Final Reflection Draft 2
Completing the story telling project in the multimodal writing course exposed us to the variety of media for rhetorical expression that allows us to more effectively communicate to public audiences. Specifically, for the Quest for Refuge Video Project we combined a variety of topics covered in the course along with the elements of creating a multimodal text to share the story of our community partner. The purpose for the Quest for Refuge Project was to learn about the life of our community partner and retell their story using video and audio technologies. Some rhetorical considerations we had to consider when writing for a public audience was being able to connect the story with an audience that have different levels of background knowledge on the topic. We could not assume that everyone watching the video would have an understanding of the Liberian Civil War that our community partner lived through to tell her story. It would not only be confusing for the viewer but it would also take away from some important elements and topics discussed by the community partner.
Another rhetorical consideration we had was being able to relate to an audience that may not be able to hear the audio. To adjust to this we had to input subtitles of the composition so people that are unable to hear the story could still receive the messages our community partner shared. Our audience also had an effect on our style because we wanted to make sure there was a smooth flow and easy transition for each topic so the viewer would not get confused. In an interview, the interviewee can start to go on a separate path from the original question that was asked. This can start to disrupt the flow of the video during the editing process, so in order to prevent any confusion we made sure that each sections was clearly label with the topic that would be discussed. We also had to allow time in the video for viewers to absorb the information that was presented in the section. (in audio, list examples of how we covered issues dealing with topics for public audience: In the Out On the Wire text we learned... )
Some ethical considerations that we had creating this project was making sure that the community partner's story was retold in a truthful and respectful manner. We had to be careful we did not misrepresent our community partner by creating false emotions about her or for the viewer. Going along with the concept of misrepresentation, we had to also be aware that we were not generalizing an entire culture based off one story. When we watched the TED talk, "The Danger of a Single Story" we learned that one person's story should not be how everyone forms their opinions and thoughts on a culture. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi explains that by only reading British and American books growing up, she developed her own writing based on British and American children. She assumed that all the characters in books must be like the ones she read about in the British and American books. It was not until she learned about her own heritage and Nigerian literature did she understand that writing could take many shapes with different characters she could relate too. The point of her story is to show how a single story is danger because it makes people genralize and make assumptions about a culture or topic. That is why when we interviewed our community partner we shared parts of her life that took place before the war. This prevented people from assuming that her entire life, and the lives of other Liberian refugess, was filled with only struggle and hardship.
We had to constantly make sure that the story we were trying to tell was the same as what our community partner wanted share. It felt unethical if we did not focus on any of the point our community partner emphasized and instead we only focused on what we wanted to make the story our own way. A theoretical consideration we had was making sure the academic purpose was maintained throughout the duration of the video. This could have been thrown off for example if we started to only go into a history of the Liberian Civil War instead of keeping the focus on Ma Mary's story
Using affordances such as visual and gestural modes we were able to demonstrate the emotion that our community partner had while sharing her life. We were able to capture hand motions and facial expressions, which enhanced the story because we could see how our community partner reacted while sharing her life story. This provides a stronger connection and a real experience for the audience because they have the ability to see the emotions. This is better than just reading a transcript of an interview, or even an audio interview because they do not allow the same connection between the audience and the interviewee. We were pleased with the video and audio tools because they allowed us to emphasize and signpost points that we deemed important for the audience. This technology allows us to organize topics within our purpose, and have each point flow into the next section. Were able to edit and rearrange clips of the video so that the flow of the story was easy to follow. Combining all the affordances creates such a better experience for the audience because it allowed us to simulate the experience like they were in the room as the interview happened. The audience can see and hear everything that our group heard while conducting the interview, and this is a powerful feeling because no element is left out that could potentially have an impact on the story. Using this technology to produce a multimodal text was very effective for us because we were able to bring out the voice of our community partner so easily.
The difference between writing strictly a textual piece and a multimodal piece is the length of the process. Developing the overarching purpose and creating the video takes much longer then writing a paper. In What's in a Name? the author references that you have to attend to verbal context as well as the other modes we use to communicate. Since we had to appeal to these other modes of communication we had to think about how we would present our research and provide context to the audience. For example, we used still images of people in Liberia during the civil was to show what life looked like at the time. We also used an image of a map to reference the location for the viewer, and provide text paragraphs at the beginning of the video to give background information on the topic. As a group, we also had to go through all the video clips and decide which ones we should use to create our purpose for the story. This process takes much longer and is different then composing just a textual work because we had to derive our purpose from video clips we collected. Usually for a paper you decide your purpose before you write and then you gather the information and examples you need to support it. In this case we collected all our information from the interview first and then we had to decide what the overarching purpose based on what we learned from our community partner.
From this process I learned about genre within a multimodal composition. When we talk about genre in a multimodal piece we do not refer to video or audio compositions as a genre of multimodal writing. These are both elements that make up aspects of of multimodal writing, and they have genres within the element. An example of a genre would be creating a video interview piece because it is a type of video piece that can be created with multiple elements.
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Some considerations I want to remember about multimodal writing for public audiences that is that I cannot try to relate my piece to everyone the same. The public sphere consists of many levels with different types of people communicating in it. Not everyone is going to interpret a multimodal piece the same way because everyone comes from different backgrounds. I learned that it is important to share your purpose of creating a multimodal piece to a public audience, but you cannot assume everyone will receive the message the same. The important part is that creating a multimodal piece for the public audience opens up discussions and new ideas to different groups. People can take what they learned from your piece and expand on and evolve concepts to create even more open discussions.