## Produce Original Digital Media Content

Creative Commons image by Creative Commons Public Domain

When producing digital stories in this course, your work must include original digital images, video, and/or music that you create. You also have the option to remix openly licensed or public domain materials that are clearly identified as available for reuse. If you choose to use AI-generated content, it must align with the course policy, adhere to ethical guidelines, and respect copyright laws.

As a digital storyteller, you may integrate original, openly licensed, and AI-assisted materials, provided they comply with course guidelines. Always give credit to the sources of all digital assets—whether created by you, openly available, or AI-generated—in your script, storyboard, and closing credits.

## AI Resources

If you use AI tools to generate images or video for your digital stories, you must clearly document the program used and how the content was created. AI-generated visuals, such as those from DALL-E or Midjourney, are based on user input and should be transparently integrated into your work. While AI can assist in refining and enhancing creative elements, your project should be guided by your original script, storyboard, and analysis to ensure authenticity and academic integrity. For text-based work, AI may only be used as an assistant for spelling, grammar, organization, and citation formatting—not to generate content or replace your own ideas and analysis.

## Search for Images, Video, and Music with Open Licenses

To enhance your digital story with openly-available materials, explore these reliable resources:

- Openverse - This is a search engine developed by the Creative Commons (CC) that provides access to a wide range of openly-licensed media content for reuse.
- Wikimedia Commons - This site is hosted by Wikimedia Foundation (also responsible for Wikipedia) and offers media that is freely available and openly-licensed.
- Smithsonian Open Access provides millions of images from the Smithsonian collection that are now open access and available to use for free (as long as you attribute the source).
- Artvee - This commercial web site offers many images about art and artists that are now public domain and freely available for personal and commercial projects. Be sure to only select images from this site that are labeled public domain, since many are not yet available for reuse and are protected by copyright. Review the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy (which includes their Cookies Policy).
- Pixabay - This commercial web site is for accessing royalty-free images but be sure check their license summary, terms of service, privacy policy, and cookies policy since it is a commercial platform. Also be aware that this site often features "sponsored" images that require payment so be sure to only search for free and open materials (you are not required to purchase any media content for this course).

Several of the editing platforms you may use for producing digital stories will include free clip art, images, video and music. It is fine to use these materials but remember to always credit the source, even if a built-in feature of the program.

## Resources about Copyright, Public Domain, and Open Licenses

To learn more about copyright, public domain, and open licenses, review these resources:

- SUNY Empire Copyright Information Website - This is a comprehensive resource that provides up-to-date and extensive information about all aspects of copyright.
- What is copyright? - This resource from the CopyrightGOV - U.S. Copyright Office explains what copyright is and how it is understood in the United States.
- Copyright - This page defines copyright from a European Union perspective.
- Public Domain - This Wikipedia entry provides an excellent definition and overview of the term public domain.
- Creative Commons - This is an online community committed to creating and sharing openly licensed materials. It provides information about how to Use & Remix open resources in the Commons.
- About CC Licenses - This page explains what a Creative Commons (CC) license is and describes each of the licenses available. You are not required to designate an open license for your own digital stories, but these definitions will help you to evaluate materials that have a license designated by the producer of that work.
- How to give attribution - This page explains how to give credit to CC works you identify.