Multimodal Response 10

Throughout this semester, I have been exposed to a wide range of new media, forms of communication, and applications of writing and language in general. We have explored different ways to express ideas whether that be through written language, nonlinearity game creation platforms like twine, video essays and vlogs, maps, podcasts, artistic expression, and so many more. The possibilities of multimodality in writing has been shown to me this semester through the breadth of responses and projects I have created. It has also shown me the importance of the creative process. When creating a project or piece of media, it can seem very intimidating as one may not know where to begin. This class has shown me that it’s okay not to know where to start, but instead to build on an initial idea and work out the obstacles throughout the creative process. At the beginning of the semester, my work was much more structured and planned out. While this has worked for traditional writing courses in the past, this same application of planning didn’t transfer well into multimodal writing. The creative nature of multimodal communication requires much more fluidity in the creation process and ideas are subject to large amounts of change throughout this process. In every project and response I have done since realizing this, I have made countless iterations to my initial idea. The results were fantastically well tested and revised projects that were the product of many revisions and small perfections along the way. My initial assumptions about multimodality was that it was just an extension of writing or something to accompany it. In reality, writing is just the foundation for multimodal communication and each piece of media created alongside it must be individually compelling and true to the medium in which it is presented. There are constraints and affordances to consider with each form of communication as well. Audio-only podcasts, for example, rely more on inflection and tone of voice instead of gesture and imagery whereas an artistic political poster relies entirely on compositional choices of color, text, imagery, etc. The lessons I have learned regarding communication were discovered through the process itself. I have truly learned the value and art of creating so many different forms of media this semester. This class has helped me comprehend writing and traditional language more so than any other communication courses I have taken throughout my education. It has allowed me to form a new relationship with communicating my ideas and has given me a collection of tools to express them.