Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

This course introduces three closely related subject areas: Creating and Adapting Technical Information and Linear Narratives for Multimedia; Writing for Multimedia; and Intellectual Property Rights.

"Creating and Adapting Technical Information and Linear Narratives for Multimedia" includes such topics as Audience Analysis, including human factors analysis; Conceptual Design, Metaphors, and World Building; Treatments, Content Outlines, Storyboards, and Flowcharts; and Navigation for Interactivity.

"Writing for Multimedia" includes such topics as multimedia script formatting and prototypes; writing narration, including the traditional elements of storytelling; writing for explainer video with motion graphics; writing for websites, blogs, and social media; deciding when to use words and when not to; writing for voice-overs; presenting text on-screen; integrating media and interactivity; writing precise, concise text; and editing for precision, clarity, and conciseness.

"Intellectual Property Rights" introduces topics in copyright and software assisted writing tools

Upon successful completion of the course students should be able to:

1. Define, identify, and communicate the key principles of effective writing for multimedia platforms and explain their characteristics.
2. Write and edit concise text to comprehensively convey communication goals and the development process.
3. Create a conceptual design for a multimedia project using a storyboard, treatment, or content outline.
4. Use software-assisted writing tools and explore ethical considerations.
5. Identify a target audience for a multimedia project and develop a writing strategy that effectively conveys your message. 

• Work with local organizations and community members to create client orientated writing materials.

• Topics can include: AI, Explainer Video, Social Media, Websites, Media writing - Marketing Copywriter, Commercial,  Game Design (branching narratives, ‘choose your own adventure’ style), Blog - Web stories (Journalism), Treatment, Creative Brief, 2 column script (AV), Ted Talk, etc 

Students read from course content material; analyze multimedia stories; review and edit multimedia treatments; and over the course of the term, design and write a short multimedia project, a storyboard, a treatment, a flowchart of the navigation structure, the user interface, and selection and management of the media resources.
Methods of instruction may vary but can include lectures; collaborative projects; audience analysis and peer feedback; writing online using multimedia authoring software; in-and-out-of class writing and editing exercises; demonstrations, assigned readings; or field trips to learn about multimedia development, writing community driven stories, writing for multimedia, project management, human computer interface, and new hardware and software. The class will be conducted in a college computer lab.  Some in-class writing is required.
 

Assessment is designed to indicate achievement of the course outcome and performance tasks. The instructor will outline the methods used to assess student progress and the criteria for assigning a grade at the beginning of the course. Assessment will be based upon a combination of  participation, attendance, and supervisory evaluations and conferences.