Berendo Middle School

Starting October 1st of 2010, I had the grand privilege to teach at Berendo Middle School as part of Woodcraft Ranger's after school program (under the banner of Nvision). There, I taught the Video Production Club for about three hours twice a week for about two weeks, then I was there for three days there on. Unfortunately, I had to move away, and the distance was too much so my last day with the kids was Friday, November the 19th of 2010.

The students there were amazing and full of potential. I expect great things to come in the future from them. The site coordinator, David, was a very kind and helpful guy. He did absolutely everything he could to help keep kids off the streets and join free fun/educational programs with Woodcraft. Oscar, who taught the physical education club, was an awesome friend that showed me the ropes of the school and occasionally we would share our classes and create some cool videos with the kids. The staff workers from Woodcraft were all amazing as well as those from the campus.

In the end, the kids had a great time and learned a lot from the video production club. The following are a few videos that we had done in the class.

"Making Of" Berendo Video Production Club
 This is a "Making of" Video about my video production club at Berendo Middle School. This is a product of about a month at only 2-3 days a week for only a few hours. These kids are amazing and have a bright future ahead of them!

Training Obstacle Course Video
This is a video about Middle School kids from Berendo, going through an obstacle course they made.

Zombie Out Break

 This is the longest lasting project that my students and I put together. Originally, the idea came from a type of "tag" game created by one of the students in which humans and zombies are trying to conquer over one another. Thus, they wanted to bring this game to a reality in a short film. Naturally, the students wanted a zombie infection to take over the Berendo Middle School campus. Now it was a question of how one would survive and deal with such a travesty. Refer to the "making of" video to see how the plane crash was filmed.

Berendo Middle School Video Production Club- Woodcraft Rangers "Nvision"
~Oscar, Yonel, William, Irvin, Jesse, Joseph, Aaron, Cristian, Anthony G., Roland, Jonathan, Alex, Francisco, Luis, Mr. Romero~
Additional students not on photograph: Keila, Ronaldo, Ruben, Anthony V., Ricardo 

The Commercial

Commercials have a single purpose, SELL. Very creative and clever, those involved in creating commercials must use every technique possible to get people to buy their product. Many methods apply when creating a commercial, though in the end, the goal is the same. Usually, commercials have some sort of "hook" to bring in interest in the product or idea. Next, it's about what the product does and how it is useful or worth purchasing. In this step, commercials use several different techniques to prove the worthiness of the product, by: comparing itself to other competitors, using testimonies, vague visual expressions, associations to well-known foundations, approvals, awards, polls, examples, and many others. Finally, the details of contact for the product is given at the end, via: store, ordering information, product name, etc.

Beyond the Cinema

What's the first thing you think about when you hear video or film production? Usually, the first mental image that pops up, are the movies. Naturally, the movies (which will now be referred to as the cinema) is the first stepping stone into this collaborative art form. However there is so much more beyond that. Take a moment and consider your surroundings. Where else do you see "motion pictures"? There's videos on the cell phone, television, ipods, game systems, hand held games, theme parks, billboards, hospitals, online, just about everywhere you go there is some type of video playing. These videos range from ads, commercials, films, documentaries, ENG (electronic news gathering), music videos, awareness videos, tutorials, video games, atmosphere, concert videos, animated films and videos, and so much more. And if you stop and think about it, each one of those types of "motion pictures" are associated with jobs. You could have one of those jobs.

Introduction

Objective :
     This blog is intended to help my students and others who need a digital reference for Video/Film Production. The idea is to have a concise and easy-to-understand website that applies to the entertainment industry. The overall goal is to expose students to the several different outlets that are available in this creative/collaborative industry. In addition, I hope that this information will prove to be a valuable asset in their toolbox of knowledge.

Projects :
     Materials and equipment list will be posted with each and every project. In addition to a making of.

Videos :
     The videos, on this blog and origin, are only meant to be used for reference. Thus, they shall be observed as such. These will all be of my own creation, unless, otherwise noted.

Programs :
     A number of the programs used will be free programs that are available for anybody. I will have a link in which you will be able to download and test. I will also note if I am using a professional program and give you a link for a free trial (usually 30 days)

Recommended Readings : 

Horror Film Aesthetics- Creating the visual Language of Fear
-Thomas M. Sipos
Horror Film Aesthetics- Amazon

Motion Picture and Video Lighting
-Blain Brown
Motion Picture and Video Lighting- Amazon

Special Effects- An oral history
-Pascal Pinteau
Special Effects- Amazon

Special Effects Make-Up
-Janus Vinther
Special Effects Make-Up- Amazon