CSE610 - Day 8 - iMovie

Movie Making
      During Day Eight the class will discuss the final three chapters of Healy's "Failure to Connect."

This page will be updated before week 8.

     The activity of the day will be to explore the use of movies in the classroom and in groups of three or four will produce a 30-second video commerical.

Videos in the Classroom

Ideas for using video in the classroom

  • We can use videos to teach content: showing documentaries and informational videos.
  • We can conduct research on ourselves: students can videotape themselves performing and then analyze their performance.
  • We can conduct research on others: students can videotape an activity and then analyze/code the video to learn from what they see.
  • We can use video production to teach literature and writing skills
  • We can analyze videos and movies to teach media literacy
  • We can create videos to document stories in our community
  • We can create oral histories
  • We can use video to give reports

 

Integrating video in the classroom

For ideas on using video production in your classroom to teach leadership skills, teamwork, and production skills, watch the video:
Seeing is Believing: Technology Integration in Practice. Note how video production gives the students a voice and an audience.

 

21st century skills

For ideas about teaching 21st Century skills in the classroom, watch the video Digital students @ analog schools:

 

Examples of schools with student film festivals

Mabry Film Festival
SFETT iCan Film Festival

 

Resources for digital storytelling


Video resources for the classroom

    YouTube now has an educational channel, YouTube EDU, with links to all sorts of educational videos.

    Google Video provides searchable access to videos--similar to YouTube.

    TeacherTube is similar to YouTube, but designed specifically for teachers.

    SchoolTube is another educational video website, focusing heavily on sharing student videos.

    And many of you might have UnitedStreaming or another commercial video supply site via a school subscription.

Using a Video Camcorders
      Here are a list of hints to help you be a better cameraperson.

  • Hold the camera steady. Use a tripod whenever possible. Or brace yourself and the camera against a stable structure like a building, doorframe, or tree. If you're not using a tripod hold the camera with both hands and anchor your elbows against your rib cage.
  • Typically you will pan (move from side to side) slowly. Even if it seems like you're panning slowly, it will appear faster when reviewing and editing the footage. If you pan quickly you should have a good reason.
  • The same is true for zooming, changing focal lengths. There are three primary shots: a closeup such as a head shot during an interview; a medium shot such as a full subject as the person is walking; and an established shot or a distance shot which shows the loacation or landscape. Do not zoom too quickly. When you zoom into a shot, hold it for a while. Use it sparingly.
  • Tilting is moving the camera up and down. Again moves should be made slowly and sparingly and in one direction, either up or down in a single shot.
  • Next rule: do not zoom and pan or tilt at the same time. Make one adjustment at a time.
  • Be aware of the background: backlighting, excessive action, excessive noise.
  • Be aware of lighting. Bright lights behind the subject causes the camera to adjust to the bright light and the subject becomes dark. Center the camera on the subject so the camera adjusts to the lighting of the subject.

Digital Video Assignment

      Important!

  • In order to save your video as you work on it, you must save to the folder entitled "class_bucy" in "untitled". This will save your video to the hard drive of the computer in a folder that will not be erased.
  • To relocate your movie when you return for another session, you must work on the same computer that you saved your video on. and the same person must logon.

Assignment

Working in groups of 3-4 students, you will select a product from an assortment provided in class. Your job is to create a 30-second commercial to market this project. To get started, you must make some initial decisions:

  1. What is your product?
  2. Who is the audience that your commercial will target?
  3. What is your unique selling point? What makes this product special?
    • Why do people need to buy it?
    • Why will people want to buy it?
  4. Create a Slogan for your product. (a single sentence or phrase)
  5. How will people feel if they own (eat, use, etc.) this product?ß Write one sentence that tells people how this product will make them feel.
  6. What images might make people feel the way you want the product to make them feel?
  7. What kind of music will make people feel the way you want the product to make them feel?
  8. Use the storyboard templates provided to draw a storyboard of your commercial. For a 30-second commercial you should expect to need about 15 frames on your storyboard. Remember to use long shots to establish the setting, as well as medium shots, close-ups, extreme close-ups, and a variety of angles.
  9. After you have planned your video, shoot your footage. You may go outside or to other locations on campus if necessary. Remember to shoot more footage than you actually need: start the camera recording early and keep it recording for a few seconds after your scene has ended.
  10. Return to the classroom and capture your footage in iMovie.
    • Organize your clips on the timeline in the order you will need them, add transitions, soundtrack, captions, etc.
  11. Production Crew: Assign each member of your team a specific job which that person will be in charge of. Youcan assign roles such as a director, a director of photography, an audio engineer and an editor. You may need people to play more than one role. Each person in your group must take on at least one lead role.

    Your finished commercial will include the following requirements:

    • Exactly 30 seconds in length.
    • Includes between 10 and 20 individual clips
    • Includes a variety of camera shots, including
      1. Long shots (establishing shots)
      2. Medium shots
      3. Close-ups
      4. Extreme close-ups
    • Makes use of different angles in camera shots
    • Includes a slogan, or an identifiable selling point
    • Includes a soundtrack, which can consist of music, words, sound effects, or all three.
    • Must be saved as a QuickTime movie in public_html (p:drive)


    Important Note:
    Before you log off your computer, remember to save all of your video files to the class_bucy folder.