How To Stay Sharp In A Dull World
Tom shares his experiences and thoughts on how to stay up to date on industry trends, how to keep your creativity, and where to find sources of inspiration during the school year.
The Best Mistake In Live Sports Production
Tom shares how the most famous shot in golf was almost missed and a timely lesson on live production with a Masters focus
Doin’ It DifferentLy
Tom shares how comparing your program to others is dangerous but there are three ways that you can help get to where you want to be without driving yourself over the line.
Student Project: Short Vertical Film
Looking for a fun project to meet your students where they are? Consider running a vertical short film festival in your program. This article dives into that process.
Premiere Gal: Next-Gen Video Editing: Exploring AI's Role in Student Filmmaking
We are so excited to have Kelsey from Premiere Gal contribute this article to us. Check out this article on how AI can reshape your video editing landscape.
Nickelodeon’s Super Bowl Coverage Should Be A Goal For Your Classroom
Tom describes how you can leverage Nickelodeon’s Super Bowl broadcast for your classroom. Find out how to teach about target audience, branding, and more.
Is Industry in the dna of your program?
Tom discusses why you need an effective advisory council and how to build one.
Don’t Be That Teacher: Extra Credit Doesn’t Exist…
As the teacher that I hope you are, you have poured everything into trying to get everything right and tried to improve every day. You have worked through plans, created engaging assignments, and pushed yourself and your students to be the best possible. Only to be told that you didn’t do enough for that student to reach their goal, no matter if that goal is to pass or for an A. It’s all your fault because your 95% effort wasn’t enough to get them over the 45% effort.
Starting Over and Moving Forward
“If I had known then what I know now” those words from one of my favorite Pearl Jam songs have been echoing in my head for the last two months. The “then” in this case was late February 2010, when I started my first job in education. I was hired as a Program Assistant for a federal grant at a small school in South Georgia. I was 24 years old and I had no idea what I was doing.
Clean Your Room… Clear Your Mind
Over the last decade, I have visited a lot of video production classrooms and met with hundreds of video production educators. There are some truths that I have realized lately that I felt need to be shared as the expectations of you continue to increase.
The Blackmagic Camera App Should Change Your Classroom
On September 14th, Grant Petty and his Mary Poppins desk gave the IBC 2023 Update. There are two times each year that you can be guaranteed that Blacmagic will announce new products and this year was no different. But this one is different! There were several things announced including new cameras and other tools but this announcement should change the way you teach students how to use cameras.
Getting a Job and Keeping It: The Importance of Measuring Employability Skills
Discover the secret to excelling in the fast-paced world of video and film production! In this article, we explore the indispensable value of employability skills, from punctuality to teamwork, that can make or break your career in this competitive industry.
7 Icebreakers for Getting to Know Your Video/Film Students
This article gives you seven ideas (with directions) for icebreakers to use with your students. There is even a bonus Kahoot! included based on the popular Netflix show “Stranger Things”.
Learning With Your Students
If you want your students to learn, you need to be willing to learn with them. I recently had a chance to attend a video scoreboard camp with my students, and these are the things I took away from that event.
B-Roll: An Educational Approach
B-roll - you hear about it all the time, but what is it? This article will help clarify your understanding of b-roll as well as give you some tips and tricks on how to do it better.
Say My Name: The Importance of Knowing Your Students
In this article Josh relates some personal experiences where having a personal connection with his students made all the difference. He also gives a fun way that you can get to know your students more… beginning on the first day of school, so that you can create a classroom environment “where everybody knows your name”.
Common camera supports used in the film industry
Too often our students are lazy and refuse to do the work to get the best possible shots. Sometimes though… we don’t teach them everything they need to know. This article provides some of the information we might leave out from time-to-time, as related to camera support systems.
Rundown Creator from a Student Perspective
In this article Josh talks with senior producers, Cora and Nicholas, about how Rundown Creator streamlines collaboration, offers user-friendly interfaces, simplifies script assignments, provides consistent templates, and takes the teleprompter anywhere. This is a must-read for high school and college educators seeking to enhance their video and film production courses.
Workflow: Sourcing and Organizing a Daily, Live Morning Show
In this article, Josh explores the various aspects of running a high school broadcasting program, focusing on content sourcing, organization, communication, and asset management. It highlights the use of tools like Rundown Creator, Slack, and Google Forms to streamline the production process and facilitate teamwork. The piece emphasizes the dedication and pride of the students involved, showcasing the importance of fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility within the program.
Copy and Paste Your Way To Great Content
Once again Adobe has irritated me! They always do at NAB. It’s simple… I spend weeks, months or years building a workflow to try to maximize my effectiveness as a content creator and Adobe basically throws that out the door with a new release.