Geography videos are really straightforward to make. I sometimes make them to show to classes or download them from the Geography at the Movies website, but other times I get the class to make them to show their understanding of a topic. Most computers have the programme MovieMaker and students can use still images if you don't have access to a video camera.
Using movies to promote your department
You don't need video footage or fancy software in order to make a movie - still images will do and MovieMaker is on most computers as standard. This makes it a great lesson idea. Here are some downloadable pupil instruction sheets for using MovieMaker:
KS3 Super Powers video lesson (includes lesson plan, exemplar video and instructions)
KS4 Rivers video lesson (includes lesson plan and instructions - exemplar videos can be found at Geography at the Movies)
KS5 Migration video lesson (instructions only)
I often make revision movies in Pinnacle Studio v11 Ultimate, which costs around £70 - I can't put most of them on here as I tend to use students as presenters. If you follow the GCSE OCR Bristol Project specification, you might find this one on Natural Hazards useful and it only 'stars' me so you can use it if you wish! Pinnacle is much more sophisticated than MovieMaker, as you'll be able to see from the special effects on the Hazards video (green screen etc. comes with Ultimate 11). However, there are still some glitches with the rendering that were present in earlier versions, which sometimes requires patience.
Download the Mr Men Economic Activity video here. I've made this video using clips from various episodes of the new Mr Men series. It probably won't stretch the more able, but you might find it useful with lower ability or younger classes. In response to requests from the Business Studies teachers using geographygeek, click here for a Business Studies version of the video (without reference to the Quaternary sector)
You can also download some great video resources for free from most websites (click here for some links). There are loads of great clips out there and Real Player version 11 allows you to record pretty much all of them. If you're working with an older version of Real Player, you can download a basic version of Real Player 11 here. If you have any trouble, there are plenty of websites that can help you to download pretty much anything.
In order to record with Real Player, ensure that the Web Download and Record feature is enabled during your initial RealPlayer setup. If you forgot to do this, go into the tools menu, then select preferences and then download and recording. Finally, tick the box to enable web downloading and recording.
Click here to download a resource based on the MTV Water for Life Jay Z diaries. Click here to go to the MTV website to download the video.
You can record and edit just about anything you want from your TV, using £210 worth of equipment. I regularly record things off the TV and use them in the classroom the following day - it means that you have the most up to date footage at your disposal.
This is what you need to buy:
The Humax box will record any programmes and allow you to edit out adverts.
Using movies to promote your department
I make movies to promote the department. Recordings made on fieldwork can be edited into great clips to show on open evenings. I can't put any of them on this website due to lack of parental consent, but I can show you a video that I've made using still images: