In this advert we can see an outstretched arm being held up by metal brackets, holding a camera. There is a small logo in the top left hand corner, and underneath the camera it says “introducing the anti-handshake E-620”.
Who the arm belongs to is quite enigmatic; you can’t tell how old the person is, only that it is not a child or elderly person’s arm so the advert is probably appealing to middle/youngish aged people. The gender of the person is not specified; as although it looks like a woman’s arm as it’s quite dainty and small, if the advert creators wanted it to be known that it was a woman they could have had nail polish on the nails or even had the nails cut into less of a generalised shape. Rather than appealing to one gender they’re saying that both men and women can use this camera. The skin colour of the person is white, and I don’t think there’s a deep meaning in this, just that this is the colour of the majority of the population. Most people see someone with black skin as someone who stands out and is different, even if they’re not discriminating against them they will still notice them; so rather than having a dark skinned arm which will stand out and maybe make people question why about it, they have used a general skin colour.
There is no indication of the social class, except maybe someone who can afford cameras like these. There is no clothing shown which ties in with that fact that we can’t tell what social class the person belongs in. We can’t even see what facial expression the person has; usually advert creators will make people look very happy and pleased with whatever they’re doing which makes you feel like if you buy the product you will feel the same. However, the camera lens reminds me of an eye, and as it’s looking directly at us it makes it feel more targeted and personal, even though it’s just a camera looking at us.
The posture of the arm is rigid and stretched. It is being held in this position by thick, metal brackets stretching around the arm, which are restraining it and keeping it in this position, to signify the anti-handshake effect to stop pictures blurring that this camera has. The hand is grasping a camera and has a finger on the shutter, as if it is ready to take a picture. The camera looks unbalanced and uneven, as though you wouldn’t be able to hold it like that and take a photo, but the metal brackets are completely supporting the arm.
The advert could have included other people, maybe showing their arms too or lots of people using the camera, but I think the simple image works well at getting the message across. In my opinion, it connotes that you don’t need a team of professionals to take a good picture, you don’t even need more than one arm; with this camera you can easily take one.
This advert just uses a simple camera shot, normal lighting and a plain background. The light source is obviously coming from in front and slightly to the left as we can see the shadows behind the arm and camera, and all of it is in focus and clear, down to the detailed writing on the camera lens. I think this advert is quite open and simple, there isn’t necessarily a denotative meaning to it or many semiotics, it’s just clear and simple; much like taking a clear, focused picture with this camera.
The logo is in the top left hand corner, and if you read this text using the Z theory you will first of all see the logo, then the camera, then the restrained or supported arm, depending how you see it. The background is a bluey grey colour which is very neutral and calming, yet also ties in with the colour of the brackets.
There isn’t a narrative or even a title. The only indication of what type the camera is comes from the brand on the camera and the tiny writing underneath which tells us the model. The camera is promising clear, focused images, which we know because it says “anti-handshake”, yet even if that wasn’t there you would probably jump to that conclusion because there is no other reason for a hand to be held in tightly by these metal bars. So seeing as it can make us realise what it’s advertising, it gets the message across well.
http://www.adsora.com/files/media/olympus-digital-camera.jpg
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