Considering Visual Elements

In the following post, I will be considering the visual elements of my argument and how I will construct and incorporate them into my genre for Project 3.

Bohland, Alyssa. "Screenshot of 'Project 3 - Creating A Public Argument' iMovie'" 11/4/2015 via iMovie.

Creating Visual Salience

Image Selection

Is the feeling or tone that the image invokes appropriate to the visual-rhetorical tone of my argument? 

Since I am making a video, I intend to make every image I use relevant to the rhetoric I would use if I were writing an essay. My topic is also heavily oriented on personal/emotional traditions. My images will illicit emotional responses, while still keeping with an historic tone.


If the image is a graph or chart, does it clearly support a major point of my argument, or is it superfluous?

I hadn't consider using any graphs in a documentary, but I can see how it may be useful to show the popularity of circumcision over the years, assuming I can find that information. I think that would be very useful to my argument, and will see if I can incorporate it into my video.


If the visual image is used as a part of a video, does the information or images that come before and after it clearly connect to the image?

This will be very important with all of the images in my video. I want all the images to coherently flow from one to the other as well as the narration I will provide. I don't want there to seem like there were any awkward pauses.

Creating Visual Organization 

If you are designing an audiovisual text, such as a short film, are the scenes ordered clearly?

This is an extension of the question I answered above, about the relevance of single images. It is equally important to portray each "subcategory" of information coherently. I want the video on a small scale, considering individual elements, and a large scale, as a whole, to be effective.

Do too many visual images make your text busy or disorganized? If so, which images might you omit?

This is another question that I am concerned with. In the past when I've made video projects, I've watched them so many times in a row that, though I'm understanding the information, others might not. I want to make sure I don't show the images in too quick succession, not allowing my audience to spend enough time looking at it, or vice versa.

Creating Visual Impact

Do the different visual and textual elements come together persuasively as a whole, or are there elements that seem disconnected or out of place?

All these questions have been hard to answer as I have honestly not started my video yet; however, I feel this one also relates to the previous two questions. I want all the small elements/images to tie together to make one big, persuasively effective argument. Images are obviously very important to my argument and I plan on spending a lot of time organizing them coherently.

Looking back at your images, are they placed or sequenced in the most persuasive ways?

This is another aspect I need to consider very carefully. I have my outline planned as far as information goes, but translating that into a video will require me to be very careful with how I organize everything. I can think of videos that are persuasive, but I have never personally created one. I think this will be my most challenging obstacle.