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Teaching Film & Video Production (Workshop)

Video is the language students speak most fluently, and film and video production teaches them to use it with skill and intention, planning, shooting, editing, and telling stories that move people. It blends creative storytelling with real technical craft and collaboration.

Key takeaway

Video is the language students speak most fluently; film and video production teaches them to use it with skill, planning, shooting, editing, and storytelling, blending creative storytelling with technical craft and collaboration.

Format
PLC / team meeting
Length
45 minutes
Group size
Any (works 4-40)
Who can run it
Any teacher-leader
You will need
Slides (5)Printed handoutA video project in mindA timer
Aligned to
Learning Forward: Rigorous ContentInTASC 4: Content KnowledgeCTE / arts education standards
Share / assign

Why it works

Film and video production combines creative storytelling (narrative, visual language, message) with substantial technical craft (camera and cinematography, lighting, sound, editing and post-production) and collaboration (production is a team effort with defined roles), and it is a growing field with diverse careers. Teaching it develops students' ability to communicate powerfully in the dominant medium of their world, planning (scripting, storyboarding), producing (shooting with intention), and editing (shaping meaning and pace), along with the creative and technical judgment and collaborative skills the medium demands. Strong teaching treats video as a craft with technique and intention, not just pointing a phone, and engages the full production process from concept to final cut.

The research: CTE and arts/media education standards.

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

    The core activity: teach the craft and the full production process

    Teachers leave with a project across storytelling, craft, and process.

    Skill and intention, not just recordingFilm and video production blends creative storytelling with technical craft and collaboration. Teach the full process, plan, shoot, edit, with intention, not just pointing a phone.

    Facilitator notes

    Letting students just record is not film productionCasual recording is not the craft. Teach storytelling, technical craft, and the full production process with intention and collaborative roles.

    Adapt it

    Participant handout

    One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

    K12 Academics · Professional Learning

    Film & Video Production: craft and process

    <b>Skill and intention:</b> creative storytelling, technical craft (camera, lighting, sound, editing), and the full production process.

    1. The film or video project:
    2. How I teach creative storytelling and visual language:
    3. The technical craft I build (camera, lighting, sound, editing):
    4. How I engage the full production process with roles:
    5. A career connection to make:

    Make it stick

    Craft and process:

    Common questions

    Don't students already know how to make videos?
    They make casual videos, but film and video production teaches the craft, cinematography, lighting, sound, editing, and intentional storytelling, plus the collaborative production process. Skill and intention, not just recording.
    What does it teach?
    Creative storytelling and visual language, technical craft (camera, lighting, sound, editing), the full production process (plan, shoot, edit), collaboration with defined roles, and career-relevant skills.
    How do I keep it rigorous?
    Engage the full production process with intention, scripting and storyboarding, purposeful shooting, meaningful editing, and teach the technical craft and collaborative roles, not just let students record.

    Go deeper

    Build it into a bigger day

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