Assignment B: About the Redwolf

Project

Introduction
In todays society, visual communication is equally important to organisations as written com-
munication is. Visual communication can convey several messages, and there is always a purpose
to this type of communication. This paper will conduct a multimodal discourse analysis of Grund-
fos corporate video About the Redwolf Project in order to account for the discursive purpose,
which the video may hold. This analysis will be achieved by the use of Iedemas three metafunc-
tions: representation, orientation and organisation (Iedema 2001). Furthermore, aspects of
Kress and van Leeuwens (2006) theory on social distance, viewer perspective, and involvement
between viewer and participant will be applied. Based on the findings of this analysis, this paper
will produce a conclusion where an interpretation of the discursive strategies and their conse-
quences will be given.
Moreover, it is important to note that Iedema (2001) proposes six levels of analysis of social se-
miotics, but this paper has decided not to focus on these, but primarily focus on the three meta-
functions, which are a part of the same analysis.

Analysis of About the Redwolf Project

Videos, films, television and all types of moving images are what Iedema (2001:187) calls re-
presentations; they are products which construct times and spaces. Therefore, it is necessary to
conduct a social semiotics analysis in order to account for the discourses present in a video. So-
cial semiotics focus on the issue of how the viewer interprets the values and messages of a film
(Iedema 2001:187). As stated in the introduction, this analysis will be done by applying the three
metafunctions (representation, orientation, and organisation) by Iedema (2001) to the corporate
video of Grundfos. These three metafunctions are performed simultaneously in a video, but this
paper will go through them separately.

Representation

The first metafunction, representation, gives an explanation about the world as it is depicted in
the video; it considers how the meanings of the video are represented verbally, visually and
sound-wise (Iedema 2001:191). In the beginning of Grundfos corporate video it is stated by the
journalist, Niki Vraast-Thomsen, who can be considered as the main actor of this video, that the
purpose of the representation is to discover what the Redwolf Project actually is. The journalist is
represented as being the actor who investigates Grundfos and thereby conducting interviews

with the group executive vice president of Grundfos, Sren Srensen, and with the manager of
the Redwolf Project, Steen Tffner. Furthermore, the journalist also walks around the facilities of
Grundfos alongside the vice president where he is given insight to the production of Grundfos
products. To sum up, the journalist is represented as an outsider, who is there to discover the se-
crets of the Redwolf project.
The music of a video can also play an important part in the viewers understanding of a video,
and music is also an important element in the video. A logo of a red wolf on a black background,
and it has the capture Red Wolf Project introduces the video. The music is modern and dra-
matic; it implies mystery and that there is something unknown about Grundfos and this project.
This musical piece is consistent throughout the entire introduction, emphasising that something
is about to happen; another interesting aspect of the introduction is the sounds which can be
heard although the music is still on. The first sound appears right after the wolf logo, where the
shot changes to a pack of running wolves; here the viewer can hear a switching noise, which is
something that is often heard in old videos when reeling, and it is also usually a feature, which is
used in movies, where something frightening is about to happen most often it is in horror mov-
ies where the actors film the actions with a handheld camera and they record the happenings by
themselves. Thus the sound amplifies that something is about to happen. When first introduced
to the journalist, other types of sounds occur these are primarily background noise such as the
fountain in front of him, and the road and the cars behind him. The journalist is also introduced
outside where the weather is rainy and grey, which also makes the viewer relate to something
negative and mysterious. The mysterious music track is not disturbed by the fact that the journal-
ist starts speaking; the volume has merely been reduced in order to not disturb his speech. The
music becomes lighter and more upbeat when the viewer is introduced to the vice president; this
indicates that something good is about to happen, and an answer might be obtained. The shift
in music is synchronised with the vice presidents words welcome to Grundfos (Grundfos
2012). Additionally, the light changes, and the atmosphere and the mood of the video become
lighter and warmer. This up-beat and light music continues throughout the sequence with the
vice president; the music changes once again when the journalist leaves the vice president. Then
the music becomes calmer, but it still modern and technological, and the viewer is introduced to
the manager of the Redwolf Project, who gives the journalists answers, which is also why the
calmer music is now used. Then the video changes to the journalist walking, and the same music
from the beginning appears once again this indicates that one mystery has been solved, but
there are many more to come, and once more the shots changes with the same switching noise
as in the beginning, and this indicates that more mysteries will come and the entire truth has not
been discovered. This message is also conveyed in the end shot, where the text to be continued
(Grundfos 2012). There is coherence in the music, since all the musical pieces belong to the same
genre; they belong to the electronic and modern genre of music, which allows the viewer to cre-
ate associations with technological development (Iedema 2001:192). To sum up on music and

