Tutorial Responses

Emphasis

1. Initially, my attention is drawn to the notepad that the person in the video is writing on. However, since there are so many objects surrounding the notepad and taking up more space, I begin to lose interest in the writing. The emphasis is effective, however I do not think it reaches it's maximum potential.

2. The moment where the stop-motion pauses and the author is out of the picture emphasizes the importance of what is written on the notepad. It gives the viewer a brief moment to absorb the information given. Ceasing the stop-motion makes it easier to view what she has written, allowing the audience a chance to grasp the context of the text.

3. The music sounds more harsh when she gets to the end of every line. I think different and less repetitive music would have been more effective. I would have used something that directly correlated to the movements and the main points of the video. I felt like I had to think about how it emphasized the video rather than those realizations coming naturally. The emotion it brought out made it seem fun and not very serious. It was a pretty mellow, repetitive beat that simply added a little bit to the film.

Contrast

1. The voice mixed with the written text on the screen declares the importance of the message. While the text scrolls down, the background scrolls to the side. Since there is a darker background to the light words, the words stand out the most. It doesn't contrast very much, however, since the color used are all in the same family.

2. In this section of the clip, the contrasting elements are the text, which is a light color, and the background, which is black. This makes the writing stand out more and causes the viewer to focus only on the words rather than additional images in the back. Since the writing stands alone with such high contrast depicted in the overall image, the intensity of the image is higher.

3. If I were to make a poster for this video, the title of the program would contrast with the rest of the image. I would have it grab the readers attention. With almost equal importance would be a basic description of the program. I would make sure there was a way for the audience to clearly know what it was about, and how to find information. The colors I would use would be similar to the ones used in the video to maintain consistency. The poster would have to be designed towards an audience of younger adults, since that's who the program is for. 

Organization

1. I arranged the pictures in following way: flowers, a girl painting, a math equation written in chalk, what looks like a junkyard, and finally a stone angel that does not depict happiness. To me, this conveys the message of how the things that make you happy can eventually turn into the things that make you stressed out and unhappy. I imagine the sequence being something along the lines of someone painting beautiful nature (the flowers and the artist), then going to school or creating a job out of their hobby (the math equation), then becoming stressed and losing interest and creativity (the junkyard), to eventually feeling sad about something that you used to love.

2. I could have done the exact opposite if I rearranged the sequence. I could have put the pile of junk first, then the angel (which would cause the audience to think something happened that had a saddening impact), then the math and flower pictures (which could say something about finding a distraction to take a way from sadness), to the girl painting as the last portrait (showing that everyone needs an outlet when faced with something sad). This would make the story go from something sad to something happy, rather than the other way around as it was originally organized.

3. Having the pictures in a slide show with music could add emotion to the text. It would emphasize the way the story is supposed to be perceived. Since everyone understands things differently, interpretation would be more definite, rather than how each individual sees it.

Alignment

1.     The way the letters slowly drop down to form the word make it easier for the viewer to be aware of the authors intentions on how they should be read. They gently drop to the bottom of the screen with the letters scatter, and then lightly fade out. It is obvious that the author wants the words read in a delicate fashion. It emphasizes the word and meaning “murmur.” 

2.     The visual now says “in the weeds” and the background turns green. There are three different phrases: “in the weeds,” “murmuring,” and “insects.” They came in slowly, and at the bottom of the screen. If they were at the top, the text might say “in the trees.” Since it’s at the bottom and says “weeds,” it emphasizes where the insects are located, and makes you focus on the words rather than the background.

Proximity

1.     I grouped the two title messages at the top of the page: "The Seagull" and "A Novel About Flight." At the bottom, underneath the image of the seagull (which is in the center of the cover) I put the authors name. "The Seagull" and the authors name are in the same font which helps them connect.

2.     I think the title of the book and the image of the Seagull are the two most important things on the cover. The title lets you know a little bit about what the book is about, and the image gives you a visual description.  Everything is centered to make the page flow more, and to allow the reader to see all of the information on the page.

3.     In a traditional way, the viewer may look past the book because it would be too typical. When I see a book like this with such a plain cover, it's hard to care about what the book is about. It's easy to assume it's not any different than most books. By putting it in a non-traditional format, it will catch the reader off guard and make them look at it for an extra minute, potentially looking to read it. However, this is only if it's done correctly. It could make the viewer think that if it's too confusing to read at the beginning, the actual book will be even worse.