CAPTION LAPS. Time allotted to complete this project is: 6 hours

Transcription

1 Name Lap Number Rubric Grade from Student (if present) Rubric Grade from Student (if present) CAPTION LAPS Time allotted to complete this project is: 6 hours If you are unable to finish this project in the allotted time, your grade will be docked 5 points for each hour over. If you have an unusual circumstance that keeps you from finishing within the time allotted, talk to your instructor. TURN IN THIS COVER SHEET WITH THE PROJECT YOU CREATE! Today s Date and Time STARTED: Month Day Year Time AM or PM (circle one) Today s Date and Time FINISHED: Month Day Year Time AM or PM (circle one) Grade Deduction for Time hour(s) x 5 pts = - Speak It Complete Final Grade Mr. Davis Graphic Design Canadian Valley Technology Center Updated: July 2015

2 LEARNING GOAL: A large percentage of projects that you will do in design involve caption writing. You need to learn the proper format so that you can submit captions to a newspaper for publication, so that you can create flyers and brochures as well as any other document that involve photo identification. One: What to read and look at? Read and study all the information about captions and the rules for writing them. There are a couple of examples of captions included in this lap AND a preposition list to help you get started. Later you will go out and take your own pictures and write a caption for one of them. Two: What to Complete? After learning about how to write captions, correct the two captions on the worksheet provided. If you need any help, ask your instructor. Three: What to do next? Open the InDesign file in the shared folder or online and type two brand new captions for the pictures that are provided. Four: SPEAK IT? Before you can go on to the next lap, you must meet with your instructor and answer a few questions she has about this LAP. Five: You re Finished! You can now continue with the next lap.

3 Captions and Cutlines Captions are the words printed above or below a picture in a book, magazine, television, or newspaper to explain what the picture is showing. Photo captions are one of the most read body type in a publication. Only the titles of stories or headlines have higher readership than captions. Readers look at a photograph first, then the caption under the photo. If the caption intrigues them by providing context and background information, readers will look back at the photograph and see something new. It's called the loop, and their next stop is the story. Captions are the little headlines over the cutlines (the words describing the photograph). Cutlines: Cutlines (at newspapers and some magazines) are the words (under the caption, if there is one) describing the photograph or illustration. See example. Example: Not all photographs carry a caption line. See Rules. Caption: Obama vs. Palin Cutline: President Obama and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin have agreed to disagree over the rules of a death match scheduled between the two in the Capitol Rotunda. Betting odds in Las Vegas give the nod to Palin, who has been known to shoot a moose, after the two met on Thursday.

4 Typical Reader Behavior First, the reader looks at the photo, mentally capturing all or most of the most obvious visual information available. Often this reader look is merely a glance, so subtle aspects of the picture may not register with many readers. Second, when the photo sparks interest, the reader typically looks just below the photo for information that helps explain the photo. That's when captions and cutlines must perform. Finally, the reader goes back to the photo (so be sure you enhance the experience and explain anything that needs explaining). Required Information Cutlines should explain the picture so that readers are satisfied with their understanding of the picture. They should not tell what the picture has made obvious. It should supply vital information that the picture cannot. For example, a picture can show a football player leaping to catch a pass, but it likely does not show that the result was the winning touchdown. The cutline usually give the following information: Who is that? (Identify people from left to right unless the photograph demands otherwise.) Why is this picture in the paper? What's going on? When and where was this? Why does he/she/it/they look that way? How did this occur?

5 Rules: Be concise and precise. Unlike headlines (and caption lines), cutlines should contain all articles and conjunctions, just as sentences in news stories. News picture cutlines should be straightforward and clear. Do not point out the obvious by using such phrases as looks on, is shown and pictured above. Don't make assumptions about what someone in a picture is thinking or try to interpret the person's feelings from his or her expression. The reader should be given the facts and allowed to decide for the feelings and emotions for themselves. Avoid describing a picture. If it's not evident in the photograph, that it is beautiful, dramatic, or grisly, your telling the reader won't make it happen. The cutline should explain something about how the picture was taken if it shows something not normally observable by the human eye. For example, was a wide- angle lens used? Or time- lapse photography? The words should reflect the picture. If a picture shows two or more people, the cutline writer should count the number of identifiable people in the photo and check the number and sex of the people identified in the cutline to make certain that they match. Make sure the cutline does not include someone who has been cropped out of the original photo. Always, always, always check spelling. The cutline writer should check the spelling of names in the story against the names that a photographer has provided to see if there are discrepancies. The editor also should be sure that names in the cutline are the same names used in the story. It should not be John Smith in the cutline, but John P. Smith in the story. Wild art. Photographs that do not accompany stories often are termed wild art. Cutlines for wild art should provide the same basic information that a story does: who, what, when, where and why. If you don't have all the information you need, get on the phone and get the information. Don't try writing the cutline without needed facts. Most cutlines for wild art also have a caption line. If a picture is running with a story, a lengthy cutline is usually not needed. Sometimes a single line is sufficient to identify the people or situation shown in the picture and to make clear their relationship to the story. Remember many readers will read only the cutline and the headline. So the cutline must strike a delicate balance between telling enough information to understand the photo, while being as crisp and brief as possible. Shorter is better. Cutline writing triggers a temptation to use long sentences. Avoid that temptation. Cutlines need to be rewritten in clear crisp sentences.

