Bob's RU home page my stepno.com page my blog (boblog@blogspot) my other journalism blog archive RU school of communication site
my bookmarks at delicious.com -- journalism -- online journalism -- web production & design -- social networks -- media history -- reporting -- writing -- grammar
COMS 326 pages -- Unix intro -- Using MyRU Files
-- Site Review Asmt (You are here.)
-- Site Structure
COMS 104 pages

 

 


Project 1:
Deconstructing online multimedia 

(Revised Sept. 12 to reduce the number of pages expected before midterm,
because computer lab problems have slowed us down; talk about revised deadlines Sept. 17; have a starting point -- a first page with a link to a multimedia site and rough comments -- by Sept. 22. I've edited this to put the main ingredients near the top and "if you have time or more interest" links at the bottom. I've also shortened the expected length of each review. Two or three paragraphs about the size of this one here should be enough.)

This is the COMS 326 cumulative assignment for the first half of the semester. 

One goal of this project is to start learning HTML and the basics of webpage building. A second goal is to identify the styles and characteristics of online multimedia storytelling as currently being practiced in slideshows, interactive features, multimedia collages and other formats. 

By completing this project (and the exercises leading up to it) you will demonstrate that you can and did:

Is that too much for six or seven weeks? I don't think so, but we'll see how it goes.

Creating multimedia projects isn't an official part of this class, but from YouTube to Hulu, multimedia is one of the biggest trends on the Web, so while you are learning the basics of HTML, we will do some research on "online multimedia" trends. Your descriptions of multimedia projects will be the content for your first Web pages.

Background: Online multimedia is a "new medium" different from newspaper and magazine photo essays, documentary films and television news spots, music videos, commercials and highway billboards. Each of those old media forms has its established styles and standards, but what are they for Web multimedia? What are its components and variables? What wins awards? What do you enjoy seeing?

The assignment: You will write three to five one-page reports, each as a separate Web page using links, lists and reduced-size captured screen images. At least two of your stories must be from these sites:

Above all, find stuff you like -- stories that make you say "Hey, look at this..." to your best friend. (I'll use "story" to mean "any creative work of multimedia on the Web," whether news, advertising, artistic, editorial or social.)

As the weeks progress, make sure you are chosing stories that show some variety in approach, subject and length -- not all short, not all sports, not all from one source, not all advertising or marketing, etc. Look for some that combine text or sound with their pictures. Look for "storytelling" -- not just "portfolio" sites that showcase a photographer or designer's work.

How to proceed

  1. View several multimedia stories each week. Watch for the work of accomplished professionals using digital video, Vuvox, Storyslides, Powerpoint/Keynote, Final Cut, Flash or other tools.
  2. From the sites you visit, pick at least one story a week to write about. Be discriminating; don't jump on the first item you see, compare a few and pick the best. Your job is to tell a story-about-the-story in words, while demonstrating that you are learning how to handle HTML paragraphs, headings, lists, etc. (See review contents list below.)
  3. Post your weekly reports as date-stamped Web pages, refining the layout and design of earlier pages as you develop more Web skills. Keep copies of old versions for comparison -- and for backup.
  4. Identify the "who, what, when, where and why" of the story: Who created it, what it is about, where it is on the Web (exact address) etc.
  5. Describe the format and style of the presentation. (See review contents list below.)
  6. Edit! Each report should be brief, but long enough to demonstrate HTML features including wrapping text around images, positioning photos and captions using tables, etc. Shoot for 200-300 words. If you have a lot more to say, consider breaking your report into logical sections on separate pages, linked together.
  7. Create an overview (index.html) page comparing all of the sites, showing their differences and similarities. Add links and briefs. Lead the page with your conclusions about the varieties of Web multimedia. This, too, should be brief, roughly 200-300 well-chosen words.
  8. Link the overview page to each of your review pages, using an image and headline as the link point, and including a one or two sentence summary of the review.
  9. On the overview page, provide navigation links to your personal home page and this assignment sheet. Include a credit line "Created by /yourname/ on /the full date/ as an assignment for COMS 326 Media Production at Radford University," with appropriate links.

Site Review Contents

As part of each "site review" page, describe and analyze the storytelling and presentation techniques used. For example, you can discuss the techniques used in making the multimedia version; report facts -- number of cuts, camera angles, number of still images, minutes of video, changes of scene, etc. Good descriptive reporting is enough for this project -- you don't have to be a "movie critic" or technical expert. Pick whichever aspects of the project struck you as most significant. Here are some possibilities:

Descriptive terms and media jargon

To get the job done, you may want to use some of the language of television, radio and film production to describe what you see on screen, such as: 16x9 (wide-angle video), 4x3 (traditional TV aspect ratio); Super, superimposed text or "Bottom-third" (text in bottom third of image); CG (computer graphics); Natural Sound (NatSound or Ambient Sound); Voiceover (VO); Actuality or Sound On Tape (SOT); Voiceover-to-Sound (VO/SOT); B-Roll (video other than main shot of news subject); Running Time; Lead-in (voice introducing a story or reporter); Live shot (a reporter on the scene); Wrap (story with transition from announcer to actuality to announcer); panning (moving the camera to follow the action); zooming (optical transition toward or away from object); transitions, cuts and transition effects (fades, crossfades, wipes and other); Ken Burns effect or "pan & zoom" (video camera panning and zooming across a still photograph or other image). If you really need more terminology or better definitions, see the FinalCut, MediaCollege.com, IMDB, public radio and Filmsite glossaries.

Learning more

You'll find great leads and info about multimedia and online video at

Some of this last batch of sites include just the kind of commentary you might want to write in this project. Honest "transparency" about sources is very easy online: Do indicate direct quotes the way you would in a news story or term paper, but also identify and link to sources that inspire or inform your commentary, even if you don't quote them directly. Make it clear which observations and opinions are strictly your own, and which aren't.

Site Structure for COMS 326