Transcript

Jill Van Wyke, assistant professor Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rewiring the Ivory Tower: How To Incorporate Multimedia into Writing Courses AEJMC | Aug. 6 | Montreal, Quebec

  26 Things: A Photography Scavenger Hunt Using the iPod/iPhone and Flickr The point of this exercise is to familiarize yourselves with taking pictures with the iPod Touch or iPhone (or your own smartphone) using the ProCamera app, editing those photos using Photoshop Express, and posting them to Flickr. Working in pairs, find and photograph several items on the list. You are free to interpret these words however you want. Engage the quirky, offbeat part of your brain. This is not a race. The goal is to make photos, not take photos. Let’s push these cameras to their fullest capability, and push ourselves to make photos that are of high quality, both compositionally and technically. Composition: carefully frame your shot; get close; avoid distracting backgrounds; watch your lighting; get eye level; lock the focus on the subject (not the center of the frame); choose a main point of interest for every photo; place your subject off-center; try different angles. Also focus on good technical quality: turn off flash, minimize camera shake, shoot at the highest resolution, frame the shot while the shutter button is depressed, etc. Experiment with your camera’s scene settings (landscape, night, portrait, etc.) and with tapping the screen to set exposure and focus. The point is to get off your camera’s auto settings. If you have an iPhone 4 or newer, experiment with the HDR feature. Using ProCamera on the iPods Touch, experiment with anti-shake, exposure, level, rule-of-thirds grid, self-timer, rapid-fire mode, zoom. Using Photoshop Express, edit your photos as you go: crop, straighten, adjust brightness/contrast. As you take and edit your pictures, post them to the EyesOnIowa Flickr. Launch your Flickr app > Upload > Take/Upload Photo > Choose Photo. Add title and description. In the description, write the name of the item and your name(s). Example: “Glow” by Megan Bannister and Kristen Smith. Also note any special settings (“shot in rapid-fire mode using the ProCamera app,” for example). Add it to the “26 Things Scavenger Hunt” set. Include location. Set privacy level to public.

Jill Van Wyke, assistant professor Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rewiring the Ivory Tower: How To Incorporate Multimedia into Writing Courses AEJMC | Aug. 6 | Montreal, Quebec

  The list:

1. couple

2. slope

3. plate

4. going places

5. in the water

6. button

7. heritage

8. glow

9. clock

10. closed

11. smile

12. back

13. plastic

14. handle

15. sound

16. wheels

17. silence

18. new

19. old

20. mess

21. half

22. strings

23. graffiti

24. corner

25. opposite

26. round

This exercise is adapted from sh1ft.org’s “26 Things” photographic scavenger hunt. In that event, photographers are given 28 days to find the 26 items and upload them to a blog, Flickr, Photobucket or other photosharing site. There are no winners or losers; the fun is in the hunt and in seeing how other photographers interpreted the list. For more info: http://sh1ft.org/projects/index.php/category/26things/  

Jill Van Wyke, assistant professor Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rewiring the Ivory Tower: How To Incorporate Multimedia into Writing Courses AEJMC | Aug. 6 | Montreal, Quebec

 10 Tips for Taking Better Pictures with Your iPod/iPhone

1. Always have phone with you. “The best camera to have is the one that’s with you all the time.”

2. Know and accept the camera’s limits. 3. Clean the lens. 4. Get your finger out of the way. 5. Stabilize. 6. Watch your light, exposure. 7. Turn off flash. 8. Zoom with your feet. 9. Get close to your subject; get your subjects close to each other 10. Focus the camera.

