Project Description
Multimedia is an important component of many Web sites so we’re going to spend some time learning about it. With a small group of classmates you will create a commercial for a fictitious product or service and upload it to YouTube. Be creative! The purposes of this project are the following: introduce you to multimedia technology; learn about professional collaboration; and have fun.
Your commercial needs to be 2 minutes in duration! That’s not very long. I recommend that you use equipment and multimedia software at the Technology Resource Center (TRC) which is located in room 257 of Mass Media and Technology Hall. Use their site to learn about their hours of operation and reserve equipment.
Scenario
Your group does marketing for Quality Excellence, Inc. The company has created a new product/service, the Superlative 5000. It’s great – a feat of innovation and improvement! Your group is responsible for making a commercial for this product.
Milestones and Due Dates:
Your finished product will be a video that your team will upload to www.youtube.com
. Your group must email me the Web address of your video no later than 11:59 p.m. on Monday, March
30, 2015. My email address is jim.lindsey@wku.edu
. Below is a list of milestones that your group must reach while you work on this project.

BRAINSTORM (complete no later than 3/4): Decide what you want your video to be about! Everybody needs to be on the same page.

STORYBOARD (complete no later than 3/6): The next step is making your storyboard.
I’ll show you how to create a storyboard at the orientation session. Send me a copy of your team’s story board. You can take a picture of it with a phone and email me the image(s). Make sure that you include your team’s name on the document.

SCRIPT (complete no later than 3/16): Per the activities above, you know what you want to make and what segments of video you’ll need to capture. Write a script for the video.
Type the document in Microsoft Word and email it to me. Make sure that you include your team’s name on the document. Sample script are available at http://www.filmscriptwriting.com/samplescripts.html
. Use them as a guide for your document. Note how they contain not only dialogue but descriptions of how the shots will be filmed. If you think about it, they would be based on something like a … a storyboard.


FOOTAGE (complete no later than 3/25): Use a video camera to capture the footage you need for your movie. The TRC has cameras, tripods and microphones that you can use.
Make reservations for equipment! You may need a “Mini DV” tape to record footage with the TRC’s cameras. I have already given tapes to the staff at the TRC for you. If you get a tape camera, the staff will give you a Mini-DV tape. The people that work in the TRC will give you a crash course on the equipment you check out.

EDIT (complete no later than 3/30): Edit your raw footage on the computers in the TRC.
The TRC has Adobe software for editing and audio work. The people that work in the

TRC will assist you. Also, I will be in there during class and I can assist you. Your group will be allowed to store your project files on the TRC’s computers while working on this project. This portion of the project is likely to be the most time-consuming.

RENDER (complete no later than 3/30): Render your completed project and upload it to
YouTube. Your group must email me the Web address of your video no later than 11:59 p.m. on Monday, March 30, 2015. My email address is jim.lindsey@wku.edu
.

PEER EVALUATIONS (complete no later than 4/1): All teammates must complete a peer evaluation and deliver it directly to me by beginning of class on 4/1. This document is confidential; I do not share its content with anyone. Evaluate your teammates honestly.
It’s important to NOT get behind. From 3/20 to 3/30, I will go to the TRC during our scheduled classes. I will monitor your work throughout the project. I encourage you to ask for guidance, assistance, and to show me your team’s progress. I look forward to seeing your finished videos.
Required Elements:
You have a tremendous amount of creative freedom in this project. The scenario I gave you is intentionally vague. It will be interesting to see what the Superlative 5000 turns out to be. There are some things however that I want you to include in your video. Please see the list of required items below.

I have uploaded several images to the Blackboard page for this project. Include at least two of the images in your video.
 Shoot your video from at least two different angles. We’ll discuss this in the orientation.

Shoot video in at least two different locations.

Show each member of your team in the video at least once.

Use transitions between your video clips at least twice.

Include text on the screen at least twice (called a Title in Adobe Premiere Pro).
 Include two sound effects from the TRC’s collection of sound effects. We’ll discuss this in the orientation session.
 At some point, include an audio track from the TRC’s collection of royalty free collection of music. This can be a very short portion of the video. Make sure the music is from their collection of royalty free music so YouTube doesn’t ban your video (it’s happened to me). We’ll discuss this in the orientation session.

Keep your video PG-rated (or even gentler). If your parents or President Ransdell were to watch your video, I’d like to be able to keep my job.
Grading:
See the table below for a breakdown of how your grade for this project will be determined.
Event
Storyboard (Team grade)
Script (Team grade)
Raw Footage (Team grade)
Possible Points
2.5
2.5
20
Editing (Team grade)
Finished Product (Team grade)
Peer Evaluation (Individual grade)
TOTAL POSSIBLE POINTS
20
5
35
85