contact information
Office: Denney Hall 365
Office phone: 614-688-3779
Office hours: By appointment.
E-mail: selfe.2@osu.edu
Web: http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/selfe.2
class materials
You will not have to buy a textbook for this class, You will, however, need to purchase some items in lieu of a book:
Memory/storage: You will need CDs/DVD's to hand in assignments for this class (required).
You will find a Flash Memory/Thumb Drive to be very helpful for this class, but only if it has enough room on it. I suggest either an 8 or 16 GB drive (optional). Portable hard drives are available in Denney 343, the computer lab
Headphones: A good pair of isolating headphones are required for this class—the kind with foam that goes all the way around your ears and shuts out ambient sound. They should look something like this:
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These headphones do not have to be overly expensive. You can, for example buy a decent set of isolating headphones for $30.00 at Walmart or Radio Shack. Ear buds really won't do the work we need to do for this class.. This is a production course, and you will need a pair of isolating headphones to do the kinds of assignments within the course.
Video tapes: You will need to purchase at least 2 blank SONY mini-dv videotapes. Use only SONY video tapes in the Digital Media Project Office (DMP, Denney 324) cameras. You can purchase these in any store that sells blank media.
grading criteria
12% Lab session log (in weeks 5-10, two hours outside of class/wk. 12 hours/term) (Course CD)
22% Quizzes (1% per quiz/23 quizzes, if you take all 23 quizzes, I will drop the lowest grade)
10% Studio reviews (10% for one, 5% each for two)
10% 25 Surprising/Unexpected Facts min-assignment
21% Project #1 Photographic Documentary
25% Project #2 Documentary (Audio or Video), 5 minute maximum
course rationale and focus
The purpose of this course is to develop your understanding of documentary as a genre that can be composed in multiple media (photographic documentary, audio documentary, video documentary) and to provide you opportunities to compose your own creative documentaries using various digital media applications (specifically, Photoshop, iMovie, and Audacity). Experimentation, and creativity are central to this class.
in the beginning of the course, we will explore the genre of documentary: watching/looking at/listening to some sample documentaries. Our goal here is to acquire some common knowledge and vocabulary, both about the genre and the structure of documentaries.
As we read and assemble a common base of knowledge about documentaries—with a special focus on documentary as social activism—we will also be engaged in learning about the digital media tools you'll be using: specifically, digital still cameras and a photo-manipulation program called Photoshop, digital video cameras and a video-editing program called iMovie, and digital audio recorders and a audio-editing program called Audacity.
For each of these programs, you will do a "finger exercise" that wil allow you to practice with the features of the program and develop some skill in using the applicaton. You do not need to know anything about these computer applications before the class starts. However, you should be willing to learn the computer applications taught in this course and to develop your skill in using them. Some of you may already know one or more of these tools and applications. If we are lucky in that way, you will be able to help me teach the other people in the class how to use them.
Some of you may have access to other audio and video editing tools and applications, but this course depends on our sharing a common set of tools and helping each other learn to get the most out of them. So, I will ask you to focus on those tools we share: audacity, Photoshop, iMovie.
After we learn to use these tools and applications, you will complete two documentaries, choosing from among three forms: a photographic documentary (15 photographs and accompanying curatorial texts), an audio documentary (4-5 minutes), a video documentary (5-10 minutes).
Your documentary should focus on an event/phenomena/trend of larger cultural significance that will be of interest to a broad audience. Your goal is 1.) to inform your audience about the issue/topic you cover, 2.) to help them see the issue/topic in a new light/from a new perspective.
Both of your documentaries should be on the same topic, so be sure to choose a topic you care about and an arena to which you have plenty of access in terms of interviewing and recording others. Before you record, you will have to get a signed "Permission Consent Form" (Course CD) for every person you interview or record, and you will have to get a signed "Location Release Form" (Course CD) for every recording venue that is recognizable in your documentary. I will keep these forms on file in my office.
You will also have a number of quizzes in this class--assignments that will help you prepare for composing your documentaries and keep you on track as far as scheduling your time.
course outcomes
By the end of the course, you should be able to do the following things:
• Talk in a generally knowledgeable way about the genre of documentary and the structural characteristics of documentaries.
• Use the composing modalities of alphabetic text, audio and video, and still images to create effective arguments about a topic of social import.
• Reflect in critical and productive ways on your own video/audio/photographic texts and those of others.
• Participate actively, respectfully, and productively in studio critiques by offering specific and helpful comments on others' texts, and by listening with the goal of learning in connection with your own text.
• Incorporate original material (interviews, observations, photographs, recordings) into a documentary text.
• Respect others' intellectual property by thoroughly documenting the source of any materials you do not create yourself and by obtaining permission to use such materials in your text. (These materials should be the exception in your documentaries).
