2011 Spring 8th graders Silent Films

Build your own custom video playlist at embedr.com

My students created films that were inspired by the Silent Film genre.After analyzing the works of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Birth of a Nation, they then broke up into groups of four to each fulfill a film makers role: Director, Producer, Cinematographer and Actor/Writer.

footballbulling843.mp4 Watch on Posterous

The students and I also had a great time going through various facets of the film making process, in particular, the acting games where they performed charades, pantomine and various other acting games to get them using their bodies to tell a story, rather than their voices.

jealousy.mp4 Watch on Posterous

I feel like my students got really frustrated with the whole editing process, as some of their files were deleted, misplaced or somehow just disappeared due to one reason or another. After doing this project two times already, I will instead make sure that the students simultaneously upload to Dropbox and Jaycut.

Who_run_this_.mp4 Watch on Posterous

But overall, I was really happy with the work they put out this time around. We got more videos than I did last time, in fact, I was able to get every student to upload their film to You Tube.

stop%20bullying%202.mp4 Watch on Posterous

Feel free to click on one of these files if you would like to download it. Or you can scroll through the You Tube versions on the Embedr playlist above.

when_hide_and_seek_gets_serious.mp4 Watch on Posterous

I was also pleased to see that the students were able to utilize the green screen / chroma key feature in Jaycut. The students who made the "Last Mountain Dew" video utilized it to take advantage of a rainy day and shoot inside, and the group who made "Hide and Go seek..." where able to send students in environments that they didn't think possible.

last_mountain_dew_ever.mp4 Watch on Posterous

running_away_from_school.mp4 Watch on Posterous

school_fun.mp4 Watch on Posterous

The%20Hounting.mp4 Watch on Posterous

The%20most%20messed%20up%20movie%20ever.mp4 Watch on Posterous

 

13 great web 2.0 and open source programs for your classroom

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]Come check out my latest lens on Squidoo, where I incorporated a lot of the web 2.0 and open source software articles that I wrote on my Bo Gorcesky profile page on Associated Content.

This lil Squidoo covers articles on web 2.0 sources to help edit film such as Jaycut along with a video tutorial and other great digital storytelling tools. I also have several articles on the great educational social networking tool Edmodo.

I also discuss some great open source programs like GIMP, the free alternative to Photoshop. SO again, check out my latest Squidoo page on web 2.0 and open source software articles so that you can make your classroom a better one for the 21st century.

Confessions of a Fifth Year Teacher

Wanting More and Looking Out on the Horizon

Another year has gone by as a teacher, but what I find interesting, perhaps almost concerning, is how little the number of students that I really made connections with or was really upset that I would not be seeing them anymore. I know in the past, the start of June had been a bittersweet time, but this year I didn't give out books or write sappy messages of farewells, just a few posed pictures and brief comments in a yearbook or two.

Perhaps I was just running out of time towards the end of the school year, or that this is the school year that I have been much more diligent to NOT be in school as much.......

 

If you would like to read the rest of the article, check it out on the Yahoo Contributor network HERE

Black Water Middle's Video Game Arcade commercial

This is a commercial that I made utilizing Imovie and Jaycut which promotes my website mrgsgames.blogspot.com

Gamestar_Mechanic_Commercial.m4v Watch on Posterous

The commercial is intended to promote the work of my students, and to let other people out there know how easy it is to create a video game utilizing the free site of gamestarmechanic.com. 

And in case you haven't realized it yet, the style of this video was really inspired by 1980's BMX commercials and old school wrestling promos. I hope you enjoy it, play my students' games and make your own using Gamestar Mechanic

I think you can easily see my inspiration from this vintage "Monsters of Rock N Roar" commercial. The theme song is STILL stuck in my head after 20 years!

2011 Spring 8th graders Silent Films

Build your own custom video playlist at embedr.com

My students created films that were inspired by the Silent Film genre.After analyzing the works of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Birth of a Nation, they then broke up into groups of four to each fulfill a film makers role: Director, Producer, Cinematographer and Actor/Writer.

footballbulling843.mp4 Watch on Posterous

The students and I also had a great time going through various facets of the film making process, in particular, the acting games where they performed charades, pantomine and various other acting games to get them using their bodies to tell a story, rather than their voices.

jealousy.mp4 Watch on Posterous

I feel like my students got really frustrated with the whole editing process, as some of their files were deleted, misplaced or somehow just disappeared due to one reason or another. After doing this project two times already, I will instead make sure that the students simultaneously upload to Dropbox and Jaycut.

Who_run_this_.mp4 Watch on Posterous

But overall, I was really happy with the work they put out this time around. We got more videos than I did last time, in fact, I was able to get every student to upload their film to You Tube.

stop%20bullying%202.mp4 Watch on Posterous

Feel free to click on one of these files if you would like to download it. Or you can scroll through the You Tube versions on the Embedr playlist above.

when_hide_and_seek_gets_serious.mp4 Watch on Posterous

I was also pleased to see that the students were able to utilize the green screen / chroma key feature in Jaycut. The students who made the "Last Mountain Dew" video utilized it to take advantage of a rainy day and shoot inside, and the group who made "Hide and Go seek..." where able to send students in environments that they didn't think possible.

last_mountain_dew_ever.mp4 Watch on Posterous

running_away_from_school.mp4 Watch on Posterous

school_fun.mp4 Watch on Posterous

The%20Hounting.mp4 Watch on Posterous

The%20most%20messed%20up%20movie%20ever.mp4 Watch on Posterous

 

Jay Cut Tutorials - How to upload clips, edit them and publish a final film for the internet

Listed below are a variety of tutorials that I created for my students using the Jing software. I enjoy using Jay Cut because it is an online program, which means that students can easily edit their clips from any computer that is connected to the internet but it unfortunately has an extremely slow loading time for each time that you have to re-render a clip.

Also, if you are interested about a more in-depth review for the program of Jaycut (which can be found at www.jaycut.com) please check out my article on Associated Content right HERE

From Dropbox to JayCut

jay_cut_tutorial_upload_footage.mp4 Watch on Posterous

My basic tutorial for the students to upload their clips to Dropbox, download them from Dropbox, and then upload the clips to Jaycut.

Which of These Programs is a Great Digital Film Editing Tool?

A Variety of Sites and Programs to Help Create Your Digital Storytelling Project

If you have read my previous article on Windows Movie Maker, then you should know that I would like to continue my series of articles on digital video editing programs. I recently did a project with my students that involved Flip Cams and creating short films. During that process, I have examined a lot of ways that either my students could easily edit their own footage or what I could use in order to easily display my student work over the internet.

Due to the fact that the format that the Flip Cam records on is MP4, you are instantly confined with choices on what to use......

If you would like to read more, please click HERE and check out my Associated Content article. And again, thanks so much for always clicking so that I can make some money off of my writing :D