Proseminar Blog – B. Cicirello

I chose to do a photo essay for the writing with new media project. I have worked in all three of the selected mediums, but I think that the most challenging to get your message across is through pictures alone.

I did not add any text or words to my essay. Instead I included music that I picked specifically because it matched the mood of the piece. The music has no words and the only vocals are musical, not lyrical. The whole movement of the piece is done through sound/music and the switching of the pictures in a slideshow. 

I used a series of pictures that were taken as the photographer climbed the back path to the castle Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, Germany. The pictures themselves do not belie the intentions of the photographer until late in the slideshow. The path could be in many places all over the world, and in fact the photos look like the photographer is heading for a bridge. But the bridge is actually the place where the final photos will be taken, and while it is the goal of the photographer to get there, it is not the goal of the trip. Instead the goal of the trip is to use the bridge to take a picture of the castle. 

When choosing the photos, I made sure to place them in the correct order, so it seems like as they go by, you feel like you are making progress. The music was also added as it works itself into a crescendo. This also helps the viewer get the feeling of climbing. 

The editing process when using images is a little different than using text. Each photo is edited visually and then placed in a sequence. It would be like getting a list of sentences from someone and editing them and sequencing them so they make a story.  

You also I think have to have a balance between obvious and subtle when you use photos to tell a story. The story needs to be a bit obvious for the first time watcher so they remain interested and “get it.” Too many obscure photos in a row may make people shrug and turn it off. You can still inject some subtlety though by adding room for interpretation. This gets people thinking about your piece and interacting with it rather than just viewing it.

Here is a great article. It argues that Obama’s key to success was his push through new media.