Experiment 3
the infographic video
Proposal
My final experiment will take the form of an informational video about the relationship between gratitude and happiness. It will consist of simple animations to demonstrate the points being made throughout the video in a sleek and engaging way. This video will include a voiceover of me giving a talk about this scientific relationship, supported by empirical evidence and studies that demonstrate a relationship between these two things. The script of the voiceover in the background would resemble that of a Ted Talk, including specific statistics and personal anecdotes about why gratitude is important. I think this will engage the audience, and providing both logical and emotional arguments as to why this relationship exists will make the argument that much more convincing.
Whenever I have watched Ted Talks, whether academically or recreationally, I have gotten something out of each one. I feel as though they are a very compelling way of delivering an argument and an easy way to learn something new. I also feel as though whoever is delivering the Ted Talk is usually very passionate about the subject matter he or she is speaking about, and it is very apparent they feel this way in how they deliver the talk. This is a medium by which I believe people can make something that may be a little hard to follow or dull interesting and engaging instead.
The scientific relationship between gratitude and happiness is something that particularly engages me because last year, I took a class called “the Science of Health and Happiness.” This course emphasized the positive aspects of psychology that are often not as focused on as negative psychological tendencies, which I think is important to note. People should not just want to be free of illness, mental or physical, but they should want to have a fulfilling life with positive health outcomes. Learning about the physical, measurable effect that being grateful can have on a person’s mental and even physical health made me want to be proactive in including gratitude in my daily life, and I want others to feel the same way.
Genre Analysis & Research
I wanted to find a service with which I could make a visually appealing video that could include words and number figures without being boring. After researching multiple websites that would allow me to create this platform, I decided to use a website called Powtoon. This website allows me to create a video that would include all the features I want as well as making the video fit the aesthetic style I was envisioning. I will be able to export the video and then create a voiceover with my talk to accompany the video.
In researching the format of infographics, the medium seems to be describes as a simplified means of communication by which a larger audience can understand a concept as it is broken down into minimal words and nice graphics. There are multiple types of infographics including informational, timeline, charts, and pie chart infographics. My infographic would most likely be primarily an informational infographic, but maybe include some graphs and charts when going over the scientific research content.
Good infographics should apparently have good color choices and stay consistent in theme throughout. I would make my color scheme make sense with the theme of gratitude and happiness, so probably incorporating some blues and yellows. Images should be simple and basic.
Video essays are constructed in order to tell a story or make a point in the way that a regular essay would while utilizing video. These videos can be used to further illustrate the points you are trying to make and give examples. They provide another level of understanding for the audience, which can be very persuasive. Some sources argue that music videos are examples of video essays, as they provide a narrative from start to finish that relates to the words in the song being played. In a way, this is what I will attempt to do through my video, as it depicting the story and argument that I am trying to tell through the words that will be playing in the background.
In terms of current gratitude research, my project would emphasize and support all the current research that is being done because a significant portion of it would be presenting some of the studies that have been conducted on this relationship between gratitude and wellbeing. Also, providing a personal story that demonstrates the relationship between these two variables will further support the research that is currently being done.
Sketch
My informational video will be comprised of either words or graphics for the entire duration of the video. I would like to keep these graphics entertaining, even if it is a chart or graph being shown to demonstrate statistics. I will start by introducing myself and a little bit about how I got interested in gratitude and the practice of keeping a gratitude journal. For this portion of the video I will show either graphic representations of what I am talking about or maybe words that would give examples of the content within my gratitude journal.
When I go into detail of describing a study that was done on the correlation between gratitude and wellbeing, I will include words and models in the video to describe how the study was set up, the participants in the study, and the breakdown of the results. I will also include any charts or graphs used to illustrate the results in a way that may make it easier to visualize. I think presenting an argument for the connection between gratitude and wellbeing that utilizes both emotional appeal and logical reasoning with the help of a visual aid will create a convincing and hopefully inspiring talk on why this relationship is so important.
Reflection
Once I figured out how to use the features on the platform by which I chose to create my infographic, I found myself very excited by the possibilities within this format. I think the video I created is fun to watch and aesthetically fits the subject matter I am working with in a unique way. Powtoon is fairly easy to use and has a lot of great features.
The one issue I ran into was how to align my speech/voice over with the video in the way I imagined it, but I think that if I had more time to work with this project, I would be able to make it work. I do like how this experiment allows me to tell my story in my own voice about the significance of my origin piece. My two other experiments are more about other people’s voices, so this one feels a little more authentic. The downside of this is that I am not as easily able to see the impact of my experiment on other people, so I have to decide which type of experiment is going to have the most impact. I could possibly make this experiment more interactive if I posted the video to a website on which people could leave comments. This could incorporate other people into the project as well as allow me to see the impact of my project on a larger community.
Works Cited
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“What Is an Infographic: Types, Examples, Tips.” WhatIs an Infographic Types ExamplesTips Comments, 27 Aug. 2018, icons8.com/articles/what-is-an-infographic/.
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“Video Essays.” Excelsior College OWL, owl.excelsior.edu/online-writing-and-presentations/multi-modal-writing/multi-modal-writing-video-essays/.