Taking Better Photos with the ProCamera App

• Exposure • White balance • Rapid-fire mode • Zoom • Date Stamp • Anti-shake • White balance • Level • Rule of thirds • Sharing • Info • Pro Lab • Pro Cut: crop, rotate

Editing Photos with PS Express

• Crop, straighten, rotate, flip • Exposure, contrast, saturation • Reduce noise

Photo Sharing

• Instagram, Flickr, etc. • geotagging • title • description/captions • tags • location • privacy level

Jill Van Wyke, assistant professor Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rewiring the Ivory Tower: How To Incorporate Multimedia into Writing Courses AEJMC | Aug. 6 | Montreal, Quebec

 Mobile  Audio  Assignment      Part  1.    A  bio/intro.  Using  AudioBoo,  record  a  boo  about  yourself  to  serve  as  a  brief  bio  on  our  website.  Introduce  yourself  to  readers.  You  could  say  where  you’re  from,  what  you’re  studying,  where  you’ve  traveled,  where  you’ve  interned,  what  you  hope  to  do  professionally,  hobbies,  etc.      Take  a  picture  of  yourself  (or  have  a  classmate  help  you).  Title  your  boo  with  your  name.  Publish  your  AudioBoo.  Check  it  on  Tumblr  and  Twitter.  Then  copy  the  embed  code  and  post  it  to  our  EyesOnIowa  WordPress  site,  on  the  “Staff”  page.          Part  2.    Man-­‐on-­‐the-­‐street  interviews.    Interview  at  least  three  people,  using  Audioboo.  Make  sure  you  state  clearly  who  you  are  interviewing,  or  have  the  interviewees  state  their  names.    Interview  each  person  on  the  same  topic.  Topics  could  be:    

§ Would  you  pay  for  the  New  York  Times  online  or  mobile?  (The  pay  wall  goes  into  effect  this  week.)  

§ The  Final  Four.  Is  your  bracket  busted?    Predictions,  favorite  players,  Final-­‐wha?  § Should  the  U.S.  military  be  in  Libya?    § What  Republican  is  most  likely  to  unseat  Obama?  

 Take  the  interviewee’s  picture.    Give  the  boo  a  good  title  and  description.    Post  the  boo  as  soon  as  you’re  done  with  the  interview.        Part  3.    Research  audio  editing  apps.  What  kinds  of  features  would  you  look  for  in  a  mobile  audio-­‐recording  app?                  Find  two  or  three  audio  editing  apps  (not  just  recording  apps)  available  for  the  iPod  Touch.  Find  out  what’s  available,  their  features,  cost,  consumer  reviews.  Bring  back  a  brief  summary  and  recommendation  of  what  we  should  purchase.  

Jill Van Wyke, assistant professor Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rewiring the Ivory Tower: How To Incorporate Multimedia into Writing Courses AEJMC | Aug. 6 | Montreal, Quebec

 

Note: This was an exercise in experimenting with three different audio recorders, comparing their ease of use and quality of audio recording. Audio Interviewing Exercise Work in pairs (and one trio). Interview each other in two settings, using both recorders at both sites. Make sure everybody in your group gets a chance to operate both recorders. Set the date and time for all three recorders. Olympus WS-331 experiment with

rec mode: ST XQ (highest quality) to HQ (lowest) distance b/t mic and subject’s voice internal vs. external mic

Tascam First, adjust these settings:

menu > input setting > input > mic mic > type: mono

power > on (must be “on” for external mic to work) rec settings > format > WAV 16 or 24 rec settings > sample > 44.1 rec settings > pre rec > off rec settings > delay > off Then, experiment with:

internal mic. vs. external mic internal mic with and without windscreen distance b/t mic and subject recording level 1-10 (dial on right side)

Jill Van Wyke, assistant professor Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rewiring the Ivory Tower: How To Incorporate Multimedia into Writing Courses AEJMC | Aug. 6 | Montreal, Quebec

 

Zoom First, adjust these settings: Input > Mic WAV format, 16 or 24 bit, 44.1 kHz Then, experiment with:

automatic recording level vs. user-set recording level Menu > Input > Level Auto > Off/On

recording level 1-100 (button on right side)

internal mic. vs. external mic distance b/t mic and subject

Get at least 30 seconds of audio with each of the various settings/experiments. Use the chart to keep track of which files are what so we can compare sound quality later. Groups and Locations:

