Keepin it Green at Champlain video embed/ follow up Q's

Keepin it Green at Champlain College



1. What was the most difficult moment in making this video?

In my opinion the most difficult aspects to making this video were the planning process and the minor technical difficulties Quillan and I experienced while editing. While first planning the project we had trouble coming up with solid ideas that we all agreed upon. Although we did end up brainstorming together an idea that first production meeting it ended up not being our actual plan. While trying to capture some of our first shots our poorly thought out plan had shown. We realized we should choose another idea or strategy. After thinking things through and having a better idea of what to shoot because of our first day of filming we came up with what turned out to be our movie. We overcame this difficulty through taking a step back and making a second attempt. As for the editing troubles, I was editing everything with no problem up until we tried to fade the background music in and out during scenes with dialogue. For some reason we couldn’t figure out, I-movie wouldn’t let us play the original shots audio louder and over the background music. After spending much time and making no progress with it, I came up with a solution. I took out the background music completely during any shots with commentary. Overall this minor movie production process was pretty problem free when keeping in mind the excess of problems movie production normally brings in with the process of it.

2. Other than finishing it, what was the most rewarding moment in making this video?

Realizing I am part of a true sustainable green community was the most rewarding moment of making this video. Although I was aware of how Champlain was green, the production of this video increased my awareness and thus also my appreciation for being sustainable.

3. Discuss 3 specific lessons you learned about film production and/or "group process" in making this video.

One lesson I learned about film production is to overestimate the length as in plan for it to be longer then you expect. You will always encounter problems and/or dilemmas slowing down or temporarily halting the project. For example the 2 problems I faced with brain cramps and technical difficulties taught me. One lesson this taught me on the group process was that in some cases the workload may not be even due to teammates skill sets and past experience and as a result this un-even proportioning of work is sometimes unavoidable. Since I was the only one on my team with experience with I-movie I was forced to take on all the editing. Although I didn’t have a problem with this it was a very time consuming process leaving the other teammates with not many other ways to contribute. I think had there been someone else with at least some experience with I-movie this would have been a much easier task. A second lesson I learned about the group process is that it is important to welcome all ideas and don’t shut down any either. Ideally you should take into consideration all ideas or opinions of all group members. I think that encouraging brainstorming or the sharing of any form of idea results in more effective planning and teamwork. The reason we reached our improved idea was a result of this taking place. Overall I learned a lot about film production and the group process through this project however these three lessons are the main aspects to the learning experience.


4. Discuss 3 specific things you learned about Champlain College
And/or the "Sustain Champlain" project that you did not know before completing this project.


One thing I learned about Champlain college is that Aiken Hall is a lead certified green building. This was an interesting fact for I didn’t know a certification for a sustainable building was out there. But once I did find out I was glad to know that a Champlain building had earned it. One thing I learned about sustain Champlain that I hadn’t been informed of before this project was the E-waste not for Landfills campaign. Not only did it inform me of the recycling process of old electronics but it let me know another way Champlain is going green. Another new thing I learned was another attempt Champlain makes to promote sustainability. That is with the incentive of if you purchase a reusable coffee mug from Jazzman’s cafe the coffee price is discounted to $1.00.