Alignment: Respond
Work through the following questions to use the concept of alignment to analyze this multimedia "poem." Then “submit” your responses.
In this text, alignment happens horizontally (from top to bottom) and vertically (from left to right), but unlike a static text, which you can usually see all at once on a page or screen, alignment between elements happens across time and multiple screens. If you click "9.11.01” in the bottom right corner, you will be given three ways to view the animation. Be sure your audio is on, as well, in order to evaluate and respond to the sound.
Courtesy of Ingrid Ankerson and Megan Sapnar Ankerson
How would you describe alignment of the words "murmuring" and "insects" in the opening scene? How does the unusual alignment (reflected on screen and timed) add to your interpretation of the text?
Now click on “earth” to watch the scene. What other elements are aligned in this scene? How does the consistent alignment of elements across screens (and also across some of the scenes) affect how you read these scenes? What elements do you end up focusing on? Would the scene seem as effective if all of the elements on the page (upside-down moon, contrails, words, background color, etc.) had no shared alignment?
Now click on “air” to play the scene, paying attention to the lines of poetry and the audio tracks. The poem doesn't settle on the same horizontal axis as the other scenes do, and the two phrases in the audio track are aligned (synced) to appear with each line of poetry. Why do you think the alignments of the words are different between the Earth and Air scenes? What is the significance of the audio track's content in relation to that difference?
Now watch the "Water" scene. How does the curvature of the words, aligning with the background image of an eye, relate to what the man in the audio track is saying?
Based on the alignment (or lack of alignment) between elements in a scene and across scenes, why are the three menu options ("Air," "Earth," and "Water") on the main screen of this text not aligned? What does this lack of alignment tell you about the emphasis, sequence, and purpose of this text?