This post is about using a semiotic or visual rhetoric analysis to understand why some YouTube videos are successful, and others are not. Both rhetoric and semiotics offer valuable, yet distinct, frameworks for analyzing the complexities of visual media. While rhetoric, with its focus on the art of persuasion, examines the strategic use of appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos to influence audiences, semiotics delves into the science of signs, seeking to decode the underlying systems of meaning embedded within visual and auditory elements. Despite their different origins and primary objectives, these two disciplines share a fundamental concern with communication and meaning-making, particularly in our increasingly visually driven world.

The assignment is to interrogate a web channel, looking at its details, from its hosts to its thumbnails, to identify its signifying practices that make it a success. It may not be too different from an assignment to analyze a movie or a novel, as the meaning-making practices are examined much like a media paper. But YouTube is like a film on steroids, or a psychedelic drug. Its commitment to realism is lacking. A lot more is happening, and standard rules of organizing perception are being broken. Analyzing a YouTube channel takes a good eye for identifying details and a strong vocabulary to put what you see into words. It also requires an analytical framework to put the signifying practices into a theoretical perspective that helps create additional understanding of meanings created and the myths supported.

The class starts out with an intensive look at the vocabulary for techniques used in film, television, music videos, and more recently social media tools like Instagram, Rumble, Vine, TikTok. We move on to YouTube channels(with hosts for this assignment). Future versions of this course will also delve into the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to synthesize images and video.

Initially, we work on vocabulary and the “grammar” of visual creation – how moving images are shot and edited/structured to create meaning and narrative. We analyze films, television, music videos, and move on to YouTube videos. Terms like closeup, pan, tilt, parallel editing, and voice-overs provide key conceptual understanding for both technical and analytical purposes. Moving images are shot with a general grammar in mind – establishing shots for creating context, medium shots for introducing subjects and perspective, and closeups for detail and emotion.

I recommend analyzing the channel’s host first, drawing on the analysis of a newscaster or news “anchor.” The anchor secures the narrative of the news story. He or she (or AI it) literally anchors the meaning of the newscast or story. Stuart Hall talks about imagery needing a “fixed” meaning, which I find useful as well. The anchor or host tells a story, fixing the meaning but also moving the story along. What drives the “story” or myth-making? How is the story being told? Narration? Voiceover (VO)? Who is the author? Are they part of the story?

What is the rhetoric of the YouTube channel? What is the purpose of the site? What meanings does it produce? How does it engage the audience? What audience is it producing (How can it be sold to an advertiser?)

Two French terms have guided televisual analysis over the years: Mise-en-scène, for what is in the scene, or the shot. This is a combination of composition, costuming, hair and makeup, lighting, and set design. The other is Montage, from the French “to build,” that refers to the editing process. This action involves the pace of editing, wipes, continuity, and cross-cutting or parallel editing.

Recommended Outline

Introductions are drafted early but the last to be completed. Why is the channel a success? What metrics can we access to measure the success? How many subscribers does it have? How many videos have they produced? How many viewers do they attract? How many comments do they usually get? Can you find out how much money they are making? Dude Perfect has over 60 million subscribers and regularly makes over $20 million a year. It emphasizes male competition and sport. Genre is often an interesting exercise in the process of categorization that determines distinctions as well as similarities. A popular new genre on YouTube is the video blog or “vlog.”

Meaning-Creating Techniques 1 Denotation and Connotation: Host
Meaning-Creating Techniques 2 Denotation and Connotation: Shots (Mise en scène)
Meaning-Creating Techniques 3 Denotation and Connotation: Editing (Montage)

Additional areas of analysis:

Meaning-Creating Techniques 4 Denotation and Connotation: Logo
Meaning-Creating Techniques 5 Denotation and Connotation: Thumbnails

Rhetoric or Semiotics?

Despite their shared interests, rhetoric and semiotics exhibit fundamental differences in their historical development, primary objectives, and the specific analytical tools they employ. Rhetoric has its roots in the classical art of oratory, initially focusing on the principles of effective public speaking and argumentation. Semiotics, on the other hand, emerged later as a broader scientific and philosophical inquiry into the nature of signs and the processes by which meaning is generated and interpreted across all systems of communication, including film and YouTube. Ryan’s World is a particularly rich channel to analyze with almost 40 million subscribers and over 3000 videos.

