DMA 535 Storytelling Across Media
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Summary
This course introduces students to the theory and practice of multi-modal storytelling, i.e. the strategic use of two or more communication modes to make meaning, such as image, gesture, music, spoken and written language. While the application areas of storytelling may remain the same – from artistic expression to advertising, PR, journalism, documentary, activism and other persuasive forms, our means of meaning making are changing dramatically due to technological innovation, availability of digital media production tools, and the potential of immediate and universal online publication. Changing technological affordances demand an increased media literacy that includes a deep understanding of the specific strengths and weaknesses of various communication modes and their manifestation in digital media formats, so we can leverage them intentionally to create impactful, cohesive and emotionally compelling multi-model texts and trans-media stories.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, you will:
- Understand the core elements and components of narrative and storytelling.
- Gain awareness and familiarity with the current media ecology of transmedia storytelling.
- Gain hands-on experience in narrative storytelling through in-class projects.
- Gain hands-on experience in translating narrative into different media manifestations and formats.
- Develop a final portfolio project.
Texts
Materials & Resources
Further Reading:
Storytelling Theory and Practice:
- Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting, Robert McKee, ReganBooks, 1997
- Storycraft, Second Edition: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction, Jack Hart, University of Chicago Press, 2021
Storytelling Across Media:
- A Creator’s Guide to Transmedia Storytelling: How to Captivate and Engage Audiences Across Multiple Platforms, Andrea Phillips, McGraw Hill, 2012
- The Visual Story: Creating the Visual Structure of Film, TV and Digital Media (3rd Ed.), Bruce Block, Routledge, 2020
- Vision: Color and Composition for Film, Hans P. Bascher, Sanatan Suryavanshi, Lawerence King Publishing, 2018
- Design is Storytelling, Ellen Lupton, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 2017
- Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming, Anthony Dunne, Fiona Raby, The MIT Press, 2013
Media Theory:
This syllabus is subject to change as necessary during the quarter. If a change occurs, it will be thoroughly addressed during class, posted under Announcements in D2L and sent via email.
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have any questions be sure to consult with your professor.
All students are expected to abide by the University's Academic Integrity Policy which prohibits cheating and other misconduct in student coursework. Publicly sharing or posting online any prior or current materials from this course (including exam questions or answers), is considered to be providing unauthorized assistance prohibited by the policy. Both students who share/post and students who access or use such materials are considered to be cheating under the Policy and will be subject to sanctions for violations of Academic Integrity.
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