Instructor:
Meeting Time:
Classroom:
Computer Lab:
URL:
Don Payne
Office:
245 Ross Hall
TR 2:10–3:30
Phone:
294-3584
22 Ross Hall
Office Hours: TR 10-11 and by appt.
137 Ross Hall
Email:
donpayne@iastate.edu
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~donpayne/410X/
Objectives
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Through course readings, class discussion, and multimedia projects, you’ll be learning
to apply rhetorical principles (audience analysis, invention, organization, style, design) to multimedia authoring
to learn production techniques for multimedia development, from storyboarding to nonlinear editing
to plan and manage collaborative multimedia projects
to master the software genres used for multimedia training in education, business, and industry
Texts and Supplies
Farrell, John. Digital Movies with QuickTime Pro. Hingham, MA: Charles River Media, 2003.
Covers the basics of digital video and audio production. Provides an introduction to typical multimedia
software: nonlinear DV capture and editing (iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Premiere), post-production processing
(Cleaner). The accompanying CD includes many examples of video techniques.
Pogue, David. iMovie 2: The Missing Manual. Cambridge: O’Reilly, 2001. Consumer-level video
capture and editing software has become increasingly sophisticated with the advent of the DV format.
Software like iMovie for Macs and MovieMaker and Studio8 for PCs offer excellent introductions to the
basic techniques used in advanced and professional software as well. Apple’s iMovie is particularly welldesigned multimedia software that we’ll use to model essential editing techniques.
In addition to these two texts, there will be online readings throughout the course. You will also need to
purchase some supplies, including zip disks, media tapes (miniDV and/or ), recordable digital disks (CD-R
and/or DVD-R), and recordable audio disks (minidiscs). The specific supplies will depend on the individual
projects and your method for saving personal copies.
Software and Hardware
Multimedia requires a considerable variety of software and related skills. Factor in the applications
mirrored on various computer platforms and you have a potentially overwhelming and confusing array of
options. Therefore this course will focus on core techniques that, once learned in one program on one
computer platform, can be adapted to other computing environments that you may encounter in the future. In
addition to a range of multimedia software, we’ll be working with both consumer and professional cameras
and audio recorders.
Attendance and Scheduling
A certain percentage of your class participation grade is based on attendance. In addition, I reserve the
right to lower the final grade based on attendance. Your success in producing effective multimedia will
depend largely on mastering fundamental techniques and developing facility with a core set of software
strategies. These skills will be developed through the activities in class workshops where mastery of details
and collaboration are critical. After the first week of class your attendance status will always be available
online along with course grades (http://www.public.iastate.edu/~donpayne/410X/grades.html); notify me of
any errors (I take attendance at the beginning of class and may inadvertently count you absent if you arrive
late). If you miss more that a week of class (two absences for whatever reason), your grade will be penalized.
If you miss six classes or more, you cannot pass the course. You can likely arrange for a time extension on a
given assignment if you request it prior to the due date. Otherwise, late assignments will receive a lowered
grade (up to a letter grade for each calendar day late). Whenever scheduling problems arise, notify me as soon
as you can—in advance of the deadline—either personally or by leaving a message in my mailbox in 206
Ross Hall, as voice mail (294-3584), or as (donpayne@iastate.edu).
Participation
Much of this class will operate as a workshop in the Ross 137 Macintosh Writing Lab, moving to 22
Ross for activities not dependent on computers, like filming. A typical class might begin with a short
presentation or demonstration or overview of the day’s topics or activities; often you’ll just enter the lab and
begin work. The online material for each day will explain what is expected of you in terms of exercises and
assignments. Read this material faithfully and promptly; don’t expect this material to be repeated orally in
class. You are responsible for meeting the assignment requirements and their deadlines. The online syllabus
always contains the latest information and supersedes the print one.
Much of class time will be devoted to exercises for developing specific multimedia skills or to
collaborative work; don’t expect to complete your major assignments during class. Plan to spend many hours
outside of class in the lab or on our own computer working on homework and major projects. Take advantage
of office hours to discuss course material and assignments and to clarify any matters not covered to your
satisfaction in class. Ask questions. Be an independent learner. Share your knowledge with others.
If you have a documented disability that might affect your ability to participate fully in the course or you require special
accommodations, speak with the instructor so that appropriate accommodations can be arranged.
Assumptions
An experimental course by definition explores new learning not currently available in the curriculum.
While this course is likely to become a regular course, this semester it will be fully experimental for various
reasons. In developing new assignments, we’ll need to work out appropriate limits in scope and scheduling. In
learning new equipment and software, most of which has just arrived and has not even been installed yet,
we’ll have to work together not only to learn to use them but also to troubleshoot the inevitable problems that
occur in a networked environment. Expect some instability in the syllabus; we’ll make frequent adjustments
as the term progresses. Some class activities will specifically require you to learn certain skills, software
techniques, or equipment operation and then to teach it to others. In one semester you can’t master the full
range of skills necessary for multimedia development, so identify your own area of expertise and depend on
others for help in extending our knowledge.
Major Assignments
Quizzes, Short Exercises, and Class Participation (20%)
Demonstrate careful reading of course texts through short quizzes and practice exercises.
Multimedia Portfolio (20%)
For each major unit of the course you will be asked to develop small multimedia examples to illustrate your ability to
perform specific techniques, such as still photo pan-and-zoom, storyboarding, key lighting, audio synchronization, etc.
Assemble these into a web-based portfolio with an introductory video profile that summarizes your multimedia interests and
skills.
Interview (20%)
Work collaboratively to develop written, audio, and video versions of an interview designed for a specific purpose and
audience.
Object Description (20%)
Develop a video describing a physical object (scientific equipment, sales product, etc.) for a specific audience.
Commercial (20%)
Develop a video commercial or public service announcement.
You must complete all of the above projects and miss no more than six classes to pass the course. A submitted assignment
receiving an F will be recorded as 50 on a 100 scale, whereas an assignment not submitted at all will receive a zero. Letter
grades on assignments may be converted to number grades as follows:
A+
=
98
B+ =
88
C+ =
78
D+ =
68
A
=
95
B
=
85
C
=
75
D
=
65
A-
=
92
B- =
82
C- =
72
D- =
62
F
=
0