OVERVIEW
For the last few weeks of the semester, you’ll work on developing a VERY SHORT message about gender socialization that you’ll deliver via a new media format. You can find the key details below, but I’ll also flesh out the assignment in class.
Solo or Pairs: You may work on this project alone or with a partner from either section. If you have an idea for a particularly ambitious project, I’ll consider the option of having two or three pairs work on contributing parts to the larger project.
Help Resources: I’ve provided links below to a few help resources, but also be sure to browse relevant categories on my digitalwriting101 help site.
REQUIREMENTS
FORMAT
- composed with new media: audio and visuals
- using desktop, mobile, or web-based apps
- final version: must be in video format
LENGTH
- no shorter than one minute
- no longer than five minutes
- length is appropriate to approach
COMPONENTS
In addition to the video content, your video must also include:
- opening title card within first 25% of video, with project title and author(s) name(s)
- credits card at end, to credit people and sources as relevant
RHETORICAL SITUATION
- specific target audience beyond the class (your choice)
- clear rhetorical purpose (to analyze, clarify, persuade, critique, etc.)
COMPOSITION
Composition = deliberate choices writer makes regarding:
- arrangement of material
- persuasive strategies
Project MUST show evidence of composition. That means you SHOULD:
- gather way more material than the final version would include
- select the best portions of the material
- arrange them in a way that that best suits your audience and purpose
- cut and condense to hold audience attention and interest
- add finishing touches to give the piece “polish”
You should SHOULD NOT: turn on the camera, talk for three minutes, press stop, and turn that in
PROCESS
Process = same stages as any writing process, adapted for new media
Your project must include all stages of the composing process:
- research: gathering material
- synopsis: abstract of main idea (or “thesis”) and support
- planning: storyboard and asset list
- drafting: rough cut for feedback
- revision: full draft for feedback
- polishing: final version (along with learning reflection)
STYLE
Learning to compose in new media will benefit you only if you’re invested in trying to make something you’d be proud to show friends and family members. Think of this assignment as an opportunity to become familiar with what many people of all ages already do when they make fan videos, memes, remixes, and so on. If you already know the basics, then use this opportunity to bump up your skills a notch.
DON’T: Unless your target audience will be academics, DON’T make an “audio research paper with images.” Here’s an example of what I mean by that: Let’s Talk – Girl Talk.
The video was published by the Journal of Undergraduate Multimedia Projects, so it’s obviously pretty strong. But I doubt it would be of interest to many viewers beyond academia. I like to refer to it as an example of “digital composition 1.0,” mainly because it doesn’t take a very big step away from the “traditional” way of writing. The project could’ve been delivered as an oral presentation with a projector, long before the web and the availability of free and easy digital media tools.
DO: Given that most of you will choose audiences outside of academia, aim to make a project that wouldn’t have been possible before, say, 2002, which is roughly when the web exploded in popularity and all kinds of new digital media tools started becoming available to everyone, not just to pros.
Here’s an example of “digital composition 2.0,” which is on a similar topic and from the same issue of JUMP as the previous example, but this one has a much broader appeal beyond an academic audience: Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (FYI: this video is also an example of “remix”)
TOPICS
Relates to our course theme: what is it that persuades us (and others) to hold certain beliefs about gender and/or sexual orientation?
Thesis and Support:
- make an overt or implied claim
- support it with evidence from research and persuasive strategies
Research:
- primary: you gather the data yourself (memories, observations, interviews, artifacts, etc.)
- secondary: you draw on data gathered and analyzed by others (academics, journalists, other researchers)
Show v. Tell: Conveying Your Main Point
- “Showing” – create a fictionalized scenario based on a situation or event from personal experience (like a clip from a movie)
- “Telling” – communicate in the style of a news exposé, interview, PSA, critique, or another non-fiction method
TIP: Choose a Narrow Topic
The best topics for this project will be very narrow and specific, not broad or general. Here are two sample topics, one for each method of conveying your point:
- Showing: how do your friends and family members enforce a hetero/homo binary on you?
- Telling: how do online personals reinforce the idea that bisexuality doesn’t exist?
APPROACHES TO VIDEO COMPOSITION
ANIMATION
- Definition: using kid-friendly apps to move characters across scenes, with visual or spoken dialogue; includes stop-motion, digital cartoon, hand drawn cartoon, cut-out, and more
- Best for: showing
- Difficulty: medium
- Samples: browse the animations tag archive
- Tools: animation is super easy to do on an iPad and somewhat easy to do on a smartphone. On a desktop, options include using the animation tools in PowerPoint or Keynote or downloading inexpensive software. You can also find free web-based animation tools.
SHORT FILM
- Definition: using kid-friendly video apps to show characters and scenes
- Best for: showing
- Difficulty: medium to hard
- Tools: video recording device; video editing software; external mic and tripod (recommended); capable actors to serve as characters
REMIX
- Definition: mixing together digital media clips for a purpose they weren’t originally intended to serve
- Best for: showing (if remixing fictional content) or telling (for non-fiction content)
- Difficulty: medium to hard
- Tools: video editing software; tool for downloading videos (and converting, if necessary)
- Samples: browse the remix tag archive; also see this remix that “queers” the relationship between the main characters on Mad Men: Don Loves Roger
CDS STYLE PERSONAL NARRATIVE
CDS = Center for Digital Storytelling
- Definition: personal narrative recorded as audio voiceover and played with photos moving across the screen
- Best for: telling (but could be used more creatively for showing)
- Difficulty: easy to medium
- Tools: any photo or video editing tool that gives you control over image and audio placement (i.e., allows you to “compose” rather than just doing it all for you)
- Samples: browse the CDS-style tag archive
- Resources: browse the “digital storytelling” tag archive as well as other relevant resources on digitalwriting101.net (Note: In the past year, I’ve expanded my approach to digital storytelling considerably, so some of the resources you find on the site might apply to other forms of digital storytelling besides the “traditional” CDS-style approach.)
MULTI-PERSON INTERVIEW
- Definition: multiple interviewees answering the same set of questions
- Best for: telling
- Difficulty: easy to medium
- Tools: video recording device; video editing software; external mic and tripod (recommended); suitable interview candidates
- Samples: browse the multi-person interview tag archive
MINI-DOC
- Definition: very short version of a “documentary” (analyze an issue, explain a concept, raise awareness, etc.)
- Best for: telling
- Difficulty: medium
- Tools: video editing software
- Samples: browse the mini-doc tag archive
CREATIVE SCREENCASTING
- Definition: recording what appears on your screen (after orchestrating a variety of actions to appear in web or desktop apps, like web browsers, social media apps, photo editing apps, etc.)
- Best for: telling
- Difficulty: medium to hard (depending on what you want to show on screen)
- Tools: free or free-trial versions of screencast software; browse the Using Screen Recording Tools category on digitalwriting101.net
Samples: take a look at the Google Chrome ads. Coffee is embedded below, but also take a look at: Parisian Love, Dear Sophie, Coffee, and Jess Time.