Due June 16, 2023, at 11:59 p.m.
A digital story is a video that makes use of images, footage, and sound to convey a narrative. Digital stories are not hugely different from documentaries, but they often make use of “found” (preexisting) footage and images, as opposed to original media. You can read more about where digital storytelling came from, and why it’s used in the classroom, here.
Your assignment is to create a five- to seven-minute digital story that tells us about the working lives and working conditions of a particular group of workers, with an emphasis on how digital technology is affecting their jobs. You can approach this question in many different ways, including chronologically, thematically, or in a non-linear fashion.
You can define “group of workers” with some flexibility. You might define it fairly narrowly, such as “workers at the Starbucks on La Cienega and Fairfax,” or broadly, such as “baristas.” You can constrain your examination geographically (“street vendors in L.A.”) or not (“street vendors in general”).
Whichever group you choose, be sure to cover the following:
- Who are these people? (Education, demographic profile, factors that might make them vulnerable, etc.)
- What is their day-to-day work like?
- What transformations are they experiencing at their jobs?
- What economic and political factors are spurring these changes?
- Who benefits from the changes?
- How are workers responding?
In order to create this video, you’ll need to assemble media. You can do this in a variety of ways: by recording original photos, videos, and sound; by obtaining these media from the web; and by scanning media that you obtain elsewhere. However you obtain media, you should credit your sources fully.
I suggest that you use Premiere Pro to create your digital video, but you may choose other options, too, such as iMovie, Prezi, or even PowerPoint. We will learn to use Premiere Pro in class.
Because this is a novel kind of assignment, we’ll check in every week on your progress. In order to stay on track, you should aim to hit these milestones.
Resources
Finding Creative Commons-licensed media
Fair Use Guide (UCLA Library), specifically see the Code of Best Practices for Fair Use in Online Video
Grading Rubric (credit)
| Category | 4 Points | 3 Points | 2 Points | 1 Point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Purpose of Story | Establishes a purpose early on and maintains a clear focus throughout. | Establishes a purpose early on and maintains focus for most of the presentation. | There are a few lapses in focus, but the purpose is fairly clear. | It is difficult to figure out the purpose of the presentation. |
| 2. Point of View | The point of view is well developed and contributes to the overall meaning of the story. | The point of view is stated but does not connect with each part of the story, although an attempt is made to connect it to the overall meaning of the story. | The point of view is stated but no attempt is made to connect it to the overall meaning of the story. | The point of view is only hinted at, or is difficult to discern. |
| 3. Dramatic Question | A meaningful dramatic question is asked and answered within the context of the story. | A dramatic question is asked but not clearly answered within the context of the story. | A dramatic question is hinted at but not clearly established within the context of the story. | Little or no attempt is made to pose a dramatic question or answer it. |
| 4. Choice of Content | Contents create a distinct atmosphere or tone that matches different parts of the story. The images may communicate symbolism and/or metaphors. | Contents create an atmosphere or tone that matches some parts of the story. The images may communicate symbolism and/or metaphors. | An attempt was made to use contents to create an atmosphere/tone but it needed more work. Image choice is logical. | Little or no attempt to use contents to create an appropriate atmosphere/tone. |
| 5. Clarity of Voice | Voice quality is clear and consistently audible throughout the presentation. | Voice quality is clear and consistently audible throughout the majority (85-95%) of the presentation. | Voice quality is clear and consistently audible through some (70-84%)of the presentation. | Voice quality needs more attention. |
| 6. Pacing of Narrative | The pace (rhythm and voice punctuation) fits the story line and helps the audience really “get into” the story. | Occasionally speaks too fast or too slowly for the story line. The pacing (rhythm and voice punctuation) is relatively engaging for the audience. | Tries to use pacing (rhythm and voice punctuation), but it is often noticeable that the pacing does not fit the story line. Audience is not consistently engaged. | No attempt to match the pace of the storytelling to the story line or the audience. |
| 7. Meaningful Audio Soundtrack | Music stirs a rich emotional response that matches the story line well. Images coordinated with the music. | Music stirs a rich emotional response that somewhat matches the story line. Images mostly coordinated with the music. | Music is ok, and not distracting, but it does not add much to the story. Not coordinated with images. | Music is distracting, inappropriate, OR was not used. |
| 8. Quality of Images | Images create a distinct atmosphere or tone that matches different parts of the story. The images may communicate symbolism and/or metaphors. | Images create an atmosphere or tone that matches some parts of the story. The images may communicate symbolism and/or metaphors. | An attempt was made to use images to create an atmosphere/tone but it needed more work. Image choice is logical. | Little or no attempt to use images to create an appropriate atmosphere/tone. |
| 9. Economy of Story Detail | The story is told with exactly the right amount of detail throughout. It does not seem too short nor does it seem too long | The story composition is typically good, though it seems to drag somewhat OR need slightly more detail in one or two sections. | The story seems to need more editing. It is noticeably too long or too short in more than one section. | The story needs extensive editing. It is too long or too short to be interesting. |
| 10. Quality of Research (for this element, all points are doubled) | Story shows consistent evidence of thorough, detailed, and appropriate research. | Quality of research is adequate and does not detract from the story. | Quality of research is typically adequate but errors detracted from story | Repeated errors in research distracted greatly from the story. |
| 11. Engagement with theory and history | Story shows consistent, sophisticated engagement with the theory and history of digital labor | Engagement with theory and history is present, but not original or sophisticated | Demonstrates scattershot engagement with the theory and history of digital labor | Theory and history is not present or contains meaningful errors |