Music, dance, community & culture

Show the world how music and dance influence your life, bring you joy and define your community. How does singing, dancing, performing, and celebrating express your culture and your identity?

First, choose a focus: one person, a group of people, or a topic to explore.

Examples of ideas to think about:

• Creativity: original songwriting, choreography
• Spoken word
• Tradition: religious, spiritual, cultural
• New trends in music and/or dance
• Learning: playing a musical instrument or a new dance
• History: how a music or dance tradition began, or it has changed over time
• Health: how music and dance affects performers and audiences
• Activism: using music and/or dance to push for change
• Fun: finding joy and meaning in music and/or dance
• School club: how a club has allowed students to express themselves

DEADLINE: March 15, 2024

SUBMIT YOUR STORY HERE

IMPORTANT: If you are submitting Google Drive links, ​you must change the share settings from "restricted" to "allow general access: anyone with a link can edit."

NOTE: must also have this release form completed to confirm your participation in Student Reporting Labs (SRL). The SRL team evaluates pieces based on this criteria. Please be sure your story incorporates these requirements.

• Profile (2-4 min. long): A profile is the story of one person. It has voiceover (VO), b-roll, pictures, nats (natural sound), interviews of family members or peers of that one person. Here’s an example of a profile.
• Explainer (2-4 min. long): A video explaining a concept. Often it includes a host/narrator speaking directly to the camera. The tone could be serious, funny, or informative. Here’s an example of an explainer.
• News package (3-5 min. long): Video stories about newsworthy issues and topics. A news package has factual information, balanced reporting, research, voice overs, multiple interviews soundbites, b-roll footage. It may also include things like infographics, a reporter standup, nats (natural sound from filming b-roll). Here’s an example of a news package.
• NAT package (2-4 min. long): A video story guided by the natural sound from interviews and the environment where you’re filming. Natural sound, commonly known as “NAT sound,” puts the viewer in the place the story was told by enhancing the scene(s) with video containing rich audio such as a musician singing at a train station, a storm approaching, or the sound of a tractor plowing the field. This kind of story would often not have a voiceover narration. Here’s an example of a nat package.
• Audio/podcast story: (3-5 min. long): Create a short audio story about music for SRL’s On Our Minds Season 4 podcast, about teen life and mental health. Check out SRL’s video about how to record audio, and these resources from NPR training about how to make an audio story.

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Florida teen uses dance to foster awareness of Punjabi culture

Exploring the connection between our brains, our moods and music

How cumbia has shaped music across Latin America

Resources For Covering 2023-24 Prompt Topics

FILL OUT THE SUBMISSION FORM HERE

You must also have this release form completed to confirm your participation in Student Reporting Labs (SRL). NOTE: The SRL team evaluates pieces based on this criteria. Please be sure your story incorporates these requirements.

IMPORTANT: If you are submitting Google Drive links, ​you must change the share settings from "restricted" to "allow general access: anyone with a link can edit."

NOTE: students are encouraged to publish their stories on their school/club/program website or through video/social platforms such as YouTube, Instagram or Twitter and tag Student Reporting Labs. Check with your teacher to find out instructions for class submissions.

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TWITTER: @REPORTINGLABS

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