| SMAD 202: Introduction to Audiovisual Storytelling |
| Section 1: Monday/Wednesday 1:50pm – 3:05pm, Harrison Hall 0103 and SMAD Studio G290 |
Course Syllabus Spring 2026
| Instructor: Olivia Booker Office: Harrison Hall, 0244 Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday: 10:30am-12:30pm Wednesday: 3:15pm-4:15pm or by appointment |
Course description: Audiovisual storytelling is an experiential learning course designed to give students a foundation in creating and producing engaging stories/content utilizing a varied range of audiovisual communication/media tools and formats for distribution on multiple delivery platforms including, but not limited to, television, interactive, film, documentaries, news, commercials, radio, podcasts and web.
Prerequisite(s): SMAD 201. Corequisite(s): SMAD 201.
My pledge to you: All students have an open invitation to learn. Diversity is valued — including diversity of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, socioeconomic status, experiences and perspectives. I intend for this class to be informative and enjoyable, but it’s also challenging. We will cover a lot of material, and this is a project-heavy course with many deadlines, so if you find yourself getting overwhelmed or performing poorly, please speak me as soon as possible. Together, we can discuss any problems and strategize about potential solutions.
10 objectives for completing this course
- Create compelling stories and apply them to audio and video formats for various audiences.
- Demonstrate competency in the planning and execution of a project with professional tools and do by following current legal and ethical practices.
- Understand the technical and aesthetic possibilities and limitations of each medium.
- Develop collaborative and team-focused skills required in producing creative projects.
- Be able to analyze, critically assess and evaluate creative works.
- Develop competency with production tools, including lighting and video and audio recording gear.
- Become proficient with capturing and manipulating digital images, sound and video.
- Be able to identify and define terminology and concepts of planning, production and postproduction in both audio and visual projects.
- Evaluate visual and/or audio story projects to understand how production choices affect the final story.
- Create projects that reflect creative, aesthetic and technical practices.
Course Format: Students will learn the aesthetics, technology, terminology and procedures used in audio and video storytelling for digital media through lectures and readings, in-class demonstrations, in-studio and out-of-class exercises, and written tests. All projects, papers or other materials turned in for evaluation must be typed. The assignments and tests will be similar in all sections.
Required materials:
- a USB drive with USB-C connection (I recommend at least 64 GB. It’s helpful if they have a usb-3 and usb-c connection similar to this: USB flash drive
- An SD card (I recommend at least 32GB) similar to this: sd card
- headphones with a 3.5mm jack and/or a converter from Apple’s “Lightning” plug to the 3.5mm jack to use with the Macs in Harrison Hall 103. Or you might use Bluetooth compatible headphones like AirPods, especially if you’re bringing your own laptops to class.
- access to a smartphone with video capabilities
Books: (available digitally through the JMU library)
Digital Filmmaking for Beginners: A Practical Guide to Video Production by Michael K. Hughes.
Writing the Short Film, 3rd Edition by Patricia Cooper and Ken Dancyger
The DSLR Filmmaker’s Handbook: Real-World Production Techniques, 2nd Edition by Barry Andersson
Other required resources:
- Additional readings will be posted on Canvas, and occasionally we’ll use other videos and resources assigned and available on Canvas. (All are free, generally available through JMU Library)
- Students working from an off-campus location will need to download and use Global Protect to gain access to JMU’s virtual private network in order to submit work to our class folder on the SMAD server, which is called SMADMAX. (I will go over this in class)
- Link to Global Protect
Required Software:
DaVinci Resolve (free version through Blackmagic design)- The SMAD computers will have this software installed, but if you prefer to use your own laptop, you can download it here: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/
| Grade Elements | Grade Scale | |||||
| Production Projects | 70% | A | = | 94-100% | ||
| A- | = | 90-93.99% | ||||
| Audio Project | 10% | B+ | = | 87-89.99% | ||
| Studio Project | 10% | B | = | 83-86.99% | ||
| Editing | 15% | B- | = | 80-82.99% | ||
| Process Film | 15% | C+ | = | 77-79.99% | ||
| Final Fiction Film | 20% | C | = | 73-76.99% | ||
| C- | = | 70-72.99% | ||||
| Final Exam | 20% | D+ | = | 67-69.99% | ||
| In Class Exercises, Homework and Quizzes | 10% | D | = | 63-66.99% | ||
| D- | = | 60-62.99% | ||||
| Total | 100% | F | = | 0–59.9% | ||
| Tentative Course Outline |
Note: The schedule is subject to change but is a reasonable reflection of the topics to be covered, and the time devoted to each topic. Readings will be assigned on Canvas. Always check the Canvas home page for updates.
