Life thru a lens

Frequent visitors to this blog will have noticed that over the last few weeks I've been videoblogging (or vlogging). I first started playing with video in the late 1970s, when I began to use it to train teachers. That was where I first learnt about editing, lighting, audio recording and producing video content. I decided some time ago that when I had some time, I would get back to my roots, and put together a series of '101' type short videos on subjects that relate closely to education and technology. That opportunity arose during the summer holidays of 2013. I wanted the videos to be watchable, so to simplify the process and product, I decided that each video would feature just 3 key points - '3 things you should know...' - and I ensured that none of them was more than 3 minutes in duration. So far I have produced 4 videos and there are several more in the pipeline. I was quite surprised by the quick success I achieved when I posted them up onto YouTube. In just two weeks, there have been over 8,500 blog visits and over 2,500 views YouTube views. That may not sound like many in the grand scheme of viral videos, but for a specialist, niche subject, that ain't too bad.

The four videos, in their sequence are 3 things you should know about Twitter, 3 things you should know about blogging, 3 things you should know about digital literacies, and 3 things you should know about Edupunk. The first was recorded in one single take, which is easier said than done. For the rest of the videos I enlisted the support of my 18 year old son Sam, who is excellent behind the camera, and makes some creative suggestions during shooting. I have kept the production simple too. I write a simple script with a few guideline points and follow it loosely during recording. We shoot the videos out of sequence, using a Flip Cam, and I edit them using Microsoft Moviemaker, and then upload them straight to YouTube. The Edupunk video has been the most challenging to date, because I wanted to shoot it and edit it in the style of the punk genre, with plenty of fast edits, moving images, grafitti wall backdrops and edgy camera angles. I'm very pleased with that one. It's quick and dirty, amateurish and in keeping with the 'do it yourself' ethos that was epitomised in the punk rock movement of the 1970s.

Now I would like to enlist your help too. I'm looking for my next challenge. What other subjects would you like to see covered in the series? I will consider all and any topics, provided they are relevant to learning technology, school or education, and treat them in the same style, with '3 things you should know...' points succinctly made. Please let me know what you think of the videos, and also what you think I should cover next.

Photo by Popperipopp


Life thru a lens by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.