Course Title: Narrative for Multimedia

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Narrative for Multimedia

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
COMM1000	City Campus	Undergraduate	345H Media and Communication	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006, Sem 1 2007, Sem 1 2008, Sem 1 2009, Sem 1 2010, Sem 1 2011, Sem 1 2012, Sem 1 2013, Sem 1 2014, Sem 1 2015
COMM2157	RMIT University Vietnam	Undergraduate	345H Media and Communication	Face-to-Face	Viet2 2007, Viet3 2007, Viet1 2008, Viet2 2008, Viet3 2008, Viet1 2009, Viet2 2009, Viet3 2009, Viet1 2010, Viet2 2010, Viet3 2010, Viet1 2011, Viet2 2011, Viet3 2011, Viet1 2012, Viet2 2012, Viet3 2012, Viet1 2013, Viet2 2013, Viet3 2013, Viet1 2014, Viet2 2014, Viet3 2014

Course Coordinator: Shaun Wilson

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 9825

Course Coordinator Email: shaun.wilson@rmit.edu.au

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Assumed Knowledge

It is assumed that you have completed successfully the core design courses in the Bachelor of Design (Multimedia Systems). You will have an understanding of design methodologies.

Course Description

This course focuses on the writing, narrative structure and information architecture of new media environments. Particular emphasis will be placed on interface analysis, use of text, narrative structures (fiction and nonfiction), navigation and the relationship these have to content, interactivity and user experience in the context of a constantly changing media scape and popular culture trends.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This elective course is designed to introduce you to the fundamental issues involved in using and manipulating narrative structure for dramatic effect in multimedia and linear works. It will enable you to develop your understanding of narrative media forms.

This course helps you develop an ability to analyse, evaluate and reflect upon the usage of narrative in interactives, films and Internet sites. The course also encourages you to experiment with cinematic editing techniques and narrative devices to disrupt reader/viewer expectations that can alter an audience’s perceptions of events, character and time.

You will apply your enhanced critical awareness and theoretical knowledge to your own project concept in order to demonstrate a fundamental understanding of the use of narrative in multimedia, interactive media and linear works.

On completion of this course you will be able to:
1) Develop a greater understanding of narrative genres and structures
2) Analyse the effectiveness/success of interactive fiction and nonfiction used in education, instruction or entertainment.
3) Analyse and evaluate issues in interaction and narrative design in an everchanging mediascape.
4) Analyse the role of the writer in interactive multimedia design and development.
5) Create engaging interactive and linear narrative

Overview of Learning Activities

You will be offered a range of experiences, which may include:
*Seminars
*Small group tutorials
*Workshops
*Assessable and non-assessable writing tasks
*Assessable and non-assessable presentations
*Directed private study and reading

The course  will be taught as a series of weekly lectures, seminars studio workshops. Classes will address a specific topic within the subject area. Your capacity for conceptual thinking will also be continually challenged within workshops and seminars. As there will be a considerable amount of experiential learning, attendance at workshops is strongly recommended.

Throughout the course, the wide ranging possibilities for communication using verbal and visual media are introduced to you by examination of exemplary published work in film, interactive multimedia, WWW, animation, participatory and networked media in order to generate critical analysis and discussion. This broadens your cultural and historical understanding of multimedia and illustrates the importance of the writer’s craft and visual storytelling in developing strong engaging content.

Overview of Learning Resources

The Internet will be used extensively for reference material. Students are encouraged to do a wide range of reading and independent library research into all areas of narrative, design, and Multimedia. A course reader will be available for purchase from the RMIT bookshop.

Students are recommended that they have personal access to current (educational) versions of software used in the course: Flash, Photoshop, Final Cut Pro and After Effects. Students who use PC Windows operating system outside RMIT University, should have current versions of Quicktime and Adobe Acrobat reader installed on their personal computers (these are free downloads on the internet).

Overview of Assessment

Detailed descriptions of assessment components, including the marking guide will be distributed in the first class and will be available for access by students via a secure server.

Assessment tasks will include individual based projects, seminar papers and oral presentations, creative and technical exercises and proposal documents.