Meredith south lobby | Cowles Library quiet study room

Olmsted coffee shop | Mer. 101 or 106; or other large lecture hall

At a busy intersection | Inside a car

Residence hall lobby | Outside where it’s quiet

Cowles coffee shop | Van Wyke’s office

Olmsted fitness room | Quiet room in Olmsted (Mezzanine)

r How hard is it for you to shut up when the subject is talking?

r Are you minimizing “handling noise”?

r What’s the best distance between the mic and the subject’s mouth?

r You’re wearing headphones, right?

r Are you asking questions in a way to encourage complete answers and complete sentences?

r Did you try the “questions after” or “delayed record” strategy?

r Can you minimize any background noise? (buzzing lights, fans, printers)

Jill Van Wyke, assistant professor Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rewiring the Ivory Tower: How To Incorporate Multimedia into Writing Courses AEJMC | Aug. 6 | Montreal, Quebec

  Grading Criteria: Audio stories Reporting

Newsworthiness

Targets identified audience

Appropriate sourcing

Thoroughness

A mix of officials and “real people.”

Advances story

Good quotes from sources, resulting from open-ended questions.

Field Technique

Recorded closely enough; minimal background noise.

Interviews conducted in quiet room whenever possible.

Reporter isn’t trampling all over the audio.

No “handling” noise.

Gathered natural and interview sound

Gathered an underlying track (“bed”) of ambient sound to smooth edits.

Natural sound is gathered from as close to the sound source as possible

Absence of mic-handling noise

Actuality/sound bite is clear

Actuality/sound bite is brief, to the point

Sound levels are even

Absence of voice "pops"

Editing

Voicer (narration) presence

Voicer levels

Actuality/sound bite presence

Actuality/sound bite levels

Appropriately creative audio

Interview and natural sound are pieced together smoothly

An underlying track (“bed”) of ambient sound smooths edits.

Audio saved as MP3

Jill Van Wyke, assistant professor Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rewiring the Ivory Tower: How To Incorporate Multimedia into Writing Courses AEJMC | Aug. 6 | Montreal, Quebec

 

Writing

Written for the ear

Script formatted properly

Overall

Places the listener at scene of story

Jill Van Wyke, assistant professor Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rewiring the Ivory Tower: How To Incorporate Multimedia into Writing Courses AEJMC | Aug. 6 | Montreal, Quebec

CREATING AN AUDIO SLIDESHOW “Don’t tell me. Show me.” Introduction If you are a good writer, you already have what it takes to tell stories in other media: a sense for news and story; a sharp mind; a compassionate heart; persistence and passion; keen observational and analytical skills; and a sense of drama and “the moment.”

“Still images elicit a visceral response. They can be enhanced by text captions that are great for the basic who, what and where of an image. The addition of audio, then, takes the picture and text caption to another level, where image, text and audio work together to create an experience that neither could produce on its own.”

– Brian Storm, MediaStorm Audio

– Audio is intimate. It conveys what text and images can’t: emotion, humor. Sound can transport you.

– Audio gives your subject a voice. – Paint a picture with sounds as well as words. – “Create a virtual reality for your listener. Make them feel like they’re wherever you are,

not reading the postcard you sent.” – J. Carl Gantner Gathering Audio

– Equipment o The recorder o Headphones o Batteries o Get your gear in order, know how to operate it. You only get one shot at

getting audio. o DTC checkout policies

– General Tips

o Your brain is an amazing noise filter. Your recorder isn’t. Close your eyes and listen. Watch out for camera clicks.

o Cover your bases. Record a lot of ambient/natural sound. Do multiple takes. Record 20 times more than the length of your show.

o Make sure your gear’s in order. Extra batteries.

_ Natural and Ambient Sound o Background noise (ambient sound) and sound effects (natural sound) o Use to show action. o You’ll only need a few seconds of natural sound, but record at least 15 seconds

of it. o Record at least a minute, preferably more, of ambient sound in each location,

including where you interview. o Get close to it with recorder. But also record medium distance and far.

