SW
Senses of Wildness Videos and Media Literacy
My Approach to Videos and Books
As an author, nature photographer, educator and producer I have always been aware of the need for people (not just children) to be aware of media and how it can be manipulated for a desired effect. That is one of the reasons you will find at the end of this book a section called “About Senses of Wildness”. I have a point of view and while I may stray from it from time to time it is one I most often adhere to.
I believe that documentaries should be truthful.
But please note that I tell stories in my books and in these videos. Stories have a beginning, a middle and an end. Even short one minute ones.
This means that the content must be edited. Timelines condensed. For every minute of these videos that you see I selected from several minutes of tape. You should know that for every image seen there are dozens not seen by the audience. I am aware that in the process of editing I am altering truth. You will not see very many nature documentaries that do not do this. Do you really want to sit and watch lions for 18 hours as they sleep?
A media literate person knows this and accepts it or rejects it. But, even though the project is a creation of the author/ photographer or videographer in my works it must still reflect “truth”. This is one the precepts I hold dear.
I believe that young people can handle the truth.
These are stories of life. Life has a beginning, a middle and an end. There are trials, triumphs, frustrations, successes and defeats. Much of it is beautiful. Some of it is ugly. I won’t avoid the bad parts (but I will keep in mind my audiences sensitivities).
I believe that a positive image helps motivate people to get involve and to work to save nature.
I hope these mini-documentaries do just that. I am not especially interested in documenting all of the bad things humans do to the environment. So far, at least, I have avoided in my work stories of polluters, mass killers, criminal activities, wildlife abuse and so on.
I believe in telling stories about nature where mankind is either absent or very much in the background.
Henry D. Thoreau wrote “In Wildness is the preservation of the world”. My company name grew out of that quote. By the way, he did not write “In wilderness…” A good thing really because there is so little wilderness left but there is lots of “wildness” out there. Just ask any young person who imagines his backyard to be filled with wild animals, who sees in a trip to Riverwood an adventure. It may well be imagined but the sense of wildness is real and I try to capture that in my works.
So there you have my biases. Share them with your students or keep them to yourself. Every nature documentary series has their own. If students watch enough of them they will likely be able to make educated guesses at what The Nature of Things, BBC Nature, Disney Nature and others hold as their truths.
Ministry Guidelines:
The Media Literacy strand has four overall expectations, as follows;
Students will:
The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8 Language, 2006.
https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/language18currb.pdf
http://mediasmarts.ca/teacher-resources/media-education-outcomes-province/ontario/ontario-lang
Please see the above web site for a breakdown of media literacy goals for each grade.
Media Literacy Terms and Techniques
Video Techniques:
These one minute videos employ a variety of techniques that can be discussed:
Transitions:
Animation Applied to Still Images:
Layers:
Adobe Photoshop allows the use of layers that allow the producer to put one layer on top of another.
For example:
Video Editing
All of the video is edited for content and quality.
In other words what is seen in the final product is often quite different from the unedited footage. This is true of just about any video or film production seen on TV, Movie screens or other media.
Science, Technology, Society and Environment and the Videos
“The increased emphasis on science, technology, society, and the environment (STSE) within this curriculum document provides numerous opportunities for teachers to integrate environmental education effectively into the curriculum. The STSE expectations provide meaningful contexts for applying what has been learned about the environment, for thinking critically about issues related to the environment, and for considering personal action that can be taken to protect the environment. Throughout the grades and strands, teachers have opportunities to take students out of the classroom and into the world beyond the school, to observe, explore, and investigate. One effective way to approach environmental literacy is through examining critical inquiry questions related to students’ sense of place, to the impact of human activity on the environment, and/or to systems thinking. This can be done at numerous points within the science and technology curriculum. The following are some examples: A sense of place can be developed as students investigate structures and their functions in their neighbourhood, consider different ways in which food is grown in their community, and explore the impact of industries on local water systems. An understanding of the effects of human activity on the environment can develop as students consider the impact of their actions (e.g., taking part in tree planting at a local park, walking or biking to school instead of riding in the car, packing a litterless lunch) on their local environment. Systems thinking can be developed as students understand what a system is and how changing one part of it (e.g., introducing zebra mussels into a local lake or non-native invasive plants into a wetland) can affect the whole system.”
The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8, Science and Technology 2007
Many of the videos in this collection support the big ideas outlines in the curriculum document.
Senses of Wildness Videos and Media Literacy
My Approach to Videos and Books
As an author, nature photographer, educator and producer I have always been aware of the need for people (not just children) to be aware of media and how it can be manipulated for a desired effect. That is one of the reasons you will find at the end of this book a section called “About Senses of Wildness”. I have a point of view and while I may stray from it from time to time it is one I most often adhere to.
I believe that documentaries should be truthful.
But please note that I tell stories in my books and in these videos. Stories have a beginning, a middle and an end. Even short one minute ones.
This means that the content must be edited. Timelines condensed. For every minute of these videos that you see I selected from several minutes of tape. You should know that for every image seen there are dozens not seen by the audience. I am aware that in the process of editing I am altering truth. You will not see very many nature documentaries that do not do this. Do you really want to sit and watch lions for 18 hours as they sleep?
A media literate person knows this and accepts it or rejects it. But, even though the project is a creation of the author/ photographer or videographer in my works it must still reflect “truth”. This is one the precepts I hold dear.
I believe that young people can handle the truth.
These are stories of life. Life has a beginning, a middle and an end. There are trials, triumphs, frustrations, successes and defeats. Much of it is beautiful. Some of it is ugly. I won’t avoid the bad parts (but I will keep in mind my audiences sensitivities).
I believe that a positive image helps motivate people to get involve and to work to save nature.
I hope these mini-documentaries do just that. I am not especially interested in documenting all of the bad things humans do to the environment. So far, at least, I have avoided in my work stories of polluters, mass killers, criminal activities, wildlife abuse and so on.
I believe in telling stories about nature where mankind is either absent or very much in the background.
Henry D. Thoreau wrote “In Wildness is the preservation of the world”. My company name grew out of that quote. By the way, he did not write “In wilderness…” A good thing really because there is so little wilderness left but there is lots of “wildness” out there. Just ask any young person who imagines his backyard to be filled with wild animals, who sees in a trip to Riverwood an adventure. It may well be imagined but the sense of wildness is real and I try to capture that in my works.
So there you have my biases. Share them with your students or keep them to yourself. Every nature documentary series has their own. If students watch enough of them they will likely be able to make educated guesses at what The Nature of Things, BBC Nature, Disney Nature and others hold as their truths.
Ministry Guidelines:
The Media Literacy strand has four overall expectations, as follows;
Students will:
- demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts;
- identify some media forms and explain how the conventions and techniques associated with them are used to create meaning;
- create a variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques;
- reflect on and identify their strengths, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in understanding and creating media texts.
The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8 Language, 2006.
https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/language18currb.pdf
http://mediasmarts.ca/teacher-resources/media-education-outcomes-province/ontario/ontario-lang
Please see the above web site for a breakdown of media literacy goals for each grade.
Media Literacy Terms and Techniques
Video Techniques:
These one minute videos employ a variety of techniques that can be discussed:
Transitions:
- Cross Fade: one clip fades into another
- Fade in/out: One clip fades out or in, but not over another clip
- No transition: One clip ends, another begins without any transition
- Fade to white
- Fade to black
Animation Applied to Still Images:
- Zooming in or out of a photo
- Panning across a photo
- Pan and Zoom across a photo
- Dissolving (similar to Cross Fade. One photo fades into another)
- Photo or video on video: One image is over-laid on another
Layers:
Adobe Photoshop allows the use of layers that allow the producer to put one layer on top of another.
For example:
- Video is one layer
- Titles and other graphics are one or more layers
- In-laid images are another layer
- The Sound Track is another layer and perhaps many more
- Narration (not used in this series)would be another layer of the Sound Track
Video Editing
All of the video is edited for content and quality.
- Images can be sharpened.
- Colour can be corrected.
- Unwanted sound can be muted or detached.
- Video can be sped up or slowed down (a technique not yet employed)
In other words what is seen in the final product is often quite different from the unedited footage. This is true of just about any video or film production seen on TV, Movie screens or other media.
Science, Technology, Society and Environment and the Videos
“The increased emphasis on science, technology, society, and the environment (STSE) within this curriculum document provides numerous opportunities for teachers to integrate environmental education effectively into the curriculum. The STSE expectations provide meaningful contexts for applying what has been learned about the environment, for thinking critically about issues related to the environment, and for considering personal action that can be taken to protect the environment. Throughout the grades and strands, teachers have opportunities to take students out of the classroom and into the world beyond the school, to observe, explore, and investigate. One effective way to approach environmental literacy is through examining critical inquiry questions related to students’ sense of place, to the impact of human activity on the environment, and/or to systems thinking. This can be done at numerous points within the science and technology curriculum. The following are some examples: A sense of place can be developed as students investigate structures and their functions in their neighbourhood, consider different ways in which food is grown in their community, and explore the impact of industries on local water systems. An understanding of the effects of human activity on the environment can develop as students consider the impact of their actions (e.g., taking part in tree planting at a local park, walking or biking to school instead of riding in the car, packing a litterless lunch) on their local environment. Systems thinking can be developed as students understand what a system is and how changing one part of it (e.g., introducing zebra mussels into a local lake or non-native invasive plants into a wetland) can affect the whole system.”
The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8, Science and Technology 2007
Many of the videos in this collection support the big ideas outlines in the curriculum document.