December 17, 2011

Project 3: Literacy Narrative

Project Component 0: Notes
In this literacy narrative, I’m going to talk about what I think makes a book interesting to readers. I’ll discuss a number of specific qualities that I think every good book must have.

·    First few pages of first chapter have to draw the reader in
·    Interesting, fast paced plot
·    Action, humor, Romance, and Conflict
·    The main character or characters should have a quest, objective, goal or something to drive the story line
·    Some kind of resolution or satisfying ending that isn’t a cliff hanger, unless the book is the first in a     series. Then cliff hangers are welcomed, as long as the story picks up in the following book.
·    Relatable, likable characters
·    The language / the word choice have to be easily understood be the reader

1.      Intro Video slide
2.      Transitional text
3.      Video Slide
4.      Transitional text
5.      Video Slide
6.      Transitional text
7.      Video Slide
8.      Transitional text
9.      Video Slide
10.  Concluding Video slide
11.  Credits
Project Component 1: Storyboard




Project Component 2: Multimodal Resources List
Every component of this video project was filmed with my Logitech webcam 9000 and then edited using Windows Movie Maker. No images, pictures, or music was used. Text slides were coupled with video footage. The words on the text slides came from me were also created using Windows Movie Maker.

Project Component 3: First Draft; first version of video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SwCmmF-18c

Project Component 4: Final Draft; final version of video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f92TUSzsu8

December 16, 2011

Blog Post 7

I do not intend to follow all ten tips that Smashing Magazine suggests. I will take each tip into consideration but I do not intend to necessarily follow each one. I don't have a business nor do I intend to have a professional portfolio of my work in the future since I do not plan to work with website design or social networking. I plan to do some form of writing such as professional writing or journalism and I probably will not have use for a online portfolio webiste. However, an acedemic portfolio website might suite me quite well while in college.

Looking at the 40+ beautiful personal portfolio websites, one of my favorites is Greg One because I like the dark background color and the white text is easy to read and catches my eye right away. I also like the links at the top and the way that they are underlined when the user mouses over them.The spacing that the site uses and the minimal amount of words make the site feel clean and not exhausting to read. In order to make this type of portfolio I would need to know HTML and how to code.

October 17, 2011

Blog Post 6

Multimodal Literacy Narrative (by Scannell)
This literacy narrative is interesting and informative. I think the film style gives it a documentary feel and this style works well for the video. However, when I say that it is informative, I have to ask myself what it is informing of. The answer seems to be that I it has not provided me wit any kind of information that I value. The video disccuses a serious of accomplishments that I particular individual achieved. To be honest, that's great for her but not really educational in any way to me. The most I can say is that it is an entertaining video.

Digital Literacy Narrative (by Andfull)
This literacy narritive should have been significantly shorter in legnth considering its repetitive dialogue. Additionally, the adio recording/voice-over needed to be redone for obvious reasons. Personally, I did not find this video interesting or impressive (from a video editing perspective). 

Words, Magic (by Truaman)
I am very inpressed with this literacy narrative. There are a lot of rhetorical strategies being used in it. I especially am impressed with how the video appears very informal as if it'sjust a person with a camera interviewing another individual who has not prepaired or reheared what he's going to say. It's very conversational which might help to capture the audiences attention. Additionally, the story that the man shares is interesting, relatable, and relevant to the message he is sharing.Most importantly, there is a clear point/message present in this video. It's a very well done literacy narrative with many rhetorical elements and a clear message.

Digital Litearcy Narrative (by Peyton)
This literacy narritive might as well have been a paper. The music is annoying. The text on the video is the only redeeming quality.

Literacy Narrative (by Wooten)
This literacy narrative appears very simple but its message is clear and it's quick and to the point. The text and pictures fit well together. The music wasn't bad. Overall, I'd say this was a decent literacy narritive.

In order for these types of texts to be effective they need to have a clear focus/purpose/message, be geared toward a specific audience, and be visually pleasing to viewers.

Blog Post 5

The projects that I looked at are by Austen Willis, Cassie April, and Lauren Chavez. Austen looked at movie review websites. Cassie looked at sushi-making explanations. Lauren looked at graphic design books. After looking at these sites, it seems like effective texts are texts that have good, quality designs and use multiple modes, according to one student.


September 19, 2011

Blog Post 4

Describe the topic you plan to use for Project #2 and provide at least 3 texts you are considering using. What key strategic differences or similarities do you note thus far in your texts? Why do you think these differences and/or similarities exist?

The topic that I plan to use for project two is "dating advice for single men." There are an excessive amount of books and magazine articles devoted solely to providing single men with advice on how to meet women. In addition to books and magazine articles, there is a plethora of web articles, web videos, and other media targeted toward single men who are interested in the dating scene and connecting with women. One text that I am considering analyzing is the men's online magazine, AskMen.com. This website has a variety of relevant articles, videos, and content. Another text I am considering using is the website entitled the art of manliness. This website has a relationship & family section which provides advice on aspects of dating. The third text that I might use for project two is information from TopDatingTips.com. One of the first strategical similarities that I noticed these three texts using was the implementation of pictures that display smiling, happy couples. In pictures on at least two of the websites, the physical appearance of the women is what western (specifically American) society considers to be attractive. This similarity exists because placing pictures of happy couples and attractive women, that appeal to men's physical nature, above articles filled with dating advice is, an important rhetorical move. This is an important rhetorical move because it asserts, without ever saying a word, that if men follow the article's advice they will be happily involved with beautiful women.

