I Had a Dream

No, really. I dreamt of all of you and how much fun you are having at Emma without me. JR's project was especially exciting! He made a commercial selling a Super Grover BBQ to the under 10 crowd. It was definitely not safe, but it looked totally cool. Feel free to follow through with that in real life, JR!

So I made a retirement video for one of the teachers at my school. I actually finished it on Wednesday night, but somewhere between Maidstone and Lashburn it evaporated off my laptop! I bet it happened at Waseca. Waseca is kind of sketchy from what I hear....I have no doubt they've got some kind of Bermuda Triangle thing happening there. Anyway! As a result of this spontaneous disappearance, I had to redo the entire video before the assembly at 1pm. After some stalling, snacks, and a brain wave dance I sprinted to the gym at 1:45. It is not as awesome as the first one, but considering it was done in 4 hours in a room full of students playing computer games, I think it's pretty okay!

I think you'll especially enjoy the progression of lighting. You can tell when I finally got good at it and there aren't a million shadows! Can you spot the clips?

Final Project Inspiration

The inspiration for my final video project comes from this video. I love the AIM program and my students love this video. I'd like to take one of the other plays (L'arbre Ungali, perhaps?) and create a similar type of video. Maybe not with Lady Gaga, but something trendy that the kids would engage in. You should watch it. It's hilarious.

Assignment One

How very unlike me, doing things out of sequential order. Guess that means the OCD meds really ARE working. And without further adieu (pronounced ah-dyou, NOT ah-doo) my moderately verbose ponderings on Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Assignment one asked us to watch an educational television program and examine its goals, objectives, and production techniques. The television show I chose was “Greatest Inventions with Bill Nye: Engineering and Architecture”. Had I read the assignment beforehand, I would have remembered that the show we chose was supposed to be a maximum of fifteen minutes long. Instead, I watched Bill Nye jabber on about bridges, canals, and freeways for an hour. TWICE – because I couldn’t focus on the content and the production at the same time. Regardless of my error, I did analyze the video and, to be perfectly honest, it was quite repetitive so I can comment on one segment and the whole video all at once. If only I had recognized that after the first hour! Oh well, you know what they say about hindsight…

I believe the goals and objectives of this program are mainly information dissemination-based. The segments are quite short and don’t delve into any of the topic matter beyond a superficial level, but the basic facts are presented along with some interesting asides. It is definitely an edutainment video – seemingly dull, curricular information passed along in the most exciting way possible.

The program had everything education theory says a lesson should have. The whole production started with an introduction outlining the topics to be discussed in short, flashy, vibrant clips (well hello there, motivational set!). The segments of the video were separated like a text book would be with each different architectural or engineering focus being a separate chapter. Each chapter started with an interesting fact or a demonstration of why the architecture was forced to adapt and evolve (like a clip of the Tacoma narrows bridge swaying in the wind and falling into the water). In several segments, clips of school-aged kids participating in a “real-life” experiment (popsicle stick bridges, anyone?) were included, making the content more relevant and accessible for the students. Other educational features of the video included: labels (both visual and audio) on complex diagrams or explanations as well as abundant review and summarization at the end of each clip and also at the end of the video.

Moving onto the video production side of things, I noticed a lot of diversity when it came to shot choices. More specifically, their shot choices made sense – they weren’t just added in for the sake of switching it up – and they added to the information being presented. Case in point, a low-angle shot of a pair of feet walking down a cobblestone road illustrated the realities of the first roads and a dolly shot simulated travelling down the road in the interstate segment. In addition, low and high angles of skyscrapers and panoramic views of skylines help perpetuate the grandeur of those buildings. Many times, a zoom technique was used on still photos to give the illusion of movement and provide focus.

In class, Jay said that sound is crucial to the quality of a video and that was apparent in several ways in this video. First off, the musical choices were very well made. The music was generic without being too elevator-esque - French accordion music could be heard in the segments about city development in Paris, Charleston music was used during clips of bridges from the 20s, and a modern driving beat was used in the interstate scenes. Most of the audio in this video was excellent and complemented the visual quite nicely. One notable exception was an interview scene with a professional in the water treatment section. They interviewed him outside of the water station and had the waterfall sound in the background. While creating authenticity, it felt like white noise in the background and I found it very distracting.

