Feature story: Part #2

Welcome back from break!

We are going to get after it this quarter with your feature stories. By this point you have put together a proposal and developed keywords for your story.

The next step is to create a shot list for what you plan to film. Remember to still use the 6-shot system, but do some pre-planning before you go out to shoot.

You are NOT limited to just these shots; rather, they are a guide to give you a game plan before you go shoot.

Create a spreadsheet that looks like this:

You should do this for each location you are filming in.

English nerd to Journalism geek

The transition

SID Students film GameDay: Northwest

Eighteen months ago, I embarked on a new journey in my teaching career: transitioning from English teacher to a Convergence Journalism instructor at Olathe Northwest High School.

For 10 years, I taught English at Olathe South and ONW. I feel like I came a long way teaching English from my early years when I didn't know how to teach Julius Caesar or Close Reading strategies.

I majored in English and Journalism at K-State, and it was always my dream to teach Video Journalism. It was just a natural move for me to go from English teacher to Journalism teacher, while incorporating my love of video, technology and social media.

However, last year I felt like I was behind the learning curve of my students. The software, technique, studio and cameras were all foreign to me. I felt like a brand new teacher all over again.

Washington, DC bound

Last February, I traveled to Washington, DC to learn the concept of Backpack Journalism from Bill Gentile. Backpack Journalism is the idea that anyone can film, edit and tell a story with equipment that will essentially fit in your backpack. 

Working with Jerry Gardiner on his backpack journalism video

I elected to do my story on one of the workshop participants, Jerry Gardiner, who came from Liberia, Africa to learn video storytelling. I followed Jerry on his journey for two days, documenting his mission to film and edit his story. Here is my finished documentary:

This experience taught me so much about video storytelling. I learned the six-shot system and the concept of video sequencing.

It was such a great experience that we brought Gentile to Olathe Northwest High School last summer to work with 15 of our students. The students learned a great deal, and I took away even more ideas for my students.

Bill Gentile working with our students in the summer

Tri-ing new things

Last year, our studio and equipment was falling apart. It had not been replaced since the building opened 11 years ago. 

This year, we tore out the old set and changed our studio into a green screen, infinity wall. We also ordered a new tri-caster system that allows us to produce our ONW...NOW! shows in a much more efficient and up-to-date way. We use a virtual set for our anchors, and we can produce the show with fewer people than we did before. Overall, it runs much smoother than our old set-up.

Students producing ONW...NOW!

Here is an edition of a show from this year:

Sophomore redesign

One other change we made this year was to redesign our sophomore video curriculum. I was excited to share what I learned from Bill Gentile, and I saw many of the ideas were applicable to our sophomore class. 

We started the year with "Cutting Carrots" which is a filming and editing exercise that implements the six-shot system and sequencing. Here is an example:

We took this simple concept and applied it to the rest of our projects: AB Sequencing, Chase Scene and music videos. The last two projects directly applied the ideas of backpack journalism, where students filmed each other putting together legos and told the story of the blood drive.

Sophomores filming the Lego Project

I feel great about the direction our sophomore video class is going, and I believe our students will be much more prepared for my Convergence Journalism in the future.

Looking to the future...

I have a vision for where I would like to take this program. A few goals I have for the future are:

1. Learn more about the tricaster. I am hoping to attend a workshop in New York City this spring where I will learn how to use the tricaster to its full potential. I know it can do much more than we already do with it.

2. Implement more writing in the class through news articles and student blogs. I spent most of first semester working on the video portion of the class, and I feel great about the progress we have made. I want to improve our writing and begin creating stories for our Raven Daily website.

3. Win awards. e-Magine is our spring film festival that we host every year. Last year, we didn't win any awards in the news story category. After the competition last year, I told the class I was making it a goal to win awards at e-Magine. I feel great about the work we have done, and feel we can be competitive this year.

Final thoughts

I feel like I have come a long way in the last 18 months as a convergence journalism teacher, but I know I still have a great deal of work to do. I am constantly reading other blogs, websites and communicating with other journalism teachers. It has helped me grow a great deal. I am excited about where I will be a year from now when I look back again.

Final Exam: Fall Semester

Think back to how far we have come this school year. I know I have learned a great deal as a teacher, and your work is evidence that you have come a long way, too.

For your final exam, you will first write a blog post that reflects on your learning this year. This will take place on day #1 of finals:

1. Discuss three ways that you have grown this semester as a convergence journalism student. You SHOULD use evidence and examples of your work. Screenshot images from your projects. Embed videos. Seniors: You should consider pulling in some of your old work from last year.

See many of last year's videos on YouTube here.

