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.
