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JOMC 221 – Audio/Video Information Gathering Fall 2015

Photo: Matt Connor (JOMC 180)

“Character consists of what you do on the 3rd and 4th tries.” — James Michener

Instructor: Ryan Comfort Office Hours: M, T, & W 9:15-11:15am Email: rcomfort@email.unc.edu

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REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS____________________________________ A Regular Paper Notebook Available just about anywhere. We will be using notebooks not just for

class note taking but for remembering interview questions, shot lists, and ideas when out in the field.

Headphones Available on Amazon.com, bhphotovideo.com, or from the Campus Book

Store. I recommend Sennheiser if you plan to continue with other JOMC multimedia courses, but any will do for this class.

SD Card Minimum 16GB Class 10, recommended 32GB Class 10 professional Available on Amazon.com, bhphotovideo.com, or from the Campus Book

Store External Hard Drive Minimum 500GB, USB 3.0, & Mac compatible Available on Amazon.com,

bhphotovideo.com, or from the Campus Book Store. If you are considering other JOMC multimedia courses, I recommend 1TB USB 3.0 orThunderbolt connectivity. If you are using a drive you already own, it will have to be formatted for Mac.

Vimeo.com Account Available at www.vimeo.com. The free account is just fine for our class. Canon Vixia Camera Kit Available to borrow from the J-School! The basic kit includes a camera

body, tripod, shotgun mic, and camera bag. Two students will share one kit. Kits are checked out from…

Matt Bachman Equipment Room Manager Carroll Hall room 239 (919) 962-0718 mbachman@email.unc.edu RECOMMENDED COURSE MATERIALS_______________________________ The Associated Press Stylebook 2013, by Associated Press Available on Amazon.com or from the Campus Book Store. If you are a

JOMC major, you will need a copy for future coursework.

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COURSE OBJECTIVES_____________________________________________ Welcome to multimedia! This course is designed to introduce you to the tools and skills needed to engage in quality storytelling with audio and video. Emphasis is in mastering technical and aesthetic aspects of audio/video information gathering and editing. As this course is intended to give you insight into what you may expect as entry-level employees or interns in “the real world,” attention to detail, timeliness, thoroughness, and active participation in course activities are absolutely essential. This is a very hands-on course! Specifically, this semester we will learn how to:

• Create basis audio/video compositions. • Identify and tell an engaging story through video. • Think critically and make decision on content and ethics in the field. • Critically evaluate multimedia and judge its communicative value. • Develop a first visual portfolio.

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication’s accrediting body has developed a set of values and competencies. Learn about them here: http://bit.ly/1dk0dom JOMC courses are designed to build your abilities in each of these areas. In this class, we will address several of the values and competencies under "Professional values and competencies" in the link above. COURSE POLICIES________________________________________________ Professional Standards Nothing says “unprofessional” like showing up late to a client meeting, being unprepared, missing a storyboard session entirely, or worst of all missing a deadline. The J-School is considered a professional school so we will be learning and practicing professional standards in this class. So, come to class one time, be in your seat and ready to go, turn in assignments on deadline, always be prepared, and most importantly, problem solve! The rules are… RULE #1 – NO EXCUSES RULE #2 – SEE RULE #1 Classes Classes consist of a mix of lectures, field work, lab work, group editing, presentations and critiques. Throughout the semester we will be looking at a lot of media and learning the language of visual communication. During presentation times, please turn off your monitor and be engaged.

