Cuba: Immersive Multimedia Storytelling
The College of Journalism and Communications is looking for students wanting to develop their skills as storytellers during an intensive, 10-day multimedia workshop in and around the Cuban capital of Havana.
From May 3 to May 12, student photographers, videographers and writers will have a chance to work in teams to produce various multimedia projects as part of a larger multi-platform visual experience.
Note: As space and time for preparation are both limited, students who are interested should submit their work samples and any questions to cuba@jou.ufl.edu to be evaluated by a jury of coaches. The deadline for these submissions is Wednesday, February 15. Once we have received materials from students who are interested, we will individually contact those who have been approved. Those students can then pick up a form from the UF International Center to have signed by one of the designated program directors. Selected participants should expect a notice of approval by March 15.
Objectives:
We will create a multi-platform story package focusing on how the economics, environment and psychographics in Cuba are changing following the relaxation of embargos by the American government.
This course will challenge you to conceptualize and execute high-level storytelling at your self-direction in a foreign country, be collaborative with other students and coaches, and to be looking for entrepreneurial or innovative ways to cover this story.
Consider it the equivalent of a “choose-you-own-adventure” reporting experience – it is designed to give you a taste of real-world international reporting under the protection of an academic environment.
Structure:
This will be an intensive, immersive international study course. We will spend more than a week in a foreign country that has a very different culture from our own, and one which is undergoing a period of significant cultural transition.
While this is a Summer A course, we will begin preparations for our trip in the spring, and there will be required readings, assignments and retreats during the spring term.
The trip itself will occur during a UF break week and will wrap near the official start of Summer A. Students will generate a portfolio of multimedia storytelling work that will be aggregated and shared digitally by the College.
Learning objectives include:
• Developing professional-level proficiency in multimedia storytelling
• Navigating a foreign environment and assimilating to a foreign culture
• Teamwork with storytelling peers under the direction of a coach
