Audio/Video 2 – Final Video Project Teacher Resource Kit To Facilitate Studio Thinking

Goal of A/V2 Final Video Projects: As a cumulating project, students enrolled in the IT Program’s A/V2 course are asked to create a video that will challenge their abilities as video shooters and editors. They are asked to identify challenges in the areas of aesthetics, technique, and tool usage. The overall project combines process and product, requiring students to think and apply through video. Student ideas are free choice, however videos should be over 1 minute in length. Students will receive feedback from their peers throughout the process and will present their final product to the entire class. Timeline for Final Video Project: (Class meets for 50 minutes, MWF) Expected amount of class time dedicated to project – the last 3 to 4 weeks of the semester. Rationale of Teacher Resource Kit: This resource kit is designed to assist in the facilitation of studio thinking in students who are non-art majors. It will outline basic activities with defined studio thinking concepts, provide materials to support teaching for these concepts, and to guide appropriate teacher questioning and responses to student comments. Teacher Resource Kit Activities:

1) Finding an Idea - Idea Generation, Retention, Envisioning, & Planning 2) Understanding Context - Observation, Inspection, & Context 3) Exploration of Process - Experimentation, Technique Development, & Reflection 4) Project Creation - Idea Transformation, Expression, Persistence, & Reflection

Activity #1: Finding an Idea Idea Generation, Retention, Envisioning, & Planning

Overview: In this activity, students will look for and find an idea that they would like to pursue for their Final Project. They will receive feedback from their peers and create a preliminary script of their idea. Studio Objectives: Idea Generation – come up with the idea from memory, experience, or “scratching” activity. (Tharp, Ch. 6) Idea Retention – hold onto an idea once you have it. (Tharp, Ch. 6) Envisioning & Planning – figuring out the end product before beginning the project. (Hetland, Ch. 7) Additional Resources: Hetland, L. (2007). Studio Thinking. New York: Teachers College Press. Tharp, T. (2003). The Creative Habit. New York: Simon & Schuster. Timeline: One class period for “scratching” and idea generation. One class period reserved for presenting ideas to peers and getting feedback. One class period for typing the first draft of their video script. Potential Technologies: Resources for Students to “scratch” through – Freddiew2 YouTube Channel – behind-the-scenes techniques to achieve complex special effects. Video Copilot – tutorials to create special effects and advanced graphics using Adobe After Effects. Film Riot – behind-the-scenes look at filmmaking and green screen use. Vimeo – video-sharing site of original work. YouTube – video sharing site. MizzouAVcourses YouTube Channel – videos created by past AV students. Blogs for students to post ideas and to receive feedback from each other. Activity: Part #1: Scratching & Retention For their Final Video Project students are required to challenge their abilities as video shooters and editors. They will need to explore challenges in three areas: aesthetics, technique, and tool use. In this activity, students will need to “scratch” for a total of three ideas; one that inspires an aesthetic challenge, one that incorporates a challenging technique, and one that inspires them to use their tool (video editor, or other software) in a new way or to explore a new tool. Students can use some of the above sites to generate ideas. Ideas should be posted to student blogs or forums on course site.

Part #2: Idea Presentation to Peers Although students have posted their ideas on blogs or the course site, they will also explain and present their ideas to a small group of peers for feedback. They should explain how they currently envision their ideas combining into a final project. This face-to-face interaction allows for more spontaneous discussion and informal commenting. Students can leave more formal comments on each other’s posts. Conversation and posts should address the following questions:

1) Of the three videos presented, identify which will be the most achievable, which is the most challenging, and which is the most interesting?

2) What advice or suggestions do you have for you peer regarding their overall idea? What difficulties may they encounter when capturing and editing their project and how might they solve them?

Part #3: Scripting Students can script or storyboard their idea in a variety of ways. Storyboards can be printed from printablepaper.net. They can also script using a two-column, split-page script format or screenplay format as appropriate.

Storyboard Format Split-Page Script Format Screenplay Script

Their script should include:

1) A list that identifies aesthetic, technique, and tool challenges. 2) The capturing equipment they plan to use. 3) A description or shot list of their visuals. 4) Identify and list all expected audio to be captured. 5) A list of all graphics to be created for their final video.

The importance of Envisioning: “Every time artists plan next steps they are Envisioning. Every time they step back and ask themselves how the work would look if they made some kind of alteration they are Envisioning. The teachers ask students to plan and to imagine revisions in their works.

Thus students gained considerable practice in working from mental images. Envisioning – the ability to image and to generate mental images – is a disposition important in many domains” (Hetland pp. 51-52). Conclusion: By the end of this activity, students will have generated ideas and have begun envisioning their final product. In the next activity, students will closely examine their idea to determine its worth in order to refine and finalize their initial script.