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Attendance Going along with professional standards, attendance is absolutely critical. Aside from that, we will do a lot of in-class shoots and critiques that count toward your participation grade. Do you peers a solid and be present to give them your honest feedback. That being said… You have two (2) free absences for the semester. Showing up late to class, even by 1 minute counts as an absence. Save your absences for when you really need them, such as the black plague, coma, or a death in the family. You cannot use a freebie absence on a project due date. Every absence beyond two (2), regardless of reason, will result in a 4% deduction from your overall course grade. So… lets say you have a 94% at the end of the term. You were late once and sick once. Its fine, nothing will be deducted from your grade. At the end of the term you still have a 94%. However, lets say you are late twice and then are out with the flu for two more days. Your final grade would go from 94% to 86%. Critiques The goal of a critique is to discover what makes strong, innovative, communicative storytelling. To do so, we will uncover the highs and the lows, the good and the bad, and set you on a path to making better work each time. Critiques are essential to growth and are part of the editing process for even the top professionals in the field. You would never want to turn in a paper without having someone to proofread it first – this is the same thing. Everyone needs to be active and involved in the critique process, and the critique needs to be constructive. You can be tough and honest without tearing someone apart. Find the balance and, when in doubt, take the higher road. Likewise, when you are receiving a critique of your work, you need to maintain a similar balance. Critiques are for providing helpful suggestions to improve your work. If you refrain from being defensive, you’ll gain much more from the feedback. Don’t be so connected to your work that you lose sight of how it could be better. Work Days There are several in-class work days scheduled throughout the semester. You must bring something to work on in class or I will automatically take 10% off your project grade. The in-class work day is designed so that you have ample time to turn in a polished product. You are not allowed to use the work day to shoot. PhotoNight Every month, usually on the last Tuesday of the month at 7:30pm, we invite prominent photographers and producers to speak to our students. Over the years

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some of the best in the industry have visited UNC: Ed Kashi, Ami Vitale, Chris Hondros, Sam Abell and Brian Storm to name a few. They are veritable rock stars of the photo/video world and to have them at our footsteps is an enormous opportunity. PhotoNight attendance will count as 2% extra credit to your overall course grade, but you must sign-in with me before the event starts. Deadlines Deadlines in this business are sacred! Missing even one deadline can cost you a job, a client, your reputation, or all three. All assignments must be turned in complete and functioning before the start of class on the day it is due. Give yourself time to make sure your projects play properly. What you turn in at deadline will be what you are graded on, period. Remember RULE #1. All late work will receive a zero, no excuses, no exceptions. Re-shoots Re-shoots are acceptable and encouraged. For any assignment you turn in on time, you may re-shoot the assignment for a better grade at any point before the final portfolio is due. The assignment must be entirely re-shot and re-edited from start to finish, not just a re-edit of your first take. You can re-shoot an assignment as many times as you like. The highest grade will be used for your course grade. Accessibility Resources The University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill facilitates the implementation of reasonable accommodations, including resources and services, for students with disabilities, chronic medical conditions, a temporary disability or pregnancy complications resulting in difficulties with accessing learning opportunities. All accommodations are coordinated through the Accessibility Resources and Service Office. In the first instance please visit their website http://accessibility.unc.edu, Tel:- 919-962-8300 or Email;- accessibility@unc.edu. Please contact ARS as early in the semester as possible. If your require accommodations, you must notify me BEFORE the exam, deadline, or class in which you require them. Honor code Students will operate within the requirements of the honor code. All work must be your own, must be done specifically for this class, and should be done with the high level of honesty and integrity that this University demands. Students that violate the honor code will be subject to University regulations regarding the specific violation.

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ASSIGNMENTS: LEARN BY DOING_________________________________ We will start slowly with basic camera operation exercises. If you are total beginner – don’t worry! You’ll get up to speed as we progress into assignments typical in the daily work of a professional visual journalist. The assignments are:

• Assignment #01 – Moment of Clarity • Assignment #02 – Visualizing Characteristics • Assignment #03 – Profile Story • Assignment #04 – Sports Story • Assignment #05 – Final Portfolio • In-Class Assignments

All assignments must be turned in according to these procedures. We will be producing a lot of media this semester and it’s important that we stay organized. The class folder has an assignment folder template you should follow. Copy the template to your hard drive. Make a copy of the folder template for every assignment you do for this course. For each assignment, you will create a “Turn-In Folder” that you will submit to the Drop Box on the course server. Your “Turn-In Folder” must follow this naming convention…

00_lastname (00 is the assignment number and lastname is your last name) Your “Turn-In Folder” should include the following… 1. A copy of your video in mp4 format, H.264 compression 2. A written evaluation of your shoot that answers these questions… a. What did you do well? b. What didn’t work? c. How will you fix it next time? All your files in the folder will follow the same naming convention. Simply add another underscore and a number or description of the file. For example… 00_lastname_(v1).mp4 00_lastname_(reflection).doc

