[Maddy Scopellite]: Midterm Portfolio – #1 Alt Text Comic

The Project

https://sites.google.com/nyu.edu/msprocessblog/short-projects

A little dachshund dog is running in a field of grass getting chased by a little girl. The dog is holding something in his mouth and his ears are flying in the air
Today is a wonderful sunny day. A small dachshund puppy, Taco, is making a quick getaway! His ears fly in the wind as he’s chased.
The dog has made it around the corner and it making a break for it. He is mid sprint with wet paw prints trailing behind him on the ground.
The puppy has made it around the corner and is making a break for it.
The little girl is chasing him by following his paw prints. She is running but he is already out of frame.
The little girl is right on his trail, but he has gotten away!

Project Description

One of the last three images I took on my phone. Put them into this google slide template in any order and create a comic/storyboard. Focus on the interplay between alt text and captions, and use how they interact in an interesting, expressive way. You can tell a story, or you could make non-narrative text-poem that is more impressionistic. There’s no “right” way to do this, so have fun and experiment!

Documentation 

A screenshot from another webpage detailing the steps of the process. There are 4 images with accompanying text. The top right has the beginnings of the project. Top right has the inspiration, then the two bottom images show 2 drafts and the drafted al-text for each photo.
screenshot of the final comic strip and text describing the process.

Reflection Questions

 What is the theme of the work?  

The work is meant to be a fun moment captured of a little girl and her dog. Using alt-text, the goal is to play around with the caption and the alt-text to create a narrative that fits to both modalitys.

How is that theme particularly expressed through the modality of the week? 

It is expressed through text as a written description of the image. The text is not playful or descriptive but it explains what is going on.

Which elements of the work are beautifully/wonderfully/perfectly expressed through the modality? Which elements are lost or inexpressible through the modality of the week? Who does this project exclude? Who would not be able to interact with this work? Who is this modality not accessible for?

The straightforward explanatory function of the alt-text does a great job describing the image but it cannot convey every bit of the image. So the colors are lost, the time of day, the weather, and the overall setting of the picture. You can’t convey what the reader would have picked out of the comic first, so the comic loses its objectivity. This can create an incomplete experience for blind or visually impaired users. Users who are both deaf and blind rely on braille displays or screen readers, which read out the alt-text. However, if alt-text doesn’t convey enough information or provide adequate context, it may leave deafblind individuals missing out on important visual or auditory information.

Now that you’ve identified who is excluded, what is one way you could remix this piece to include another population? (You don’t have to make this part, but think about it and write about it).

I would want to give the user an option to expand on a image through a few buttons, in other words, sort through descriptions until they find one they like. This could work by integrating multi-layered alt-text that allows users to access different levels of description based on their needs.

Additional Modality (if applicable) 

Here are the three slides of the comic strip with its accompanying physical representation. These materials were chosen based off of their physical feeling, the best way to experience the comic strip this way if you happen to be a fully sighted individual would be to close your eyes!

A little dachshund dog is running in a field of grass getting chased by a little girl. The dog is holding something in his mouth and his ears are flying in the air

The dog has made it around the corner and it making a break for it. He is mid sprint with wet paw prints trailing behind him on the ground.

The little girl is chasing him by following his paw prints. She is running but he is already out of frame.

Additional Modality (PROcess) 

 

What modality did you apply? 

I applied the tactile modality to my original comic strip. 

How did you decide on this modality?

I initially decided to use the comic strip and then I thought it would be the most functional to add something to create the scene for the reader. If I couldn’t see this comic strip and I could only listen to the alt-text then I would want to understand the scenes being talked about.

What does the beholder gain from this additional modality? Why? 

The beholder can hold this modality! The beholder can listen to the alt-text of this comic strip along with the captions while also being able to touch the different parts of all 3 scenes. They would gain a fuller understanding of what they are listening to and would be able to connect what they are touching to that.

Does the beholder lose anything from this modality? What? 

I think the accuracy isn’t there on all of the textures used

I think the beholder looses the 

Show documentation of this modality, and describe it if it’s not accessible on a screen (ie, if it’s tactile if it’s a scent)