Final Project

Final project:  50% of your grade will be  your final project, which will be in two parts.  These projects may  be tied into other work you are doing.   E.g., for 2nd-year MIMS students, this is likely to be a part of your MIMS final presentation.

1. Media presentation.  You will produce a multi-media presentation of some kind and present it to the class.   I encourage you to use as many different media as possible, and as appropriate — don’t pile on media just for the sake of variety. But don’t play it too safe — this is a chance to experiment.

I highly recommend that you share work-in-progress with the class as we go along.  It can be useful to get feedback on various elements of your project along the way.  Sometimes people bring in images, audio or video clips, or short segments of the final compilation throughout the semester.  It can be very useful to get advice from people who aren’t living with your project the way you are.  At the very least, you should aim to have a rough cut (or part of one) to show the class before the final presentations.

Approximate length: 5 to 10 minutes. (10 minutes is long.)

2. Paper.  You will write a paper that accompanies your media project and draws on readings from the course. Your  project should  be informed by  what we’ve read and talked about.  And your media-making experience should help you understand (and critique) the readings.  I don’t expect you to do other research or a lit review. Instead, this is a chance to reflect on the readings and the project.

Draw on as many readings and topics as are appropriate. Don’t pull in unrelated material just to up your reference count.  But be careful that you don’t ignore useful readings, either.

Use the readings substantively, not superficially.  You should understand the readings and make incisive use of them; don’t just make vague references to them!

Approximate length: 5-10 pages single spaced.

Papers are due XXX, 5 pm. PDFs are to be emailed to me or posted online in a designated place.

Final versions of media presentations should be posted online at that same time.  We’ll decide where — Vimeo and YouTube are fine, but we may use a campus resource this year.  Make sure I have access to the video!  I need to see the videos (or other media) again, not just in class.  In the past, I have had to spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to track down videos and get access to them. Please! Not again!

  • I will NOT accept thumb drives — online only
  • I will NOT try to track you down if I try to access an online video and don’t have permission to view it. Any video that I can’t view is not turned in — period.