Getting a Job and Keeping It: The Importance of Measuring Employability Skills
Discover the secret to excelling in the fast-paced world of video and film production! In this article, we explore the indispensable value of employability skills, from punctuality to teamwork, that can make or break your career in this competitive industry.
7 Icebreakers for Getting to Know Your Video/Film Students
This article gives you seven ideas (with directions) for icebreakers to use with your students. There is even a bonus Kahoot! included based on the popular Netflix show “Stranger Things”.
Learning With Your Students
If you want your students to learn, you need to be willing to learn with them. I recently had a chance to attend a video scoreboard camp with my students, and these are the things I took away from that event.
B-Roll: An Educational Approach
B-roll - you hear about it all the time, but what is it? This article will help clarify your understanding of b-roll as well as give you some tips and tricks on how to do it better.
Say My Name: The Importance of Knowing Your Students
In this article Josh relates some personal experiences where having a personal connection with his students made all the difference. He also gives a fun way that you can get to know your students more… beginning on the first day of school, so that you can create a classroom environment “where everybody knows your name”.
Common camera supports used in the film industry
Too often our students are lazy and refuse to do the work to get the best possible shots. Sometimes though… we don’t teach them everything they need to know. This article provides some of the information we might leave out from time-to-time, as related to camera support systems.
EditMentor: The Hands-On Way to Teach Video Editing
EditMentor is a web-based program that allows you to walk your students through the production process via an interface that is simple to use and editing software agnostic.
Tech to Make Remote Learning Feel More Connected
HoverCam, an innovative technology leader in the education market has a handful of new products to streamline learning in remote and traditional classroom environments!
What is Dogme 95 and Does It Still Matter?
Raising above all other film manifestos, the lasting effects of this infamous dogme can still be seen today. Dogme 95 was a manifesto brought forth by Lars Von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg. This Danish film movement based on a manifesto also known as the “Vows of Chastity” caused quite a stir in the filmmaking community.
How To Teach a Successful Video Production Class
Each year, I work on creating a pacing guide for my courses. It’s my one-stop-shop for what I think we need to cover and when we should cover it. The biggest key to setting up the pacing for my courses is that I am 100% flexible in my expectations. In recent talks about the pacing of his animation course, Jamie Chuven at John’s Creek HS in Atlanta put it perfectly “students take 6 weeks on something that should take 3.” That’s the hardest part, trying to figure out/remember how long it takes students to receive the lesson, comprehend the lesson, and build the product to an acceptable level.
Sample Rubric for Grading Video Production Students
The senior level of our Video Productions program is strictly a production class so students are working on different projects from the moment they walk in the door. This can be a grading nightmare, so I developed a portfolio sheet they are required to complete on a weekly basis.
Project Packet Template for Your Video Production Class
This project packet for students can be tailored to any type of major long-term assignment. Matched with a grading rubric, it is a great tool to help organize each phase of production and track milestones along the way.
3D Printing Camera Gear & Accessories
Camera gear and accessories have a tendency to break the bank. As a teacher or student, working within a small budget forces you to compromise on the type of gear you afford. When you’re working with a tight budget, you can 3D print camera gear and accessories instead!
Streaming is Now a Felony
Sunday, Congress passed the newest stimulus package and I’ll admit my understanding of politics isn’t much than being a bill on capitol hill and the research I do about 2 weeks before I vote. I do know that with every “package” there are things you don’t want… unless it’s bubble wrap.
How To Archive and Keep Your Projects Searchable
There was a time I would archive all raw footage and an uncompressed MOV file, but the reality is that 99 percent of the time, I never need to access all of that. We mainly archive in an MP4 format, so that helps reduce the size of our storage needs.
How To Name Your Files To Streamline Your Video Project
Are you looking for a suitable method of tracking projects for grading and archiving? Here is a standard of practice I developed for our students about ten years ago that drastically improved our workflow process. With hundreds of projects, shows, and events being produced each year, we needed a better system in place, and it had to start with project naming.
Veteran Documentary - The Best Production Project
You get to do so many great projects with students when you run a video productions and broadcast journalism program. News packages highlight some of the exciting things happening in your school and community, music videos bring out everyone's creative side, short films generate some unique narratives, and live sports provide a rush that is hard to beat. We have all of these forms of production going on at Hoover High School in North Canton, Ohio, in what we call our NCtv Media program, and it makes for an excellent comprehensive education.
Coffee, Tea, or Earbuds?
Half the job of an editor is working with sound. If you have students editing in a computer lab, you are probably having them use headphones when they are at their computer. We decided to eliminate the over-the-ear cans that students were sharing (yuck) and opted for earbuds.
How To Make the Fake Blood From The Evil Dead!
The Evil Dead is one of the best horror films of the 20th century. It is iconic, campy, and filled with blood. The 1981 American supernatural classic was written and directed by Sam Raimi and it stars the most famous B movie actor of all time --Bruce Campbell. If you are interested in making a short horror movie this is a great place to start. Bruce Campbell spills it all and shows us how to make his infamous fake blood that actually shows up well on camera.
What Do SD Cards and Pawn Stars Have in Common?
Media content is like gold, so it is frustrating to lose it after filming. Whether you work with a small group of students in your video club, or you have several classes of 25 students in each, you need a good system of managing your media cards.