Back in the old days (say 2001) it was very expensive to create instructional video. Nowadays, the ubiquity of cheap digital video cameras, huge graphic cards and sleek but powerful editing packages (go iMovie!) allow for some amazing results.
In other words, you can make powerful gorilla teaching videos in your garage.
Check it out:
See this series out of Kansas State:
http://mediatedcultures.net/mediatedculture.htm
And this series by CommonCraft:
http://dotsub.com/home/user/index.php?target=662
These are examples where editing and crafting a story (instructional design) trump production values. Do you need makeup, lighting, high resolution video, "fidelity" to teach? Nope. What you DO need in spades is quality instructional design - cutting the concept to the sharpest point and pounding it home with deft delivery.
Are we losing the beauty and texture of $500/minute production house video? Maybe. But we have also increased dramatically the return on investment.
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Tiny Popcorn Makes Big Impact for Video iPod Promotion
Bigger isn't always better, particularly with handheld electronics. In this case, tiny promotional popcorn buckets made a big splash in South Africa as part of a video iPod promotion. The tagline on the popcorn was, appropriately, "iPod: Movies in your Pocket." It just goes to show that, from iPods to promos, good things do come in small packages. (via The Unofficial Apple Weblog and our art department manager James)
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love common craft
I use their videos on blogs, wikis, rss, and others during classes and workshops to help me explain the tech. They do such a great job of explaining things! I wish I had that kind of visual literacy to create things like those videos.
I think the term is
I think the term is "guerilla" video...based on this..."Guerrila warfare is the unconventional warfare and combat with which small group combatants use mobile tactics (ambushes, raids, etc) to combat a larger, less mobile formal army."
As Jeremy points out, the challenge isn't so much the technology (as a video producer, I recognize how it has changed to allow faster work) but the imagination of the person creating it and the time they have available.
I wouldn't have created anything like the examples he linked to. Why? I don't think in those kinds of visual terms, and neither do most of the faculty I work with. To them, instructional video is taping a lecture. and even if it's technically easy, I would bet that each of the videos Jeremy linked to required at least 5-10 hours of shooting and editing per item (probably twice that) to create the short videos shown. This isn't something that is practical for someone teaching 3 courses a semester to create. Making 10-20 short videos per class would become a full-time job.
So this still tends to be an occasional add-on for someone with creative vision and time to invest. Those characteristics may or may not come together for any particular class.
Guerilla Video: Video For ALL!
Hi Apowell- I, too, am a former video producer. I feel my marraige to high production values is definitely on the rocks. The most viewed video on YouTube is "Evolution of Dance" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v/dMH0bHeiRNg&l=360&t=OEgsToPDskLOhUfkR4o_y...
, you can't get much more basic than the production values in that particular video.
It has all changed. I think with the advent of the $125.00 FlipVideo, a camera with a built-in 4gb hard drive which holds video editing software to perform basic edits and allows the user to upload videos directly to social networking sites such as YouTube and GoogleVideo will help bring the concept of video for all to fruition. After all, we all have access to blogs...that doesn't make all of us expert writers, but it certainly gives many more people the opportunity to try their hand at it and get their message out. I have always felt access to any form of communication is so important, and I think we see a real move toward greater collaboration because of increased access.
The Evolution of Dance video relies solely on its content to carry it. As do the Kansas State videos. Those videos are riveting, even to audiences who are used to high production values. The content and skillful editing are what carry those videos off.
Marketing is no longer broadcasting...marketing is aggregating your customers. You have to give them the content to draw them in andf the opportunity to interact. I believe the same is true for faculty. Creating a video of a lecture is not the optimum use of this medium. Creating a video which illustrates a concept seems to be much more in line with what I think of as a good use of the medium. And, you are right, the average faculty will not have the time to perform such tasks, but their assistants may. I think media literacy will be as important as any other type of literacy, maybe even more so.
That's my 2 lindens :)
Deb Antoine
Instructional Designer
University of Illinois Springfield
Thanks for the FlipVideo
Thanks for the FlipVideo description, Deb! I'd not heard of it previously (I'm tempted to joke that I've been living in a cave recently, but the fact is that is really is getting harder to keep up with developments in so many directions).
My video production background is much more limited and mostly vicarious compared to the other posters here, but I'm confused about one point. The Evolution of Dance video exhibits minimal production values, but doesn't the Kansas State video exhibit higher production values (in terms of editing and scripting) beyond what most faculty are capable of, as Al points out?
I agree that the content is what carries these videos, and that the source for such content will be someone other than faculty, whether assistants, instructional designers, edutainers, or someone else. In a sense, this may also help faculty more clearly delineate their role as someone who helps learners make sense of such information. The Evolution of Dance video is exquisitely contextual, but we rely on knowledge provided to us by our culture to understand and appreciate it. One can imagine similar videos which illustrate concepts related to academic disciplines or (better) problems/situations/issues viewed from an interdisciplinary perspective. Perhaps there will be a demand someday for performers to make such videos with similar vim and viewability? An interesting thought experiment anyway...
On the flip side (academic videos with varying degrees of viewability), I've discussed this issue in a series of posts about the Open Yale and MIT OpenCourseWare videos on my web site blog, starting at http://senerlearning.com/?q=node/166.
Are you using FlipVideo for Courses?
Another question I forgot to ask you, Deb -- are you using FlipVideo for any courses at UIS by any chance? Or anyone you know? Just curious -- I'll ask around in some listserves as well...
Flip Video for Courses
Sorry I have been out of touch. 91-year-old Mom in hospital and the first week of school! Mom is better and the first week is over :). I am going to teach a video production class online this summer with Flip Video, or one of the other similar products. This product makes video not only easy for faculty ;0...but also allows students to learn the basics of communicating with a video camera without putting a lot of capital into the process. Also, one of our faculty members will be using Flip Video to record introductions to his various modules in an online course. This is a great way to add a personal touch online. Deb
Deb Antoine
Instructional Designer
University of Illinois Springfield
free video editing
Hi Deb. A nice addition to your flip video might be http://www.kaltura.com.
Kaltura is one of those great free web 2.0 tools that provides people with online video editing tools. Better yet, it is a collaborative tool. A group of people could all easily work on a video together. We tried it a little during the Inventive Uses workshop and it seemed pretty simple and fun to use. I envision using it with my students for an interview assignment they have.
Take care,
Bethany
flipvideo at Penn State
Larry Ragan at Penn State's World Campus is using FlipVideo in a faculty development course to orient faculty to teaching online. He interviews experienced online instructors "on camera" then inserts the video clips into the course. Apparently it is working very well and is easy to use. For more information, contact Larry at lcr1 [at] psu [dot] edu.
Flipvideo and other Tools
I appreciate Cathy mentioning this project and John S remembering that he "starred" in his very own Flipvideo production! I used this little device quite a bit since buying one at Best Buy for $150! My intent was to find a tool that allows the faculty to go from handheld to itunesU with as little work as possible. This device has really helped the process.
I am currently putting together a session proposal for the Carefree conference on the Flipvideo/iMovie/iTunesU production process. If anyone might like to join me with other quick production tools drop me a note at LCR1 [at] PSU [dot] EDU. It would be neat to show 2-3 of these quick media production tools.
Thanks!
Thanks for the reply -- dimly I put one and one together now -- FlipVideo was what Larry used to interview me among others at the Sloan-C conference (duh!!). I'll be curious to see if/how it's being used by instructors directly for teaching and learning.