Assignment: Multimedia Feature, Multimedia Collaboration

The final project will be a publication that integrates research, writing, audio, video, and graphic elements in the exploration of a larger overarching theme. The purpose of this assignment is to expose you to the processes of pitching, developing, organizing, managing and producing a multimedia publication—both as individuals and as a collaborative team.

Format

The title of this collection will be ONE MONTH IN MURPHY, and will pursue stories that touch, in some way, Murphy Hall. That is, you could do a profile of a worker who cleans carpets in Murphy or go to an event that is advertised in Murphy—the story doesn’t have to stop at the building walls, it just needs to have some connection to this place.

The project will be divided into two parts: 8 individually produced multimedia features, and 16 collaboratively produced pieces across different media.

Multimedia Features are to be produced individually. The eight multimedia features must include six different genres of writing listed below:

• News Feature
• Trend Story
• Profile
• Expose
• Live-In
  How-To
  Human Interest
  Argumentative Essay
  Personal Narrative
  Analysis
  Humor/Satire
  Tick Tock
  Fly on the Wall
  Explainer
  Oral History /Vox Pop
  Expert Roundup
  Roundtable
  Object/Event History
  Topic Roundup
  Review

These features must include the following, all produced by you:

• At least 1000 words of text
• At least 2 minutes of audio
• At least 1 minute of video
• At least 5 photos or illustrations
• At least 1 timeline/graphic/chart/map

Collaborative content are to be produced in teams of at least two students, all the way up to the whole class. The same team should not have bylines on more than one story. While there are no firm rules on the individual pieces you produce, taken as a whole the 16 additional pieces must include:

• At least 3000 words of text
• At least 18 minutes of audio, including one package abiding by the assignment #2 guidelines
• At least 48 photos or illustrations, including at least two galleries abiding by the assignment #3 guidelines
• At least 12 minutes of video, including one segment abiding by the assignment #4 guidelines
• At least 3 maps or timelines
• At least 2 infographics
• At least 2 self-produced gifs or cinemagraphs
• At least 16 embeds of material already published to the web (images, audio, video, documents, etc)

You should also remember to leave time for building, designing, and publishing the material on the web. To produce your publication, you need to choose between these platforms:

• WordPress with the Largo, Make, or Aesop theme
• Medium
• Creatavist
• Shortcut

Due Date

Pitch your feature (subject and genre) by April 3.  Choose your platform by April 7. Your multimedia features should be drafted by April 24, the collaborative material drafted by May 1, and the entire publication up and running by May 5.