| Date | Activity | Assignment |
| Week 1 | ||
| Wed, Jan 21 | Course overview; Intro to Audiovisual Storytelling Intro to Narrative Structure and Observational Filmmaking | Assign: Technology survey Assign: One-shot scene Reading: Writing the short film, Chapter 1: storytelling in General |
| Week 2 | ||
| Mon, Jan 26 | Finding conflict and tension in your story | Due: Technology Survey Reading: Writing the short film, Chapter 2: Telling a Story in Images |
| Wed, Jan 28 | Audio Storytelling intro/ recording sound Critique one-shot scenes | Assign: Moth Radio Hour Assign: Audio Project Due: One-Shot Scenes Reading: Writing the short film, Chapter 3: Using Sound to tell the story |
| Week 3 | ||
| Mon, Feb 2 | Art of the interview / DaVinci intro Review Moth Radio Hour | Due: Moth Radio Hour Reading: Digital Filmmaking for Beginners Chapter 5: Production Audio |
| Wed, Feb 4 | Intro to editing audio and post-production Audio Aesthetics Editing Workshop | Reading: The DSLR Filmmaker’s Handbook Chapter 11: Audio Crash Course |
| Week 4 | ||
| Mon, Feb 9 | Audio Aesthetics Incorporating music and sound effects Editing workshop | |
| Wed, Feb 11 | Developing a Public Service Announcement/ Audio Project critiques *meet in classroom | Due: Audio Project Assign: Public Service Announcement (research/concept/tagline) |
| Week 5 | ||
| Mon, Feb 16 | Intro to Studio Production/ equipment checkout room rules *Meet in Studio | Due: PSA research/concept/tagline Reading: studio production pdf on canvas |
| Wed, Feb 18 | Studio Practice *meet in studio | Due: Audio Quiz Reading: Digital Filmmaking for Beginners, Chapter 3: Picture Composition |
| Week 6 | ||
| Mon, Feb 23 | Visual composition for studio production/ PSA rehearsals *meet in studio | Due: PSA script draft, teleprompter script, music, and full screen draft |
| Wed, Feb 25 | PSA rehearsals *meet in studio | |
| Week 7 | ||
| Mon, March 2 | PSA final recording *meet in studio | Due: PSA (final script, video clip, and full screen) |
| Wed, March 4 | PSA final recording *meet in studio | Due: PSA |
| Week 8 | ||
| Mon, March 9 | Introduction to editing and video post-production Intro to editing video in DaVinci Resolve- Setting up your project SmadMax intro | Assign: Editing Project Reading: Digital Filmmaking for Beginners, Chapter 9, Post-Production |
| Wed, March 11 | Editing aesthetics Workshop: Matching action and continuity | Due: Studio Production Quiz Reading: See Canvas |
| Week 9 | ||
| Mon, March 16 | No Class- Spring Break | |
| Wed, March 18 | No Class- Spring Break | |
| Week 10 | ||
| Mon, March 23 | Editing Workshop- Titles and Credits in DaVinci Resolve | |
| Wed, March 25 | In class Critique | Due: Editing project Due: Video Editing and composition quiz Reading: See Canvas |
| Week 11 | ||
| Mon, March 30 | Intro to Visual Composition for film In-class storyboard exercise | Assign: Match-action project Reading: See Canvas |
| Wed, Apr 1 | Video composition part 2 and intro to the Camera *meet in Studio | Due: Match Action Storyboard |
| Week 12 | ||
| Mon, April 6 | Exposure triangle and more about the camera Camera demo and exposure exercise *meet in Studio | Assign: Camera scavenger hunt part 1 |
| Wed, April 8 | Composition Part 2 and Camera movement Storyboard review and match action exercise (camera scavenger hunt) *meet in Studio | Due: Camera scavenger hunt Assign: In class camera movement exercise Reading: The DSLR Filmmaker’s Handbook Chapter 5: Camera Motion and Support |
| Week 13 | ||
| Mon, April 13 | In-class critique of match action projects/ Assign final projects | Due: Match-action project Assign: Final project/ Final project pitches |
| Wed, April 15 | Intro to Fictional filmmaking and Pitching/ Master Plot exercise | Reading: Digital Filmmaking for Beginners Chapter 7: Pre-production |
| Week 14 | ||
| Mon, April 20 | In-class pitches | Due: Final Project Elevator Pitch Reading: Writing the Short film, Chapter 5: Telling the Dramatic Story |
| Wed, April 22 | Lighting Workshop/ Demo *meet in Studio | Due: Camera and the lens quiz Reading: The DSLR Filmmaker’s Handbook Chapter 6: Lighting on Location |
| Week 15 | ||
| Mon, Apr 27 | Video composition part 4 | Reading: Writing the short film chapter 9: Visualization Strategies |
| Wed, Apr 29 | Sound design and post-production workshop | Due: Storyboards Reading: See Canvas |
| Week 16 | ||
| Mon, May 4 | Exam review/ Fiction video workshopping/troubleshooting | |
| Wed, May 6 | Final Exam | Due: Final Exam |
| Exam Period | ||
| Mon, May 11 | Final fiction project screening/critique during Exam period 1:00pm-3:00pm | Due: Final Project |
Olivia Booker 