Data Driven School Video- Critique of the Video Design

So the journey continues…

As I stated in my last post I am currently taking an Advanced Video Design for Learning class.  My first assignment is to find an educational program and critique it in terms of its goals, objectives and production techniques.  In essence my assignment is to look at the video through a different lens.  To not just watch the program and consume the information within but see how the video was created.  To do this assignment I needed to start with a video format I was very familiar with (dramatic movies) before I could move into an educational program.  For me this first step allowed me to focus on a familiar genre as I applied my new learning.  Now as I move into my own self created step 2 I will dig into an educational program.

The program I chose to critique is A Visit to A Data Driven School by the ASCD.  For me this video represents a very typical and widely used educational program format.

Critique

Goals of this video:

• Demonstrate the use of different strategies to assess the use of instructional strategies and teaching techniques to improve instruction
• Demonstrate one way to create a more detailed picture of student achievement and school system effectiveness

Production Techniques used:

• The Camera-
  • Pans were frequently used to allow the viewer to move between the teacher and the students.  This allowed us to see the interaction and reactions between the instruction and the learner.
  • Zoom Ins and Zoom Outs were used extensively throughout this video.  At times I felt that they were over used and distracting.
  • Movement- at one point in the video the camera is moved around the teacher while at the same point maintaining focus on her.
• Audio- Voice over was used extensively in the transitions between scenes.  As well voice overs were used to provide additional information as to what was occurring from the perspective of various participants.  This video also uses a narrator to set the scene and provide background information deemed necessary for the viewer.
• Shots
  • Classroom- These scenes are designed to show what it looks like in a classroom environment.  They show the lesson and the interaction between the students and the teacher.  In the classroom scenes the shots varied form Close Ups (CU), to Long Shots(LS) of the classroom, to Point of View Shots (POV) of the teacher and the students, to Extreme Close Ups (XCU)  of the assessments the students were completing.
  • Teacher Interview- These scenes provided the viewer with the teacher’s perspective and the “why” of what she was doing during the lesson.   The setting for these interviews was in the classroom which allows the viewer to connect more easily the “what” of the classroom scenes, with the “why” of the interview.  Keeping the setting consistent in both was a good way to support the viewer in making this connection.  These Shots were all Close Ups (CU).
  • Expert Interview- Executive Director of Curriculum- The purpose of these scenes is to establish the purpose of these strategies and techniques from an expert perspective.  She provides the research based information about the strategies being demonstrated and generalize them for all teachers.  The setting chosen for this interview was in a more formal looking office.  The background was poorly lit and dark which draws one into focusing more on the expert. Again the shots in this interview were all Close Ups (CU) which allows the viewer to really hone in on what she is saying by drawing our focus to her face.
  • Superintendent Interview- Again the location for this was a more darkly lit  environment and the shots were all Close Ups (CU).  The superintendents purpose was to establish how and why these techniques are important to the larger district.
  • Teacher entering data into the computer- These shots were consisted of Medium Shots (MS), Over the Shoulder Shots,  and Close Ups (CU).  They were used to demonstrate the next step in the data collection which connects the classroom to the district.  The setting for these scenes was in what appears to be a different location from the classroom.  In this way it signifies that this work is done outside of the classroom student contact times.
• Titles and Subtitles-  This video uses a title at the beginning to establish the topic.  As well, subtitles are used to identify the various interview participants and establish their expert status by providing their job titles.
• Editing- This video is heavily edited. We are constantly switching from shots of the students, to the teacher, to the whole classroom, to the interviews, to the filling out of forms, and back again   At times I think the editing is excessive and not necessary.    The constant motion takes away from my ability to see and reflect on what is happening in the moment.

Through this critiquing process I am beginning to see the connection that exists between the goals of a video and the production techniques used.  The productions techniques need to be chosen carefully so that they enhance, and support the goals.  If used properly they can add to the learning experience, evoke emotion, and support the message.  If used improperly they are distracting and detract from the message.

Not sure I will ever look at a video the same way again.  :)

Carpe Diem!!