Activity #2: Understanding Context Observation, Inspection, & Context

Overview: In this activity, students will explore their own perspectives and preferences when viewing video works. They will further analyze the work for meaning created by the maker to understand the work’s larger context. Studio Objectives: Observation – Looking closely at what is really seen. (Hetland, Ch. 9) Inspection – Determining the quality and potential of an idea. (Tharp, Ch. 6) Contexts – Understanding how works are designed to communicate with the viewer within multiple perspectives. (Hetland, Ch. 12) Additional Resources: Hetland, L. (2007). Studio Thinking. New York: Teachers College Press. Keifer-Boyd, K. (2007). Engaging Visual Culture. Worcester, MA: Davis. Tharp, T. (2003). The Creative Habit. New York: Simon & Schuster. Timeline: One class period. Script should become finalized by the end of this activity. Potential Technologies: Blogs (Blogger, Wordpress, Forums on Course site) for students to post their results to the questionnaires and comparisons to each other. Videos and their analysis can be posted to student blogs for inspiration and reflection. Video sharing sites, such as YouTube and Vimeo, should be used as sources for inspiration and visuals to analyze and share with others. Activity: Part #1: Learning to understand our own personal preferences. This activity will allow you to understand and reflect upon your current preferences and viewing habits. Complete the following “Viewer Preference Questionnaire.” After completing the questionnaire students should turn to a neighbor, or someone around them, and explain their viewing preferences regarding video. They should compare how they are alike and different: What beliefs do they share regarding the purpose of video? How do they differ?

*Modified Questionnaire from Keifer-Boyd text.1

                                                                                                               1  From the book “Engaging Visual Culture” by K. Keifer-Boyd, 2007. Pg. 123  

Viewer Preference Questionnaire Please answer the following questions:

1) Predominantly, why do you watch movies? (If not, why?)

2) Predominantly, why do you watch TV programs? (If not, why?)

3) Predominantly, why do you watch videos on YouTube or other video sharing sites? (If not, why?)

4) Approximately, how often do you go to a movie theater?

5) Approximately, how often do you view a movie at home or at a friend’s home?

6) Approximately, how often do you watch live TV?

7) Approximately, how often do you watch recorded TV?

8) Approximately, how often do you watch videos on YouTube or other video sharing sites? Circle the answer that best matches your beliefs:

9) Do you consider movies to have influence on your life?

Always Sometimes Never

10) Do you consider live TV to have influence on your life?

Always Sometimes Never

11) Do you consider recorded TV to have influence on your life?

Always Sometimes Never

12) Do you consider the videos seen on YouTube of other video sharing sites to have influence on your life?

Always Sometimes Never

13) Explain your answers to the above questions. Why or why don’t you consider certain forms of video to have influence on your life? How do they influence your life?

Part #2: Understanding the Maker’s Intent For this activity, students will find a video online that is inspiring their idea for a Final Video Project. After viewing, students should answer the following questions regarding their reaction and the video maker’s intent.

*Modified activity from Keifer-Boyd text.2

                                                                                                               2  From the book “Engaging Visual Culture” by K. Keifer-Boyd, 2007. Pg. 125  

Viewing a Video Please place the URL of your online video here:

1) Who has created this video? When was this video made? How long is the video?

2) What is your initial response to the video?

3) What do you think is the primary purpose of this video? How would you classify this video (narrative, advertising, TV series, informative, etc.)?

4) Describe an outstanding visual and/or auditory characteristic of the video that has stuck in your mind. What impact does this characteristic have on your overall reaction to the video?

5) Can you identify information about the society/culture that the video is intended for? What visual “cues” make you think this?

6) Do you think this video is effective? Why or why not?

After answering the questions about maker’s intent, students should use the following format to organize and separate each observation into its appropriate perspective (visual, viewer, and maker). They should include initial observations about context and any new meanings that become apparent.

Part #3: Class Discussion How do our individual perspectives influence the way we experience video? How does understanding the maker’s intent of a video help us to decipher meaning? How are visuals used to create meaning? How will you incorporate similar ideas into your Final Video Project?

Conclusion: Students should use knowledge gained during the activity to inspect their initial idea(s) for quality and purpose. Students should identify their intent (as the maker) in creating their video and the intended audience for the final product.

Activity #3: Exploration of Process Experimentation, Technique Development, & Reflection

Overview: In this activity, students will experiment with one of their identified challenges. After reflecting on their experimentation, students will refine their technique for use in their final project. Studio Objectives: Experimentation/Exploration – Trying out new things and alternative ways to reach beyond what they can already do. (Hetland, Ch. 11) Technique – Learning what can and cannot be done with a tool/material. (Hetland, Ch. 5) Reflection through Self-Evaluation – Assessment of a work or idea through informal reflection of its strengths and weaknesses. (Hetland, Ch. 10) Additional Resources: Hetland, L. (2007). Studio Thinking. New York: Teachers College Press. Timeline: Experimentation with Reflection – One class period Refine Technique – One class period Potential Technologies: Blogs (Blogger, Wordpress, Forums on Course site) for students to post their experiments and reflections. Videos showing their refined technique can also posted for peer feedback. Activity: Part #1: Experimentation As students have finalized their final video scripts and identified their expected challenges, students will now experiment with one of these challenges to explore their potential processes of creating their final video. Students should explore three different approaches to their problem. For example, if a student is exploring a tool challenge such as working with a video effect to leave only one color, they may want to explore three different video effects like “leave color,” “tint,” and “change to color,” or a combination of several effects. Part #2: Reflection Students should post their three experiments to their blog or course site, explaining what they did and learned from their experimentations. See the below section on “Teaching Students to Self-Evaluate” for questions they should answer as they reflect. Part #3: Refining Technique After identifying the best approach, students should refine their technique by beginning to applying their solution to their final video.

