HW 7.3 - Potential of Video

Video, due to recent advances in technology, mobile phone technology, free/open source software, and online programs - is now accessible than ever. While there are still wildly expensive cameras, like RED cameras for 3D and more expensive software - like FinalCutPro - there are so many free and available programs and equipment built in, the barrier to access for video making is wonderfully low. Several decades ago, the only people with video cameras who could make home movies were very wealthy, or very interested in technology - early adopters. Now, every family with a basic mobile phone, or better yet, a smart phone has access to video to make home movies. Since the cameras are now so good on smart phones, people can also use this technology to experiment with video art through these means. There is so much potential now that there is so much access. So many people can now tell their stories, in so many different ways. These stories can now be shared more than ever with so many different social media and video watching platforms. There is so much agency in this access.

I also think the teaching of video in schools is an incredible tool for media literacy. For children to film their own content, and then engage in the editing of their content to create a particular story or to showcase a particular view, they will have experience with the process which all media use - including movies, tv, and news. Children can see firsthand the editing process, and they can make the decisions of what stays and what gets cut. This will help hone their critical eye to mainstream media - the understanding that every 1 min movie scene they see was cut from hours of footage, or that each interview they see on television was cut from a much longer piece, to be more succinct and have a particular slant. Media literacy helps children be more aware of how the political process works in the United States during campaigns, and how advertising works in general. An early understanding of media bias, the techniques of advertising, and the development of a story through editing will help children feel empowered to ask real questions of what they are watching, and will make them excited to share what they have to say.

For children, working with video in an artistic way will help them to harness the powers of the narrative and tell their own stories, and disseminate them on a wide scale. For children, working with video will also empower them as consumers of media - to be engaged but to have a critical eye for the media they are taking in. Media literacy for children is so important, as they intake so much media from such an early age. To give them the tools to ask questions, analyze, and even know how it's made, is a great kindness.