Video Project

On Thursday you're to plan, film, and edit a video that's about five minutes in length. You will work in small groups for this project. Read the entire project description before you get started.


You may pick from several topics, or even choose your own. If you do choose your own topic, the teacher must approve it first.
  1. Create a movie trailer for The Chrysalids. It should show the themes:
    • Man reacting adversely to things or people that are considered different.
    • Nuclear war is devastating.
    • Some people use the name of God as a way to persecute others.
  2. A promotional video for Linden Christian School.
    • As a promotional video, it should say only positive things about the school. This isn't a documentary. Balance isn't part of it.
    • It could be a serious talkie video, or perhaps a musical.
  3. A fairy tale such as
    • Cinderella
    • Rapunzel
    • Hansel and Gretel

Whatever the topic, it must always be in good taste. Consider before you shoot your video, would your grandmother approve of it? Would it pass a 10 Commandments Test?


  1. You need to plan this out. That means storyboarding which many of you are familiar with already. Storyboard sheets can be found here.
  2. Keep your video fast moving. Plan it in small chunks of 30 seconds or less. Short videos are more entertaining if they move quickly.
  3. What kind of costuming do you need? What sort of props do you need? There's not a lot of time to work on this today, so you need to be creative and adaptive.
  4. What kind of music would work well with this video? Don't think of specific tunes (we can't use them since they're copyrighted) but styles of music. If you check the Sound Sites in the sidebar you can download the style of music you want from Incompetech and other sites.
  5. Where will you shoot this video? It has to be done on school property, so that limits your options a bit.


  1. Shoot each scene multiple times. Not every take works the way you hope, so this gives you more than one chance to get it right.
  2. Keep track of the time. Someone should have a watch or other time keeping device. You need to film this ALL in about an hour.
  3. Everyone should have a role. There are lots of possibilities.
    • Costume and prop wrassling
    • Filming
    • On screen talent


  1. Load the clips you've created into Window Movie Maker (or iMovie if you have a Mac with you).
  2. Arrange them in an appropriate order.
  3. Cut out parts that were mistakes or don't otherwise fit.
  4. Add in appropriate theme music and sound effects as seems appropriate.
  5. Don't forget credits. You need to give credit to the actors. You need to credit the sources for your music and your sound effects.
  6. Group members not actively editing should clean up props that were borrowed such as costumes or other items.
  7. If you don't have something specific to do with the editing, you can read your novel for English, continue creating your bibliography for Social Studies, or read more of Acts for Bible.


We'll try to watch the videos at the end of the day or else tomorrow.