Language and Communication Tools for Effective Storytelling - Literature review Example

Writing Ecologies Writing Ecologies Introduction An article published in The New York Times d Snowfall: The Avalanche atTunnel Creek, is an intriguing article that uses different communication tools to capture the attention of the reader. Many journalists covering ecological topics have developed the expertise of using different media forms and communication tools in an effort to keep the reader interested. In many cases, journalists incorporate visual elements into a story in an effort to increase its authenticity and evoke the emotions of the reader. Such tools have the capacity of pulling the reader closer to the story (Branch, 2012). Some readers have revealed that the use of different communication tools proves to be compelling prompting them to have a direct association with the story. This paper will describe how the author of The New York Times article made use of language and communication tools to tell the story effectively. Body The author of the article, John Branch successfully used multimedia in an effort to enhance the message he was trying to communicate. Notably, the story focuses on the falling of snow, an event that happened unexpectedly. Worth noting is the fact that the author depicts the unpredictability of natural events. In order to enhance such message, Branch incorporated graphics that proved to be very compelling to the reader. The visual elements depicted at the start of the story help the reader to create a mental image of the snow falling, and the potential impact the elements can have on unsuspecting individuals (André, Bisso, & Crispim da, 2012). In addition, the graphics serve to create the relevant mood that conforms to the main theme of the story. Many journalists choose to include visual elements into their work as a strategy of creating a stronger communication process between the author and the reader. Modern technology has served to enhance multimedia techniques, used by different journalists when developing their stories. Multimedia techniques have served to give stories more meaning, feelings, as well as tone. Some of the graphics included in the story are motion pictures that serve to emphasize the reality of the falling snow (Schack, 2014). A close analysis of the article reveals that the author relied on large visual and dynamic images, animated graphic, video interviews, as well as sound bites. The story has six distinct chapters focusing on a similar theme. At the top of each chapter, there are dynamic images that serve to give the reader a remarkable first impression. In addition, the dynamic images of the snow place emphasis on the main idea of the story. The author exhibits expertise in balancing multimedia elements in the story. The different chapters have a unique layout that brings into context all the multimedia elements in a proportionate manner. For this reason, the multimedia elements serve to enhance the information presented making it clearer. Notably, readers of the article also rely on their listening and viewing capacities as they strive to understand the six chapters of the story (Asakawa, 2013). The author’s use of animated maps and graphic is commendable because it serves to complement the text presented. When the author describes the avalanche happening, the reader can see an animated graphic representing the movement of the avalanche. Therefore, the animated images and maps are relevant to the story. The author places such images at selected sections in the article so that the reader can understand the explanations presented. Worth noting is the fact that animated maps and graphic serve to interact with the reader captivating his or her visual capacities. Therefore, the reader can understand the story in different dimensions. Such multi-perspective, understanding helps readers decipher the sequence of events. For example, the author places an animated map in the narrative when he explains the different paths taken by each skier. Without such maps, many readers would face a measure of confusion, but the availability of the maps placed at the right location helps the reader to be able to grasp the right information. The author also integrates videos and interviews into the narrative. The author uses an exemplary manner of integrating the text, the videos, and the interviews. The use of the videos enables readers to connect with the feelings of the skiers (Rue, 2013). The author also gives readers the opportunity to view small galleries of photographs of all the skiers included in the story. The readers only need to click on the names of the skiers and access information of families and friends associated with each skier. Notably, such information makes the story appear more realistic. The readers not only connect with the skier’s experience, but also with other aspects of their lives. Such photographs offer background information of the skiers. The article also includes sound bites from the recording of 911 calls in different parts of the story. The sound bites reflect the feelings and desperation experienced by the skiers. Therefore, such sound bites define the emotional concept of the narrative (Branch, 2014). The author allows readers to navigate easily to different parts of the story. Readers can see the scrolling mode made available by the author. Therefore, a reader can have a glimpse of the entire story by using the scrolling capacity to scan the entire content. In many cases, readers prefer to have a brief glimpse after scheming the content before they can focus on reading each separate part. In addition, the article has interaction aesthetics that allow the reader to share comments on either Facebook or Twitter. Therefore, readers can interact with each other on social media and share the outstanding aspects of the story. The author uses commonly known icons that readers can easily recognize. There is a remarkable measure of harmony evident in the integration of the text, and the multimedia elements used (The New York & Some questions were edited, 2012). The reader can easily move from the text to consider the images and them to the animated graphic with minimal distractions. The author decided to use a black text over a white background, colours that enhance the appearance of snow. Notably, the colours have a powerful effect as they easily communicate and place the emphasis on snow, which is the focus of the article. In addition, the author of the New York Times article made use of transmedia in an effort to develop the theme of the story. The author incorporated different stories related to the falling snow theme. Each of the stories included in the article help a reader form a clear picture of exactly what happened. Most importantly, they help the reader visualize the different types of movements as well as the aftermaths of falling snow. The use of transmedia in journalism serves to engage the reader more. It presents a theme in different perspectives enabling the reader to connect more to the theme (Lassila-Merisalo, 2014). Conclusion In addition to the tools described above, John Branch proved to be very selective with the language used in the article. In order to evoke the feelings of the reader and develop the mood of the story, the author uses action words. He also described every situation, giving full details such that one would feel as though they are witnessing the event. In the first part of the article, the reader becomes familiar with the shape, movement, size, and other characteristics of the avalanche. The story becomes more vivid to the reader because of the selected verbs and vocabularies (Branch, 2012). Most importantly, Branch makes use of different multimedia elements such as videos, animated graphics, sound bites, dynamic images, and interviews as a strategy of promoting the reader’s engagement with the text. Readers can connect with all the characters mentioned in the story and get access to their background information, a factor that makes readers view the story as realistic. References André Fagundes, P., Ana Cecília Bisso, N., & Marcelo Crispim da, F. (2012). One Subject, Many Paths. Transmedia Communication in Journalism. Brazilian Journalism Research, (1), 63. Asakawa, G. (2013). Snow Fall set gold standard. Now what?. Quill, 101(2), 40. Branch, J. (2012). Snowfall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek. New York Times, 19th Feb 2012. Retrieved on 23rd April 2015 from http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2012/snow-fall/#/?part=tunnel-creek. Branch, J. (2014). Tunnel Creek: Assembling the Story of "Snow Fall". Avalanche Review, 32(3), 29. Lassila-Merisalo, M. (2014). Story First-Publishing Narrative Long-Form Journalism in Digital Environments. Journal of Magazine & New Media Research, 15(2), 1-15. Rue, J. (2013). The ‘Snow Fall’ effect and dissecting the multimedia long form narrative. Retrieved on 19th May 2015 from http://multimediashooter.com/wp/2013/04/21/the-snow-fall-effect-and-dissecting-the-multimedia-longform-narrative/ Schack, T. (2014). ‘A failure of language’: Achieving layers of meaning in graphic journalism. Journalism, 15(1), 109. Doi:10.1177/1464884913486022. The New York, T., & Some questions were edited or, c. (2012). Q.& A.: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek. New York Times. p. 1. Read More