Making Short Videos: The Art of Storytelling

This is the Class that I dropped from Stanford University Continuing Studies...

They said I could make a film on my iPhone, then the class prep materials said, required to know video editing software examples: iMovie, Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro - I don't.

I wanted to learn editing in this class.

So, I'm going to pay someone to help me learn Adobe Premiere Pro as my summer project. 

Here's the class - FYI

 Hi there. I’m Jonathan Crow, your instructor for Making Short Videos: The Art of Storytelling. Welcome to class! 

Over the next seven weeks, you are going to produce a two to three minute video. Making movies is a rewarding experience; I hope you will be happy with your resulting piece. It is also a lot of hard work. Even with short videos, there will be long hours, stress, and maybe some swearing involved. Don't worry, I will be here (virtually) to help you along.

Here is a little about me: I have an MFA in film and video from Cal Arts and have worked in the film industry for several years. Among other things, I wrote and produced for a series that aired on the History Channel, shot a few commercials in Japan, and worked as a film journalist for Yahoo! Movies where I interviewed some of the great filmmakers like Steven Soderbergh, Christopher Nolan, Hayao Mizazaki, and Joel and Ethen Coen.
Additionally, I've been teaching film history with Stanford Continuing Studies for nearly three years. 

6-30-21 pre-class notes

Instructor

Jonathan Crow

Please contact me through the Canvas Inbox or jonccrow@gmail.com

Course Dates
July 6 – August 24 (7 weeks + 1 week break during the week of Aug 10)

Weekly Outline

Week 1:
The Story: basic structure and elements of a story

Week 2:
The Shot: where to put the camera and what to put in the frame

Week 3:
The Montage: creating rhythm and meaning by combining shots

Week 4:
Pre-Production: preparing for production

Week 5:
The Shoot: what is needed to have a successful shoot

Week 6*:
Post-Production: edit, edit, and edit

Week 7:
Final Cut: that's a wrap – the final movie

* We will take a week's break between production and post-production to catch up with all the numerous tasks you will be required to do. I'll be still answering emails though. 

Course Structure
Module Content

Each module typically includes the following components. Announcements will also be posted from time to time so consider setting your "announcement" notification preference to "notify me right away" to immediately receive the information via email. See the Canvas Guide for instructions.

Media: Please begin each module by reviewing the required videos and readings. If you have time and would like to learn more about the topics addressed in a module, consider reviewing the supplemental materials as well.

Discussions: Each week there will be a discussion that provides you the opportunity to discuss the topics addressed in the weekly lesson and to share your progress with the video project.

There is also a "General Class Comments and Questions" discussion that is open throughout the course. This is a great place to post thoughts or questions related to the course topics, that don't seem to fit in any of the other discussions. Or, questions about the structure of the course, assignment expectations, class grading requirements, and so on.

Video Project: The project for this course is to make a two to three minute movie. The weekly assignments, like writing a script and creating a shot list, will be service to this project.

Class Meetings/Zoom Sessions: A live class meeting will be held each week via Zoom, a video-conference application. These sessions are optional but highly recommended and will be recorded for people who are unable to attend. You can expect live coding during the session. Please visit the Class Meeting Schedule, Zoom Link, and Recording Information page for more information.

Weekly Routine
Please work through the current module each week. The expectation is that you will keep up with each week's materials so you are prepared to take on the following lesson. This is especially important if you are enrolled for credit or a letter grade. 

Here are some key days of the week: 

Monday: Each week officially begins on Monday.
Tuesday: The weekly Zoom session. 7:00-8:00 PST
Thursday: The module for the upcoming week will be available by the afternoon.
Weekends: Weekends are a great time to catch up with the current week's work. It is also a chance to get a head start on the upcoming week's work.
Sunday: Each week ends Sunday at 11:59 p.m. (PT).

Texts Required

D. Katz, Film Directing Shot by Shot: Visualizing from Concept to Screen (Michael Wiese Productions) (ISBN 0941188108)

 

Recommended

Molly Bang, Picture This: How Pictures Work (ISBN 9781452151991)

Scott McCloud, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art (ISBN 006097625X)

Judith Weston, Directing Actors: Creating Memorable Performances for Film & Television (ISBN  9780941188241)

Walter Murch, In the Blink of an Eye: A Perspective on Film Editing, 2nd Edition (ISBN 1879505622)

Grade Options and Requirements

Students have these grading options for this course:

No Grade Requested (NGR)

No work is required; no credit shall be received; no proof of attendance can be provided. (Not suitable for those requiring proof of attendance/completion.)

Credit/No Credit (CR/NC)

To earn credit, students are required to participate in five of the  seven discussions* and turn in the final project.

*Discussion credit will be given to responses that are reflective and thoroughly address the prompt. Posting in the "General Class Comments and Question" thread does not count towards credit.

Please note that you can log into your Continuing Studies student account and change your grading status at any point before the final day of class. Keep in mind, if you require proof that you completed a course for any reason, you must choose the Letter Grade or Credit/No Credit grading option; courses taken for No Grade Requested will not appear on official transcripts nor on grade reports. Your student account is where you will also find your final grade (please allow up to three weeks after a course has ended to view your grade); official grades are not posted in Canvas.

Video-Making Technology Disclaimer

This course introduces a lot of concepts, which provide a foundation for creating movies. It does not, however, offer instructions for using specific technology to shoot and edit movies.

There is a variety of hardware and software (and different versions of each) that can be used. Therefore, instead of requiring the use of specific technology, I opted for allowing you to use the technology that is compatible with what you already have or what you would like to work with for this course, and beyond.

I will provide some information about possible resources that can be used to complete the video project during the course. But, I encourage you to identify the technologies and learn how to use them as soon as possible. You might want to consider signing up for a membership (or a free trial if one is available) to a learning site such as LinkedIn Learning (formally Lynda.com). There are also a lot of free how-to tutorials available on the internet (some good, some not so good); YouTube can be a good source, for example.

Here is a general list of the hardware and software you will need:

Video-shooting hardware

Video camera or another device, such as a smartphone or tablet, with video recording capabilities

Video-shooting software

Your video-shooting device should have the necessary software installed already.

Video-editing hardware

Although some smartphones and tablets have video-editing capabilities, I recommend using a computer for ease of use.

Video-editing software

Examples: iMovie, Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro

Below are some accessories that you might find helpful:

Tripod and/or gimbal

Microphone 

Lighting and bounce boards

Extra batteries

Presentation Sessions and Sign-Up

The last week of class will be dedicated to showing off your video and watching your classmates' videos.

Presentations will occur during the following days and times (all times are Pacific). You are only required to attend one session (to present your video), but are welcome to join more to watch others' present.

During your scheduled session, there will be approximately 15 minutes for you to present your video and for us to talk about it after. You could be the only one presenting, or you could be one of up to four presenting. Also, there could be some other students who decide to join the session to watch the movies and participate in the conversations.

Tuesday, 08/24: 10:00-11:00

Tuesday, 08/24: 4:00-5:00

Tuesday, 08/24: 7:00-8:00

Wednesday, 08/25: 10:00-11:00

Wednesday, 08/25: 4:00-5:00

Wednesday, 08/25: 7:00-8:00

Thursday, 08/26: 10:00-11:00

If you can no longer present during the session you signed up for, please cancel it as soon as possible to free up space for another student.

If you do not find an available time that will work for you or you can not present your video to the class for some other reason, please contact me at your earliest convenience.