Article review: Digital Innovation and the Future of Storytelling

1. Read the article: "Digital Innovation and the Future of Storytelling"

2. On your blog, reflect on the article using the following directions:

Title Your Blog Post

A title that reflects the thrust of your review. For example, the article title is "The Political Ecology of Deforestation in Chile." Your title might be "They're Only Trees:  Cutting Down Old Growth Forests in Southern Chile."

In a written reflection answer the following questions:

1. Write a summary of the article, identifying the three key points.
1. 1-2 sentence summary.
2. Discuss the author’s argument.
1. What is the author's argument and what information/evidence and sources does he/she use to support that argument?
2. What are the article’s/author’s strengths and weaknesses?
1. The strength of the article may be that it presents a clear summation of a particular issue. Its weakness may be that it does not offer any new information or solutions.
3. What are the author's general conclusions?
3. Your critique (A critique is not whether you liked the article or not. Rather, you should assess whether the the main point(s) is really significant)
1. Does the author's argument support the main point(s)?
2. Is the evidence convincing? Are there wider ramifications to the conclusions?
3. What are the applications/implications to you as a graphic designer/web designer/animator/videographer?
4. What don't you understand, and is this because you lack certain assumed knowledge or vocabulary or because the writer is unclear?
4. General thoughts & conclusions.
5. Include a citation/reference to the work.

Each question should be written in complete sentences and provide examples of support.

Your post should not read like a classroom assignment. Speak to your audience as if you did this as a budding “Creative” and you are sharing your experience. Your writing should be conversational and yet still professional.

You will be graded on the following criteria: Content and Voice.

6-shot system

Last winter I learned the 6-shot system from Bill Gentile for video storytelling. This system gives videographers a game plan for shooting video.

There is a list of six shots to get, and you can keep cycling through those shots to get everything you need to tell a story.

The shots are:

1. Close-up of the hands

2. Close-up of the face

3. Over the shoulder

4. Medium shot (Waist up)

5. Wide shot (Feet up)

6. Extra-wide shot (Establishing)

Here is a great blog entry from one of my students that gives photo examples of the six shots.

The first exercise I have my students complete is called "Cutting Carrots." This exercise asks students to film someone doing something routine, using the 6-shot system. They then will edit it together in a SEQUENCE to tell a short story.

Here are some examples:

This is what it looks like when applied to a complete news package:



This method for shooting video has given my students a game plan for shooting video. No longer do they go shoot and "Spray and pray." Shooting everything around and hoping to have something great. 

Awesome interview responses

I asked my students to come up with five tips for awesome interviews. I received some great responses. Here are some of their tips with a link to their blog post:

Isabel Lauby: It is important to determine the location of the interview that is pertinent to the story line.  For example, when I did my package over boys on the drill team, I interviewed their coach while the band and drill team was practicing, providing a relevant background.  If you capture your interview in an interesting setting it will make your package better.

http://queenofconvergence.blogspot.com/2014/11/5-tips-to-great-interview.html

Pedro Von Simson: Use your first questions to make the subject feel comfortable. Incorporate easier questions about subjects such as their background that do not make the interviewee defensive. If you immediately start off with your tougher questions, your interviewee with be less likely to feel comfortable and therefore provide worse answers.

Tougher questions should close out the interview. These are the "meat" of the package where you get the important and controversial answers that lead to the soundbites that you will most likely incorporate into your package. The first questions are more important to develop background information about your subject for your voice over instead of being used as sound bites.

http://kansaskonvergence.blogspot.com/2014/11/five-tips-to-successful-journalism.html

Quen Barkyoumb:  Prepare everything that you'll need to conduct an interview. Make sure your camera angle is on point, audio is at the right level, your computer is charged, the lights are in the right spots, and every setting is at its correct degree. This will give your interviewee a sense of importance because you're all ready to proceed without any distractions. If you're messing around with your technology during the interview, then your respondent is likely to be annoyed.

http://pickmybrainquenbarkyoumb.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-interview-process.html