Here are some of the video projects created by students this semester:

Sidney Dupre's "Story People" collage

Brandon Patton's Deforestation video slide show

Matt Koh's "The Shame of Whang Woo-Suk" video

Jessica Stringer's New York slide show video

In this assignment you will create a video collage that addresses an issue of importance to an area of study at the University. You might write about revisionism in history, ethics in the sciences, theories in business, new materials in engineering, technology use in art--anything that scholars and students in a department on campus might think is an important topic. You can also create a video collage related to an aspect of studying literature, perhaps discussing a favorite literary work, author, genre, or period.

The video collage will feature an audio track, which will contain music, audio files, and your own recorded comments. While this audio track plays, you will sequence images (or perhaps video) and text to deliver a message about your issue. Your collage should be at least two minutes in length.

Your assignment is to create a video mashup that offers commentary on an aspect of culture. There are two possibilities for creating the mashup. One you can take an existing video, and then add new audio to change its meaning. Or you can take a piece of audio--e.g., a song or speech with a clear message--and then add images that deliver your commentary.

The key strategy you will use to generate your message is juxtaposition. If the audio you use is promoting a concept like equality or fair play, you'll want to layer images over the audio that analyze this concept and help viewers see it in a new light--images of poverty or athletes arguing that question the premises behind the concept will create a juxtaposition that delivers the mashup message.

You will compose two collages for this assignment. The first collage will be geared toward representing a song visually. This project will revolve around two major activities: 1.) identifying images and words that make a concrete statement about that song, and 2.) integrating those elements into a composition created using an image editor.

To get started with the first part of the assignment, you will need to reflect on the song. You may want to develop a list of characteristics or themes related to the song. Think about aspects of the lyrics you might include. Think about how you might visualize a sound.

To post your podcast, you will need to export it as an mp3 file. If you haven't already done so, you need to do a small tweak to audacity to do this. First download the "lame" encoder and unzip the files on your computer, paying attention to where you unzip them. Then, when you go to the File menu in Audacity and choose Export to mp3 the first time, it will ask you to locate the lame.dll file. Instructions and downloads are at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=install&item=lame-mp3.

Once you have audacity set up, you can export the mp3 file to your computer.

As we get closer to the halfway point of the semester, you may want to collect materials to submit for the midterm portfolio. If you wish to stick with the contract grade, you don't need to submit a portfolio. If you want to have your work evaluated for a grade, you should collect it and submit it.

To submit your portfolio, follow these steps.

First, you may want to look at some of the portfolios from other classes. These portfolios represent the final work that has been turned in, so they include more items, but they should give you an idea of what a portfolio can look like

A portfolio from a first year writing class

To better prepare you for the audio essay assignment, I'd like you to read the following two articles:

From Transom, Alex Blumberg's story advice and some short audio profiles

Nancy Updike's writing for audio advice

Be sure to check if there are links to more of the articles at the bottom of each. In addition, before you begin collecting lots of audio, you should look over this resource:

Sound Portrait's advice on How to Record

Finally, as you begin to work more earnestly on the podcast, think about these considerations:

How can you make it personal and compelling--use the techniques of literature--settings, characters, plots. Connect the issue to individuals and make them the characters--interview them. Always consider your listeners sitting with eyes closed imagining the scenes within the story--use thick description to establish the places related to your subjects.

Create an audio composition that can be shared over the Internet—a podcast. Often podcasts take the form of radio shows, but we will be composing something a bit closer to an essay or a story. There are some good resources collected at http://www.stanford.edu/~jonahw/PWR2-W06/Resources.html. You may also want to listen to a sample from a previous class.

There are two options:

Option 1, an audio essay: Your task will be to make an audio essay that explores a topic. Your first challenge will be finding a topic.

You need not address a tired debate (e.g., abortion should be banned); instead start by thinking about topics that you or your acquaintances might currently be talking about—Facebook controversies, public preachers, first year college issues, politics, entertainment, etc. As you decide on your topic, think about listeners on the Web who might encounter your podcast. Many will be college students, but others will be members of the Internet community—bloggers, teachers, the general public, etc. This means you’ll need to adjust your topic so that it will appeal to an audience of potential listeners—so, for instance, rather than just record student reactions to changes in Facebook, you’d want to educate the public on why Facebook matters to students and on what issues underlie some of the controversy. The same goes for other topics like rap music, reality T.V., etc.

As far as composing the essay goes, you will want to work with multiple forms of sound.

Just came across this article on opening facebook. I'll be curious to see how this development plays out as well.