Syllabus

Introduction to Multimedia*

Thursday (4:30 to 7:30 p.m.), Computer Lab/Murray Hall

Aimee LaBrie

alabrie@ssw.rutgers.edu

Office Hours: Thur. 1:30-2:30 in Room 001-A, 536 George St.

Also by appointment

*Please note that blog assignments and readings on the printed syllabus are subject to change based on class dynamics, collective skill sets, and needs. For the most up-to-date assignments, view our class blog.

Course blog:

introtomultimedia2018labrie.blogspot.com

Course Description:

Sometimes, it feels like the news has everything covered: politics, entertainment, climate change, business. But there’s something only you can report on: The story of your everyday life, how your immediate world keeps changing. The questions at the heart of this course are: What makes your world yours? How do you represent yourself as a character in your own story? To help us answer these and other questions, we will analyze the fragmentary nature of multimedia forms--blog posts, podcasts, and short videos—and explore how we can use them to construct a vision of ourselves  and puzzle out our ever-changing world.

The key to effective and meaningful expression lies in the marriage of content to form. Like all expressive forms, the forms of digital media we will be working in this semester present us with possibilities and constraints peculiar to them. In this course we will identify the essential characteristics of blogs, podcasts, video essays, and video features and consider how we can make use of both their strengths and their limitations to tell our stories. In particular, taking our cue from the prevailing tendency of these digital formats to be compact, we will look at a variety of examples of short narrative forms (e.g., personal essays, lyric essays, short fiction); rhetorical devices such as the use of synecdoche (the part for the whole) and microcosms; and the impact of visual and textual fragments to help us think about how to craft our digital content.

SAS Core Goals:

This course fulfills the following SAS Common Core Curriculum Goals:

•   Engage critically in the process of creative expression. [AHR]

•   Employ current technologies to access information, to conduct research, and to communicate findings. [ITR]

Please note: it is now possible to earn a Certificate in Creative Writing from the English Department (visit the English Department for more information).

Assigned Texts and Required Materials:

• Class readings will be hyperlinked in the course schedule below or provided to you as handouts or PDF files.
• An internet-accessible computer, smart phone, microphone, and headphones (you will be able to use the laptops provided in our classroom if you don’t have one)
• Ability to create your own YouTube ad Sound Cloud sites

Grading Criteria:

Attendance/Participation/Workshop                15%

Blog Postings and Responses                          30%

Podcast, including script                                  20%

Project Proposal/Storyboard                            10%

Final Video Project, including script notes      25%

Attendance/Participation (15%): College policy is that more than two weeks’ worth of absences puts a student at risk of failure; in this particular class, be aware that—since we meet only once a week—two missed classes will decrease your grade and put you at risk of failure. Program policy dictates that students with more than four absences (in our case, two classes), regardless of the reason for the absence, are not eligible to receive an “A” grade. University policy excuses absences due to religious observance or participation in Rutgers-approved activities, and permits students to make up work missed for these circumstances. Students are expected to attend all classes; if you expect to miss one or two classes, please use the University absence reporting website https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/ to indicate the date and reason for your absence.  An email will be sent to me automatically. Being twenty minutes late to class constitutes ½ an absence.  

Full participation credit requires active and regular engagement with the course material and with the work of your peers (particularly the student presentations).  If you find that you are at a loss of what to say, try to formulate a question in response to the course content; you are encouraged, in fact, to come to class with at least one carefully considered question and comment about the assigned reading.

Blog Postings and Responses (30%):

You will be required to publish a minimum of 11 blog posts on your own individual blog and periodically comment on the class blog. Your personal blog will also be used to host your projects.  Each post should be between 500-700 words and include a multimedia component, such as web links, still images, video, and audio links. You are require to post the word count at the top of your entry.

Each blog post is worth 2 points. I recommend http://www.blogger.com for hosting your blog site.

NOTE: All blog posts are due the Tuesday before each Thursday evening class. This deadline is to allow your classmates (and me) time to read and comment on your blog before we meet. You must also email me directly at alabrie@ssw.rutgers.edu when your blog is live. Failure to do so will result in a reduction of points or loss of total credit.

The writing on your individual blog and on the class blog should be clear, carefully considered, well-crafted, and error free; it is advisable that you compose with Microsoft Word before publishing your writing online.

