A Better Understanding of "Open Sky"

In the third section of Open Sky, Paul Virilio discusses the ways in which technology effects our physical being and then wraps up the book with a deeper look into the technological arena that is changing the world as we know it. While I enjoyed the book as a whole and loved the way it pushed the envelope with its existentialism, I particularly enjoyed the mind-bending topic in the chapter "From Sexual Perversion to Sexual Diversion".

While it is clear to me that technology effects our personal lives in many ways, the ways in which it effects personal, loving relationships bother me the most. In a world where not many things are personal anymore, it is heartbreaking to me that the sense of communication, passion, and connection once shared by physically having to be in the same place as one another is lost with the addition of the internet, telephones, etc. Conversations that once centered around long discussions complete with emotion, expression, and reaction are now reduced to a break up over the phone, a text message to get asked on a date, and a Facebook chat to cancel plans. After this chapter in the book, I see now that technology is also effecting the more passionate and physical sides of relationships as well.

Virilio explains the popularity of such things as internet dating, pornography sites, and (at the extreme), forms of "remote-control masturbation". I was shocked to learn of the different technology that enables people to feel "pleasure" from a distance. In a world where people crave and desire things quickly and instantly, there is now even an option to experience the happiness and pleasure that once had to come from a warm body from world and miles away. After reading - and discussing aloud with my friends - this concept was still difficult to wrap my head around. After some thought, I feel I have taken the position of being somewhat fearful of what technology could do to our culture, our traditions, our feelings, and our emotions. For someone who mourns the loss of handwritten letters and long calls on the phone, the idea of reducing such beautiful human acts of passion to a mere visit to a website scares me. This idea of "telesexual interactivity" as Virilio calls it threatens the past, present, and future of our race by changing the fabric that holds us together - personal connectivity.

As Virilio ends the book, he sums up the pages and pages of discussion on how technology can touch and shape every part of our world. After this reading, I believe it is our job as technology and media consumers to question and fear the onslaught of speed and info and machines. It is our job to dissect our changing world rather than simply sitting back and allowing it to wash over and consume us.

What are the ways in which you can become more educated about the technological world around you? What ways do you think you hold on to the connectedness of the past and what technologies are you willing to gain at the loss of ourselves?

Diving Deeper: "Open Sky"

In continuing reading Paul Virilio's Open Sky, I have discovered more on his view on technology and the way it is shaping our world in more ways than you would think. The second portion of the book discusses many facets of technology but starts out with the idea of the way technology and new research would effect our bodies. In discussing "animates", or microscopic pieces of machinery that could be used to navigate the body and aid in disease recovery, he touches on the reduction in size of technology. The world, with all of its most recent advances, is taking a step back from other revolutions of size and space and is now focused on making all devices small and compact, increasing not only function but also efficiency.

Related to the downsize of technology, Virilio discusses our desire to "miniaturize the world", therefore creating an arena of life that knows no space or time because it is subject to internet, technology, and speedy communication. With this same idea, he questions whether a move to make all technology compact and instant actually improves us as humans or changes the very theories and concepts we live by. Advances like "animates" or other devices that can go inside the human body and improve them, or even make then better than they were biologically, begs the question of if we are trying too hard to blend technology with biology, as Virilio states.

With all of these ideas, he also discusses the ways in which our "life-size" world is in danger. If technology is not only advancing humans but also advancing travel and the idea of communication, then the real world that we live in no longer functions as it did. Virilio speaks to the gap that media creates in people making connections with each other that I often notice in my daily life. To me, it is sad to no longer receive hand written letters or enjoy a lengthy in person conversation. To me, it is impersonal to only receive text messages and emails as my main form of contact. While these methods are efficient and effective, I also wonder if we are in danger of losing ourselves to gain a world of technology that can supplement human contact.

Virilio goes on to discuss ideas of online dating, the small television screen making life speed up, and the future of super highways in France. While all the topics touched on are quite interesting and pose great questions, I can't help but think that the main concept to be taking away from his reading is how much technology will change us if we are willing to let it. By highlighting the ways it can effect us mentally, emotionally, physically, and psychologically, Virilio warns of the dangers that may accompany technology.

What dangers to you see technology creating in your life? Do you support the ways in which technology is changing and "improving" us? Why or why not?