Jill Van Wyke, assistant professor Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rewiring the Ivory Tower: How To Incorporate Multimedia into Writing Courses AEJMC | Aug. 6 | Montreal, Quebec

o Gather 5 seconds of “junk” audio before and after each recording. These

buffers are called “handles” and will come in handy when you’re editing. o Your sound must be authentic. Ethics.

_ Interview Sound

o Different from just recording for transcription. o Before you start taping, write down basic facts: name, spelling, pronunciation,

location, date. o On tape, start by having subject state name, title what they do. o Get close with recorder, 4” or so. o Shut up. Don’t trample over the audio with your own voice. Make eye contact

and nod instead. o Don’t let the subject hold the mic. o Watch out for “handling” noise. o Find a quiet, “soft” room. o Listen more, talk less. Don’t fear silence. o Be confident with gear. If you are constantly checking equipment, your

source’s confidence will erode. o Wear headphones! o Ask subject to repeat what s/he said if a noisy disturbance. o Reassure subject that s/he can start over if s/he gets tongue-tied. o Avoid yes or no questions. Ask open-ended questions.

• Tell me the story of … • Explain what you are doing now. • Talk about your best/worst/…” • Describe for me • Give me a sense of… • Could you tell me why? • Why? • What happened? • Then what happened? • Then what happened? • What did you see? • What went thru your mind? • What would you say to someone who… • What did that tell you? • Why did you care about that? • How did/would you respond (to something)? • What makes you care about that? • Why was that important? • What picture remains most vivid? • Imagine you’re back at scene; how did you feel? • What did you see? • Describe the scene. • What stands out the most? • What did it smell like? • What are the consequences? • What’s the best/worst possible scenario?

Jill Van Wyke, assistant professor Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rewiring the Ivory Tower: How To Incorporate Multimedia into Writing Courses AEJMC | Aug. 6 | Montreal, Quebec

• What do you fear? • How did/does that affect you? • How did you deal with that? • How do you know? • What went thru your mind? • What did he/she/they say? • What were the options? • How would you describe that?

Editing Audio

_ Make copies of your audio files. Never edit original files. _ Keep your audio files organized. Find a consistent naming/filing system. _ Place all sound files for one project in one folder, slugged with the interviewee’s name

and the date of interview. _ Audio formats. Ours will come in as .WMA (Windows Media). Newer Macs will

convert them automatically to an editable AIFF file. We’ll edit in Audacity (GarageBand works, too).

_ Bring all your audio clips into Audacity and listen to all of it. Write down specifically what’s being discussed and note the time stamps of important material. Jot down what photos might relate to that sequence.

_ When you’re done editing, export the finished file as an MP3. Photography Gathering Photos

_ Shooting for a slideshow is like shooting a photo essay, but with more pictures. _ Is the story linear (chronological)? Then think sequence: beginning, middle, end. If not,

how will you organize your photos in a logical way? _ Photos must be high quality: sharp, well-focused, well-composed. Get variety, in angle,

lighting, distance from subject, horizontal/vertical. _ For a 2-3 minute slideshow, you’ll need 20 to 35 great photos. _ Get a mix of wide-angle shots, medium shots, close-ups and tight detail shots. _ Shots for beginning of show: set the scene, introduce topic and main character _ Shots for middle of show: develop the topic and character with details. _ Shots for end of show: Wrap up the story, what does it all mean, what’s next, what

does this story point to. _ Think about the “cover” or “title” shot. This will be the teaser thumbnail.

