Reflection on project three

In the following blog post I reflect on project three

Screenshot by Dylan Cotter 11/22/2015 Public Domain Usage

1. What was changed from one draft to the other.

The biggest change was that I added video interviews and switched out many of the pictures. Some formatting changes were made. I originally had "then he usually gets what he wants. I propose that..." as one continues paragraph, but instead I broke it up into two separate paragraphs.

2. Point to global changes

My project doesn't have a thesis because of the informal nature of the article. I never restructured my article that much from the beginning. The most global change was the addition of the videos which gave it my personal touch for my public argument.

3. What led you to these changes?

My peer reviewers, my redrafting of how the essay was written (3rd person to first person) and also my reconsidering of audience. Both digital and film filmmakers should read this and therefore I need to consider the pros and cons of both sides.

4. How do these changes affect your credibility as an author?

Being able to draft and redraft only adds to my credibility as an author. Also how I am able to draw from my experiences of working on both sides of the spectrum, adds to my credibility again. This is a deep and meaningful topic to me and I really wanted to do it right.

5. How will these changes better address the audience or the venue?

Hopefully these changes will make the audience take my argument more seriously and make them take my point to heart. Also my just focusing on my opinions and my experiences it comes from a place of experience and not of judgement.

6. Point to local changes, structure and style.

Most of the local revisions were just sentence structures and grammatical revisions. Simple formatting changes.

7. How did these changes assist your audience in understanding your purpose?

Because the document has all the words spelled correctly and grammatically correct structures, they will know that this article wasn't written by a five year old. And that it has a degree of professionalism to it.

8. Did you have to reconsider the conventions of the genre when you were writing in?

Not really, I had to consider the amount of pictures to include as conventionally there isn't as many pictures as I put, but I considered against it as pictures were needed for this argument.

9. Finally how does the process of reflection help you consider your identity as a writer?

Revision is important part of the writing process because eventually you get so caught up in what you are writing that you won't notice the mistakes or if something is not explained correctly. Revision can help you catch these mistakes and make the strength of the paper better.

Publishing public argument

In the following blog post I publish my final draft of my public argument. 

Here is my final draft of my public argument

1. Mark with an "x" where you feel your target audience currently stands on the issue (before reading/watcing/hearing your argument) below: My audience has their way or doing things and refuses all other ways of doing things, they either agree or disagree strongly depending on what side of the debate you are on. So they are on both sides of the spectrum, hence the two X's

←X----------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------X->

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly 

agree                                                                                                                          disagree

2. Now mark with an "x" where you feel your target audience should be (after they've read/watched/heard your argument) below: My aim is to get them to see the benefits of embracing both mediums and how there isn't just one way of doing things. This brings them more into the middle. 

←----------------------------X------------------------|-----------------------X---------------------------------->

Strongly                                            Totally neutral                                                    Strongly

agree                                                                                                                          disagree

3. Check one (and only one) of the argument types below for your public argument:

         _______ My public argument etablishes an original pro position on an issue of debate.

         _______ My public argument establishes an original con position on an issue of debate.

         _______ My public argument clarifies the causes for a problem that is being debated.

         ____X___ My public argument prooposes a solution for a problem that is being debated.

         _______ My public argument positively evaluate a specific solution or policy under debate (and clearly identifies the idea I'm supporting).

         _______ My public argument openly refutes a specific solution or policy under debate (and clearly identifies the idea I'm refuting).

4. Briefly explain how your public argument doesn’t simply restate information from other sources, but provides original context and insight into the situation:

My argument contains interview clips where I talk about my personal experiences with both shooting mediums. I discuss the pros and cons of both methods and then give my take on them. Then at the end I offer up a solution to the debate that I believe can end this debate. Therefore my argument provides my own, original insight to the debate from my experiences. And then, instead of trying to convince my readers of one way of doing things, I provide a neutral solution to the problem and don't take sides, which is a new context in this debate. 

