Legality of "home use only" DVDs in classroom.

Socialstudies.com has a link that discusses the legality of using "for home use only" videos in a classroom setting.

The article does not note that there is an educational exemption allowing reproduction of copyrighted material from DVDs. This allows film instructors to burn disks of selected scenes for classroom use.

You can hear about this exemption in this NPR report.

Soundsnap.com - Free Sound FX & Loops

SoundSnap.com offers royalty free sound effects and loops - all free!

Soundsnap is the best platform to find and share free sound effects and loops- legally. It is a collection of original sounds made or recorded by its users, and not songs or sound FX found on commercial libraries or sample CD's.

It was originally started by a small group of sound people from all over the world. Our common belief is that sounds and samples should be free for everyone to use in their projects, commercial or not.

Our users are a diverse mix of sound designers, sound artists, web game developers, filmmakers and music producers. Hobbyists and home video makers are welcome too.

Apple's Moviemaking Curriculum - Free

Apple is offering a free Movie Making Curriculum created by digital media production experts Ross Kallen and Marco Antonio Torres (copyright 2008).  It includes 16 lessons from storyboarding to producing a documentary, music video and fiction film.  It includes both an instuctor guide and and student guides.  

Go to the link and fill out the form and you will be able to download the pdf files.  

Apple's Set to Screen Podcasts & Lesson Plans

Apple has a free filmmaking series aimed at high school and college students. The Set to Screen series offers a monthly podcast and contest tied to the filmmaking process. (Update: This webpage is down, but you you can access the videos here.)

They also offer free lessons plans at either the high school or college level.

From the Apple website:

Learn moviemaking from a master.

Great movies are full of adventure, and Australia, the next film from acclaimed director Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge!, Romeo + Juliet), is no exception. But making a movie is an even bigger adventure—an adventure in creativity—and with the Apple Set to Screen Series, you can be a part of it.

Every few weeks through October (2008), a new podcast episode from Baz and his production team will introduce you to another aspect of moviemaking, starting with on-set still photography, then moving on to costume design, cinematography, scoring, and more. You’ll get insights from the artists at work on Australia, watch them in action, footage the rest of the world hasn’t seen yet, and follow along as the movie comes together.

Here's where you come in.

Five of the episodes will also come with a challenge: Create a project inspired by what you’ve learned. Each time one of these episodes is released, you’ll have three weeks to post your work to the Apple Student Gallery. If your project is one of the best (10 from high schoolers and 10 from college students), you’ll win an iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod touch, or a MacBook Pro. And if your work is chosen as the most creative of all, you’ll be going on yet another kind of adventure—a trip for two to Australia. Five challenges mean you’ve got five chances to win.

Of course, we saved the best for last. Submit the top project for the final challenge, and Baz himself will plan your trip to Oz, meet you there, and take you along on the promotional tour for the film in the U.S. Your project will even be included on the DVD release of Australia.

Lowel Lighting Tutorials

Lowel, the lighting equipment manufacturer, has a section on their website titled, Lowel EDU: A Lighting Resource Center. It has some great tutorials on how to set up lighting for different situations, including interview and green screen set-ups.

Mervin Block News Writing Resources

Mervin Block is a broadcast writing coach and author. He has written news at three television networks and taught at a number of universities.

He has a website that promotes his workshop on broadcast news writing. He also has a number of articles on broadcast journalism.

Franklin High Video Webpage

The courses we teach at my school, Franklin High are listed at the school's website with directions for each assignment. This remains a work in progress, with changes occurring every year in the curriculum. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Supported Devices for Apple Pro Applications

Apple has a webpage that will give you a list of Supported Devices for Apple Pro Applications based on the software version you are using.

Use it to find out recommended cameras, control surfaces and audio interfaces that will work with Final Cut Pro / Express.

Texas Media Technology Curriculum

The University of North Texas hosts the Texas Trade and Industrial Education website. They have the curricula listed for a number of courses, including a Media Technology curriculum. This is a video/television production course. They have a lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, along with tests for each unit.

The materials are free for Texas public or charter schools, but the copyright notice, posted on their website, limits other use:

Private entities or persons located in Texas that are not Texas public school districts or Texas charter schools or any entity, whether public or private, educational or non-educational, located outside the State of Texas MUST obtain written approval from the Texas Education Agency and will be required to enter into a license agreement that may involve the payment of a licensing fee or a royalty fee.