Nine Weeks Left

So, last week with a class of video production students minus the juniors and minus the seniors who felt as if they wouldn't miss any valid instructional time, the Eagle TV students did amazing work. We produced a full show which aired on Friday and began a new one, we learned 4 new tricks on Final Cut Pro and on Live Type, we worked on several senior video segments and we produced two complete 3-minute mini movies based on one sentence and did it in two days!

I'm impressed by what we can accomplish.

So, that's why from here on out (we have 9 weeks left) we are going to be busy doing our projects and doing them with style. Here's what we have on our plates:

Senior video segments. All of which are due on May 16th....

Blogs. We have 6 more. That's it.

2nd VO/SOT due March 31st (Thursday)

3rd VO/SOT due April 22nd

3rd and 4th Outside Projects due April 13th

3rd Pkg due on April 15th (9 school days from now)

Story Ideas due April 19th

Story Ideas due on May 4th

5th and 6th Outside Projects due on May 18th

and Project Presentations due on May 20th.

We still have to author and put together the senior DVD and we have to produce 7 Eagle TV shows (one per week) until the year can be completed in here.

Whew...now that I see it on paper, it's a lot. What is it you say? We don't have as much time as it seems?

Well, no. We miss the week of April 4-8 for spring break, Friday April 1st is the International Festival, so we lose that day. May 5th is End of Pathway Testing for those of you who have completed level 3 or higher in BVP or any career tech or business class, throw in End of Course testing in there, senior meetings and other events and it really boils down to about 7 weeks left....that's 35 days to get all of the above finished. That's it. Seventeen things in 7 weeks. That averages out to about turning something in about every 2-3 days. Well, your blogs and story ideas should be done at home and your outside projects will be done after school, but you get the idea about what kinds of deadlines we're under.

Oh, and that new control room....we have to find time to train on it using the new equipment. That will certainly take at least a week when it's installed and ready to use.

Keep in mind that grading on packages and VO/SOTS gets harder. I expect you to have a well-written script with outside sources, adequate statistics, well-shot video, good lighting and flawless audio. You don't have time to re-do it. Seriously. You must use a tripod, super your talent correctly and artistically, tell me something I didn't already know in your stories and appeal to a mass audience of primarily cynical teenagers whose attention is hard to get even when their shoes are being stepped on.

Yup. We have lots to do. Use your time wisely and don't waste it. Let me know in your comments how you plan to manage your time. How will you deal with hurdles that keep you from going in the edit room or editing because your video is too dark? How will you make sure those things don't happen? How will you make sure that every moment you spend in BVP is used wisely and not wasted?

The clock starts now.....

Mopping Up

As we head into the downhill part of the school year, I think it's important that we talk about things "that are left". Like what's left at the end of a shoot. When you do your stories, you don't just do the interview; you "mop up in the field."

This is a term I heard about from Dave Davis, Hillcrest High School video production teacher and I hope he doesn't mind me sharing this with you. It is what you do on your shoot to make sure you have mentally checked off those shots that are necessary for you to tell your story. It requires that you ask yourself some questions:

***Do I have my opening shot?

***Do I have my closing shot?

***Do I have all the shots that the interviewee referred to during the interview?

***Do I have reaction shots?

***Do I have a wide shot of the scene, establishing setting?

There are other shots that I could remind you of, but these are the basics.

Think about the things that indicate that a story is over. Maybe someone walking away from the camera, someone turning off a light switch, someone waving goodbye, or a slow zoom out and/or long shot of someone walking across a field. Visualize what type of shot would go best with your story and GET THAT SHOT! Keep your eye out for these shots to happen naturally and get it on tape. Don't stage it. Let it happen organically. You may not use it in the end when you're editing, but why not have it, just in case? You'll appreciate it when you're in the edit room.

Similarly, what about those opening shots. What visually brings people into your story? For example, if you're doing a story on kayaking, why not get NAT sound of someone saying "GO!" for a kayak competition? Or, if you're doing a story about a new restaurant, maybe a shot of someone unlocking the door and opening for business for the day? Many of these shots for your open require that you get to your shoot early. If you're doing a story on a meeting, you'll want to get there early enough to hear the moderator call the meeting to order or someone saying "Good morning". Think about the opening shots BEFORE you go on your shoot, not after.

Once you get used to thinking and visualizing your story before you even DO it, you'll start doing this without thinking of it. It will become second nature. But for now, take this list with you or at least create a shot sheet that includes the shots that you've thought through so you can best tell your story and "mop up" while you are out. And, speaking of that, clean up that edit room!

Describe the opening shot, closing shot, other B-roll that you envision getting to tell the story that you're currently working on. What will you keep your eye out for during your story? What would be the BEST shot that you would LOVE to get for your story?