This Murrow College of Communication course is about web video in the journalism industry and how to plan, shoot and edit compelling video narratives. This is where you will find the course schedule and updated links to assignments and readings.
Unit 1: Essential Shooting & Editing Skills
Week 1: Video Everywhere
Jan. 13-17 | What types of videos — news and otherwise — do we encounter on the web?
Readings (or videos to watch):
• Course Syllabus
• Here’s why publishers won’t stop pivoting to video
• R.I.P. Pivot to Video
Links: Recommended book, news video commentary, NowThis example, cilantro, Great Big Story toy museum, Moscow Farmers Market promo, WaPo TikTok, file structure instructions
Slides: Shots & Motion, Web Video Statistics
Due: Exercise 1: Capturing Motion
Week 2: Shots, Sequences & Scenes
Jan. 20-24 | What are the main steps and elements for constructing videos?
No class Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Readings:
• Sequencing: The Foundation of Video Storytelling
• Chapter excerpt from Feature and Narrative Storytelling for Multimedia Journalists
Links: Homeless in the American Riviera, What’s Old is New Again, Swoop Mascot Trials, Coffee Branch profile, Picadillo, Oregonian bigfoot pinata, Three Stages activity and resource page
Due: Exercise 2: Getting From A to B
Week 3: Capturing and Editing Sound
Jan. 27-31 | Why is sound so important and so difficult?
Readings:
• NPR Field Recording Checklist
• Sony NX-30 Video Guide: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 (30 min. total)
Slides: The Sound of Video
Links: Beer tap handles, Smartphone lav mic demo
Due: Exercise 3: Capturing Sound
Week 4: Interviewing & Lighting
Feb. 3-7 | How do we get footage that looks great and feels genuine?
Readings:
• The Art of the Interview
• Framing Video Interviews: Five Tips for a Professional Look
• Framing Interview Shots
• Standard Three-Camera Interview Setup
• Three-Point Lighting Basics
Slides: Interviewing, Lighting Basics
Links: BuzzFeed trash-free living, The Bearded Dame, Faith and a Food Cart
No weekly assignment
Week 5: Access, Ethics & Law
Feb. 10-14 | Where is the line between illuminating and intrusive?
Recommended Readings:
• Blogging All the Way to Jail
• Journalist Charged With Rioting at Inauguration Day Protest Goes Free
Slides: Videography Law & Ethics
Links: Art Until the End, The Recession-Proof Artist, The Nipple Artist
Quiz 1 on Friday of Week 5
Due: Project 1: Explanation Interview
Unit 2: Web Video Trends & Techniques
Week 6: History of Web Video
Feb. 17-21 | How have technological constraints and advances shaped web video?
No class Monday for Presidents’ Day
Readings:
• Vine’s demise is a huge cultural loss (Vox)
• The Lucrative, Stressful Life of a Livestreamer
Recommended Reading:
• The fair use history behind the congresswoman dancing video (Twitter thread)
Slides: How video took over the internet
Due: Exercise 4: Vertical vs. Horizontal
Week 7: Social, Viral, Controversial
Feb. 24-28 | What makes a video successful and what do viewers want?
Readings:
• It’s time to take vertical video seriously (Digiday)
• The Relentless Pace Of Satisfying Fans Is Burning Out Some YouTube Stars
Recommended Readings:
• The Flourishing Business of Fake YouTube Views
• On YouTube Kids, Startling Videos Slip Past Filters
Slides: Social Video
Links: Shadow puppets
Due: Exercise 5: Mobile Editing
Week 8: Text and Accessibility
March 2-6 | How can text improve your story for all audiences?
Readings:
• Deepfakes and Cheapfakes
• WebAIM Guide to Captions, Transcripts and Audio Descriptions
• WSU video accessibility guidelines
Recommended Reading:
• Fake-porn videos are being weaponized to harass and humiliate women
• How Facebook Is Bringing Back The Silent Newsreel
• Why Gen Z Loves Closed Captioning
• The secret lives of Facebook moderators in America
Links: refugee cat, travel ban, fake Obama video, fake Obama with Jordan Peele
Slides: Text & Accessibility
No weekly assignment
Week 9: Editing for Multiple Platforms
March 9-13 | What do audiences want and expect for different types of video?
Recommended Reading:
• Facebook agrees to pay $40 million over inflated video stats
• Related Twitter thread from former Video Head at Vox Media
• Twenty years ago, Netflix.com launched. The movie business has never been the same.
Links: Crochet social vs. TV, Chef Sean Sherman 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Quiz 2 on Friday of Week 9
Due: Project 2: History Mini-Doc
Spring Break: March 16-20
Unit 3: Video Storytelling
Week 10: Compelling Narratives
March 23-27 | What makes stories memorable and engaging (when so many fail)?
Readings:
• Excerpts from Documentary Storytelling by Sheila Curran Bernard
Slides: Narrative Structure
Lectures: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Due: Project 2
Week 11: Characters & Stakes
March 30-April 3 | How can we authentically capture people and their struggles?
Slides: Character Development
Lectures: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Due: Exercise 6: All Show, No Tell
Week 12: Story Pitches
April 6-10 | What is your idea for a great video news story?
Readings:
• COVID-19 Guide for Visual Journalists
Lectures: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Due: Project 3 Pitch & Feedback
Week 13: Editing Real Life
April 13-17 | How can short web videos make use of documentary strategies?
Reading:
• Four Approaches to Structuring Micro-Documentaries
Lectures: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
No weekly assignment
Week 14: Motion Graphics and Other Elements
April 20-24 | How can you bring different pieces together?
Lectures: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Quiz 3 on Friday of Week 14
Due: Project 3: Narrative Video Story
Week 15: Viewing Festival Getting Close!
April 27-May 1 | Revisions and a moment of reflection
Lectures: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
All assignments must be submitted for partial credit by Friday, May 8.
Week 16: Finals Week
May 4-8 | Fade to black
There is no final exam for this course.
Link: Survey form for video ratings
Project revisions and late assignments are accepted until the end of Finals Week.