Multimodality is a basic concept for communication. It is in
hopes of communicating something with a meaning, and a sense that simply one
mode alone will not complete this task. When the modes are put together, their
sequence helps to best communicate. Things in time, as well as not in time
(still images), are put together to create the meaning that is hoping to be
given. These modes are arranged according to the interest that the person has
as he or she communicates, as well as the interests that the person being
communicated to has. Different modes can do different type of things. Modes can
be textual or visual resources that are used to compose messages.
The discrepancy between the two is that Kress argues that
each particular thing is something in time- a mode- but at the same time,
things are not in time. He argues that the modes are all functional and specialized.
Wysocki, on the other hand believes that modes have multiple purposes and uses,
and are not limited to one specific use.
There is a tension between Kress and Wysocki’s view of
multimodality. Kress repeatedly stresses the importance of combining several
modes in order to communicate, and that simply one mode will not suffice. He
talks about how each mode serves a particular purpose and is used in a specific
fashion. On the other hand, Wysocki continuously repeats the importance of
particular visual space and consistent spacing of words. Wysocki sees modes as “Image-representations,
therefore, must be governed by a “spatial and simultaneous logic.”
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