Reflecting upon my previous two peer reviews, I noticed that it was quite obvious that there were comparable pros and cons to the processes. The only con I could really determine that was present from the first two was that my essay really didn't receive very much attention from my peers. Although it would get reviewed and revised, I felt like having a smaller group allowed for more response from from fellow students. This issue was also noticeable amongst my peers blogs as well.
One area where many seemed to agree on was the fact the wiki appeared easier to work with than Google Docs. While I noticed barely a difference between the two, I could tell that many of my peers found the wiki pages more successful in terms of gaining feedback from our peers.
(Just for future reference I really think having smaller groups for the video essay revision would be awesome! having only 2 other people in a revision group allows me to spend more quality time on fewer essays.)
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
McCloud Part 2
I decided to take a peek at Stacie's blog post where she decided to analyze "Kittiez!".
http://www.breakcomic.com/kittiez/kittiez3.html
In analyzing "Kittiez", Stacie discussed the elements of icon in regards to the comics characters and layout. She mentions how the kitten characters can be seen as abstract cartoons symbolizing for the reader cats/ and dogs. Stacie also briefly introduces the concept of closure.
As for my interpretation of McCloud and "Kittiez", I felt like talking about how I feel that the comic displays examples of "duo-specific" word combinations. McCloud defines duo-specific words as, "Panels in which both words and pictures essentially the same meanings" (153). Often in "Kittiez", the kittens often express their current emotions through both their dialogue AND the comic's visuals.
http://www.breakcomic.com/kittiez/kittiez3.html
In analyzing "Kittiez", Stacie discussed the elements of icon in regards to the comics characters and layout. She mentions how the kitten characters can be seen as abstract cartoons symbolizing for the reader cats/ and dogs. Stacie also briefly introduces the concept of closure.
As for my interpretation of McCloud and "Kittiez", I felt like talking about how I feel that the comic displays examples of "duo-specific" word combinations. McCloud defines duo-specific words as, "Panels in which both words and pictures essentially the same meanings" (153). Often in "Kittiez", the kittens often express their current emotions through both their dialogue AND the comic's visuals.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
McCloud Part 1
So I'm a little behind on this update, things are slowly winding down and that overwhelming feeling is coming back again.....any-who here we go!
The Link>>> http://www.thekitschen.net/sections/comics/finger/finger.html
This comic is essentially about a group of soldiers (who are finger puppets mind you) who are on a "lost adventure". As they are going about their ways, a "beautiful woman" comes around (a hand with eyes and a mouth drawn on it) and invites the sarge over for some 'sugar'. Soon it is revealed that this was a trap of sorts by the evil Dr. Strangeglove and his fingermans. This results in a battle where the sarge is forced to make a sacrifice in order to win this battle. He "jumps" toward Dr. Strangeglove and appears to disembody the puppets, resulting in the "loss of their legs". Finally when all seems won, Strangeglove makes one last attempt to win this battle, until he his stepped upon by the puppetmaster and then Sarge and his men are also crushed by their puppet masters hand....The End.
This comic required a few readings before everything seemed to fall into place. And after this I made a short list of some different things that I found in this comic that McCloud mentions in "Understanding Comics". For those who don't know, Scott McCloud is a comic (creator) who dove headfirst into trying to solve the mystery as to what exactly are comics? His text is a written comic about comics in a nutshell, and this approach he used was very successful in my opinion. So without further ado.....
1) As anyone can see, the puppets in this comic haven't been created with full facial structures. McCloud highlights this phenomena on page 36 when he discusses 'General Placement'. McCloud defines 'General Placement' essentially as the "sketchy arrangement or sense of shape".
2) McCloud introduces on page 66 the 'Gutter' and its importance in comics. He states that it essentially allows for the human imagination to take over. This works in many comics, however in mine I believe that this phenomena is overlooked. Much of this comic's 'plot' and sequences occur in the actual story panel's.
3) Lastly, this comic utilizes a lot of what McCloud calls, "Subject to Subject" progressions. On page 70, McCloud defines this as, " Staying within a scene or idea while keeping a degree of reader involvement which is important because it renders the transitions as 'meaningful'." I believe this comic follows this pattern mainly because of the plot. The plot is basically about a battle between two factions, therefore there is much action found in this comic.