My journey in grad studies continues with ETAD 879- Advanced Video Design for Learning. My first assignment is to find an educational program and critique it in terms of its goals, objectives and production techniques. In essence my assignment is to look at the video through a different lens. To not just watch the program and consume the information within but see how the video was created. My hunt for the perfect video was very unsuccessful. I could not look at the videos and successfully complete the assignment. I just could not see what I was suppose to look for in a way that I was satisfied with. Frustrating!!!

This frustration lead me to the realization that I needed to connect first with what I knew and was most familiar with. Despite the fact that I am a teacher I do not spend the majority of my time watching education videos. Rather I spend most of my viewing time watching and enjoying movies. So what if I started with what I was familiar with? What if I tried this assignment first with what I know?

This lead me to the movie “Dead Poets’ Society” and in particular the Carpe Diem scene. It seemed fitting for me as an educator but more importantly it was a scene that I have always connected with…Seize the Day.

So what are the goals of this clip from the movie? I believe the goals are to:

• Contrast the difference between the traditional education the students are used to and the inquiry based journey they are about to embark on.
• Introduce the audience to an important theme in the movie – Sieze the Day
• Connect the audience emotionally to that theme – Carpe Diem.

As I watched this clip unfold I took note of several production techniques used to reach those goals effectively:

• The use of three locations highlighted the difference between the traditional classroom and the new learning environment they were beginning to encounter. They physically move from their desks to the hall. This is a both a metaphor and a foreshadow of them moving from traditional students to engaged learners.
• Camera perspectives -During the scenes in the hall various shots were used very effectively:
  • At the beginning of the hall scene an Establishing Shot is used to give the audience a basic orientation to the geography of the scene. This shot occurs from above and looks down on the students as they take their positions in the hall.
  • subjective shots were used to show us what the characters (both the students and the people in the photographs) would see. We see the photographs from the point of view of the students, but we also see the students from the point of view of the photographs. At one point, the director even includes a shot from behind the glass in the display case. In this way he personifies the people in the photographs. They come alive. They are looking at the boys and pleading with them to Seize the Day. This ability of the camera shots to create a sense of life in the photos allows the audience to believe that they are actually whispering Carpe Diem to the students.
  • Pans and Zoom Ins were used to allow the audience to see the faces of the men in the photographs as we can hear the voice of the teacher whispering seize the day…make your lives extraordinary. These camera treatments create movement which add to the feeling that the photos are talking to the boys and imploring them to seize the day.
  • Shots showing the glass are shown at the beginning of the scene. As the audience we look into and out of the display case. As the scene progresses the glass is removed from the shots. For me this signifies the removal of this barrier and the closer connection between the students standing in the hall and those posing in the photographs.
  • Medium Shots (MS) are used extensively throughout the scene in the hall at the beginning. We see the students and the teacher from the waist up. As the scene progresses we move to more Close Ups (CU) which allows the audience to really see the emotion in the students faces and the impact this lesson is having on them.
• Editing- This clip shows three distinct scenes; The traditional classroom, the hall for the Carpe Diem scene and the hall which brings us back the traditional school setting. The transitions between these three scenes are very abrupt and quick. There is no fade out, the audience is just taken from one to the other. I believe this adds to the audiences ability to contrast the abrupt differences between the traditional education of the first and last scene, and the engaged learning in scene 2.
  • The Carpe Diem scene was edited in such a way that we go back and forth between the faces of the boys and the faces in the photographs. We get to see the emotion this lesson is creating in the boys as we look at their faces. We are also allowed to create that emotion within ourselves by seeing the faces of the photographs. In this way, the editing is highly effective in creating a feeling and emotion in the audience.
• Audio- the audio in the hall scene is very quiet, which is in contrast to the classroom scene. There is little background sound and no music. All we hear are the words of the teacher as he engages the students.

I realize that this clip is not an educational program per se but I needed this first step to make sense for myself of this new learning in video design. I found that I was much more successful by starting with what I know and am most familiar with. The next step for me is to now see if I can take my emerging understanding and apply it to an educational program.

To be continued…