There are a number of criteria to consider in evaluating the site as you work on it:

• a thoughtful domain name was chosen and framed in a site description (this could be in the about page),
•  a thoughtful site title is clearly presented, an "about me" page exists (there are many ways to do this),
• a theme was chosen and customized reflecting you and the direction of your blog,
•  plug-ins to add functionality have been activated, possibly adding hooks to various social media, creating galleries, etc.,
• blog posts are appropriately categorized and tagged, and
•  all default pages, posts, comments, site description have been removed.

Learning good blogging practices is an essential component to this course. For that reason each blog post has its own value separate from the digital story project, critique, weekly reflection, and/or event you’re organizing that is described in the post. Essentially you should treat a post in one of two ways: simply reporting out or a deeper reflection. It is up to you the level of reflection you contain in a post, but the attributes of a good post are as follows:

Posts are graded using the following criteria:

• a thoughtful title
• an embedded media artifact relevant to the assignment (image, video, audio)
• a clear statement of the post’s purpose
• at least one contextual link related to the post’s purpose
• a clear statement of reflection
• good use of categories and tags
• appropriate grammar and syntax.

If you struggle with writing prose, see me for extra help and/or consult with the Plangere Writing Center for tutoring options.

Podcast Project (20%)*:

Working in pairs, you will collaboratively conceive, plan, research, and execute a podcast project that tells a fictional story. You will be able to work on this project both during class and outside of class time.

The goal of the podcast project is to familiarize you with audio editing (through the Audacity or Garage Band platform) and to provide you with an opportunity to devise a way to tell a story using the short-form audio format.

Requirements:

• Minimum of two voices in your story
• Two or more related sound effects
• Incorporation of music 
• Post final podcast on your blog using SoundCloud or related software
• Total length: seven to 10 minutes. 
• Proposal and script draft due: Wednesday, Feb. 28  Bring copies to class. 
• The final and complete podcast must be posted to your blog by Wednesday, March 21.

*Please note: Because this is a joint project, you will be asked to anonymously evaluate your partner (and vice versa). Your evaluations will be worth 5 % of the final grade for the project. 

Final Video Project (25%):

Project Proposal/Storyboard                              10%

Final Video Project, including script/notes        25%

Your project should be a multimedia work that will be posted on your individual blog. It can take a variety of forms depending on your interests as a writer, and we will talk about multimedia nonfiction, poetry, and fiction in the first few weeks to give you some productive ideas.

Start thinking about your project early: a one page project proposal and blog post will be due to me by April 17 and you will have a chance to peer workshop your proposal on April 19.  Language from your proposal might eventually lead to a brief critical introduction that you will be required to include in your final portfolio.

The structural guidelines for the project are as follows:

• That you generate a video that is between five and seven minutes in length (no longer than ten minutes)
• That you develop a project proposal prior to making the video.
• That you include in your project a storyboard and script/'notes for the video.
• That you make creative use of the medium (i.e. the iMovie or Movie Maker software program) - avoid simply collecting and splicing several long take video clips or that you throw a series of video capture clips together without any creative thought behind your construction - remember, as viewer engages with videos in fundamentally different ways than they do with print text, it will be necessary to approach this from the standpoint of a consumer/producer of media (i.e. anyone with a computer and a Wi-Fi connection in the 21st century)
• Storyboard 16 panels, due by Thursday, April 19.
• Copy of video embedded into your blog by Wednesday, April 25.

Start off by brainstorming.  What is the topic that you are interested in?  What particular issues pertaining to that topic are you interested in exploring (this step may require some online researching or collaborative discussion)?  How would you explore those topics/points visually (in a way that is similar, yet different to generating a text based essay) in a way that directly engages with the viewer's visual/audio expectations? How would you do so in a hybrid that actively juxtaposes text with visuals in a complicated or contradictory nature?

Begin to acquire your supplies. If you need to collect video clips, do so. If you need to generate footage, first come up with a list of what you want to capture and what you need to get, if you are in a group, develop a distribution list for what each group member will be working on.

