digf15 project 3: stories of change

Assignment Overview

One of the many digital storytelling practices Lambert introduces in Digital Storytelling is the oral history. He suggests that “new media provides a bridge between primary oral recordings and appreciation by audiences by working to make the source documents, and the excerpted stories, immediately accessible to the public” (loc 1286).

In their Introduction to the second edition of The Oral History Reader Perks and Thompson (2006) note that when one engages in the practice of oral history she is also challenging traditional notions of the construction of history. Correspondingly, by challenging history she is also challenging traditional conceptions that reliable research is the investigation of written texts found in libraries, databases, and archives. Later, in their opening words to Part I, they announce that human beings are now “in the middle of a fourth, dizzying digital revolution in oral history and its outcomes are impossible to predict” (p. 8). They describe this revolution as being a result of the proliferation of information technologies-email, the Internet, digital recording devices-and the potential for ubiquitous access to interviews. In short, “the future of oral history . . . has never been so exciting, or so uncertain” (p. 8). And we are going to make some and make them public immediately.

With video cameras in hand (or on tripod) we are going engage that exciting uncertainty by composing oral history digital stories of a social justice change maker—an individual who is making a significant difference in response to an area of urgent social importance. Our stories will bring together clips from your interviews, original photography, historical documents, and background music. As such, they will not only be about the change marker, though we will learn about him or her through their interview. Rather, the stories will explore a particular social justice issue as understood by the person you interview. The distinction is subtle, but important. When conceiving of your issue, think in broad strokes at first but then narrow down to local specifics. We discuss this in great detail in class.

To complete the in-person interviews, you can use the video recorder of your choice. The department has tripods you can use and special tripod adapters to hold smart phones so your videos are stable.

Subjects and Research

The person you choose cannot be affiliated with SJU, cannot be a college friend, cannot be a child, and cannot be a family member. You might know the person, but knowing the person is not required.

The preferred subjects are community members and/or experts in a field relating to your issue. Due to the time constraints of the semester, it will be better if you have a relationship of some sort with your interview subject prior to beginning the project. The key will be finding a subject who has lived experiences directly relating to the issue you wish to explore and have affected change about the issue in some meaningful way.

The fact that we are conducting interviews does not preclude us from engaging in more traditional modes of research. Indeed, oral history presentations depend on it for evidence to support and enhance statements uttered by interview subjects. Interviews also require a substantial amount of traditional research about the particular issue you are investigating, the organizations your subjects might be a part of, and so on. The more prepared we are the better listeners and questioners we will be, and the more effective we will be at helping the subject articulate their memories.

Assignment Due Dates (more to be added)

In this project, student will be creating a 5 – 8 minute video digital story using oral history interview techniques. The videos will be based on an interview with a person in the local community who is affecting change for an important contemporary social justice issue. The projects will include clips from your interviews; video of spaces associated with your change maker; original photography; historical documents; and Creative Commons, public domain, or original background music.

The due dates are:

  • Friday, 11/13: Must know who you will interview and have the interview scheduled; proposal due
  • 11/16 – 11/20: Interviews must be conducted
  • Monday, 11/23: rough draft 1 due
  • Wednesday, 12/2: rough draft 2 due by noon
  • Wednesday 12/2 and Thursday 12/3: individual conferences
  • Tuesday 12/8: Final draft and reflection due by 11:00pm

Video Archives

Instructional, educational, or ephemeral film footage from the 1940s, 50s, 60s, or 70s can be found most readily in the Moving Image Section of the Internet Archives. Some useful places to start are: productions/collections by Coronet Instructional Films, the A/V Geeks, or the Prelinger Archives. It may help you to find a subject area by exploring the massive tag clouds associated with the collections, but I encourage you to look across subject areas to hep complicate your projects. Contemporary footage can come from anywhere.

Other archives that have great material (most of which is easily downloadable) are:

For information how to download and convert online video, see How to Download and Convert Online Video.

