Dear internet, I'm So Sorry

Every time I teach my students to make a new kind of digital art that could be used to make a new horrible meme I feel a sudden urge to apologize to the world for the beast I have created. in this case I am sorry internet I taught a class of middle and high school students how to make GIF's.

So making a GIF if actually very easy, and Photoshop has been advertising its ease with the promo videos they have released for the new CC update they are releasing for this year.

So like a sheep I applied it to my class...

It was very successful, and all the students had a lot of fun doing it. Instead of making  big project of the GIF I just day lesson. the first day we did a ball bouncing exercise to get them used to the timing. That way they new now to make their character go faster or slower, they also got to see how many frames went into only a few seconds of film. 

A GIF is a little more rewarding than a short video, because it loops so it makes it feel like the animation lasts longer. There is something a little disheartening about working for an hour on something that only lasts a few seconds. But a GIF repeats its self, and the classroom fills with kids giggling at the wacky little animation they made. 

The second day we did a different type of Photoshop animation to make a GIF with a back ground, as well as use it to move objects and not drawings. 

As you can see by these examples, they were pretty great. 

Like I said... Sorry internet I have created a monster.

Our First Film Project

So in the past I have struggled to create just the right first project for my filmmaking class. I tried music videos, silent films, shots examples, but none of them have really gotten kids jazzed about filmmaking.

Main problems I notice while teaching film:

1. Lack of initial buy in

2. Some students work really hard, where others never really learn how to edit and embrace the creativity filmmaking

3. When they work in groups some student never actually learn how to use the editing software.

So I created an assignment where they all have to make a product, it is something all of them are used to consuming so they all have an idea of what it should look like, and I allow them to use any form of recording. 

So this year I decided to have them create Vlog project, where students had to turn in a video they did that show a well shot film version of something in their life. 

The assignment

1. Tell us a story about you day, something you like to do, or an event you went to. 

2. Use multiple angles and shots. Get lots of B-Roll to cut with your project 

3. Video must be 1 minute or longer

4. Must use Premiere to edit

5. Must have some sort of narrative, it cant be random, with no sense of time. 

6. Must use proper camera techniques, no shaky camera or out of focus film. 

Other than that, I give them free reign of the project, I let them tell what ever story they want, to best suit their interests.

Here is my Vlog that I did for them, about how I want a drone. 

But we focused on a lot of other filmmakers. We looked mostly at Casey Niestat because of how most of the students know him, and he does a really great job of modeling a well crafted vlog that still uses the ideas of good filmmaking.

We also looked at some instructional vloggers, because there is realy no right or wrong way to do a vlog you just need to make something interesting. 

Here are a few examples of students films. Enjoy

Our Mic failed a little on this first film.

Copyright is Tricky

So one of the biggest struggles teachers have today is trying to both understand, and ethically teach Copyright. I have been teaching digital art for 3 years now and I am just starting to get a handle on it. Because I understand how much misinformation is out there, I know how some teachers avoid the subject all together just because they don't want o teach it wrong. 

I made a video that kind of gives the basics of Copyright as well as the Public domain just to get the ball rolling.