Author: Rachael

“Pitching” a project idea seems like an appropriate thing to do, now that baseball season has just started!  If you’re unsure what I am asking you to do, here’s a bit more guidance to help you prepare for tomorrow.

Please tell us about an idea (relevant to college students or a local community) that you think would be KILLER for Project 4. Your pitch should be 1-2 minutes long, or approximately 200-250 words if that helps you estimate how much content to prepare. Please practice your pitch before class and use notes if it helps you remember what you want to say! No one cares if you refer to notes as long as you seem organized, but people get annoyed when you ramble off the top of your head. Avoid reading your pitch verbatim, but reading is better than rambling. You can use a few slides if you’d like — create them in Google Slides or Prezi and share them with me. Also, please post your pitch as a paragraph in the correct Blackboard discussion forum.

Here is a possible outline for your oral-delivery pitch:

1. Tell a brief story about this issue: how you learned about it, what’s your role/stake in it, why you started to care about it, or something like that.
2. Explain the issue concisely: what is it? what’s the background or history of the problem?
3. Outcomes: how could your group’s work on this issue improve the lives of others or make the world better in a small (or big!) way?
4. Ask if anyone has questions about your idea.

Each of these points would be just three or four sentences! Remember, it takes about two minutes to say 200-250 words aloud.

TIPS:

• You can’t plan for much right now. You have no clue who your group is or how the topic might change down the line. For now, you are just trying to think of an opening into an issue that deserves more attention, a problem/concern relevant to college students or a community in Philadelphia. Think of something that will be inviting to a group of college students in Philadelphia.
• Do a little research. Check out regional, neighborhood, and campus news sources. Think about needs that are not being met, either at SJU or in the city, and research the issue to see if there is any history on it. Think about trends that seem destructive or alarming — do some research to see what other people or groups are trying to reverse that trend and why.
• Think about what matters to you, but also what could/should matter to a community or group.  How do we live together well? How can we live together better?

For class this Wednesday, please upload a draft of your video to the correct Blackboard forum. First you will need to export the video. I recommend exporting it as .mp4 or .m4v. In iMovie, if you click Share > File, you can select .mp4 as an option. The video does not have to be exactly 60 seconds for this first draft — but it should be very close! In class on Wednesday, we will watch the videos and offer feedback as a class. Here are some questions we can consider:

• What is this video trying to do or communicate?
• Is there a title frame with the author’s name? Is there a credits frame?
• Does all text stay on the screen long enough for viewers to read it?
• What editing techniques can you identify? What about sound?
• How is the volume? Is speech audible? Does background music seem too loud? Is the choice of sound appropriate for what’s being shown on screen?
• How would you describe the mise-en-scene (the setting or scenery, including LIGHTING) and cinematography (movement and position of the camera)?
• Are there any opportunities to strengthen the video’s message through editing, mise-en-scene, cinematography, or through other sound choices?

Also, just a heads-up: I posted Project 4 (the FINAL PROJECT!) guidelines last week. Now is a good time to check them out, especially if you wrap up your Project 3 draft early.