This project-based multimedia unit guides students through a complete digital media production and web publishing pipeline—from graphic design and cloud asset management to multi-track video editing, motion graphics animation, and web portfolio publishing. Centered around the "My Favorite Things" project, middle school students build technical fluency across industry-standard software while constructing a permanent, public-facing digital portfolio to showcase their work.

Unit Overview

Students curate high-resolution media, design custom 1080p title graphics in Adobe Photoshop, construct animated master video sequences in Adobe Premiere Pro, and publish an interactive web page on Google Sites. The curriculum emphasizes visual legibility, non-destructive workflows, systematic cloud permissions, keyframed motion graphics, and technical reflective writing.

Core Competencies & Technical Skills

• Graphic Design & Visual Legibility: Setting up HDTV 1080p canvas presets, constructing text "corrals," applying non-destructive Layer Styles, generating abstract art using Classic Gradient Difference Mode, and organizing single-line text within Safe Margins.

• Asset Optimization & Cloud Architecture: Converting unsupported image formats (AVIF to PNG), extracting website domain sources from research outlines, establishing strict folder hierarchies in OneDrive, and configuring public Google Drive permissions ("Anyone with the link") inside dedicated storage directories.

• Video Editing & Motion Graphics: Constructing timeline master sequences, calculating baseline scale thresholds ("Magic Numbers") to eliminate canvas borders, applying default Cross Dissolve transitions (Ctrl+D), extending keyframes across clip edges for continuous camera movement, and animating dual-axis Position/Scale keyframes for pans, zooms, and scrolling credits.

• Web Publishing & Reflective Writing: Embedding Drive-hosted MP4 video media into Google Sites, conducting peer quality audits, and writing technical reflections detailing software tools, advanced search strategies, and creative problem-solving.

Software & Tools Used

• Adobe Photoshop: Title screen design, layer styling, custom Difference Mode gradients, image file conversion, and asset exports.

• Adobe Premiere Pro: Multi-track video editing, baseline asset scaling, keyframed motion graphics, text captioning within Safe Margins, default video transitions, scrolling credits, and H.264 (MP4) rendering.

• Google Workspace (Drive & Sites): Cloud directory architecture, global access permission management, responsive web page design, media embedding, and web publishing.

• Microsoft OneDrive & Word: Asset directory management, research outlines, and web link citation tracking.

Final Student Deliverables

1. 4 Custom Title Cards: Photoshop-designed intro and category title graphics exported as high-resolution PNGs.

2. Curated Asset Directory: An organized "My Favorite Assets" folder containing 9 high-res photos and matching title screens.

3. Master Video Sequence: A rendered 1080p MP4 video featuring keyframed camera movement, custom scale adjustments, Cross Dissolve transitions, 4-second timed captions, and scrolling ending credits.

4. Permissioned Cloud Storage: A Google Drive folder named PORTFOLIO FILES - DO NOT DELETE configured with "Anyone with the link" public viewing rights.

5. Published Digital Portfolio Page: A live Google Sites web page containing the embedded video player, domain citations, and written technical reflections.