iMovie

Last week for class, we had to make short videos using iMovie. There were a few ways we could proceed. I chose to do a live-action movie. So I got my child - we shall call him Luca - to tell me a story. At first he wanted to tell a story involving a BBgun, but I talked him out of it for two reasons. The first is that, while he is homeschooled, stories about guns and gun use in public school classrooms is frowned upon. The second was that, considering we were going to make a live-action movie, using a BB gun seemed reckless and afforded too many opportunities for a mishap. So we compromised and I allowed him to tell me a story involving a bow and arrow. The story he decided to retell was that of Robin Hood.

It took quite some prompting to get Luca to tell me a full Robin Hood tale. I tried not to add any details myself, but to prompt him with questions: Where does Robin Hood live? Does he live with anyone else? Does his robbing from the rich make anyone angry? (I realize this last one was definitely a leading question, but it helped move the plot along.) After we had the story outlined, we made a voice recording. Luca refused to tell the tale at first, so his sister told the first clip. Then Luca was ready to tell the second two.

Getting the story recorded was all I (and the kids) had time and energy/attention for that day, so I returned a week later to shoot the video clips. We went out into their back yard. It is a beautiful, wooded area with a somewhat run down play house that served as Robin Hoods home. There are a few bloopers - when I didn't notice my finger was covering part of the iPad lens, when Robin Hood dropped an arrow instead of firing it, when the wealthy villain refused to give his gold to Robin Hood (which punched a hole in our plot line). Overall, though, the filming went smoothly.

As much fun as I had preparing the movie, I have to admit that I became obsessed with editing it. I was sick that week and, while I didn't feel up to doing homework that required full cognitive consciousness, I had too much work to condone just lying around all day. So I spent hours tinkering with the movie, getting the credits just right, making sure the music lined up properly, cutting clips and putting them back together. In class I learned how to make clips slow motion, how to add sound effects (the "golf swing" sound effect worked perfectly for firing an arrow), and how to add a clip of the production company (Literacy Playshop Films) to make it look professional. (FYI, I did this by making a trailer in iMovie, which walks you through that step, saving it to my iPad, and then using just the clip of the production company in my movie.)

I think my professor may have opened a Pandora's Box for me - I got so excited about the movie that I neglected other homework. Did I choose the wrong profession?? I think not, but this is definitely something I want to incorporate into my future classroom. I hope my future students have as much fun as the kids and I did, and are as proud with the final product as we were!