Week 6 | 2025 Fall

tl;dr

Review the general Challenge A feedback
Share your Challenge B: Videos prototype in the Mattermost Helping & Sharing Channel by Weds Oct 8 @ 11:59 PM PST
Provide Peer Feedback by Sunday, Oct 12 @ 11:59 PM PST
Substantive Contribution #2 due date extended to Thurs, Oct 16
Engage and discuss the design process with your team
Class this Thursday 12 – 1 PM PST in our class Zoom

General Feedback to Challenge A

I wanted to share a couple of recurring things I’ve noticed so you can use this overarching feedback for your next Challenge.

Signalling. Pay close attention to what it is you are signalling. If you signal everything then you are effectively signalling nothing; in other words, signalling makes something more special than other things. It is very powerful when you signal the underlying message and less so when logistical factors are signalled (i.e. the order to reading a comic).
Use the power of imagery. Images can cultivate an instant and emotional understanding. It can set the scene for your comic AND impart meaning. If the imagery is stagnant (i.e. majority of imagery used to set the scene of two people talking), then those are missed opportunities. Think outside the box of temporal/spatial constraints.
The hook. What makes people want to stay and consume your media? This one is more open-ended: it can be a story, it can be beautiful graphics, it can be an interesting progression. Put some time into considering your target audience – what do they want? What keeps them engaged? It doesn’t need to be perfect from an artistic perspective (I can read between the lines when grading) but the key focus should be on conveying the viewers’ motivations and attention.
Succinctness! Too much text can be overwhelming to take in. Too little, and you may not get the point across. Often, we begin with too much text, then refine it by trimming away everything but what truly matters. See the attached image of the process Picasso did to make a sketch resemble the essence of a bull as simply as possible.

Pablo Picasso’s Le Taureau ‘the bull’ 1945-46

Prototype due Wednesday

This Wednesday, your Challenge B: Videos prototype is due. Please share it in the Mattermost Helping & Sharing Channel by Weds Oct 8 @ 11:59 PM PST.

Your prototype is the first draft of your final project. You can share it as a web page, a document with clear project documentation, or a blog post.

The prototype is what you intend to test; in order to test your ideas, you need to communicate it with others. Do you want to test the content matter (hint: for delivering educational content, this is important!)? then a storyboard will work. If you want to test the video style, then a short video clip is needed. Outline the purpose of your prototype. So, the prototype can be a rough outline of your videos utilizing words and/or images, it can be a larger storyboard, it can be a short video clip, or anything else you find helpful. In addition to gaining feedback, the development of the prototype should also be a beneficial step in creating your final video. It doesn’t have to be perfect, the key is to clearly get your point across.

Along with your prototype, please include your “Understand” and “Plan” phases. These don’t need to be perfect or complete; you’ll have a chance to refine them later. Please utilize this template.

Here are some popular tools that you could use. and there are so many more out there too, so please keep exploring.

Web-based animated video editors:

Mobile video editors:

Stock Desktop Video Editors:

Professional Desktop Video Editors:

Peer Feedback

Individually, you will be assigned two other prototypes to provide feedback to (~200 words each). The instructor will setup a private channel so only the reviewers, reviewee, and instructor can see the feedback. One of the best ways we can grow individually and as a team is through the process of feedback. Both offering and receiving peer feedback can be hard, scary, and emotional – please consider your words carefully for constructive and actionable comments. Please reach out to your instructor at anytime for any kind of support.

Feedback groups will be made Thursday and peer review is due by Sunday, Oct 12 @ 11:59 PM PST

Substantive Post #2

This is a busy week with prototypes and peer feedback so I have extended the due date to Thurs, Oct 16 @ 11:59 PM PST

For the second post, you are to offer a reflection of the design process. What is a design process? What was your process in Challenge A: Comics? Do you identify methods for improvement? How are you engaging in the design process in Challenge B: Videos?