan of baseball can still enjoy this photo because of the completeness that it portrays it is very full and balanced on an artistic level and the lines draw the viewers eyes to where they need to go to fully recognize what they are looking at. Whenever I will look at this image I will remember what happened and how I felt when it did so I can imagine that it could have the same effect on other people and also makes me realize what an image can do.

Looking at this image from a contractual standpoint the viewer’s eyes are brought first to the field itself then draws out to the crowd in a way that works more than it would if there were no fans and it was just a baseball field. The foul poles are used as a frame and helps focus in on everything in between them, the field, the screen, and the play. These things are everything that you need to be paying attention to in the image and the poles indirectly help do that. The levels of the stands give a better idea of the depth of the stadium and lets people know how many people are there and how they saw what we are looking at from their perspective. The light coming off of the screen is the only distraction of the image and can get in the way of someone’s view of the image. However it is also balanced out on the other side of the illuminated liberty bell, which is perfectly framed against the black background of Philadelphia. In my opinion you do not need to be a baseball fan to enjoy this image if you just sit back and look at it in the perspective of movement and what is to come.

IMAGE ANALYSIS STUDY LIST

Here is a list of topics we will cover this week in class. This will be of help for your paper due on Tuesday, October 4th. If you wish, you may bring in a photo of your choice for class discussion.

IMAGE ANALYSIS

FRAME
• Open
• Closed
• Aspect Ratio (Academy, Widescreen, Scope)

LENS
• Long/Telephoto
• Standard
• Wide Angle
• Fish Eye
• Zoom
• Anamorphic

SUBJECT
• Static
• Dynamic

DISTANCE
• ExLS
• LS
• MLS
• MS
• MCU
• CU
• ExCU

ANGLE
• High
• Middle
• Low
• Dutch/Canted

DEPTH
• Field
• Focus
• Rack Focus

LIGHTING
• Available
• High Key
• Low Key
• Three Point

COLOR
• Black & White
• Naturalistic
• Saturated
• De-saturated
• Two & Three Strip Processes
• Dye Transfer

TEXTURE
• Film Speed
• Grain

MOVEMENT (Fixed Camera)
• Pan
• Tilt

MOVEMENT (Mobile Camera)
• Hand Held
• Dolly In & Out
• Track Left & Right
• Crane Up & Down
• Steadicam
• Zolly