Department of Journalism, Room 254, SOC, 11:10- 12:30am T-Th
Lecturer: Craig Herndon, Ofc. Rm. 242
phone: (cell) 410.703.8708 – email: craigherndon@mindspring.com
Fall 2009- Three (3) Credit hours
Coaching and Counseling by appointment
Office Hours- Tues 2-5pm, Wed 10-12, 2-5pm, Thurs 2-5pm
Class Starts- Tuesday, August 25, 2009
VISUAL COMMUNICATION
The world of communication is in a period of drastic change. Print Media as well as Broadcast Media are threatened by the digital revolution. The media are morphing into something new everyday. Eyes (viewers) and money (investment and consumption) have moved to the web. Visual and Multimedia Communication are a product of media convergence. It is a synthesis of writing, photojournalism, audio and video production with presentations in print, broadcast, Internet and mobile presentations. You must be aware not only of the production values for existing media, but of the ways these media can be used. You must engender an experimental nature to test these media. To be successful in this new world, you have to be familiar with these tools. Existing print and broadcast courses, offered by the Department, provide skills in computer operation, graphic design aesthetics and critical analysis, necessary for those media. This course will strengthen your computer expertise in multiple media and expand the definitions of media design to include digital presentation modes, including World Wide Web production with multimedia.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
In this course you will learn to gather information in pictures, audio and video for the field of multimedia journalism. You will learn how to complete photojournalism assignments, to produce images with still and video cameras, to write cutlines and voice-overs for your images, cutlines, to produce images, to use computer software to edit your images and sound, and to create presentations for online media. Specifically, you will learn how to us the computer applications of Open-source web design and media hosting software (such as Blogger, Word Press, Typepad, Picasa, Flikr), PhotoShop, Final Cut, Garage Band, Audacity and iMovie, to create print and Web journalistic work. You will be expected to invest enough time to gain reasonable facility in use of software (start early, a little at a time works best.)
ACCESSIBILITY
Howard University is committed to providing an educational environment that is accessible to all students. In accordance with this commitment, students in need of accommodations due to a disability should contact the Office of the Dean for Special Student Services for verification and determination of reasonable accommodations as soon as possible after admission to the University, or at the beginning of each academic semester. The Dean of the Office for Special Student Services, Dr. Barbara Williams, may be reached at 202.238.2420.
PLAGIARISM
“Plagiarism is a reprehensible offense. It is an act of dishonesty and undermines the credibility that is essential to all professional communicators. The Howard University H-Book for Academic Offenses (Section II.1.b) defines plagiarism as: "to take and pass off as one's own the ideas, and writings of another, without attribution (without acknowledging the author)."
Students in courses in the Department of Journalism are expected to do original analysis, reporting and writing. Students are expected to explicitly cite the sources of any information that is not derived from their own analysis, reporting and writing.
All instances of plagiarism are documented in a file in the Department of Journalism. The Department of Journalism will seek the immediate suspension of any student whose academic record includes previous punishment for plagiarism.
The first act of plagiarism, by a student with no prior record of plagiarism, will be punished by an F for the assignment. A second act of plagiarism will be punished by an F in the course and a recommendation for suspension from the university.”… Phillip Dixon, Chair, Journalism
Truth and Honesty
As a journalist you are expected to tell the truth as you see it. The public will trust you. Trust is the thing that binds one person to another and forms community. This is a basic tenet of journalism as in any relationship. So, whether you claim someone else’s work as yours, or create a story that is not real you violate that trust. The real world consequences of such action can be devastating to all involved.
TEXTBOOK
JOURNALISM 2.0, by Mark Briggs, available as a free PDF download at
GRADING
Ten assignments @ 5% each= 50
Mid-Term =20
Final Project =30
Ten points off each day an assignment is late without prior approval.
Assignment Specifics:
Assignment One: Photojournalism Assignment 1
Students will find, interview, and photograph a person previously unknown to the student in home, work, and during recreational activities.
Assignment Two: PhotoShop Assignment
Students will use the PhotoShop picture manipulation computer program to scan, size, crop, adjust colors, and save in various file formats.
Assignment Three: Basic Homepage Production
Students will produce a simple, text-based personal homepage.
Assignment Four: Homepage Portfolio with Images
Students will enhance their simple homepages with photographs and other graphic elements.
Assignment Five: Photojournalism Assignment 2
Students will find and complete photojournalism assignments related to general news, human interest feature, and sports.
Assignment Six: Cutline Writing Assignment
For all the images produced thus far in the course, students will write cutlines for each one.
Assignment Seven: Video Assignment
Students will find, interview and produce three minutes of videotape of a person previously unknown to the student in home, work and during recreational activities.
Assignment Eight: Audio Assignment
Students will use a software program to include a voice-over narration of the subject in Assignment Seven.
Assignment Nine: Production of Podcast, video or audio.
Assignment Ten: Homepage with Video and Audio Combined
Students will produce a portfolio of their still and video documentary work for the World Wide Web.
Final Project: Students will work to produce a picture story of a single person on the campus or in the Washington, D.C., community with still and moving images and audio for presentation on the World Wide Web.
SUPPLIES
1. You must have a Digital Camera, some access available in Department
2. Video camera in DV or HD acceptable, some access available in Department
3. Digital Storage device, a small external Hard Drive
COURSE OUTLINE
WEEK ONE: Introduction to the Visual Journalism Concept
Introduction to the Lab
WEEK TWO: Basic Still Camera Operation
Photojournalism Assignments
Assignment One Assigned: Photojournalism Assignment 1
WEEK THREE: PhotoShop Introduction
Working with Images in PhotoShop
Assignment Two Assigned: PhotoShop Assignment
WEEK FOUR: World Wide Web Introduction
Creating a Simple Web Homepage
Assignment Three Assigned: Basic Homepage Production
Assignment One Due
WEEK FIVE: Putting Pictures on a Homepage
Putting Text on a Homepage
Assignment Four Assigned: Homepage Portfolio with Images
Assignment Five Assigned: Photojournalism Assignment 2
Assignment Two Due
WEEK SIX: Writing Cutlines for Images
Creating Text for Picture Stories
Assignment Six Assigned: Cutline Writing Assignment
Assignment Three Due
WEEK SEVEN: Basic Video Camcorder Operation
Using the Camcorder for Photojournalism Assignments
Assignment Seven Assigned: Video Assignment
Assignment Four Due
WEEK EIGHT: Mid-Term Exam: Final Project Status Presentation
WEEK NINE: Basic Audio Production for Videos
Writing Voice-overs for Video Productions
Assignment Eight Assigned: Audio Assignment
Assignment Five Due
WEEK TEN: Digitizing Video
Basic Video Editing
Assignment Six Due
WEEK ELEVEN: Video and Audio editing in Final Cut
Assignment Seven Due
WEEK TWELVE: Using Digitized Video and Audio on a Homepage
Using Design Techniques to Enhance a Homepage
Assignment Ten Assigned: Homepage with Video and Audio Combined
Assignment Eight Due
WEEK THIRTEEN: Creating a Portfolio of Work for the World Wide Web
Assignment Nine Due
WEEK FOURTEEN: Ethical Issues for Visual Journalists
Legal Issues for Visual Journalists
Assignment Ten Due
WEEK FIFTEEN: Final Print and World Wide Web Show and Tell
Final Project Due
