Project 5 Rubric and Reflection

A Checklist and Self-Grading Worksheet

Project 5, the culminating production of the entire semester, is intended to be so uniquely you that it’s difficult to assess everyone using a standard evaluatory metric. Therefore, for this assignment, you are self-grading. The majority of the items below are simply checkboxes. That is, just ensure that you’ve ticked that box. For the two different categories (technical and content), you will be giving yourself a point value. Ten points come from adhereing to the technical requirements while the other 30 points out of 40 address the actual content of the video.

Use the empty boxes on the right to check off each item as you’re going through your production process. The easiest way to do this is, in my opinion, to Print to PDF this page and use Adobe Acrobat to then Edit the PDF. You can “check” the boxes however you like, add your self-graded score to the blanks provided at both the Technical and Content headers, and then write your reflection at the very end. Likewise, you could again Print to PDF, Save as PDF, or otherwise get it into Google Drive and edit it as a Google Document. It’s really up to you. That said, your completed checklist with point assignments and reflection is to be submitted to D2L! Note the space below to place your Google Drive or YouTube video link!

Video link:

Technical aspects

Points:

The items below are focusing on the technicality of your video: that is, the design, the quality, the structure, et cetera. On a scale of 0 (nothing submitted) to 10 (it’s perfect), place the point value you believe you deserve given the checklist below.

Aspect ratio

Video is rendered in a horizontal aspect ratio, preferably 16:9. It is not vertical!

Elements of construction

Includes all the required main sections: an introduction, the body of the content, a conclusion, and are in a logical order.

Ken Burns effect

You’ve judiciously used the Ken Burns effect in ways that provide impact and make logical sense (ie, the pan-and-zoom doesn’t seem random but intentional).

Smooth flow

Transitions between elements of your video seem natural and are not jarring, odd, or seem random. Again, the flow from one element to another seems intentional.

Special effects

Your use of special effects (scene transitions, sound effects, et cetera) is spare and works to support the story rather than distract the viewer.

Originality

The content in Project 5 has not been used in previous submissions. (Exceptions to this might be the style of the credits but the content should be all new for this project.)

Show, Don’t Tell

The use of on-screen text is absolutely minimal, except to introduce people, places, and things. This is not a Powerpoint!

No Dead Air

You’ve covered the time you have (which isn’t much!) effectively and avoid long periods of either silence or a lack of visual change. (As mentioned previously, if you want to use silence or a prolonged shot as way to create impact, that’s different, but you should know why it’s there and be able to explain what creative lifting it does.)

Staging

Obvious attention has been paid to the background, the lighting choices, and so on. This includes your appearance and dress! Everything the viewer sees, again, should be intentional and doing some sort of work. Nothing should be random!

Presentation

Are you presenting with enthusiasm? Comfort? Is your vocal narrative loud enough to be heard over the background music? If you’re interviewing someone, is their speech volume equal to your own? Are you looking at the camera? Is the top of your head getting cut off or are you barely peeking up over the bottom of the frame? All these considerations are essential!

Alignment

What’s on screen and what you’re narrating should be in alignment. If you’re presenting a rather somber bit of narration, does it make sense for your backgorund music and on-screen elements to be cheerful? Vice versa? Keep this in mind and make sure everything is telling the same story!

Mixing and Editing

Is your polished video exposed correctly or is it too dark? Is it clearly hand-held footage due to obvious camera shake? Have you removed any extraneous and distracting noises or reshot any video clips that didn’t go to plan? Remember that timing is everything.

Connection

Do you feel you’re really making a connection with the audience on an intellectual and emotional level? Have you used the Zeigarnik effect? Perhaps using hooks, driving home personal anecdotes, utilized body language to support the narrative, allowed your own emotion to come through.

Sources

If you’re making claims that require support, are you mentioning the sources to provide authority? “…for example, in their 2012 article,”Example journal article that’s really famous," Smith and Jones found that…." Your opinions are your own but if you’re making factual claims, bring the receipts.