5. Identify the specific rhetorical appeals you believe you've employedi n your public argument below:

Ethical or credibility-establishing appeals

                    __x___ Telling personal stories that establish a credible point-of-view

                    ___x__ Referring to credible sources (established journalism, credentialed experts, etc.)

                    ___x__ Employing carefully chosen key words or phrases that demonstrate you are credible (proper terminology, strong but clear vocabulary, etc.)

                    ___x__ Adopting a tone that is inviting and trustworthy rather than distancing or alienating

                    ___x__ Arranging visual elements properly (not employing watermarked images, cropping images carefully, avoiding sloppy presentation)

                    __x___ Establishing your own public image in an inviting way (using an appropriate images of yourself, if you appear on camera dressing in a warm or friendly or professional manner, appearing against a background that’s welcoming or credibility-establishing)

                    ___x__ Sharing any personal expertise you may possess about the subject (your identity as a student in your discipline affords you some authority here)

                    ___x__ Openly acknowledging counterarguments and refuting them intelligently

                    _____ Appealing openly to the values and beliefs shared by the audience (remember that the website/platform/YouTube channel your argument is designed for helps determine the kind of audience who will encounter your piece)

                    ___x__ Other: I have an entire video segment listing my credits and experiences which gives me the ability to talk about this topic intelligently and without bias. 

Emotional appeals

                    __x___ Telling personal stories that create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    __x___ Telling emotionally compelling narratives drawn from history and/or the current culture 

                    _____ Employing the repetition of key words or phrases that create an appropriate emotional impact 

                    ___x__ Employing an appropriate level of formality for the subject matter (through appearance, formatting, style of language, etc.)

                    ___x__ Appropriate use of humor for subject matter, platform/website, audience

                    _____ Use of “shocking” statistics in order to underline a specific point

                    __x___ Use of imagery to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    ___x__ Employing an attractive color palette that sets an appropriate emotional tone (no clashing or ‘ugly’ colors, no overuse of too many variant colors, etc.)

                    _____ Use of music to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    _____ Use of sound effects to create an appropriate emotional impact for the debate

                    __x__ Employing an engaging and appropriate tone of voice for the debate

                    _____ Other: 

Logical or rational appeals

                    _____ Using historical records from credible sources in order to establish precedents, trends, or patterns

                    _____ Using statistics from credible sources in order to establish precedents, trends, or patterns

                    _____ Using interviews from stakeholders that help affirm your stance or position

                    _____ Using expert opinions that help affirm your stance or position

                    __x___ Effective organization of elements, images, text, etc. 

                    ___x__ Clear transitions between different sections of the argument (by using title cards, interstitial music, voiceover, etc.)

                    _____ Crafted sequencing of images/text/content in order to make linear arguments

                    _____ Intentional emphasis on specific images/text/content in order to strengthen argument

                    _____ Careful design of size/color relationships between objects to effectively direct the viewer’s attention/gaze (for visual arguments)

                    ___x__ Other: Listing both the pros and cons of shooting with both mediums and discussing my experiences with both the pros and cons

Below link to three examples of you're genre:

Film vs Digital

Oscars: Inside the Film vs Digital Divide

Film vs. Digital 2

Reflection on Project 3 draft

In the following blog post I reflect on my project three draft.

Isabel Faul did my peer review of my rough draft

Her comments were valuable to me. As she was there when I was describing how I wanted to do my final draft, she knows better than most how it is going to work. Her opinions and thoughts on the pictures and the solution paragraph were very valuable and I will take them into heavy consideration during my revision process.

My process or argumentation needs the most work going forward. I need to include more pictures and also film and edit the videos which will be the the most work, but also a lot of fun.

After the conferences I am feeling really good because professor Bottai said he liked the idea and how I have it planned out. I am looking forward to the final draft, I think I will be proud of it.

