J455

DOCUMENTARY PHOTOJOURNALISM
SPRING 2010
Tuesday 7 -9:50pm, MZ 213
Office hours: MZ 326 M 12-2, T 4-5, F 10-11am
Tel: 818 677-2855
Email: david.blumenkrantz@csun.edu

LAB HOURS:
Monday 11:15 am to 1:45 p.m.
Tuesday 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Thursday 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Syllabus for Spring 2010
Coles presentation schedule
Discussion Guide form
Model Release form

COURSE OUTLINE
The remainder of the semester looks like this:

Apr  6    SPRING BREAK

Apr 13     Furlough Day (no class meeting)

Apr 20        
Self-published book designs due today.

FILM: Man on Wire (If time allows)

Apr 27  Final Journals due today     
Witness presentations: 10 minute PowerPoint

May  4       
Soundslides presentations; Flickr books due for grading

May 11       
Soundslides presentations
(Class meets 8-10pm according to final exam schedule)

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This lecture/lab course covers aspects of documentary photography, and its relation to photojournalism. Areas to be emphasized include: the historical role of documentary as a force for social change; the role of subjectivity in documentary as compared with photojournalism; the psychological, philosophical and practical approaches employed by prominent documentarians; the use of digital and electronic technology in the publication and dissemination of documentary work, including multi-media slide presentations with audio videography, and self-published books. Lectures will be accompanied by slide (PowerPoint) presentations, videos and DVDs.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
Each student will work on a semester-long project of their choosing, documenting a social issue in the Los Angeles area. Students may work individually or in small groups. Students will be expected to make weekly visits to their project sites in the field; everyone’s work will be critiqued in class on a regularly scheduled basis. Students will be responsible for creating online multimedia presentations using digital audio technology and the program Soundslides, and a soft-cover book.

TEXTBOOKS

• Doing Documentary Work, by Robert Coles
• Witness in Our Time: Working Lives of Documentary Photographers, by Ken Light

Students will be assigned to reading groups, and each group will be required to lead discussions. Use the Discussion Guide provided to prepare for your presentations.

TECHNICAL CONCERNS
This course is geared toward the electronic and digital processing and dissemination of still images, video and audio. Digital (DSLR) cameras are required. Fully automatic, fixed-lens “point and shoot” cameras are not allowed. Students are expected to prep their images using Photoshop, saving all photo files as JPEGs, and embedding caption information in “File Info.”  Students are required to open Professional accounts on Flickr, and to post their work regularly for class critiques. The work posted on Flickr will also be used to self-publish books. Digital audio recorders will be used; some are available to check out, but it is recommended that students purchase their own. Audio editing can be done on GarageBand, though students are free to use other programs.

http://www.flickr.com/ (Open your account here)

http://www.flickr.com/people/kioko/ (Make me your contact as soon as you join)

JOURNAL/LOGS
Minimum one typed entry per submission. Each entry should cover:

• A brief synopsis of what you are trying to achieve, and your strategy for visual documentation
• New ideas for photographs that have come to you from what you’ve seen and learned so far
• Obstacles you’ve encountered, and your response to them
• Technical and artistic concerns
• Observations on your personal encounters with the subjects of your photographs

• GRADING WILL BE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING
  • Written documentation: Each student will keep a typed log/journal, detailing the technical and artistic concerns, and general philosophical observations about the process. Journals will be collected periodically. (20 pts)
  • Three critiques in class: each critique will result in a grade based on progress, effort, and the quality of images. (10 pts each)
  • Two written papers (10pts each)
  • Final Presentations in Soundslides format. (20 pts)
  • Self-published book (20 pts)
  • Presentation of  documentary photographers from Witness book (10 pts)
  • Students will lead discussions from Doing Documentary Work. (10 pts)
  • Participation in critiques, discussions; demonstration of having read the books. (10 pts)
  • Attendance: Three tardies or absences lowers grade

Student Learning Outcomes, CSUN Journalism Department Undergraduate and Graduate Programs
The Department of Journalism strives to prepare its students to become well-educated, principled citizens who are capable of initiating careers as skilled journalists, public relations practitioners and other related communication professionals. The department will help students to achieve the following objectives by the end of their program of study:

• Attain competency in writing basics such as grammar and punctuation, word usage and spelling, sentence and story structure and journalistic style.
• Attain competency in the gathering and critical analysis of information using such techniques as interviewing, observation and researching primary and secondary sources.
• Acquire expertise in thinking critically and creatively, while exercising news judgment, the organization and presentation of information in multiple journalistic forms (i.e., print, visual and electronic, and public relations).
• Develop an ethical basis for making journalistic and public relations decisions.
• Develop flexibility in working in evolving mass communication media and environments using a variety of technologies and techniques.
• Understand the historical, theoretical, legal and societal contexts within which journalists and public relations practitioners work.

PLAGIARISM: DEPT. OF JOURNALISM STATEMENT
Plagiarism and other forms of cheating will not be tolerated, and anyone caught cheating will be reported to the dean of students and will receive a failing grade in the course. For a further explanation of disciplinary procedures, consult pages 522-524 of the 2002-2004 CSUN catalog. Please also remember that much of the information posted on the Internet is protected by U.S. copyright laws. Passing this information off as your own is a violation of CSUN’s plagiarism policy, and carries the penalties outlined above.

JOURNALISM DEPT. POLICY ON CULTURAL DIVERSITY
Students in this course are strongly encouraged to broaden their journalistic experiences, with the instructor’s help, by including in their work people and subjects such as ethnic, racial and religious minorities; the elderly, disabled and poor; gay men and lesbians; and other similar groups. The intent is to ensure that student work reflects the diversity of the community.