Deliverable 2: Screencast to Justify Design Choices

1© Karen Thompson ● Department of English ● University of Idaho

English 313: Business Writing

How to create your screencast.• You need a microphone, and the one in your computer will

be fine for this project.

• Your screencast must be hosted on a site that allows users to play it without having to download the file.

• I recommend using Screencast-O-Matic (Mac users also need to download Soundflower to record) or Jing (all users).These tools also have a means of hosting your file. See tools and resources for more information.

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• I do not accept video files (mp4, wmv etc.) in the bblearn drop box.

• Here’s why. You are practicing how to create and share these types of files as they are shared in workplace settings.

• So, if you choose to create video file on your computer, be certain it is uploaded to a host site and will play without a user needing to download the file.

• Video files uploaded to bblearn will not be graded nor earn credit for this part of the project.

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Screencast:subject, audience, and purpose.

• The subject of your screencast will be a design justification for your billboard or poster.

• The audience will be a hypothetical client.

• Your purpose will be to clearly connect your design choices to principles of graphic design.

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• You are practicing how to articulate design choices using the language of graphic design.

• Even should you never design another billboard or poster, the transferable skill with this part of the project is being able to communicate in professional environments where visual design needs are being discussed/planned.

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To make those connections clear, write a script and practice it.

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The goal is not to try to sound like a professional broadcaster, but to practice and develop clarity in your presentation speaking style.

As you work on your script.

• Use the sketch and notes you created when designing the layout of the billboard or poster.

• Justify the choices you made by connecting to those principles of graphic design covered in course materials.

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As you work on your script continued.

• Briefly define each design principle you have applied and then explain how you applied it.

• Here’s an example of how a student might justify color choices:

• According to color theory, red is associated with danger, and I wanted the audience to be aware of the dangers of not-vaccinating their children, so I chose this color [explain where the color was used].

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Writing a clear and focused script will help you avoid this problem:

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Rambling.

Ramblers often just focus on talking about the purpose of the billboard or poster but fail to justify design choices or justify these by saying what the student thought looked good, and/or naming a graphic design principle and then just saying stuff like “as you can see I applied the principle of color theory in my color choices.” Avoid these problems.

Continue to apply the principles of effective prose style when writing the script but adapt these for the ear by keeping sentences short.

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You should be able to say each sentence in your script in a single breath.

Your script will need:

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IntroductionAbout 10 seconds.

Key PointsUp to 3 minutes

ConclusionAbout 10 seconds.

Timing

Introduce  yourself  and  state  what  is  in  the  screencast.

The  key  points  of  the  screencast  should  be  logically  structured  and  clearly  move  between  one  part  of  the  billboard  or  poster  to  another  as  you  justify  design  choices.

Keep  the  conclusion  simple,  and  remember  to  thank  the  audience.

Do a test recording.

• First, be certain you completed the technology check on Orientation Day 1, and are using the recommended browser for this course. If not, go there, do that.

• Close all other programs and browser windows to ensure you have enough memory.

• If the test recording fails, follow the troubleshooting steps under Tools & Resources.

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Open your file, launch the screencapture tool, choose a standard size, and position the tool over your file.

I  opened  my  file  in  PPT  and  set  the  slide  background  to  black.    That’s  because  my  desktop  has  wallpaper  that  would  interfere  with  the  screencast.

It’s  difficult  to  get  a  crystal  clear  screencast  unless  you  use  a  video  editor.  So,  your  goal  is  just  to  make  the  screencast  as  clear  as  you  can  without  using  a  video  editor.

Of  course,  if  you  have  that  level  of  skill  and  want  to  use  an  editor,  it’s  fine  to  do  that.

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Make a short recording, and then play it back to see if the screen size is clear enough. You may need to make a few adjustments.

Delivery:  continue  to  apply  these  concepts  when  recording  your  voice-­‐over  narration.

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• Vocal variety: pitch, tone, volume, and rate.

• Pausing.

• Diction

Exercises to help you improve your speaking style can be found under Tools & Resources.