Meaning And Choice In Modalities: Multimodal Discourse Analysis Of Apple Launch Event

From 1990 s on, multimodal discourse analysis(MDA) has broken the limitations of discourse analysis, and enabled people to focus more on other semiotic modes,such as soundtrack, color, and background. This thesis explores the Apple Launch Event(ALE) on September 9th, 2014. To understand the functions of modalities better,a qualitative study is carried out by focusing on a six-minute video out of the ALE. It firstly reviews the previous studies on ALE and MDA, and then builds a theoretical foundation based on metafunctions in systemic functional grammar and visual grammar. Drawing on Baldry and Thibault’s frame analysis, the present study is an investigation in macro- and micro-aspects. In order to have a systemic analysis, three steps are taken: description(describe the choice of modalities in ALE), interpretation(interpret their meaning), and explanation(explain their function). The focus of the account here is on how modalities interact with meaning, and how they convey and construct representational, interactive, and compositional meanings.Apart from language, the power of ALE is multiplied when modalities are co-deployed, like kinesic action, visual focus and perspective. The performer could create a feeling of harmony through the combination of actions and language or the deployment of visual images. To make sure all viewers are engaged, the video’s editor chooses proper modalities to convey messages, such as camera position, distance and color. Among these modalities, 71% of camera position is stationary, so as to capture the movement of the performer; 81% of vertical perspective is median with an attempt to level an equal status. A specific choice of modality could spark the audience’interest and engagement. Lastly, the thesis considers ALE as a unified text, revealing that modalities could convey representational meaning and interactive meaning, and the transitional frames and covariate ties construe compositional meaning.This thesis critically investigates how visual discourse of ALE is represented by modalities. Its theoretical accounts and practical guides may shed light on the future.In its theoretical aspect, it may broaden the text types and ranges of MDA from a different perspective. It again proves Halliday’s(1978) view that “all semiotic modes could convey meaning”. Furthermore, the study of the interaction of these semiotic resources affords a better understanding of multimodal texts. It also presents us with some new ideas on how to make a successful and attractive launch event.