Jeds blog

General Questions

How are symbols, images, and sounds and other conventions used in visual media?

Symbols, images, sounds, and other conventions are used in visual media to increase the emotional feelings in the audience. These include making them cry, feel jubilant, or utterly irritated. Conventions are usually used together in synchronization. They will work together to express an overall mood. By using these conventions as a collection, they can create overwhelming feelings which will cause the visual part of the experience to be fully successful.

What are the ways in which image-makers carefully construct meaning?

Image-makers carefully construct meaning by using symbols, images, sounds, and other conventions in harmony. Image makers will only combine conventions of the same emotion together. For example, they won’t mix a happy picture with a sad song. Image-makers will also use text to enforce the meaning of the visual.

 

 

How are techniques used in visual media to influence or appeal to a particular audience?

Many different techniques can be used in visual media to influence or appeal to a particular audience. For instance, if you’re trying to create an eye catching movie, you’d use happy and loud music with bright pictures. Also, common symbols might be used such as the dove to show that the movie is about peace.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Knowledge – Describe the symbols, images, and sounds you used to complete your projecta
In our short presentation, we used many symbols. We used the Star of David, the Swastika, and the earth surrounded by barb wire. We also used clouds with a sun coming out and a swing with a person pushing two other people. Finally, we also used a butterfly, a meadow, and the tattoo from the concentration camp. The images that we used were of Anne’s family’s life before the war began. We also used pictures of their hiding place and the cattle cars. Finally, we used pictures of their concentration camps, the gravestone of Anne and Morgot, and a meadow. The sound effects we used were birds, screams, trains, guns, and creaks. We also used songs There She Goes by Six Pence None the Richer, Suddenly I See by KT Tunstall, and Where is the Love by Black Eyed Peas. The other convention that we used was text. We mostly used quotes from Anne’s diary that are the most meaningful and significant.

Comprehension – Discuss how these symbols, images, and sounds carefully construct meaning
We used the Star of David to show how the Jews were labeled by the Nazis. The Star of David also represents the number seven, the six points and the middle. To the Jews, the number seven had religion connections. For instance, the six days of creation plus the seven days of rest. The Jews also had seven spirits of god, and the Jewish Menorah has seven oil lamps. We used the Swastika because it shows that the Nazis were involved and civilized since they had their own symbol. The picture of the earth surrounded by barbwire shows that more or less the entire planet being involved in the war and the constriction of the Jews. We used the sun symbol to show the hope that the Jews had of returning to their normal lives. This shows hope because it shows the sun emerging from behind the clouds as if there is newfound hope. It also shows that no matter what, there will always be that one person like Anne who is always hopeful. We used the swing symbol to show the freedom that was finally returned to the Jews after the war and the peace that was restored. Furthermore, this shows the teamwork of others around the world to help the Jews in the war since the middle person is pushing the other two. The butterfly symbolizes the beauty of the world and nature. The meadow symbolizes freedom and independence. The tattoo from the concentration camps showed the Jews that they’ll never leave the camp. It also showed the Jews that they had been marked with which slaves are branded. The pictures before the war show how cheerful people were before the destruction such as the picture of Anne with all of her friends. The pictures of the train and concentration camps show what hardships had to be taken on by the Jews. An example of such a picture is the photograph of all of the Jews that have already died. The creaking of the door was used is meant to symbolize the opening of the war and the capture of the people at the secret annex. The trains and screaming sounds show the transportation used and the chaos that occurred. The bird sound shows the freedom and joy of nature. The first song is a happy song since it shows the wonderful life before the war. The second song’s lyrics tell about Anne. “And everything around her is a silver pool of light. The people who surround her feel the benefit of it.” These show Anne’s jubilant personality and how it is passed to others. The last song describes the war. “People killing people dying. Children hurtin you hear them crying. Can you practice what you preach? Would you turn the other cheek? Father Father Father help us. Send some guidance from above. Nations dropping bombs. Chemical gases filling lungs of little ones. With ongoing suffering. As the youth die young.” These lines truly show the war and what was done during those few atrocious years. Finally, the quotes that we used from the book were meant to teach people of Anne’s high spirited and positive personality.

