digital video design & production
Digital Video: Foundations of Video Design and Production is a yearlong, project-based curriculum that develops career and communication skills in digital video production, using Adobe tools. Digital Video curriculum develops four key skill areas:
• Project management and collaboration• Design• Research and communication• Professional video production, using video tools
Students develop these key skills in a spiral—each project adds more challenging skills onto foundation proficiencies. Students engage in skills to learn storytelling, capturing and editing video and audio, and finalizing content for DVD, web, or digital videotape.
Digital Video curriculum addresses each of these areas, using a project-based approach. Each project has phases that follow a design and development process from project planning and analysis to evaluation and distribution. Students gain experience through real-world projects that help them understand roles and processes across a broad range of careers involving digital video. To simulate a professional work environment, students gradually migrate their video work from an individual process to a group process, focused on personal and client work. The projects contain activities that require students to plan their communication and focus and then evaluate and improve their communications. Specific attention has been paid to developing concepts and principles for thorough, effective communication to multiple audiences.
Each project guideline provides structure for the content and process of a project while allowing flexibility for the instructor to tailor the level of social and technical interaction appropriate for students.
First Semester Projects
The first semester of Digital Video curriculum (Projects 1–5) lays the foundation for skills in shooting video, synthesizing the composition, and producing video communications (such as shot composition and mix), story planning, audio and narration planning and recording, video editing, shared project management skills such as interviewing and project scheduling, peer review, and redesign. Project activities focus on developing effective communications that can be deployed on DVD, digital videotape, or the web. Students develop a variety of videos focused on genres such as an action video, a news story, and a public service announcement. Students culminate the semester with a portfolio project in which they reflect on the skills and topics they’ve covered and begin their career exploration to better understand what areas interest them in digital video.
The key skills emphasized in this semester are:
• Ethical considerations for editing and producing videos• Designing for a variety of audiences and needs• Problem solving that helps support multiple perspectives• The design process and effective communication• Peer teaching and evaluation in a collaborative environment• Shooting, capturing, editing, and enhancing video and audio
In the first semester, students use Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 to edit video. They use Adobe Soundbooth CS5 to create and edit audio. They use Adobe After Effects CS5 to enhance videos and add motion effects. They use Adobe Encore CS5 to produce content for a DVD.
Second Semester Projects
The second semester of Digital Video (Projects 6–8) builds on student design and development skills by focusing on larger video production projects and client work as well as more in-depth content and advanced editing, audio, and motion graphic techniques. Students continue to work in teams and produce rich video communications such as commercials and documentaries. They focus on effective composition and communication, project management, design specifications, and iterative development. They produce project plans and treatments to plan and communicate ideas and themes for the videos and then use assembly and rough cuts to visualize and review with clients. They develop video production skills that solve specific communication challenges and engage audiences. Students culminate this semester with a portfolio redesign that includes their aspirations, goals, and interests.
The key skills emphasized in this semester are:
• Soft skills such as interviewing and responding to feedback• Advanced motion graphics and special effects techniques• Communication with peers and team members, using treatments and project plans• Iterative development and redesign• Project management skills such as task management, client management, milestone tracking, and contingency planning• Music creation