This assignment is borrowed from the CFP for Volume 1 Issue 2 of the Journal of Undergraduate Multimedia Projects (JUMP).

For the Digital Video Project (DVP) students will cut, edit, and remix instructional, educational, or ephemeral film footage from the 1940s, 50s, 60s, or 70s (with other elements they deem rhetorically fitting) in an attempt to provide some social/cultural critical commentary. This, as expected, is an enormously broad directive, which leaves the door wide open for a variety of possibilities, but which also requires a lot of student self-direction and critical conceptualization.

The nuts and bolts:

• must incorporate at least 3 communicational modes (moving/still images, non-native audio, oral discourse, text, etc.)
• must be 120 to 300 seconds in length
• must include credits and sources (including separate, complete work cited [following the APA citation guidelines])
• must use at least 5 “cuts” (breaks in the native video flow)
• must utilize public domain footage, and/or footage that allows derivatives.

Finding this kind of footage can be most readily located in the Internet Archives; we suggest starting with productions/collections by Coronet Instructional Films, the A/V Geeks, or the Prelinger Archives.

Beyond those guidelines, students’ options are really wide open. They can weave in real-action footage they shoot themselves or sample multiple sources (film and audio) in addition to using the educational films as core content; they can create minor montage sequences; they can create 3 or 4 smaller projects that work together to make critical commentary; they can create micro-narratives, satires, ironies, tragedies and so on.

In addition to the video production, students will also be required to complete 2 shorter Critical Reflection Papers:

• The first (250-500 words in length), should focus on the medium, on the experience of working in/with/across digital video and how that experience relates to traditional writing.
• The second (250-500 words in length), should focus on the message, on the attempted rhetorical moves, on the editing techniques themselves and why various edits, cuts, mashups, etc. were done (what was their intended effect).

Specifics when Uploading the Video to YouTube

• Upload the video to the course YouTube channel
• Place the complete title of your video in the form field when uploading the video. The title you choose should be meaningful and should include some version of the work “remix” or “mashup.”
• In the Description form field, add the following text:
  • start with a one-two sentence description of the the video, and describing its purpose
  • state that the project was completed by you for Writing, Research, and Technology, Spring 2010, Rowan University, taught by Dr. Bill Wolff. If you don’t want to include your full name, use your first name and last initial (this will also ensure that I know who completed the video). The video is [specify how you have copyrighted the video (choose a Creative Commons license that is consistent with any Creative Commons texts you have chosen)]. Include a statement with URLs that points the viewer to information about the course (https://williamwolff.orgcourses/wrt-spring-2010/) and assignment (TBA). Also mention the software you used to complete the remix.
  • include credits and sources (including separate, complete work cited [following the APA citation guidelines])
  • Please use paragraphs and complete sentences
• Add at least the following tags: remix, mashup, wrts10, rowan, rowan university, as well as multiple tags relating to your topic (these tags will increase the likelihood that the video will be found when searching that subject matter).
• For the category, select Education (it could fall under “Entertainment” but Education suits our purposes).
• Make the video public and allow embedding and comments
• After upload, please the video in the Remix Unit 2 playlist

Due Dates

3/29: 1 – 3 minute synopsis video uploaded to course YouTube channel
3/31: 1 – 3 minute rough draft due on course YouTube channel by class time
4/9: 2 – 5 minute final draft due on course YouTube Channel and required essays emailed to BW in one document by 11:00pm