Visual+Literacy

=Visual Literacy=

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Welcome. I'll post items so the most recent is closest to the top. Look for attached files, hot links, and recap of assignments here. Be sure to email me directly if you can't find what you're looking for:======

iCal address:
webcal://seneca.fivetowns.net/calendars/Visual%20Literacy.ics

Assignment for 4/25 - Begin Film scene storyboard. Assignment for 4/27 - Begin rough draft of essay.
Work toward the big essay analyzing a 3-6 minute scene from a self-chosen school-appropriate film. Include complete storyboard tracking individual camera shots, sound effects, music, words spoken as dialogue or voice-over narration Essay should introduce film (title, director, year, overall focus and function of scene put into context of overall film), address FFORMM (focus, function, order, relationships, meter, and meaning) in a way that uses filmmaking terminology (framing, camera angle, diegetic vs. non-diegetic sound, focus, editing, costumes, script) to best explain significance of director’s choices in presenting this series of images. 1000+ words

Assignment for 3/14 - Paragraph comparing portraits
In a well-developed paragraph, compare two or more portraits featured in the previous slides. Emphasize synthesizing the details from sources. Include a strong topic sentence, specific reference to details from each image, and a conclusion sentence that comments on the significance of the comparison between the images, especially in how they differently convey character. Gilbert Stuart. George Washington, 1796. Oil on canvas. Alexander Gardner. Abraham Lincoln, 1865. Photographic print. John Singer Sargent. Portrait of a Boy, 1890. Oil on canvas. Dorothea Lange. Migrant Mother, 1936. Black-and-white photograph.

Assignment for 3/12 - Paragraph comparing landscapes
In a well-developed paragraph, compare the two landscapes featured in the following slides. Emphasize synthesizing the details from both sources. Include a strong topic sentence, specific reference to details from each image, and a conclusion sentence that comments on the significance of the comparison between the two images.

Thomas Cole, __The Oxbow, 1836__. Oil on canvas. Charles Sheeler, __American Landscape, 1930__. Oil on canvas.

Assignment for 2/29 - Choose a Pulitzer-winning photo
Browse 1995-present[| Pulitzer Prize winning Feature Photography] based on personal interest and find out more by clicking "More Details." Click on "Works" tab to view the series of thumbnails; double-click for larger versions. Browse images, selecting one with details you can understand and discuss in depth. Read the caption that explains the photo and consider ways that the caption shapes your understanding of the situation being photographed. Be prepared to share this photo in class and begin a longer essay analyzing it in class. Additional information on essay and sample essay in file below:

Assignment for 2/14 - Analyze an advertisement
Choose a print ad which displays several of the principles we've discussed in class. Write a well-developed paragraph that analyzes the principles of visual design (focus, proximity, alignment, repetition, and contrast...) used in creating the ad. In addition, discuss what these principles reveal about the 'speaker' of the ad, how these principles might appeal to the intended audience of this product, and how the content is intended to persuade the audience (ethos, logos, pathos). Bring in both a hard copy of your paragraph and the original ad.

Assignment for 2/10 - Maps that advertise
Find a map used for some advertising purpose. Look to the yellow pages, college admissions materials, local tourist materials, Snow Bowl trail map.... Write a well-developed paragraph analyzing the purpose of this map, making reference to several elements used within the map to support your conclusions. Think carefully how selection of detail (what’s in the map as well as what isn’t), color, orientation, title, legend, and organization on the page (including focus, proximity, alignment, repetition, and contrast) influence how this map is meant to be viewed by its intended audience.

Assignment for 2/8 - Analyze displays of data
Find two visualizations of data (maps, graphs, charts...)linked to the same general topic. Start with a textbook or topic of interest or browse [|USA Today's daily snapshots] Select images with details you can understand and discuss. Copy and paste the images along with associated captions into a Pages document that analyzes the composition of the images, and how elements of the image (as well as any accompanying text) provide commentary on the event. How do the SPEAKER, AUDIENCE, and CONTENT reveal the PURPOSE of individual/collective images? Aim to understand how the composition of individual images reveals the limitations of the information conveyed. How do these images make an argument? Remember the five questions from //How to Lie with Statistics//: Who says so? How does he know? What's missing? Did somebody change the subject? Does it make sense?

Visit [|Book Cover Archive]
__Select one book cover that catches your interest.__ Drag a thumbnail of its image onto a Pages document and write a paragraph analyzing how its elements [typeface, design on the page (focus, proximity, alignment, repetition, contrast), choice of color, choice of visual...] function to appeal to you as an individual viewer. __Select one book cover that you do not find attractive.__ Drag a thumbnail of its image onto your document and write a paragraph analyzing how its elements function to repel you as an individual viewer.

Assignment for 2/2 - Black Square Problem
Download the Keynote below. Using the design principles covered so far, create images using only black squares that express the six abstract concepts (order, decrease, bold, congested, tension, and playful). Once you've completed your work, resave document as "Last name - Black Square."

Assignment for 1/27 - Syllabus
Below is the file for the Visual Literacy syllabus (it includes two pages, duplicates of each other). For a class emphasizing visuals, it sure isn't very visually attractive! Take one page and disrupt the elements by making poor choices with reference to focus, alignment, proximity, repetition, or contrast. Then take the second page and using whatever graphic design skills you currently possess, reformat this syllabus to make it even more visually appealing, using non-print elements and effective design to assist in clear communication. While you may eliminate some words in an effort to condense in either version, all of the fundamental information should be conveyed in some way. For each version of the syllabus, write a short paragraph that summarizes the changes you made and the effect these changes had on the presentation of the information.

Assignment for 1/25
Download the Keynote document below. On each of the five body slides, make three observations about the visual images based on your current level of 'visual literacy.' Observations would ideally center on the visual organization of information, including elements of focus, proximity, alignment, repetition, and contrast. Save your work in its original Keynote form. BEFORE the beginning of class on 1/25, email me your new Keynote document in order to gain full credit for this work.

Please click on the following link to complete an evaluation of / reflection on Visual Literacy. //https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dERab0htbTdmV1luT24yY2ZFaWlGM2c6MA#gid=0//

Advertising Analysis Essay - Rough draft due 12/1; Final draft due 12/7 While you are pooling your advertisements for the particular product and generating discussion around the ad choices with a partner, the required analytical essay will be completed INDIVIDUALLY. Product descriptor and rubric are available in the following file: Advertising grid to fill out about 10 ads:

For November 16, 2010 Visit the website for Adventure Advertising and browse their ad campaigns in preparation for Joe Ryan's visit to class. http://www.adventure29.com/Adventure_Advertising/Home.html Come with one print advertisement you want to discuss (because you like it or because you don't) and one question/comment for Mr. Ryan based on an observation from the website.

Assignment #4 -- For class 9/16 Choose one snapshot you’ve taken or received and analyze its composition based on the basic principles. Then write 3 different captions of the image, each one directing the viewer in different ways and changing the perceived “meaning” of the image. AND Read pages 69-76 in Picturing Texts.

Assignment #3 -- For class 9/14 Read Pages 20-55 in Picturing Texts