Students Should Use This Checklist to Identify Equipment That Is Available and Unavailable

Students should use this checklist to identify equipment that is available and unavailable. Teacher Note: There are suggestions in this document, which provides substitute materials and ideas to create the equipment that is not available.

Equipment Available Not Available Camera with tripod (2 are recommended) On Camera Lights (3 are recommended) Microphone (preferably 2 clip-on microphone, or one boom microphone) Power Strip to plug everything in (2 if available) Tapes or DVD’s for the camera (2 are recommended) Camera Batteries Headphones to listen to the audio Monitor or Flip-out screen on camera to see what is being recorded Gaffers/Duct tape to tape down all of the electrical wires to prevent an unsafe set

Substitute Materials/ Ideas for Unavailable Equipment:  If you do not have a tripod for your camera, use a level place such as a desk to set the camera on to avoid an unsteady shot. **To have your video look it’s best you must use a tri-pod or a steady surface.**  If you do not have 3 on camera lights, you should shoot your interview in a brightly lit area. Use any lights attached to the camera. You may also use other lamps or portable lights to brighten an interview location. Though these techniques are not perfect they provide the subject with more light than if no extra lighting was provided. Note: Make sure, before you start filming your project, that you always white balance the camera to adjust the colors appearing on screen.  If you do not have the recommend microphones, 2 clip-on mics or a boom microphone, you can build your own boom microphone. If you have a standard hand held microphone, you can take something like a broomstick or pole and tape the microphone to the end of it. This will create a better audio quality for both people appearing on-camera, and will make the finished product look more professional.

Tips for Editing:  Have the list of what takes were the best. During the first couple of rounds editing, the person in charge must figure out and be sure to save the important parts and shots in the interview.  Keep the important stuff. Don’t keep everything the subject said just because they said it, know what the main points are and what the purpose and message of the interview is, and finally keep the video between 3 and 5 minutes.  Have the graphics including the title and credit cards, the lower thirds, and other effects finished before editing the video, this will save you the student time and you can just insert them when you need them.  Keep all files and materials in one location on your computer. You should entitle your resource folder something like “Political Campaign Commercial”, and your files should be easily distinguished and accessible.  Make sure you save every couple of minutes, it is always better to save too much than not enough. In addition, if you are saving multiple copies of your video project make it obvious which one is the original and which one is the final copy.