workshop in multimedia authoring iml 140: social media and...

Institute for Multimedia Literacy School of Cinematic Arts University of Southern California 746 W. Adams Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90089 http://iml.usc.edu || 213.743.4421

Workshop in Multimedia Authoring iml 140: Social Media and Remix

Culture

Spring Semester 2012 Location: Taper Hall Thursday 2:00-3:50 pm Open to all students: 2 units Class Portal: http://iml.usc.edu/index.php/iml-portal

Professor: Vicki Callahan, Ph.D. [email protected] Office: Taper B8 and EGG / IML 207 Office Hours: Wednesday (EGG/IML207) and Thursday (TAPER B8) 1:00-2:00 pm and by appointment

Course Description

In the digital age one might argue that the language of remix shapes all aspects of our culture, from music, to still and moving images, to text and even speech. The goals of remix range from homage to critique, but at the root is a desire to share knowledge with

IML 140 – Workshop in Multimedia Authoring

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a community with related interests. IML 140’s Social Media and Remix Culture focuses on developing a variety of multimedia authoring skills (e.g., editing, sound design, image/text collage), which will be used to create “mash-ups” in several formats. Students will also learn the diverse tools and techniques available for social media/networking (e.g., blogging, twitter, wikis), which will be in turn used to build connections and communities to share their work.

IML 140 introduces multimedia as a critical and creative tool that enhances traditional forms of academic work. Students will learn basic skills in multimedia authoring/networking and complete the course having acquired proficiency in several core, media-based literacies, including the research and design of digital projects, argumentation and expression for specific media platforms, and networking skills for the wired world.

REQUIRED READING

Required Readings:

Raymond Queneau, Exercises in Style (translation Barbara Wright), New Directions, 1981.

Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, Harpers, 1993.

All other required readings available on course wiki Grading Breakdown

Project #1: Social Media Remix (Group Project) 15%

Project #2: Photo/Text Remix 15%

Project #3: Audio Remix 15%

Project #4: Video Remix 15%

Seminar Participation (Responses to Readings & Class Discussion) 15%

Peer Review 15%

Final Reflection: Remix as Cultural/Critical Form and Practice 10%

Extra Credit: You can earn up to 10 points extra credit over the semester via attending IML events (up to 2 points per event) and writing a short review (minimum 250 words) that is informed by the concepts we examine in class. Software Proficiency

In order to participate fully in lab activities, students are expected to develop sufficient skills for working in the software assigned to the course, and it is vital that


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students keep up with the exercises and skills as the semester advances. While technical skills will be developed and honed during workshop time, students are encouraged to continue their learning and practice with the software outside the workshop as much as possible.

Note that the software proficiency expectations point to the minimum skills that are required to complete the assigned exercises and projects. The lab assistants, however, are equipped to provide help with multimedia resources above and beyond these minimum requirements, and students are free to take advantage of this expertise if they are interested in learning more advanced features or programs.

Workshop Sections

The workshop sections are designed to give students hands-on skills in multimedia authorship for effective audio-visual expression and presentation. The workshop will focus on developing skills in these specific core media literacies:

Digital literacy, which refers to a proficiency with basic tools of digital authoring and an understanding of storage, backup, compression, file types, naming conventions, etc.

Network literacy, which refers to the ability to use network-based software for sophisticated participation in online communities.

Design literacy, which refers to the ability to use appropriate design principles in service of critical goals, as well as the ability to control and articulate the relationship between form and content.

Argumentation, which refers to the ability to use multimedia to develop and express a persuasive thesis and the effective use of evidence and complex thinking in constructing an argument.

Research literacy, which refers to the ability to perform effective, critical online research; knowledge of academically appropriate protocols for selection, citation and attribution of electronic source materials; and knowledge of fair use and copyright issues.

Evaluation

Each IML-140 assignment will contain project evaluation guidelines clearly indicating what is expected for the assignment and how each component of the assignment will be evaluated. In general, you will be graded on these elements:

Conceptual Core

Is the project’s thesis clearly articulated?

Is the project productively aligned with one or more of the multimedia genres outlined in lab?


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Does the project effectively engage with the primary issues presented in the assignment?

Research Competence

Does the project display evidence of substantial research and thoughtful engagement with its subject?

Does the project use a variety of types of sources (i.e., not just websites)?

Does the project deploy more than one approach to its topic?

Form and Content

Do structural and formal elements of the project reinforce the conceptual core in a productive way?

Are design decisions deliberate and controlled?

Is the effectiveness of the project uncompromised by technical problems?

Creative Realization

Does the project approach its subject in creative or innovative ways?

Does the project use media and design principles effectively?

Does this project achieve significant goals that could not have been realized on paper?

Policies

Fair Use and Citation Guidelines

We assert that all IML course work is covered under Fair Use, since it’s educational in nature. All projects must include academically-appropriate citations in the form of a Works Cited section which covers all sources, in order to receive a passing grade. The Works Cited is either included within the project or as a separate document, as appropriate to your assignment. The style we use is APA 5th edition and you may refer to these guidelines: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Academic Honesty

USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by these


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principles. Scampus, the Student Guidebook, contains the Student Conduct Code in Section 11.00, while the recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A: http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/SCAMPUS/gov/. Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be found at: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/.

