PowerPoint photo essay: 150 points.

For the information graphic unit, the word-image-shape ratios have likely been balanced.  As we move into exploring communication on screens, you will notice that the image comes to the font, and the words and shapes begin to take on more of a supporting role.  For this assignment, I would like you to take an aspect of visual communication and/or culture as a subject for photographs (your own photographs, but also images you collect from other sources), and select, touch up, draw on, write on, and assemble those images within PowerPoint, to form a PowerPoint photo essay.  An essai is a try; try to say something to us about your understanding of, or probe of, visual culture—through images, words ,and shapes.

The goal of this assignment is to give you practice working with images other than clip art and drawing tools (the focus of the information graphics unit), and to give you practice with presentation software like Power Point.  As Horn tells us, over 2 million people regularly make presentations in the United States each year, so to communicate in a visual culture will require facility with presentation software. 

Tips and tasks:

• The set of tasks for this assignment are described on the course schedule under "writing assignment."  I am asking you to draft and revise over a three week period.
• The NDSU Service Center (big window in IACC) has digital cameras available for checkout.  You can also use a video digital recorder for this assignment and save "stills" from the video if you would prefer to work that way.
• You are also welcome to use print-photos, but you will need to scan them at some point and import them into PowerPoint.
• You will need a Zip Disk or a CD-RW in order to store your photos.
• If you have technology questions, visit the Technology Learning Center in IACC 150 or make an appointment with me—I'm always happy to do a little techie work. 

Evaluation:

What makes a good photo-essay?  We will ask this question in class, and I will ask you to set some criteria for your own work.  If you want to produce a photo-essay that hovers near the top of the Big Triangle, for example, you will need to do things differently than if you want to produce something more like a traditional essay that has photos to complement it.  You would also be welcome to produce a few densely packed images, rather than a series of images, if you are interested in working with Photoshop or other photo editing programs.  We will use self-reflective memos and a grading conference to evaluate your work.