{"id":178,"date":"2021-09-25T12:35:11","date_gmt":"2021-09-25T16:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/?p=178"},"modified":"2025-10-09T15:40:52","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T19:40:52","slug":"video-essays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/video-essays\/","title":{"rendered":"VIDEO ESSAYS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Methods<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">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:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">News or documentary report, where students are the \u201cannouncer\u201d and use still images and\/or compiled sections of video from other sources to provide a cohesive report on a topic.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Video version of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/researched-personal-essays\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">RESEARCHED PERSONAL ESSAYS<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Freestyle video assignment accompanying any essay, where students use video in whatever way they choose to illustrate their essay.\u00a0 This often spurs remarkable creativity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Digital narratives (see Examples, below).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">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\u2019 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/reframe.sussex.ac.uk\/audiovisualessay\/resources\/how-to-guides\/how-to-video-essays-by-greer-fyfe-and-miriam-ross\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">tutorial<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> provides an introduction to creating video essays.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Smith\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/libraries.smith.edu\/spaces-technology\/media-production-services\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Educational Media Producers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 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: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/smith.teamdynamix.com\/TDClient\/1887\/Portal\/Requests\/TicketRequests\/NewForm?ID=wGyFW9fTEG4_&amp;RequestorType=Service&amp;ShowNav=0&amp;ShowFoot=0\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Learning, Research &amp; Technology Support.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are a variety of excellently equipped <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/libraries.smith.edu\/spaces-technology\/all-spaces-technology\/media-production-spaces\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">media production spaces<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 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 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/libraries.smith.edu\/services\/borrow-renew-return\/equipment-loans\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">equipment loans<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> webpage to view a full list of equipment offerings. Students can also use video apps on their phones.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Learning Goals<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Develop awareness of and skill deploying images and sound as part of a narrative or rhetorical project.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Integrate visual aesthetics with scripted writing.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Consideration of audience and platform.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Development of social media awareness and ethical frameworks.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Examples<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Professional<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/CenterOfTheStory\/playlists\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sample narratives<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> from StoryCenter, an organization that runs digital narratives workshops.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A fairly simple <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/aeon.co\/videos\/for-3-billion-years-life-was-unicellular-why-did-it-start-to-collaborate\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">example video <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">from <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Aeon<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a magazine that features primarily public-facing work by academic scholars.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Student<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<div>At Smith, the office of Reflective Practice&#8217;s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.smith.edu\/academics\/applied-learning-research\/reflective-practices\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.smith.edu\/academics\/applied-learning-research\/reflective-practices&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1760125109844000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3iCTxvqZt3GEQBummbCKsN\">Narratives Project<\/a>\u00a0run by Jessica Bacal works with students to create video essays on their own life experience:<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/TDfzNYTe8qc?si=k6WCLm3JBrR8ucu9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/youtu.be\/TDfzNYTe8qc?si%3Dk6WCLm3JBrR8ucu9&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1760125109844000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3e-ei2gtJusBsCx_L9r53U\">Andrea Olivera<\/a>\u00a0&#8217;16<\/li>\n<li><span id=\"m_-5600129609699850865m_5562310718039109529gmail-docs-internal-guid-ec3e8460-7fff-43e6-2a20-05792883ea13\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/326826524?share=copy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/vimeo.com\/326826524?share%3Dcopy&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1760125109844000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3Bykm_YU1VRzGCciiMcrOY\">Jessica Vivar <\/a>&#8217;19<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list=PLiU2Yj6S1O3TBd-S6eS-9Z3f1fRwEPsMC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/playlist?list%3DPLiU2Yj6S1O3TBd-S6eS-9Z3f1fRwEPsMC&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1760125109844000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1aDNAIPbcN47X9prQoAlMI\">First Gen Out Loud archive<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A creative take on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SmithCollegeCEEDS\/videos\/vb.199100783447555\/1900480826642867\/?type=2&amp;theater\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">a digital narrative by CEEDS<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> went modestly viral and racked up over 5,500 views.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/chi350-fa22\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Journey Of Little Prince To Planet No. N<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. 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. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Accessible only via Smith credentials.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Short videos, adapted to social media platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, are widely deployed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3782,"featured_media":52,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-modules","entry","tgrid"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/712\/2021\/09\/ralston-smith-zc9pWsPZd4Y-unsplash.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3782"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":332,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178\/revisions\/332"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/publicdiscourse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}