Multimodal Format Analysis
Have you ever taught a group of people and afterwards wonder if you got your message across? Will people remember your lesson? I think as human beings we have to learn to communicate in the best way possible. One way to improve in this arena can be accomplished by learning to be flexible in teaching techniques depending on the subject being taught.
With this in mind, let's examine the Youtube video entitled Human Body Replacing Itself Every 7 Years, put out by Brainstuff (an educational website directed to teach fun facts about human anatomy), and then compare it with a text from a website called Facts About The Human Body (created by a company called Nectarsleep).
The differences of the writing aspect of communication on both sites is very interesting. The Youtube site took great advantage of very clear pop-ups stating the most important facts as the lady giving the message speaks. It makes the facts very obvious and to the point. It also guides your eyes to the most relevant facts as they pop up in the screen.
On Nectarsleep's site, the writing looks very inviting and clear. They use bullet points to enhance the main points and interesting facts through the reading to keep you engaged and reading from one paragraph to the next. It is here where you get the sense of the use of Logos in the message. They appeal to your logic though knowledge expressed by facts and labels. As you read both articles you find yourself learning and waiting for the next written fact.
Music can be heard throughout the whole Youtube video. It was curious to hear classical music at the very introduction. They chose this kind of music because it's usually associated with educated and intelligent people. Pretty quickly after the intro, the music changes to a softer tune at a very low volume. It's more like "elevator music". It's quiet and you barely hear it. They use a woman to explain the facts in the video, so her voice is very energetic, yet soft at the same time. Also noticeable is the ringing of a bell every time they make a written statement appear on the screen, which causes the viewer to be very aware that something worthwhile is on the screen.
Of course, in the written text on the Nectarsleep site, there was not any oral aspect of communication. It was all written and directed to your eyes, not your ears.
In their video, Brainstuff did a fantastic job maximizing the use of visual aids in the style of animation and colorful backgrounds. The very happy and smiley young woman is immediately impactful and seems ready to teach you some important facts. She is accompanied by multiple white drawings and pictures with movement and labels. It's very stimulating to your sight to see all those colors and even arrows that pop up to guide your eyes to the pictures for further explanation. It also appeals to the Pathos sense because it makes you feel happy and inspires you to learn.
On the Nectarsleep site, you see pictures in every paragraph which at first glance makes it interesting and fun. After you start reading the facts, you realize that about half of the pictures displayed don't really relate to the subject matter. It's quite confusing to try to match these pictures to what's written and make sense out of them. For example, when discussing healthy lungs they utilize an image of a pregnant couple hugging. The message they wanted to transmit is not clear as a result. Maybe they were trying to appeal to your Pathos senses by illustrating with these pictures. They do evoke emotion and keep you wanting to see what they are going to show you next.
Both texts use the internet and a website to release their information, which brings us to the point of "Ethos". It's hard to determine the credibility of these sites. They seem professional, but a doubt remains as to how much of the information is backed up by real facts. The YouTube video directs you to their website where you can see other videos on different topics, which makes one believe that it really is an educational site. On the other hand, the Nectarsleep site seems to be owned by a mattress company. Which makes one wonder what they are trying to communicate and what are their real intentions. Is it advertisement? Pop-up ads are not really overwhelming on this particular page, you can see an ad for the mattress company on the very top of the article but other than that you can easily read the whole article without interruptions.
Lastly, we should mention the use of nonverbal in the YouTube video as the woman speaking in the uses her hands and facial expressions a lot. She is very energetic and excited to share the information with her audience. On the Nectarsleep site, the non-verbal does not exist as it's a written piece.
As a whole, communication can be done in so many ways, yet some ways more effective than others. My personal favorite was the YouTube video, which I feel was actually targeted for students like me, so I guess they did a great job accomplishing their goal of sharing information.
Sources:
“Do You Know These Fun Facts About the Human Body?” Nectar Sleep, 18 Feb. 2019, https://www.nectarsleep.com/posts/fun-facts-about-the-human-body/.
Does The Human Body Really Replace Itself Every 7 Years? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqJWSyUbmkw. Accessed 17 Feb. 2020.
With this in mind, let's examine the Youtube video entitled Human Body Replacing Itself Every 7 Years, put out by Brainstuff (an educational website directed to teach fun facts about human anatomy), and then compare it with a text from a website called Facts About The Human Body (created by a company called Nectarsleep).
The differences of the writing aspect of communication on both sites is very interesting. The Youtube site took great advantage of very clear pop-ups stating the most important facts as the lady giving the message speaks. It makes the facts very obvious and to the point. It also guides your eyes to the most relevant facts as they pop up in the screen.
On Nectarsleep's site, the writing looks very inviting and clear. They use bullet points to enhance the main points and interesting facts through the reading to keep you engaged and reading from one paragraph to the next. It is here where you get the sense of the use of Logos in the message. They appeal to your logic though knowledge expressed by facts and labels. As you read both articles you find yourself learning and waiting for the next written fact.
Music can be heard throughout the whole Youtube video. It was curious to hear classical music at the very introduction. They chose this kind of music because it's usually associated with educated and intelligent people. Pretty quickly after the intro, the music changes to a softer tune at a very low volume. It's more like "elevator music". It's quiet and you barely hear it. They use a woman to explain the facts in the video, so her voice is very energetic, yet soft at the same time. Also noticeable is the ringing of a bell every time they make a written statement appear on the screen, which causes the viewer to be very aware that something worthwhile is on the screen.
Of course, in the written text on the Nectarsleep site, there was not any oral aspect of communication. It was all written and directed to your eyes, not your ears.
In their video, Brainstuff did a fantastic job maximizing the use of visual aids in the style of animation and colorful backgrounds. The very happy and smiley young woman is immediately impactful and seems ready to teach you some important facts. She is accompanied by multiple white drawings and pictures with movement and labels. It's very stimulating to your sight to see all those colors and even arrows that pop up to guide your eyes to the pictures for further explanation. It also appeals to the Pathos sense because it makes you feel happy and inspires you to learn.
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| Odd Photo Choice by Nectarsleep |
Both texts use the internet and a website to release their information, which brings us to the point of "Ethos". It's hard to determine the credibility of these sites. They seem professional, but a doubt remains as to how much of the information is backed up by real facts. The YouTube video directs you to their website where you can see other videos on different topics, which makes one believe that it really is an educational site. On the other hand, the Nectarsleep site seems to be owned by a mattress company. Which makes one wonder what they are trying to communicate and what are their real intentions. Is it advertisement? Pop-up ads are not really overwhelming on this particular page, you can see an ad for the mattress company on the very top of the article but other than that you can easily read the whole article without interruptions.
Lastly, we should mention the use of nonverbal in the YouTube video as the woman speaking in the uses her hands and facial expressions a lot. She is very energetic and excited to share the information with her audience. On the Nectarsleep site, the non-verbal does not exist as it's a written piece.
As a whole, communication can be done in so many ways, yet some ways more effective than others. My personal favorite was the YouTube video, which I feel was actually targeted for students like me, so I guess they did a great job accomplishing their goal of sharing information.
Sources:
“Do You Know These Fun Facts About the Human Body?” Nectar Sleep, 18 Feb. 2019, https://www.nectarsleep.com/posts/fun-facts-about-the-human-body/.
Does The Human Body Really Replace Itself Every 7 Years? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqJWSyUbmkw. Accessed 17 Feb. 2020.
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