COURSE TITLE: Video Communication I

ROOM: B3.1

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Video Communication I introduces students to digital video recording, live video switching and computer based non-linear video editing. Elements of sound recording, still image manipulation, graphics integration, and titling are also included. Special emphasis is placed on mastering the vocabulary of film production and videography. Video Communication I is usually taken after some introductory computer based course. Each semester of the course meets .5 credits of the computer studies graduation requirement. The first semester can be profitably taken without the second, but the second semester requires the material taught in the first.

COURSE GOALS/OBJECTIVES/STANDARDS: As a result of taking Video Communication I, students should be able to:

Demonstrate understanding of the terminology used in the area of film and video.

Demonstrate the use of hard wired and computer based video applications including, but not limited to, still and video image manipulation and editing, digital audio and digital video.

Demonstrate an understanding of how various technological applications can be combined to effectively communicate a message.

Demonstrate appreciation of how video technology affects our daily life.

Demonstrate the ability to work cooperatively on a production team.

As a result of taking the second semester of Video Communications I, students should additionally be able to:

Use the Internet, conferencing, and problem solving software to gather information and present ideas to local and distant audiences.

Demonstrate the ability to organize, analyze, and evaluate collected data and present them in appropriate ways.

Demonstrate the ability to plan and work with teachers, mentors, community members and fellow students, both locally and at a distance to develop projects.

Demonstrate the ability to incorporate various media into a large scale presentation.

SCOPE & SEQUENCE: Video Communications I roughly follow the following sequence of topics. Since the course is primarily project based and since projects change from year to year, the exact amount of time spent on each topic and each topic’s sequence in the semester are adjusted accordingly. Earlier topics are also revisited at a more advanced level in the context of new information and increased student knowledge. The second semester of Video Communications I is essentially a workshop in which students produce large scale projects based on the skills they have learned in the first semester:

The Vocabulary of Film and Video

Layout and Design in Space and Time

Critiquing Others’ Work

Script Writing and Storyboarding

Operation, Care, and Maintenance of Video Cameras and associated equipment

Development and Effective Utilization of Talent

Selection and Manipulation of Settings and Lighting

Sound Management and Recording.

Computer Based Non-linear Digital Editing

Special Effects and Titling

Packaging and Presentation of Video Projects

COURSE GRADING/ASSESSMENT: Grading is based on quizzes, projects, tests, and a semester exam. Some or all projects may be evaluated as part of a portfolio of work. Group work with shared grading is common. A point system is used to weight assignments, as follows:

Quizzes – 50 points, each

Tests – 100 points, each

Projects – 50 to 200 points each, depending on the level of difficulty and the time required to complete them.

The first and second quarter grades and the semester exam are weighted 40%, 40%, and 20%, respectively in calculating the semester average. Video recording may be used to help the instructor assess his own and students’ interactions. Students will be informed when video is in use.

CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS/CONSEQUENCES: Headwear is not permitted in the classroom. Because students are frequently required to present projects and/or ideas to the class, any behavior that ridicules or appears to ridicule other students is unacceptable behavior. Students are expected to conduct themselves in ways that do not interfere with the rights of other students to learn or the ability of the instructor effectively to conduct his lesson. Students may be removed from the classroom to immediately restore an acceptable atmosphere, possibly without other warning. Students will be counseled, when amenable, or referred to administration, when not. A parent conference and/or an acceptable written commitment to manage behavior may be required before re-admitting a student.

CONTINUOUS SCHOOL PROJECT GOAL: AFNORTH International Middle/High School’s CSP (Continuous School Progress) goal is, “All students will improve their written communication skills across the curriculum.” The 6 traits + 1 is the model selected to improve school-wide writing in all subject areas. The 6 traits +1 writing framework is a powerful way to learn and use a common language to refer to characteristics of writing as well as establish a common vision of what “strong” writing looks like. Teachers and students will use the 6+1 Trait model to identify areas of strength and weakness as they continue to strive towards continued writing improvement. Success of all students requires that the 6 Traits + 1 become a consistent and integral component of each course taught at AFNORTH International Middle/High School.

Video Communication I students will demonstrate mastery of the 6 Traits +1 through scripts, treatments, and other planning documents. Written critiques to supplement the regular oral critiques of peer work will sometimes be required.

TEXTBOOKS: There is no textbook for Video Communications I.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: A wide variety of instructor generated supplemental handouts are used. Relevant videos or parts of videos on computer related topics as well as other multimedia resources are frequently used.

SUPPLIES (REQUIRED/RECOMMENDED): Students should use a loose-leaf notebook or folder in preference to a bound notebook because of the large number of supplemental handouts they receive.

HOMEWORK POLICY: Homework assignments are both explicit and implicit. Explicit assignments are often related to preparing, outside of class, data that will be entered in the computer during class time. Implicit assignments include the review of information, such as vocabulary lists, class notes, and project assignments, which relate to on-going success in the course. Failure to keep up with homework assignments usually results in wasting the class time allocated to completing projects, in turning in incomplete work, in being unprepared for quizzes, and, therefore, in lower grades. Homework assignments my occasionally be collected to check for completeness, but will primarily be evaluated by the student’s preparedness to perform successfully on other classroom tasks, especially unannounced quizzes.

