MPJO-781 / MPPR 781: Multimedia Storytelling
Mondays, 5:20p-7:50p
Clarendon Campus, Mac Lab
Spring 2012
Instructor: Keith W. Jenkins kwj26@georgetown.edu
202-513-3593 (M-F, 9-7)
Office Hours: By Appointment
Course Description
This class will examine multimedia creation for the online community. We will look at interactive content from the joint perspectives of why and how — focusing on how and why cultural influences that shape and inform our multimedia choices and the technological challenges we have in achieving them. Works of literature, criticism, and technology will be utilized to give the student a broad perspective of the multimedia landscape. Students will also learn the tools of multimedia creation through hands-on reporting and editing assignments.
Mastering multimedia storytelling is not something that will be achieved in one semester's worth of instruction. We will, however, provide a practical foundation for students to expand upon; one that will help them navigate the shifting media landscape.
The class will be conducted in a seminar format, relying on discussions and critiques to move our examination of multimedia forward. There will be some inclass instruction in several content creation tools, but students are expected to use non-class, lab time to master these. Students will be expected to use these tools to complete all assignments and to produce a multimedia project as the final examination for this class.
Three major assignments will be due; an audio project, a photography project, and a final multimedia project designed to showcase what the student has learned throughout the semester. In total, the assignments will add up to 100 pts
(A). The final project will count for 50 pts of each student’s final grade, with the audio and photography projects counting for 25 pts each. Additionally, there will be smaller assignments that will factor in as extra credit.
A: 94-100
A-: 90-93

B+: 88-89
B: 84-87
B-: 80-83
C: 70-79
F: 69 and below
Since this class meets only once a week, we will be covering a lot of ground each session. Attendance is a must. A single absence is excused; more than one will start counting against your course grade.
By the end of the semester students will be able to:
— Analyze the elements of successful audio storytelling
— Record, edit, and produce an audio story
— Understand the basic elements of visual storytelling
— Photograph and produce a photo story
— Record, photograph, and produce a story combining audio and visual elements
Required Reading
Authors: Jessica Abel and Ira Glass
Title: Radio, An Illustrated Guide
ISBN: 0967967104
Publisher: WBEZ Alliance Inc
Year: 1999
Notes: Available from http://www.bn.com ($20.00)
Author: John Maeda
Title: The Laws of Simplicity
ISBN: 0262134721
Publisher: The MIT Press
Year: 2006
Notes: Available from http://www.bn.com ($14.36)
Author: Jessica Helfand
Title: Screen: Essays on Graphic Design, New Media, and Visual Culture.
ISBN: 1568983107
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
Year: 2001
Notes: Available from http://www.bn.com ($16.92)
Author: Bart G. Farkas
Title: Secrets of Podcasting
ISBN: 0321438434
Publisher: Peachpit Press

Edition: Second Edition
Year: 2006
Notes: Available from http://www.bn.com ($3.00)
Author: Sam Stephenson
Title: Dream Street — W. Eugene Smith's Pittsburgh Project
ISBN: 0393325121
Publisher: W.W. Norton and Company
Year: 2003
Notes: Available from http://www.bn.com ($14.93)
Recommended Reading
Author: Richard Koci Hernandez
Title: Multimedia Journal
Publisher: Blurb ( http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/157223 ) http://www.multimediashooter.com
Author: Jonathan Kern
Title: Sound Reporting: The NPR Guide to Audio Journalism and Production
ISBN: 0226431789
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
Year: 2008
Author: William Gibson
Title: Pattern Recognition
ISBN: 0425198685
Publisher: Berkley
Computers and software will be provided by Georgetown but it is recommended that students have access to their own Mac or PC. Students should have at least a 2 GB capacity USB flash drive for their projects. These are available at electronics and discount stores for about $35.00.
It is highly recommended that students have access to both a digital camera and an audio recorder like the Zoom H2 Handy Portable Recorder
( http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-H2-Portable-Stereo-
Recorder/dp/B000VBH2IG/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1321277043&sr=8-5)
Tools like these will be required for completion of class assignments. While
Georgetown has some equipment available for check-out, students may find it much easier to have access to their own.
Office Hours
: I don’t have an office at Georgetown, so feel free to contact me by email; I’ll get back to you as quickly as possible. I’ll also be available as needed after each class.

