Zeshawn Rahman Capstone

Posted by Zeshawn Rahman in Capstone · Siswick/Kay · Wed on

​This capstone focused on the creation of the Rough Cut ILP. The Rough Cut ILP is a dedicated class during ILP hours. It was held every Wednesday of the school year from 1:30 - 3:30 PM. Students have had the opportunity to learn skills independently, but there has largely been no class, or environment for these students to expand knowledge in unison. Thus, the ILP was born; a group of students looking to further their knowledge in new, obscure or otherwise interesting techniques in photography, and video. The overall scope of the ILP class shifted from video editing to video production, and a more professional workflow. Students were taught the benefits of prime lenses, professional cameras, and color profiles. With the unique opportunity to film and speak with Madeleine Albright and Steven Hadley at the Franklin Institute, students expressed desire to learn professional Multi-Camera filming and editing. The next classes held a live demonstration of filming with three cameras, reviewing the footage, and using the free DaVinci Resolve editing suite to process and export the footage. Considering the lack of film photography instruction, and resources nationwide, it became necessary to introduce the students to the photography one may call a lost art. Students learned to shoot on film, and noted it's creative effect on their photography. After shooting, the class shifted to developing and scanning their film, in which both the sciences, engineering, media production, and visual arts were combined in a month of instruction.

This capstone focused on the creation of the Rough Cut ILP. The Rough Cut ILP is a dedicated class during ILP hours. It was held every Wednesday of the school year from 1:30 - 3:30 PM. Students have had the opportunity to learn skills independently, but there has largely been no class, or environment for these students to expand knowledge in unison. Thus, the ILP was born; a group of students looking to further their knowledge in new, obscure or otherwise interesting techniques in photography, and video. The overall scope of the ILP class shifted from video editing to video production, and a more professional workflow. Students were taught the benefits of prime lenses, professional cameras, and color profiles. With the unique opportunity to film and speak with Madeleine Albright and Steven Hadley at the Franklin Institute, students expressed desire to learn professional Multi-Camera filming and editing. The next classes held a live demonstration of filming with three cameras, reviewing the footage, and using the free DaVinci Resolve editing suite to process and export the footage. Considering the lack of film photography instruction, and resources nationwide, it became necessary to introduce the students to the photography one may call a lost art. Students learned to shoot on film, and noted it's creative effect on their photography. After shooting, the class shifted to developing and scanning their film, in which both the sciences, engineering, media production, and visual arts were combined in a month of instruction.

The two videos below show both a lesson in film development, as well as the students’ results after scanning their film.

Bibliography

Zeshawn Rahman


Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin, 1985.

* This source will be used to further an understanding of teaching in a more professional level going toward the future. It was recommended by Mr. Herman, who commented that it shaped his understanding and views on teaching. Though Freire analyzes teaching through a lens which focuses on 'oppression' and the need for an individual to be 'liberated', this can be easily adapted to teaching. When critical awareness and thinking are brought out via teaching, the students are, in effect, liberated. He brings up 'Problem-Solving' education as a method to combat this oppression, in which the teacher and student begin a dialogue, and learn from each other. Simple techniques from this text are beneficial; students focus more, have increased levels of motivation and happiness when they are accompanied by the teacher in various activities.

"Lectures Aren't Just Boring, They're Ineffective, Too, Study Finds." Science | AAAS. January 12, 2016. Accessed February 02, 2017. http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/05/lectures-arent-just-boring-theyre-ineffective-too-study-finds.

* As with 'The Pedagogy of The Oppressed', this source outlines why teaching with a firm hand, and mainly lecture-based is proven to fail. Although Freire embraces the problem-solving method of education, in a technical and often detailed workflow such as filmmaking, often times definitions and such are required. As this basis is often taught at the beginning of such courses via lecture-based format, it is evident that many students forget, or are unable to recall even the simplest terms and nomenclature after being in the program for three or more years. As a teacher for a course in which students are already enrolled in their respective media-coursework, many are already fluent in these terms. Adding review material toward the end and beginning of lessons in an engaging format will cement this knowledge in students.

Lehmann, Chris, and Zac Chase. Building School 2.0: How to Create the Schools We Need. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2015.

* Building School: 2.0 will be essential to leading a course in which many are accustomed to the lesson plans and general teaching direction as outlined by Mr. Lehmann. Even though SLA is a school that follows this form, some details may be hard to understand. For a teacher to fully deliver lesson in accordance at SLA, it seems imperative to read Building School 2.0. In essence, a class for an ILP would be an environment as it's own school, where the sole teacher is in control. With a combination of Freire's teachings and Lehmann's book, experience gained would not only be refined but applicable to modern environment.

"Multi-camera Editing Workflow." Create and Edit a Multi-camera Sequence in Premiere Pro. Accessed February 02, 2017. https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/using/create-multi-camera-source-sequence.html.

