DOLCHE

The DOLCHE team reconnected with filmmaker and director Nikos Theodosakis for a Saturday, October 20, videoconference. During the previous September videoconference, the teachers presented Nikos with their “pitch” for their first film project. A month later, they were back ready to present their films.

For many of the team members, filmmaking was a brand new experience. For most, they were having to learn either Movie Maker 2 or iMovie as they raced to meet Saturday’s deadline. In response to Nikos’s questions – what did you learn? and what would you do differently – everyone had thoughts to share.

Throughout the session, Nikos reminded all that “if we don’t make mistakes ourselves, how can we learn from them?” With that thought in mind, the DOLCHE teachers will spend the next few months incorporating filmmaking into their classrooms. Between now and March, their goal will be to produce a minimum of two student-made products for the SEVAs.

Krishna Harrison-Munoz and Gail Desler will be available to support the teachers and their students with further trainings or demonstrations as needed. We will continue to post resources to the blog and encourage all to join in the online discussion by posting comments.

Nikos will also be reading and responding in the blog, so please take advantage of this opportunity to continue your discussions with the director in the classroom!

We would also like to invite your students into the conversation. We are requiring written parental permission before students’ comments will be posted.  We have posted a sample permission letter under Project Resources. Please feel free to revise the letter.

 Now that you have delved into filmmaking, are you wishing you had more equipment at your site?  Apply for the DV Starter Kit Grant Program! Considering that we have tailored the DOLCHE timeline to align with the SEVA deadline, you should definitely consider applying!

DV Starter Kit Grant Application: dvkitgrantapp2007.pdf. Deadline = November 12, 2007.

Eleven DOLCHE teachers gathered in the computer lab at Arthur Butler Elementary School on October 16 for an after school session with iMovie.  Since most of the teachers had also attended a Movie Maker 2 session, some of the discussion revolved around comparing the pros and cons of each.  The one component that iMovie definitely scores more points on is having two audio tracks and also the ability to edit audio more precisely than in Movie Maker (although there are workarounds in MM2;-).

Here are some great free resources for learning and using iMovie:

• Apple’s iLife Tutorials
• Atomic Learning’s iMovie Tutorial (for iMovie 2)
• Iowa States’s College of Design iMovie Basics

Congratulations to Chris Perris on winning a 2007 Great Valley Center/Citi Foundation Success Fund Valley grant!

The grant, totaling $1,497, will be used to implement Perris’ program proposal entitled Lights, Action, Camera!  This innovative program will teach students in grades 4-6 at Elitha Donner to use Pinnacle video editing software, giving them an additional skill they could use in their professions one day.  Perris was one of 40 recipients chosen to receive the grant from a field of over 150 applicants.”

To read the complete EGUSD News article, click on the link – http://www.egusd.net/news/2007/100907.html. Way to go, Chris!

Fifteen DOLCHE teachers attended the October 8 Movie Maker 2 training at Tech Services. The workshop covered:

• Importing images, video clips, and music
• Adding narration
• Adding transitions and effects
• Editing video clips
• Saving a project – ALL components of a project are saved in the SAME folder!!!
• Finishing a movie – Exporting as a CD (what everyone will do prior our Oct. 20 videoconference with Nikos) , email, to the web, or to a DV camera (what everyone will do prior to our student film festival)

One of the best resources for learning or reviewing Movie Maker 2 is Atomic Learning’s FREE Movie Maker 2 tutorial! Tutorials are also available at Microsoft’s Movie Maker 2 site. An excellent resource for trouble shooting MM2 is Papajohn’s website.

For those who wish to move beyond Movie Maker 2’s audio capabilities, we recommend downloading Audacity, a free audio editing program.  Tutorials are available on the website. 

If you have any Movie Maker 2 questions. tips, or resources, please post a comment so we can share information across the DOLCHE community.

Another lively training for the DOLCHE team took place on October 3 at the district office. With Krishna Harrison-Munoz at the helm again, the teachers explored the importance of sound – the most important aspect of a movie production. Krishna’s top 5 tips for ensuring good-quality audio:

1. Make sure the “talent” is audible
2. Anticipate uninvited sound from the environment   
3. Use microphones and headphones
4. Add music and sound effects
5. Work with voice-overs

Part of the audio topic also included a discussion of copyright and fair use issues, and the importance of modeling for our students. Our rule-of-thumb (though not a stated law!) is that educators may insert up to 30 seconds or 10% – whichever is less – of a song into their videos, being sure to give credits at the end.  Fortunately there is a growing bank of royalty-free resources for music. In addition to the resources included under the Copyright & Fair Use links (right nav bar), free sound effects are available from stonewashed.net.sfx.html and partnersinrhyme.com/pir/PIRsfx.shtml.

Oh, and if you’ve included a talking dog as on of your “talents,” tossing popcorn may be just the trick to match his/her mouth movement with a narration.

Kristen’s tips for “lighting like a pro”:

1. Work with existing lighting
2. Make simple upgrades
3. Apply three-point lighting
4. Use reflectors
5. Be aware of backlighting
6. White balance your camera

Check back soon for links to lighting tips.

For tips on making a documentary, check out dohistory.org (this website has been going strong for almost 10 years now!). George Lucus joins Nikos Theodosakis in praising the documentary work of Marco Torres’ high school students. http://www.edutopia.org/node/980, another great resource for samples (see more at http://www.sfett.com/).

Next DOLCHE training = Movie Maker 2, Monday, October 8, 4:00-7:00, Tech Services.