BBC Blast Filmmaking Tutorials - Free

The BBC has a series of video tutorials to encourage viewer produced filmmaking. The have a series of short "how to" Masterclasses that include such topics as sound design, animation to music video tips.

Make Internet TV.org

MakeInternetTV.org is a concise website that give an overview on how to make video for the web. The best page is its explanation of copyright law and creative commons rules.

Kids' Vid Curriculum - Free

Kids' Vid is an instructional website designed to help teachers and students use video production in class to support project-based learning.

They have a couple of special storyboard features that allow you to make quick, if non-traditional storyboards.

This site was inspired in part by Mike Keating, a professional videographer and instructor, who developed a manual for integrating video into the classroom as part of his Master's thesis at Montana State University.

Shotlist Manager - Free

I haven't tried this, but for those of you running Windows, you might want to try Shotlist Manager. It is free software developed by independent filmmaker Josh Johnson.

He notes:

I’ve developed a free shot list tool for directors to use during film production. You can even import screenplays from Celtx and the shot list tool will automatically generate a shot list for you. Simply edit scenes to add shot lists and you’re good to go. This is a great way to streamline the film production process, saving you time and organizing your shoot.

Star Trek First Contact Storyboards

StarTrek.com has storyboard examples from the feature film First Contact. They also have a short film clip that compares several actual scenes with the storyboards.

Adobe Video Workshop

The Adobe website has a series of free video tutorials for their software.  They have a cool tutorial for After Effects on how to use the puppet tool for animation.  

IzzyVideo.com Instructional Videos

Israel Hyman has produced 100+ videos on video production at IzzyVideo.com. While he sells a six month subscription to the website for $45.00, he has a number of free samples of his tutorials.

Center High School Website

Vernon Bisho has set up a website with student work and the curriculum of all of the media communications classes he teaches at Center High School in Antelope (Sacramento County), California.  These course include: Video 1, Advanced Video Broadcast, Computer Graphics and Digital Audio.  

For over a decade Vernon has provided leadership and lots of labor to the organization that ties video teachers together in the Sacramento Sierra region.  

Videography Magazine - Free

You can sign-up for a free subscription to Videography Magazine.  This is a really great magazine that reviews current video production products and has some articles.  I always get a lot out of reading Mark Schubin's Research and Development column.  

Video 101 Course Website

The Video 101 Course website is well designed and easy to read introduction to video production. It has a lot of nice photos and short video clips that illustrate various video production concepts. The length of each page is short enough to keep the attention of an average high school student. There are sections on editing, recording, camera, shots, lens, sound, lighting, mounts, camera techniques and graphics.

While I have filed this under the label "Free Curriculum" this resource will cost you if you want to use it in your curriculum. The author will license its use for $2.00 a student per semester. With that fee he will provide you with some tests and footage for your students to edit.

Target Field Trip Grants

Target has several programs that can benefit teachers. The best of these is a Field Trip Grant. Target will award 5000 grants of up to $800 in the 2008-09 school year for field trips.

Novi High School Websites

You can view the Cat's Eye News from Novi High School in Novi, Michigan.  They offer a serious  broadcasting program.  They also have a radio station.  

Online Video Contests.com

OnlineVideoContests.com is a website that lists calls for user-generated video.  It has sleek design that lists the numbers of days remaining until the submission date closes. 

Check out other contest listings on this blog. 

Copyright & Fair Use Resources

The Center for Social Media at American University has a lot of great resources related to the fair use of copyrighted material. They have a new Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video.

Fair use is the right, in some circumstances, to quote copyrighted material without asking permission or paying for it. It is a crucial feature of copyright law and what keeps copyright from being censorship. You can invoke fair use when the value to the public of what you are saying outweighs the cost to the private owner of the copyright.