Speaking in Legal Terms: Chapter 11

Chapter 11 of Writing for Digital Media by Brian Carroll deals with the legal issues and matters associated with the digital age and all things internet. When starting to create our own websites (as well as our blogs and anything else we publish onto the internet) it is important to be aware of what is legal and how to go our creating information properly. While the chapter covers many legal terms and issues- such as privacy laws, safeguarding, and spam- in the digital world we live in, I will focus on the important terms libel, slander, and defamation.

While we as bloggers just starting out probably wouldn't be worth a big company suing over a libel suit, it is still important for bloggers and writers on the internet to be cautious of the law. For material to be considered libel, it must be three things:

• the material must be printed or published
• it must be false or erroneous
• and it must be defamatory 

While the digital age deals mostly with written defamation, slander, or spoken defamation, is also an issue in dealing with libel. The three aspects of libel warn against and make internet bloggers and writers aware of how dangerous it is to ruin or harm someone's reputation in their written work. Carroll states in the book that "allegations of libel are included in about three-fourths of all lawsuits filed against mass media". With such a large number of suits, it is easy to imagine cases of libel in many sources of printed material, such as blogs, headlines, letters, or even conversations in online chat rooms. While Carroll goes on to state that many of the libel cases are thrown out, this is an important issue to be aware of when writing on the internet. 

Many celebrities such as Tom Cruise and the Olsen twins have experienced libel cases.

Do you think libel cases are more frequent in the digital age? Why or why not? What methods will you take to ensure that you are not harming someone's reputation before you publish internet material?  

Diving Into "Open Sky"

Paul Virilio's book Open Sky radically addresses the evolving world of media and technology and how it is effecting our lives. While the content was slightly intimidating at first, once I finished the first of three parts in the book, I was better able to understand the interesting and innovative claims made about our information overwhelmed culture.

One of the first concepts that truly resonated with me was that of "generalized arrival", or that of an object or piece of information arriving without ever having to truly leave the previous location. While I am sure this mind bending concept is not something people ponder (or even notice) often, it is amazing to think of the high paced, highly digital world we live in. Just think, the minute I post this blog writing, the information will have reached your screen without myself or the writing ever truly leaving my desk. Crazy, right?

In thinking about such phenomenon, it is also important to question how such changes in time and space effect our society. In the book, Virilio discusses how people become "channel-surfing" automatons when we have significantly less work to do with our own minds. Again, just think, how many websites are there that can convert measurements for you? How many applications on the phone that can do such human things as lock the front doors of your home? How many banks where you no longer have to deal with a human teller to deposit a check? Much like all eras of technology have changed the public in which they are born, technology and the instantaneous ability of a machine to do exactly what we can do (if not better) raises questions of how we function as a culture.

It seems to me that one of Virilio's main concern is that such shifts to technology and a lulling waterfall of information makes us a more distant, less personal society. He begs the question of the importance of "real time" vs. "real space". In simpler times when the internet and machines didn't feed on our fascination, our society could flourish in an environment based on human contact, service, and a sense of common good. Now, in a world where "real time" dominates "real space", conversations are centered around the touch of a button, board meetings no longer require the people to sit around the same table, and dating is something often defined by an online profile.

Just an Virilio raises the argument of what we are willing to lose as a society to gain in technology and efficiency, I can't help but wonder if it is worth it to live in a world where "reality is ubiquitous". While I often look to my forms of technology-my phone, computer, tv- with fondness and appreciation, I can't help but ask what skills am I losing to be gaining a machine that will think for me?

What questions did the first portion of the book raise in your mind? Do you think technology fully helps or fully hinders a society (or a portion of both)? What are the fears associated with a technology dominated society?

The Key to Websites: Getting It Right

With our final project of making our own website on the horizon, it is important to know the ins and outs of creating a successful and effective site for both yourself and your users. As with many aspects of communicating we have discussed, Chapter 2 of Janice Redish's text "Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content That Works" deals with 7 steps of understanding your audience. As the article states and life supports, people react differently to differnet websites based on a number of factors. For this reason, it is important to understand your audience before creating the site. The 7 steps are briefly listed below.

- List your major audiences
- Gather info about your audiences
- List major characteristics for each audience
- Gather your audiences' questions, tasks, and stories
- Use your info to create personas
- Include the persona's goals and tasks
- Use your info to write scenarios for your site

The step that stuck out to the me the most was gathering the audiences' questions, tasks, and stories. Seeing that we are creating websites that hightlight our resumes and work, and will be sending them to future employers, it is important for us to gather from people with experience questions they will be hoping to answer. Knowing what employers are looking for will help us to write in a language that pleases the audience as well as answering the right questions.

