Viewing Elements
At Standard, students understand that texts have different text structures depending on purpose and context. They explain how language features, images and vocabulary are used to engage the interest of audiences.
Viewing activities
An Example of Analysing a Multimodal Text Used to Explain: Travel Brochure
- The cover establishes the general subject matter (or field) as a description of the tourist destination of Magnetic Island. It is a brochure intended to provide information to potential tourists.
- Anonymous people (participants) are swimming in the water or lying on the beach. There are relatively few of them and they are shown in the distance, dwarfed by the size of the beach; the landscape itself becomes the main actor and circumstance, providing a haven for people to relax. This is a transactional image.
- The strong line (or vector) created by the curve of the beach draws the viewer’s attention to the print information, and invites the viewer to turn the page.
- Information inside the brochure is classified under headings. The headings describe the attractions of the island hierarchically, with the most important information first. Descriptive photos, maps and short passages of print supply the detail under each heading.
- The main actor on the cover is the beach. The angle places the point of view above and slightly removed from the participant; this makes the gaze an offer rather than a demand. As the people on the beach are minimised, the viewer is positioned outside the image, looking in. This is emphasised by the strong framing of the main image, suggesting the viewer has a privileged window into the scene.
- The use of saturated colour photos together with strong, bright lighting emphasises the realism (or naturalness) of the image.
- The cover image displays a clear line between the ‘ideal’ and the ‘real’. The ‘ideal’ is at the top of the picture, showing the beach and people relaxing. The ‘real’ is at the bottom, with the title and the producer of the text. The most prominent image (or salience) is achieved by the beach landscape of Magnetic Island; it is presented as the place for a select few people to enjoy themselves in the sun.