4.33@Tech Podcast Segment (35% / 350 points)
Deadlines
Episode pitches due in class on Google Drive on Thursday, July 13.
Storyboard Prezi presentations due in class for videotaping on Tuesday, July 18. (Submit Prezi links on T-square by 7 p.m.)
Podcast .mp3 with final script due on T-square by 7 p.m. on Monday, July 24.
Drafting due dates
Segment storyboard Prezi drafts due in class on Google Drive for peer review on Monday, July 17.
Podcast script drafts due in class on Google Drive for peer review on Thursday, July 20.
Task
For this assignment, you will develop a segment for an episode of4.33@Tech,a podcast about the sound of opportunity and creativity on Georgia Tech’s campus. In groups of 3–4, you will pitch an episode topic and write a proposal pitching your ideato the class. The class will conduct an editorial review of each pitch, weighing their strengths and weaknesses, and then select three episodes to send into production. Each group will then be responsible for producing a 4-minute segment for one of the three green-lit episodes. Each group will present its segment storyboard to the class in the form of a Prezi for editorial feedback. Each group will then refine the storyboard based on the feedback, prepare a script with production cues, and produce the polished segment to play for the class on Tuesday, July 25.
There are three components of this project:
1. a written proposal prepared collectively by the group and submitted on the Google share drive,
2. a group Prezi presentation of the segment storyboard to the class, and
3. a detailed script (including production cues) and podcast audio file.
Submission
Your episode pitch will be submitted for editorial review without peer review. Drafts of your storyboard presentation and podcast script should be submitted by classtime to the Google Drive on the dates given above (July 17 and July 20, respectively).
Each group will submit its written episode pitch for editorial review on July 13.
Each group will present its segment storyboard to the class on July 18.
Each group will submit its detailed script and podcast segment on T-square on July 24. Every member of the group will individually submit the same script and audio file.
Written Episode Pitch (100 points)
One member of the group must submit the collectively written episode pitch on Google Drive before class on Thursday, July 13.
Each group will come up with a concept for an episode of 4.33@Tech and write a proposal persuading the class to send its episode idea into production. The episode should focus on a distinctive sound that plays an important role in two creative/research communities at Tech. For example, an episode titled “Blow” might refer to the glassblowing shop and the Tech participants in the LIGO gravitational waves experiment. The proposal should be addressed to the rest of the class as though we are the team of podcast editors and producers responsible for 4.33@Tech. Your pitch should persuade us as editors and producers that your episode concept is both appropriate subject matter for a show about the soundscape of Tech and a unique perspective on that soundscape. The proposal should be 900-1,000 words and consist of three parts: 1) sound-related episode title and introduction; 2) community profile, focusing on its soundmark; 3) significance and appeal of episode to Georgia Tech audience, primarily undergraduates.
The introduction should deliver the concept in a memorable nutshell. It should include the title of the episode, the soundmarks revealed in the episode, and the communities defined by those soundmarks. It should preview the structure of the episode (which story is embedded in which?) and why the episode would appeal to undergraduates at Tech.
The community profile should describe the two communities that are the focus of the episode and the soundmark that defines them. Consider the following questions: What is the defining purpose of each community? What brings its members together? What is the role of each community in the greater Georgia Tech community? What is the soundmark of each community? How do those sounds represent the defining purpose of each community? Are these communities related by something other than their soundmarks?
The structure, audience appeal, and significance should clearly explain how you are going to tell the stories of these communities and their soundmarks. It should describe how the episode will be organized so as to assert a connection between the soundmarks of these two communities. Which story comes first? Are you going to interview anyone or crowdsource? How are you going to capture the soundmark for the podcast (record yourself, pull sound off the Web, make your own sounds)? It should make clear why Georgia Tech undergraduates would want to know about these communities. In other words, why is knowing about these communities—especially through their soundmarks—going to make a difference to your classmates?
Prezi Storyboard Presentation (100 points)
Each group will deliver a 5-minute storyboard presentation to the class for editorial review on July 18. Each member of the group should individually submit a link to the Prezi on T-square by 7 p.m. (Drafts of the Prezis are due in class on the Google Drive on July 17.)
Each group will create a storyboard presentation for its 4-minute segment. Your storyboard should present the narrative (story) organization of your segment, including key voices, key sounds, and key events in the order they will be heard in your segment. Your storyboard should combine well-chosen visual representation of important narrative moments (i.e., events in the story) with vivid textual description. Text should be limited, however, to keep the audience focused on your oral presentation.
Your presentation should be roughly 5 minutes and fulfill three purposes: 1) describe the narrative of the segment using the visual representation as evidence; 2) explain how the narrative moment will be realized with audio (narration, sound effects, field recording); 3) make the significance and appeal to Georgia Tech undergraduates clear (if not necessarily explicit). Speaking time should be divided equally among group members. You may distribute and choreograph the speaking parts however you like to most effectively present your concept to the class.
Segment Audio File and Script (100 points)
Each group member will individually submit the same script and podcast audio file on T-square on July 24 by 7 p.m. (Drafts of the script are due in class on Google Drive on July 20.) We’ll listen to the final segments together in class on July 25.
Each group will produce a 4-minute audio file for their podcast segment as well as a detailed script, including production cues (music, narration, sound effects, layering). Your segment should identify the speakers, use vernacular and conversational language as appropriate, and creatively incorporate a variety of sounds to tell its soundmark story.
Intellectual and Practical Goals
At the end of this assignment, you should:
• have a basic understanding of the relationship between sound, place, and community
• have a basic understanding of the relationship between voice, place, and identity
• recognize narrative as a rhetorical genre
• know how to use narrative to assert a claim
• better understand the interdependence of speaking and writing
• be aware of the performative aspects of conversational speech
• understand the importance of proposing ideas to editors on paper and as a presentation
• understand how to develop and organize a concept proposal and presentation
• have a basic understanding of the podcast production process
• how to use sound-mixing software to present evidence and make rhetorical appeals
• how to contribute productively to group progress and success
Grading
This project is worth 350 points, that is, 35% of your final grade: 100 points for the written proposal; 100 points for the storyboard presentation; 100 points for the audio file; and 50 points for individual performance. You will be evaluated on:
• the strength of your pitch’s claim about sound and community
• the development and organization of its concept
• the detail, clarity, and explanation of your narrative in Prezi
• the polish, poise, and preparation of your oral presentation
• awareness of the audience particular to each stage of the project
• the structure and combination of oral, aural, and verbal elements in your final podcast segment
• the appropriateness of your diction and delivery to your podcast audience (Tech undergrads)
• your initiative and contribution to group progress and your commitment to your group’s success