September 6, 2011

Blog Post 3

Emphasis
1. Describe where your attention is visually drawn in this text. What strategies does the author use to emphasize this element? Given that this text is essentially a title page for a larger project, does this emphasis seem effective to you? Why or why not?

In this text, my attention is visually drawn to the piece of paper that the person is writing on. The author uses alignment, color, and movement to place emphasis on the words on the piece of paper. The emphasis is not effective because the purpose or message is unclear to the audience.

 2. Between composing the two different pages ("Digital Rights Management/Digital Robbing Maniacs" and "Criminal") the woman disappears from the screen and the jumpy stop-motion effect ceases. Describe how this moment of stillness can be understood as "emphasis" and explain if it seems like an effective strategy? What is emphasized by stopping the movement?

The moment of stillness can be understood as emphasis because it is a majpr change from the constant movement of the video. it acts as a contrasting shift in the pace of the video and, in doing so, draws the viewer's attention. This can be an effective strategy for grabbing the viewer's attention and complelling them to focus.

3. Consider the role sound plays in emphasis. How does the soundtrack to this clip help to (a) emphasize certain moments in the clip, and (b) place a particular emotional emphasis on the meaning of the clip?

The soundtrack to the clip carries an emotion and draws the audience in to the video. It helps to hold there attention and further engages them in the text by stimulating there senses.

Alignment
1. How would you describe alignment of the words "murmuring" and "insects" in the opening scene? How does the unusual alignment (reflected on screen and timed) add to your interpretation of the text?

I would describe the alignment of the words "murmuring" and "insects" in the opening scene as moderately effective in capturing the attention of the viewer/audience. The viewer's eyes follow the word "murmuring" down the page until it rests in place. Once it stops falling, the letters "i" and "n" from the word become part of a new word, "insects." Both words are alligned in the same area of the page/ The way that the first word transforms into the second word is rhetorical effective. It holds the attention of the viewer/audience. Since the word "insect" appears directly to the right of the word "murmuring", the reader's eyes naturally are drawn to it.

2. Now watch the "Earth" scene. What other elements are aligned in this scene? How does the consistent alignment of elements across screens (and also across some of the scenes) affect how you read these scenes? What elements do you end up focusing on? Would the scene seem as effective if all of the elements on the page (upside-down moon, contrails, words, background color, etc.) had no shared alignment?

Many elements are functioning together to form an effective text in this "Earth" scene. The consistent alignment of elements across screens affects how the scenes are read. The focus of the image seems to be on the "upside-down moon" since it appears directly behind the text that is moving in a downward motion. The scene would not be nearly as effective if all the elements on the page had no shared alignment because the viewer's eyes would not be intentionally led from one thing to another.

3. Now watch the "Air" scene, paying attention to the lines of poetry and the audio tracks. The poem doesn't settle on the same horizontal axis as the other scenes do, and the two phrases in the audio track are aligned (synced) to appear with each line of poetry. Why do you think the alignments of the words are different between the Earth and Air scenes? What is the significance of the audio track's content in relation to that difference?

The "Air" scene is interesting and unique because the text doesn't end in the same horizontal location as the other scenes end. The audio seems to compliment the words, which increases the effectiveness of the multimodal text. The alignment of the words is probably different between the Earth and Air scenes are meant to affect viewers in different ways.

4. Now watch the "Water" scene. How does the curvature of the words, aligning with the background image of an eye, relate to what the man in the audio track is saying?

The man's speech is complimented by the words and image that they create. The audio and words both portray the emotions of the man and convey his sorrowful feelings.  

5. Based on the alignment (or lack of alignment) between elements in a scene and across scenes, why are the three menu options ("Air," "Earth," and "Water") on the main screen of this text not aligned? What does this lack of alignment tell you about the emphasis, sequence, and purpose of this text?

The three menu items are not aligned because they are position in the geographic location to which they belong. This lack of alignment suggests that equal emphasis is placed on each element. It also suggests that the elements should be viewed in the order that they are placed, from highest to lowest. Lastly, the lack of alignment suggests that the purpose of this text is for each element to be given the same value while being recognized as unique and effective by itself.

August 28, 2011

Blog Post 2

"The XKCD comic in Figure 2.5 is funny because it’s often true. First, look at the “things people go to the site looking for” list. Do you agree with this list? Why or why not?"

I looked at the “things people go to the site looking for” list and I agree that the topics listed on the site are things that students and other individuals probably frequently search for. The academic calendar, department/course list, and campus map are all useful things for incoming and/or returning students and other people to search for on any university website. Initially, it struck me as odd that students, faculty, and other individuals might want the number for the campus police, but I guess having the number might be useful if an individual has neighbors who are frequently very loud at inconvenient hours. Everything else on the list seems like things that people would search for.

"Second, visit your University website homepage and see if it follows the patterns listed in this comic. If so, why do you think this is the case? If not, what differences do you see and how do you think they matter when it comes to the purpose and audience for your University’s homepage?"

The Gonzaga University website follows some of the patterns listed in the comic including the website having the full name of the school, a campus photo slideshow, and statement of the school's philosophy. Having these things on university websites seems to be a popular trend which is used for the purpose of making the university look good and to attract new students.