The NZTA 2011 EducationcompetitionsStoryboard ANDMovie tips

Videos and digital stories – tipsfor teachersStudents can go further with video and digital storytelling if they follow a process.

The four stages:

•Development. Decide what the story is and what you will use to tell the story

•Pre-production. Choose locations, create a storyboard and shooting schedule

•Production. Organise equipment. Shoot footage or take photos

•Post-production. Review footage, edit and add sounds and music

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Videos and digital stories – tips for teachers

Development can be a very creative time

Students will choose a genre, and write a script. Suggest that your students ask each other:

Who is the target audience?

What are you trying to do – persuade, inform, entertain?

What is the main point of your story?

What information is important to be included?

Where will the story be told?

What will happen in the beginning, middle and end?

Development continued

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Video equipment

Decide if you will use moving images (video), still photographs or drawings, animation or a combination.

If you don’t have access to a video camera, other devices can capture video.

These include:

Digital still Mobile phones Computer cameras.

Also decide on:•Film editing software for use in the post-production stage•Finding moving and still images onlineOften free, but do read licensing requirements•Sound and music. Best created by you

Videos and digital stories – tips for teachers

Storyboardtips for teachers

Plan out your digital story

•A storyboard helps you generate ideas and see what works

•Storyboards look like a comic strip and can be drawn on paper or with a still camera or a computer

•Scenes may follow the formula of anticipation, action and reaction

•Storyboards help students plan the pace of new information so the audience won't get confused

You can include:

•Drawings indicating where actors will be placed (try the rule of thirds)

•Actors’ movements

•The duration and type of shot (e.g. long shot, medium shot or close up)

Storyboardtips for teachers

You can include:

•Placement and movement of cameras

•Lighting requirements

•Dialogue

•Background music and sounds

Storyboardtips for teachers

Enter here www.education.nzta.govt.nz/competitions

If you are entering a storyboard

The NZTA 2011 EducationcompetitionsStoryboard ANDMovie tips

Movie Tips

More pre-production tips

With your storyboard in hand, break your movie down into a shooting schedule.

The shooting schedule lists all the scenes or images in the order you will get them.

Shots can be grouped by the:

• Same location• Same props or costuming• Same characters• Same time of day

More pre-production tips

Getting students into different roles helps achieve the end product.

•Writers finalise script and storyboard•Location managers find and prepare locations•Props and costuming underway•Actors learn their parts•Directors decide on how each scene will look•Camera operators learn how to usethe cameras and equipment.•Sound editors prepare the music and sounds

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Now you are fully prepared for filming

Steps to filming a shot:

•Camera person sets up the shot from the storyboard and the director checks it

•Actors rehearse movements

•Check that the sound and lighting is sufficient

•Roll Camera or take multiple shots

•Check footage, and shoot again if required

TIP: For video let the camera roll for at least 5 seconds at the start and end of each scene to allow editing

Types of shot A long continuous dialogue is boring to watch.

Break your scenes into different shots, angles, and camera movement while dialogue continues.

Types of shot include:

•Extreme wide, very wide and wide shot•Mid shot•Medium close up, close up and extreme close up•Cut in and cut away•Two shot•Over the shoulder shot•Noddy shot, point of view shot and weather shot

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Camera angles and movement

The main angles:

•Eye level angle –Very common. Tells the story from the viewer’s perspective

•Low angle –camera looks up at the subject, makes them seem important or powerful

•High angle –camera looks down, they seem small or less important

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Camera angles and movement•Pan –

Camera moves from left to right or right to left

•Tilt –

Camera moves top to bottom or bottom to top

•Zoom –

This shot takes you closer to a subject. •Reverse zoom – takes you further away

Post-production of student videosReview footage

Get organised. Name each clip or image to make these easy to find. Put into folders before you start on the rough cut.

Editing

Place all your footage into your chosen editing software, following the order of your storyboard. This is called the rough cut.

Questions to ask:

•Are any shots missing that still need to be filmed?

•Do any parts of the digital story need to be discarded or re-shot?

•Do the shots run together smoothly or will more shots make transitions work?

More editing tips

Cut while the subject is in motion, this distracts the eye from editing cuts.

•Match the scene. For example, a subject who exits frame right should enter the next shot frame left

•Once the visual elements are done, add music, sound effects and any voice-overs

•Add end credits, and don’t forget to include everyone and their role

You may end up with a large file that needs to be compressedSettings that can reduce video size include:

•reducing video dimensions•switching the audio from stereo to mono.

You can upload videos to Youtube. You will have to sign up and create a free account first. You decide if your video is public or only shared with a few people. www.youtube.com

Digital stories created using PowerPoint and Keynote and in PDF can be uploaded to SlideShare. www.slideshare.net

eate a free account first. You

www.slideshare.net

www.education.nzta.govt.nz/competitions

If you are entering a movie enter here