Completed Mulitmodal Text

Multimodal Text

References to Paradigmatic and Post-Moderism

Paradigmatic
I decided early on, that I wanted to incorporate panning, after watching an episode of 'Inanimate Alice'. However, I could not see the best way to have this fit my story, so instead I have used video to animate one of my drawings, which can be seen on the second slide. I have added sound in addition to this, in order to match the picture, and overall making it more engaging, and animating.

Post-modernism

I have used different themes, by adding different effects, noises, colours and images. For example, the childlike themes are shown from the drawings, which show light basic colours, with very little detail. The cartoon theme is shown from the use of clip art images, such as the door, light bulb and light switch. I have also added typical cartoon noises, such as running to add to this theme. I have experimented with editing my photos colour, focus and filters, to include another theme. For example the images get darker, which creates more tension when incorporated with the 'spooky' music.

I used a zoom effect, that is also an example of post-modernism. This was seen on slide six, and allows the story to transition into the photographs with ease.

Syntagmatic Elements

As my text is a children's story, it  makes sense to make it more interactive. I have added three parts, that allow the audience to participate more in the story, as opposed to just view it. Two of these are buttons, that allow the story to progress when clicked. This is done by the use of 'triggers' and hyper-links, in PowerPoint. I chose to do the buttons red, and have them flash, so that it is clear the purpose of them. I also used capital letters, and have added an alarm noise, to create drama. For example these too buttons are labelled 'run after' and 'search', the noise and flash together, create the idea that it must be clicked on quickly. This is one example of a syntagmatic reference, as it involves a clear relationship between sound, colours, font and the buttons.

Another way in which I have made syntagmatic references, within my multi-modal text, is by the use of the background or slide as a 'stage.' As opposed to animating the slides, I have chosen to have objects, and effects, that come in and out of the slide, which in addition, draws focus on the characters and actions. This was done by the use of motion paths, of which can be seen in the image on the right.

Cultural Reference Points

As I have mentioned in a previous blog post, the story 'Granpa' has many cultural reference points. The characters chair and pipe, are clear examples of this. I found this interesting, and thought this would be a good aspect, to include in my multimodal text. My main character is a young girl, I drew her having blonde hair in pigtails with pink hairbands. I think this is a cultural reference point, as it is a very stereotypical view, of what a small child may look like. I have purposely only drew the top part of her head, as I wanted to emphasise this cultural reference point.

Incorporating Themes and Genres

As I have seen within the story 'Granpa' I chose to analyse earlier in my blog; the childlike themes are clear. This story in particular uses the use of childlike drawings, where the colours and lines are messy, to appear as if a child has drawn it. I chose to incorporate this in my own multi-modal text, as I wanted it to be clear the story is being told by a child, and I also wanted to use many themes together, to make it more interesting and engaging. The image on the left is taken from the book 'Granpa', of which I got my inspiration from to do the below drawings, for my own multi-modal text. However, this technique is also used in other children's story books, such as 'The Hungry Caterpillar.


These two images below are very simple, and do not contain any extensive amount of detail, presenting the idea that they are drawn by a child. When thinking about drawing the dog, I tried to think of a very simple basic appearance, to fit with the childlike theme. This is seen in children's picture books, such as 'Clifford the big red dog'. I coloured the images to make them more interesting, and fitting with the childlike theme. I also purposely made the lines and colouring scruffy for the same reason.

I have also chosen to incorporate a cartoon genre. This has been done with the use of clip art pictures, and sounds that you may often hear in a cartoon. For example the noise from the running of the dog, chasing the ball, on slide four fits this theme.

Progression of the Story

Darkening the image, after I have discussed showing progression, through the photos on the previous post, has made me think more, about how I could enable progression, through the sense of time. I could possibly darken the images gradually, as the story progresses, to present the idea that time is going by. This could contribute to a theme, as lighter images at the beginning, show a happier theme, and as they gradually darken, the theme gets darker. Suspense can also be built by enabling this type of progression.

I have also included speech bubbles, that show what the character is thinking or feeling. The image on the right is one example of this. I chose this particular font, as it appears fairly childlike, and handwritten. The use of the dots at the end, also helps to build suspense, and shows the character is concerned, and anxious about what is going to happen.

Editing Photos

I have expressed previously, that there are many possible effects, I could use on my photos that can aid in developing meaning. Here is an example of one photo, and how it is currently edited.

Original Photo
The original photo was taken in daylight. However, when taking the photo, I thought capturing a tall falling tree, might be of use to convey darker themes, and aspects of the story. As such, because I am aiming to use as little text as possible, I needed to edit the photo to fit the theme.

Edited Photo

The below photo, is the currently edited version. I chose to darken the entire image to show a difference in time of day, as well as to show a darker theme. I also darkened the edges of the photo and experimented with the focus features, to draw the audiences attention to the tree. I did this because I think the tree itself conveys a darker theme, as it is clearly falling. This is an example of a cultural reference point, that I am aiming to add to my multi-modal text.

Progression of the Story

As mentioned previously in my blog, inanimate Alice used pictures of the stairs gradually going up to construct the meaning of Alice climbing the stairs. This also built suspense and showed clear progression of the story. I thought about this technique when taking photos that could be used in my multi-modal text. The below images, show how I have attempted to use this technique. The images in the below order, can show that the character is walking through, and as the walls and pavement draw in closer, this could suggest that something is about to happen. The image also shows a cracked pavement and walls with graffiti, which could show that this part of the story is darker, and with the use of this technique together can help to build suspense and enable the story to effectively progress.

Possible Background Images

I have recently taken a number of photos, to be used as the background, within the multi-modal text. When taking the photos, I decided it was best to not have a specific theme in mind. This is because messages needed to emerge from the photos, these need to be clear messages, that the audience will be able to understand, as such I needed to be able to view the photos in the same way, to be certain these messages were clear.

When taking the photos, I thought about possible angles that could convey meaning. For example, the image on the left, was taken close to the ground, which enables the path to look a lot longer. This could convey that the character has a long way to go. This could also suggest the character is small, such as an animal, because their view would be lower than an adults. This has gave me possible ideas for characters and story-lines.

I could explore with possible effects, on photos like this one. For example, I could blur the sides, to create a darker theme, or to contribute to the idea that the path is long. I could also do this by darkening the image, or fading the image away in the powerpoint presentation.