Short videos, adapted to social media platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, are widely deployed by news media and individuals as an important communicative medium in the digital age. Video presentations can enhance the public impact and reach of informational, narrative, persuasive or personal material.
Methods
In the video essay assignment, students can adapt a written assignment to video, or make an original video essay or story. Options are wide-ranging, but include:
- News or documentary report, where students are the “announcer” and use still images and/or compiled sections of video from other sources to provide a cohesive report on a topic.
- Video version of RESEARCHED PERSONAL ESSAYS.
- Freestyle video assignment accompanying any essay, where students use video in whatever way they choose to illustrate their essay. This often spurs remarkable creativity.
- Digital narratives (see Examples, below).
Students may begin by finding or being assigned models within the genre of the video they want to create, analyzing structure, rhetoric, and creative choices. Their videos may rely on narration recorded on top of a sequence of still images, such as the students’ own photographs or drawings, or publicly available photos, artwork, clipart, or drawings. Video clips may also be used, either recorded by the student or compiled from other sources such as youtube. Students should make sure to attribute any video clips they use and ensure they are available for free public use.
This tutorial provides an introduction to creating video essays.
Smith’s Educational Media Producers collaborate with faculty in the development, implementation, and support of curricular digital media projects. These projects can be tailored for the needs of a specific class. To schedule a consultation for a digital media project, submit a ticket via this link: Learning, Research & Technology Support.
Software for these projects ranges from simpler software such as Adobe Express, iMovie, WeVideo, or industry software such as Adobe Premiere Pro. To help determine which may be most appropriate for your class, use the link above to schedule a consultation.
There are a variety of excellently equipped media production spaces available on campus which can be reserved by faculty for class projects or by students individually. Additionally, Smith students, faculty, and staff can check out media production equipment at the Central Service Point in the Neilson Library ground floor Central Hall. A OneCard is needed for checkout. Items available for borrowing include cameras, recorders, microphones, production accessories. Please consult the equipment loans webpage to view a full list of equipment offerings. Students can also use video apps on their phones.
For some groups of students, it may be appropriate to simply turn them loose to figure out the technical details on their own. If videos are being made for a social platform like Instagram or TikTok, students may also use the native video editing tools in those apps. Videos can be posted on YouTube in a non-searchable format for privacy reasons.
Learning Goals
- Develop awareness of and skill deploying images and sound as part of a narrative or rhetorical project.
- Integrate visual aesthetics with scripted writing.
- Consideration of audience and platform.
- Development of social media awareness and ethical frameworks.
Examples
Professional
Sample narratives from StoryCenter, an organization that runs digital narratives workshops.
A fairly simple example video from Aeon, a magazine that features primarily public-facing work by academic scholars.
Student
A creative take on a digital narrative by CEEDS went modestly viral and racked up over 5,500 views.
The Journey Of Little Prince To Planet No. N. Students in CHI 350, taught by Lu Yu of East Asia Languages and Culture, took a trip through the cosmos, creating subtitled videos that chronicle the adventures of the Little Prince. Accessible only via Smith credentials.
