Clocks for Seeing
COMM DM 1652 WRITING FOR DIGITAL MEDIA
Many, but not all, assignments for this course will be posted or available as downloads here. The syllabus for this class may be downloaded here.
The Writing for Digital Media website log-in is here.
To go directly to the website click here.
Module #1 We will transpose an actual experience into a fictional monologue then record it and add SFX.
The first three reading assignments are available as a single PDF download here.
A link to the Freesound.org website is here.
Written symbols: words and concepts
The Wikipedia entry about Aristotle's Poetics is here.
One of many Jung archetype quiz websites is here.
Hero's Journey animation is here.
As a break download Willard's monologue and edit it using your handwritten notes from a previous class.
Module #2 We will create scripts for three linked PSAs. The topics TBD the week before. The topics last semester were bad cell phone or texting behavior, alcohol abuse and mental health. What are some social issues that concern you? However
The Ad Council website is here.
Module #3 We will devote this section to the conventions of journalism and the on-line revolution in News production and consumption.
The textbook reading for this module is here.
A University of Wisconsin website about journalism ethics is here.
The NY Times is the national newspaper of record. I will refer to it frequently during this section.
A current article about unethical journalism is here.
An excellent textbook about print and digital journalism is here.
- What is Journalism? Are you skeptical, empirical or normative?
- When is anonymity permissible?
- What is objectivity and, in regard to journalism, why is it controversial?
The "lead" paragraph for your journalism story usually attempts to provide the "five Ws and one H." That would be the Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. Sometimes this is impossible, especially the Why and How. The five Ws and one H do not necessarily have to be in any particular order. However when reporting on an event you may want to lead off with Where and When.
Criteria for the Journalism assignment are below.
Module #4 We will create short treatments and scenes loosely (but not necessarily) using Twilight Zone as a model with opening and closing voice-overs.
If you want to write fictional but relevant narratives for the media, Rod Serling can be a good source of inspiration. You can easily find much of his work aggregated here on Youtube.
A Twilight Zone script, The Obsolete Man is part of our reading. As you read the script try substituting "books" for something else that you think may become unfortunately obsolete.
Tom Waits is a great American songwriter and storyteller.
We will end this module with an appropriate ceremony: Baby Blue, Blue Baby.
Our final module in the Writing for Digital Media class this semester will move writing for the media to writing about the media.
There is a great blog on the NY Times website where writers write about writing. (I always wanted to write a sentence like that.)