Exploring Digital Media Final Project

The final project is the culmination of the wide breadth of topics that we cover in this class. To that end, every final project will have two main components: digital video and still photography. The combination of these elements will be glued together in a simple webpage. You have a large amount of freedom to decide on the final product that you produce.

The topic and exact structure of your final project is up to you! Your project should be a video centric project with elements of still photography. We expect the most common project to be some kind of video with a final project writeup done in a web page with either behind the scenes photos or some still image elements incorporated into your page.

To make sure you are on the right track, the final project requires four checkpoints and the submission:

  1. Proposal
  2. Idea and Schedule
  3. Progress
  4. Draft
  5. Final Project Presentation & Submission

Each checkpoint is required and the final project will not be accepted unless we have received all checkpoints. More information on the individual checkpoints is below.

Every student must work on and submit their own final project, but you are encouraged to team up with classmates to work on eachother’s projects.

Some ideas we’ve seen in the past:

  • Short Films
  • Websites for businesses (real estate tours, work training videos, etc)
  • A instructional cooking video
  • Choose your own adventure series of videos using a website for navigation between segments
  • Short documentary on an artist or musician
  • HOWTO tutorials on a technical topic
  • …

Remember that the final project accounts for 25% of your overall grade in this course. Please start early, ask questions early, and stay on top of your project (this assignment has been available since the first class!)

Summary of Requirements

To summarize, here are the high-level requirements for the final project. Details of each are laid out later in this document.

Overall Project

  • The scope of the final project should be approximately four assignments for graduate students and three assignments for undergraduate students. In all cases, we prefer quality over quantity.
  • Every final project must contain video, still images, and a hosted website.
  • No recycling! Most work for this project must be new and original. You might make a photo or video gallery of your previous work from the semester or before, which is fine. You must also include new images and video taken explicitly for this project.
  • In addition to the main video, you must also have a presentation video for sharing with the class. The details are outlined later in this document.
  • We will not accept a checkpoint unless the previous checkpoint(s) have been turned in. Similarly, We will not accept the final project until all checkpoints are submitted; be sure to complete them all, even if they are late.

Website & Presentation

  • A writeup is a required element for every final project. We discuss the write up in more detail in the Final Submission portion of this document.
  • The writeup must be done in a webpage (use any platform you are comfortable with). We recommend Squarespace but this is not required. You do NOT need to write any code or HTML, using a WYSIWYG editor meets the course requirements.
  • A presentation is also required; you will record a short video introducing your project. Recording your presentation does not satisfy the video element of this project, it is merely the vehicle for presenting the your project. More details in the Final Submission portion of this document.
  • There are explicit guidelines for how to submit your overall project in the Final Submission section of this document.

Video & Audio

  • The video must be embedded into the website (the typical workflow is to host the video on YouTube or Vimeo and then embed the iframe in the website).
  • Your final project video has a 5 minute duration maximum. The presentation portion of the project is excluded from this time limit.

Still Photography

  • You must include a minimum of 6 original photos for this project.
  • Unless otherwise agreed upon in your proposal, we expect these images to be taken in a camera mode other than automatic (Aperture Value, Time Value, or Manual are all acceptable).
  • If you post-process your images, you should not remove metadata about the exposure (removing other metadata such as location is acceptable).

Outside of these guidelines, you have a wide range of freedom!

Checkpoint 0: Proposal (10 points)

Due by April 1st 2024: https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/133468/assignments/766612

The Pitch

From the first class, you have until by April 1st 2024 to come up with an idea and submit it to the staff for review. We want you to give us an “elevator pitch” of your idea. It is fine if, as you work on your project, you decide to change the idea slightly; but keep in mind that your idea must be finalized by the Draft checkpoint. If there are any major changes to your project after it has been approved, please email us to discuss.

Schedule

As part of the proposal, you will also need to create a schedule between now and completion for this checkpoint. After submission of this checkpoint, you will have four weeks to complete the final project, with the Draft checkpoint due in three weeks. Come up with a set of concrete tasks you hope to have accomplished each week after submission of the schedule checkpoint until the final project is due.

Here is a sample schedule based on a fictional project whose focus is on a short film. You should make a similar schedule for yourself, we’ll ask you about it on the submission form.

  • Week 1 (Idea and Schedule Checkpoint)
    • This week the idea is finished, start pre-production: write script and create visual requirements (storyboard, shot list, etc)
  • Week 2 (No checkpoint due)
    • This week I will complete my shot list and story boards, I will also find my actors and my location. I will work out the logistics for shooting the film. I will start building my website.
  • Week 3 (Progress Checkpoint)
    • This week I will do the filming for my project. I will turn in my pre-production materials (shot list and storyboard) to demonstrate progress. If I can I will submit a couple of sample shots.
  • Week 4 (Draft Checkpoint)
    • This week I will be editing and continuing to build web page. For a draft, I plan to edit together as much of my footage as I can and will submit a rough cut.
  • Week 5 Implementation & Presentation Due

Staff will provide you feedback on your proposal in a timely manner (within a week). We will let you know if we feel it needs modification. We’re pretty flexible on what a project can be so long as it has the appropriate elements and scope. We’ll try to quickly get back to you with feedback on your project idea.

