Lights, camera...learning is the action - Vivi Lachs - 04/01/2002

Digital video technology has the potential to revolutionise teaching as we know it, adding value to learning by feeding the imagination of both teachers and pupils. Over the following pages we look at how it can be applied in the classroom and beyond. First, following her Platform article on video making, Vivi Lachs, pictured below, presents her 10-point guide to shooting digital video.

Video making is becoming increasingly popular and there's more to it than simply having the right kit. Like any subject it needs planning thoroughly so be prepared, take the right approach and you and your students will reap the rewards.

1. Teacher planning

Decide what subject matter you are going to use. This can be virtually anything. Students could be making a descriptive video of a science experiment, a Government Information video on social issues, or an advert for a part of the curriculum. It could be an online newspaper with video, a reconstruction of a historical event or even a video poem. The sky's the limit.

You may want to take a part of the curriculum that is less motivating for students to give it a new spark. Set some targets by which you are going to evaluate the project. Then decide how long the project will take. If the students have worked well on preliminary storyboards and some filming, one minute of film will take four or five hours. Each group should work together at one computer, so if you have only one machine available, you will need to divide up the time and use lessons. Of course, some students can film while others edit.

You can also try to get a day or two off-timetable and use your computer suite or City Learning Centre.

2. Ideas and research

Early brainstorms and ideas should lead to discussions and research to make sure that the information to be considered is clear and familiar to the students - poems may need to be written, websites and books consulted. Consider who is the target audience and brainstorm ways to keep them watching your movie.

3. Film, filming and the Web

Consider the genre that you'll be using for the video, such as documentary, wildlife or drama, as well as the style you're aiming for, such as whether or not you'll be using background images. We are all so familiar with television, so why not prepare some questions for students to check out watching the TV at home and look at some more relevant clips together in class.

Give them a sense of how long two minutes is, how many times the camera angle changes and listen to voice-overs and background music. Let them have a little bit of time to play with the camera and have a go and get the giggles out of the way early!

4. Storyboard

Although students often struggle make a detailed storyboard, it is useful for them to write a list of order of events. This will include footage to film, sound track to record, and any items such as props, costumes and CDs that need to be acquired. Remember to take copyright laws into account.

5. Rehearse

Very useful. You don't want students to end up with half an hour of footage to cut to one or two minutes as it will take too long. Give them a top limit of ten minutes or so of footage to film. If they are planning to carry out interviews, rehearse them and any necessary follow-up questions.

6. Film

If possible, use a tripod to avoid camera shake. Encourage your students to be sparing with the zoom. If they take a scene twice, do it from different angles. They do not need to film in order although it might be easier to find the footage later. You will often find that they end up changing their storyboard as they are filming and you need to be flexible about this.

6b. Re-film

If the sound quality or camera shake are particularly bad, or some footage could not be taken before, then re-film. But not more than twice because the content is more important than perfectionism.

7. Edit

This is the most important and probably most time-consuming part. Listen to their conversations while editing. If they are engaging with the special effects to the detriment of the content, then intervene.

7b. Re-edit

It is the process and the product that are of educational benefit. If your students want to make a piece they are proud of, then, if necessary or possible, they could use their lunchtimes or do it after school.

8. Trial and re-edit

It is very useful to show the video to a member of the target audience and gather some feedback. Be sensitive as to how you set up this session, as having spent a good deal of time in creating the video, you don't want your students to hear very negative criticism that is not practical. They do not need to take on all criticism, but if they deem it appropriate then you should encourage them to amend the piece accordingly.

9. Put on the Web

If the video is to go on the Web, a Web page will need to include other information which needs to be designed and written.

10. Evaluate the project

Evaluate the project against your initial criteria. Ensure that you assess the project in a number of ways. You can assess individual students for the process through observation and class discussion. But evaluate the product as a group.

Vivi Lachs is the author of Making Multimedia in the Classroom: A Teachers Guide published by RoutledgeFalmer. Many of these issues are taken up in more detail in the book.