Sara D Digital Story Treatment
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[edit] Summary
Title: ENC 1101: A Preview of Coming Attractions
Image: Writing
Description: My topic is inspired by the website Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling. Since I primarily teach composition classes, where the students often complain that a writing class has not applicability to their future careers, my objective is to directly engage students by showing snapshots of real-life applications for their writing skills. I envision using this project on the first day of class, as students are arriving and finding their seats. They'll be able to have a preview of the semester to come in their composition class, since I will include specific images of typical activities in the class. Since this story will be used on the first day of a composition class, which typically has first year students, I expect the students will be nervous and apprehensive because they won't know what to expect. So, I would like my story to be both inspiring and informative.
[edit] Media Assets
I intend to use 15-20 photos from Flickr that have Creative Commons licenses. These images will provide a visual medium for a story about writing. Most images will be of people writing and of writing exercises (for example, one image is of the Venn Diagram). Also, I will use GIMP to edit photos by adding text. In addition, I intend to use CCMixter and The Freesound Project to provide music and sound effects. At the beginning of the story, I'll feature the clicking of a keyboard to provide context for the writing class and then quickly segue into more up-tempo music to accompany the text and images about composition.
[edit] Pacing, Rhythm, and Juxtaposition
Since the purpose of the story is to appeal to first year writing students and to inspire interest in writing, I intend to keep the pacing brisk from start to finish. However, I want to allow enough time for them to absorb each image, especially since I'll have a specific section on upcoming activities. Ideally, by the time they finish the video, I want the pacing and rhythm to help get them inspired and ready to write, as well as to address questions about what the class will consist of. I will not be using flashy transition between each frame; instead, I will incorporate simple dissolves or fades and keep the emphasis on the message of the story.
[edit] Narration, Dialogue, and Text
My digital story will not incorporate dialogue; however, it will make effective use of written text to convey key ideas about writing in composition class. I plan to have three distinct sections in the story, which will cover the purposes of writing, composition tools, and typical class activities. Based on the discussion suggestions and my group's comments, I've edited the text of my story so that it now reads as follows:
Title: ENC 1101: A Preview of Coming Attractions (juxtaposed over movie screen image using GIMP)
- Section 1: Why Write? To inform, to persuade, to entertain, to describe, to explain. In short, to express your unique vision to the reader.
- Section 2: What Tools Will You Need? A good word processing program. A spiral-bound notebook for in-class exercises. A good collegiate dictionary and thesaurus. Most importantly: Your Imagination!
- Section 3: What are typical class activities? Lots of free writing to gather ideas and plan essays. Thought-provoking class discussions- speak up! Collaborative sessions, including writing workshops. Innovative writing exercises like mind mapping. Unique and creative student presentations. The only obstacles we face are the ones we place in front of ourselves (Joshua Davis- Flickr CC license).
[edit] Reflection
So far, I've experienced a lot of exhilirating and frustrating moments with this project. Since I used Windows Movie Maker with the first project, I decided to take a risk and order Sony Vegas. Unfortunately, the software didn't work, and when I finally downloaded a free version, I didn't like the format and features. So, I went back to Movie Maker, which I find very user friendly, though it can be a struggle to implement creative ideas. Also, for the past week, I've agonized over how to convey the information in an effective and appealing format.
As I said in the descriptive statement, my purpose is to inform my students about the class and to inspire them regarding their own writing. Therefore, I'd like to know if my story addresses those two purposes and what I can do to strengthen the message. For specific details on how these comments helped me to edit my movie and improve it, please see the section below.
[edit] The Editing Process
After reading through everyone's comments and reflecting upon the purpose of my story, I've elected to switch out the music. Although the artist is the same, I'm using a track with a slower rhythm, "Dark Realm Winter Harvest" instead of "I Can Hardly Breathe," since I'm unable to time the cuts with the more uptempo beat of the previous track. Once I reviewed the track again, I agreed with Rebecca and Natalie's comments that the lyrics of the previous track didn't match the storyline I was trying to convey. In addition, based on Brooke and Dr. Tripp's comments, I've decided to delete the dissolves and use either straight cuts or fades to transition between tracks. Then, since my group members noted that the text over the images was difficult to read, I eliminated that text and inserted it onto Flickr photos (with CC licenses).
Regarding the text and images, I'm trying to give a more clear-cut transition between my 3 sections by including title cards with key questions students would have about the class. To make the text more readable, I've eliminated the flashy title animation, which was too distracting. And, after reflecting on Dr. Tripp's comment, I decided to perform another Flickr search to find additional photos of typical class activities. Unfortunately, once I added the photos, it brought me way over the 2-minute limit, so I had to speed up some of the cuts to keep to the guidelines. Although I really wanted to include the extra images, I ultimately had to delete them. However, when I make the final product for my class, I will add them back in and ideally have a 3-4 minute video to play before I officially begin class on the first day.
[edit] Draft Media
I expect to go through several drafts and will post the most recent one here.
Final Draft: Final
Draft of Story: Draft 2
Media Assets (Images):
Writing
Movie Screen: This image will provide a background for the title.
Student Presentations
Background: This will serve as the background for a slide on the purposes of writing.
Inspiration: An inspiring quotation that will ideally give them confidence in their writing process.
Media Assets (Music and Sound Effects):
Vidian, Dark Realm Winter Harvest: A slower rhythm that will allow students to focus on the image rather than the music
Vidian, I Can Hardly Breathe: An up-tempo melody that will help to keep the students' interest focused on the story
maarten_wez, me_typing.mp3: The sound of someone typing will contextualize their main activity in the course: writing. I will use about 10 seconds to provide the lead-in to the main story.
[edit] Copyrighted Materials
All the visual and audio contents of the digital story will have Creative Commons licenses. Any written materials will be original work that I create. I do not intend to use copyrighted materials.
