The Video Article (VA) project asks you to produce a screencast video that teaches viewers about a topic with which you have personal/professional expertise. The VA project is challenging because it requires understanding of design and the ability to communicate effectively using all of the design media with which we work this semester (text, images, video, sound).
This project requires prototype and final submissions (Version 1, Version 2). All files are submitted to a Video Article folder in your shared course space on Dropbox.com.
For you prototype submission, post the following documents:
For you final submission, post the prototype and final versions of the following documents:
Document types: memo, video treatment, video
Document length: 150 words (memo), 1 page + transcript (Treatment), 5 minutes (Video)
Project value: 250 points (50 for prototype; 200 for final)
Evaluation rubric: _RPW233_Eval_VideoArticle.pdf
The VA project requires you to record a 5-minute screencast video. The vid will be accompanied by an appropriately detailed treatment document that contextualizes the content presented for viewers. You determine the content of the video article. However, the topic you present must be one with which you are familiar enough already to discuss it from a knowledgeable / expert perspective. That is, this is not a library-research project in the traditional, academic sense. It is a showcase of subject matter knowledge that you have already acquired.
There are 3 preparatory steps that you must complete prior to launching into this project.
This project offers you the opportunity to determine the subject matter and topic for your video article. Select a focus for this project based on your existing knowledge and current interests. I have produced a variety of videos during my career. Most recently, that work has focused primarily on teaching and demonstrating concepts related to technical communication and information design. However, I have also created nature videos, interviews, sports films, and more.
Your purpose with this video article is to present a topic to viewers that will accomplish the following objectives:
Consider what combination on-screen content (e.g., text, images) might most effectively convey the message you seek to construct and the outcomes you seek to achieve.
There are many tools and strategies that might result in an effective, appropriate, professional video for this project. There are two distinct but connected design stages for this project: design of the screencasting document; design of the video. Choose your tools appropriately for each phase.
Designing and refining your screening document. During the workshop that required you to record a screencast video, I recommended Adobe InDesign or Canva as your medium of expression. InDesign is by far the better choice here. It offers you much greater precision and control with on-screen content elements than any other software package or app you could use in this context.
Recording and editing your video. During that same workshop, I recommended Techsmith Capture for recording in part because Techsmith provides such high quality support for the package on the Techsmith.com site. If you need assistance with their products, seek it through them first. You can access Capture through this link: Techsmith.com/jing-tool.html.
Remember that there are other packages you might consider.
Before you begin planning your own video, watch vids that others have created and shared that parallel the kind you have in mind. I recommend TED Talks. Although those videos feature speakers & performers on stages, the spirit of the presentations is very much in line with what the Video Article asks you to construct. Apply the strategies from the workshops to date to analyze and reflect upon what makes each video effective (or not), engaging (or not), and authentic (or not). Use that systematic study to establish appropriate design goals for this new venture.
The specifications for this project are relatively simple and straightforward to allow you as much freedom as possible to create. Your video should meet the following specifications, and incorporate all of the following content elements.
Do not include the title sequence or end credits in your calculations of the length of your video. That is, your final vid should run 5 minutes plus title sequence and end credits.
Once you have completed the recording and editing processes, export your project to MP4 format, and upload the file to your Screencast.com account. Use the SHARE link from that post to direct viewers to your video. Note. That link will appear in your project memo.
Once you have completed the recording and editing processes, prepare a video treatment document. Use the sample doc that I provided through SVSU Canvas as a design guide. Your treatment document should meet the following specifications and incorporate all of the following content elements.
Build the treatment as a single document with two parts: the treatment, and the transcript. That is, design the treatment part (everything that appears before the transcript in the list above) to fit on a single page, and begin the transcript part after a page break.
Your memo should be addressed from you to me, and should introduce the accompanying project and files. Your prototype memo should incorporate the following content and design elements.
Your final memo should incorporate the following content and design elements.
Consult the sample documents (see SVSU Canvas Files: Project Support) for additional guidance.
Recommended tool(s): Adobe InDesign for the screening document; Techsmith Capture for video editing; Microsoft Word for the video treatment; microphone; headphones
This section offers guidance for how to interpret the project, and for how to proceed with your work on it. Therefore, as you work, consider the following strategies.
Approach this project as a design strategist. Consider how audience needs and expectations for projects of this type ought to impact your design decisions. Consider how all of the design components that go into video production might coordinate and complement one another. Evaluate how your vid does or does not meet the standards of excellence you note in similar designs.
The best way to get a sense of how video works and sounds is to watch to a few videos that represent similar content, genre, or purpose. There are many available on every conceivable topic, and a search using any standard search engine will connect you to a wide variety of videos to sample. Again, I recommend that you examine a handful of TED Talks to see how speakers organize thoughts and suggest that their topics of discussion are meaningful to audiences.
Establish a connection with your audience. Sustain that connection throughout your video content and delivery. Consider what would help you create a connection to a topic or issue, and seek to craft the same through your discussion. Consider the needs and expectations of your audience.
This section is designed to help you anticipate and avoid problems as you work on this project. Therefore, as you work, consider the following hints and tips.
Use the best tools available to you. I have made clear recommendations here in this assignment description. You have had opportunities to work with a variety of tools this semester. Use quality tools so you can achieve higher quality results.
Focus on all of the different kinds of details throughout the project. Make sure your video is of professional quality and that your audio is strong and clear. Review the production, the editing, the on-screen content. Make sure your images are consistent and that your screening doc is well designed. Redo material that does not meet expectations. Make sure you cover all of the target content elements described here. Pay attention to detail in your video treatment. Edit the transcript that results from your vid.
Before you submit your project, test the streaming link you shared in your project Memo. Make sure that it links properly and that the video plays.
Read and attend carefully to these submission guidelines. Failure to do so may result in delays in receiving an evaluation of your project, or in points lost on the evaluation of your work.
Create a project folder inside your shared class folder on Dropbox.com. Remember, I can only view files that you place inside the shared folder. Until you place files in that space, you have not in practice submitted them.
Name the folder Video Article.
Note. Do not share this folder with me. By placing it in your class folder, you have already shared it by default.
Make sure the files listed below are available to me in the project folder by the project deadline. Model your filenames on the listed examples:
Note. Do not share the individual files with me. By placing them in your project folder, you have already shared them by default.
Make sure the files from your prototype submission and those listed below are available to me in the project folder by the project deadline. Model your filenames on the listed examples:
Note. Double check your memo to make sure it includes a functioning hyperlink to your video stream.
Note. Again, do not share the individual files with me. By placing them in your project folder, you have already shared them by default.
This section describes the standards by which your project submission will be evaluated.
There are 200 possible points for this submission. You will earn points according to the following standard: content development (40%); design execution (20%); professionalism and attention to detail (20%); and impact of revision (20%). The specific areas of emphasis for this project are drawn from the description and discussion of the project, and are detailed in the evaluation rubric (_RPW233_Eval_VideoArticle.pdf).
Remember that I will only post the point values for projects on the Grades page in SVSU Canvas. I will post the details relevant to that evaluation in your class folder in a project-specific file that I make available through your shared class space on Dropbox.
If you are here because of random chance, or because this content came up in a search, then poke about, and read if you see something useful or interesting. If you are a teacher in any context and would like to use any of this content in your courses, feel free to do so. However, if you borrow this material, please do two things: