Category: DAFT

DAFT and MAEA in Detroit

4/23/2016

Michigan Student Film Festival

This is our second year participating in the Michigan Student Film Festival that is organized by DAFT. It is a great opportunity for students to receive feedback on their work from an outside audience as they compete with students from across the state.

This year, we had two student groups receive Best of Show and one receive an award of Excellence. The Best of Show videos were celebrated at The Detroit Film Theater at the Detroit Institute of Arts and it gave students, teachers, and parents the chance to see the work on a bigger screen.

Here are some highlights below:

MAEA Top 15

It was with much glee that I learned two of my students would be celebrated at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit on the same day as the state film festival. It was a great day to view and celebrate art and I have to thank all of the teachers that organize this event for our students.

Both students' works will now go on a tour, including a stop at the Fall MAEA Conference in Traverse City!

It was a beautiful day to explore art and Detroit, and I am thankful my husband was able to get this picture of me with "The Thinker" before we left for home!

I know my students and I are excited to get started on videos and other works for both competitions again next year.

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DAFT in Detroit

4/26/2015

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Yesterday was the 47th Annual Michigan Student Film Festival at the Detroit Film Theater in the DIA. I had never been to the theater, so it was a real treat to be in such a historic place and really take in the glamor of the architectural details. If you ever get a chance to visit, make sure to get to the upper level so you can take in the view of the whole glimmering theater.

For the film festival, the Best of Show winners were shown and awards were handed out. It was a thrill that to see two of my students videos displayed and at least one student able to make it over from the other side of the state to represent our group. Thank you again to Jewel and her dad for making the trip and representing BCWMS in a great way!

I have been to quite a few awards ceremonies over the 11 years I have been teaching, and I have to say that DAFT puts on one of the best, most organized, and fun awards show I have ever experienced. I would like to thank them for not only honoring the students, teachers, and families of those who won, but to do it in complete class and style. They had a great pace and representation of speakers that included DAFT president, DAFT teacher of the year, and actor Dave Davies. They fully explained how the awards were decided and what each level meant so that first-timers like me could understand what it all means. They also included highlights of what former winners are doing in the Film Industry as well specific feedback for EVERY video to help aspiring film-makers reflect and improve on their craft and vision.

I was really blown away with the level of insight and professionalism that the young award winners were treated with by this organization. I am already thinking of how we can enter even more works next year!

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Storyboards and Filming

2/17/2015

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Students are working on videos that are being created to inform their peers about making quality choices both in life and online. This project is funded through a MACUL grant that helped us purchase cameras, tripods, and other accessories like SD cards. Videos will be complete just in time to compete in the Meijer Great Choices Junior Film Competition, The Digital ID PSA Challenge, and the DAFT Film Festival!

Before filming, animating, or editing their films, students brainstorm ideas based on the topics outlined in the competitions. We also learned some basics involving the process on the CheckThis poster found here. Students then worked together to create a script, make a storyboard, and plan a production schedule. The best part of teaching this is explaining that you do not need to film in order (rarely any film gets made that way) and seeing students group scenes together and plan out how they are going to divide up the work. Students document the process by making notes on their storyboards and production schedules each day to track progress and see what is left to do. Students will be creating the footage for the next few days before putting it together in iMovie, editing, and submitting it to the various competitions.

Some students work in groups using Photoshop to animate their clips before editing them together in iMovie.

Some students use the Cannon cameras and tripods to film their scenes.

Some students use stop motion techniques with cameras and tripods to tell their stories.

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DAFT and MAEA in Detroit

Michigan Student Film Festival

MAEA Top 15

DAFT in Detroit

Storyboards and Filming

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Janine Campbell

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