Shooting Classroom Video

Abstract

IF YOU happened to read the last two Technology columns, then you know that I've been getting serious about creating digital videos of expert teachers. Unfortunately, while I was learning to do these things - mostly by myself - I have learned a lot of things not to do. And I'm prepared to share what I've learned. Of course, most of the tips in this column will also help you shoot better home videos. Shooting video in a real classroom is challenging. You walk a fine line between production value and realism. To shoot professional-quality video, you really need two top-quality cameras - one for close-ups and one for wide-angle shots or one for the teacher and one for the students. You also need several microphones and preferably a mike mixer because children don't talk as loud as their teachers. Of course, having the cameras on tripods and dollies that let you roll the cameras around is also helpful. Under optimal conditions, you would turn off the air conditioning or the heat in the room to reduce noise that gives an annoying background hiss on your video. Classroom walls with their bulletin boards, posters, and so on also make terrible backdrops for video: they're visually noisy. So if you strive for production quality, you send two camera operators and one sound person and a lot of gear into the room and create a pretty unreal atmosphere. The teacher will probably feel a little intimidated unless you repeat the process so often that everyone gets used to all the disruption of the normal routine and rhythm. Most of the video done in this way looks very professional but feels staged or contrived to me. A lot of this kind of video seems to be done in classrooms with no more than half the usual number of students. (Always count students.) Videos with high production values are also filled with close-ups, which are nice, but I always wonder what the off-screen students are doing. As a trained observer, I know it's more important to know what the students are doing than what the teacher is doing. On the other end of the spectrum is the the most realistic video possible approach. For this approach, you use just one hand-held camera and try to go where the action is. For example, if elementary students move to interest areas on the floor, you sit near them on the floor to get a low camera angle. You also need to use a lot of pans and wide-angle shots so the viewer can get a feel for what each and every student is doing. It helps if the camera operator is an educator because educators know what to look for. Video shot this way has a realism that, to me, is important. The problem is, you get pretty low- quality source footage, and this makes editing difficult. It also makes it really tough to compress the video satisfactorily for Web-based delivery or streaming. There is a compromise approach I'd like to suggest. Simply place one stationary camera in a corner of the classroom and leave it on to get a continuous wide-angle shot. Then use the hand-held camera to move about the room easily. Here are a few other tips. Video cameras are not created equal. Here is a list of video formats from highest to lowest quality: Beta cam, DV-Pro, Mini-DV, Hi-8, 8mm, S-VHS, VHS. Try not to use the last three formats; they're almost a waste of time. Low-cost cameras use a single computer imaging chip; the better cameras have three. If at all possible, find or borrow a three- chip camera. Built-in microphones on video cameras (and the audio format each camera uses) are also not created equal. You can probably find friends or colleagues with several different kinds and brands of cameras. Borrow several and compare them, paying special attention to how the sound comes out. (Sound is more important than most people realize, because you certainly don't want to make an editing cut when someone is in the middle of a sentence.) Practice using the camera. You might just have to read the camera's instruction manual, though. …