MCM College: Learning “Documentary Self-Shooting” Amid Class Suspension
Due to the outbreak of novel coronavirus, all classes have been suspended and the students have been staying at home for more than a month . To encourage the students to keep learning amid class suspension, Moon Chun Memorial College’s resident fellow, Alice Hong created an interesting, practical and project-based learning opportunity for her CPED1000 course students with the support of Harriet Wong who is a part-time lecturer from UM’s Department of Communication and a professional film director and editor in Macau. On 21st February, Director Wong was invited to lead a “Documentary Self-Shooting” online workshop for beginners. After attending the workshop, the students have to use smartphone to practice shooting a 1-3 minutes video log to record their lives between 22nd -28th February. During the workshop, Director Wong explained in simple language the basic skills of documentary shooting and the process of film and video editing in order to give participants confidence to start shooting by themselves at home. The participants were interested in Director Wong’s sharing and interacted actively with her online.
On 4th March, Director Wong was invited to lead another online follow-up workshop for the same group of students. After viewing the participants’ video logs, she gave feedback on their progress and explained with examples the craft of storytelling in documentaries. Next, the students have to make a 5 minutes documentary video during the month of March. Director Wong encouraged the students to make good use of this staying home period to invite one of their family members to be their documentary subject and then create a narrative around their chosen theme. She emphasized that the meaning of making documentary video is more than doing a project, as their documentary production will be a memorable gift for themselves or their loved ones in the future. For most participants, this was their first attempt to shoot their own video logs, but what mattered to them most was the valuable learning experience that they gained through the shooting process. Let’s watch some students’ video logs and get a glimpse of their daily lives during the epidemic period:
Ashley Deng’s Vlog: https://uofmacau-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/ahong_umac_mo/EVMKguHBWy9Am1bKOfiSKycB3CKQslYiRZ-wwtqJaDJIxw
“Shooting Vlog changed my life significantly. My original daily life was same and dull, but shooting Vlog let me start to observe life more, noticing lots of interests and fun. Recording them in the form of video was really a precious memory. ”
Wesley Chen’s Vlog: https://uofmacau-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/ahong_umac_mo/ER3bjM-bveZEt0b_EzBK5a8BKOQgqBX096OcncCuJmuF9g
“The spreading of novel coronavirus around the world is rapid, people are all staying at home. This epidemic let me reflect deeply on a lot of issues, e.g. eating of wild animals, personal hygiene and immune system ect. Like many people, I’ve been staying at home, enjoying wonderful time with my family and playing basketball once in a while to build up my body. ”
Carol Ko’s Vlog: https://uofmacau-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/ahong_umac_mo/ERSpwhKKWS1DsvATkk303isB7Cnp_b7fmaxwDhKLz0M67Q
“Originally, the life of epidemic prevention at home was boring, but after learning to use smartphone to record life, I found a lot of fun. In our daily life, some scenes captured by the smartphone might be ignored. Actually, every moment of our life is worth cherishing. Let’s use this period to learn how to accompany our family and cherish our loved ones and those who love us.”
Olivia Chan’s Vlog: https://uofmacau-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/ahong_umac_mo/EYbrEaquzCJFsbcTTIjRHWgBF6wWjaiQRaAmvup2wzBk7g
“Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, I have been staying at home for more than a month. However, I realized that staying at home still have some advantages. This is a good opportunity for me to spend time with my family and expand my interests like reading and cooking. Lastly, I hope that the COVID-19 will soon be settle, everything will be back to track.”
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