Re-Mediation Piece

After I finished my open letter, I knew I had to come up with a way to present the same argument using a different medium while reaching the same audience. I thought about it for a while. So much of the Island experiences that I described in my open letter have been captured in photographs over the years. This gave me an idea. I would tell the same story to my great grandfather and family using a combination of photographs and captions that encapsulated each point in my life at the Island. I needed to find a medium that would allow me to do this.

I came across photo essays online, which were successful in telling a story using photographs and a minimal amount of words. I thought about making a photo essay of my own about the evolution of my appreciation for the Island. I created an annotated bibliography of inspiring photo essays that were especially striking and impactful. After I researched what photo essays accomplished and the different aspects that made them successful, I decided this certain type of medium was too structured and not personal enough. So I thought some more.

Then, I came upon an idea that would incorporate the same aspects that made photo essays so successful in portraying a story that was less structured and more personal. I pitched the idea to my class using these points:

-The purpose of this scrapbook will be to show the physical forms of what is most important to me about the Island. I will translate my open letter where I explain everything I am thankful for about the Island to my great grandfather who discovered the place into the artifacts that represent these important aspects. This will show the gradual evolution of values and emotional connection I have to the Island. For example, in the beginning entries, I will include simple snapshots of the cottage itself, drawings, and other simple artifacts that display the somewhat foreign nature of the place that was present when I was younger. As I approach my early teens, I will include emotional journal entries that show the selfish and technology-obsessed preteen that I was. I will include pictures that feature me instead of the beautiful place or my family. As I come to the end of the scrapbook, I will include pictures of me with my family and pictures of nature and the isolation that the Island brings. This will show the evolution of values and connection to a place that comes with the development into adulthood.

- The new medium will be a digital scrapbook. I will make this by first putting together a scrapbook by hand, and then taking pictures of each page. I will post this in chronological form on my ePortfolio.

- I will need to learn the best way to showcase a digital scrapbook online. I will need to look into websites that possibly allow my to display pictures in book form. I will also need to collect artifacts and pictures from early times at the Island.

My scrapbook idea was deemed a successful one, and so I continued on with the process. The next step was to create a storyboard in which I would plan out each page of my project. I thought about what kinds of artifacts to include on each page, and which types would most clearly convey the specific period I was portraying. For example, I imagined a diary entry to be rather appropriate for my preteen stage, as this would show the honest and uninhibited selfish truths of my relationship with the Island. Finally, I put my scrapbook together and found a website which allowed me to show it in a book-form. The final draft can be viewed below.

Re-Mediation Final Draft