In Chapter 3, Redish gives advice on creating a successful home page, the jumping point for the whole website. Home pages need to be attention grabbing, well organized, and easily skimmable. In using these "five major functions of home pages", I hope to make my home page of my website appealing and useful for audiences. Here are the 5 functions Redish lists.

- identifying the site, establishing the brand
-setting the tone and personality of the site
- helping people get a sense of what the site is all about
- letting people start key tasks immediately
- sending people on the right way, effectively and efficiently

I hope to acheive all these functions positively by giving my website a personality that reflects my own. I also hope to create a home page with tabs to send my audience to my resume, writings, and personal bio. The Redish article was very helpful in giving great advice about creating a website.

What is the most important aspect of your website going to be? What tone are you looking to create for your website and what will it help you acheive?

A Call to Uncover the Upstate

This video story is a call to people in the Upstate South Carolina area to uncover local restaurants like the four that I feature. With such beautiful cities surrounding us, it would be a shame not to experience these wonderful restaurants and meet some kind people along the way. The restaurants featured are Duke's Doggs in Travelers Rest, Grille 33 in downtown Greenville, Mug and Muffin on Augusta Road, and The Beacon in Spartanburg. Hopefully this video will inspire you to Uncover the Upstate!

Special thanks to all the restaurants as well as Kristy Burns -owner of Duke's Doggs- and Maggie Austin, Anna Fluevog, Elizabeth Griffin, Molly Gunson, and Nanne Remington- my loyal and helpful friends.

Making a List, Checking it Twice: Online Editing

Unlike print editing, online editing is quick, constant, and ever-changing. Much like it is a very different medium, there are very different roles and skills required for online editors. In Brian Carroll's book Writing for Digital Media, he discusses online editing in Chapter 6, "Online Editing, Designing, and Publishing". Like many things in life, Carroll stresses how important it is to double (even triple) check every aspect of a website or online publication. While there are many important aspects of online editing, he lists a "universal checklist" (taken from Carolyn Rude's Technical Editing) to give a "jumping off" point for online editors. The items discussed are briefly listed below.

• Identify with the readers/purpose of the content 
• Define document structure and links
• Define the style 
• Edit
• Copyedit
• Copyedit II
• Write headlines
• Test usability 

As Carroll emphasizes, all of these steps are crucial in creating a coherent and accessible web production. Out of the steps on the list, I want to highlight the importance of identifying with the readers and testing usability. As a user of many online websites, I know I often get the most frustrated with websites that fail to target me as the audience and miss the boat on making the site user friendly. 

To avoid problems with not knowing the audience, it is important to focus not only on their needs but also on technical factors such as what kinds of software they will be using. Nothing is more frustrating than your computer not being compatible with a websites software. Solving this problem involves much research and thought, steps that fall under the job description of the online editor.

As for testing usability, in my eyes, this may be the last but the most important step. Target is one of my favorite places to shop, yet there website is a bit of a train wreck in my eyes. The site is cluttered, confusing, and unintuitive. Due to these problems, I use Target's website very little and would be more willing to shop online at their site if it was tested more, making it more user friendly. If the editor designs and tests a site that is intuitive and enjoyable to use, it will be much more likely that the site will get proper attention and use. 

What steps on the checklist did you find most important? What steps do you think often get overlooked or aren't executed properly on your most used websites? 

The Ins and Outs of Editing

When I first started planning for my video project that will highlight four more Upstate restaurants that I have uncovered, I have to admit I was a little nervous. I have never really shot video footage before, with the exception of playing around on my iPhone, of course. I was apprehensive about asking restaurant owners to let me film, shooting the footage itself, and editing the clips to make a seamless story of my eatery adventures. I doubted myself and my video making abilities. After reading the chapter The "Aesthetics of Editing" in Ronald Osgood and Joseph Hinshaw's work Visual Storytelling, I feel like I am much informed and prepared for video editing.

While the chapter discusses many important techniques of editing, I will focus on three that I find important and want to use in my video. Those three techniques are listed and quickly defined below.

• b-roll or footage that visually describes the story 
• continuity or maintaing story consistency from shot to shot and within scenes 
• establishing shot or a shot providing indication of the location of the scene 

The chapter suggests that b-roll helps to describe the story visually while a person is speaking about the topic at hand. I plan to use b-roll with each of my restaurants while interviewing owners and friends. While the person I am interviewing answers questions about the restaurant or the experience, I will cut to clips of different images/scenes in the restaurant such as a close up of the food or friends ordering at the counter. 

