Unit 1 | Elements of Video & Pre-Production
Introduction
Unit 1 introduces the video industry and the pre-production process every video project goes through before a camera ever rolls, building toward your first time in the field with a camera. Shooting and editing a short explainer video.
This is the first unit of the year, when district network access and student accounts are least reliable. Lessons 1.1–1.4 run entirely on paper. No computer or network access required. The S | 1 project is the one day this unit that needs a device (a smartphone and a web-based editor).
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Understand the movie-making process: preproduction, production, postproduction, distribution
- Identify a target audience and write a design brief
- Write a two-column script to plan a shoot
- Apply shot vocabulary (CU, MS, WS, and more) to a shot list
- Shoot and edit a short explainer video
Calendar of Events for This Unit
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/31 | 9/1 | 9/2 | 9/3 | 9/4 |
| 9th Grade Orientation | Icebreaker Activity | Icebreaker Activity | Icebreaker Activity | Schools Closed |
| 9/1: All Students | ||||
| 9/7 | 9/8 | 9/9 | 9/10 | 9/11 |
| Labor Day | F | 1.1 | F | 1.1 | F | 1.2 | F | 1.2 |
| 9/14 | 9/15 | 9/16 | 9/17 | 9/18 |
| F | 1.3 | State PD | F | 1.3 | F | 1.4 | F | 1.4 |
| 9/15: 30th Count window: 9/15-9/30; 9/17: End of Drop Add | ||||
| 9/21 | 9/22 | 9/23 | 9/24 | 9/25 |
| PD | S | 1 | S | 1 | F | 2.1 | F | 2.1 |
| 9/24: Unit 2 - should include ungraded Pre-Test; 9/25: Interim grades open in Infinite Campus (MP1) | ||||
Lessons
- 1.1 – Intro to Digital Video Production. Going digital, the movie-making process
- 1.2 – Topic Selection & Design Brief. Client goals, target audience, design brief
- 1.3 – Two-Column Script. Preproduction paperwork, script drafting
- 1.4 – Film Form & Shot Vocabulary. Shot types, labeling a shot list
- S1 – Explainer Video. Summative project
Unit Vocabulary
- Pixel
- The smallest single point of color information in a digital image or video frame. Short for “picture element.”
- Frame Rate
- The number of individual still frames played per second to create the illusion of motion, expressed in frames per second (fps). For example, 24fps for film, 30fps for standard video.
- Frame Size
- The width and height of a video frame, measured in pixels (for example, 1920×1080 for standard HD).
- Aspect Ratio
- The proportional relationship between a video frame’s width and height, expressed as a ratio. 16:9 (widescreen), 9:16 (vertical/mobile), or 1:1 (square) are the most common today.
- Safe Area(s)
- The portion of a video frame guaranteed to display correctly on every screen. Action safe (where important action should stay) and title safe (a smaller inner zone for text). Protecting against cropping on some displays.
- Codec
- Short for “coder/decoder”. The software that compresses raw video into a smaller file for storage and playback, then decompresses it again to display. H.264 is the most widely compatible codec.
- Rendering
- The process a computer performs to combine a project’s clips, effects, and audio into a single finished, playable video file.
- Client Goals
- The outcomes a client wants a video to achieve: informing, persuading, entertaining, or building their brand. Those goals shape every creative decision on the project.
- Target Audience
- The specific group of viewers a video is made for. Understanding who they are shapes a video’s tone, pacing, and content choices.
- Demographics
- Measurable characteristics of a target audience, age, location, education, interests, used to describe and understand who a video is being made for.
- Shot List
- A detailed, ordered list of every shot needed to complete a video, noting subject, framing, and location. A production roadmap so nothing gets missed on shoot day.
- Scriptwriting
- The process of writing what will be said and shown in a video, often organized in a two-column format that separates visuals from audio/narration.
- Storyboarding
- Sketching a video’s key shots in sequence, panel by panel, to visually plan composition, camera movement, and story flow before filming begins.
- Edit List
- A written plan noting which clips go where, and in what order, in the finished edit. A bridge between raw footage and the finished sequence in the editing software.
- Transcript
- A written, word-for-word record of everything spoken in a video’s audio. Used for captioning, translation, and reviewing dialogue before editing.
- Close-Up (CU)
- A shot that fills the frame with a subject’s face (roughly chin to forehead) or a small object, emphasizing detail and emotion.
- Extreme Close-Up (ECU)
- A shot even tighter than a close-up, isolating one specific detail (an eye, a hand, a ticking watch) for maximum emphasis.
- Medium Close-Up (MCU)
- A shot framed from roughly the chest up. Closer than a medium shot but not as tight as a close-up. The standard framing for most interviews.
- Medium Shot (MS)
- A shot framed from roughly the waist up, showing enough body language to read gesture while keeping the face clearly visible.
- Wide Shot (WS)
- A shot that shows a subject’s full body along with a good amount of their surrounding environment.
- Long Shot (LS)
- A shot showing a subject at a distance, small within the frame, emphasizing their relationship to a larger environment.
- Extreme Long Shot (ELS)
- A very wide shot, often used to establish a location, where any subject is tiny compared to the surrounding environment.
- Over-the-Shoulder (OTS)
- A shot framed from behind one person’s shoulder, looking toward another person or subject. Common in dialogue scenes, showing both perspective and connection between two people.
- Point of View (POV)
- A shot that shows exactly what a character sees, placing the camera at their eye line so the audience shares their perspective directly.
- Cutaway
- A brief shot of something other than the main action, a reaction, a detail, a related image, inserted to add context, hide an edit, or control pacing.