A Little Bit of This and A Little Bit of That

In trying to use titles that catch my readers attention and draw them in, I chose the above mentioned, slightly vague blog title that leaves one guessing what this post would be. When I first read the title of this weeks reading, Multimodal Polyphony, by Anders Fagerjord, I was left with a similar feeling of guessing. Upon first glance, I was overwhelmed and wasn't sure what I could learn from the study of a Flash Documentary. After diving in, however, I have learned many ways to use "a little bit of this and a little bit of that" to make a combined media masterpiece.

Fagerjord's article chose to analysis in detail National Geographic's flash documentary, or "documentary films of still images and voice-over commentary," entitled "Sights and Sounds from the Way West".  If you choose to click the link and watch "The Way West" for yourself, you will discover a coming together of different media forms that culminates in a story of a historic journey West that is told so well using a number of different techniques. The flash documentary features visual elements such as paintings, writing, photography, and camera placement as well as elements that appeal to the ears such as music, speech, and sound effects.

While I found both the finished product of "The Way West" and the article by Fagerjord very interesting, the main point I took away (and hope to apply to my podcast) is the importance of images and words used in connection with one another. To me, images and words alone can both catapult our minds to great places, letting our imaginations soar. For some forms of media, this is the desired effect. Again in my eyes, the flash documentary has so much power and meaning because it combines visual aspects and words into one flowing piece in which the audience knows exactly the main focus and purpose of the work.

When I am setting out to learn more about a specific topic, such as the experience of historic people journeying to the West, or in our case a classmate's experience taking photographs for a blog, I prefer to know what is supposed to be taken from the image or from the story in the form of words. By using "a little bit of text" and "a little bit of visual stimulants", the final product is a clear and beautiful portrayal of an experience of a fellow human being. Because of this article, I am more excited than ever to begin work on my podcast and start putting words to my images, bringing the slideshow full circle.

While I am personally a fan of images and text working side by side, it begs to be asked, how do you feel about multimodal pieces such as "The Way West"? Do you think images and words work well together in explaining the purpose of the piece or do you think it takes away a sense of imagination and interpretation given to the audience?