Get the Picture?

Using SOAPS-T-Tone and OPT-T-IC to Analyze Visuals

TCU

June 20-23, 2011

Ann Jackson

SOAPS-T-Tone

A tool for visuals, poetry, nonfiction

S—Subject

O—Occasion

A—Audience

P—Purpose

S—Speaker

(Techniques)

Tone

OPTIC

A method for unlocking meaning in visuals—art, graphs, charts

O—Overview

P—Parts

T—Title

(Techniques)

I—Interrelationships/inferences

C—Conclusion

1—Write one sentence describing the visual

2—Zero in on the individual details. List the important details.

3—Read the title. What new information do you gain? How does the title explain, expand, or illuminate your understanding of the visual?

4—Use the title as a “theory” and the parts as “clues” to detect and specify the interrelationships in the visual. Make inferences about the relationships between part/part, part/title, etc.

5—Sum up the message of the visual in one-two sentences. If the visual is part of a larger text, why was it included with the text?

Pauk, Walter. How to Study in College. 7th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2001.

Bound and Gagged by Dana Summers

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O______

A______

P______

S______

Techniques______

Tone______

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O______

P______

T______

Techniques______

I______

C______

Reading and Viewing form a single Strand of the English profile because visual texts, like written texts, involve the use of language to make meaning. Many of the skills and understandings relevant to the study of written and visual language are the same.

Contextual understandings relevant to the study of both written and visual texts:

·  Texts can be based on either fact or fiction

·  Texts are produced for specific purposes and audiences

·  The use of language depends on shared cultural understandings

·  Representations of social groups are often based on stereotyping

·  The meaning of a text is limited by the context in which it is read or viewed

·  A text may have different meanings for different people

·  Texts are influenced by the cultural background of their producers.

Linguistic structures and features common to both written and visual texts:

·  Narrative point of view

·  Sequence in plot and sub-plot

·  Narrative structures such as exposition and resolution

·  Expository structures such as introduction and conclusion

·  Setting

·  Characters

·  Stereotypes

·  Codes e.g. symbolic, technical and written.

Strategies used in the interpretation of both written and visual texts:

·  Using the title to establish expectations

·  Drawing on personal experience or knowledge of a topic to predict events and information

·  Using knowledge of the structure of text types to predict events or information

·  Predicting plot development based on cause-and effect relationships

·  Making connections between illustrations or images and written text

·  Self-correcting earlier predictions or interpretations on the basis of more experience of the text

·  Using knowledge of narrative structures to predict the likely endings

·  Adjusting strategies for different texts and different purposes

·  Drawing on experiences of objects, clothing, gestures and expressions to interpret characters

·  Scanning for information

·  Making predictions about plot based on setting and character types

·  Reflecting on the manipulation of chronological order in narratives

·  Identifying the purpose of a text and using this to guide interpretive strategies.

PHOTOGRAPHS AND PICTURES

Reading a Photograph or a Picture

How do we read Photographs and Pictures?

  1. Objects - shapes and figures which could be people, animals, places or objects. Some objects have been associated with certain emotions and feelings. An object can be used as a shortcut in a message but relies on the understanding of the symbol by the audience e.g. a lion is an animal but can also be used to symbolise bravery. Knowledge of the parts of a photograph (foreground, mid-ground and background) helps in the identification of specific objects, especially in a crowded picture.
  2. Size of the object of interest. Important objects are usually large and located in the foreground while small objects that are in the background are considered less important.
  3. Settings have symbolic significance and influence our response to a photograph- dry, country settings denote ruggedness and hardship while soft, green, rural settings suggest tranquillity.
  4. Colour - White denotes innocence and black denotes death in some cultures. Hindu people mourn in white and marry in red. Colour often represents the stereotypes for maleness and femininity in popular culture- soft, pastel colours are associated with feminine stereotypes while dark primary or metallic colours are seen as masculine by some groups.
  5. Position of objects, shapes and figures in photographs gives meaning e.g. centre, left, right, bottom, top, foreground, mid-ground, background and whether the objects are close together or far apart.
  6. Direction In what direction are the objects, figures, people, animal etc facing? Is it at the camera, past the camera or at a person or object in the photograph?
  7. Angle Where has the photographer placed us in the photo? A high angle shows dominance by the object that we are viewing while a low angle or us looking down on the object shows submission by the object being viewed. Equality is shown through the representation of an eye level point of view.
  8. Light Different lighting effects or colours can provide meaning e.g. soft, yellow light or back lighting creates a halo effect and can suggest innocence. Overexposed lighting suggests heat while underexposed light suggests coolness or an enclosed feeling. Settings can be confirmed through time of day clues provided through the representation of light.
  9. Body Language - posture, gesture and facial expression all tell about the way that we are feeling and thinking. Animals are often portrayed with body language to develop humour.
  10. Clothing reflects or our personality and can also be a symbol of period, culture and status.
    (Adapted from: Quin, R., McMahon, B., Quin, R., 1996, Using Visual Texts in Primary and Secondary

http://wwwfp.education.tas.gov.au/english/vislit.htm

Also see: http://delicious.com/ann_jackson (under this link, scroll down the RIGHT hand side to the TAG labeled VISUALS

Ann Jackson 1 2010