Osgood and Hinshaw also state that keeping continuity in my video "helps to add to the believability of the scene and maintains realism". In the filming I have already done, I have been very careful to shoot footage that connects, makes sense, and pieces the story together in an obvious manner. Since my topic is fun and personal, I don't want to confuse my viewers with unrelated, unconnected jump cuts. Instead, I want them to feel as if they were along for the journey by making it easy for them to see why I have enjoyed uncovering all these delicious restaurants. Continuity will help achieve this goal. 

The final technique that I think will add to my video is the use of establishing shots. The chapter discusses the importance of letting the audience know where a scene is taking place by way of an establishing shot or a cue in the dialogue. In my shots, I have been starting every time with a clip of the front of the restaurant, highlighting the sign especially. This will hopefully show my audience where the next scene will take place, keeping them informed and interested. 

For someone who has little experience with filming and editing, reading helpful tips such as those in this chapter help immensely. What techniques are you excited to try in your future filming and editing? Do you find it harder to film and get the right shots or edit your filmed material? 

Storyboarding: Getting My Ducks in a Row

Pointing Out Point of View

Point of view is something we have heard about our whole lives. In my experience, point of view was usually brought up in an English class in relation to a novel or poem we were reading at the time. I would have to decide, it is first person, third person, second person in the "you" form? While I admit it was never the most exciting thing to learn about, point of view is very important in all aspects of life. It is crucial to know whose point of view a story is being told from, what it is supposed to mean, and who it is supposed to target. In the article The Art of Technique by John Douglass and Glenn Harnden, chapter 3 is titled Point of View.

While this chapter deals with the same first, second, and third person lessons we have been taught over and over again in classes past, I particularly enjoyed the portion on point of view and attitude. It brings to light phenomenon that we as consumers of media deal with everyday - conflicting point of view pieces and texts addressing the same topic. The chapter referenced conflicts such as depictions of the Catholic church and French Colonial occupation of North Africa and how they might be received differently based on different points of view. However, being a 20 year old female, the example that stuck out to me the most was that of the portrayal of love. To me a perfect example is the popular Nicholas Sparks novel-based film, The Notebook. The article beautifully balances first and third person narration as well as plays to different audiences with different points of view. Again to me, the girl that falls too quickly, loves a good cry, and likes to hope that fairytales do exist, the movie appeals perfectly to my point of view and attitude. However, show The Notebook to a 20 year old male and the sentiment might be quite different. The point of view and attitude just might not line up.

After looking at this example, it is easy to see why we should be thanking our high school English teachers for hammering point of view into our brains. As a producer, or in our case, the creator of a class video, it is crucial to understand point of view to not only know how our work will be taken but also how are specific audiences will be touched.

What are some examples of effective use of point of view? Can you think of other popular movies that may reach audiences very differently? Can you appreciate movies and texts even if they don't line up with your specific point of view or attitude?

Experience Design: Crafting a Masterpiece

When I first saw the title of the article Experience Design by Nathan Shedroff, I will admit I was a little bit confused. Of course I know what the word experience means and what the word design means, but what I didn't know was that there is a growing field dedicated to "designing experiences". If you are anything like me, you are probably thinking "Wait, what? Experiences are something to be crafted, not events that just occur"? While this was my first thought, Shedroff's article showed me that "there is something important and special to many experiences that make them worth discussing". Going even deeper, the article taught me that in order to design a certain experience, there are components that can be learned and copied to recreate effective experiences.

One thing that was a bit frustrating with the article was the way in which it jumped around so frequently, talking one minute about surfers experiencing a no nonsense surfing website and the next about a simple form created by a company to make tax returns more understandable. While this theme made it a little hard for me to focus at times, I think the main reason for Shedroff taking this approach was to support his earlier claim that "all experiences are important". It doesn't matter whether you are experiencing a touching Holocaust museum or playing with an online coloring book, all experiences tell us something about ourselves and can be designed in a way to be the most efficient, effective, and enjoyable experiences possible.

