Creating my A/V short project really opened my eyes to the opportunities writers have through digital rhetorics. I discovered that the passing of time was easier to convey in film rather than in mono-modal composition. For example, if I'm writing a short story or some account of history, I must be explicitly clear that I'm jumping days, hours, or centuries from one given point to the next. This not only takes up more of my time, but also text dedicated to explaining this transition. In contrast, I think video eliminates an extra "explanatory" step because the viewers can see (figuratively speaking) the passage of time. The character Rachel in my video matures from a young girl to a young adult in a matter of seconds. I think this transition is clear to the viewer because not only do the two girls look alike, but it fits the natural progression of the storyline.
With mono-modal composition, the writer can bring several themes and topics to the attention of the audience, but the audience can only perceive this through the written text on the page. With multi-modal composition, the focus can shift between text, visual, and audio. In my piece, all three components played lead roles at certain points in the video. I also realized by watching my classmates' videos that video allows the writer to bring focus to something in ways that mono-modal composition can't. For example, I really enjoyed Kayt's video with her close-up, artistic shots of the hands playing the piano, guitar strings, rain falling on the leaf, etc.
Lastly, my experience with this project really demonstrated the unique aspect of having to learn and compose at the same time. It was this learning aspect that I think challenged to explore the limits of my creativity; in mono-modal composition, I've become so used to the technology that sometimes my ambivalence is reflected in the creativity and "originality" of the piece.
No comments:
Post a Comment