What's in this Module

  • Planning a video project
  • Shooting video pro tips
  • Collecting video from students
  • Video Editors
  • Green Screen and Special Effects
  • Publishing

Part I: Planning for a Project
  • Establish a clear purpose with guidelines & due dates
    • Length of video
    • Content requirements
    • Deadline for script and storyboards
    • Deadline for bringing in props/costumes
    • Date when filming must be complete
  • Clearly identify roles and document (sample doc)
    • ​Actors, Camera person, Narrators, Etc.
    • Be specific about scripts and who is speaking
  • Create a storyboard of scenes (a helpful tool)

Part II:  Shooting video Pro Tips

  • For goodness sakes, turn it landscape
    • Teach students to use landscape
    • Teach students to keep it landscape 
  • Light from the back
    • Teach students to light the subject
    • Avoid filming towards windows, put the window in back of the camera
    • Use a bright lamp to help in dark areas
    • Film under an overhead light, not between them (also, outdoor filming is great for light)​
  • Good sound can make or break a video
  • Getting a mic is a worthwhile investment if you do a lot of video (iPhone models)
  • Phones or tablets only get good audio from 0-6ft. Quality decreases dramatically as you move out from 6ft.
  • Teach students to film up close or have a narrator stand right next to the filmer for long shots.
  • Having students read a long script? Put the script into a tool like Immersive Reader or Cue Prompter.
  • Get students to film the entire scene in a single take.
    • Reduces number of video files to edit
    • Decreases the amount of storage space needed
    • Encourages students to plan and rehearse more deliberately
  • See the video to the right for a student produced, single take - done completely in reverse. It's ridiculous.
  • A sample from a Hollywood movie of a great single shot
  • See the 8min mark of Lost in Time 13 for a single shot

Part III: Collecting Video from Students

Using a Google Form or Microsoft form does have file size limitations.  Flipgrid is a better resource
• If you have an Apple Device, use Airdrop to get everything to one place.
• Flipgrid is the easiest way to collect from any device.
• Upload videos to a shared Google Drive folder so people can access footage on any device.
​
• Create a Google Form to collect videos (students can access via the web without having to download an app), then share the collected videos

• Collect videos through a Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams assignment

Part IV: Video Editors

  • In general, I recommend iMovie for any video project if you have Macs or iPads available for student use.
    • iMovie for Mac has more features (including green screen), but the iPad version will do for most projects
    • Use the "Trailer" feature to create movies without much effort.  These can be completed with minimal or no video footage, pictures, and some text.  See example here.
    • Using Apple devices, it's easy for students to AirDrop video footage from one device to another or to a teacher computer.
Using Chromebooks or other non-Apple devices?
  • WeVideo is a great alternative to iMovie with powerful editing features
    • Import video directly from Google Drive
    • Free version limits to one 5min video
    • Green screen available only with Pro version
• Adobe Spark has a great video feature
• Students can do some simple editing in the YouTube editor though this is restricted in many schools
• Some other live & animation video editors include (not all are free)
• Powtoon         • Animaker
Nawmal                   •  Wideo                 • Animatron

Part V: Special Effects
Green Screening in iMovie
• Use any solid green or blue sheet
• Make sure the area is well lit
• Think about what will go in place of the green and plan the subject's positioning accordingly
Make someone or something disappear or reappear
• Film the subject from a single vantage point
• Pause your video and keep the camera in the exact same spot.  
• All other actors and props should hold their position while camera is paused.  The disappearing subject steps out of the shot at this point.
• Resume filming without the subject in the new shot
• During editing, use a cross dissolve between the two shots and watch your subject "disappear"