A free, open online course at MulinBlog Online J-School

(This syllabus is available for download by following this link)

Course instructor:  Mu Lin
Email: mlin@mulinblog.com
Twitter: @mututemple (Digital Journalism)
Blog: http://www.mulinblog.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mulinblogjschool

ABOUT THIS COURSE

This course is not designed solely for journalism students or media professionals; rather, it is aimed at absolute beginners who want to produce engaging visual stories using consumer equipment and free software programs – say, a story about this month’s “Employee of the Month” that you can post to your store’s Facebook page.

Audio slideshow storytelling is two tasks in one: a slideshow, and a story. In this class, you will learn two skills: how to create an audio slideshow, and how to tell a story using visual narrative techniques.

Producing an audio slideshow story is more than taking photos, recording sound and putting everything together – it takes journalistic training to know how to frame a photo, what photos to take, how to conduct an interview, what questions to ask, how to edit photo sequences, etc.

HOW THIS CLASS WORKS

• This course consists of five weekly modules; depending on complexity of the assignments, each module will take between one to three hours to complete.
• There is no required textbook for this course. Instead, this course makes use of selected online articles/tutorials as reading materials.
• You do not need to buy any software for this class; we’ll use two free software programs to edit audio (Audacity) and to create the slideshow (Soundslides).
• You do not need to buy any equipment, but you do need to have a smartphone, or a digital camera and audio recording devices.
• You need to have your own computer so that you can upload photos and audios, install software programs, and work on the editing.
• You need to have necessary computer operation knowledge: how to transfer photos from phone/camera to computer, install software, upload and download from the Internet, etc.
• For a satisfying learning experience for both you and your classmates, we ask that you work on the assignments and actively participate in class activities.
• A course completion certificate will be issued to students who satisfactorily complete all the required coursework.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE                                                                      

Course structure and contents will be updated periodically to reflect the best and most up-to-date industry practices. (Last updated in July 2014)

Week 1: How to conduct, record and share an audio interview

Learning objectives: After finishing this module, participants will be able to

• tell six reasons for conducting interview
• explain techniques to record noise-free interview audio
• tell what SoundCloud is and does
• use SoundCloud to host and share audio clips
• produce an audio interview

Activities:

• Conduct and record an interview
• Share uncut audio with the class
• Participate in peer-evaluation of audio interview
  

Week 2: How to take pro-style photos

Learning objectives: After finishing this module, participants will be able to

• explain what “rule of thrids” is
• examine a photo for proper headroom and lead room
• describe the basic camera shots
• describe the five types of shots for audio slideshow

Activities:

• Take a required quiz
• Take specified photos of a human subject and the location setting
• Participate in peer-evaluation of photo assignment
  

Week 3: How to edit audio and create slideshow

Learning objectives: After finishing this module, participants will be able to

• download/install Audacity and Soundslides
• edit audio using Audacity
• create audio slideshow using Soundslides

Activities:

• Download/install Audacity, study the tutorial, work on an exercise with supplied sample audio clips
• Download/install Soundslides, study the tutorial, work on an exercise with supplied sample materials
  

Week 4: How to edit a slideshow and share it on the web

Learning objective: After finishing this module, participants will be able to

• explain what photo sequencing is
• explain proper photo pacing and movement
• experiment with photo sequencing, pacing and movement techniques

Activities:

• Create an audio slideshow incorporating advanced editing techniques discussed in the lesson
• Share audio slideshow with the class
• Brainstorm story ideas for final project

Week 5: How to tell a story

Learning objective: After finishing this module, participants will be able to

• explain techniques for making a profile audio slideshow story
• construct open-ended questions for interview
• produce a profile story

Activities:

• Create a new audio slideshow that (a) is a well-produced audio slideshow and (b) tells a story