Introduction
I really do enjoy reading your writing. Please take advantage of the small
size of this class and the workshop environment to work on your own specific
writing goals within the class.
If you want to talk in detail about assignments, or are unsure of what you should be writing to complete each one successfully, see me as soon as you can. I'm usually on campus Monday through Thursday.
I'm also happy to read drafts of assignments before the submission date, and offer feedback on your writing, and advice (if necessary!) on improving its focus for the relevant task and your chosen audience for that assignment. Send me your draft by e-mail and I'll try to respond to it as quickly as possible (but please don't send it to me on Sunday afternoon or evening).
In this course, you will write three short mini-assignments, and one longer script (due at regular intervals throughout the semester) and collaborate on one group project, due at the end of the semester.
Mini-Assignments and Scripts
Writing for multimedia means being able to write for many media (such as print,
radio, television and video) and blend those different types of writing together
into seamless presentations. Multimedia also demands writers who are fluent
in many different forms of writing (such as scripts, flowcharts and storyboards).
Regular assignments let you practice all these writing skills. As we move into the more complex assignments, we shall also study work created by fellow students to give you some ideas about how you might develop your own work.
Be as creative and original as you have always wanted to be. Each assignment will usually develop work you have already begun and practiced in class. I assign a range of subjects for the first three mini-assignments, but you can freely choose the audience, style of presentation, desired purpose, etc. for which you write each one. For the final two assignments, your individual informational multimedia script and your collaborative creative multimedia narrarive
but you choose freely the subject matter and presentation style for the final two assignments. You may revise each assignment once if you would like to try to improve your grade.
Collaborative Project
I hope the collaborative project will give everyone the chance to work in
a mixed-skill group, where some participants may be adept at designing multimedia
while others may be embarking on their first project.
Each group will run the project as if it were working for a real client, and gain points for the quality of the various types of writing it delivers throughout the collaboration. For example, you will begin the project with a 'pitch' attempting to convince me (as your client) of the commercial (or educational or entertainment) value of your project. And you will conclude it by issuing to the class a press release which 'sells' your project to the jaded newshounds of the local and national media.
Choose your own subject & your own approach. See the project page itself for a breakdown of deadlines and grading.
Grading Breakdown
Mini-assignment #1: News Story --------------------------------------10%
Mini-assignment #2: Audio Script -------------------------------------10%
Mini-assignment #3: Video Script -------------------------------------15%
Multimedia script #1: Informational Multimedia --------------------20%
Group Multimedia Project -----------------------------------------------25%
Class Participation -------------------------------------------------------20%