Screenshot

You took a screenshot of your completed Project 5 Premiere Pro interface that shows the timeline with edits and your list of assets.

Content

Points:

This section represents 75% of the points for this project! On a scale of 0 (nothing submitted) to 30 (it’s a masterpiece), place the point value you believe you deserve given the checklist below.

Duration

Your video actually comes in between 6 and 8 minutes. No shorter, no longer! (No flubbing on this one. If it’s too short or too long, it doesn’t meet the assignment requirements and won’t be graded!)

Matches Script and Storyboard

You’re submitting a script along with the video (and other assets). Does your narrative actually match your script? Do the scenes in the video actually match your storyboard? Remember: it’s not a bullet point list of subjects to talk about; it’s an actual word-for-word script that you need to adhere to!

Encoding

For the video file, you’re exporting from Premiere Pro a file that is encoded H264 (or H265 if your computer can handle it), at least 720p, at least 24fps, and has been either uploaded to Google Drive (set to “Anyone with link can view” or “Anyone at University of Arizona with link can view”) or YouTube (set to “Unlisted”).

Screenshot

You’ve included a screenshot of your Premiere Pro project that clearly shows your list of assets and your edited timeline.

Topics

The video addresses 4-6 main points. How you want to break these down and identify them is up to you but they should easily identifiable and distinct.

Demonstration of Course Content

Are you demonstrating in your video the concepts and topics discussed in class? You should be applying some of the production and storytelling techniques and it should be pretty obvious. (Of course, no one is expecting you to be Orson Wells or Chloe Zhao.)

Elements

Your video includes a title screen of some sort, an introduction, the body of the video, a conclusion screen of some sort, and credits of some sort. How you go about doing these in particular is up to you (especially the title and conclusion) but they should be obvious.

Credits

You’ve identified everyone involved in the project, all the outside assets you used, references you made (like the Sources above), et cetera. When in doubt, list it! These credits should be the typical “rolling” style found in Premiere Pro.

It’s Personal

While you don’t have to tell a personal story, per se, what you do end up presenting should make it very clear that it is of importance to you. Your passion for whatever your topic is should seep through every second of the video.

Talking Head

Includes 4-6 separate clips of you speaking to camera (or to off-camera if you’re mimicking an interview, for example). Can these be from the same recording? Of course. They should be broken up by other content, however, like still images or other video clips.

Speed!

At least 1-2 video clips that have been sped up or slowed down to effect, not just randomly. If you’re having a difficult time connecting your narrative to this kind of speed ramping, perhaps consider applying this to some b-roll.

Music

Your background music is appropriate for your topic and is leveled properly. It shouldn’t ever distract from what’s being presented but rather it should support it. “Ducking” the music (lowering the volume temporarily) at certain points is very effective to emphasize what’s being said or shown on screen.

Third-Party Video

Again, you should include 1-2 “3rd party videos” that are not you talking to camera. These can be other videos that you’ve shot or they can be stock footage you’ve found. B-roll will cover this.

Speaker Presence

Aim for keeping your spoken narrative going over the 3rd party video clips and still images. (You can accomplish this by unlinking video from audio in Premiere Pro.) So instead of the only times you’re speaking being when you’re actually on camera, allow your narrative to stretch across all elements of the video. Cutting away from yourself but allowing your narrative to continue is a popular and effective means of communicating.

On-Screen Text

Use the on-screen text judiciously but make it appropriate for the mood you’re going for. If you’re introducing someone to talk about a tragic experience, perhaps stay away from the full-screen, all-caps, high-impact titles you see in shows like Preacher. Remember: intention. Explore different “lower third” options for introducing people or places, for example.

Reflection

You did it! Now tell me how. Here are some suggestions to reflect on in a page or two (250-500 words). What surprised you? Was it easier this time around after doing mini-project 2 and project 4? What production choices did you end up finding really clicked with you? Has your feeling about being on-camera changed at all? Describe your process, your workflow, your “lessons learned.” What advice would you give to the next group of students tackling such a daunting task? In this reflection, be detailed and honest!

My reflection: