The 2006 BC 251 Mini-movie Showcase: Guest Judge Awards

Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Guest Judge Awards

Our visiting judge for the 2006 Mini-movie Showcase was Jimm Needle ('03 Broadcast Communications) who is a videographer, director and producer working in digital media in Cleveland. In addition to working with industrial clients he recently produced and directed a DVD for the band Missing Pages featuring concert and concept videos.

Jimm choice as best of showcase as a group project was Toothbrush. He selected Nightmare on Campus as the best of showcase for the individual entry.

TOOTHBRUSH by Megan Alexander, Tom Benoit, Amanda Conway & Shayna Marti

NIGHTMARE ON CAMPUS by Shayna Marti

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My Favorite

Despite the perceived limitations of using stills from a digital camera for a mini-movie, Nicole Pisczcor shot interesting and varied pictures. My Family's Thanksgiving is my favorite. She had the wide, medium close up from different angles. Her shots illustrated an emotional texture that reached me as a viewer. Her sequence of shots and use of movement told a genuine, human story.

Jimm Needle said he felt like he had spent Thanksgiving with her family.

He even remarked he'd like to meet Nicole and talk to her as she clearly has an eye for storytelling.

I appreciated the simple, intimate story she told and appreciate her willingness to share with the world. While I enjoyed several of the projects, I thought My Family's Thanksgiving captured the spirit of the assignment and demonstrated Nicole's growth with the camera and with the editing. She has clearly grown as a storyteller. Well done, Nicky!

The Mini-Movie Project

Why do a mini-movie project for class? The goal is for students to transfer the skills, experiences and professional practices learned from shooting and editing sports, news and commercials back to the domain of the home user. I want students to shift back to consumer products such as video cell phones, digital cameras and typical video editing software found on most PCs. I want them to apply the video production techniques and approaches learned in BC 251 to the digital technology now available to everyone.

Assessment

The winning entries demonstrated solid applications of the established outcomes.

Jimm Needle was on the mark with his criticism that many shots shake too much. He said students should use a tripod. If they don't have a tripod then made due with whatever you have. He points out you can take some duct tape and tape your video cell phone to a broom handle to create a homemade tripod.

However, if you must go hand held then stay wide and you and your body become the zoom.

CLOSER is better when you go hand held. Zooming will only amplify any movement as your focal length is reduced.

Unfortunately not everyone applied the standards establishied for other class projects such as shooting news stories, sports and commercials.

However, students were told to have fun and make their own movie with their own gear. While the subject matter may skew to the younger demographic, many of the 20 projects demonstrated an improvement of skill and an application of techniques covered in class.

The 2006 BC 251 Mini-movie Showcase