Multiple Presentation Ideas

As I begin to invent scenes for the multimodal presentation, I find myself choosing between multiple options of visuals and various levels of technical difficulty. Since I’ve never created a film before, I want to limit this endeavor to something I can accomplish in a weak and to a topic that will represent my entire proposal in five-minutes. Below I’ve sketched some initial ideas that I will turn into a storyboard over the weekend, but I would appreciate any advice or suggestions about how to create a persuasive presentation that catches the attention of the audience and highlights the main points of my proposal.

The profiles I want to examine are already multimodal, so the most obvious choice is to construct a film around existing profiles. I could use screenshots to turn web-based profiles into images and then transition through these images like pages in a book, a pseudo-viewbook of sorts. As a result, this presentation would resemble an admissions publication. While admissions are part of the strategic communication of a university, I want to show more than just this perspective.

However, profiles, in the traditional sense of the term, show a side or a perspective, and I think I want to play up this history in the multimodal presentation. Specifically, I want to include silhouettes as the visual manifestation of the original spatial profiles. To connect this representation to the university setting that I plan to analyze, I could create silhouettes of iconic university buildings (see silhouette of Clemson's Tillman Hall). These silhouettes would symbolize the university’s identity, and I could read descriptive profile passages to overlay the individual voices that construct this identity. Through this creative composition, I hope to convey the personal profile in conjunction with the university context of strategic communication. Specifically, I think the main point of this presentation will be to emphasize the construction of profiles and the construction of organizational identity. To make this connection more explicit, I could use some sort of transition that builds or deconstructs the image into pieces. Then the next image would display the actual profiles that partially construct the identity.

Another option is to interview my supervisor who edits the profiles I write for the Office of Publications and Promotion. She would be able to describe the current situation from a professional standpoint and perhaps explain why universities use profiles strategically.

Progress Report #3

June 12, 2008

To: Dr. Holmevik
From: Amy Jessee

Introduction

This MAPC thesis proposal explores the connections between organizational narrative and strategic communication through the genre of profiles. I will conduct a textual and visual analysis of profiles used by universities on their websites or in print publications.

Work Completed

I finished a first draft of my proposal by writing the introduction and conclusion. Though I might have been tempted to start with the introduction, this class has taught me the value of saving this important section for the end. By writing the introduction in conjunction with the conclusion, I was able to concisely summarize my thoughts and pinpoint the focus of my research. I pulled ideas from the executive summary drafted early in the writing process and updated certain aspects with revised ideas compiled from my literature review. Surprisingly, my proposal followed this original outline, through with more focus. I think this focus has enhanced my ability to describe my topic in my own words, evidenced in the strong conclusion that I eventually drafted.

Both Dr. Holmevik and Ron noted the strength of my conclusion in their comments on the draft; however, I still have several sentences in need of revision. For instance, I learned that I favor introductory phrases and that I might want to consider shortening some of my sentences, though I will consider their length in conjunction with the flow of my writing. On the other hand, if something interrupts the flow, such as a confusing sentence structure or an awkward word choice or citation, I will revise the sentence or section.

Next Steps

Now that I’ve received feedback on the draft, I will use the comments to guide my revisions. These comments highlight areas that I simply skimmed over in my familiarity with the material, and their suggestions allow me to see my words in a new way. Specifically, I need to check a few citations, add more linguistic theory, and specify my thesis chapters. However, these changes are small compared to the next challenge: the multimodal presentation. I could easily prepare a PowerPoint presentation to accompany my proposal, but I’m not certain that this standard choice would be the most persuasive. We are currently learning about films, and due to my stress on the visual aspect of proposals, this option might fit well with what I’m trying to accomplish. In addition, making a film would be an accomplishment in itself, since I’ve never used the film editing software available in the lab. To prepare for the presentation, I will design a storyboard, record a script, and acquire or take images or video to visually represent my thesis proposal.

Conclusion

At this point in the proposal process I’m literally “revisioning” my research in many different ways. I’ve written my initial vision for the research, and I’m editing this draft for content and style. I’m also revising sections that might be confusing to readers. In addition, I’m visualizing my research in order to add any necessary graphics and to present the research in a five-minute film.