Video Storytelling Projects by "RC" Concepcion

There are books that teach how to use tools like cameras and software and other books that show how to structure the video. This book is a good combination of the two for elementary videography.

The book opens with a discussion of the construction of a story (shades of Aristotle!), and then proceeds to discuss preplanning, including things like scripts and shot lists. There is a tip of the hat to audio, although nothing about how audio can enhance the viewing experience (although a later section emphasizes the importance of dialog). When it comes to video, Concepcion emphasizes the use of cell phones as an easy method of capture. There is a suitably lengthy discussion and demonstration of the use of Premiere Pro to edit videos. The author includes two projects as practical exercises. There are excellent on-line videos that illustrate his teaching points. He also provides a set of files that students can use to follow along with the projects or create their own videos.

While this book teaches with a broad brush, people who are serious about their videography will want more. While my grandson regularly reminds me when I state “I wish I had a camera” that I have one in my pocket, when I’m serious about shooting, I want some heavy duty equipment. This book doesn’t even make reference to the additional possibilities of such equipment. Concepcion is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. I would guess that the materials in the book and on-line were developed as an introductory class for students. While it may be useful as a first step into the world of video storytelling, most serious students, whether in school or out, will want to do much more studying to master the art.

As I noted, Concepcion has excellent on-line videos to further demonstrate the points in the text. However to access them, you have to scan a QR code in the dead trees book with a cell phone. What comes up are cell phone sized videos. These videos beg for big screen computer viewing. The process of transferring these codes to a computer is painful. I wish the publisher had included URL’s for these videos as well as QR codes. I haven’t tried the kindle version of the book, but I suppose that reading the kindle book on a full sized computer screen and tapping the QR codes there would give access to larger videos. An Epub version that will allow this is available from the publisher’s web site.

In many of the instructional videos viewers see and hear the author presenting material. These videos of the author appear to be quite dark. It doesn’t detract from the pedagogical value of the videos but it is distressing to see in a video about making videos.

For a broad, quick introduction to video storytelling, this is an excellent book.