sounds; both elements are present, and it is clear that the choice of music also holds a message,
which supports the viewer in his or her interpretation of the reality represented in the video.
The last thing, which this paper will cover under the heading of representation, is the speech of
the actors in the video. It is primarily the journalist who talks, and the way he talks and what he
says indicate that he is an external journalist who has come to investigate Grundfos and the Red-
wolf Project in order to reveal secrets about the company and the project. His act of speech and
the way the video is made make the viewer associate him with the famous Danish journalist
Morten Spiegelhauer, who is known from the Danish TV-programme Operation X, where he is
trying to uncover illegal acts in the Danish society. The video made by Grundfos is very similar to
Operation X, both when it comes to appearance of the journalist to how the shots are construct-
ed; Danish viewers might observe this association immediately, whereas international viewers
might not, because they might not be familiar with this type of programme. The video is sup-
posed to serve as a type of TV-programme.

Orientation

The second metafunction, orientation, has to do with how the characters of the movie and the
viewers are positioned according to meanings (Iedema 2001:192). First, this paper will look at
the use of camera angles. The camera angle functions as the viewers perspective, and this per-
spective allows the viewer to create a subjective attitude towards the character represented
(Kress and van Leeuwen 2006:129).
The journalist is seen from two angles: a low angle and eye-level angle, the latter is the most
dominant one, indicating that the journalist is on the same social level when it comes to symbolic
power (Jewitt and Oyama 2001:135). The journalist is only seen from a low angle two times, and
thereby indicating that he has some symbolic power over the viewer, since he is the one investi-
gating this project, and this symbolic power is also stated, when he says I am here to find out
what it is (Grundfos 2012). However, the eye-level angle is the dominant one, and it emphasises
equality; this equality between the viewer and the journalist can also be related to the interaction
and involvement of the viewer. Involvement is seen in the social distance of the shots in the vid-
eo. Medium shots are shots from the waist and up, and correspond to the personal social interac-
tion from the viewers world (Kress and van Leeuwen 2006:124-125). When the journalist starts
speaking, he is seen from a medium shot, indicating that there is a certain social distance be-
tween him and the viewer. This type of shot in this scene is relevant because the viewer is still
not familiar with the journalist, but he gives the viewer information, which might improve their
relationship and it does, because as the video progresses, the shots become closer. Close shots,
consisting of head and shoulders, suggests that the viewer is or should become intimate and per-
sonal with the object represented (Kress and van Leeuwen 2006:124), and there are several
shots in the video, where the journalist is seen from a close shot, there are even shots where the
frame and thereby the social distance is almost too close, indicating a very personal and intimat-
ing relationship the trust between the viewer and the journalist is considered immense. The

close and medium shots suggest that the viewer and the journalist are very personal. However, as
mentioned, the journalist and the viewer did not have a personal relationship from the begin-
ning; this is evident since in the beginning, the journalist is seen from a long shot with his back
turned to the viewer. Thus, a shot of this type and his position suggest that the journalist and the
viewer were not familiar to each other in the beginning (Kress and van Leeuwen 2006:125).
Kress and van Leeuwen (2006:136) argue that the horizontal angle defines the involvement and
detachment of the viewer and the represented participants. The introducing scene is quickly
changed and the viewer is then introduced to the journalist by a close, frontal shot. Throughout
the video the journalist keeps this personal distance with the viewer, and is in fact the only rep-
resented participant, who actually engages the viewer by looking directly at the camera. His gaze
indicates that the journalist is there to inform the viewer and to provide the viewer with answers
about Grundfos and the Redwolf Project.
The second person, who the viewer is introduced to, is the receptionist at Grundfos, she is obvi-
ously not an important person because she is seen from an oblique angle, which indicates that
the viewer cannot align with her and thereby she is not a part of the viewers world (Kress and
van Leeuwen 2006: 134, 136). The receptionist is shown from a medium shot, but is hidden be-
hind the counter, and thereby further away from the viewer.
The third person is the group executive vice president, Sren Srensen. Similar to the journalist,
he is seen from a frontal angle indicating a personal relationship with the viewer. The angles are
primarily at eye-level signifying that although he is the vice president of Grundfos and holds a lot
of power; he is not superior to the viewer (Jewitt and Oyama 2001:135). There are also numer-
ous frontal shots of the vice president, indicating that the involvement between the viewer and
him is big, and thereby the viewer feels as if he or she is part of the represented world. Thus, the
social distance is regarded as personal, because there is a majority of medium-close shots, but
there are also shots that are very close, which creates instances of intimacy and this creates a
trust relationship between the represented participant and the viewer (Kress and van Leeuwen
2006:124-125). Contrasting the journalist, the vice president never looks directly at the camera
and thereby the viewer he looks at his interviewer; this absence of eye-contact creates an inter-
ruption in the relationship between the vice president and the viewer. Furthermore, it counter-
acts the videos attempt to make the viewer identify with the vice president, and thereby with the
organisation of Grundfos (Kress and van Leeuwen 2006:118). There are shots which represent
both the journalist and the vice president, and these shots are mainly seen from a long distance,
and usually the represented participants are not in the foreground; these shots signify that these
two persons are walking around the large facilities of Grundfos, and that this is the world, which
they are represented in.
The problem of absence of eye-contact and relation between the represented participant and the
viewer is also a problem for the manager of the Redwolf Project, Steen Tffner, who is the last
person to be introduced to the viewer. As with the vice president, the project manager does not
look at the viewer, but only at the interviewer. The relationship between the viewer and the pro-

