Welcome to HTHI Productions: 12th Multimedia Action LabSpring 2010

We are all teachers. We are all learners.

Seniors, welcome back to the lab! My goal is to support your creation of work through technical instruction and artistic critique. It is my hope that you will develop a variety of multimedia production skills, including web, video, audio and photography. You all bring unique and important multimedia skills to this class, so please expect to be a teacher as well as a learner.

We will be focusing on media for advocacy and you will propose a semester-long independent project, where you'll produce multimedia that takes or inspires action.

Expect glitches, issues, meltdowns, and endless amounts of technical frustrations when working with video gear and technology. Tech issues always happen, and this is part of the experience in our lab; save yourself unwanted pain by backing up your work and leaving yourself extra time!

A few simple agreements: 1. No Food or Drink in The Lab. 2. Always treat ALL equipment with gentle care. 3. Be polite, gracious, and quiet when others are speaking.4. I make mistakes. You make mistakes. Let's work out differences respectfully.5. This is a DIY environment. You must be open to teach yourself & each other. 6. We use only original media- unless you have permission, no stock anything! 7. GIGO. Garbage In, Garbage Out. A rule to live by for media producers. Please remember, I want you to succeed.Let’s communicate with each other as collaborative producers.

Sincerely,

Doug BeacomEmail: dbeacom@hightechhigh.org Office Hours: 4th Period & by appointment

Discussion Themes Throughout This Course: Design Process & Peer CritiqueRepresentation, Language, Audience & Production: Media LensesDIY, Interactive & Activist Multimedia Production for Advocacy Composition of web pages, still & video photography

Essential Questions: • Now that I know what I know, how can I use my multimedia production

skills to take action?• What is my responsibility to myself and my audience as a

consumer/producer of media?

Spring Projects:

(tentative)

1. Design & Your DP: We'll use design process to overhaul your DP2. Remix & Memes: We'll study this phenomenon and create tribute media.3. Food Project: a mini-project in collaboration with food studies in UE.4. Independent Project (ongoing) & DP Update emails.

*challenge options: Examples include: creating informational media; gathering & publishing student work in both print/web media; contributing to & organizing the multimedia tubmlr./ wiki; advanced features in video/photo editing.

Grade Breakdown : Participation: 500 pts* you get these points to begin with-- and subtracted if you miss the following:

Syllabus Review Sheet, signed 100 pts Please be sure you've carefully read the syllabus, and turn in this checklist. Find and navigate the class tumblr blog, record due dates for DP update links, and projects. At the bottom indicate which curatorship you'd prefer. These are participation points for agreeing to fully participate and use class time well.

3 DP updates/links emailed 150 pts (50/each)Each DP update link will be turned in on the date written on this syllabus.Please email ONE LINK to a page you update regularly, for multimedia, on your DP. A blog is fne. Recent projects should be posted, uploaded, embedded and linked. Due: 1/21, 2/11 & 3/8. In addition, each DP update should have the following 3 posts: (additional posts may be assigned)

1. One review from an online or print article you've read in connection with the topics: advocacy media, multimedia culture & society, programs/softwares, media publishing, audience, representation, language & design, or a current project completed in this class. See reading list.

2. A response to one or more student-submitted posts to the class tumblr blog, including links, related media, your opinion, and connections you've made to their share: http://hthimultimedia.tumblr.com/

3. An update on your class curatorship, your independent project, or one of the optional journal prompts in class on the tumblr blog.

Curatorships 50 participation pointsBy the end of the frst week of class (January 7th) you'll indicate your top choices for curatorships. This is a completion grade, and you're expected to communicate, plan, and implement with careful attention to design, your audience, skills you must learn/use, and documenting the process. In addition to updates on your DP about your curatorship, you will contribute by completing a role or task in the lab. Choose from: poster design, chalk wall curating, video curating, tumblr & disqus admin, audio playlist curator, equipment & workstations, or suggest & develop another role.

Independent Project: 200 participation points= More information about the independent project will be included in the project handout, in late January.You will focus on Print, Web, Video, or Audio production, with a focus on creating media for advocacy. I am in the process of gathering a list of potential clients with projects they'd like produced.

Proposal: 50 ptsdue March 8th beginning of class

Rough Draft: 50 ptsagreed upon due date with proposal

Final Product: 100 ptsdue May 2nd

*Tardies please use the restroom before class begins. You are expected to be in class, beginning assignments, reading, or updating DP for the frst 10 mins of class.

tardies cost: 4th tardy = -4pts, 5th=-5pts, 6th=-6pts, and so on. *Off-task behavior will also result in points deducted from your participation points.

I will speak with you about the behavior/lab use before deducting points. Each time we speak about an issue beyond a warning, it will be -10 pts

Reading List links & resources: please use free time in class to check out:BoingBoing: Tech, Gadgets & Culture http://www.boingboing.net/

Backspace.com: social design notes http://backspace.com/notes/

Smashing Magazine: web design http://www.smashingmagazine.com/

Good Magazine:media & culture http://www.good.is/

Media Arts Center, San Diego http://macsddiy.posterous.com/

Photojojo http://content.photojojo.com/

Software I hope to cover: video: Adobe Final Cut Pro / iMovie design: Adobe CS3: Photoshop & Dreamweaver & OS alternativesmusic: Soundtrack Pro / Garage Band (Pro Tools)

SUGGESTED MATERIALS:1-4GB USB Flash Drive (For backing up/moving data)

FILMS WE MAY SCREEN IN CLASS:

Exit Through the Gift Shop by Banksyhttp://www.banksyflm.com/videos.html

Czech Dream Directed by Vit Klusak&Filip Remunda http://vimeo.com/3136317

No Impact Man project by Colin Beaven http://www.noimpactdoc.com

Spring 2010 12 th Schedule [SAVE THIS FOR REFERENCE!]

Week 1 January 4 - 7Lab norms, fle management, servers, DP study groups.

Week 2 January 10 - 14DP Overhaul Project, Design Process & Design principles/elements

Week 3 January 18 - 21 (No school 1/17, MLK, Jr. Holiday) DP showcase & debrief. DP Update #1 link due, emailed by 1/21

Week 4 January 24 - 27 (No school 1/28, internship visits)Intro to Remix & Memes mini-project.

Week 5 January 31 - February 4Remix & Memes mini project research & production*Independent Project handoutWeek 6 February 7 - 11Remix & Memes mini project exhibition/wall display up 2/8DP Update #2 link due, emailed by 2/11

Week 7 February 14 - 17 (2/16 late start; 2/18 career day) Food Project w/ Urban Ecology begins

Week 8 February 22 – 25 (No school 2/21, president's day)

Food Project w/ Urban Ecology

Week 9 February 28 – March 4Food Project w/ Urban Ecology

Week 10 March 8 – 11 (No school 3/7, staff day, SLC's 3/9) DP Update #3, w/ Indep. proposal due 3/8, by beginning of class, emailed.Senior Project proposal review meetings w/ Doug

Week 11 March 14 – 18 Revised proposal review meeting, production & work time.

*** Immersion Week & Spring Break March 21 – April 8 ***

Week 12 April 12 – 15 (No school 4/11, staff day) Independent Project production time.

Week 13 April 18 – 22 Independent Project production time.

Week 14 April 25 – 29 Independent Project production time.

Week 15 May 2 – 5 (No school 5/6, foating holiday) Independent Project Exhibition, Updating DP & preparation for endersession.

Week 16 May 9 – 13 Cleaning up desktops, archiving work to 'My Docs' and Publishing to DP.

*This Schedule & Syllabus is subject to revision*