Draft Specifics

First Rough Draft, due Monday, 11/23 by the start of class
For this draft, I’d like you to narrow down your interview with your changemaker to 2 – 4 minutes, highlighting the change the person believes s/he is making in society and the reason why changes are needed. Your draft should make clear that your video is not just about the person you have interviewed; rather, through them we will br learning about an important social issue. Toward that end, I’d like you to include recent and archival clips that illustrate the social justice problem(s) the person is addressing, as well as clips from videos you took of the areas surrounding the location where the person works.

As one possible way to include that kind of material, look to how Spike Lee uses clips of Hurricane Betsy when New Orleans residents discuss Betsy. You could also have a montage at the beginning that visually introduces the viewer to the issue(s) your video will address.

Include Creative Commons or Public Domain background music where appropriate.

Make sure to bookmark the videos you are using so you can make a works cited page in the future. You may use wherever video editor you prefer to complete the draft.

Upload your video to Vimeo or YouTube and tweet a link to it using the #digf15 hashtag.

Second Rough Draft and reflection, due Wednesday, 12/2 by noon
For this draft, I’d like to create a full daft of your project, 5 – 8 minutes long, highlighting the issue you are covering, the person your are profiling, and the the change the person believes s/he is making in society and the reason why changes are needed. Your draft should make clear that your video is not just about the person you have interviewed; rather, through them we will be learning about an important social issue. Toward that end, I’d like you to include recent and archival clips that illustrate the social justice problem(s) the person is addressing, as well as clips from videos you took of the areas surrounding the location where the person works.

As in your first draft, one possible way to include that kind of material, look to how Spike Lee uses clips of Hurricane Betsy when New Orleans residents discuss Betsy. You could also have a montage at the beginning that visually introduces the viewer to the issue(s) your video will address.

Include Creative Commons or Public Domain background music where appropriate.

Make sure to bookmark the videos you are using so you can make a works cited page in the future. You may use wherever video editor you prefer to complete the draft.

See below for information about the Reflection.

Final Draft and reflection due Tuesday, 12/8 by noon Friday, 12/11 by 11:00pm.
For this draft, I’d like to create a full daft of your project, 5 – 8 minutes long, highlighting the issue you are covering, the person your are profiling, and the the change the person believes s/he is making in society and the reason why changes are needed. Your draft should make clear that your video is not just about the person you have interviewed; rather, through them we will be learning about an important social issue. Toward that end, I’d like you to include recent and archival clips that illustrate the social justice problem(s) the person is addressing, as well as clips from videos you took of the areas surrounding the location where the person works.

As in your first draft, one possible way to include that kind of material, look to how Spike Lee uses clips of Hurricane Betsy when New Orleans residents discuss Betsy. You could also have a montage at the beginning that visually introduces the viewer to the issue(s) your video will address.

Include Creative Commons or Public Domain background music where appropriate.

In the description field of your video (when uploading it to YouTube) list the URLs and web sites where you got the videos, still images, and music you used in your project.

See below for information about the Reflection.

Email BW and link to your final video and a copy of your reflection.

Reflection

Your reflection should discuss your project in terms of Knowledge Integration and 3 of the remaining 5 areas listed on the assessment rubric (.pdf): Overall Design, Storytelling, Audience Engagement, Assembly, Creativity, and Knowledge Integration.

  • Each area discussion should be 250 – 350 words long and include a bold heading so BW knows exactly which area you are discussing.
  • Your project will be assessed in terms of the 4 areas you select; the other 2 will not be assessed.
  • This is your opportunity to help BW understand why you think your project is successful in the 4 areas you write about; be specific and point to examples from the readings and in your final project
  • In your Knowledge Integration discussion, must describe how your story represents and/or is informed by 2 or more of the techniques discussed by Lambert and/or the oral history readings; in this discussion point to specific parts of your project that represent the techniques and state why the techniques was used at that point in the project
  • Name your reflection file: yourlastname-digf15-change-reflection.doc or .docx

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