This video was created by Joey and Royce Carol. Joey is a senior and Royce is in the 9th grade at Woodlawn School. The video was used as part of the annual State of the School address. The brothers also discuss what inspired them to make the video, how they learned these skills, and what equipment and software they used.
STEAMfest is presenting this video as an example of how the intersection between technology and art in the form of short films can be used to inform and persuade.
What inspired you to make the video?
We were inspired to make this video about COVID-19 because it is something that is severely impacting all of us in the Woodlawn community and around the globe right now. Given that Woodlawn has done such an excellent job to curb the spread of the virus in our own community, we wanted to thank Woodlawn family members for all they have done to keep us safe, yet at the same time, remind everyone of how imminent a threat the virus still is in other areas of the globe. The fight against COVID-19 is not yet over, but we wanted to show in our video that the fight is truly in our hands now, and an end is in sight as long as we continue to adhere to safety measures as a group.
What process did you go through?
In order to create our video, we began by creating an outline of what we wanted to address in our presentation, and then we went about researching those things. We used a variety of sources including national websites, studies, documentaries, and also our dad who has done extensive research in the realm of COVID-19 over the past year.
Once that had been completed, we wrote a script and identified key accompanying pictures and graphs corresponding to key points in the script. We then recorded our script, inserted the audio file and the accompanying key images into Final Cut Pro, and then we found pertinent “filler” graphics and videos to go in between the key images. Finally, we got to have fun with creating title slides, animations, and music to go over the foundational sound and video tracks! And voila, we created a mini movie!
What equipment and software did you use?
All we used to create our video was a Macbook Pro computer for research and for running our programs, Final Cut Pro for creating/editing the video, and a small USB microphone to record our soundtrack.
Additionally, we used several Final Cut Pro plugins provided by LenoFX in order to create cool titles and animations in the video. We got all of the visuals online and therefore did not need to record any video, though we made sure to cite all of our sources at the end of the video!
How did you learn these skills?
Joey initially learned to create videos as a seventh grader for a Woodlawn Mission X project, but then he got more serious about it when he made a documentary for a Woodlawn NHD project as an eighth grader. He’s been in love with the art ever since! He is primarily self-taught, though his initial interest came from watching the incredible videos Woodlawn Alumni Quinn Schneider ‘17 used to and continues to produce.
Royce just recently took an interest in creating videos as well, so he seized this opportunity to participate with Joey on this project to learn the tricks of the trade. With this foundation, Royce will now be able to go on and make videos of his own in years to come.