Multimedia Document Analysis Activity
Diverging Diamond Interchange Visualization (2:52), North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)
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Process Description Using Video Animation

Video is a powerful yet flexible medium to use for communication. You have likely seen many videos on the Web, and maybe you have created some of your own. Some videos are produced by a professional crew with top-quality gear: cameras, sound, lighting equipment. Others are created on the spur of the moment, with a camera and microphone built into a cell phone, tablet computer, or other device. Animated videos created with computers are yet another way to combine images and sound to convey a message.

Videos can be used for technical communication in many ways. One application for videos is to provide a description of a process. This video was created by the North Carolina Department of Transportation to explain a new highway overpass design called a diverging diamond interchange to the citizens of the state. The design will be new to many drivers, and it might be a little intimidating because it involves driving on the left side, or “wrong side,” of the road.

After watching the video, consider the questions below. Then “submit” your responses.

Courtesy of N.C. Department of Transportation

1 of 7

This video begins with a description of what a diverging diamond interchange (DDI) does. What are some other ways the creators might have chosen to begin this video? For example, do you think they should have considered using music? Should they have included additional information, and if so, what kind of information?

2 of 7

Beginning at around 0:56, the narrator sometimes addresses the viewer in the second person, as you. Why do you think the writers chose to use you? How effective is this choice?

3 of 7

How would you describe the organization of information in this video? What pattern of arrangement is used?

4 of 7

This video uses colored arrows to show how traffic flows in the new system, instead of depicting moving vehicles. (See 0:30 or 2:07.) How effective is this choice? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using the arrows?

5 of 7

Maps typically show north at the top and center. In this video, the roads are depicted on screen at angles with north in the top left corner and south at bottom right. West is bottom left, while east is top right. Why do you think the creators chose to depict the roads at angles? How effective is this choice?

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This video explains how a DDI works. How well does it explain why the DDI will be used at this intersection? How persuasive are the reasons?

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What else could this video include to help people get used to the idea of driving on a DDI?