The Silent video

For: Groups of Four or Five
Difficulty: Advanced

Objective
Upon completion of this lesson, students will know how to plan, shoot, and edit a short silent video that tells a simple story. They will also understand the concept of a “focus statement”.

Points to emphasize

• Teamwork is important.

• Planning the video shot by shot will make editing the final project very simple.

• It is important to stay on-topic, so pay attention to the focus statement.

Equipment: One camera, tripod, and editing station per group

Assignment

Teams will be given a simple “focus statement” to guide them as they shoot and edit a 60-second silent video. They may be creative in their approach, but in the end, the focus statement should be realized in the final product.

The following are NOT allowed:

• Sound in the final edited piece

• Digital transitions or special effects of any kind

• Graphics (credits, captions, titles, etc.)

Each story is edited in a “cuts-only” style with no transitions added. The assignment emphasizes basic storytelling, where the visuals tell us everything we need to know.

Additional Requirements:

• Each member of the team must appear in the video at some point

• Teams may not make signs or write messages on the board to help tell their story

• Only FIVE MINUTES of raw footage may be shot for this assignment

Examples of focus statements to provide:

• Quenching thirst at school is easy.

• It’s so hard to find a quiet place to study.

• Pat hated school lunches.

• The picnic was going great until an angry bee came along.

• Kris despises milk.

• Uh oh. Someone in the trio is singing off-key.

• You forgot to put on deodorant again!