Editing Photos

_ Make copies! Never overwrite your original image. _ In PhotoShop, crop, adjust red-eye, adjust brightness. _ Decide on sequence of photos. Rename photos in numerical order (01farm, 02sunrise,

03barn, 04fence, 05cow…). No spaces, no punctuation. _ Decide if you want to make a title page or section title pages, with text on photo. _ Prep image for Soundslides:

o Set resolution to 72 dpi. Image Size > Resolution > 72 dpi o Resample Image > Bicubic Sharper

Jill Van Wyke, assistant professor Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rewiring the Ivory Tower: How To Incorporate Multimedia into Writing Courses AEJMC | Aug. 6 | Montreal, Quebec

o Constrain Proportions o Width > 680 px o File > File Info. Soundslides pulls caption info from here (you can edit later in

Soundslides). Include author (photographer), copyrighted work/notice (“2009 by Jill Van Wyke”)

o Save As > .jpg, quality setting “High.” (Soundslides will compress.) o Do not “Save for Web”

_ Save all your images for one slideshow in one folder. Don’t put any other images in that folder. Soundslides imports folders, not individual images.

_ Remember where you put it. Make a parent folder with two folders in it, one for your edited images, one your edited audio.

Soundslides Producing in Soundslides

_ Optimum length of a slideshow is 2-3 minutes. _ Five to six seconds per photo. 20-35 photos total. _ The quality of your photos and your audio determine length. _ Look through your pictures first, then edit your audio. Your photos will give you an

idea of how the sound needs to flow. What audio do you need to leave in or take out, based on your photos?

_ Your audio must support your photos must support your audio. The audio commentary should match the picture being shown. It’s confusing for viewer if it doesn’t. Match sound to pictures.

_ Avoid visual redundancy. Vary images by close-ups, medium, detail, wide shots, different angles.

_ Use a quick series of stills to indicate motion/action. _ If you have someone speaking for 15 seconds, try to use three appropriate photos for

that 15 seconds. Captions

_ Viewers should concentrate on images, not captions. _ Keep them short. You don’t need time, date, place in every caption (very different from

print captions). _ You can omit captions entirely where the image, in the context of the story is self-

explanatory. _ But don’t omit all captions. Briefly identify anyone speaking in audio, and anyone

introduced in show for the first time. _ Test it: Do you have time to read the entire caption before the show advances to the

next frame? _ Why bother with captions at all? They are key in an all-digital, metadata-driven search

universe. You can’t search pixels. You search text. Final Thoughts

_ Try. Fail. Try again. Fail harder. _ The best way to learn to write is to read. The best way to learn audio is to listen. _ Practice is the path to perfection.

Jill Van Wyke, assistant professor Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rewiring the Ivory Tower: How To Incorporate Multimedia into Writing Courses AEJMC | Aug. 6 | Montreal, Quebec

Grading Criteria: Slideshow

PHOTOGRAPHS Compositional:

r Every photo has a clean, clear center of interest.

r People are shot at eye level.

r The background doesn’t distract.

r Use the rule of thirds. Place your subject off-center.

r Shoot vertically when appropriate.

r Shoot from a variety of angles and distances.

Technical

r Sharp focus.

r Good exposure (lighting).

r The flash is used well; outdoors to fill in shadow on faces; indoors to lighten. Pix are shot within flash’s range.

r Cropped well.

AUDIO r Places the listener at scene of story.

r A mix of natural and interview sound.

r Natural sound is gathered from as close to the sound source as possible.

r An underlying track (“bed”) of ambient sound to smooth edits.

r Recorded closely enough; minimal background noise.

r Interviews conducted in quiet room whenever possible.

r Reporter isn’t trampling all over the audio.

r No “handling” noise.

r A mix of officials and “real people.”

r Good quotes from sources, resulting from open-ended questions.