The Link>>> http://www.thekitschen.net/sections/comics/finger/finger.html
This comic is essentially about a group of soldiers (who are finger puppets mind you) who are on a "lost adventure". As they are going about their ways, a "beautiful woman" comes around (a hand with eyes and a mouth drawn on it) and invites the sarge over for some 'sugar'. Soon it is revealed that this was a trap of sorts by the evil Dr. Strangeglove and his fingermans. This results in a battle where the sarge is forced to make a sacrifice in order to win this battle. He "jumps" toward Dr. Strangeglove and appears to disembody the puppets, resulting in the "loss of their legs". Finally when all seems won, Strangeglove makes one last attempt to win this battle, until he his stepped upon by the puppetmaster and then Sarge and his men are also crushed by their puppet masters hand....The End.
This comic required a few readings before everything seemed to fall into place. And after this I made a short list of some different things that I found in this comic that McCloud mentions in "Understanding Comics". For those who don't know, Scott McCloud is a comic (creator) who dove headfirst into trying to solve the mystery as to what exactly are comics? His text is a written comic about comics in a nutshell, and this approach he used was very successful in my opinion. So without further ado.....
1) As anyone can see, the puppets in this comic haven't been created with full facial structures. McCloud highlights this phenomena on page 36 when he discusses 'General Placement'. McCloud defines 'General Placement' essentially as the "sketchy arrangement or sense of shape".
2) McCloud introduces on page 66 the 'Gutter' and its importance in comics. He states that it essentially allows for the human imagination to take over. This works in many comics, however in mine I believe that this phenomena is overlooked. Much of this comic's 'plot' and sequences occur in the actual story panel's.
3) Lastly, this comic utilizes a lot of what McCloud calls, "Subject to Subject" progressions. On page 70, McCloud defines this as, " Staying within a scene or idea while keeping a degree of reader involvement which is important because it renders the transitions as 'meaningful'." I believe this comic follows this pattern mainly because of the plot. The plot is basically about a battle between two factions, therefore there is much action found in this comic.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Picturing Texts
Here is the link to my webpage..... http://alienworkshop.com/news/jake-johnson/jake-johnson-wiretap-interview
I guess to start this thing off, I will utilize Steve's initial idea and talk about balance on my web page. As the text suggests, not all visual texts need to produce/showcase symmetry to provide engaging details for the reader. As my page shows, Greg Hunt (AWS layout designer/editor) utilizes chilling asymmetrical layouts and pictures that helps keep the reader visually engaged. While some may not personally enjoy the interview themselves for content, there is no denying that Alien Workshop's designers/writers know how to create a piece that is nothing but eye candy for the reader.
Emphasis is also a key component of visual aide. As Picturing Text also points out, items like size and color in fonts and images are crucial in gaining reader interest. In this Jake Johnson wiretap interview, the editors use both normal size and larger size fonts; but it's the colors of the images and texts that set this interview apart. If this interview was laid out to a black/white color scheme and didn't vary in styles, I firmly believe that many readers who look away from this text. The vibrant and eye popping blues and pinks that go with the text/images is what snatches the readers firm attention in this piece.
I guess to start this thing off, I will utilize Steve's initial idea and talk about balance on my web page. As the text suggests, not all visual texts need to produce/showcase symmetry to provide engaging details for the reader. As my page shows, Greg Hunt (AWS layout designer/editor) utilizes chilling asymmetrical layouts and pictures that helps keep the reader visually engaged. While some may not personally enjoy the interview themselves for content, there is no denying that Alien Workshop's designers/writers know how to create a piece that is nothing but eye candy for the reader.
Emphasis is also a key component of visual aide. As Picturing Text also points out, items like size and color in fonts and images are crucial in gaining reader interest. In this Jake Johnson wiretap interview, the editors use both normal size and larger size fonts; but it's the colors of the images and texts that set this interview apart. If this interview was laid out to a black/white color scheme and didn't vary in styles, I firmly believe that many readers who look away from this text. The vibrant and eye popping blues and pinks that go with the text/images is what snatches the readers firm attention in this piece.
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