Making and editing digital media
Computer Science · Key Stage 1 · The School
Plan before you record
A storyboard is a row of boxes: one rough drawing per shot with a note of what is said. Ten minutes of planning saves an hour of re-recording, because you find the problems (too many shots, no ending) while they are still just drawings.
The three edits that matter
TRIM the dead air at the start and end of each clip — this alone makes amateur video look far better. ORDER the clips to tell the story. ADD sound: music under, voice over. Everything else is decoration; these three do the work.
Using other people's work
Music, images and video usually belong to someone. Use material that is licensed for reuse, and CREDIT the maker: title, creator, and where you got it. Taking someone's work without credit is not a technical problem, it is dishonesty — and the habit of crediting is worth building now.
Plan a 30-second video in six boxes: shot 1 wide, to show where we are (5s); shot 2 close-up on hands (5s); shot 3 the thing going wrong (10s); and so on. Write the sound under each. Now film it. Anyone who films first and plans afterwards ends up with lots of footage and no story — and finds the shot they needed was never taken.