Social Promotion Package

The Big Idea:

Use Adobe Premiere to develop a package bringing together text (spoken or via captions), images and sound (either soundbites or your voiceover) that introduces us to your project. You have the option to include video, as well. Think of this as the “movie trailer” for your IS project and picture it being shared on social media to drive people to your site. 

This could take several directions. You could tell us what inspired you to tackle this project, what you learned along the way, how you put together the project or a combination of all these aspects. It also could look closer to an advertisement for your project designed to go viral. Be discerning, however. Your goal is to hook the audience, so they’ll want to explore your site and read your work. The most surefire way to do well on this assignment is to think about it now as you start your project and to work on it throughout. 

The Nitty Gritty:

The package should be 60 seconds to 2 minutes long. As always, 5 seconds of wiggle room but -5 points for each second over/under after that. You must also provide an error-free transcript of your package for your TA and credit information for all photos should be included in the video, either as captions throughout or at the end of the package.

You will upload your package to either YouTube or Vimeo. This will allow you to embed the package on your final IS website. 

When you turn in your package, you must upload to Canvas a document featuring the link (either to YouTube or Vimeo) to your package and a transcript.

Take Note:

This is not a rehash of either your text story or audio piece. Think of your audience. Who would want to watch a piece that merely retells something they’ve already read or heard?

 

FAQ

Can I mix photos and video to create my package?

Yes.

Where should I get the photos or video?

Ideally you’ll take them yourself. If you can’t, then you should look for photos that are free to use with credit, such as Creative Commons, advanced Google Image search, Unsplash and the UW-Madison photo library. The creators of the images and video must be credited at the end of the video in addition to on your source list. If you want to use an image or photo that’s not free for you to use, you can’t use it unless you get permission from whoever created it.

Can I use background music in my slideshow? 

Find that answer here or here.

Do you have any examples from past students?

Sure — this one is by Mckenzie Halling.

My source feels uncomfortable being recorded. Can they write down their answers to the questions and then read them while I record, so they don’t feel self-conscious about screwing up the wording?

No. You need to find a way to make your source feel comfortable. Having your source read from a script, beyond being awkward and obvious on the recording, is unethical. There is no way for the listener to know that you or someone else didn’t write the script for the source to read. It’s important for the listener to know the source was providing their own perspective, in their own words. If we find you’ve done this, you will receive a zero on this assignment and an F for the IS segment of your grade.

Some Inspirations

Your IS Social Promotion Package asks you to introduce your story using a mix of audio and visuals. You can see this practice across media though they generally take two forms: a preview or a behind-the-story.

Previews

Like what you see before a feature film, previews generally give you a glimpse of what’s to come in the story and why you might want to listen. Several podcasts have taken this approach. Some use interview clips and natural sound to engage the audience. Others (notably the New Yorker Radio Hour podcast) describe the show and discuss what you’ll hear in that season. Here’s some inspiration for the audio that you might pair with a slideshow:

To take this approach for your audio slideshow think about:

  • Do you have the images to match with your audio script?
  • What is the big picture story that you tell on your site? How can you convey that story to your audience while making them want to learn more? You don’t want to give away the whole story, but you want to give enough info that the viewer would be interested.
  • What are some of the most compelling points of your IS?
  • How can you best capture and highlight a theme of your project? For example, this might be natural sound from game day for a story on football.
  • Based on what you are pulling together, would you as an audience want to look through your own site? Putting the shoe on the other foot is an important strategy for editing.

Behind-the-Story

The Behind the Story takes a meta-approach to a project: it looks at how the project was made. This can focus in on one unique element of the project. For example, Behind the Bars below narrows in on the character Suzanne from ‘Orange is the New Black.’ You can also talk about what inspired you to tackle this topic (e.g., Sainsbury or Carrie Underwood below) and/or the execution itself (e.g., New York Times Story Behind the Story or Pixar Inside Out). Regardless of what you pick, though, the audio slideshow assignment is short so it should be focused.

For this approach, be sure to think about:

  • Do you have visuals to fit with this narrative?
  • Can you say what you need given the time constraints (1-2 minutes)? Or, in other words, is your piece sufficiently focused?
  • This package is not a rehash of either your text story or audio piece. Think of your audience. Who would want to watch a slideshow that merely retells something they’ve already read or heard?
  • Does using your own story make this story more compelling? You’ll also want to avoid making the story seem biased.

Tips:

  • Think about what images you might need for your package now.
  • Think about potential angles you’ll use and begin recording natural sound and other audio for it.
  • As you are sorting through your material, think about what quotes or snippets might be best for this piece.

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