* This source by Adobe will be critical in upcoming lessons which are focused on multi-camera editing workflow. As this is the official method of editing recommended by Adobe, students learning will be greatly benefited early on. When moving on to senior year, CTE students will be Adobe certified, and required to have a working knowledge of all functions in Premiere.  Reviewing this source, it's easy to follow, especially for students who are learning it for the first time. A lesson set will be based on editing footage that was recorded during Educon.

"Prime Vs. Zoom Lenses » Expert Photography." Expert Photography. October 17, 2016. Accessed February 02, 2017. https://expertphotography.com/prime-vs-zoom-lenses/.

* A critical workflow that students will be introduced to as they progress further is the almost religious usage of prime lenses. Prime lenses are lenses that are fixed focal length, and 'do not zoom'. Examples of prime lenses are the 35, 50, and 85mm focal lengths. Benefits of prime lenses are that they usually offer very fast apertures, often exceeding f/2.0, with some 'super primes' even reaching the impeccable f/1.0 aperture. The benefits of fast (large max. Aperture) lenses are their ability to lower the sensitivity required by a camera. For example, in a dimly lit classroom, average exposure would read 1/30 second, f/3.5, at an ISO of 800. If a prime lens was used with aperture of 1.4, the equivalent exposure would read 1/30 second, f/1.4 at ISO 125. This would allow the photographer to have clear image quality, with almost no 'noise', that would be very evident in the ISO 800 shot.

Richardson, Will. From Master Teacher to Master Learner. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press, 2015.

* This source is yet another on the fundamentals of teaching, and process to become an influential teacher. In Chapter 2, Richardson states "Students should "productive learners", learners who have their passion, their own purpose.", which resonates with the concepts of the ILP and the Capstone project. From personal research and experience, one can find himself in a position to teach, yet this was formed through a passion, and desire of giving back to those who have taught him. Richardson's method of teaching is critical in evaluating this relationship between teaching and learning as the fundamental basis for a cycle of learning.

TEDxTalks. "Learning Styles & the Importance of Critical Self-reflection | Tesia Marshik | TEDxUWLaCrosse." YouTube. April 02, 2015. Accessed February 02, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=855Now8h5Rs.

* Though many agree that learning styles are a concept that lead to students learning differently, and lessons have to cater to various students' learning styles, it is not truly required. This source is critical in dismissing the myth of 'Learning Styles' and unify toward a universal teaching method: an inquiry based, teacher-student relationship. As a student, learning styles have often been discussed, with largely no benefits. However,  in an attempt to cater to all, maintaining interest while simultaneously teaching and assessing performance is difficult, if not impossible to accomplish without inquiry based learning and teaching, in which both parties are involved. Personal goals of teaching are to combine Freire, Richardson & Marshik to create vivid, engaging lesson plans, and this source cements one section of teaching.

TEDxTalks. "What Do Top Students Do Differently? | Douglas Barton | TEDxYouth@Tallinn." YouTube. March 26, 2015. Accessed February 02, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na8m4GPqA30.

* This source will be presented in the form of a presentation during the first ILP of the third quarter. Though this is may not be directly related to media, it will serve as a primer for the further lessons which are more technically based, with occasional tests and grade-based system. Furthermore, as students progress to higher education, and are removed from the ILP program in senior year, there will be more test-based and standardized workflow. As an ending portion of every lesson, a quiz or similar format of review (5 minutes timing) will be delivered in a subject matter of what the class wants to learn.

"Try Basic Editing Techniques in Premiere Pro | Adobe Premiere Pro CC Tutorials." Try Basic Editing Techniques in Premiere Pro | Adobe Premiere Pro CC Tutorials. Accessed February 02, 2017. https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/how-to/edit-videos.html.

* Although a teacher has to be advanced in the subject before they are capable to teach, there are often small errors one will make. In the position of a teacher, if  this mistake isn't caught, students may follow unknowingly, leading to a larger issue. This source will be simplified, and printed out to give to all students as a refresher and guide as the lesson is in progress. Also, this is the certified Adobe method of editing using their program, and is industry standard. The significance is that students taught via the Adobe method will have an easier experience testing for the Adobe certification, rather than following along a roughly structured lesson.

Richardson, Will, and Bruce Dixon. "10 Principles For Schools Of Modern Learning." Modern Learners. 2017. Accessed February 2, 2017. https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/modernlearners/Modern Learners 10 Principles for Schools of Modern Learning whitepaper.pdf.

*  While the Pedagogy of The Oppressed is from the 1970's, and even Richardson's own book is from 2015, it's hard to find source material that is applicable in the present area. Of course, the terms and practices are everlasting in general application, however this is an article that was released just this month. With the new administration in power, this article provides valuable insight that "an “education” is what we create for ourselves rather than something someone else creates and delivers to us.", and the educational shift is " And let us be clear: it is the modern learner’s newfound capability to take full control of his or her learning that is THE educational shift of our times." A modern interpretation of Friere, this is a teaching method that will be applied in the ILP class. As it is an individual learning plan, students will experiment and learn various techniques themselves, through experimentation and self-direction, thus taking control of their learning and creating an education for themselves.


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