In the miscellaneous and not-very-surprising category, I noticed that green screen was used in several scenes. The effect was somewhat comedic, yet still fit into the general tone of the presentation. There were many transitions between clips and they varied in complexity. Some were a simple fade or wipe, and others used custom animations instead. Of course, there was also a flashy introduction at the beginning with theme music and clips of cool experiments from other episodes and a credit reel at the end. Both included bright colours, lots of movement, and catchy music.

All in all, I think it was well produced; and who doesn’t love Bill Nye? I would definitely use this with my students if I were ever given the opportunity to teach about architecture or engineering. Bill certainly makes it more entertaining (and accurate!) than I could. MissPeaswiki give it an enthusiastic 4 film reels out of 5.

Assignment Two

Seems I'm putting the cart before the horse a little here by posting assignment two before assignment one. What can I say, assignment two was a lot more fun and I just haven't gotten around to typing up my thoughts on Bill Nye the Science Guy yet.
But I digress.
Here it is: My 33 production shots. Since I'm sure your brains are all drained after making your OWN videos, I've included which shots I intended each scene to be as a subtitle. If you'd like to watch the video SANS subtitle, check it out on YouTube here.

Enjoy!

And the Shot List:

 

Pan – still subject	0:54-1:00
Pan – moving subject	4:02-4:11
Pan – swish pan	1:43
Long shot	0:01
Medium shot	3:22-3:34
Close-up	2:44
Extreme close-up	2:47
Cut-in	3:35
Cut-away	1:23-1:26
Head-on	1:04-1:12
Tail-away	4:58
Tilt	1:01-1:03
High angle	1:49-2:19
Flat angle	4:12-4:38
Low angle	2:33-2:47
Zoom in	3:37/4:49
Zoom out	3:42
Balance	1:13-1:22
Rule of thirds	2:20-2:32
Dolly	1:27-1:42
Truck	4:39-4:48
Reportorial	0:24-0:41
Objective perspective	2:48-3:04
Subjective perspective	3:05-3:20
Selective focus	0:42-0:51
Title	5:03
Matte or effects	1:34-1:38
Wipe shot	0:02
Follow focus	4:49-4:58
One light	4:12-4:22
Two light	4:23-4:31
Three light	4:32-4:38
Sequence – establishing shot, medium shot, close-up, and re-establishing shot	0:02-0:23



Lessons Learned

I have learned several crucial lessons about video making this week. Allow me to share them with you:
1. Oven mitts are a great (and necessary) investment when working with lighting.
2. No-name polysporin does not facilitate healing as quickly as the real thing.
3. When you tell your star actor that it will only take an hour to record, make sure it will actually only take an hour.
4. Being a good baker is a guarantee for good bribery of video talent.
5. 9" chocolate chip cookies take almost two-thirds longer to cook than regular-sized cookies.
6. Kids are terrible secret keepers.
7. If you decide it would be a good idea to stand on a homemade trolley and race down the hallway in the dark with a video camera attached to your arm, wear a helmet. And consider providing wrapping your camera in bubble wrap.
8. When trying to get a great high angle shot, thoroughly consider the stability of the item you are standing on to get above the video subject. Four milk crates stacked one on top of the other is not recommended. Removing ceiling tiles and hooking your arm through the open grid while standing on said milk crates is also ill-advised.
9. Stroyboarding is way harder than you'd think. How do you account for spur of the moment inspiration?
10. It is really difficult to separate some of the 33 production shots. How is a medium shot that different from a head-on or a flat angle? How do you create a shot specifically showcasing balance or the rule of thirds. Shouldn't those be included in every shot?
11. Jane Fonda has got nothing on 875. Between the running, climbing, and excessive laughter, we could make a killing on a fitness video. 50 sit-ups? No thanks. Laughing so hard you FEEL like you did 50 sit-ups? Yes indeed!

I definitely feel like I have gotten my tuition worth of educational moments this week  and we are only a month into the class!