ject manager is improved by the fact that he is represented from a close shot and a very close
shot of his face. What is characteristic about the project manager is the way he is introduced; he
is introduced in a long shot, where his full figure is visible, the special feature of this shot is the
angle, which is low. This low angle and long shot direct the viewer to believe that this man holds
all the power when it comes to the Redwolf Project, more specifically he holds the knowledge,
which is here regarded as power. Moreover, he is the one who can provide all the answers to the
questions, which the viewer (and the journalist) might have. To sum up, the represented charac-
ters in the video are seen from two types of angles: a low and an eye-level angle. This indicates
that the represented participants either hold more symbolic power than the viewer, or they hold
the same amount of symbolic power as the viewer, but it is important to note that there are no
shots where the viewer holds symbolic power over the represented participants. Additionally,
the represented participants are primarily seen from a frontal angle, which emphasises that there
should be a relationship between the represented participants and the viewer, which is in
agreement with the majority of the close shots where the purpose is to increase the involvement
of the viewer.
Another way to observe how meaning positions the represented participants and the viewers is
by looking at the camera; to be more specific, it is valuable to look at the movements of the cam-
era. By having a moving camera, the represented world can construct a feeling of dynamism and
action (Iedema 2001:192). In the video about the Redwolf Project, there are only few shots
where the camera moves, and thereby creating dynamism; the first moving shot is the very brief
shot of two wolves running through a forest the camera follows these two wolves from the side
for a couple of seconds (Grundfos 2012). Another shot where the camera follows the represented
participants is where the journalist, Niki Vraast-Thomsen, and the vice president, Sren Sren-
sen, walk down the production facilities of Grundfos here the camera is in front of the two par-
ticipants and it moves backwards in order to capture their forward movement. Another type of
movement is seen when the journalist has departed with the vice president and is on his way to
visit the manager of the project, Steen Tffner; here the camera does not follow the journalist in
actual movement, but from a low angle it follows his movement by turning in his direction. The
cameras view is obstructed by a construction pillar, indicating that the camera is hidden from
the view of the represented participant the position of the camera makes the viewer associate it
with a wolf stalking and hunting its prey; it is actually the viewer who is represented as the wolf
on a hunt a hunt for answers. This wolf-metaphor can also be used in the following shot, where
the viewer is introduced to Steen Tffner, the project manager; the camera closes in on the non-
moving project manager from a low angle like a wolf closing in on its prey, giving the viewer the
feeling that the project manager is the prey, who holds all the answers to this hunt.
As specified implicitly, the camera is mostly steady, and by keeping its distance it represents a
more natural world, where the actions are not forced to happen. Moreover, the video is a video
about the Redwolf Project, and therefore the camera should keep its distance in order to give the
project and thereby Grundfos credibility. However, despite the camera being steady, there is still

movement, and dynamism. One special type of dynamism is created by the journalist, who at one
point walks towards the camera while talking to the viewer (Grundfos 2012). Another type of
dynamism and urgency is created in the beginning, where the viewer is introduced to the Red-
wolf Project; the shots change quickly and thereby adding to the discourse that this project is
mysterious, exciting, and even dangerous. Particularly the shot with the wolves captures the at-
tention of the viewer, because people in Western societies usually see wolves as wild and dan-
gerous animals, and therefore the viewer will associate the Redwolf Projects as something dan-
gerous. After the shot with the wolves, the shots become longer, and the change in shots and
scenes becomes steadier, which decreases the urgency of the message. Thus the viewer believes
that the truth and answer is near, however the video breaks with this belief by changing the
speed of the shots and scenes in the end. Niki Vraast-Thomsen, the journalist, proposes a new set
of intriguing questions that need to be investigated and solved, and he lets the story about the
project continue; the viewer is left with no real truth, but instead there is a burning desire to dis-
cover everything about the Redwolf Project.