Since there was an array of topics discussed, I want to focus quickly on the section about blogging- it is only fitting, right? In talking about blogging, Shedroff states, "Experiences that allow people to communicate with each other or simply to be heard tend to be rewarding, satisfying ones". It makes me happy that in this young field of Experience Design, it is being realized that people respond well to having a place to communicate openly, freely, and personally (within some design limits, of course). In a world where technology is always changing and advancing, I find it crucial for the people in the world who are designing blog websites - and for that matter designing how we experience blogging- to be able to create blogging tools that allow further communication, personality, and interactivity.

To me, having a place to spill out my creativity and my feelings (this blog!), is liberating and comforting. It is easy for my ideas and thoughts to feel lost in a world where conversations over text messaging tend to be replacing conversations in person. While blogging is still an online, text driven form of communication, it allows me an experience of sharing my experiences, and hopefully inspiring others to share their experiences as well.

Do you think Experience Design is a necessary and useful field? Why or why not? In what ways do bloggers you follow share their experiences as well as inspire you to share your experiences? Do you agree with Shedroff on the importance of having experiences that allow us to share?

The Screen Has Become the Queen

Let's face it, in today's electronically driven world, the screen -whether it be movie, television, or computer- dominates the way we view and receive information and entertainment. We watch movies in 3D, catch up on our favorite TV shows on computer websites like Hulu, and read our books on screened devices like the Nook or the Kindle.

While it seems pretty apparent to the average viewer that watching a program or movie on a screen is definitely different than looking at the real world around us, it may not be obvious all the ways in which the screen defines how the image or show appears in our eyes. The article, The Two-Dimensional Field: Forces Within the Screen, clearly and plainly lays out for us the six major types of field forces that influences the way images and shows appear within the confines of a screen. While the article discusses all six - main directions, magnetism of the frame and attraction of mass, asymmetry of the frame, figure and ground, psychological closure, and vectors- I found the rules for figure and ground to be the most fascinating and will talk about them here.

The article states that figure and ground is "one of the most elemental structural forces operating within the screen". I took this to mean that it is important for us to know what the figure is and where the ground is located in an image in order for us to establish the certain breaks in object and ground within the screen. To help differentiate the object from the ground, the article lists these 5 easy steps to keeping to all clear.

• The object is thinglike. 
• The figure lies in the front of the ground.
• The line that separates the figure from the ground is part of the figure, not the ground.
• The figure is less stable than the ground; the figure is more likely to be moved. 
• The ground seems to continue behind the figure.

These are all important tips as either a viewer or a creator of screened images and shows. I now know that when uploading pictures to the internet that I want viewer to perceive in a certain way, I can change the perception of ground and object to read however I want, even blending the two together or creating different grounds/objects when looked at two different ways, such as with the images below. By using placement of the object and ground as well as movement and ground, I can make the viewer perceive things of the image even if they are not necessarily true. 

What images/advertisements can you think of that blur the lines of object/ground? Are they effective in drawing you in? How would you use image/ground to lead an audience to a certain perception? 

The Upstate Uncovered: Putting Words to the Images

The Upstate Uncovered is an audio/slideshow combination that describes my experience uncovering local Upstate South Carolina restaurants. The four restaurants featured are Tommy's Country Ham House, Brick Street Cafe, The Little Coffee Pot, and The Mason Jar.

Special thanks to Anna Fluevog, Elizabeth Griffin, Maggie Austin, and Morgan Black for joining me on this adventure and speaking about their experiences.
Music Credit: Copyright Zac Brown Band - Song Title: Chicken Fried

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?

Open Your Ears, Not Your Eyes

Buzz, buzz, buzz. Tick, tick, tick. "That's a lot of tweeting". As I sit here in my apartment, writing this blog post on our newest reading, The Zen of Listening, I hear a plethora of noises around me. The vent of our AC makes a slightly annoying buzz. The clock on our collage wall ticks in a steady rhythm. My roommates voices discuss the social media going on with the presidential debate. Prior to this reading, I probably wouldn't have been acutely aware of these sounds. I probably would have drowned them out while working away in my chair in the corner of the living room.

Because listening is so innate, I have never taken much time to think about the act of listening and how it relates to the way we consume media, specifically radio. Just as listening is innate, as the article mentions, my love of radio seems innate as well. When I get in my car, the radio comes to life immediately, usually set to 99.9, my favorite country station. I sing along with songs, let it play softly in the background, and flip the channels when I am tired of hearing commercials. It is all so natural, right?

