By Fred Ginsburg

Most articles in techie publications such as this one tend to only cover either the technical or the artistic side of this craft. For a change of pace, I am going to touch on the subject of politics.

In other words, how to make friends and influence your fellow faculty! At the PTA meetings and such, it sounds so impressive for the school to announce to the parents that a new Video Production Program is being offered. Video and Filmmaking are, after all, so exciting and glamorous! What a great way to rally support and enthusiasm. Then the semester begins, and hard reality starts to set in. Video Production is expensive. It is a luxury, a gimmick, and not really part of the academic tradition. Faculty members who smiled and were so supportive in the beginning, are now political rivals who are jealous of all the attention (and resources) directed at Video Production.

Here are some tips for turning these adversaries into your best allies.

Stop feeding them ammunition. Keep your Video Dept from becoming a cliché. Look objectively at what product your students are turning out.

Is it the self-indulgent independent “film” marked by bad acting, bad writing, and childish direction? Students love to “play” filmmaker, but they need strong instruction and supervision to keep their projects on track and worthy of an audience.

Are you videotaping the theatre department? Shooting a “record” of the school play or pageant may be classified by some as “video production”, but just running a camera non-stop from the back of the auditorium with bad audio is NOT filmmaking.

If you are going to record the play, then make arrangements to do it “Hollywood style”. Not in front of a live audience, but shot by shot so that you have lots of dramatic close-ups and a nice variety of camera angles. Use quality shotgun mics or lavaliers so that the audio is crisp and intimate. Prepare to spend considerable time editing all these shots together into a “movie” as opposed to just one endless camera take of the “play”.

Not only will your students learn about production, but you will end up with a finished product worthy of resale to the parents! Make it clear that some of the proceeds will go towards the equipment needs of the Video Department, but a percentage will go to support the Theatre Dept (or Music, etc.) as well.

Other activities that are “traditional” include covering the big sports events, Proms, etc. Be careful that you do not fall into this trap; since this sort of video activity is not considered an academic priority! I am not saying to completely avoid covering these activities, but do not allow them to dominate your priorities. Do not lose sight of the fact that there is a difference between Video Production and Video Surveillance.

One traditional function of the Video Dept is the morning (or weekly) address by the Principal, perhaps followed by school news. This type of production is functional for the school, and may even be a good production opportunity for the students. It can definitely bring you closer to the Journalism and print people. Some of your news highlights can even be edited into a “video yearbook” that can be sold as a fundraiser! Remind the “print” aficionados that still photos can be integrated very nicely into a moving video. Can you say, “Ken Burns”.

But if you seriously want to make friends and allies, you have to think creatively! How can Video Production be of academic use to the departments that are commonly “anti-video”?

Contact the Math Department and make arrangements to videotape key lectures for the benefit of absentee (or slower) students. Consider going to a science museum or technical exhibit to photograph a three dimensional model or “proof” that would support a lecture. Work with the Math teachers to make their material more interesting to the students.

Do not just limit your video assistance to the Math Department. Obviously, the Science people need their experiments videotaped. The English department could use video as a launching point for story development and script writing. Foreign language could dramatize verbal interactions, etc.

As I have pointed out, think in terms of how video can be used as an effective TEACHING TOOL, not just as a way of teaching the cinematic arts. Once you begin sharing your resources with the other departments, they will rally to your political (and financial) support.

Please feel free to contribute your own ideas and experiences to this publication about how you are using Video in your department. I am sure the Editors would love to hear from the readers!

Fred Ginsburg C.A.S. Ph.D. MBKS is president of Equipment Emporium Inc., a company that specializes in sound recording equipment for video production and a regular contributor to School Video News. He also runs VideoEditSystems.com, which is his company’s division specializing in the manufacture, sales, and support of non-linear video editing systems. Oh yes, Fred is also a teacher. (Adjunct Professor at California State University Northridge). You can reach him by email.