MAKE-UP WORK POLICY: As a general rule, any project due during a period of planned absence must be done before the absence in order to get credit. Athletic events and family trips (among other things) are planned absences. When projects are due soon after a planned absence, the student is normally expected to have his work ready to turn in with the rest of the class. This may require the student to work ahead and to do parts of assignments before his departure in order to be ready fully to participate in the class on return. To this end, students may arrange to do work during lunch, after school hours, or during the seminar period before a planned absence. In all cases, a plan for dealing with a planned absence should be discussed with the instructor before the absence. This policy is intended to help students avoid getting hopelessly behind and becoming overwhelmed with make-up work.

Because most work must be done on a school computer with the assigned software and in the presence of the instructor, it is normally not possible to give any significant amount of work to be completed during the planned absence.

Late work is not accepted. If work is incomplete at the time and date it is due, the incomplete work should be turned in to avoid a zero. Such work will be partly evaluated on the extent to which the assigned task was completed as well as on the normal criteria for that assignment. Unplanned absences (as for illness) are an exception to this policy; planned absences are not, if the student has failed to make alternative arrangements with the instructor before the absence.

SPECIAL COMPUTER LABORATORY REQUIREMENTS: Because of the closeness of the computer environment and the presence of large amounts of expensive and delicate equipment, there are additional rules and procedures for using the lab/classroom:

1. Students have assigned seats in the computer lab and may not change seats without permission from the instructor. If classes are merged in the lab, an alternate seating arrangement may be required, as directed by the instructor.

2. When entering and leaving a computer work station, students must sign in and out on the use log of the machine they use. The log for each computer is kept in a plastic jacket placed beside each computer. A column for comments is provided on the log form. It should be used ONLY to record any problems encountered on the machine. If the problem is serious, the instructor should be called and he may tell the student how to fill out the log.

3. Food and beverages are not allowed in the lab.

4. Personal CD’s may not be used in the computer CD drive. Personal software may not be brought to the lab. Software may not be downloaded or installed by students.

5. Roughhousing, pushing, running, or touching other students, no matter how friendly or insignificant is may seem, is very hazardous in the computer environment. Such behavior is dealt with especially severely.

6. Damage to the computer hardware or software, whether deliberate or accidental, creates serious problems for following classes. Repairs take time and cost money. Students are expected to use computers and their associated equipment and furniture with care and immediately to report any problems to the instructor. Unnecessary adjustment or abuse of chairs, reading boards, monitors, mice, wires, or other equipment which subjects it to excessive wear can cause serious damage in the long term.

7. The computer labs are crowded, so extra books, bags, and clothing should not be brought to the computer lab. If a bag must be brought and it is too large to fit under the student’s desk, materials needed for the class must be removed from the bag and the bag must be left in an area designated by the instructor. In no case will any bag or extra clothing be taken to the computer seating area.

8. Floppy disks memory devices and CDs from outside may not be used in classroom computers without being virus checked by the instructor. This includes disks used on other computers in the school as well as disks from home.

9. The Internet is for use only in support of class projects and assignments. Advance permission of the computer instructor is necessary if a student needs to do an assignment for another teacher. No personal use of the Internet is acceptable at any time, including, specifically, use of the Internet to access personal email accounts not provided by DoDDS.

10. All printers are networked. Care must be taken to insure that the correct printer is selected prior to sending a job. Simply pressing a print icon on the desktop is not acceptable because the correct printer may not be set up. This is especially true the first time a student prints each day. Jobs must not be repeatedly sent to the printer if a job does not come out. The problem may be that the printer is out of paper or jammed or that the network is clogged, and, when the condition is corrected, a large amount of unwanted and wasteful output may be produced. The control panels of printers that might be receiving a student’s work should be checked for error messages and the instructor notified if any are found. It is every student’s responsibility to leave printers in proper condition for the next user. Students may be allowed to reload paper trays from the stock of paper in the room, but only after they have received instruction in the correct ways to do it.

11. A wide variety of software is available on the computers, however, students are permitted to use only that software that has been part of their formal lessons or for which they have been given specific special permission by the instructor. Students are not to “surf” the hard drive. Attention should always be focused on class projects or extensions to those projects, and any extra time on the computer should be spent exploring advanced features of the assigned software.

12. Network folders are used for storing students’ personal files. For backup purposes, work may sometimes be saved on rewriteable disks and memory devices. Since the C: drive of each computer is subject to periodic manual and automatic maintenance to keep it clear of extraneous files, students will eventually loose any files placed there.

13. Work for computer based classes must nearly always be completed in class, with specific assigned software, and in the presence of the computer instructor. Although preparations for computer assignments, such as reading and data collection, are often done as homework, the execution of most assignments is done during assigned class time. Makeup must be scheduled during seminar or at another time that has been pre-arranged with the instructor.

14. Computer workstations should always be left in good order. This means correctly shutting down the computer desktop, leaving the physical surroundings of the computer safe and tidy, and completing the computer use log.