Wednesday, April 27, 2011

The Survey: Video?

My stint is almost over, but thought I'd pose a penultimate question about video. How to best incorporate film/television clips into class? Beginning with the 1930s, great video exists for almost every imaginable topic, from the New Deal, through Civil Rights, the Cold War, and the Culture Wars. One easy way to incorporate clips is simply to hyperlink YouTube through Powerpoint, which features everything from 30 second clips of Bloody Sunday in Selma to full films like Leni Riefenstahls Triumph of the Will. However, the transition can be a little rough (not to mention the fact that flashing YouTube's icon onscreen tends to detract from the professionalism of the overall presentation), which has led me to experiment with uploading clips directly into Powerpoint slides. The problem here, of course, is finding sources without having to pay steep licensing fees. One great site is the Prelinger Archive, which features over 1,000 free clips, many rarely seen. While interested in learning of other sites, I'm also intrigued by the idea of making my own clips straight from dvd. Any advice on how to do this, what programs work best, and so on? My assumption is that clips of under one minute included solely for educational purposes satisfy fair use, but could be wrong there as well.

Photo credit: Prelinger Archives