Two of the points in the article I enjoyed the most were the discussion of our love of radio due to the power listening has on our imagination and the idea that radio was the first and remains one of the best ways to feel a mutual sense of connection at the same time as people all over the world.

The article discusses in depth the ways in which the radio allows us to take the voices and situations we hear on the radio and turn them into whatever we want. We can imagine what the DJ looks like, where a newscaster is reporting from, and how a song would play out in a video in our minds. People love radio, myself included, for the same reason they love tangible, worn in books. Yes a movie can perfectly put into visuals the characters or setting from your favorite book. But when happens, the creation of your own mind imagination is crushed. In order for people to grow as imaginative individuals, the opportunity must be given to think and create on your own. Radio does just that.

I also enjoyed the brief history of radio and the ways in which it was such a revolutionary invention when it first become widely used. In the past, the radio was a coveted piece of technology, used to connect people and pass information over miles and miles. Today, I believe we take the radio for granted, not recognizing the way in which it still represents a single moment in time, very much the same, and being shared by millions of people at the same time. It is very personal in the way we can apply our imagination and very communal in the way we share it with so many other people.

Do you still listen to the radio frequently? If not, what do you use to listen to music and other broadcasted information? An iPod, Pandora, other?
What do you like about radio that you don't think TV can offer?

The Upstate Uncovered

These 20 pictures represent the nature and atmosphere of the four Upstate South Carolina restaurants I have recently uncovered. My goal is to tell the story of the restaurant through the images by capturing and editing them in a way that makes you feel as if you were there dining with me. The restaurants featured are Tommy's Country Ham House, Brick Street Cafe, The Little Coffee Pot, and The Mason Jar. Enjoy!

Capturing Moments: Before and After

         

In the image above the Rule of Thirds is being put into place. This rule states that the main focus of the image should be placed on or near one of the crossing points of the horizontal and vertical grid lines. In this case, my main focus is the coffee mug which lines up with the top, left crossing point. 

 

     

 

Composition: It Means More Than You Think

When looking at an image, whether it be a photograph, a newspaper, a magazine, or a painting, composition may not be the first thing you are drawn to if you aren't a trained photographer or artist. You might first look at the image on a surface level, taking in the first instant of the visual. Next you might allow the emotional appeal to flood over you, deciding how it is you feel about the specific image. After reading the chapter The Meaning of Composition, I realize that how an image, article, or newspaper is laid out speaks volume for the meaning associated with what the author is trying to convey.

To explain the importance of composition, I will discuss the three interrelated systems, Information Value, Salience, and Framing, that give images meaning. It is these three things that allow us to be drawn to certain portions of the image and feel a certain way towards the image, which in turn gives them meaning.

Information Value, or how elements are placed in the space, tell us informational ideas based on the different "zones" of the visual. Whether it is right, left, top, bottom, or in the center, the placement of characters in the image means so much.

•      Left placement - represents the Given, or the information the audience already knows
•      Right placement - represents the New, or the unknown/fresh idea being portrayed to the audience
•      Top placement - the emotional/emotionally appealing portion of the image
•      Bottom placement - the factual/ or informative portion of the image 
•      Center - main ideal with support around

Because we are society that reads text from left to right, the placement of left to right mirrors the way we already digest information. Starting at the left, with info we already know, allows for the natural progression to the new info on the right side, much like the natural progression from the beginning to the end of the sentence. Similarly, we are very much a top-down society, placing the things we need to grasp the most at the top of our newspaper and magazine articles. In the same way, composition puts the emotional images at the top, grabbing the audience in and giving the factual information at the bottom. 

Although center composition is not used much in our society, center images represent a broad idea with supporting facts and information around. I believe the reason this does not work well in our society goes back to the way in which we digest our information, reading from left to right or top to bottom. 

Another of the three systems is Salience. Like information value, salience attracts us to different elements of the image based on placement, contrast in color, sharpness, and size. 

Finally, Framing, or the presence or absence of an image being framed a certain way, draws our attention, allows us to associate, or disassociate characters in an image. 

How does this image effectively use the elements of composition?

What forms of composition catch your eye the most? Can you think of some effective advertisements or images that help you to create meaning? Why do they work for you? 

The Meaning of a Viewer: A Personal Choice

Whenever my life gets overwhelming and I vent to my mom, she always tells me that only a small portion of life is the things that are placed before us, but what is truly important is how we react. Every time, I am reminded what wise words of wisdom these are (thanks, Mom!).  When reading the chapter Viewers Make Meaning, I couldn't help but remember these words. In a world were we are constantly hit with images and information from a number of sources, it isn't the items that are being sent to us but it is the way in which we respond, or take meaning, that is important.

