Language: Reading an image - advert analyses

RBK 50 cent advert

Denotation/ connotation - a black and white picture of 50 cent in front of a black background with light shining down on him. That is the main image and the secondary imagine is the fingerprints on the right hand side of the advert. On top of the fingerprint picture is a quote said by 50 cent. The fingerprints may represent criminal acts and the black and white colours show the either 1 or 2 feeling like a life or death feeling.

Colour - the designer of the advert chose to use black and white for the advert. This represents the split between things like happy and sad, life or death, 1 or 2 etc. I think its very effective since nothing really stands out so the audience doesn't focus on one point only but actually focus on the advert as a whole. 

Pose - The image of 50 cent just standing there makes him look tough and rigid. His posture makes him seem serious as hes not doing any silly actions. The seriousness is good as his quote is quite meaningful and very serious also. in other words, it matches with each other.

Framing - There is no framing to the image but the advert is s split down the middle. Only one line breaks the split and that line is 'I am what I am' where the split is after the first two words. Perhaps it is to show when to take the pause within the line.

Composition - The designer of this advert decided to split the advert in half putting one side with a picture of 50 cent and the other side with a quote from 50 cent and another line he said which breaks the split between the two sides. The placement of 'I am what I am' is especially nice as the split between I am and what I am is almost like the pause to take when saying it or reading it in your head.

Size - The image sizes each take one half of the adverts size. On top of the secondary picture (the fingerprints), there is a quote on the top right and underneath that quote, there is another quote that is bigger in font which may suggest that it's the more important message.

Type of shot - It is a close up photo of 50 cent. To have him standing there on the left hand side of the advert can be so powerful because of what happened to him, he is still alive and standing and that's why having his close up is useful. He is looking directly at the camera which makes the overall feeling of the picture look more serious.

Subject matter - 50 Cent is known for getting shot at several times and surviving it afterwards. Despite all the scars, he is still living his life and that's a strong message coming from him. If he can come back from something as horrific as that, you have no excuse not to.

Setting - the designer of this advert decided to put him on a black background which I think may have two reasons why. Firstly, it doesn't drag our focus away from everything else and secondly, to create that darkness feeling around him and put emphasis on him.

Lighting - The lighting used on 50 cent is shining on him from the top right but further towards us. This lights up his face to see his expression but mainly to show his scar on his left arm. By shining the light on his scar, it emphasises the seriousness of his injuries.

Heinz ketchup

Denotation/ connotation - The denotation is a bottle of Heinz with some tomatoes inside. The bottle of it states 'what you see is what you get'. A connotation may be that all Heinz tomato ketchup's are made with 100% tomatoes. The sub-line 'what you see is what you get' is hinting at the fact that Heinz ketchup is literally just a load of tomatoes.

Colour - There are only three colours used including the image and the background. These are red, green and white. Red represents the tomatoes and the colour connotes to love which may mean that we all love Heinz tomatoes so we should love their ketchup too. The green is used on the bottle and the tops of the tomatoes. Green is like a sign of nature or Eco friendly so it is saying that they use natural ingredients and are Eco friendly. Then there's the colour white which is the entire background and parts of the bottle. The whit on the background suggests pureness and it doesn't make us focus on it because it's such a normal colour we don't usually pay attention to.

Pose - The image of the bottle is upright on some sort of mirror surface. The bottle is glass, its strong its durable. 

Framing - here is no frame to this picture. Perhaps this is to show the freedom of the product as in if you buy the Heinz ketchup, you will feel free as if there's no barriers holding you back form anything.

Composition - The image of the bottle is straight in the middle where it is also the main image and the only image of the entire advert. By choosing not to have a secondary image, it means all of the focus is directed onto that single image.

Size - The main image is quite large and takes up most of the space of the advert but since there is only one image, no space is required for anything else.

Type of shot - The type of shot is a close up of the bottle and the angle is straight forward. There are no angles used, it's just a shot right at the bottle.

Subject matter - There is only one subject, that is the bottle of tomatoes. It is also the product that is being advertised about, so all the importance is aimed at that bottle. 

Setting - The background of this advert is white with it slowly darkening around the corners. In addition, the bottle is in the middle so it may show that the background was supposed to be black but because of the ketchup, the area around it turns bright.

Lighting - The lighting looks like its coming form the back of the bottle. It almost seems like movies when you see heaven and someone is standing in front of you and the light is shining at their backs. So this could mean the bottle of ketchup is godly.