Production
As soon as you open the studio doors for rehearsal or a video-recording session, or load an SD card into a camera into the van for a field shoot, you are in production. Except for rehearsals, Production involves equipment and normally a crew—people who operate the equipment. It includes all activities in which an event is video-recorded or televised.
Before you jump into any of the projects below, please make sure that you teach your students how to use your equipment. We recommend you teach them the following things:
Camera
How to turn it on? What is white balance? What/Where is the iris? How do I focus? What is auto focus? Where does the tape/SD card go? What's this red button do?
Camera Angles
What are some of the basic camera angles? Why are they so important? How to tell a story or set tone/mood through camera angles?
Lights
Why?
Microphones
Why?
Before you jump into any of the projects below, please make sure that you teach your students how to use your equipment. We recommend you teach them the following things:
Camera
How to turn it on? What is white balance? What/Where is the iris? How do I focus? What is auto focus? Where does the tape/SD card go? What's this red button do?
Camera Angles
What are some of the basic camera angles? Why are they so important? How to tell a story or set tone/mood through camera angles?
Lights
Why?
Microphones
Why?
Doorway Scene
This project comes from the AFI (American Film Institute) and teaches kids the building blocks of a scene.
Scene Analyzation
This project was created to get students to analyze a scene from their favorite TV show or movie. As an added project, you can have the kids recreate the scene shot for shot.
"How-to" video
If a picture speaks a thousand words, then a video certainly adds a good few more on top of that. One area in which video is invaluable is the "how-to" instructional that takes a diagram, recipe, or list of steps and brings the topic to life.
Film Trailers
A trailer (also known as a preview or coming attraction) is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening.
Foley Project
Students learn why Foley is important in any production and to create their own sounds for a film.
Music Video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Students love this project! I try to move this around on my schedule to fit a theme. Christmas, 80's music, Grammy nominated artists
Documentary
A documentary film is a nonfictional motion picture intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record.
This is Me
This is a personal documentary about themselves.
PSA/Commercial
No examples or lessons for this particular project because it is endless. Usually we choose school rules of find a contest online to have the students submit their project to.