The article begs the question of how images make meaning. Is it is the photographer who creates meaning? Is it the setting? Is it the producer or art director? I would agree with the article that while all these people or aspects play an important part and may want to create meaning, it is the audience or viewer who gives the image meaning. Let's consider the reasons why and how this happens.

While people respond to images on a daily basis, there are different types of images that should and will be decoded differently. Of course with most images coming from an advertising or product point of view, the image is meant for us to understand it in the way in which advertiser wish us to interpret it, but that doesn't always happen. People will respond in a multitude of ways considering such issues as social and cultural influence, socioeconomics, gender, and race. As the article states, you can feel happiness, fantasy, anger, or sadness depending on the moment, a familiarity for the product, or the way the product in portrayed. Take for instance the image below. You can feel the ad is too vulgar, to expressive, or very effective. If you are a "texter" while driving, you may feel guilty. If you know someone killed in a car accident where texting was involved, you may be filled with sadness and a sense of loss.

On the other hand, personal pictures of a family member or loved one also inspire people to react and create meaning differently than simple images we are unattached to, such as products defined by advertisers. As with the picture of my family below, I create a meaning very different from yours because the attachment I have to the people in the image. You may think that it is simply a pleasant picture of a family but I feel so much more. This two images clearly contrast the feeling of meaning in different images.

                                             Photo credit to Brittany Austin Photography

In these situations, the meaning given by the author or photographer is somewhat of a myth, because regardless the viewer will make their own judgements, whether the author likes it or not.
The ultimate point of this article, and I agree with its importance, is that in a world where images are thrown in our face all day, everyday, it is the job and privilege of the viewer to decode the meaning and make of it what they will. I love this aspect of the media world because it still places the choice in the hands of the viewer when we often don't have choices about media information.

Do you think the viewer is the main person responsible for the meaning of an image? Why or why not? What are some ads where you feel advertisers effectively get their message across and get people to feel the way they want? If this even possible?

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words... But the Words of Whom?

Snap. It's that easy. Grabbing a camera, focusing on a moment in time, and clicking. With three simple steps, you have succeeded in capturing a realistic, true instant in history, right? My answer to this question would be both yes and no. While I have always been one to put my full trust in images - to me pictures didn't lie - after reading the article Images, Power, and Politics, I'm not so quick to rely on the face value of a photo.

When you see an image, what is the first thing that comes to mind? To me, it is typically some emotional response followed by a feeling of concreteness, a sense that I am looking at a moment in time and discovering exactly what happened. I see now that I haven't always been an active viewer when it comes to digesting images. The article tied in many points we have been discussing in class on what gives a photograph meaning. In my eyes, a photo having a meaning and getting the meaning a certain way directly correlate with a photo having truth.

When considering how a photo gets it's truth, there are many answers to research. A few of them are listed below.

1. The photographer gives the image truth.
2. The camera gives the image truth. 
3. The viewer gives the image truth.
4. The situation gives the image truth. 
5. The objectivity accompanied with photography gives the image truth.

From studying the items listed above, it is easy to see that so much of an image's meaning and truth come from different perspectives. Is the photographer showing us all of the situation or only a small piece? Is the camera purely objective based on its nature of being a machine? Is the viewer culturally primed to decode the image in one way or another? Could the situation be taken in many different directions? 

Take for instance this image of a soldier in the Iraq War. When trying to decode the meaning behind this simple image of a soldier in a different pose than the rest of the men in the photo, many different interpretations can be formed. If you are a deeply spiritual person, you may immediately think this man is praying. If you are a soldier yourself, you may conclude that he is simply taking a moment of calm in the chaos that accompanies this role. If you are a protester of the war, you may be filled with anger that this man is in such a vulnerable state. Likewise, if you are a supporter of the war, you may be filled with great pride for you country and great respect for his man. 

With such opposing opinions that can be drawn from an image that is supposed to have such objectivity and truth, I can't help but question the amount of trust I should be putting in images. This point strengthens my thoughts that photos and writing should be paired together for the most effective source of truth. 

What was your first reaction when you saw the image of the soldier? Do you feel a solid truth can be found by viewing the image without a background story? What cultural, social, racial, or political factors do you think helped shape your interpretation of the image?