Giving a lecture- Need some input- please help!!

[Bryon Akerman]

Hey All,

I've been asked to give a lecture on video production to some high school students.

Do you guys have any good ideas on some topics I can talk on? I'm drawing a blank right now. I need a title of my talk by monday!

AGHHHHH!!!

Bryon <><

[Andy Harding]

Depends on your line of video production but off the top of my head,

Pre Production (story boards, scripts, the story, what the client wants etc).
Filming (Sound, cameras, kit etc etc).
Post Production (Capture, grade, edit, final outputetc etc.....).

Then just break each one of the above down again and again until you have your times worth.
that is how I would go about it anyway hope this helps.

[Denis Danatzko]

Originally Posted by Bryon Akerman

Hey All,

I've been asked to give a lecture on video production to some high school students.

Do you guys have any good ideas on some topics I can talk on? I'm drawing a blank right now. I need a title of my talk by monday!

AGHHHHH!!!

Bryon <><

Title: Hear no evil...See no evil

topics:
1) "See the light"...it's really ALL we see
2) "the sound is half the picture"
3) "The boy scouts were right...Be prepared" i.e. productin is mostly preparation

Hope it helps.

[Robert M Wright]

You might go into a little history, perhaps focusing on how much has changed just since they were born.

[Paul Izbicki]

I'm afraid that, in my experience teaching a variety of classes, a history of video wouldn't really get a lot of steam going in HS kids. Use Pwpt, Keynote or other visual aides, assuming you have a laptop, to show how it is possible to create your own films. Show clips or stills from Kill Bill or other Tarentino films they are familiar with. Same with Spike Lee.

Define the terms and jargon, kids always want to know what Grip, Gaffer and Best Boy mean, and what they do. Talk about the movement to Digital and High Def. USE VISUALS or props-take some audio gear, like a mixer, shotgun and boom pole, maybe a fresnel. Emphasize the content/storytelling aspect, then, as others have said, the planning and execution. Define pre-pro, prod nad post. Show NLE and effects of filters if you have a laptop. Think entertainment, and stay focused on it. And good luck!

iPaul

[Kevin Randolph]

"The Proliferation of Video in the Digital Age" - Talk about the evolving medium of internet videos, the accessibility for anyone to produce a video, and what they will need to do to stand out

"Guerilla Video" - planning a production on a limited budget, the necessary tools needed, the importance of pre-production, and legal issues.

"DVD Featurettes - A stepping stone into Hollywood" - The importance of being able to shoot a documentary and how this skillset could lead to other opportunities through producing DVD featurettes.

Anyway, just a few ideas... take'em or leave'em...

[Glenn Davidson]

Podcasts, I-movie, Youtube and Tom Green Video Blogs would appeal to High Schoolers. Cheap cameras and software that can be used right now with your friends and put on the Web for instant fame.

http://tomgreen.com/blogs/portal.php

[Denis Danatzko]

Originally Posted by Paul Izbicki

I'm afraid that, in my experience teaching a variety of classes, a history of video wouldn't really get a lot of steam going in HS kids. ...

Think entertainment, and stay focused on it. And good luck!

iPaul

The bottom line in making any presentation is "know your audience...and what they want."
Let your passion and enthusiasm for the work show thru. It gets the audience engaged.
I suspect HS students will be short on patience and long on enthusiasm. they'll want to "dive in."
Maybe you should highlight something they can do right now, e.g. youtude, then show something similar done with more care than a point-and-shoot home video.
Imparting knowledge is good, but it must be peppered with engagement and what ultimately boils down to "entertainment".
If it will be a workably-small audience, involve them as best you can, using visual aids.
Use examples, and don't drone on. Otherwise, you'll lose them quickly.
Typical attention span is only 5-7 mins before minds start wandering. use that to your advantage with short topics and frequent shfits of attention from listening to visual examples.

I majored in speech communication, had to give about a presentation per week in school, and could go on all day about this, but I think this could be fun to do. If I were close enough, I'd even offer to help.

[Bryon Akerman]

Guys,

This is awesome! You all have really got my mind going. Here's what Im thinking of doing. Grab a short two person script. Maybe a few lines off of a movie trailer and walk the kids through producing it. I'll have the script beforehand of course. I can talk them through preproduction, get a couple of them to act it out, while I talk about camera angles, lighting, audio, etc. then throw it on the timeline, let them watch me edit while I talk about editing...(I'll be plugged into a big TV) add music or what not, then let them watch it and talk about what all differant areas there are to get involved with. For a little 4 or 5 line clip, I should be able to fit it in 30-45 minutes, which will give me time for questions and an introduction.

What do you think?

[Denis Danatzko]

Has lots of the elements necessary to garner and hold their interest...involvement, example, participation, all while YOU'RE imparting knowledge.

Let us know how they respond. Once you get them taking part, I suspect many will be "bitten" by the production "bug".

(Sorry for not responding earlier; worked my PT job today).

Good luck.