2. Then, set two goals for next semester. Be specific about what you want to learn or work on. Use examples from other professionals of work you would like to model.

3. Finally, you will present your work to the class on day #2. Be prepared to go through your blog in front of the class, talking about your growth and goals for the class.

Evaluation:

A. Content/Evidence: The post content successfully communicates the extent of the project, how
it was done, what was learned, reflection and conclusions.

B. Style (Voice): The post uses appropriate vocabulary (jargon appropriate to focus area), is written in “blogging style” (conversational yet professional), and uses correct grammar and spelling.

C. Presentation: Post has headings/sub-headings/body, is written in concise paragraphs, includes multi-media and links as evidence (appropriately placed and formatted), is readable, and follows design principles.

Cool video: Matt

Check out this great video:

Challenge: Feature story part 1

Next semester, you will create a 3-4 minute short feature about a subject of your choice. Use what you have learned about the 6-shot system, sequencing, editing and storytelling to create your film.

Think about interesting people or ideas here at ONW. Talk to your friends. Ask around. Come up with original ideas.

This feature will be due by the end of 3rd quarter, just before spring break.

Step #1: Watch 3 stories and fill out a "beat sheet." Download the beat sheet here.

This website has great short features and documentaries.







Step #2: Write a project proposal as a blog post. Use this template for your proposal. 

Steps #1-2 are due before you leave for Winter break!

Article review: Digital Innovation and the Future of Storytelling

1. Read the article: "Digital Innovation and the Future of Storytelling"

2. On your blog, reflect on the article using the following directions:

Title Your Blog Post

A title that reflects the thrust of your review. For example, the article title is "The Political Ecology of Deforestation in Chile." Your title might be "They're Only Trees:  Cutting Down Old Growth Forests in Southern Chile."

In a written reflection answer the following questions:

1. Write a summary of the article, identifying the three key points.
1. 1-2 sentence summary.
2. Discuss the author’s argument.
1. What is the author's argument and what information/evidence and sources does he/she use to support that argument?
2. What are the article’s/author’s strengths and weaknesses?
1. The strength of the article may be that it presents a clear summation of a particular issue. Its weakness may be that it does not offer any new information or solutions.
3. What are the author's general conclusions?
3. Your critique (A critique is not whether you liked the article or not. Rather, you should assess whether the the main point(s) is really significant)
1. Does the author's argument support the main point(s)?
2. Is the evidence convincing? Are there wider ramifications to the conclusions?
3. What are the applications/implications to you as a graphic designer/web designer/animator/videographer?
4. What don't you understand, and is this because you lack certain assumed knowledge or vocabulary or because the writer is unclear?
4. General thoughts & conclusions.
5. Include a citation/reference to the work.

Each question should be written in complete sentences and provide examples of support.

Your post should not read like a classroom assignment. Speak to your audience as if you did this as a budding “Creative” and you are sharing your experience. Your writing should be conversational and yet still professional.

You will be graded on the following criteria: Content and Voice.

Web feature story

Check out these three videos about the same subject: a soccer freestylist. One was produced for the web (ESPN), and the other was produced for a local TV station.

Web

Web #2

TV (This may take some time to load, even though it says it isn't working)

In the comments below:

• Discuss three elements that the videos have in common.
• Discuss three elements that are different.
• If you were to summarize it, what is the difference between web videos and TV?
• What elements can you emulate in your own work?

Challenge #1: Audio slideshow

For this initial project, you will work with a partner to interview, take pictures and create an audio slideshow answering the question: How do you contribute to the Raven Nation?

1. Develop questions for your interview. Use the 21 question format. Ask open-ended questions and remember to follow-up where applicable.

2. Interview your partner and record it with your cell phone.

3. Record nat noise to use underneath your interview. For example: if you are interviewing someone about playing basketball, get nat noise of the gym.

4. Using your cell phone, take pictures of your partner doing what they discussed in their interview. You will need 25+ pictures.

5. Use the 6-shot system to take your photos:

• Close-up of the hands
• Close-up of the face
• Over the shoulder
• Medium shot
• Wide shot
• Extra wide shot

6. Switch roles. 

7. Using FCPX, edit your audio slideshow. Edit out your voice asking the questions. Pick the best audio and photos to tell your story. 

8. Tips for making good audio slideshows.

9. More tips for making good audio slideshows.

Examples:

One in 8 million

Fostering Love from Connie Preti on Vimeo.

Blog #1: Goal setting

In this blog post, set three goals for this year: 

1. One personal goal 

2. A goal for this class. 

3. A goal for your role in eComm 

This should be a minimum of three solid paragraphs. Explain your goal and how you will accomplish it.

SID Blog Address