6 Time elements Most newspapers use a cutline writing style that calls for the first sentence to be written in the present tense and for subsequent sentences to be in the past tense. The rationale is that the first sentence tells the reader what is happening in the photo. Subsequent sentences tell the context and background for what happened. Example: Bay City Fire Chief Art Brown carries 3- year- old Tina Wilson out of her burning home. Tina's parents, Al and Barb Wilson, died from smoke inhalation on Friday night. Fire destroyed their home at 1234 Maple St. A common flaw is incorrectly placing the time element in the first sentence:... carries 3- year- old Tina Wilson out of her burning home Friday night. It is incorrect to have both the present tense verb and the past- tense time adverb in the same sentence. The easiest solution is moving the time element to a subsequent sentence as in the example above. It also is possible to avoid the conflict by using the time element as adjectival information:... carries 3- year- old Tina Wilson away from the Friday night fire that destroyed her home. Some publications omit the time element from single- line cutlines. Critics argue that this practice often mars reader understanding. Always include a time element to inform the reader when the action pictured was taking place. Finally, don't do fiction This usually happens when the photographer shows up to shoot something, but they ve missed the action or there s nothing really to show. For example, when a Kansan photographer needed to shoot a photo about a CD being released locally, he went to the store. What he found was a bunch of the CDs lined up on the shelf. And, of course, it's nice to get someone in the photo. So the photographer had one of the store employees go to one of the shelves to hold one of the CDs slightly askew so it could be seen. No problem, except the cutline said the clerk was rearranging the shelf. Nope. Pure fiction. In this case, simply say the employee displays the CD. Readers won't mind. In other situations, figure out the best way to say it; just don't do fiction.

7 Preposition List: aboard about above across after against along amid among anti around as at before behind below beneath beside besides between beyond but by concerning considering despite down during except excepting excluding following for from in inside into like minus near of off on onto opposite outside over past per plus regarding round save since than through to toward towards under underneath unlike until up upon versus via with within without

8 Giving Life Cheyenne Sanders, a senior at Alex High School gave information to a nurse during the annual Blood Drive. Sanders told the nurse about her health history. The blood drive is held all day. Five Problems: 1/does not start with preposition 2/wrong verb tense in sentence one 3/missing where this occurred 4/ sentence two has repetitive information 5/ wrong verb tense in sentence three Rewrite the cutline with corrections in the space provided. Change the caption to one of your own if needed.

9 Ropes Ranger While he hangs on for dear life, Alex, a senior at Amber High School tried to make it to the ground. He completes the course in record time. He also is doing the advanced course as well.. Five Problems: 1/missing last name (hint: it s Martinez) 2/wrong verb tense in sentence one 3/sentence one assumes what someone is thinking 4/ wrong verb tense in sentence two 5/ wrong verb tense in sentence three Rewrite the cutline with corrections in the space provided. Change the caption to one of your own if needed.

10 Open the InDesign file in the shared folder or online and type two brand new captions for the pictures that are provided. Highlight over the caption and type your own. Highlight over the cutline and type your own! Top Picture Facts: Joyce Ryans [left] and Sara Cox [right] both seniors-- Ninnekah HS--getting ready for low-ropes--were in morning graphic design class--joyce going culinary--sara going Psychology Bottom Picture Facts: Taneka Blakes, junior Chickasha HS, nicknamed ski bunny because she wore the hat during ropes--1st year in graphic design--this was before going on high ropes course--it was cold, but not too cold that morning

11 Grading Rubric Giving Life out of 20 points: 4 points per correction Ropes Ranger out of 20 points: 4 points per correction InDesign Top Cutline and Caption out of 30 points: 5 for each piece of required information InDesign Bottom Cutline and Caption out of 30 points: 5 for each piece of required information - 2 points for not following rules of captions and cutlines - 5 points for grammatical mistakes total