PSA Project

I really enjoyed creating a PSA video in class. Jen and I chose "Safe Driving" as our topic. We wanted to show ways drivers can become distracted as well as stress the fact that these distractions can cause fatal accidents. We came up with a storyboardwhere our video would show short clips of people exhibiting unsafe behaviors behind the wheel (ie talking on the phone, applying makeup, texting etc) all leading up to an impending car crash that can be heard against a black screen. We want our viewers to gather that the accident was a direct result of driving while distracted.
We shot all of our footage prior to class and once we uploaded everything we got to work deciding the best sequence for the short driving clips and how we wanted everything to flow including transitions etc. We wanted our PSA to be easy to follow. We didn't want to complicate it with complex transitions so we chose a regular fade option for all of the clips. We thought this would help clarify our message.
After all of our clips were placed and we had included our statistics, we proceeded to choose the music and sound effects for our video. We chose an up tempo youthful song for the first portion of the video inorder to emphasize the irresponsibility of the distracted drivers. When the crash occurs we were able to find a great sound clip of a car crash. It is a little dramatic, but we felt it really drove home our point that distracted driving causes accidents. For the last part of the video which shows the stats about distracted driving, we chose slower more somber music with an almost ominous feel. We felt this drastic change would help turn the focus of the viewer to the statistics on the screen and help reinforce the consequences of driving while distracted.
At the very end of the video we decided to add footage of Jen demonstrating safe driving behaviors with text overlaying the image that reads "Don't be a Statistic...Keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel" to reinforce the importance of driving safely.
I really liked learning how to use Movie Maker. Honestly, prior to this course, I didn't even know you could upload video to your computer from a video camera!! (it's sad, I know!) I am excited to use what I have learned to upload and edit my home videos. I think its a great way to preserve memories and make them more accessible. But mostly, I am excited to be able to incorporate video into my classroom. I think it can be an exciting way to convey parts of a lesson or to enable students to personalize their learning in a unique way. Overall I think video is a great tool for the classroom.