visual material
Loading your saved state.
visual material
A collection of visual media such as photographs, graphics, drawings, or videos that have been put together for a specific purpose, e.g. a publication, presentation, or report.
Für den Zeitungsartikel benötigen wir noch passendes Bildmaterial vom Unfallort.
For the newspaper article, we still need suitable visual material from the accident site.
The word is made up of 'Bild' (picture/image) and 'Material' (material). So it literally describes material consisting of images.
Der Historiker sichtete das gesamte Bildmaterial aus dem Archiv.
The historian reviewed all the visual material from the archive.
'Bildmaterial' (visual material) is a collective term and is almost always used in the singular, even when you are talking about many photos, graphics, or videos. The plural form 'Bildmaterialien' is very rare.
Das zur Verfügung gestellte Bildmaterial war von hoher Qualität.
The visual material provided was of high quality.
This word is often used in professional contexts such as journalism, science, marketing, or law. Typical verbs are 'sichten' (to review), 'auswerten' (to evaluate/analyze), 'anfordern' (to request), or 'zur Verfügung stellen' (to provide).
Die Polizei wertet derzeit das Bildmaterial der Überwachungskameras aus.
The police are currently analyzing the visual material from the surveillance cameras.
picture / image
'das Bild' and 'das Bildmaterial' both have to do with visual representations. 'Bild' usually means a single representation, for example a photo, a drawing, or a painting. 'Bildmaterial', on the other hand, means a collection or set of pictures, photos, graphics, or even videos that are used for a specific purpose, such as a report, presentation, or article. Learners may confuse the words because 'Bildmaterial' can consist of pictures. If you mean just one single representation, say 'Bild'. If you mean several visual files or materials, 'Bildmaterial' is more precise.
Paul sammelt im Büro das Bildmaterial für die neue Broschüre.
Paul is collecting the visual material for the new brochure at the office.
Für den Bericht wählt Lisa ein klares Bild von der Baustelle aus.
For the report, Lisa selects a clear picture of the construction site.