A word of warning: Both iMovie and MovieMaker can get glitchy. Be sure to save your project as you go.  The last thing you want is to work for two hours on your video and then have it vanish. Please also note that technical difficulties on your end are not grounds for an extension on your project. You should be backing your video up as you go, and building in time for technical challenges. If you have technical difficulties, use a computer lab. You will not receive an extension on this deadline due to technical problems of any kind.

COURSE SCHEDULE

Jan. 18

What is multimedia? What is storytelling? What are “telling” details?

Examples of digital, new media, or multimedia literature:

The 45 Minute Mystery of Freddie Gray’s Death 

Love Story 

The Pessimists Guide to 2018

Women and Rock Music

The Uber Game 

Greenland is Melting Away

Watch Chimamanda Adichie and "The danger of a single story."

In-class writing exercise, “An Introduction” and “An Object.”

BLOG ASSIGNMENT #1:

1.      Set up a personal blog and email me the URL ASAP, so I can link you to the course blog.

2.      Write your first blog post in which you introduce yourself and/or your world to your readership. Use a vignette (i.e., tell us about a funny/strange/unexpected thing that happened to you recently) or explain why, when you think about presenting yourself, you always refer to one particular aspect of your personality (a skill or attribute) or your life (e.g., where you’re from).

3.      Take at least eight photos that illustrate your story and include captions. Find the telling detail.

4.      Selfies are boring. Do something interesting. Scan a photo of your mom’s yearbook photo, a picture of your goldfish as seen from above, your fifth grade school picture. Be imaginative and revealing.

ADDITIONAL BLOG POST:  Find two examples of multimedia that you like and post them to your blog.

Due: Tuesday, Jan. 23

READING HOMEWORK: Review the syllabus. Read “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott

Jan. 25

Detail and scene. Structure in storytelling.

Go over blog posts and examples.

In-class writing: 6 scenes in 30 minutes.

BLOG ASSIGNMENT #2:  Take one of the scenes you wrote in class and write in from either second or third person point of view. See what happens if you flesh out the details, and keep the story in scene as much as possible.   Must be between 500 to 700 words long (add word count to top of blog).  Find at least five images to accompany the story. 

Due: Tuesday, Jan. 30

READING HOMEWORK:

“We Need to Talk About Digital Blackface,” by Lauren Jackson and

"The Tower and the Net," by Janet Burroway.

Feb. 1

Digital Narrative/Text & Image.  

Watch Black Mirror, episode "Nosedive"

BLOG ASSIGNMENTS #3:  Read Pam Painter's Office at Night and then write 500 word story inspired by one of the works of the artist I assign to you in class. Include the painting/sculpture/photo in your post. 
Due:  Tuesday, Feb. 6
READ:  "Icebergs, Glaciers, ad Artic Dreams: Creating Character," by Kim Edwards

ADDITIONAL HOMEWORK: Bring in copy of an old book that you wouldn't mind cutting up.  If it's a children's book or has pictures, all the better. 

Feb. 8

Art assignment in class. Creating postcards and gifs. Tutorial with Giphy.com. Assign podcast teams.

Brainstorming your podcast idea. Listen to episode 1 of Homecoming.

Text & Image.  “A View: Office at Night.”

In class: Review the blog postsecret.com. Either digitally or by hand, create your own postcard, and add the text of a character's secret. Your postcard must have an image, text, and function as a gif.  You can use giphy.com to do this. You could also make the postcard by hand and add text, and photograph it. We will consider the secret a fictional one that is part of character development.

BLOG ASSIGNMENTS #4: Take the secret you created in class and expand on it in scene. Include at least 5 lines of dialogue. Have something change from the beginning of the piece to the end. Put up the postcard you created in class along with the story. 500 words.  
Due: Tuesday, Feb. 13.

ADDITIONAL HOMEWORK: Listen to episodes 2, 3, & 4 of Homecoming on Gimlet Media

READ: Excerpt about dialogue from Bird by Bird (on Sakia)

Feb. 15

Sound & Story. The arc of a Podcast. Music and Sound Effects. In class-writing with podcast team.

BLOG ASSIGNMENT #5: You will be given a first line of a movie. Use it as a jumping  off point for a first person narrative or a dialogue between two people. Next, record the dialogue or monologue and post it to your blog (400 words or 2 minutes of speaking). 

Due: Tuesday, Feb. 20.

ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENT: Listen to Homecoming episodes 5 & 6. 

Feb. 22

The Podcast working day. 

Blog post #6: With your group, come up with the first three pages of your podcast, including possible sound effects, and music. You can choose one person from your group to post this to the blog. 

Due: Tuesday, Feb. 27. 

March 1

Podcast Workshop. 

Bring 10 copies of your podcast script draft to class. We will workshop these during class. 

BLOG ASSIGNMENT #7: Choose a character from your podcast and complete the character sketch assignment. 

Due Thursday, March 8. 

March 8

Second podcast workshop.
Homework: Finish podcast. Post to one of your group member's blogs, embedded in SoundCloud. 

Due: Wednesday, March 21 or Thursday before class time (due to snow day)

March 15

No class. Spring Break. 

Watch some of the following:

• Video tutorial
•  Ro.me (interactive game play)
• Cartoons
• Girls
• Seven deadly sins
• Killing Kennedy
• The Tale of Two Tyras
• Snow Fall: The Avalanche 
• “This is Water”

BLOG ASSIGNMENT#8:  Come up with a list of 5 possible video project ideas. Then, choose one and free-write about it. Answer these questions: What is the story you are trying to tell? What are you most passionate about? Where should you begin? Why should your viewer be interested? What is it like (i.e. what are your sources for inspiration)? What is the purpose of the video (to educate, to entertain, to inspire)? You can even begin writing the text to accompany this project.

Length: Minimum of 750 words.

Due: Tuesday, March 20.

March 22

Podcast final presentation.  Intro to video projects. 

Discuss examples of student videos:

“Everyone Can”

“Social Greed”

“A Joint Journey”

“How to be Sick”

“What is Crazy, Anyway?”

BLOG ASSIGNMENT #9: Work on video project proposal (see blog post). Word count: 500 to 750 words. We will review video proposals in class on March 29. 

Due: Tuesday, March 27

March 29

Video project proposal workshop and i-Movie partner project. 

BLOG ASSIGNMENT #10: Post i-Movie or MovieMaker trailer sneak peek of your video project on your blog using either Vimeo or YouTube.

ADDITIONAL HOMEWORK: Write at least 500 words focused on your video essay subject. Keep your writing in scenes. 

Watch the video examples on our blog here.

Due: Tuesday, April 3.

April 5

Story-boarding in video images. In class writing. 

BLOG ASSIGNMENT #11: Take one or two or three of the topics that you wrote about in class and expand them on your blog. Keep the writing in specific scenes. 750 words minimum. 
Due: Tuesday, April 10

April 12

Video inspiration. Hand out story board worksheets. Shot list explanation. Video scavenger hunt to capture: 

1.       Six still images using each shot technique.

• Extreme long shot (view showing details of setting, location, etc.)
• Long shot (showing the full height of a person or thing).
• Medium shot (showing a person’s head and shoulders)
• Over the shoulder shot (looking over the shoulder of a person)
•  Point of view shot (seeing everything that a person themselves sees)
• Close up (showing details of the user or object)

2.       Three videos of 15 seconds each:

• One close up
• One far away
• One interview/question statement showing a person and using the rule of thirds.

3.       Two additional images capturing just text.

HOMEWORK: Storyboard the first 16 frames of your movie. Bring in 20 hard copies to class for workshop. Do not bring in scribbles or hastily done scraps of paper. Use this time to really construct your story visually and with words. You can also use the templates provided in Sakai to add in your images. 

This is worth 10% of your total grade.
Due: Thursday, April 19.

Homework: Take what you found during the scavenger hunt and/or any existing images and videos and create the first two minutes of your video project. Post to blog. 

Due: Tuesday, April 17

April 19

From word to image. In-class video editing. Storyboard workshop.

HOMEWORK: Finish working on your video.  Post to your blog using Vimeo or YouTube.  Due: Wednesday, April  25 

BLOG ASSIGNMENT #12: Review your progress for the semester. Evaluate yourself and what you’ve learned, what you would still like to learn, where you would like to pursue your interests. Include photos, and videos that relate to your experience.

Due, Tuesday, April 24

Other homework: 
Bring in your comment sheet from your blog. 

April 26

Concluding discussion and peer video watching.