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Shooting a compelling video on a mobile device.


This post was created to support the LHS English PBL classes. 

1. What do you watch now?
  This question helped frame our thinking around the videos we watch and where we watch them.
  • What videos do you watch now?
  • What screens do you watch the videos on?
  • What keeps you coming back?
2. Apple of my eye - shot on an iPhone 4.
  We watched this video without much context the first time.
  We broke the class into six small groups. We then rewatched the video while the teams looked for one of the specific topics below. The big idea was to see how these video elements added to the overall story. 
  • angles the video was shot in
  • movement of the camera
  • sound/audio
  • lighting
  • cuts in the video
  • who was the intended audience

3. T.H.I.N.K.
  This acronym was designed to help when shooting on a mobile device.
  • shooT with this storyboard or that storyboard
  • Hold that camera steady
  • Interesting surroundings
  • Not too soft, not too loud
  • Know your audience/subject

4. Warm Up The Subject
  Think of a few questions to get your interviewee to relax before you start asking the questions you really need answer to.

Example:
  You are interviewing a teacher and really want them to talk about their day to day life in the classroom. You could warm them up by asking them about why they became a teacher, who were their inspirational teachers, etc...

  After a few minutes they will be much more likely to give you a great answer to the question(s) you really want to ask. 

5. Editing
  Pay super close attention to your storyboard. If you can capture superior raw footage your editing shouldn't take too long. Trust me, editing takes way too long if your shots are not every good or well planned. 

  The screen shots below use the app called FilmoraGo, a free iOS and Android app. 

WARNING: I would recommend that you have a minimum of 1 gig of free space on your mobile device before you start editing. Do not delete any clips until your video is 100% complete. Trust me, we have learned this the hard way.

Click the FilmoraGo app to begin creating your video.

Click Create New Video.


1. Click on Video to access your files.
2. Click the circle to find your files.

 
Click on one of the files you want to add to the project.

1. Shows how many clips have been added to the project.
2. You can set the starting and ending points of the clips. This is a great way to cut the clip down a little bit.
3. Click add when you have your clip ready to go. Then hit the next button in the upper right corner.

1. Select the clip you want to edit.
2. Scroll left and right to find options. You can find things like titles and voice overs. 
3. Click when you are ready to go.

Adding a transition effect helps to ease from one clip into the next.

1. Scroll to find the effect you like. Click to apply.
2. Select Apply All to add same effect to all clips.
3. Click the check when you are finished.

Click Save to finalize the video.

The exporting process can take a while. It all depends on the age of the mobile device and how long the video is. I would recommend having the device plugged while it exports. 

1. I always saved it to the camera roll. I could then upload to YouTube later.
2. You can upload directly to YouTube

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