Plagiarism
: Stealing someone else’s work is a terminal offense in journalism, and it will wreck your career in academia, too. Students are expected to work with integrity and honesty in all their assignments. For more on academic integrity and the university’s honor system, see the Honor Council’s Web site at http://www11.georgetown.edu/programs/gervase/hc. If you have any doubts about plagiarism, paraphrasing and the need to credit, check out www.plagiarism.org.
Academic Resource Center
If you believe you have a disability, then you should contact the Academic
Resource Center (arc@georgetown.edu) for further information. The Center is located in the Leavey Center, Suite 335. The Academic Resource Center is the campus office responsible for reviewing documentation provided by students with disabilities and for determining reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and University policies.
Writing Center
The Georgetown University Writing Center is a free writing resource open to all
Georgetown students. Graduate and undergraduate students trained in teaching writing are available to assist you at any stage of your writing process. Whether you are just beginning to brainstorm or revising a later stage of your work, our goal is to provide a collaborative center for the discussion of writing. The Writing
Center offers assistance in topic development, general organization, guidance on paper revisions, and specific or recurring structural problems with writing.
Consultants are not trained to proofread papers for grammar or spelling errors, but rather to help individuals improve their own critical thinking, revision, and editing skills. http://writingcenter.georgetown.edu/
Ethics Statement
As signatories to the Georgetown University Honor Pledge, and indeed as good scholars and citizens you are expected to uphold academic honesty in all aspects of this course.
You are expected to be familiar with the letter and spirit of the Standards of
Conduct outlined in the Georgetown Honor System and on the Honor Council website. As faculty, I too am obligated to uphold the Honor System and report all suspected cases of academic dishonesty. For more information, please visit: http://gervaseprograms.georgetown.edu.he/index/html .
Honor System
Students are expected to abide by the Georgetown University Honor System. If you have not already done so, please familiarize yourself with the material and information posted on the Honor Council's website: http://gervaseprograms.georgetown.edu/he/index.html.
Georgetown University Honor Pledge

In the pursuit of the high ideals and rigorous standards of academic life, I commit myself to respect and uphold the Georgetown University Honor System: to be honest in any academic endeavor, and to conduct myself honorably, as a responsible member of the Georgetown community, as we live and work together.
Additional materials and course information will be posted on the course's
Blackboard site. Also, assignment and practice materials will be available on
Blackboard.
Course Schedule (subject to change) -
Week 1 (January 11) - Introduction to Multimedia
- Course goals and expectations, schedule.
- What is Multimedia? Some examples.
Week 2 (January 23) - Discussing New Media
The global media landscape.
- Reading due - Helfand; sections Media, Typography, Film.
Week 3 (January 30) - The Laws of Simplicity
- Making the complex, simple.
- Reading due - Maeda; The Laws of Simplicity
Week 4 (February 6) - Audio Storytelling
Why is radio still here, where is it going.
Reading due - Abel and Glass; Radio, An Illustrated Guide.
Discuss Audio Project - Create a 5 minute audio oral history. Due Week 7
Assignment - Gathering Audio. Due next class .
Week 5 (February 13) - Audio Storytelling, Part 2
-Review Gathering Audio Assignment
- Editing with Audacity, Garageband, Hindenberg, or online.
- Discuss audio project ideas.
- Reading due - Farkas; Secrets of Podcasting
Assignment - Two-track edit, voice and ambient. Due next class .
(February 20) – President’s Day, No Class
Week 6 (February 27) - Audio Editing
Review two-track edit project.
Oral History Projects Due Next Class
(March 5) – Spring Break, No Class
Week 7 (March 12) - Presentations - Oral History Projects

Week 8 (March 19) - Visual Storytelling
- The Art of Seeing
- Reading due - Stephenson; Dream Street, W. Eugene Smith's Pittsburgh
Project
Assignment - 3-picture portraits. Due next class .
Week 9 (March 24) - Saturday Lab Session : 11am-1:30pm
- Photography Workshop
Week 10 (March 26) - Visual Editing / Pattern Recognition
- Review 3-picture portrait project.
- Photo Editing 101
- Combining Pictures with Sound - Introduction to Soundslides
Photography Project - 8-picture essay. Due next class
Week 11 (April 2) - Critique - 8-Picture Essay Projects
Final Project Assignment - Creating your own story with sound and pictures - Due May 10.
Week 12 (April 16) - Visualizing Investigative Data
Week 13 (April 23) - Soundslides workflow
- Review Final Project Ideas
- Audio
- Pictures
- Putting it all together; story telling with pictures and sound.
Week 14 (April 30) - Multimedia Lab
Week 15 (May 3) - Last Class / Multimedia Lab
(May 10) - Final Projects Due