Notice that the checkpoints dates for the project overlap with some assignments. Carefully consider what is possible for you to complete by then.

Idea and Schedule Checkpoint summary

By the deadline for this checkpoint:

  • Come up with an idea for the form of the final project, think about an “elevator pitch” for it
  • How will the video, still photography, and writeup components be present in the project?
  • Roughly how big do you expect your project to be (both in scope and final duration)?
  • What is your plan for getting the work done week-to-week?

Checkpoint 1: Progress (5 points)

Due April 15 2024: Submission Link

Let us know how it’s going. What are you stuck on? What is going well? This one’s pretty simple and meant to keep you moving along. Answer the following questions briefly:

  • How’s it going?
  • Are you on schedule?
  • Do you think that your idea needs to be modified?
  • Anything else?

Checkpoint 2: Draft (15 points)

Due April 29 2024: Submission Link

There is limited remaining for your final project! Please prove to us that you’ve made significant progress. There is no hard definition of what we want you to submit to us, as it will depend largely on your idea and your schedule. However, a reasonable assumption is that you will submit to us all of the documents or work you expected to have completed by this date on your proposed schedule. You should submit at least a very rough draft at this point, even if you have content remaining to shoot. Screenshots of a website, video timelines, etc are helpful too. It’s up to you to prove to us that you’re making significant progress.

Final Submission: Writeup (10 points), Presentation (10 points), and Implementation (50 points)

Due May 6th 2024. No late submissions, no exceptions: Submission Link

Website & Writeup

Your Website can be as simple or as complex as you like. It must contain:

  • Your embedded presentation video (see “Presentation” section below)
  • Your embedded project video
  • Add your images to your website if they are not a part of your video
  • The website should be accessible on the public internet. If you need to password protect your website, you **MUST** use the password: **dgmde5FinalProject!**
  • The website should be done on a platform of your choosing. A few popular options are:

The website must serve as the entry point for us to grade your project. There must be a section dedicated as a writeup and whose text serves as a reflection of your work on the final project. The writeup must contain the following:

  • The text length must be the equivalent of a printed page, or less.
  • Summarize your project idea and give an overview of the implementation.
  • Reflect upon your work. Here are some questions that might get your thought process started – but you are not required to answer all of these; you may come up with your own discussion.
    • Did the project come out as you intended? If not, why not? What were major setbacks or what was difficult about the project? What ended up being easier than you anticipated?

Presentation

Final Project presentations are meant to be a bookend intro to your project. It should be a recording of you explaining your project to the class. It is a 1:1 replacement for standing up in front of your classmates and queuing up the project before you press play. Your presentation has these requirements:

  • The presentation video should be embedded into your website in a separate embedded video distinct from your final project video.
  • You may record with zoom, a phone, webcam (or any other means). The presentation portion does not need to be professionally filmed.
  • Give context to your classmates as if you were standing up in front of a live class and introducing your project.
    • What was your initial idea?
    • Did your idea change?
    • What should your classmates expect when they watch your project?
    • It does not suffice to simply turn in your final project video as your presentation, there must be a separate intro video.

Implementation

Your project should be submitted with the following requirements satisfied:

  • Met the requirements outlined in each section previously including: “Overall Project”, “Website & Writeup”, “Presentation”, and “Implementation” sections.
  • When inserting a video, please upload it to YouTube (or other platform) and use the embed feature.
  • By the deadline, submit a link to your web page which includes the writeup, presentation, and final project video.
  • Adjustments to the website, presentation video, and final project video are strictly forbidden after the deadline.
  • If you password protect your website, the password must be: dgmde5FinalProject!

Grading

Each checkpoint is graded on completion. The final project implementation and the writeup are graded based on a combination of several factors: adherence to your idea, meeting the required scope (at least 4 assignments of effort for graduates, 3 assignments of effort for undergraduates), and a subjective measure of quality and effort.

Late Policy

You may not use the late policy that was outlined syllabus for the final project. The final project has its own late policy regardless of whether or not you already used late credits on another assignment.

Any checkpoint submitted after its deadline (up to 24 hours) will receive a 20% penalty on the points for that checkpoint. More than 24 hours late incurs a 100% penalty. The final project itself may not be turned in late; this includes both the writeup and the implementation. These will receive a 100% penalty if late.

Also, please don’t forget that the final project will not be accepted unless you have submitted all checkpoints.

Phew, that’s it! Good luck and please reach out to the staff early if you have any questions.