Multimedia (COMU1140)

Write an individually written 500-600 word written analysis of an existing transmedia storyworld or brand of your choosing. The case study must, however, intentionally exist across at least three different media platforms (i.e. The Handmaid's Tale is a television series, a graphic novel, and novels). So including Tolkien's books in your analysis of Lord of the Rings does not count, however you could choose to concentrate on the synergies among the films, the tours, and the video games, etc. Your case study must be different from those discussed in class thus far. So if you don't come to tutorials, you might miss an example that was discussed. The analysis must use concepts covered in the first two weeks of content and in tutorials to address the following questions:

1. What are the key narrative elements? What is difference between the basic story elements and the way they are told? In doing so, you need to employ the narrative terms introduced in the first few weeks.
2. How are these narrative elements dispersed across multiple media platforms?
3. What is the underlying logic to this dispersal, i.e. which narrative elements become pronounced in which medium and how is this informed by medium specificity. This is the most heavily weighted component of the essay so spend a lot of time showing your critical thinking and analytical abilities. This is a matter of deep and clever thinking so put aside time for this aspect. 

Please use RTF, PDF or WORD formats. The analysis can be divided into sections provided that you clearly demonstrate an understanding of how different media and narrative elements speak to each other. Any work suspected of plagiarism will be referred to the Integrity Officer for investigation. Please return to the academic integrity module that you were required to complete for further direction and reminders of what plagiarism is. It is still plagiarism if you commit it unknowingly and it may be penalised. 

This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI or MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and if used may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Pitch: Students will work in groups, virtually or otherwise, of around three for this assessment to create and pitch a transmedia storyworld or brand (either fictional or nonfictional) that exists across as many platforms as there are people in that group. The storyworld must also truly be transmedial. It can’t be the same plot and narrative content told the same way across different media platforms. In other words, the storyworld elements distributed across different media platforms must respond to and capitalise on the medium specificity of each media or platform technology they are paired with. NO stock images or footage are not allowed with the exception of scoring and website templates. However, any imagery on the website must be original. Any stock imagery appearing in presentation or in media outputs will result in a poor or failing mark. The use of fully AI generated images, audio, or video is not permitted. However, you may use AI tools that are included as a program function within the Adobe suite (eg. using Photoshop's AI tool to edit an object out of the background of a photograph you have taken). This does not include the use of stock images from the Adobe Stock library.

The pitch may take a variety of forms: It can be an industry style or you can pitch it as you would to your peers in your classroom; it can be formal, and it can be semi-formal. This pitch will take place in class in your group and the entire pitch length should allot a maximum of 2 minutes per individual. Each person in the group must present what they created and explain how it connects with the overall group idea. Their media output must indicate that they’ve been in contact with their group members and the output must connect with the group concept in terms aesthetic and conceptual continuity.

Portfolio: Each person in the group is responsible for producing at media portfolio of creative and original work using the Adobe Suite flagship programs (Photoshop, Premier Pro, Audition, Illustrator, InDesign) because it is the industry standard. It must contribute to the group project in a creative way. The portfolio needs to give people an idea about what the storyworld is about and how it is transmedial. It can use a variety of different media: drawing and illustration, still photography, posters explaining how the world is distributed across platforms or posters showing a plotline using graphic design principles, audio-visual material including video or music. You can write and perform a song, or make a soundscape. It needs to capture the storyworld characters or world or narrative in some way shape or form. If you sew, it can even be a costume. We are open to your ideas. The individual portfolio must capture people’s imagination and explain the storyworld in some way and reflect that you thought about it and worked on it. That is what is important. It should not be thrown together last minute or feel “half-cooked.” All media must be made during the course of this class. You cannot repurpose old vacation photos, etc.

Some people may decide to share credit for a jointly produced piece of media. If this is the case, then approach your tutor for further guidance on how to each get credit for the portfolio. Each person is responsible for submitting their own materials that they want marked on Blackboard. If there is a group produced output then each member of that group needs to submit the same item in order for it to be marked. 

Examples of adequately substantial individual media portfolios as the midsemester stage are:

• A teaser trailer or "proof of concept" video (10sec or so) of your full length trailer that you plan on making for the final
• 1 Photoshopped poster that includes text and image. No stock imagery.
• 2 to 3 Photoshopped photographic images that are original.
• A series (2-3) of hand-draw illustrations that show substantial iteration and work. No stick figures. We advise that this only be done by students who demonstrate a skill in illustration at the start. 
• A short (10-15 sec) podcast trailer that is edited in Audition complete with scoring.
• Two to three InDesign or Photoshopped prototype screens of an app.
• A mock up Instagram or Pinterest account that includes a diversity of different types of posts with original media. Pictures and graphics in this case should indicate a substantial amount of work in design and execution. If you liked the mood board LinkedIn Learning video, you might want to consider a Pinterest account or social media account that is design-focused.

Statement: If you choose, you may submit a brief statement with your portfolio if you feel that anything needs explaining, including group work dynamics and challenges. This is also the place to state that you've used the AI features embedded in these programs and these programs only: Photoshop, Illustrator, Premier Pro, Audition, InDesign.

Missing the group pitch without communicating with tutors beforehand and without appropriate reason will result in an automatic fail for your group component of the midterm. Please note that vacations or other work commitments are not acceptable excuses for missing this presentation date.

