History of penny press newspapers

Here is my video documentary on the history of penny press newspapers and what they represent today:  https://youtu.be/nxt4z4YDM6Q

Here is my PDF that includes my script & bibliography.

At first, I couldn’t wrap my head around this assignment.  How can we present a research paper (with citations) in video form?

Perhaps this assignment was designed for us to think about precisely that — How to balance traditional academia with communication technologies.

The exercise made me think about how drastically our language must change depending on the output.  Regardless of form, writing style or platform, communication is about conveying a message and getting it through to your audience.  Dictating my research and panning images on screen wasn’t going to accomplish that.

So… I had to think differently and focussed on 1 thing:

Engagement.

It’s really what communication technologies ARE, whether it be through scroll, codex, hypertext, radio, oral recitals, and even silent reading.

The main challenge I had with the assignment was one that’s common for journalists – That is, losing your story sources!  I contacted six faculty members for an interview, whose research spanned across media history, literacy, and culture at Ryerson and U of T hoping to get live, scholarly content.  ALL were unavailable during this beautiful first week of July however.

BUT, I had a backup plan! – To engage a fellow intern who was experienced and opinionated on the topic.  I figured, this is a documentary right?  I captured my own footage using my iPhone and iMovie for editing.  It isn’t anything fancy but since these tools are used by field reporters today for breaking news, I wanted to mimic a real-world experience.

Functions were somewhat limited; Adding text with multiple lines, moving blocks of segments at one time, lining up the images and audio were possible, but just inefficient.  I used a colloquial tone and decided to bring only key stats, quotes, and key words on screen.

The other challenge was finding free images and stock video footage that didn’t have Shutterstock watermarks on them.  I had to change my narrative based on what I could find and use.  But good ol’ Google found me sites like Canva, Videvo and Pixabay which had tons of free content in the public domain.  Thanks to these content creators!

Enjoy.