CMS 3720: Square Images

This assignment includes two parts.

  1. Create five still images suitable for use on the VPA Instagram (IG) channel. Submit these to the “Five Images” D2L assignment drop box.
  2. Then select the best image, edit to a square ratio, and write appropriate metadata for it. Submit this image and metadata to the “Final Image” drop box as detailed below.

Content

First, create five excellent images in a horizontal or vertical ratio. (No square images at this stage.)

All images should be appropriate for use on the VPA Instagram site. In other words, all should support the university’s and the department’s “brand.” To do so, all images should communicate the following idea:

Despite the pandemic, VPA students remain engaged, creative, and energized by their classwork and preparations for future careers.

In short, the images’ theme should be “Creative Energy.”

All images must be taken and edited by the student submitting them for credit. Unless cleared with the instructor before submission, all images must be taken during the current semester.

The following are three suggestions for your subject matter, but feel free to be creative. The only requirements are that the people in the images be associated with VPA, and that the images fit the VPA brand and “Creative Energy” theme.

  1. Student Candid:  an un-posed  shot that focuses on a single student. This student should be enrolled in one of the four VPA bachelor’s degree or six VPA minor programs. The caption must include the VPA program in which the student is enrolled.
  2. Classroom Professor: An un-posed shot of a VPA professor or a professor and student(s). The focus should be on instruction and learning–ideally, hands-on learning.
  3. VPA Life: a posed or un-posed shot of more than one student. This can picture a group involved in a formal VPA event (e.g. attending a class, working on a project, attending a performance or screening, etc.) or in an informal setting (e.g. studying, casual conversation, eating). The caption must include the VPA program in which the students are participating.

“Five Images” Format

All images should look professional, including their lighting, focus, and resolution.

A note on resolution: Your final image must be at least 1080 pixels wide and tall (though bigger is always better). Do not depend on up-sampling to achieve the required image size. This usually results in blurry and pixelated images. To ensure adequate resolution, start with images that are several thousand pixels tall and wide.

“Final Image” Format

JPG File

By the deadline, submit a single, square JPG image to the “Final Image” drop box. The image should be at least 1080 pixels wide and tall.

Metadata

Along with the JPG file, submit a MS Word document including the complete metadata for the image. This will be the complete text that accompanies an IG image, visible when your reader clicks on the image’s thumbnail. The YourLastName-captions template file can serve as a model.

The text should be complete and ready to copy-and-paste into Instagram. It should include

  • A short description of the image’s context (e.g. “Another beautiful day on our beautiful campus!”)
  • The names and major/minor affiliations of the pictured students
  • Where appropriate, the event pictured (e.g. Homecoming parade)
  • Appropriate local hashtags (3-4 in addition to #claytonstateVPA)
  • Where appropriate, local mentions in addition to @claytonstateuniv (e.g. @claytonstateradio, @spiveyhall). If you choose to do so, feel free to include a mention of your personal Instagram here as well.

Remember that spelling matters, particularly for keywords like hashtags and proper names. Misspellings in these areas will result in significant grade penalties.

Optional

If you choose to do so, you may include as the final line your copyright credit as the creator of the image (e.g. “© Jane Smith, 2019”).