A Day in the Life of a Zoo Curator

1) Students will review a short feature film about a career in science. The class will then share and discuss comments related to things they noticed about the video production: Information covered, style of presentation, camera angles, lighting, location, audience consideration, etc.. (If possible, invite a professional media person to speak about this topic.)
2) The curator video project will be introduced to students and they will be divided into groups of three. Each group will draw for their curator assignment.
3) Brainstorming sessions will allow the groups time to discuss individual ideas for their group video, which should "tell a story" about each curator's job. (Note: A final video storyboard can't be determined until students have conducted interviews with their curator to learn more about their work.)
4) Following the small group brainstorming session, student teams will be asked to make a list of production guidelines that each group should follow in order to maintain some consistency between the videos. They should refer back to the career video they reviewed. Teams should share their ideas as a class and negotiate for a group consensus on the guidelines.
5) Depending on the technological experience of the class, time should be spent showing students the possibilities for film editing and some of the basic filming techniques. In order for students to visualize what they can do with their project and to help them capture usable footage, they need some preparation. (If possible, invite an expert to demonstrate these techniques.)
6) Explain in detail the phases of production:
Research-(Prior to interviews, students should learn what they can about the history of that zoo area and what animals are on exhibit there. After the interviews, there will likely be more research needed to enhance what was learned from the curator.)
Planning-(Research should help the students prepare a list of questions to ask during their interview. For the interview, they will need to set an appointment; and will need to plan how the interview will be staged. Note: Students must obtain a signed consent form from any person they capture on film. Depending on what they learn from the interview, groups will then map out their video storyboard, which details the flow of production. They will then plan out how they will collect the rest of the footage necessary to complete the film.)
Taping-(Initial curator interview and any additional footage, such as Keeper interviews, animals, background, etc.)
Editing-(Videos will be finished, using editing software)
6) Each team will determine the roles for their group for each phase of production. (For example - TAPING: camera person, audio technician, & interviewer.)
7) The teacher will monitor progress via daily meetings with each group. It should be noted that after the introductory phase of this project, student work will be somewhat independent in nature and that groups may differ in their production schedules. Therefore, the teacher should also have other options for students to work on during "down times."
8) Prior to the "final cut," each group will show their video to their classmates for a critique session. Groups will then have the opportunity to make revisions, based on peer feedback.
9) A public viewing of some sort should be planned so that the students can share their work. The individual videos can be mastered into one collective DVD.