Application – Explain how these symbols, images, and sounds will influence or appeal to your audience.
These symbols, images, and sounds should cause the audience to become sad, angry, and happy. They should be sad because of all the killing that has occurred only 67 years ago. Additionally, the pictures of the concentration camps and tattoo should remind people of all the inhumane events that have occurred. The music will also add to this effect. However, some people might be angry instead of sad. This depends on the audience since some will be sorry for the Jews whereas others might be furious with the Nazis. The audience should be happy at the beginning and towards the end. The reason for this is because at the start, it shows the terrific times that the Jews had before the war. Towards the end, it shows the freedom that was returned to the Jews after the liberation of the camps and the way everyone helped the Jews. Moreover, the sounds of birds chirping should give everyone a blissful feeling.

Analysis – Compare the symbols, images, and sounds you chose. Which are the most powerful? Why?
The Star of David shows the main victims of the war, and the Swastika shows their persecutors, which are the exact opposite. Another difference in symbols is that the usual symbol for peace is a dove, but we used a swing with people because it shows the happiness that all children have in them. Additionally, The first song is happy and shows the peaceful times before the war; however, the last song shows the war and hate between the Jews and Nazis. Finally, the pictures before and after the war have definite differences. Before everyone is playful and joyous; however, during the war, everyone is gloomy and beginning to lose hope. In terms of similarity, the swing symbol and meadow both show the freedom that the Jews are longing to receive. Furthermore, barbwire is often used to show restriction the same way that we used it. We thought that the sun symbol, tattoo, and the song Where is the Love were the most powerful. We thought that the sun symbol was a strong sign of hope since it’s a bright colored picture, and the sun coming out from under the cloud looks like newborn hope. The tattoo was an authoritative symbol because it was a label on Jews that could never be removed and showed that they were the slaves and would never leave the camp. We liked the song because those specific lines really summed up the war and what was happening in Europe at the time.

 

Evaluation – Summarize and grade the final product and the process to accomplish this task.
For this project, we feel that we should about a B+. This is because overall, we did a pretty good job of going through Bloom’s Taxonomy and creating our project, but we feel it could have been better. The process that was taken to accomplish this task is as follows. First, we talked about the two choices of projects and decided which one we would do as a group. Then we were all meant to find some pictures, but the amount that each person found in the end varied. We then discussed some possible symbols we could use and decided on which ones we would actually use for our project. Then we were meant to meet up over the weekend, but only Adrian and Jed did. They picked the music and arranged the slides. Adrian then completed the PowerPoint, and he and Jed met up again to work on the write-up together.

ESLRs
In our group, we were Effective Communicators because we listened respectfully and asked questions to facilitate understanding and achieve insight. For example, when we began, people were talking over others and interrupting them. Group members were also “shhh-ing” others when they talked. However, we don’t do this as much anymore and can listen and work together much better.

While doing this project we also solved problems using a variety of strategies which makes us a Critical Thinker. When we first got together, we wanted to do the short film, but none of us had iMovie or any other Mac-friendly program. So, instead of doing the memorial, we decided to use PowerPoint to create our film instead.

During this project, we demonstrated the ability to work both independently and collaboratively, making us Academic Achievers. This is because at school, we would work together to decide who would do what for homework. When we went home, everyone did some work and brought it back to school so that we could work on it together. This way, we worked by ourselves and together to get things done.

Jed and Adrian demonstrated the use of being a Self-Directed Learner since we showed competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills. This is because we set up times to meet up and we didn’t leave the project to last the minute. We also didn’t waste time when we were working on the project out of school.

 

Finally, we were all Involved Citizens because we interacted respectfully with people of diverse cultures. No one made fun of some one else in our group because they were from a different culture. Even though we were dealing with a topic that could create arguments between people of different nations, there were no quarrels everyone respected each other.

Cooperation
In our group, Adrian and Jed did most of the work. Adrian found most of the pictures, and he created the actual show by putting the pictures and music together. Additionally, Adrian did the sound effects. Jed found some of the pictures, and he came up with two symbols, and he drew all three. He and Adrian decided on the music and order of slides together. Furthermore, Jed and Adrian did the write-up together. Adrian and Jed met up twice out of school to do the project. Ah Ihn found six pictures, but only one was used since she gave it to us very late in the project, and she came up with one symbol. We invited her over to our house so that we could work together out of school, but she didn’t want to come, and since we couldn’t force her, she didn’t come. Ah Ihn didn’t really do that much in this project.

Filed under: Reflective journal, Anne Frank