VIDEO PRODUCTION

Grade 9 Documentary Video

Grade 9 Video focusing on the scariest aspects of high school

Filmed and edited by Daisy Barrette, Sam Morin, and Jessica Taylor
Grade 12 Communications Technology
Video Production
Fall 2011

Every year the Grade 12 Communications Technology Course is responsible for producing the Grade 9 Documentary video, which is sent out to feeder schools in the area as a way to promote Holy Cross.  The video compromises of a series of interviews conducted by the class, who ask the Grade 9 students questions about the most embarrassing moment at school, their opinion on the school uniform, and what the best thing is about the school.  My team was responsible for creating the segment of the documentary focusing on the scariest aspects of high school.  I took on the role of the producer in our team, and so I had responsibility and direction over the project.

As producer, I was in charge of interviewing the Grade 9 students, and overseeing the work of the audio and video crew members.  After we had interviewed the students, we then had to sort through the best 9-12 answers pertaining to our topic, in which my role was to choose our final subjects.  It was difficult to choose the best answers, as some of the most common responses were that the Grade 12s were the scariest, or getting lost in the school.  We needed to choose as many unique answers as possible so as not to bore the viewer, but the interviewee had to have spoken clearly and with enthusiasm for the response to be better for the final product.  I was also tasked with arranging shoots with the chosen Grade 9s, which also involved finding the best setting to suit our vision.  In my role, I worked alongside my team members responsible for the audio and video components of the project, giving them constructive criticism and encouraging their efforts.  This project was a great opportunity for me to learn about directing a group and a production, where I had to make shoots happen so that we could get the required background footage with the correct students.  I also learned how to be more efficient in my work, in order to meet deadlines, and to not overlook any details from beginning to end. 

HCTV Bumper

A bumper to be used as an introduction for final videos

Grade 12 Communications Technology

Video Production

Fall 2011

Jessica Taylor

A quick project during the course was to create an introductory bumper for videos produced by Holy Cross Television throughout the year.  This introduction was to be 10 seconds in length and feature elements from the various programs available to us.  We were required to include an animated background element created in Motion, music and sound effects created using Soundtrack Pro, and it was all to be compiled using Final Cut Pro.  We also needed to include the HCTV logo, which was added in using FCP, and accompanying text stating that it was a “Grade 12 Communications Technology Student Production”. 

In my bumper video, I used two animated elements from Motion, which were chosen because of their colour (green being our school’s primary colour) and due to their interesting qualities.  I wanted to be able to animate parts of the design, so these modern pieces suited my idea well.  I then chose some upbeat music to give energy and excitement to the production, while I used fast moving sound effects to accompany the movement I included.  I wanted to try something different than the traditional zoom in on the logo that is most common, so I opted to have it zoom in while sliding into the center from the right off-screen.  I enjoyed being creative with this project, and it was great to be able to understand the programs better, especially Motion, which I still find is tricky to use.    

HCTV Sports Highlights

Boys Curling Higlights Video
Grade 12 Communications Technology

Filmed and edited by Jessica Taylor

Winter 2012

Badminton Highlights Video
Grade 12 Communications Technology

Filmed and edited by Jessica Taylor

Winter 2012

The two above highlights videos were part of an individual assignment that we were required to complete as “homework” during the course.  We chose sporting and school events to film and take photos of that could be used on the school website and be kept in archives for future use.  For my individual assignment I was to cover Boys Curling and Badminton.

I was lucky that these sports had practices on the same day of the week, Badminton in the morning and Curling after school.  However, this made for some long days, which were made even longer when I returned to school to edit these productions.  Oh well, you can sleep when you’re dead.  I learned a lot about taking photos and filming at sporting events through this assignment.  I was able to track the players’ movement well while filming, especially with curling as I played the sport myself a few years ago.  We could also be creative with this project, which I believe shows through in my curling video.  It was a challenge to get interesting shots or even to make the sport seem appealing to viewers, as it is not necessarily an action-packed game.  However, I was able to rise to the challenge and I feel that I created a video which will keep the audience interested.

Final Cut Pro was used once again to edit the video and create the finished piece.  I created some energetic music to accompany the video with Soundtrack Pro, which flowed well with the natural sound that was to be heard in the background. 

HCTV Holy Cross Sr Boys Memorial Basketball

Holy Cross Senior Boys Memorial Basketball Sports Report Video

Written, narrated and edited by Jessica Taylor

Senior Boys Baskteball game coverage from the HCTV Archives

Winter 2012

                I was approached to cover the Holy Cross Senior Boys Basketball team in a sports report focusing on the upcoming Memorial Basketball games against rival school Regiopolis Notre-Dame.  I was given the task to make the entire video and have it finished within less than a week, so it was a very fast-paced assignment. 

I began by writing the script for the video, which included my voiceovers that would connect the interviews.  My next task was to actually interview the players and the Head Coach from the Senior Boys Basketball team, where I asked them about their strategy in the game, as well as their take on the Memorial itself.  Following this, I recorded my voiceovers in our new audiobooth with the portable mic pack.  I took all of these components, as well as archival footage from the team’s recent games, and put the video together in Final Cut Pro.  The final piece needed was my stand up at the end, where I concluded the story, which was connected to the half-time show, just like in a real new story where one reporter finishes and another takes on the next story.  This production was more of a challenge for me, as it involved many other components besides visuals and a soundtrack such as in the Highlights videos.  Although I reached some obstacles, I pushed through and it was a great experience to make a more professional video than I have done before. 

Gr 11 PSA - Water: A Human Right

Grade 11 Public Service Announcement video concerning Water: A Human Right

Written, filmed and edited by Jessica Taylor and Alannah Szolopiak

Storyboarding and final drawings by Jessica Taylor

Narration and sound effects by Alannah Szolopiak
Grade 11 Communications Technology

Winter 2011

                This video was made for an assignment for my Grade 11 Communications Technology course, and it was part of the annual Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School board video contest.  The prompt for the contest I entered was to explore Water as a Human Right.  We were shown examples of work from the previous year, with an emphasis on the damage caused by plastic water bottle use.  Many of the students in our class chose a similar route for the story of their video, however my partner and I wanted to stick with the message that water is a human right. 

                We chose to take a stop-motion approach to our video, as we enjoyed the look and feel of this video style, and have done well in replicating it in the past.  We both wrote the video, and I took care of storyboarding and creating the final animations while Alannah filmed and narrated, as well as creating the sound effects.  I chose to take a traditional animation approach and drew every frame by hand and painted them with watercolours.  We felt that this style of filming and animation fit our somber topic quite well, but it also felt light and airy, matching with the ending on a high note.  Although this video took a lot of work and effort to make, it was amazing to see the finished product.  We did not place in the school board competition, however we won first place in St. Lawrence College’s 31^st Annual Greg Awards for Marketing and Video Production in the high school category of the competition.