Fine Arts/International Night 2014
We were very excited to showcase student produced iMovies for the first time at Fine Arts Night this year! iMovies are such a wonderful media for storytelling! But, they take a lot of hard work and dedication. Did you know that a one to two minute long movie actually takes several weeks to make? The 5th graders who work on these iMovies sacrifice recess every day, and often end up eating lunch with me in my office.! But, it is a labor of love, as the results clearly show :)
The Process:
We were very excited to showcase student produced iMovies for the first time at Fine Arts Night this year! iMovies are such a wonderful media for storytelling! But, they take a lot of hard work and dedication. Did you know that a one to two minute long movie actually takes several weeks to make? The 5th graders who work on these iMovies sacrifice recess every day, and often end up eating lunch with me in my office.! But, it is a labor of love, as the results clearly show :)
The Process:
- Students brainstorm about their movie. What is the topic? What do they want to say about that topic? How can they communicate their vision using video, images, text and music?
- We story map. What pictures and video do they need to take to tell their story, and what order should it all go in?
- We review "picture taking 101," and then learn how to take good video (ex., using a tripod, flow of action, length of clips, etc.) Then, the real fun begins - video shoots (knowing that more is always better in the editing room!)
- Students import their videos and pictures into their project.
- Next, the editing process! Clips and video lengths are determined; text and transitions are added. This process can be extremely monotonous, as it requires playing clips over and over again until they are just right. Then, the whole movie is played over and over again, tweaking timings and transitions to ensure that the movie moves along at an appropriate pace - all the while supporting the story! As the students can tell you, there is no short cut for this part.
- A song is selected. Sound easy? As you may have guessed, it is anything but that! First, we discuss copyrights. After that, we discuss the appropriateness of the music for their movie: Is the tempo right? Do the words add to the story or detract from it? Does it work for a Kindergartener and a fifth grader? If we determine that the song meets all of the criteria, it is imported into the movie and the final editing process takes place..
- The movie is reviewed and, if necessary, more edits are made.
- Viola! We are done! Does anyone have popcorn?