Show What You Know,


HOLLYWOOD


By Michael Garrity MACUL Grant Recipient


Films made in Michigan include Gran Torino, You Don’t Know Jack and… Is Moby Smarter than a Fifth Grader??? Michigan movie tax credits aren’t the only incentive for filmmakers to raise their cam- eras and shoot in the Great Lakes State. Students at Kenwood Elementary School in Clawson are delving into cinematography,


thanks to a grant from MACUL. THE PROJECT Kenwood Studios was created to provide a venue for elementary stu- dents to create videos showing what they have learned. The videos they create not only include topics from their curriculum, but also feature appearances by Moby, the animated robot from the edu- cational website, BrainPop (www.brainpop.com). The project was also designed to provide collaboration and mentoring opportunities among upper and lower elementary students.


EQUIPMENT Canon GL2 mini-DV camera with its 3 CCD chips was selected to provide crisp video at varying light levels, as well as clear sound through an external microphone.


STYLE


Apple iMac computer with Final Cut Express non-linear editing soft- ware was selected for a smooth workflow and its excellent Chroma Key filtering capability. Videos are captured in Final Cut through the use of a firewire connection.


Botero #026 Super Collapsible “Green Screen”, with its self-contained frame, allows for the studio to be portable when necessary.


Cowboy Studio 2275 watt digital video continuous softbox lighting kit provides sufficient lighting for Chromakey filtering to be effective.


NOW HIRING Students are already familiar with BrainPop videos used to support and enhance the curriculum at Kenwood. The studio provides new opportunities to create similar videos of their own. Fourth and fifth grade students submitted persuasive letters to apply for the following positions:


• Producers (a.k.a. Directors) who select the format and topic of the video and collaborate with the crew throughout the film-making process.


• Scriptwriters who create dialogue and actions that convey knowledge of the topic in an innovative way.


• Storyboard Writers who create a storyboard with frames for each shot including type of shot, labels, dialogue, actions, background and effects.


• Background Artists who create backgrounds using traditional or digital means.


• Actors who rehearse and act out script


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