This lesson takes 90-120 minutes. It is best done at the beginning of the year in a media class, or during the start of a video project. The lesson encourages engineering and out-of-the-box thinking, which is a great way to engage students. For media classes, it teaches the importance of using a tripod to stabilize a camera, use of landscape mode when filming (I HATE vertical video), and introduces the idea of working as a team to accomplish a concrete task. Also, it helps with budget issues. Of course you don't have enough funds for every student to have a tripod, so you encourage them to make their own with everyday household objects. In my classroom, I like that it teaches the "MAKE IT WORK" attitude I expect students to have when approaching every project.
As an English teacher, my first writing project of the year was always a personal narrative. I like the use of the personal piece as a way for students to introduce themselves to the class. In my film class, I use this personal documentary project in very much the same way. Documentary filmmaking, however, is a great way for students to explore many topics of interest. It lends itself well to English and History/ Social Studies classes, but I could also see documentary being used to learn about statistics in math class, any science discipline, game development or teamwork in PE, and for more advanced language learners, the whole thing could be done in Spanish or French. The process of "making a documentary film" engages students in a unique way, gives them purpose and audience, and helps them to organize their thoughts in new ways.
This is a collection of documents for use with a group media project. My students write scripts, form groups, and produce films in the spring. I print these documents to be completes as part of the planning process--including a calendar, because I really want students planning their own time and holding each other accountable.
For use with any video project