Rhetoric’s primary concern lies with the persuasive intent behind communication and its impact on the audience’s beliefs or actions. Semiotics, however, has a more encompassing aim to understand the underlying structures and processes of signification, regardless of the communicator’s specific intentions or the message’s persuasive efficacy. Rhetoric traditionally emphasizes the appeals of logos, ethos, and pathos as its core analytical framework for examining persuasive strategies. In contrast, semiotics focuses on dissecting the structure of signs through concepts such as the signifier and signified, and the categorization of signs into icons, indices, and symbols. Furthermore, while rhetoric is primarily centered on human communication, semiotics has a broader scope. It extends its analysis to various phenomena that function as signs, including cultural rituals, fashion systems, and even biological communication among organisms (becoming more relevant with AI and big data’s capacity to capture and decipher animal sounds).

Analyzing Political Memes with Rhetorical Theory

Social media circulates many images with texts called “memes.” These constructions can be both effective and harmful as they can be constructed quickly with modern apps and spread virally through social media. Memes are often anonymous with little or no indication of authorship, yet are often shared from trusted friends.

Rhetoric can be used to analyze the techniques that are used to influence the reader. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle identified three fundamental modes of persuasion: ethos, pathos, and logos. These appeals form the cornerstone of rhetorical theory and provide a framework for analyzing how persuasion functions in communication, including visual media and memes.  

Ethos is the appeal to credibility and centers on the character and trustworthiness of the communicator. In rhetoric, ethos is established by demonstrating expertise in the subject matter, conveying honesty and goodwill towards the audience, and presenting oneself with appropriate authority and character. For instance, in visual memes, the use of celebrity political endorsements leverages the perceived credibility and admiration associated with the celebrity to build trust in the policy. The audience is more likely to be persuaded by someone they view as knowledgeable, reputable, or possessing good political character. A political meme might showcase a political candidate in professional attire with a party logo.

Pathos is the appeal to emotion and involves persuading the audience by evoking certain feelings. These emotions can range from positive feelings like joy, hope, and excitement to negative ones such as sadness, fear, and anger. Visual media is particularly adept at employing pathos through the use of powerful imagery, evocative slogans, and compelling narratives designed to resonate with the audience’s values, beliefs, and cultural background. For example, a public service announcement might use distressing images to evoke empathy and encourage viewers to take action. A political meme might use patriotic imagery like the national flag to evoke pride.

Logos is the appeal to logic and relies on reason and evidence to persuade the audience. This involves using facts, statistics, logical arguments, and clear reasoning to support a particular claim or viewpoint. In visual rhetoric, logos can be conveyed through the presentation of data in infographics, demonstrations of a policy’s effectiveness, or a logical visual narrative that leads the viewer to a specific conclusion. A clear and specific thesis or claim, supported by well-reasoned arguments, is crucial for a strong appeal to logos. A political meme might include concise policy statements or slogans implying logical benefits.

The effective use of these three appeals, often in combination, is central to the art of rhetoric and its ability to influence audiences with memes quickly. Understanding how ethos, pathos, and logos are employed in visual media provides a valuable framework for analyzing the persuasive strategies at play in our visually saturated world.  

Summary

This post underscores that success on YouTube is not just technical or algorithmic but rhetorical and semiotic. Content creators—whether kids unboxing toys or athletes competing—construct complex layers of meaning using visual tools and persuasive strategies. Understanding these tools equips students to critically analyze, produce, or even monetize content more effectively.

What makes a YouTube channel successful? The answer lies in metrics and how content is constructed, delivered, and interpreted. The post encourages a deep investigation of hosts, thumbnails, editing styles, and narrative strategies, using concepts like denotation/connotation, mise-en-scène, and montage — terms borrowed initially from film theory but now applicable to YouTube videos.

Citation APA (7th Edition)

Pennings, A.J. (2025, May 01) Visual Rhetoric Analysis of a YouTube Channel. apennings.com https://apennings.com/technologies-of-meaning/visual-rhetoric-analysis-of-a-youtube-channel/

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Notes

[1] Rhetoric has an older lineage and appears to have started with a focus on persuasion and public speaking in ancient Greece. Semiotics, on the other hand, is a more recent and broader field that comes from linguistics and philosophy, looking at all kinds of signs, not just language. While rhetoric often has a goal of influencing people, semiotics is more about understanding how meaning works within different cultures.

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Anthony J. Pennings, PhD is a Professor at the Department of Technology and Society, State University of New York, Korea and Research Professor at Stony Brook University. He teaches AI and broadband policy as well as visual rhetoric. Previously, he was on the faculty of New York University teaching digital economics and media management. He also taught in the Digital Media MBA at St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas, where he lives when not in Korea.

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Category: technologies of meaning, visual literacy and rhetoric
Tags: Chandler > connotation > denotation > Meaning-making practices > Memes > visual grammar > Visual Rhetoric and IT

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