For this weeks blog we’ve decided to put focus on the first essay. I never really get a chance to talk to other classmates about interesting essay topics and what we plan on writing on so now I’ll do the most interesting thing i can. I invite you all to engage in an open forum for so we can pick each other brains. Now you don’t have to necessarily post your thesis statements however you could post your examples of visual rhetoric and say why you find it interesting (or uninteresting).
Option 1:
Now because we’re allowed to write about anything, I’d assume anything we chose to write about for this essay is a personal choice and perhaps gives insight into who we are (to some extent). And really, what I’m most personally interested in, is aesthetic. So do you think your visual is aesthetically pleasing? Why or why not? Provide some analysis on colors used, typeface/font, shapes, etc. There is much opportunity in this option to use what you know and the best part is, we get to see into the minds of other students which is rare for any class.
Option:2
The readings we've done in class have helped familiarize us with terminology and visual concepts. Many of these terms and techniques will be utilized in your first essays. As an alternative to going in depth into your essay's topic, cite and discuss a particular section of a reading (or an entire reading itself) and discuss why the reading helped you gain a stronger understanding of visual rhetoric. What did you consider to be very useful to you or excellent advice? What was confusing? Use this space to discuss any material you may not have understood or need some clarity with. How did having the student example essays help you think about your own essay? Was there anything these students did that you found to be effective?
A quick note from Dave to start things off:
Originally I was going to write about something different but instead I switched it to the subject of music videos, specifically one of my favorite ones. Music videos are hard for me to write about because I wear my biases on my sleeve and of course the song is capable into persuading you to like any accompanying visuals regardless of what they are. However I’ll apply a trick I learned from a film class and watch the video with sound and then without it. This video is more aesthetic with sound than without it.
