INF203 Digital Storytelling 2024
Outline
Coursework for the Digital Storytelling course comprises one Digital Story (submitted during the Week 11 workshops), and accompanying Individual Report component, whic h is a written work submitted in Week 12 through Turnitin using Blackboard. The overall contribution of the coursework to the final grade for the course is 100% (40% for the Digital Story and 60% for the report) . The aim of the coursework is to assess your skills in designing and producing a multimedia digital story. The thought process in designing the digital story application or Shorthand piece should apply concepts taught in the lectures and practical sessions, such as navigation, storyboarding and animation. Specifically, the coursework aims to address the following learning objectives:
• Develop a prototype Digital Story in the form of an application or digital story created in Adobe
Animate or Shorthand (or an agreed alternative – please email the module coordinator to confirm if you choose this option) – 40%
• Report on designing the Adobe Animate or Shorthand application or digital story. This will
demonstrate use of digital media to tell a story, you will need to storyboard (perhaps using
‘Storyboard That9) this development - and use theory to justify your choices (2000 words) – 60%
Task Description
You are required to develop a digital story that will convey (communicate or educate) a ‘news’ story
using a variety of digital media. You can select any story you like but be aware that the bigger the story (e.g. internationally-known or longer running) the more media content you are likely to find (e.g. images, sounds, videos and infographics) . Please ensure you use media assets that are free from copyright where possible. It is recommended that you select a story that interests you or that you have a personal connection with (some generic news examples are shown in table 1). Further good sources of news stories are Google News Archive, the newspaper archive, Animated Infographics, BBC News, British Pathe and Wikipedia. Please also look at examples of personal storytelling that have been presented in the lectures.
Fall of communism (1989) Columbine massacre (1999)
Rosetta Probe (2014) O.J. Simpson (1994-95)
9/11 terrorist attacks (2001) Death of Diana (1997)
War in Syria (2014-ongoing) Asian tsunami (2004)
Brexit (2016-williteverend) Challenger explosion (1986)
Death of Nelson Mandela (2013) Turkish Earthquake (2023)
#MeToo Movement (2017) Paris terrorist attacks (2015)
Chernobyl disaster (1986) Pan Am Flight 103 (1988)
American Elections (2016) Weinstein Trial (2017-2020)
Covid-19 (2020) Hurricane Katrina (2005)
Anonymous hacks (2022) Ukraine Invasion (2022)
Table 1. Expanded from example news stories (source:http://www.usatoday.com/news/top25-headlines.htm)
Once you have selected a story, you must design a resource that will enable a reader/viewer to explore the story and your chosen narrative in an innovative and/or interactive way. You should present a summary of the entire story/news event, but focus on smaller parts of the story that you might have a personal connection to or find more interesting. You can use any sources of online news and media, but list them all in your report. You should also include detailed references to any media / text files that you source for your digital story (these should be source links presented on a references page) . For an example of the many different ways to digitally enhance a narrative, check out work by Immersive Storytellers Peel X - https://peelx.co.uk/why-is-digital-storytelling-important/#section26.
Requirements of the Shorthand or Animate Digital Story (40%)
This part of the assessment is to create a working Adobe Animate/Shorthand story application which reflects the design outlined in your report. The focus is not on the artistic content of the application/story; rather on the demonstration of the criteria outlined below. The digital story should demonstrate a basic working knowledge of Adobe Animate or Shorthand.
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Criteria
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Marks
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Description
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Appropriate use of
animation / media for topic/story
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10
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The digital story must include at least one animation or video which
illustrates an aspect of the news story. The animation can provide varying levels of user control such as start and stop. One of the main things is not to overuse animation or video as this can become very distracting for the user.
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Handling of media
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10
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The digital story should include a range of media content such as text,
graphics, sounds and perhaps video clips. Suitable media should be selected and manipulated for the application (e.g. re-sized, reduced in file size to load faster) . Appropriate use of media should be made in the project, please try and use a personal approach where possible – create your own content if
time permits.
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Synchronisation
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15
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The digital story should demonstrate the use of the Timeline (Animate) or
scrolling (Shorthand) to synchronise elements such as different media (e.g.
audio soundtrack playing at correct time as image sequence) . The
synchronisation between media and text elements should be appropriate and well-executed.
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Structure of content and alignment with narrative
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10
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The digital story should demonstrate the division of content (the news story itself, media elements) into logical units (also called chapters or chunks) . This should provide a coherent structure for the content.
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Logical screen layout
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10
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The digital story should demonstrate a good and logical screen layout. This includes good balance, sequence, proportion, emphasis and unity.
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Non-linear navigation through content
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10
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To facilitate interactivity, the digital story should demonstrate multiple paths to the same information, allowing the user to select their own way through
the news story (non-linear navigation) . Suitable navigation aids should be provided for the user (e.g. hyperlinks) and these should be clear (e.g. have mouseover labels, embedded links or linked media) .
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About page
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5
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The digital story should include an about page. This will include a list of
credits (i.e. student name and registration number), the tools used in creating the application, and the date of creation.
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Usabilityt
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15
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The application should demonstrate good usability practices. For example, the Animate application should be easy to use, easy to navigate, easy to
learn, provide suitable response times, provide control for the user, provide the user with suitable feedback (e.g. indicate when the application is
processing) and be accessible (i.e. for the intended user group) .
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Look &
feel/presentation
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10
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The digital story should demonstrate suitable look and feel, such as in the
choice of fonts, the use of colour schemes, the quality of media presentation, and the consistency and simplicity of the design.
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Exporting Animate / Publishing Shorthand digital story
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5
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The digital story should demonstrate the publishing/exporting of the
application for use by an end user (e.g. to HTML or web-based delivery) .
Please also indicate any intended use scenarios and audiences in your report.
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Total Marks
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Out
of 100
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