the assignment

Create a 5 minute audio documentary (absolutely no longer!!!!) that tells a documentary story about an issue/event/trend of larger cultural significance, import, and interest to a broad audience. Your documentary has the goal of making the audience care about your topic/issue and the people associated with it. Your video should focus on people doing something--some action--not simply talking.

You must use only audio that you recorded yourself. For your documentary, you can also create your own materials (e.g., music you compose), and you can use materials for which you have written permission (e.g., music that your friends have composed and for which they have given you written permission). You can also use music from Creative Commons that is licensed for Attribution (the "By:") license). Hand in copies of all licenses and signed permissions with your audio project.

Your purpose in creating this audio project is to document a story about an issue/event/phenomenon/trend of larger cultural significance, import, and interest to a broad audience. Your audience for this audio documentary is the general public. Your audio documentary should be on the same topic as your photo documentary.

You can use either of the following two choices for focusing your documentary:

• CHOICE #1: Confront the existing public understanding of the issue/event/phenomena/trend you have chosen. What are the public's beliefs about the issue/event/phenomenon/trend? Their understanding of the people involved in the issue/ event/phenomenon/trend? Their perception of the beliefs associated with the issue/event/phenomenon/trend? The challenges/problems/opportunities they think the issue/ event/phenomenon/trend poses?

Create a documentary that tells an story of a person or people connected in some way with the issue/ vent/phenomenon/trend and that, in doing so, argues persuasively for a point of view that runs counter to the public perception.

• CHOICE #2: Explore an issue from the perspective of insiders and outsider Identify a problem/tension that characterizes/faces this issue/event/phenomenon/trend. How does the general public/outsiders characterize/understand this issue/ event/phenomenon/trend? How do insiders characterize/understand the issue/event/phenomenon/trend?

Create a documentary that tells a story of this issue event/phenomenon/trend and, in doing so makes a persuasive argument about it.

the goals

There are two primary goals for this assignment.

The first goal is to provide you practice in documenting a persuasive and compelling story that extends/expands the public's understanding of an issue/event/phenomenon/trend that has larger cultural significance or import. To accomplish this, you need to focus on somebody doing something that an audience can hear—interesting voices, ambient sound, and noises will provide the rich texture you need for your documentary

The second goal is to provide you practice in using digital resources to make a persuasive documentary argument.

 

how to get started

Identify an issue/event/phenomenon/trend that you care about and that has some larger cultural import and significance. Establish some initial contacts and make sure you have considerable access to people involved in the event/phenomenon/trend or materials associated with the event/phenomenon/trend (e.g., interviews with individuals inside and outside the event/phenomenon/trend, documents, photographs). For the video documentary, you will need to conduct a minimum of 2 one-hour video-taping sessions.

Focus on action that can be heard by an audience and a setting that is rich in sound for an good audio documentary. You will need to record people doing something that an audience can hear and a setting that is unusual and rich with acoustic detail that will keep a listening audience engaged. Only acoustic action--and an unusual sonic environment —will accomplish this goal!

Make sure that your subject matter/approach/issue lends itself to the specific capabilities of audio --that you can document your story/issue with a digital audio recorder. If not, consider using an video camera to do a video documentary instead.

Carefully consider your recording setting and do a trial recording of both . If you are going to record audio, you will need to check the acoustic environment to see what you can record and when. Try out a trial voice recording and listen to it through headphones--otherwise, you are likely to record audio that cannot be heard or used!

Check out a digital audio recorder for at least two separate, one-hour audio recording sessions. In the first session, record your primary interviews, events, places, etc. (Track A). In the second, record sounds, noises, music, additional material that add texture and further detail to your story (Track B).

Make sure the people you are planning to audio record are willing to participate, and be sure to have them sign an "informed-consent/release" form (Course CD) before you record anything.

Provide this person the following information:

• that you are a student at OSU,

• that the recording project is for a class at OSU,

• that this project will involve at least one and possibly two hour-long videotaped interviews (noting approximately how long each interview will take),

• that you will make an appointment to conduct these recording sessions at the subject's convenience.

• how to contact both you and me,

• that the audio documentary project will be heard by other students and teachers,

• that your audio documentary project may be published in a public venue when it is finished.

Keep all signed forms and hand them in when you hand in your final project. Do not interview or record anyone who has not signed such a form.

Please be sensitive about people's privacy and do not intrude on them for an interview if they are reluctant about any aspect of this project. See me if you encounter any situations on which you need advice in this regard.

If you are audio recording in a public place that can be recognized, you must contact the person/authority responsible for that location and receive their permission to do so ("Recording in Public Places" on the Course CD). You must also post visible notices about the recording so that anyone who enters the public place is notified of what is going on.

Read the "Interviewing Tips" handout (Course CD).

View (and re-view) the audio documentaries that you have encountered in the class.

Tell a story about an issue topic, but focus on a compelling person (who is doing something), a place (where several people are doing something interesting), or an event (at which compelling action is happening) —the story must be placed within a larger social context to make it engaging to a broader audience. It has to have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

the grading

You will be given formal feedback during studio sessions.

I will use the following criteria and grading sheet to grade your audio documentary:

To hand in your final audio documentary:

Export an un-compressed AIFF version of your project and burn it on a CD (File-->Export-->Format select "WAV, AIFF, and other uncompressed forms." Be sure to burn the CD. Ask a consultant in Denney 343 during lab hours if you need help

Write your name on this CD, and put it in a secure case or sleeve.

Hand in all signed, Informed Consent/Permission forms and copies of Creative Commons licenses).

Please be sure to include a blank grading sheet.

Put everything into a neat folder with your name on it--so that everything stays together!