NM3230 - Digital Storytelling Review
NM3230
Taken in: AY21/22 Semester 2
Lecturer: Sarah-Tabea Sammel (3h Seminar-style)
- 20% - Participation
- 30% - Midterm Quiz
- 50% - Final Project
This is the module where you'll learn to produce a short video to tell a story, learn Adobe Premier Pro, and it'll culminate in a final project that's a 2-minute video for an industry client. You'll learn a few things, including technical stuff like camera terms (What is exposure, shutter speed, etc), video production from start to finish: production (admin stuff), framing, composing, shooting, and editing video.
Along the way, there are also a few theory, storytelling classes that border into film studies. This includes analysing snippets of film and reflecting on how certain techniques were used. There's also some coverage on the structure of a linear story. Basically, lectures were not all "PREMIER PRO VIDEOGRAPHY SCHOOL", though I'd say that is the key takeaway and the main focus.
I'd say this is one of the more common/popular NM mods that is quite interdisciplinary as well, as basic video production is a good skill to have. I had used Premier Pro before, but I benefitted from learning about good practices, certain theory and techniques, that I didn't know when I self-taught Premier Pro.
I think this is a pretty decent module to take for those who have never touched video production. It's quite lightweight in workload and isn't particularly high-level or difficult. I also enjoy Prof Sammel's teaching style, she's very kind. There are very few components, but they're large in weightage, which can be good or bad; you have defined areas to focus on but if you screw up it's hard to recover. The final project also doesn't take very long to do, considering its 2-min duration, but one-person video production is never easy, especially for a newbie, plus you have to use your own equipment (Phone was recommended for video). I would recommend this for students coming from JC track or who have not done video production before.
Personally though, I do feel like I shouldn't have taken this module. I'm not one who enjoys much theory, especially not for something as hands-on as videography. I also already had some experience with video production. What did help was learning things I should/shouldn't do, but this didn't really justify taking a whole module in the end. This view may be biased: I did fuck up the final project which tanked my grade. And I feel that was not worth in exchange for what I learned in this module. Still, it's not a bad module! I just didn't do well in it myself and didn't have much to take away from it either.
If you are confident in this kind of stuff already (Like if you did media in Poly), then you probably won't learn anything new. According to my friends, this is not a bad module, but also isn't fully reflective of the industry. For that, I'd imagine you'd have to take the follow up module: NM4321 Advanced Digital Storytelling (But even then, I expect you gain more experience doing media internship). I know for a fact there are people who have done video production (in Poly or past jobs) still taking this module. Is that a guaranteed A? Well, I know of one person. Obviously you'll have an advantage if you already know everything the module has to teach.
Note: Classes were quite different compared to previous semesters. This time round, class was split into two 3-hour seminars with NO tutorial, and seminars were either on Wednesday or Thursday. I think this was an experimental arrangement, and I'm not sure if classes may go back to normal Lecture-Tutorial style next time. I was in the Thursday timeslot, and to be frank, that was very advantageous, because we knew what to expect based on the Wednesday class.
The seminar-style classes might have made it harder to earn that 20% class participation. My friends noted that they participated a lot during tutorials which helped get a high grade. This time round, it may have been harder to do the same in the seminar. Pain.
Breakdown of Components
Midterm Quiz
So this is one of the major components, weighing in at 30%, and it's held on... Kahoot! Well, I guess if it ain't broke, don't fix it. In this midterm quiz, you'll be tested on everything from week 1 to 6, which includes technical stuff like camera keywords (ISO, Shutter speed, etc), but also more theoretical stuff like rule of thirds and 180-rule.
Honestly, this quiz isn't all that hard. There's time pressure on each question, but it's more than enough time to come up with an answer. Oh, and it's Kahoot so it's all MCQ. The grades aren't released so take note of the number of questions you got right at the end of the quiz if it matters. It's not graded on time (Kahoot score), just the questions you got right. Some are worth more marks than others.
I should mention that this test is closed-book, but is not proctored. No open camera, mic, etc on Zoom, nothing. Do with this information what you will. Of course, but there is a high chance some will cheat. Considering the heavy weightage, I wouldn't blame them. This is between you and your integrity. This all might change when lectures go back to face-to-face, however.
Class Participation
Coming in at a whopping 20%, class participation is composed of some weekly assignments, some of them you have to watch a short clip and analyse it (How it uses sound, composition, etc). Some weeks you had to reflect on a reading (Boy this caused some of us to scramble - me included).
Final Project
The final project is a 2-minute Interview video based on the chosen industry client. For my semester, it was NEA. We each were assigned (Not by choice) a topic which we had to produce a video on, in which you "interview" yourself. I chose the topic of "1 meter rising sea level", and had to pitch my idea to the Prof and get comments and approval. The concepts can be very simple, like "NUS Student wants to learn about the causes behind the predicted rising sea levels and how it will affect Singapore's infrastructure".
We're given quite a lot of time for this project, imo. Pitching was in Week 10, and I didn't get approval so I had to re-do and get approved in Week 11. Afterwards, I didn't touch the project until Week 13, because I had too many other projects to settle. Then I just filmed, edited, and produced my final video in 2 days. It could be better, but I really didn't have the time to work on it too much.
Some things the project requires: You are expected to use B-roll, and you can take it yourself or use FREE B-roll footage online. You can use some amount of footage that you shot previously. You must colour correct, but no need to colour grade. You should also balance the audio. Subtitles are encouraged, and titles should be visible, recommended is text against a translucent rectangle. All very basic stuff.
Final Note
I don't know if my final video is any good since it was rather rushed and the remarks I got weren't very positive. Apparently I did something which Prof said not to do, but I obviously couldn't remember that among 13 weeks of lecture. I'd say there are is a slim window for feedback. I started my project later so I didn't consult Prof during lecture time.
I did reasonably okay for the Kahoot quiz, and I participated quite a bit, so I think I should be set for the other components. Since the project is 50%, I believe I have tanked my grades, wasting my time in this module in which I could've done better.
Expected grade: B+
Actual grade: B+
Alas, as expected, my final project likely pulled my grade down.
Reviewed by: ZH
Comments
Post a Comment