On the Commercial of iPhone 5: Perspective from Multimodal Transcription and Analysis

【Abstract】 The present study applies a multimodal approach to demonstrate the features of the commercial of iPhone 5. Following the analytical frameworks of functional semiotic account of images by Kress & van Leeuwen （2006）， and music soundtracks by Barton & Unsworth （2014） from two semiotic resources--image， and music， the roles of which are further stressed， and implications can be found in the choice of background music in the design of commercials.

【Key Words】 multimodal approach; semiotic resources; music; commercial; iPhone 5

【作者簡介】尹筱藝（1995-），女，漢族，四川樂至人，西南財經(jīng)大學，碩士研究生，研究方向：語料庫語言學和翻譯學。

1. Introduction

Multimodality， interpreted by OHalloran （2011）， the study of language in combination with other resources， such as images， scientific symbolism， gesture， action， music and sound， is referred to as multimodal discourse analysis， multimodal analysis， multimodal semiotics and multimodal studies. Multimodality， thus in some ways， is concerned with the semiotic choices in multimodal phenomena.

The text for this study is a commercial video of iPhone 5： One of the most remarkable ones can be traced back to the commercial video of iPhone 5 released in 2012， which has been designed right sticking to the point in highlighting the use of camera， named Photos Every Day， also kept tight to this feature. The video lasts for 1 minute， demonstrating photos taken with iPhone 5 under various circumstances in order to show the powerful shooting function.

2. Literature Review

The idea of multimodality has been studies since the 4th century BC， focusing on the voice， gesture， and expressions in public speaking （Wysocki， 2002）. OHalloran （2001） explores possible directions for advancing multimodal analysis through the use of digital technology， consolidating the role of technology in real time interactive and realistic visualization during the multimodal analysis. OHalloran （2011） also discusses the multimodal discourse analysis in context， suggesting the major challenge of this analytical approach， which lies in the management of detail and complexity in retrieving multimodal semantics patterns within and across complex multimodal phenomena. Barton & Unsworth （2014） probes into the book and movie versions of Shaun Tans The Lost Thing， drawing attention to the role of music in highlighting key interpretive differences deriving from subtle variation in the use of image and language in the two story versions.

3. Methodology

A prominent characteristic of the commercial lies in the advancement of various scenes and the constantly changing images construct several phases， with each presenting a micro-theme and motif. The softwares ELAN 5.2 and Transana Multiuser 3.10b are taken into use so as to conduct the analyses.

4. Transcription and Text Analysis

By observing the commercial video and with the assistance of the softwares， seven phases are divided according to certain themes.Phase 1： The Beginning--The Phone as a Whole （Time Code 00：00-00：13）Phase 2： Take Photos （Time code 00：13-00：19） Phase 3： Shoot Videos （00：23-00：28） Phase 4： Present Camera Functions （Time Code 00：30-00：33） Phase 5： Rotation of People Taking Photos （Time Code 00：37-00：40） Phase 6： Photos in the Day and Night （Time Code 00：45-00：50） Phase 7： The Ending-Emergence of Logo and Human Voice （Time Code 00：50-00：59）

5. Conclusions

The iPhone 5 commercial is a representative one in successfully introducing the camera function to the world. One-minute duration for a commercial video might be too long to appreciate at once without switching the channel for the audiences to watch behind the television. From the multimodal analysis of the two semiotic resources， the roles image and music are further stressed， and more emphases should be put on the choice of these two elements in future design of commercials.

References：

[1]Wysocki，A.F.（2002）Teaching writing with computers：Anintroduction（3rded.）.Boston，MA：Houghton-Mifflin，182-201.