Finding the WOO in a video skills class
Media Arts teacher, Chris Schwalm likes to bring what he calls the WOO factor to his classroom. “It’s the energy and enthusiasm for the project that opens ‘Windows Of Opportunity’. It can apply to any endeavor.”
Schwalm, who’s a new member of the teaching community is using his media background to teach several classes in the visual arts, including a middle school video skills class. This fall he introduced the class to an opportunity with the Student Television Network (STN).
“Thousands of schools participate in STN nationally, which includes the strongest media programs,” explains Schwalm. “The Fall Challenge drops a prompt at 9 a.m. on the first day of the challenge and students have six days to plan, film, and edit a story. Anyone who submits an entry to STN also receives feedback from the judges in the TV and film industry, which I feel is important.”
Seventh-grader Phoebe O. was up to the challenge. “I saw the prompt and I ran down to Mr. Schwalm’s classroom and asked if I could use my idea as the project. So, the next day me and my classmates went up to a tech theater class (in Fulton) and we interviewed two students and Bill Johns.”
The prompt for the STN challenge was to create a news story that shows ways that teachers can reach students in an effective way outside of a traditional classroom. Phoebe and her classmates interviewed students and Bill Johns while they were creating the theater set for the recent Annie Jr. production.
After spending just five days on her news report, Phoebe entered her piece in the challenge to receive word a few weeks later that she won first place! “I was preparing myself for the fact that I was not going to place but that’s totally fine because it is my first one,” explains Phoebe. “And the fact that I’m even doing this project is stand-alone awesome. And the fact that I won first that was amazing!”
“Phoebe’s piece is nothing short of remarkable,” says Schwalm. “Some former colleagues in the industry and media advisers I know from other schools messaged me that her piece was as good or better than some of the high school entries. The biggest challenge was editing 20-plus minutes of interviews down to a coherent 2-minute story, but what really made her piece stand out from the others nationally was the technical quality and how she incorporated some of the techniques we studied—such as nat sound pops, J-cuts and L-cuts—seamlessly into the story.”
Now Phoebe, who has caught the video bug, says her piece can be seen in future classrooms. “When Mr. Schwalm is teaching us, he shows us winners of the past STN challenges and in the future teachers are going to use me as an example, which I think is really fun.”
To view Phoebe’s award-winning piece, click here.
