Tutorials on Reading Visuals

Introduction
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Chapter 3. test

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Tutorials on Reading Visuals
Reading Visuals: Emphasis
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Reading Visuals: Emphasis

Authors:

Cheryl E. Ball, Wayne State University, and Kristin L. Arola, Michigan Technological University

Activity Objective:

In this tutorial, you will explore how authors use emphasis to create importance, significance, or stress.

Click the forward and backward arrows to navigate through the slides. You may also click the above outline button to skip to certain slides.

© 2018 Macmillan Learning

An illustration shows an open book, with six paragraphs. Five sentences in the paragraphs are highlighted.

In speech or writing, emphasis means putting stress on a word or a group of words to give them more importance. In written texts, highlighting and underlining create emphasis.

In visual texts, it means the same thing: emphasis gives certain elements greater importance, significance, or stress than other elements in the text, which can guide your reading of the text as a whole.

A “Think Indian” poster shows a man sitting on a hedge. A few buildings and illustrations of various building are shown in the background. The poster reads, “To think Indian is to preserve native art made with looms and laptops.”

When analyzing an image for emphasis, we pay attention to what we notice first and then ask ourselves why. Do the words “THINK INDIAN” seem emphasized here to you? Why do you think this is? How do they affect your initial reading of this poster?

A black and white “Think Indian” poster shows a man sitting on a hedge. A few buildings and illustrations of various building are shown in the background. The poster  reads, “To think Indian is to preserve native art made with looms and laptops.”

Notice how when the advertisement is changed to black and white, the words “THINK INDIAN” are no longer emphasized. Instead, the emphasis shifts to the white text, “To think Indian is to preserve native art made with looms and laptops.” This text is emphasized because of its placement near the top of the page and its contrast against the gray background. Page organization and color play a large role in emphasis.

A poster of “Think Indian” shows a man sitting on a hedge. A few buildings and illustrations of various building are shown in the background. The poster reads, “To think Indian is to preserve native art made with looms and laptops.”

Notice what happens when the “THINK INDIAN” logo is changed from a large red all-caps type to a smaller white cap-and-lower-case type. The emphasis shifts from the words to the student and the images behind him. Given the endless possibilities, why do you think this text’s designer chose to make “think Indian” a large red all-caps type?

Credit: Elyse Canfield

While color, size, and placement play a large role in creating emphasis in static texts, emphasis can also be seen in moving texts. Consider this stop-motion clip that serves as the opening for a film project about digital rights management.

Credit: Elyse Canfield

Use the space below to answer the following questions.

Describe where your attention is visually drawn in this text. What strategies does the author use to emphasize this element? Given that this text is essentially a title page for a larger project, does this emphasis seem effective to you? Why or why not?
Your response has been provisionally accepted and will be graded by your instructor.

Credit: Elyse Canfield

Use the space below to answer the following questions.

Between composing the two different pages (“Digital Rights Management/Digital Robbing Maniacs” and “Criminal”), the woman disappears from the screen and the jumpy stop-motion effect ceases. Describe how this moment of stillness can be understood as “emphasis,” and explain if it seems like an effective strategy. What is emphasized by stopping the movement?
Your response has been provisionally accepted and will be graded by your instructor.

Credit: Elyse Canfield

Use the space below to answer the following questions.

Consider the role sound plays in emphasis. How does the soundtrack to this clip help to (a) emphasize certain moments in the clip, and (b) place a particular emotional emphasis on the meaning of the clip?
Your response has been provisionally accepted and will be graded by your instructor.

Congratulations! You have completed this activity.

Total Score: out of (%)

You have received a provisional score for your essay answers, which have been submitted to your instructor.


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