Jill Van Wyke, assistant professor Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rewiring the Ivory Tower: How To Incorporate Multimedia into Writing Courses AEJMC | Aug. 6 | Montreal, Quebec

THE SLIDESHOW

r Tells a particular, coherent, well-focused story with a central point.

r Opens with natural sound to set the scene.

r Opens with a strong, tight image that sets the scene and also functions as a thumbnail.

r The audio and photos complement and enhance each other.

r An even level of sound throughout. If multiple tracks are used, they complement each other rather than compete.

r Audio and photographic fades used appropriately and executed well.

r Special effects (Ken Burns, eg.) are used purposefully and well.

r Where appropriate, uses a quick series of photos to convey motion.

r Incorporates a variety of tight close-ups, medium shots and wide shots.

r Uses a variety of angles, orientation (horizontal or vertical) and distance. Avoids redundancy.

r Is viewed well in the small size of the viewing window.

r Includes a headline.

r Includes captions and lower-thirds where necessary (with proper grammar and spelling).

r Captions are brief. They identify anyone speaking in the audio and anyone introduced for the first time in the show.

r Captions are searchable by search engine like Google. Think keywords!

r Includes credits.

r Runs 2-3 minutes.

r Is paced well; photos are on view long enough to absorb the image, short enough to keep it interesting (generally 3 to 7 seconds).

r Ends with strong photo and audio. Doesn’t just peter out.

r Image, text and audio create an experience that neither could produce on its own.

Jill Van Wyke, assistant professor Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rewiring the Ivory Tower: How To Incorporate Multimedia into Writing Courses AEJMC | Aug. 6 | Montreal, Quebec

Video Assignment Due date: Your in-depth story will be accompanied by a video of 2-3 minutes’ length. Your video should supplement your text story by presenting new information; it should not repeat or rehash what you’ve written in the story. Focus on the action and emotion of your story that can best be conveyed by video rather than text. In general, your video should consist of 25 to 35 shots of an average of 5 seconds each, but let your creativity and sense of story guide you. The video must include A-roll and B-roll. Do not turn in a video that is one l – o – n – g shot of a person being interviewed! The choice of whether to narrate your video or to rely only on natural sound and interview is up to you. If you use music in your video, you need to convince us that it’s necessary and appropriate to the story. Of course, any music must respect copyrights. You will work in pairs to shoot your videos. For your story, you’ll conduct the interviews and play “director,” making sure you get all the necessary shots. Your partner will operate the camera and monitor audio. Reverse roles on your partner’s story. Edit together, using iMovie.

iMovie ’09 tutorial available at: http://www.apple.com/ilife/tutorials/#imovie iMovie HD 6 tutorial available at: http://www.apple.com/support/ilife/tutorials/imovie/index.html

Before you shoot your video, you will submit a plan for it: how you conceive it, and how you’ll execute it. (See reverse.) Make sure your edited video has an opening title and properly credits all those who worked on it. It must include lower-thirds of everybody interviewed. When you’re done with your video, upload it to YouTube, following YouTube’s instructions regarding file formats, compression, etc. Grading criteria for this assignment is attached. That’s it for now, until we’re ready to post your complete multimedia package to our site.

Jill Van Wyke, assistant professor Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rewiring the Ivory Tower: How To Incorporate Multimedia into Writing Courses AEJMC | Aug. 6 | Montreal, Quebec

 

   Using  only  a  smartphone:      

1. Take  video  of  some  scenes  around  campus,  both  indoors  and  outdoors.  Practice  with  setting  the  exposure.  Shoot  clips  of  at  least  30  seconds  each.    

 2. Interview  a  classmate  outdoors  on  any  topic.  Practice:  

a. holding  the  camera  steady    b. holding  the  camera  horizontal  c. hold  the  camera  level  d. framing  (rule  of  thirds;  don’t  cut  off  heads;  interviewee  looking  into  frame;  

no  distracting  background)  e. getting  the  best  audio  possible;  quiet  place;  watch  out  for  wind  noise    

 3. Switch  cameras  and  experiment  with  shooting  video  of  yourself.    

 4. Practice  using  the  built-­‐in  editor  to  trim  your  scene  and  interview  clips.  Remember  

to  Save  a  New  Clip.      