Teaching students to self-evaluate: By asking students to justify and think through their project as they work, teachers show students how to internalize the process of questioning in order to help them learn to evaluate their own work without further prompting. Hetland (p. 68) provides several questions to ask students to help them become aware of the choices they make when they work:

1) Describe their plans. Do you know what you are going to do? What about this [specific area]? How will that fit into the entre work?

2) Justify their choices. What do you think is interesting about this? What attracts you to this? How will/is this challenging your abilities? Why do you think this process is better than that process?

3) Assess as they work. How is it coming? What will you be doing next? What is working? What do you need to change?

A note on working with Technique: “We almost never saw technique taught as an isolated skill. Tools, materials, conventions, and skills were introduced in the context of larger projects that required students to ‘think with these skills,’ rather than as tricks to be mastered for their own sakes” (Hetland, p. 33). Conclusion: By the end of this activity, students should be prepared to fully invest themselves into their Final Video Project and have begun creating their video.

Activity #4: Project Creation Idea Transformation, Expression, Persistence, & Reflection

Overview: During this activity, students will actively work to complete their Final Video Projects. As they progress, students will persist through difficulties, discover ways to express a message to the viewer, and transform their earlier ideas into a single, comprehensive work. At the end of this activity students will present their final projects to the class. Studio Objectives: Idea Transformation – Altering ideas to suit your own purpose. (Tharp, Ch. 6) Expression – Going beyond technical skill to convey a message. (Hetland, Ch. 8) Persistence – Committing to an idea and following through. (Hetland, Ch. 6) Reflection through Critique – Assessment of a work or idea through formal presentation that reflects on its strengths and weaknesses. (Hetland, Ch. 10) Additional Resources: Hetland, L. (2007). Studio Thinking. New York: Teachers College Press. Tharp, T. (2003). The Creative Habit. New York: Simon & Schuster. Timeline: Studio/Lab Work Days – 2 weeks, total of 6 class periods Mid Progress Peer Critique – beginning of 2nd work week Final Video Project Presentations – week following work weeks Potential Technologies: Blogs (Blogger, Wordpress, Forums on Course site) for students to post their unfinished video and receive feedback during the mid-progress critique. Students will also post their final videos with reflection. Activity: Mid-Progress Peer Critique: Students will post their incomplete videos to their blogs for peer feedback. All students should critique at least 5 other videos. Critiques should address the following questions:

1) What do you like about this spot? What has been done exceptionally well? 2) In general, what areas need improvement? 3) Being more specific, list at least two problems needing improvement and provide

suggestions for how to correct them.

Final Video Project Presentations: Students will present their final video project to the class. They should explain what they did: their idea (even show the videos that inspired their idea), their expected challenges, what they discovered during their experimentations, and any additional problems they

encountered and solved while creating their project. Students should post a short reflection about their project to their blog or to forums on the course site.

Teaching students to persist and follow through: Hetland (p. 47) describes that the best projects “challenged students and grabbed their interest. The projects were within the students’ abilities yet were novel and exciting. The projects also gave plenty of space for students to take a personal approach to the task. Teachers often played the role of gently keeping students on task and making sure they persisted in their engagement.” To help students focus and stay on task, Hetland (p. 43 & 45-46) gives several suggestions as to appropriate comments:

1) Stick to what you’ve begun. 2) Slowing down is sometimes a form of persisting. 3) Even if you’re not happy with your work right now, it’s important to keep going. 4) Learn to manage time as you work. 5) Keep going even when you may not feel like it, the deadline is approaching. 6) Don’t give up. You’ve done a good job. 7) Remember the task at hand. 8) Don’t get caught up in visions to large to complete. Come up with a plan that you

can carry through. The importance of Expression: “Learning to Express includes making works that exemplify properties that are not literally present, such as moods, sounds, and atmosphere. Learning to Express also means making works that convey properties such as emotions, a sense of movement, or personal meaning… interactions with students [can] encourage them to go beyond representation to create something with evocative meaning” (Hetland, p. 53). Conclusion: Upon completion of this project, IT Program students enrolled in AV2 should be able to think through an idea for a video from creation to completion. They will have identified challenges that are aesthetic, involve technique, and further examine tool usage and reflected upon their process and completed work.