Intro to Visual Journalism Fall 2016

Course Overview

This course serves as your introduction to video journalism. There is no question that the modern journalist requires a platform-agnostic mindset, along with a broad set of multi-platform news-gathering skills and fluency in the current tools while also upholding the timeless journalistic standards of news judgment, accuracy, fairness and truth.

In this course , you will build upon the basic skills presented in the New Media Bootcamp and walk away with a solid proficiency in what it takes to create high-quality, video stories that utilize core journalistic values that, even in a changing media landscape, remain the industry’s bedrock professional standards.

This fall semester class meets twice a week as a required course for all first-year students. The course is structured around 3 modules:

Proficiency in several technical production skills that are critical to the editorial process of video storytelling.
Pitching, reporting, producing, writing and structuring the 2-minute video story.
Production, on deadline, of a short video story

Modules at a glance:

Module 1 — Technical Sessions: Proficiency in Adobe Premiere editing software and camera/sound/lighting skills
Module 2 — Story telling skills: pitching, field producing, story structure
Module 3 — Story production based on approved pitches and with faculty guidance as senior producers.

Course Objective

In this course, you will learn the basic skills of producing compelling visual stories and walk away with a solid proficiency in what it takes to create high-quality, video and photo stories that utilize core journalistic values that, even in a changing media landscape, remain the industry’s bedrock professional standards.

Learning Outcomes

Students will explore the topic of video journalism both critically and practically through readings, critical thought, and practical, hands-on exercises with tools and technologies of video making.

Students will conclude the course with a focused base of visual journalism knowledge that they can use as a foundation for other courses at the J-School, as well as the basis for effective and informed ‘newsroom’ discourse.

Goals

Explain the value of telling stories with video.
Identify style differences in storytelling for video.
Recognize industry standard story structures.
Produce a compelling, portfolio worthy short video narrative.