Digital Story Prompt
From LIS5313
Contents |
Task
- Make a 1-2 minute video that communicates a story about a specific experience or person in your life that has relevance or importance to who you are, or that tells an original story about a topic of your choice.
- Create and revise a Digital Story Treatment to accompany your video.
- To create your Digital Story Treatment, make a new page on the wiki here, and use this template as a guide. (If you'd like to see an example of a digital story treatment from last semester, check out this treatment by Ana W and this treatment by Christopher W.)
- Provide substantive feedback to peers on Digital Story Rough Drafts.
- The project is worth 120 points.
Guidelines and Specifications
- The story can be narrative or non-narrative, real or fictional. It can be told from your perspective, the perspective of a “fictional you,” or the perspective of someone else (e.g. third person narrative).
- The story should have a purpose and point of view.
- The video can be comprised of any combination of still or moving images, and it is not necessary to include images or footage that you have shot yourself. The video can also include voice over narration, dialogue, or text elements, but these are not necessary. If narration is used, the narration should be no more than 150 words.
- The video must be a minimum of one minute and a maximum of two minutes (not including credits).
- The video must include a complete list of credits and sources, with appropriate and accurate attribution information. The credits should come at the end of the video and can be as long as necessary.
- Any use of copyrighted materials should be justified in writing when you turn in your video in the last section of your Digital Story Treatment. For example, you could state: “I received permission to use this material from…,” or “my use of this material qualifies as fair use for the following reasons…”. Any unjustified use of copyrighted material will result in your project being returned to you for revision.
- The Digital Story Treatment you create should include the sections and content described in the Digital Story Treatment Template. You should turn in your Treatment with the rough draft of your video, and then edit and revise the treatment to accurately accompany and reflect the final version of the video.
Submission Instructions for Digital Story Rough Drafts
- Save or convert your video to a .mp4 file. The bit rate should not exceed 1 Mbps (1000 kbps). The pixel dimensions should be between 320 by 240 and 640 by 480 pixels. If your software can not save or export these file settings, you can use an online free service for converting your files at: http://www.media-convert.com. (If you use this service, I recommend the selecting the iPod preset for your output format.)
- Upload your video to your iSpace account or the server of your choice.
- Under the "Draft Media" section of your Treatment page, include a link to the rough draft of your video. This will be important so that others in the class can read your treatment, find the link to your rough draft, and give you feedback.
- Also submit the assignment to Blackboard > Media Project 1 - Digital Story - Rough Draft by including the link to your video in the comments field. (Due Tuesday March 18.)
Note: Do NOT post your rough draft video on the Media Projects section of the blog. If you want feedback or suggestions on versions of your digital story prior to completing your official "rough draft" you can post your request to Peer Support and include the media in your post that you want feedback on, and/or refer people to your treatment page for more information about your digital story.
Submission Instructions for Digital Story Treatments
- Create your Digital Story Treatment page as early in the production process as possible so that others can use it to learn about your project and give you feedback along the way.
- Update and revise your Treatment to accurately accompany and reflect your Digital Story Rough Draft.
- Submit your Digital Story Treatment to Blackboard > Media Project 1: Digital Story Treatment Wiki Page by including a link to your treatment in the comments field. (Due Tuesday March 18.)
Submission Instructions for Digital Story Final Drafts
- Save or convert your video to a .mp4 file. The bit rate should not exceed 1 Mbps (1000 kbps). The pixel dimensions should be between 320 by 240 and 640 by 480 pixels. If your software can not save or export these file settings, you can use an online free service for converting your files at: http://www.media-convert.com. (If you use this service, I recommend the selecting the iPod preset for your output format.)
- Upload your video to your iSpace account or the server of your choice.
- Create a blog post with the following components:
- Title your blog post with the title of your movie.
- Provide a link to your media file at the top of your post. This should result in your video being playable from within the blog itself. If it doesn’t play, or just provides a link instead of embedding the video player in the post, correct your post until it's fixed.
- Optional: Attach an appropriate Creative Commons license to your video. Follow the steps for selecting the type of license you want provided at Creative Commons "Choose a License", and then copy the html code directly into your blog post (in the “code” window, not the "visual" window), immediately below the link to your video.
- In a few sentences, give a brief description of your video, along with any contextual or background information you want the audience to have about the video or your production process. Put these sentences directly below your CC license, or below your video if you do not have a CC license.
- Provide a link to your Digital Story Treatment page on the wiki.
- Categorize the blog post under "Media Projects."
- Make sure your Digital Story Treatment page is updated and edited to accurately accompany and reflect the final version of the video.
- Submit the assignment in Blackboard > Media Project 1 - Digital Story - Final Drafts by including the link to the final version of your digital story in the comments field. (Due March 25.)
Grading Criteria
This assignment is worth a maximum of 120 points, which will be given according the following grading criteria:
- Digital Story Rough Draft. 10 points, graded pass/fail.
- Digital Story Treatment. 10 points, graded pass/fail.
- Digital Story Peer Feedback on Rough Drafts. 10 points, graded pass/fail.
- Digital Story Final Draft. 90 points, graded as follows:
- The purpose and point of view of the story is clear and compelling. 20 points
- The video track has a strong, unified style. Visuals are compelling. The pacing and rhythm of the video track is balanced and reflects deliberate and planned edits that contribute to the meaning and impact of the story. Transitions and visual effects are used selectively and deliberately. 15 points
- The soundtrack has a strong, unified style. Sounds are compelling. The selection and use of music, sound effects, ambiance, and/or dialogue/narration are appropriate to the story and contribute to the meaning and impact of the story. 15 points
- Media assets are well chosen and appropriate to the goals and style of the story. The assets used reflect effort and skill in the search process and/or in the production process. 20 points
- The video is technically well executed. Assets are of adequate visual and sound quality so as not to be distracting to the viewer. Edits are free from unplanned glitches or pops. Audio levels are appropriately adjusted throughout the video. 20 points
Production Resources
- Digital Story Treatment Template-Create a treatment for your project as part of helping you think through different facets of how to communicate creatively and expressively with image and sound, and also to give other people in the class general information about your project so we can give you more appropriate feedback. Use this template as a guide for what to include in your treatment.
- Audio Resources
- Digital Story Cookbook-Download and read the introductory chapters of the Digital Storytelling Cookbook (published by the Center for Digital Storytelling). The introductory chapters are very short, easy to read, and address topics such as "finding your story," approaches to scripting, storyboarding, and digitizing story elements.
- Storyboard Resources-This is a link to my blog post that has some resources/tips for creating storyboards.
Important Dates
- Wk. 8:
- Digital Story Pre-Production and Planning
- Wk. 9:
- Important: Bring to class a draft of your script, storyboard, and/or Digital Story Treatment
- Digital Story Production continues throughout week 9 (and can include Spring Break if you want)
- Digital Story Rough Draft Due Tuesday, March 18
- Digital Story Treatment Due Tuesday, March 18
- Wk. 10:
- Revise Digital Stories and Treatments
- Peer Feedback on Digital Story Rough Drafts Due Friday, March 21
- Digital Story Final Drats Due Tuesday, March 25
