Using video to recruit

Alan Weintraut's staff has inspired me to create a fun yet informative video to recruit Coyote Nation TV staff members. Although their video was used to communicate the value of journalism classes to their sister school in China, the same values were well relayed in English.

Demonstrating how my students lead the broadcast would be a great way to build interest into my class. Our student body does not fully understand the work that goes into the show they see every day.  If they saw how it is created and what they can learn I think it will spark curiosity and lead to increased enrollment in the class.

Some of my favorite shots in Weintraut’s video showed students interacting with technology. I know many teens enjoy working with technology in unconventional ways. Some of my shots can include how my staffers working with programs like Final Cut Pro and Motion to create bumpers, graphics and transitional videos. This gives potential staffers an inside look into what they can get their hands on. The graphic or video can also demonstrate how the students feel while working with the programs through moving text similar to the signs used in Weintraut’s video.

Another shot I enjoyed in the A-Blast video was the use of time lapse. I think that would be a great way of demonstrating how one person gets to interact with the whole school through the show.

I would also like my students to demonstrate how their reporting helps them meet new people and discover things they did not know.  The video would show reporters mingling with other people, working the cameras and editing their stories together. They could use their reporter’s notebooks to convey the value they feel during the newsgathering process.

Overall, the video would be a great tool to not only recruit on our campus but also at our neighboring middle schools.

Thank you for sharing this during today’s session, Alan!

Candace Bagwell

Heritage High School

Frisco, Texas