I feel as though the whole talk is cheap is too much of a generalization because in some cases visuals can only go so far and its almost just as interesting when a person is talking about a subject without visuals. Actually, sometimes the person talking can act as their own visual. An example of a verbal scene that is just as effective as visual evidence is the beginning of each episode of “Band of Brothers” there is a person that talks about a situation from the war that the episode is going to portray after he finishes talking. The reason this is just as effective as a visual is because the person being interviewed is being portrayed by an actor in the show so it gives an added effect to start off the episode. From a person that has had a real life experience and then describes it allows someone to paint their own picture in their head and doesn’t have to necessarily rely on visuals.

1. Hampe mentions an instance where it isn’t the camera that makes the picture, but what the people are doing. Do you agree or disagree with that? I ask this because with technology today, the quality and sharpness of the camera or video is what is important, but Hampe is saying otherwise.
2. In shooting a documentary, do you think it is more important to plan it or do you think the product will be better if you slightly wing it and just “go with the flow of things” and why?
3. Do you think that sometimes using raw footage, without editing, makes for a better scene than trying to edit to get exactly what you are trying to convey?

Documentary Example

I thought this was a good example of a documentary which everyone in class can relate to. Based on the Hampe reading, this person did a good job with the video because he didn’t use a lot of interviews to get people to understand what the purpose was, but instead did a A LOT of editing and used his shots and images to develop an argument. For him to not use any other main actors other than himself made it easy to follow. Also, many of the images and shots were appropriate with the message he was trying to get across, but in the end showed that a good documentary can be made with the proper music, text and camera footage.

From my experiences, podcasts have already been incorporated slightly into classrooms. I remember in high school one of my teachers had done an activity with a podcast, and I have had some exposure in college. However, I feel that podcasts will become more useful in the future because professors can easily record a lecture and post it as a podcast in case they are going to miss lecture, or want to give students a day off in the classroom and allow them to listen to a lecture in the comfort of their own home. Also, it would be beneficial to use them as a supplemental tool during a lecture because they are becoming so wide spread, as was done in class this week.

what do you think about Shipka’s notion of multimodal soundness?

Shipka’s notion of multimodla soundness, based on my understanding, gives much more flexibility in composing pieces of writing and allows for a negotiation of tools and materials to communicate what they are trying to say. Especially in a first year composition course, multimodal soundness doesn’t restrict to just text and writing of papers, but students can explore all the various mediums that they use in order to express an entity, such as music in Dan’s case

do you agree with the idea that asking students to account for the materials and contexts for their productions is as important as asking them to account for the content?

I absolutely agree with this statement because a production is more likely to be made public, or allows more people to view it, whereas a paper is meant for a professor to read. If a student doesn’t account for all their materials and context then, one, if the material is released to certain audiences, it may disrupt certain groups. If they just account for the content, then they may leave certain aspects out of a multimodal project that they should have accounted for in order to relay a good message.

do you like the idea of producing sound projects in school similar to that of Dan and Val?

I think the idea of producing sound projects in school is a great idea. It seems like every thing you do in a class is either writing a paper or reading a book. Even though they had to write out a script, the main focus was when creating the sound and adding tone and effects to it. Sound projects also take students outside of their comfort zones and it allows for a little more creativity.

First off as far as vocal delivery is concerned with this piece, there are many different voices heard because the first segment has to do with a reporter discussing the situation of parole boards with governors and then talking with inmates that have been up for parole and been denied, or their ruling over turned. One person that really struck me in vocal delivery was an inmate that was being interviewed. Right away you could tell it was a rough voice (being a man) and his voice and tone were booming. While telling his situation he didn’t have a single bit of trembling, which kind of led me to believe he had come to accept what he has done. To separate sections of his story, or to add effect, there was music that was played. The transition music was never very loud, but it clarified the situation; that it was slightly eerie, but the pace was picking up so it seemed to be coming to something more important. That background music at points was also logically placed because it gave structure to his words and almost a melody to the story, making it slightly suspenseful. The sound effects were little, but the music played a little role as a sound effect because as soon as he says he would change it, the music tempo slows and adds emotion that the listener can tell exists amongst the person talking. Silence doesn’t really serve a purpose in this case because the music is used when there is a blank to add effect.

The second portion was a man describing how he needed to clean up his dad’s house after his parents divorce. His voice, to me, is very soothing. Even though it was raspy, it has a little crispness that was nice to listen to. The strength of his voice his not overpowering, but now soft and it brings quite a good tone to the story. The music played throughout the story, sometimes in background to add effect, was done to change and add rhythm to the story. While the man describes the degrading status of his dad’s house, music is played in the background to display a busy passage is going on and stimulates the ears while listening.

I think the defining difference that makes us see words and pictures as separate is because our mind is conditioned to view certain things as being more abstract, such as words, and a single word has a definition that gives meaning to it. For pictures however, every person can look at a picture and give meaning to it in a variety of different ways. For example, going to an art gallery, a curator might look at a picture and know exactly what purpose the artist had. Someone that has a more novice level of art may just see a bunch of colors and random lines and just think it’s some crazy painting with no meaning. Also, pictures give real life meaning to things, where words do not.

Based on Berger’s & McCloud’s examples of sequential art (a collage essay and an argument conveyed through comics), do you believe you can create an academic argument through only images? why or why not?

I think you can create an academic argument through only images, as long as though images can include some numbers, tables and charts. From my background, I have taken many classes in political science that show data and charts to back up research. Sometimes, people get a better idea of what is being argued or proven if they have something visual to use to understand it better. The only difficulty would be to establish a main argument and have it unfold. There have been many papers I have written that are argumentative, and I could not have thought of any way to support that argument through an image. I feel as though it mostly depends on what the subject is  you are trying to argue.

Sequential Art

Sequential Art

The reason I chose this as my sequential art piece is because I feel as though it connect what Berger and McCloud were talking about. As far as McCloud is concerned, depending on the viewer, something will automatically be formed inside your head and you will view. This is similar to the case with the simplified face. For Berger however, I feel as though this is a good representation of whether the spectator is a male or female. I feel as though the women will pop out more once they are found in the photo versus the man because, as Berger said, women are the ideal people to see. I really like this picture because it is more art than optical illusion, but it connects the two readings into the female and male perspective and truly brings the mind to bring pieces together to create what it wants to see.