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Assignment 1 – Moment of Clarity (10%) What: Everyone has had a moment in their lives where they’ve had some sort of revelation – big or small – where things just suddenly seemed clear. You will interview a character on one of these revelations and edit it into a piece that is between 2 -3 minutes long. You will be using your video camera to film the interview (so you can practice setting up interview shots and using your camera), but the final piece will be audio-only (so you can concentrate on just telling a good story). Why: Another challenge in visual journalism is brevity. How do you tell a story that is not too long, but still makes an impact? This project will help you get to the core of storytelling – getting a good anecdote & reflection, then editing it succinctly. It will also help you to learn good interviewing techniques – getting what you need, but not taking three hours of interviewing to do so. Assignment 2 – Visualizing Characteristics (10%) What: This assignment is to get students to think visually. You will draw an adjective/characteristic out of a hat and will be tasked with gathering shots that illustrate this one characteristic. Remember to grab wide, medium and tight shots! You will then edit a short video (1-2 minute) set to music, showcasing your illustrated word. Why: One of the challenges of visual journalism is having to illustrate complicated ideas – and being too literal can be boring. Challenge yourself to think outside the box here. Envision having to illustrate a poem. Above all, take creative risks and have fun! Project 3 – Profile Piece (20%) What: There are many interesting people in this world. Find one, then create a short (3 min) documentary-style piece that sums up what they are all about. This project is about capturing the essence of a person – what this person, thinks, believes, sees, feels, maybe even what he or she eats (if that adds to the story). You will need to pay attention to details that give away hints of personality. Why: Doing a profile or a “day-in-the-life-of” is a common news feature assignment. This will help you learn to get the footage and interview material you need, while finding ways to add depth to an otherwise mundane assignment. Like a writer working on a feature, you will work to discover context clues that give a more complete picture of a person.

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Project 4 – Sports Story (30%) What: Sports are more fun when you have someone to cheer for or root against. The goal (no pun intended) of this project is to tell a great story about an athlete, a coach or a team, etc. Your subject can be any age, doing any sport (or retired from any sport), as long as it’s a good story and you can sell me on the pitch. If you locate your subject early on, you may even have the opportunity to document the person or team as they play throughout the semester, letting the story develop in real time (which is always exciting). In the end, you will have an approximately 3 minute documentary-style piece that will draw upon all the skills we learn throughout the semester. Why: Sports are filled with great stories and fantastic life lessons. There’s a built-in conflict, both internal and external, with every game, season, career, etc. and there’s always some knowledge to gain from participating, regardless of the outcome. The problems you may run into are also common problems you may encounter when working in the field: athletes can sometimes be lousy interview subjects, sports are fast-paced and require lots of practice to shoot (good thing they’re repetitive), there’s often bad lighting and there are generally rules about where you can and can’t shoot. One-Class Assignments (10%) There will be one-class exercises and/or take-home assignments throughout the semester. At the end of the semester, your grades for each of these assignments will be averaged into an overall course assignments grade. One-Class assignments are likely to include (but are not limited to):

• Match action • Interview shot • Video portrait • Color correction • Motion • Tight-Medium-Wide shot / building the scene • 50 Compositions

Participation (10%) Your participation grade will be heavily influenced by your participation in class discussions, critique sessions and your overall respectfulness of others in the classroom. Be engaged, be thoughtful, and be polite and constructive in your feedback.

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GRADING________________________________________________________ Your final grade for the course will be according to the following breakdown. Any assignments not turned in by deadline will receive no credit. Visual assignments will be graded based on technical, aesthetic, and content elements. Since I allow for projects to be redone and offer extra credit opportunities, I do not round up for grades. If your final course grade is an 89.9, your grade is a B. All assignments are graded on the following 100-point scale. A 100 - 95 A- 94 – 90 B 89 – 85 B- 84 – 80 C 79 – 75 C- 74 – 70 D 69 – 65 D- 64 – 60 F 59 or below Your final grade will also be determined on the same 100-point scale according the following weights. Assignment #01 – Moment of Clarity 10% Assignment #02 – Visual Character 10% Assignment #03 – Profile Story 20% Assignment #04 – Sports Story 30% Assignment #05 – Final Portfolio 10% One-Class Assignments 10% Participation 10% Total 100%