Video Essays
The video essay focuses is the same as a written essay, but in video form, it relates to topics on film and comments on film as its own language. They have a similar structure to the written essay, including an introduction, body, and conclusion.
What is a Video Essay?
A video essay can examines an argument, critique a theory or work or reflect on a production process using digital clips, imagery, sound and voice over. An important point to note is that a video essay is not simply a written essay read out on film.
"Video essays combine different forms of media such as video (film), audio (voice-over, music, sounds), and text to study or analyze a topic. Many have structures similar to a written essay, with an introduction, body and conclusion. An effective video essay will have a strong thesis or argument."
Producing a video essay will allow you to complete assessments using and showcasing learned skills relevant to your course work.
"Rather than merely presenting facts about a subject and calling it a day, a video essay tends to be more personal and opinionated, sparking an interesting discussion around analyzing the subject matter."
The analytical aspect of the work is key to creating a video essay.
How to make a Video Essay
A general guideline to follow
Plan
Just like a written essay you will need to plan out your argument and the order of points you wish to convey.
Research
Once you have a notion of your argument or assessment question you will need to find supporting literature and material that backs up that argument.
Source material
Now that you know what you want to say and you've collected supporting research to support your chosen topic you can begin to collate or create video clips that will make up your visual essay.
Record audio
Record your accompanying voice over.
Edit
Edit your video essay so that it is seamless and each scene works to highlight your argument.
Both of these links below provide great points for how to make a video essay:
https://www.matrix.edu.au/the-ultimate-video-essay-checklist/
- The Ultimate Video Essay checklistThis website comprehensively outlines steps you might want to take to complete your video essay
Video Essay tips and tricks
Video Essay guides
Types of Video Essays
This is a comprehensive article that outlines 11 types of video essays and includes examples
http://norbateman.co/11-ways-to-make-a-video-essay/
Written Resources
A short guide to writing about film by Call Number: 791.43015/63 (9th ed.)Publication Date: 2015A succinct guide to thinking critically and writing precisely about film. Both an introduction to film study and a practical writing guide, this brief text introduces students to major film theories as well as film terminology, enabling them to write more thoughtfully and critically. Moving from movie reviews to theoretical and critical essays, the text demonstrates how an analysis of a film can become more subtle and rigorous as part of a compositional process.
How to structure a Video Essay
Using Clickview for your Video Essay
The Library has a collection of off-air recordings that can be viewed at AFTRS as well as remotely using AFTRS login credentials. The collection includes a number of Films, Television series, Documentaries, and short films. Off-air Recordings can also be clipped and used in assignments.
Option 1: Clips
ClickView allows all users to make clips of videos that you can then link to or embed. These clips cannot be downloaded.
Option 2: Download
If you would like to download videos from the ClickView Library to cut yourself for use in your assignments, please fill out the form and a library member will contact you with a new temporary sign-in that will allow you to download them.
Resources
The Language and Style of Film Criticism by ISBN: 9780415560955Publication Date: 2011-05-26The Language and Style of Film Criticismbrings together original essays from an international range of academics and film critics highlighting the achievements, complexities and potential of film criticism. In recent years, in contrast to the theoretical, historical and cultural study of film, film criticism has been relatively marginalised, especially within the academy. This book highlights the distinctiveness of film criticism and addresses ways in which it can take a more central place within the academy and develop in dynamic ways outside it. The Language and Style of Film Criticismis essential reading for academics, teachers, students and journalists who wish to understand and appreciate the language and style of film criticism.
The Essay Film by ISBN: 9780199781690Publication Date: 2011Why have certain kinds of documentary and non-narrative films emerged as the most interesting, exciting, and provocative movies made in the last twenty years? Since Michel de Montaigne, essays have been seen as a lively literary category, and yet--despite the work of pioneers like Chris Marker - seldom discussed as a cinematic tradition. The Essay Film, offering a thoughtful account of the long rapport between literature and film as well as novel interpretations and theoretical models, provides the ideas that will change this.
Filmosophy by Call Number: 791.4301/121ISBN: 1904764851Publication Date: 2006Filmosophy is a provocative new manifesto for a radically philosophical way of understanding cinema. It coalesces twentieth-century ideas of film as thought (from Hugo Monsterberg to Gilles Deleuze) into a practical theory of "film-thinking," arguing that film style conveys poetic ideas through a constant dramatic "intent" about the characters, spaces, and events of film. Discussing contemporary filmmakers such as Bela Tarr and the Dardenne brothers, this timely contribution to the study of film and philosophy will provoke debate among audiences and filmmakers alike.
Video Essay compilations
- AUDIOVISUALCY: Videographic Film and Moving Image StudiesAn online forum for video essays or works of audovisual screen studies that have an analytical, critical, reflexive or scholarly purpose; fully attribute all sources used; are made according to Fair Use principles; are non-commercial in nature.
- Video Essay Channels on YouTube"A compilation of a ridiculously long list of every noteworthy educational video essayists on the Internet"