5. Upload  one  of  your  videos  via  the  Tumblr  app.      

6. Upload  one  of  your  videos  to  YouTube,  using  the  “share”  function.  Use  your  own  YouTube  account  if  you  have  one,  or  see  me  for  my  account  info.    

a. After  the  video  is  compressed  and  published,  click  View  on  YouTube.  Tap  the  share,  then  tap  email    icon.  Scroll  down  and  copy  the  embed  code.  Then,  launch  the  WordPress  app,  and  paste  the  embed  code  in  a  new  post.  Put  it  in  the  video  category.        

7. Launch  the  uStream  app.  >  Allow  current  location.  >  Tape  the  camera  icon  in  the  upper  right,  then  “Go  Live.”    

a. Livestream  some  video.  Share  it?    

   

Jill Van Wyke, assistant professor Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rewiring the Ivory Tower: How To Incorporate Multimedia into Writing Courses AEJMC | Aug. 6 | Montreal, Quebec

Download the iMovie app to your smartphone. Read the following chapters in “iMovie help” in the app, and play with these features: Gestures: read all Create a Project: § Create a new project § Open an existing project § Rename a project § Play a project Record Video and Photos § Record video into iMovie § Take photos in iMovie Edit Clips § Add video to a project § Add photos to a project § Trim a video clip or photo § Edit a photo § Split a video clip § Rotate a video clip § Rearrange video clips § Delete a video clip or photo from your project Adjust audio § Record audio into a project § Adjust the volume of a video or audio clip § Adjust the duration of an audio clip § Move a sound effect or audio clip § Delete an audio clip Add Titles and Transitions § Add a title to a video clip or photo § Edit title text § Delete a title § Change the style, duration of a transition § Delete a transition § Add a fade-in, fade-out Share § Share a movie to YouTube

Jill Van Wyke, assistant professor Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rewiring the Ivory Tower: How To Incorporate Multimedia into Writing Courses AEJMC | Aug. 6 | Montreal, Quebec

 iMovie app assignment Create a short movie about something you will already be doing over the weekend. It should tell a story and meet the criteria for good composition and technical quality. Specifically, your movie should: § have a mix of videos and still photos § include A-roll and B-roll § have a brief voiceover to introduce it § have a title § have transitions (fade-ins and -outs) § be at least 2 minutes long but no more than 5 § be uploaded to the Eyes on Iowa YouTube account, named and tagged appropriately § posted to our Eyes on Iowa site I’ll give you time in class Monday to finish editing the movie, upload it to YouTube and post it to Eyes on Iowa. You may need more time, so it wouldn’t hurt to do a little editing over the weekend. At a minimum, bring your raw video and photos.

The goal of this assignment is to gain proficiency and confidence in shooting and editing video with the iPhone. We’ll want that skill and comfort level when we cover our Drake Relays events live. Be thinking as you work through this exercise how we might use video to cover the beautiful bulldog contest and the other Relays event you signed up for. What complications should we anticipate, and how might we address them?

Jill Van Wyke, assistant professor Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication Rewiring the Ivory Tower: How To Incorporate Multimedia into Writing Courses AEJMC | Aug. 6 | Montreal, Quebec

Video Assignment Grading Criteria

Quality of Video Shooting

• Steady shots (you used a tripod) • Minimal, if any, panning and zooming • Clear audio, both natural sound and interview • Well-lit • Sources are interviewed at eye level • Interviewees are shot from a slight angle to the left or right • Interviewees are not looking at camera • You are silent during interviews (no laughter, “uh-huhs,” etc.) • Composition

o rule of thirds o in focus o level o no distracting backgrounds or poles emerging from people’s heads o close to source or action o varying angles and perspectives o fill the frame

Quality of Video Editing

• No jumpcuts • Appropriate shot lengths; good pacing • Good mix of wide, medium and close-

ups • Good transitions • Title • Credits • Good audio levels

• Audio matches action • Every edit has a purpose • Opens with strong visual • Continuity of content, movement,

sound • Compressed properly and uploaded to

YouTube

Quality of Overall Storytelling

• Coherent story arc: beginning, middle end • Good character(s) • Captures emotion and/or action • Tightly focused • Strong visuals • Good sequencing