Organisation

The last metafunction, as proposed by Iedema (2001), is organisation. Organisation is the

metafunction that is concerned with how the meanings of a video are integrated and made co-
herent (Iedema 2001:192). Iedema (2001) argues that a video is enforced a special discourse and
semiotic structure by editing the material; by linking the elements of the video together, the mes-
sage and the discourse is stronger.
There are several examples of how meanings are linked together in the video about Grundfos
Redwolf Project. The element that serves as the main link is the journalist; he gives the video a
narrative and coherent structure because he is a part of almost every shot and scene either ex-
plicitly as represented in an action, or implicitly as being the interviewer conducting interviews
with the vice president and the project manager. The journalist is the represented participant
who guides the viewer and gives the viewer an overview of the investigation. The journalist func-
tions as the viewers link and therefore he is the one who creates coherence. The video also con-
tains other links links between represented characters. The receptionist in the beginning in-
forms the reader and the journalist that vice president, Sren Srensen is ready, and thereby a
link between the current scene and the following has been created the viewer assumes that the
man entering the representation is Sren Srensen, vice president of Grundfos, and in that sense
he is not a stranger to the viewer. This type of link occurs once more in the film, when the jour-
nalist introduces Steen Tffner, the project manager. There he states that there is no better man
to ask than Redwolf program manager Steen Tffner (Grundfos 2012); the viewer has now been
informed that a new person will enter the representation, and by giving some basic information
about him, the viewer will not be surprises by seeing him in the next scene.
Besides the links between the characters, there are also more general links; one of these is the
wolf theme, which is consistent throughout the video there is the logo with the name of the

project in the beginning, the scene with the wolves, the constant mentioning of the term redwolf
project, and the camera performing as a wolf (Grundfos 2012). This creates coherence, but this
coherence is at some point rather vague, because the viewer is be disturbed by the scene with the
actual wolves, because this is not directly related to either the company or the project. Further-
more, this scene is not explained, and therefore it seems as if it is just included to create action,
but the implementation of it is not good, and it does not hold the same purpose as intended.
Another linking meaning is the music, which is also consistent throughout the video. There are
three music pieces, and the first one slowly fades, when the second rhythmical piece is intro-
duced, this transitional procedure also occurs between the second and third musical piece, and
then at the end the first musical piece is introduced again to round the video up with a new ques-
tion, and a new investigation. Thus, the video is made circular in the sense of progress: first there
is a problem that needs to be solved: then an investigation is set forth; through this investigation
an answer is obtained; this answer allows new questions to form; incentive for a new investiga-
tion is given. The latter is the chronological order, which is implemented and enacted in the rep-
resentation. The last thing that links the beginning and the end of this video is the red coloured
text, which is the first and last thing that the viewer sees. Furthermore, the red colour is also the
colour of Grundfos and can therefore also be linked to the company. To sum up, there are many
different ways this video has been linked together, some are more efficient than others, and some
have a clearer purpose than others.

Conclusion
As mentioned in the introduction of this paper, a piece of visual communication always holds a
purpose. This paper set out to find the discursive purpose and strategy of the video by Grundfos
(2012) About the Redwolf Project. By applying Iedemas (2006) theory on metafunctions of
meaning-making to the video, this paper has been able to put forth the discursive strategies,
which this video holds. This analysis was further improved by the implementation of theories on
social distance, viewer-participant relations, and viewer perspective by Kress and van Leeuwen
(2006).
Based on the latter, this paper concludes that the discursive purpose of the video is to inform the
viewer about the Redwolf Project, and the way Grundfos accomplished this discourse was to ap-
ply a more wild and mysterious side to the project. Grundfos made the wolf-theme their discur-
sive strategy, and they amplified this by adding more dramatical elements such as modern music
in order to show that Grundfos is a state of the art company, where they are alert and their tech-
nological standards are high. By using the camera and the visual element, Grundfos is moreover
able to create a relationship between the represented participants and the viewer, which gives
Grundfos credibility as a company.
However, the overall coherence of the video is disrupted by the discursive strategy, which Grund-
fos has implemented. The wolves and the theme of mystery and danger is strong in the beginning
and in the end, but in the middle there is a lack of coherence between the wolves and the danger

 the wolves as an animal are not mentioned in the film besides the name of the project and the
camera movement, this absence of representation confuses the viewer, and leaves him or her
empty; the action which is enforced and introduced in the beginning is not present in the middle,
and therefore the shot with the running wolves seems inappropriate.
This absence of coherence can be critical, because the consequence of this discursive strategy is
that the viewer might not understand the represented world completely, and this can affect the
viewers perception of Grundfos as a company and brand.
Although the discursive strategy might affect Grundfos negatively, it is important to remember
that the wolf-theme is not the only discursive strategy in the video - there are other elements,
which creates coherence in the video, and thereby supports the discursive purpose of the video
and the brand of Grundfos.

Bibliography
Grundfos (2012) About the Redwolf Project. [video online] Available at:
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