TIPS FOR PRODUCING MUSEUM PRESENTATIONS

Project Criteria Choose an influential person from U. S. history (Use netTrekker to help you) Must be from the time of colonization (1607) to the end of Reconstruction (1877). Must examine at least 25 sources Must use 15 sources: 8 Primary Source documents, 7 Secondary Sources – 4 of which must be from books Must use 8 artifacts in your exhibit Video must be at least 9 minutes and not exceed 11 minutes

VIDEO PRESENTATIONS Carefully select your 8 artifacts to capture the interest of the visitors as well as to tell a compelling story from a variety of viewpoints. Select objects that are large enough to be easily viewed by a group of people (and the camera.) Organize and present your artifacts in such as way as to allow your story to build as you move from one to another. Make sure to provide proper credit and copyright citations for the use of each artifact that you have chosen. These should be displayed directly with each artifact.

CHOOSING A BACKGROUND SET Choose a neutral background that will not distract from the focus of the exhibit presentation. Use a table or shelf covered with a large sheet or piece of fabric upon which to place objects that cannot be displayed on a wall. Hang a large sheet or piece of fabric on the wall behind the table to display other artifacts and information. Create a background large enough to totally frame your picture in the video.

TIPS FOR DISPLAYING PRINTED INFORMATION Use a sans serif (without serif) font such as Arial instead of Times Roman. Use no more than 2 or 3 different types of fonts. Use normal rules for capitalization except for headlines. Black on white is the most legible. White on black is next. Maximize contrast between letters and backgrounds. Calculate letter size by this formula: ½ inch tall letters for every 10 feet away the viewer stands.

CREATE A COMPLETE STORYBOARD FOR YOUR PRESENTATION!!!!! No video production company shoots a scene without scripting it first. Neither should you! You have 8 artifacts to describe and a story to tell in a total of 9-11 minutes. With a short introduction and closing, that gives you approximately 1 minute per artifact. Timing will be critical.

STORYBOARD PLANNING Break your presentation down into scenes. (You will probably have 10 scenes…1 for intro., 8 artifacts, 1 for Q&A ) Use index cards or a WORD document to lay out each scene. (See sample provided in handout) Describe the staging for a scene. Determine the camera angle, range, and action for the scene. Write the precise dialogue for the scene.

LIGHTING AND SOUND Although lighting, in general, is better out of doors, there are too many variable conditions to plan an outdoor production. Wind also creates many audio problems. Select a well lit room with ample overhead lighting. If more lighting is needed, add a lamp or two on either side. Test the camera’s microphone to make sure it works well. You may be able to adjust the microphone settings on your camera. In any case, you must SPEAK LOUDLY AND CLEARLY during your presentation.

FILMING TIPS Focus your camera on a black sheet of paper and film a minimum of 10 seconds of lead on your video before you start your actual filming. Have everything set up and ready for the entire filming before beginning. If you are shooting VHS tape, your camera will probably do a roll back when you stop filming. Hit PAUSE instead of STOP between scenes to avoid roll back over part of your previous scene. You must get the next scene set up and start filming before the PAUSE time expires and the camera shuts off.

FILMING TIPS Use a tripod. Period. End of discussion! Either memorize your script or make cue cards for those scenes in which the camera is focused on you! You should be looking at the camera, not at the paper you are reading. If using cue cards, have the person holding the cards stand directly behind the camera so that you are looking up and not down.

FILMING TIPS You may find it more comfortable and natural to talk about your exhibit if you have a couple of people standing with you as your audience. If so, have them stand to the sides, facing you. In scenes where the camera is focused on you, if you are talking about something posted on the wall, turn to the side to point while still keeping your eyes and voice projecting toward the camera. NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON THE CAMERA!

Q & A Don’t forget that you must include a question and answer portion in your video. Stage this as well. “Plant” your questions and prepare your answers before hand!

MURPHY’S LAW Plan ahead! When working with technology, something almost always goes wrong. Producing your final product will take as long, if not longer, than conducting your research. Poor planning = poor quality of production = poor grade!

Locating Sources Start with EBSCO – Student Research Center: Choose Primary Sources Go to the primary source websites covered in presentation through English classes: http://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/ http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html http://www.ourdocuments.gov/content.php?flash=true&page=milestone http://www.nps.gov/history/museum/treasures/ http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/edhtml/edmvalpha.html http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi http://www.learnnc.org/search/ http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/collections/stats/histcensus/ You must have LOOKED at 25 different sources. You must USE at least 15 sources. At least 8 must be from primary sources. 7 more must come from secondary sources with at least 4 coming from books.

Some material used in this presentation is used under Disclaimer: Some material used in this presentation is used under the Fair Use Exemption of US Copyright Law. Further use is prohibited. Note: You must include a disclaimer slide like this at the end of your video. It will not count against your time limit.