• Obtain "Permission Consent Forms" (Course CD) from all involved subjects and "Location Release" Forms (Course CD) from recognizable locations before you do any video/audio/photographic recording.
• Revise your rough-cut documentary texts in response to feedback the class and the instructor.
important policies
Attendance: To do well in this class, you have to attend it. Our class sessions will involve instruction about media and applications, studio critiques, and discussion—no student can afford to miss the information conveyed in these meetings. Thus, each unexcused absence after two will result in the lowering of your final grade. It is a policy of OSU's writing program that five unexcused absences will automatically result in failure for the course. Excused absences—as long as they are not excessive—will not affect your grade, but they must be documented in writing.
Quizzes: Because they have to do with your performance and readiness for a particular class session, quizzes cannot be made up if you are ill or miss class. If you bring in a written doctor's excuse, I will drop that quiz grade. If you are planning to miss a class, you can drop off your quiz the day before class (or see me personally (not via e-mail, please) and show me you have done your quiz, and I will count it. If you miss a quiz entirely (no writen doctor's excuse, no early drop off), I will average a 0 into your overall quiz grade.
Lab Hours: In weeks 5-10, You will be expected to make regular use of the computer lab and the software in Denney 343 for the purpose of creating your video/audio/photographic documentaries. Each week, you will be required to log two hours outside of class in the Digital Media Studio, Denney 343, for a total of 12 lab hours during the term. During this time, you can complete much of the homework assigned for the course. Lab consultants will initial hours on the Lab Session Log Sheet.
Copyright/Documentation: The goal of this class is to involve you in composing documentaries from photographs, audio, and video material that you personally take or record. There are two possible exceptions to this principle.
• If you choose to complete a photographic documentary, you will be writing a series of curatorial comments. If you choose include some words or ideas that are not your own, you must be sure to use quotation marks around the exact words of other authors (citing page numbers). You must also provide citations for all paraphrased material, and document each of your sources in a Works Cited list. You can use either MLA or APA style for this purpose.
• If you choose to do a video documentary, and add music (except for incidental background music that is captured along with the video you shoot), you must be able to clear copyright and hand in documentation of this clearance with your project. As an alternative you can employ music licensed for use "By Attribution" on the Creative Commons web site. Hand in a copy all Creative Commons license agreements with you final project.
If you have questions about this policy or these exceptions, please see the instructor.
Quizzes: Make sure to check the online syllabus on a regular basis. It will contain updates to our syllabus--which will be made as the class progresses. The syllabus also tells you what will need to do in order to read and prepare for class and when quizzes are scheduled.The quizzes in this class cannot be made up--they have been designed to make sure you have what you need for each class session, and they will keep you on track with the major course projects. Quizzes will be graded with a "+" (which translates to an "A"), a "√ " (which translates to a "C"), or a "-" (which translates to an "F"). If you take all 13 scheduled quizzes, I'll drop your lowest quiz grade.
Respect: The policy here is a familiar one: "Do unto others...."
• Be polite
• Be on time.
• Turn off your cell phone before class starts.
• Avoid instant messaging or carrying on side conversations while others are talking.Assignments: All major assignments are due as scheduled on the class syllabus. Late assignments will result in the deduction of one-half of a letter grade (B+ to B, B- to C) for every day they are late. Students who know in advance that they will miss a class will need to hand in assignments before the due date.
Americans with Disabilities Act: If you have a documented disability, please let me know immediately. To discuss appropriate accommodations, you will need to consult an ODS counselor. Such a consultation is best done in advance of this class. The Office for Disability Services is located at 150 Pomerene Hall, 1760 Neil Avenue, phone 292-3307 (TDD292-0901).
digital media
A large portion of this course will focus on production, and so the class will include a series of Studio-Review experiences. The success of studio reviews depend on students sharing and commenting on projects-in-progress. Much of your success will emerge from the collaborative work that goes on in studio sessions.
We will be meeting and working together in the English Department’s Digital Media Studio (Denney 343). You will also have access to this room during posted open hours in the evening and on the weekends. In weeks 5-10, You will be expected to make regular use of the computer lab and the software in Denney 343 for the purpose of creating your video/audio/photographic documentaries. Each week, you will be required to log two hours outside of class in the Digital Media Studio, Denney 343, for a total of 12 lab hours during the term. Use the Lab Log Sheet (Course CD) for this purpose and have it signed by the Lab Consultant on duty.
You can check out digital still cameras (for the photographic documentary) digital audio recorders (for the audio documentary), and digital video cameras (for the video documentary) from the Digital Media Project Office (Denney 324) and from OSU's Office of Information Technology (Central Classroom building, right below the Book Store). For OIT, you will have to fill out an OIT Equipment Checkout form (Course CD) .
There are a limited number of cameras and recorders that we will share with other classes, so please plan ahead; make advanced reservations for the equipment; and do not wait until the last minute. Return all equipment just as soon as you are done.