video production lessons for high school

New Release from TechnoKids: Media Literacy and Video Production Project

digital marketing

Attention middle and high school educators! TechnoKids’ most recent release is TechnoAd. This project teaches media literacy and video production skills with a fun, digital marketing challenge. Students critically examine commercials and the techniques used by advertisers. Then they apply this knowledge to plan, film, edit, and create their own video ads to promote a product.

The current generation of young people are constantly being bombarded by media messages. Some ads are obvious; some are hidden. To compound the need for critical awareness, advertisers use tracking to target specific audiences. We want our students to be informed and aware of these techniques. One great way is to have them design a marketing campaign with a unique video ad.

Integrate Multiple Technology Skills in One Project

Target many diverse skills in one unique themed unit of study. Students master a variety of competencies in a real-world, meaningful application: data analysis, video production, and media literacy.

Teach Digital Marketing and Media Literacy

In TechnoAd, students begin by analyzing a variety of commercials found online.
They learn about:

  • selling tactics
  • hidden messages
  • target audience
  • stereotypes

Next, they build a survey to discover how people interact with advertising. They analyze their research data to find out about online users and their behavior. This knowledge will be applied when they create their own ad campaign and in their final report when they consider ad placement.

Develop Video Production Skills

Students are now ready to take on the role of videographers. They learn about camera techniques: angles, shots, and movements. They experiment with taking photos and videos.

video production

The next step is to learn how to edit the video footage, add persuasive text, and select a fitting soundtrack. Blender, free open-source software, is an online graphics tool that is used to build video production skills. No need to purchase expensive software! Step-by-step instructions, designed specifically for beginners, show students how to use the tools. To practice for their own video ad, they use provided clips to sequence video, color, and text and then add music and/or narration to make a video ad.

Collaboration and Digital Marketing

Teamwork is a key life and career skill. In the next session, students form creative groups to plan the ad. Together, they make decisions about target audience, main and hidden messages, selling tactics, and how to avoid stereotypes. They design a storyboard for their ad to specify the action, script, and camera techniques they plan to use. Based on their proposal, they shoot footage using any video capture device such as a webcam, smartphone, or camera.

Express Creativity

Each student then produces their own unique video ad using Blender. The ad is limited to an authentic 15 seconds, so they must consider how to quickly gain audience interest and maintain it. At the same time, they need to include a variety of engaging shots as well as compelling text and suitable soundtracks. Tips, sample pictures, and creative suggestions help the beginner video editor feel like a pro!

video production

Write a Digital Marketing Report

Finally, students apply all of their media literacy skills to summarize their marketing strategies. The professional report explains their decisions, target audience, and a recommendation for the ideal digital channel and time for placing the ad. They master advanced word processing skills and formatting such as a table of contents, heading styles, and section breaks. Digital citizenship skills are practiced with a reference list of sources, such as image and sound sites, that were used.

More Help with Blender

Blender video production
Blender is a free download!

Have a look at the following blogs to find out fun tips and tricks when video editing in Blender:

Stay tuned – in the next weeks and months, TechnoKids will post more articles to help your students become confident and proficient video editors.

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