A digital Film Production with Live Online Technologies

2021-11-15

The 14th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI) took place from 8th to 10th November. ICERI is one of the largest international education conferences for lecturers, researchers, technologists and professionals from the education sector who come together to present their projects and exchange knowledge about teaching and learning methods and educational innovations.

During the conference our professors Prof. Dr. Ingo Schünemann and Prof. Dr. Johannes Kirch together with Prof. Dr. Stefan Siehl from the Diploma Hochschule - University of Applied Sciences presented how they completely digitised the module "Audiovisual Film Production" of the Bachelor's Degree Program Media Management, which was taught in presence before the pandemic and adapted it for online teaching. In their lecture they presented the development, implementation and experiences to the conference participants and showed that film productions can also be supported didactically from a distance.

The module "Audiovisual Film Production" was generally aimed at students with no or little knowledge of practical film production. As part of the module students are expected to realise their filming independently and only with remote support. In order to keep the costs of the production as low as possible the pre-production process must be realised carefully in order to be able to ensure a successful recording and later post-production.

During the online lectures the professors were able to help with the construction of the film set with simple "everyday" technical resources by having the students broadcast the construction of the set live. In doing so the professors provided assistance in staging well-chosen plot points. Through the students' camera perspective the professors were able to give "stage directions" in real time. In this way the students were able to achieve important learning effects in a direct way, which benefited the creative process of filming.

The students' feedback on this practice was very positive. Through the direct, clear learning process the key creative skills that are essential for film making could be directly fostered. This had a positive effect on the students' motivation, on the development of their skills and on the quality of the film. In addition to assistance with set-up, lighting and camera most students needed support with acting or the implementation of question techniques when interviewing protagonists as part of the online course.

As part of the online realisation of the module "Audiovisual Film Production" it was possible to develop all the necessary skills for producing a film even in times of the pandemic. Skills such as creativity and flexibility were fostered during the lectures and are important requirements for the coming years, which will be marked by the turbulence of digital disruption. In addition skills that are much needed for the future, such as ICT skills and teamwork were applied and fostered.

The full conference paper report can be found in the download section on this page.