Recording of Oral and Practical Assessment:

• All presentations will be recorded for marking purposes via recording facilities available where the assessment takes place (eg. ECHO360, Zoom, camera device)
• Recordings will be retained by the School of Communication and Arts for at least 12 months from the release of the final grade for the course.
• Recordings will be stored in a secure manner and will only be accessed by authorised school staff for the purposes of:
• Moderation of marking;
• Provision of feedback to the student(s) recorded; and/or
• Re-marking following a successful re-mark application

AI Policy:

This course teaches media production and is meant to emphasise a DIY type of learning. This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students are advised that the use of Al technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. Artificial Intelligence is not permitted in any of the assessments. This includes the AI features embedded in the Adobe programs. Artificial intelligence for producing any of the writing in this course or any of its media is strictly prohibited.

This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and if used will constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Pitch: Students will work in the same groups for this assessment to create and pitch a transmedia storyworld or brand (either fictional or nonficitonal) that exists across at least as many media platforms as there are people in the group and it must be truly transmedial. It can’t be the same plot told the same way across different media platforms. In other words, the storyworld elements distributed across different media platforms must respond to and capitalize on the medium specificity of each media technology they are paired with. In addition, your project must take into account and justify how it wants to treat the user and create pathways for user generated content. Your final pitch must meet the following criteria:

The group pitch should allot no more than 2-3 minutes per student and these will take place on campus.

At this stage, we are expecting you to gesture toward user engagement in your pitch and how you will foster active audience participation above and beyond just "following" or "watching." Please see the material covered on the course website for an idea of what participation is. This will also be covered in tutorials. 

The final pitch must introduce what your storyworld is about, what your media platform is contributing to the overall idea, what kind of audience you have in mind, what opportunities they have for participation, how that participation is active not passive, and lastly, what you made and why.

Portfolio: At this stage, the individual portfolio should be more robust and fleshed out, to be negotiated with your tutor in an ongoing manner. The portfolio should contain new media developed since the midterm that grows and pushes the project concept further. No stock images or templates or footage are allowed with the exception of music and websites. The use of fully AI generated images, audio, or video is not permitted. However, you may use AI tools that are included as a program function within the Adobe suite (eg. using Photoshop's AI tool to edit an object out of the background of a photograph you have taken). You just cannot use any AI generated images, sound or video. This includes the use of stock images from the Adobe Stock library. Students may also only use images made in this course, meaning past photographs from vacation do not count. Some people may decide to share credit for a jointly produced piece of media. If this is the case, then approach your tutor for further guidance on how to each get credit for the portfolio. Each person is responsible for submitting their own materials that they want marked on Blackboard. If there is a group produced output then each member of that group needs to submit the same item in order for it to be marked. All media must be newly made. You cannot repurpose old vacation photos for example.

Examples of acceptable portfolios include: 

• One 5 minute podcast episode that is edited with sound (this may be shared among three students as their individual output).
• One 1 to 2 minute movie or television trailer (this may be shared among three students as their individual output).
• A series of 10 Photoshopped photographs. No stock images.
• A prototype of the product you are designing with packaging – all designed in the Adobe suite.
• Two designed book jackets with a front, back and spine design using the Adobe Creative Suite.
• Two pages of a graphic novel put together in Photoshop. All artwork must be original and cannot use an illustration programme that uses templates. I'd advise this option should only be for people with digital or hand-drawn illustration skills.
• A series of three new posters that are well designed in the Adobe suite.
• A website using Wix or another template generator but all images are original and made through the Adobe suite. If dreamweaver is used then just the homepage is necessary. 
• An audio recording of a sound scape or scoring that is 2 minutes long and edited in Audition.
• A series of 8 hand-drawn illustrations that are altered through Adobe software. Please see your tutor beforehand if you want to do this. This should only be done by students who are highly skilled in illustration.
• One prototype of at least 5 screen shots of an app done in Indesign or AdobeXD.
• All social media accounts must include at least 15 new posts. 10 of the posts must include original and Photoshopped photography. The remaining posts can include graphics. Where applicable, they must include an originally designed banner and logo. They must also include attempts to gain traction or accrue audiences in some shape or form.

Peer Assessment: The student must write and submit a 200-word statement that addresses the group dynamics: How was work distributed in the team and was this successful? Was anyone uncollaborative and if so, how did you handle this? What were you personally responsible for and what did you do? Did you do someone else's work? What were the struggles you encountered? What could you have done differently? This should be handed in via word document alongside the media outputs. 

Media Strategy Statement: In addition, the student provides a 200-word “media strategy document” to be turned in via Blackboard that describes the rationale behind their final submission and how it connects to the larger project. The rationale should accurately capture what the student’s approach to their component of the final project and the rationale should be carefully considered and clearly translate to their creative work. This can be placed in the same word document as the Peer Assessment. The statement should also detail how the project connects with the lecture and course material. 

Missing the group pitch without communicating with tutors beforehand and without appropriate reason will result in an automatic failing for your group component of the midterm. Please note that vacations or other work commitments are not acceptable excuses for missing this presentation date.

Recording of Oral and Practical Assessment:

• All presentations will be recorded for marking purposes via recording facilities available where the assessment takes place (eg. ECHO360, Zoom, camera device)
• Recordings will be retained by the School of Communication and Arts for at least 12 months from the release of the final grade for the course.
• Recordings will be stored in a secure manner and will only be accessed by authorised school staff for the purposes of:
• Moderation of marking;
• Provision of feedback to the student(s) recorded; and/or
• Re-marking following a successful re-mark application

AI Policy:

This course teaches media production and is meant to emphasize a DIY type of learning. This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students are advised that the use of Al technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. Artificial Intelligence is not permitted in any of the assessments and this includes any AI features in the Adobe Creative Suite. Artificial intelligence for producing any of the writing in this course or any of its media is strictly prohibited.

This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and if used will constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.