Made by the Sea – Video Conferencing Session

Part of the Made by the Sea project sees me delivering sessions to schools through video conferencing.
Yesterday was the first of those sessions.

Ullapool High School’s S1 were the guinea pigs for this approach. The group we’re working with there has about 40 participants in it, so it was abit of a daunting thought to speak to so many people online for a first shot. As it turned out snow and ice meant that a significant number of pupils couldn’t make it in to school that day, so I ended up working with a group of 15, which was ideal.

Teaching film through VC is an interesting challenge.
You have to be really strict with what you’re trying to achieve. Be realistic in your expectations of what you can do in a limited time frame.
It’s more tricky to read the subtle interpersonal interactions that you get in person over the internet, but it’s still possible to a high degree.

The work consisted of analysing a short film using the 3C’s & 3S’s and then a filmmaking task.

The film interpretation went well, and I could tell from their responses that they were tackling fascinating concepts, and finding new ways to talk about film.

The filmmaking task went very well. I was very clear with the description of what the task entailed, and with their brilliant teacher, Ruth, they were able to create something quite special in a matter of moments.
I look forward to seeing how they choose to incorporate it into their film(s) in the next few weeks!

There are a few limitations of VC at this scale, including making sure that participants in the group can be heard, but this will be easily overcome by working with the teacher acting as a moderator in the classroom to identify those willing to speak and be heard.

I’m chuffed, I think it’s a solid approach to creating interesting work.

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