Teach42

When he creates projects with his students, they use a system comprised of four P’s: Planning, producing, producing and Pheedback. Each P has a series of steps, and he has podcasts that outline every step of the way, designed by and for TEACHERS.

He introduced the presentation by sharing a video that students made focusing on what they didn’t like about the school environment they’re learning in, and what they’d like to see done differently. The basic message in a nutshell was, students feel empowered and want to take more control of their learning using every tool at their disposal, and instead they’re immersed in a traditional lecture/lab environment. They feel stifled. These are former students of his who are now in universities. They created the movie across campuses, never even working face to face at all. They transfered files back and forth and made it happen.

The credits from the movie were incredibly creative. It was essentially an iChat between one of the students and Marco, with Marco asking questions like “Who edited the film?” and the student responding “Oh, we each took turns. Jim, John, Juan, Chung and Chaim each did a piece.” A great example of making something mundane, innovative.

The target audience for the video wasn’t teachers actually, it was other students to get them thinking along these lines and to encourage them to start having these conversations on their own campuses.

Interesting, he says that all of the movies he showed during the keynote, had production times of a single day. Longer was spent planning them and storyboarding, but the actual production took a very small amount of time.

Typically teachers gather a tremendous amount of footage. At his school, they actually log and archive all of their raw footage so that they can use it again without having to go get it again. He encourages people to train your eye, to change the way you see symbols in the world.

Heh, he just showed a two minute trailor for a movie and asked us to count the ‘cuts’. Two minutes. 211 cuts. Wow. He reccomends that you think about what type of movie this is going to be and write down what sort of tone will be appropriate for it. For example, this was an action movie, so a frantic pace is appropriate. 211 cuts. A dramatic movie that that is more heartfelt might have a more leisurely pace.

He just showed a commercial for Powerbar. 30 seconds, 29 cuts. One cut per second. Typically people when they go to shoot their video they shoot incredibly lengthy clips. 10-20 minutes nonstop. It’s more effective to use large numbers of brief clips and get cut together to convey a message.

He keeps saying that he’s got a podcast about this that takes you step by step. I wonder if they’re actually podcasts or if they’re video podcasts. Hmmm….

He’s pointing out that it helps to draw out the scene, where each person is, and then having your students draw out where the cameras are going to be to get the shots they want.

There are three main shots. Long, medium and close ups. Wide shots communicate the stage, setting and background. They establish the scene. They provide context and show where it’s happening. If your students use wide shot to depict something emotional, the student is making a ‘grammatical mistake’. For the most part, they should be using a close up. That’s not to say that a long shot can’t be used to convey emotion, but if it is it should be done very deliberately and they better be able to justify why they used it.

Mid shots convey what is happening. It’s the verb. The action shot. Dialogue, but not emotional dialogue.

The close up shot is called the headless shot. You usually cut off the top of people’s heads because you’re most concerned about the eyes. You’re trying to capture what they’re thinking, how they’re feeling.

Moving on, if you’re going to shoot a movie, you have to have good light. If you don’t have light, you don’t have your images. Composition is also critical. You have to know what you’re trying to communicate. Sound makes a huge difference. It must be very clear.

Light: The color white can be friend or foe. You have three colors in digital imagery. White is in the middle and sets the tone. Most cameras will take an average from the room and will base colors based on what it assumes the white to be. White balancing can change the image dramatically. Often students try to get fantastic backgrounds and don’t pay attention to the light. The actual subjects wind up completely blacked out because of it.

If you hold up your hand and try to spin around until you see the place where your hand is brightest, that’s where you want your subject to be.

The best time to shoot is during the morning and late in the afternoon. The light is at an angle, so it’s possible to get nice soft light. If you’re shooting in the middle of the day, shoot in the shadows because your light is even. The best time to shoot is actually when it’s cloudy, because it’s ‘even’ light. The camera amplifies all the little stuff. So if it looks a little dark, it’s going to be super dark on camera and even worse when projected.

Another tip: Buy a tripod. Keep the camera movement to a minimum. Pan, tilt or zoom only for a purpose.

Sound. Sound or music makes or breaks your movie. The microphone is usually on the camera. You need a quiet place to record your voice overs, like a closet, car, something small and enclosed if possible. The mic needs to be close to the sound source. Make use of handhelds, booms and lavalieres. Get headphones so you can always hear eactly what you’re recording so you know if you’re getting it or not.

Other tips: Get permission forms, let the authorities know that you’ll be filming in that area. Or call the local film commission. At first they’ll be confused, but then they’ll be impressed and thankful that you did. Shoot multiple takes and note them on the storyboard. Seperate the shots using a slate/clapboard.

“No amount of technology can make a bad movie good.” — plaque at Pixar.

Websites with resources are at sfett.com, torres21.com and flickschool.com

technorati tags:blc, blc06, Digital Storytelling

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