Creative Video Ideas and Techniques

Learning to make great videos is fun when we think of exciting projects.  Producing creative videos means we learn video production while we enjoy the videos we make! 

Here are some examples of Mr. B's videos based on the Easy Video 1-2-3 process.  Creating book talks and movie-style book trailers  are good projects to start with.  The links below have more video ideas:

1. 10 Ideas for Classroom Video Projects
2. 20 Video Project Ideas to Engage Students
3. Best Way to Shoot a Video by Yourself
4. Cafeteria Rules And Procedures (Video)
5. Cafeteria/Lunchroom Expectations (Video)
6. Creating And Producing A Quality Film
7. Five Minute Film School (YouTube Channel)
8. Good Example of a Poorly Produced Video Story
9. How to Be More Creative With the Camera: Film and Video Tricks
10. How to Do a Split Screen Effect in Video
11. How to Get the Perfect Lighting for Video
12. How to Write a Video Game Review
13. Kids' Vid: Video Production for Students
14. Lining Up (Video)
15. Making Movies:  Video Tutorials (YouTube Channel)
16. Minimize Your Lighting Setups For Narrative Shoots
17. Playground Safety (Video)
18. Producing Video Interviews: Tips for Professional Quality
19. Recording Your Own Videos
20. Resources for Filmmaking in the Classroom
21. Responsive School/First Day of School Video Channel
22. Slanted Lens Video Tutorials (YouTube Channel)
23. Step-By-Step Guide to Making a Music Video
24. Weekly Videos about Videos (Paige Media's YouTube Channel)
25. What Would You Like to Learn Today? (CineCom)
26. Video Production Tips Blog
27. Video Techniques
28. Videography Tips

Documentaries

1. 5 Steps to Creating Documentaries
2. 9 Tips On How To Make Your First Documentary
3. 10 Common Documentary Filmmaking Mistakes & How to Avoid Them
4. 12 Steps On How To Make A Documentary
5. 25 Documentary Filmmaking Grants You Need to Apply for this Year
6. Documentary Film Making
7. Documentary Video Production
8. How to Analyze Documentaries
9. How to Create a Good Documentary Film
10. How to Make a Documentary With Kids
11. How to Make a Mini Documentary
12. How to Make a Short Documentary
13. How to Write a Documentary Script (52 pg. .pdf)
14. Inspiring Mini Documentaries from Latin America
15. Lesson Plan: Introducing Documentaries to Your Students
16. Mini Documentaries Video Production
17. Public Media:  Opportunities for Feature Documentaries and Shorts
18. Step-By-Step: How To Make a Documentary
19. October 20, 2016 Student Documentaries: Nonfiction Comes to Life!
20. Student-Produced Documentaries and Media
21. What are the steps to make a documentary film?
22. What is a Documentary?
23. What Is A Mini Documentary And How Do You Make One?

From the book Video Ideas

• Take a Video-Making Journey (pg. 6).  Making a video can be as easy as using your phone to capture wherever you are, whenever you want.
• Show Off Your Skills (pg. 42).  Show and tell how to cook, bake, or make something amazing.
• Shoot for the Stars (pg. 44).  Create a pretend world to set your video in.
• Forecast the Weather (pg. 46).  Use an backdrop, such as weather map or artwork, to talk about the weather or some other topic you enjoy.
• Make Your Own Monster (pg. 50).  Play with camera angles to change how big people, pets, and props look in your video.
• Capture the Perfect Pet Video (pg. 52).  Funny animal videos crack us up, but only when they're of good quality.
• Set Your Props in M<tion (pg. 54).  Bring objects that normally wouldn't move on their own to life using stop-motion magic.
• Think Outside the Box (pg. 56).  What's in the box?  Reveal and review exciting new items in an "unboxing" video.
• Make a Video Using Time-Lapse (pg. 58).  Time-lapse videos create a sense of fantastic motion by speeding up the passing of time.
• Shoot With a Drone (pg. 60).  A drone is a flying machine that you can control with a remote.
• It's All About Bloopers (pg. 62).  Many mistakes can  happen when you are making a video.  These are called "bloopers". Sometimes these mistakes are funny.  Many directors choose to include a short blooper section at the end of a film.

The book Video Ideas has more creative ideas and video techniques to help inspire and challenge young video producers.  This is a perfect book for Imagining and creating awesome videos and animations to share with friends and family, and on YouTube, using phones, webcams, cameras, or camcorders.  It is a great read for 2nd-to-5th graders