Statement for Students with Disabilities

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Emergency Plan

In the event that classes cannot convene at the university, all IML courses will continue via distance education. Specifically, the IML portal and course wikis will be deployed to enable faculty-student interaction (asynchronously and also via virtual office hours), complete syllabi, course readings and assignments, software tutorials, project assets, parameters and upload instructions, peer review processes and open source alternatives to professional-level software used in the IML curriculum. Further details are available on the course wiki.

Course Schedule (SUBJECT TO CHANGE):

Week 1, Jan 12: What is a remix? The very basics, cut, copy, paste

Practical Work: Intro to Course Wiki, basic tools for cut, copy, paste, edit (snapNdrag, Pixlr) Remix auto-portrait work

***For week 2:

Finish your in class remix auto-portrait and post on your student page on the wiki. Then comment on one colleague’s auto-portrait on their page. In your comments, you should focus your discussion both on style (visuals, text, design) and the idea or ideas conveyed in the portrait. What did you learn about your colleague from the image?

Week 2, Jan 19: A Brief History of Remix: From Dada to Dub to DJ Culture

Discussion of your postings and our survey of remix


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Practical: more tools for social media (Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, blogging software) and citation freeware Zotero

***For week 3 read all of Exercises of Style and selection from Understanding Comics. See assignments area for details on how you will create your own Exercises of Style variant.

Week 3, Jan 26 Image/Text/Frame/Sequence

Discussion of readings and group peer review of stories (Google docs)

Practical: Intro to Photoshop

***For week 4 read (on wiki via pdf or links) and post response to assignment on wiki:

William Burroughs, “The Cut Up Method”

Pat Aufderheide, selection from Reclaiming Fair Use

Week 4, Feb 2 Cut/Paste: The Cut Up Method and Fair Use

Screen: Remix Culture: Fair Use is your Friend (Center for Social Media)

Discussion: Readings

Practical: Photoshop

Handout Project #1 Collaborative Storytelling

***For week 5 read selections from Clay Shirky Here Comes Everybody and Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics post response

Week 5 Feb 9 Social Media Week, Assignment #1 Exquisite Corpse, Collaborative Storytelling

Discussion of Shirky and McCloud

Practical work for First Project, Crowd Sourcing Stories and Strategies

***For week 6 selection from Guy Debord Society of Spectacle and post response

Week 6 Feb 16 The Society of Spectacle and Détournement

Presentation and Peer Review of Assignment #1 (in class)

Discussion of Debord

Practical: Photoshop

Hand out and work on assignment #2


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****for week 7 read Mark Dery, “Culture Jamming: Hacking, Slashing, and Sniping in the Empire of Signs”

Week 7 Feb 23 Culture Jamming and Hactivism: Remixes for Revolution

Discuss Dery

Practical work on Photoshop Assignment #2

Week 8 March 1 Project #2 Photo Remix Due

Presentation of project #2

Practical: Begin work on Audacity/Garageband

****for week 9 read selections from DJ Spooky’s Rhythm Science and post response and peer review for project #2 as assigned on wiki

Week 9 March 8 Forms and Formats: “Sonic Outlaws”

Discussion of Rhythm Science

Practical: Audacity, Garageband

***for week 10, read and post on selection from Peter Lunenfeld’s The Secret War Between Downloading and Uploading

MARCH 11-18 SPRING BREAK

Week 10 March 22 “Poetry is for Everyone”: strategies for the “secret war”

Discussion of The Secret War

Practical: Work on Project 3

Week 11 March 29 Project #3, Audio Remix Due

Presentation of audio remix

Practical: intro video editing

****for week 12 read Eli Horwatt: “A Taxonomy of Digital Video Remixing: Contemporary Found Footage Practice on the Internet.” Screen selections from playlist and post response and Peer Review for Project #3 as assigned

Week 12 April 5 The Boundaries of Remix, Part I: Genres of Remix

Discuss Horwatt

Practical: Video Editing


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***for week 13 read Henry Jenkins, “Fan Fiction as Critical Commentary” http://www.henryjenkins.org/2008/12/fanvidding.html

and Jenkins interview with Jonathan McIntosh:

http://www.rebelliouspixels.com/

View sites Pop Culture Pirate and Rebellious Pixels

Week 13 April 12 The Boundaries of Remix, Part II: Fan Fiction, Parody, Critical Commentary, Vidding Discussion of Jenkins and McIntosh


Week 14 April 19


Week 15 April 26 Project #4 Project Due, Feedback Session

Exam Week Project Revisions, 4th Peer Review, and Final Reflection Due THURSDAY MAY 3 at 4:00 pm.

Please note: You may revise any and all project assignments for the class (not weekly postings or peer reviews), but ALL final revisions will due by May 3 at 4:00 pm.

Class Decorum: Since we are in a lab setting, we are faced with the temptations of social media from outside our classroom context. In order for us to have a productive seminar/practical lab, I request that any personal email, texting, Facebook, or other social media variants are put on hold until outside class (unless it is part of class!).

workshop in multimedia authoring iml 140: social media and...

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