PLANNING & DRAFTING New Media Projects | Digital Writing 101

RELATED RESOURCES: The RIGHT Way to Save Images from the Web How to Make Your Images Web-Ready POP QUIZ! Of the following statements, can you spot the only one that’s …

Every writer has heard the phrase “show, don’t tell,” but figuring out exactly what that means can take a while. This guide provides a strategy for deciding what to show …

Understanding Shots and Scenes Understanding Shots In the context of cinematic storytelling, a “shot” is a short clip of visuals in motion that you plan to cut together with other …

The resources below help you learn more about using writing to plan a visual project. But before you try these strategies, make to explore the variety of cinematic techniques available …

Criteria for “Final Cut” Quality Definition: A “final cut” is the filmmaking equivalent of a writing project that’s ready to publish and distribute to audiences, which means that it’s gone …

Before you start thinking about how to bring your story “alive” via multimedia, make sure you actually have a good story to tell. A compelling story told through stick figure …

For the sake of simplicity, I merged the info from this page into the one I originally created for finding reusable images. Follow this link: GUIDE – Finding Images & …

NOTE: This page refers primarily to making a storyboard that’s meant to serve as “proof of concept” for a visual project you don’t have the time or resources to create …

I’ve been telling my students that writing is a “design art” for a while now, as a way of conveying that rhetorically effective writing is about more than stringing words …

STEP 1: ROUGH DRAFT If you’d like to produce an audio essay, the first step is to write a rough draft the same way you would for any other kind …

NOTE: I wrote the material below for a previous semester, when I asked all students to write synopses. If you decide to try writing a synopsis this semester, use the …

If you’re planning to develop a project that conveys a message visually, whether it has an audio narration or not, the traditional method of outlining may not be sufficient for …

About Digital Storytelling “Telling weak stories with technology is like giving a bad guitar player a bigger amplifier.” “Writing is the primary tool used to plan and create a digital …

This presentation isn’t about digital writing, per se, but it does show students how they might use some common digital tools to revise and improve their writing. General Tips for …

PROCESS Elements of Video Planning The core elements of video planning, regardless of approach, are: a synopsis, a script, an asset and/or shot list, and a storyboard, as described below: …

(I wrote this handout to address the value of planning a written project, but the the principles apply equally well to the value of planning a digital composition project.) Sometimes …

I want to introduce you to some strategies you can use to better understand and relate to material you’re reading about. These strategies can also be used to generate potential …

One key concept in the study of rhetoric is the rhetorical situation, which refers to the factors that influence the creation of a message. Broadly speaking, the rhetorical situation includes …

No matter what style or approach you want to use to tell your story, you’ll be following the same basic process that was first invented in the 1890’s: assembling a …

Try the following strategies to help you improve the structure for your papers or other types of writing. NEW: See these tips in presentation format on this post: General Tips …

ABOUT: If you’re most interested in helping your audience better understand particular issues or concepts, these approaches might be of interest. These approaches typically fall under one or both of …

ABOUT: If you’re most interested in analyzing artifacts from pop culture or in persuading viewers to rethink their ideas about certain issues, the approaches below might appeal to you. Pop …

ABOUT: If you’re most interested in sharing examples or observations from your own personal experience, the approaches below are your best bets. They’re all based on the genre of personal …