Below are some of the digital storytelling projects that my students have created over the past few years. All of them are viewable on my Youtube Channel. Click on the TITLE of each movie to jump to the Youtube video.
This is the first film my students made at Painted Hills Middle School, in the spring of 2015. We did not make a final cut, because WeVideo crashed and lost the file. I still have the raw footage, and may make another cut of this at some point. We studied the Hero's Journey while reading Freak the Mighty. We then made this video project as a class, breaking down all of Joseph Campbell's major steps in the mythological motif. We were acknowledged at DIGICOM 2015 for this project.
My students collaborated with another classroom to produce this film. We read a short story called "Those Three Wishes" earlier in the year, and then converted it to a short film. A young girl discovers a magic lamp at school. Be careful what you wish for, kids! And keep an eye out for my cameo!
This short video won recognition in DIGICOM 2016. In my language arts class, we read a series of horror stories from authors like Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain, and others. Students then worked in teams to write a script, cast, direct, and then edit the films. This one was directed by Nathaniel B. A witch and a fairy argue over who should keep the slave. Surprise ending!
This project was one of our other DIGICOM 2016 submissions. The main actress is Tamiyah, and Javier S. plays death. We shot half of this around campus, and the rest of it in front of a green screen. It was alot of fun! This was directed by Antonio G.
This project was directed by Nolberto U. and stars Ray K. and Jasmine P. We filmed almost the entire short film in front of a green screen, with the exception of the climax which was filmed in an empty science lab across the hallway. We really had fun looking for spooky backgrounds for the green screen. Ray and Jasmine were a "real life" couple as well, and were all laughs and giggles between shoots. There was at least one class period where Jasmine could not stop laughing and Nolberto had to film the scene 10 times. I am pretty satisfied with the final result!
This film has a backstory. We were reading short stories by Gary Soto, about kids getting into trouble, in September. I won't get into the details, but let's just say that this story might be more fact than fiction. Further, no one ever stole from my prize box again that year and got away with it. Based on a true story... and then some.