Teacher Alex's Students' Creations

Instructions for Making your Documentary

1- Research the topic

Conduct research about the topic compiling relevant information from the sources I suggested in class.

2- Make an outline

Each group is responsible for making an outline of the information about the topic, scientist, inventor, or prominent person each student or group was assigned to research. You can make your outline in the form of a mind-map, or you can make a bulleted outline of each piece of information you will want to present in your documentary.

3- Make a list

Make a list of the images and/or videoclips that you will use as the visual element of your documentary or story presentation. Having a plan of what images and videos you need and want to show will save you a lot of time in the long run and will help you to stay focused on your project and goal

4- Build a Storyboard

A storyboard is a series of rough drawing or images that help you to organize visually what images you will present, at what time, and during which part of the narration. A good storyboard will help you to organize the sequence of your story, narration, visuals, and music from beginning to end.

5-Write the Narrative

This is where you tell the story in writing. Using the points in the outline and the information you gathered, you can now start writing the narrative or what you (the narrator) will say. The narrative is like the script in a movie. It is the heart of the documentary or and is what ultimately determines the quality of your documentary.

6-Put it all together

Now that you have all of the information compiled you can start putting it all together by using a video editing tool such as iMovie which you have in the Macbook we use in class.

7- Publish it

Once you are done putting it all together and editing it, you are ready to share it with your friends and family and others. One good way to share video content is by publishing it on Youtube or Vimeo.

Note:

By the time you see this information, I will have already explained it in detail in class. Should you have any additional questions after I have explained it in class, and after reviewing this brief review, come and talk to me during class or send me an email at armoises33@gmail.com at any time.

Good luck on your Documentary Making Adventure!!

Teacher Alex

Student Documentary Making and Digital Storytelling Projects

Objective

The objective of these projects is to help students to develop 21st century skills that will allow them to thrive in the changing would of media and communication. Throughout this project, students learn the following skills and knowledge:

Research Skills

Each student learns how to research a different aspect of the life and accomplishments of a great inventor of scientist that I assign to each group of student. For example, if I assign a group of students to make a documentary about Thomas Edison, the first task students need to perform is to research the life of this famous inventor and compile and abridge the information they will use for the narrative. The process is much like the process of writing an essay, but students are more engaged and exited about working on putting together a documentary that also involves choosing images, background music, video transitions, and other audio and visual effects which makes the research process more varied and fun.

Teamwork and collaboration

Students are all separated into small groups of 3 or 4 students. There are no set rules about working as a group, the only requirement is that they all put forth dedicated effort and work to accomplish the task of producing an professional informative documentary that could be used by others to learn important facts about the prominent inventor or scientist that they are assigned to research and present in documentary format. By working together as a team, students learn to be responsible, timely, and reliable. They must coordinate their efforts to meet deadlines, as well as to solve problems and overcome obstacles. The teamwork skills they develop are intended to be a preparation for collaboration and teamwork in college and in their future carriers and workplaces and effective teamwork and collaboration skills are in increasing demand.

Scriptwriting

In preparation for the narration which is at the heart of the documentary, students are required to carefully prepare the script they will use for the narration. Scriptwriting requires each student to carefully analyze, group, synthesize and organize the information they compiled during the research phase. This typically in the most time consuming and challenging part of the process, but it can also be the most rewarding and they element that ultimately defines the overall quality of the final product--the documentary.

Storyboarding

In this phase of building a documentary, students are required to coordinate visuals with text and background music and where students determine which cinematic effects will be placed over which visuals and sounds. In essence, storyboarding is what determines the successful flow of the story. In the storyboard is usually included what the narrator will say or explain, as images or video clips appear on screen. Effective storyboarding skills are a

Narration: Students learn the basics of storytelling and documentary narration. Through the practice of narrating a story or events, students practice reading, pronunciation while at the same time ensuring that the information they convey is clear and understandable by the audience.

Video Editing: Students learn to use various video editing principles and tools. These video editing skills allow students to organize and present their thoughts, ideas, and digital work in an organized manner that allows the audience to keep their attention focused while they learn from the content of the material presented.