Screenshot by Dylan Cotter "meg" 11/15/2015 Public Domain usage

Draft of public argument

In the following blog post I share my argument draft

Dear Peer reviewers,

All I ask of you is to read the few short paragraphs that I have written here. I ask you to tell me if the paragraphs are clear and use the picture of the film vs digital compression well. If you can see the differences and if my solution makes sense. Also if you can clearly tell what type of argument I am making. I will be including videos hopefully in this so they will expand more on it. thank you very much

Here is my draft

Considering visual elements

In the following post I consider my visual elements

Screenshot taken by Dylan Cotter 11/7/2015 "Coldplay" Public Domain Usage

1. What color tone reflects the visual rhetoric of my project

• A blue color tone would reflect the peaceful objective of my paper 
• I would stay away from red or  any confrontational colors

2. How might I vary the fonts and for emphasis, such as the title?

• I will use some bold and italics for both formatting issues and impact. For names drops and evidence highlights

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

• All of the images I am using are actually part of my article so yes they do exactly what I want them to do. 
• Pictures of the different types of cameras could be interesting, but it wouldn't be distracting so thats good. 

4. Is the image in close proximity to the issue or is it illustrating?

•  The image is in close proximity and also helps illustrate the point that I am trying to make. 

5.  If you're project contains lines or large blocks of text, could they be broken up into text boxes or something?

• I plan on using video elements so thats how the large texts boxes will be broken up. 

6.  If you are calling your audience to take action, are the consequences of not taking action expressed?

•  I am calling for my audience to take action and the consequences of not taking action are illustrated already because of the state that the industry is in, the good things about taking action are expressed 

Reflection:

I read Savannah's and Morgan's blog posts and found that they both had thought about their choices on visual images and elements very deeply. This will make their projects look good but will pay off because it will subconsciously draw their readers into their arguments. 

Project three outline

In the following blog post I outline my strategies for project three

Introduction

• Connect to the audiences world view.
• Everyone watches movies and knows big Hollywood stars, so that is a good place to start.
• All of y readers will have a substantial interest in movies so relating to them and appeals shouldn't be a problem. But convincing them will be.

Body

• Major supporting argument against film
• The progressive modernization and catching up of digital 
• the economic reasoning of digital
• The decreasing number of film producers
• All of these can be good evidence for embracing digital
• Major supporting arguments for film
• The traditional feeling and texture of film
• More life like
• The psychological effect of only having so much room to shoot
• All of these can be considered good evidence for shooting on film still
• Major criticisms of film
• It is now un reasonable to be spending all the money to get a film reel
• It takes more time than it should
• It isn't progressing fast enough
• All of these can support a switch to digital
• Major criticisms of digital
• Cant' do the things that film does
• doesn't give that cinema feel
• ruining the psychological feel of digital 
• All of these can support a continuation of film
• Key points and rebuttals 
• Points to support my solution 
• Producer make directors justify locations and equipment based on character, story or techniques
• People don't want to fight
• Key points against my solution 
• Film should be unified and standard
• People need to be on the same page
• Potential topic sentence for each support paragraph 
• "Digital provides a rapidly progressing and economically reasonable medium for filmmakers to shoot on, along with a distinct look and feel to the shots."
• Paragraph explaining digital filmmaking 
• "Film still holds that classic texture and feel that people are used to seeing, plus it still has the capabilities that digital doesn't."
• Paragraph explaining shooting on film
• Potential topic sentence for each rebuttal paragraph
• "While it is true that digital doesn't have the abilities that film does yet, it is advancing so quickly and it is so much cheaper that it has to be embraced".
• Paragraph for those opposing digital 
• "Movies are all about visuals, so since film has the most pleasing look, then it shouldn't be tossed out and it should be shot on more."
• Paragraph for those apposing film
• Gathering evidence
• Since this will just be my opinion and knowledge I won't be using any outside sources but my own brain.
• Mapping the argument

• Here is my coggle map 

Conclusion 

• Future of the debate
• This debate reached a boiling point but will soon be irrelevant because of the progression of digital 

Analyzing my genre

In the following blog post I analyze my genre of writing

Five examples:

1. The Hollywood Reporter example 1

The author uses a more informal/ QRG style of writing but is also informative with the information he is projecting across. This is ethos and logos.

1. The Hollywood Reporter example 2

This is another informal article style work that uses a real working cinematographer and DP to get its point across. The is logos and ethos.

1. The Hollywood Reporter example 3

This article is the most like that which I am trying to write in. It doesn't use subheadings or any conventions but is still written in an informal way. 

1. DSLR lounge article 

This article uses the first person writing style that I want to employ for my article, since I will be giving my opinion on this topic, I will need to use "I" in at least one section of the article. 

1. Digital photography school article

I cited this article because it showcases the visual comparisons that I intend to use for my article, showing both the film and digital versions of pictures. 

Screenshot by Dylan Cotter 11/4/15 "Army guys" Public domain usage

Social context:

Where is the genre typically set?

• This genre is in magazines and online articles such as the ones that I have hyperlinked above, The Hollywood Reporter is the biggest magazine that would host these articles. 

What is the subject of the genre?

• The subject of my genre is to inform people about the continuing evolution of a debate, and then to show them how this conflict can be resolved. 

Who uses this genre?

• Anyone who has an opinion on something and can spell, reasonably well can use this genre. However the best examples are written by those who have prior work or experience in the field they are writing on.

When and why is the genre used?

• Being the most versatile genre out there, anyone can use this genre. It can be used to update, argue, persuade, vent, and even plead with people to adopt puppies from battered homes. 

Rhetorical patterns of the Genre:

What type of content is usually included and excluded?

• When used to update people in an informative article, then a timeline is normally found, pictures, and quotes are included. Occasionally even a video link can be included. 
• Scholarly conventions are excluded, so there isn't a formal forward or anything like that, other than that most information is included in this. 

What rhetorical appeals are used most often?

• Since it is an informative article, ethos and logos are used a lot. However because it is an informal style of writing pathos can also be used in the form of opinions or personal anecdotes. 
• With film, most people take personal anecdotes the best, but the other two help out as well. 

How are the texts organized? Do they open in similar ways?

• I have found that they tend to be vastly different in their style. Just as filmmakers can take a scene and shoot it in a million different ways, you can appeal to filmmakers in a million different ways and won't even please everyone, unless you make The Godfather. 
• There seems to always be a rhetorical question though, or one that doesn't have a concrete answer. 

What type of word choice is used? Do they fit in a particular category of slang?

• There is not a lot of slang used, sometimes you will find film lingo such as an "abbey singer shot" or a "martini" but that is about the extent of slang, as far as word choice is it very open and so it solely depends on the writer, there isn't really a common string. 

What do those patterns reveal about the social context of that genre?

Who does the genre include and who does it exclude?

• The genre includes filmmakers and those who care about the inner workings of filmmaking. 
• It excludes those who don't care about that sort of thing, and who aren't reading these articles. 

What roles for writers and readers does the genre inspire?

• If the article is a position argument then it will strengthen the feelings of those whose side it is taking. 
• If it is an informative article then it aims to make their readers more knowledgable. 

What values are assumed or encouraged from the users of the genre?

• The authors assume that the readers already know a certain amount and are caught up on the latest developments in their issue that they are writing about. 
• The readers assume that the article will take a side, which is where my article will differ from others. 

What content does the genre treat as most valuable?

• These articles are for filmmakers, short attentions spans, visually oriented and highly creative. So those that can get their point across quickly and keep their readers attention. 

Reflection:

I read Morgan's blog and her amount of understanding and her amount of knowledge really helped me understand what I needed to know for my own project. It really helped me know what to write about and how my post was supposed to look. I read Savannah's blog and found that she had a good understanding of her audience as well and that her choice to do a blog post was perfect for her genre and topic.