Turning 18 years old is a major milestone for entering adulthood– including voting for the first time! As the 2024 elections approach, Student Reporting Labs wants to hear directly from young people: what are you thinking as you prepare to go vote for the first time on November 5, 2024.
Note: Students that are not eligible to vote can still participate in this challenge as we explore what young people care about.
Record a short video (under 3 minutes) explaining what is motivating you or a peer as a first-time voter, what issues you care about, how you’re feeling, what you’re hoping to see happen in your country/community, and what older people should know.
Please submit raw, unedited footage only, with no music or graphics. SRL’s editors will create a montage of the submissions. DEADLINE: Friday, October 4th.
Record another student: Record a student in your school and/or community using the sentence starters below.
Record yourself: This could be in the form of a video diary, where you record yourself talking straight to the camera using the sentence starters below.
Go HERE to complete the full assignment.
Journalism is the activity of gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting news and information.
A subject or problem that people are thinking and talking about
A group of people who live in the same area (such as a city, town, or neighborhood). It can also be a group of people who have the same interests, religion, race, etc.
People are interested in other people. Everyone has something to celebrate and something to complain about. We like unusual stories of people who accomplish amazing feats or handle a life crisis because we can identify with them.
An account of past or current events. In journalism, stories are presented with a combination of people, facts, and typically includes a beginning, middle and end.
A person or other physical being in a narrative. Stories are made up of different characters who provide information and help shape the narrative with their knowledge, experience and perspective.
A document with transcribed (written-out) soundbites and voiceover narration. A VIDEO script is a two-column document with the audio (soundbites and voice over) in the right-hand column and a description of what the audience sees (visuals) in the left-hand column.
The term “empathy” is used to describe a wide range of experiences. A generally definition is the ability to sense other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling. In media-making, creators can have empathy for their subjects and the audience can empathize with the characters.
The story of one person, has voiceover (VO), b-roll, pictures, nats (natural sound), interviews of family members or peers of that one person.
A view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.
A desire to learn and know about something or anything.
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Record a short video (under 3 minutes) explaining what is motivating you or a peer as a first-time voter, what issues you care about, how you’re feeling, what you’re hoping to see happen in your country/community, and what older people should know.
Please submit raw, unedited footage only, with no music or graphics. SRL’s editors will create a montage of the submissions.
OPTIONS:
Record another student: Record a student in your school and/or community using the sentence starters below.
Record yourself: This could be in the form of a video diary, where you record yourself talking straight to the camera using the sentence starters below.
CONSIDER THESE EXAMPLES AS YOU PRODUCE YOUR MEDIA, VIDEO WILL BE EDITED INTO A MONTAGE BY SRL EDITORS:
America's young people weigh in on the 2020 election
High school students share their hopes for the Biden administration
COMPLETE THESE SENTENCE STARTERS OR ASK YOUR SUBJECT TO DO SO:
ON CAMERA IDENTIFICATION: For the record, please say and spell your full name (first and last) on camera. Also please describe how you want to be identified in this video. For example, “I’m an 11th grade student at Canyon High School in Santa Clarita, California” NOTE: THIS INFORMATION IS USED BY SRL’S EDITORS TO IDENTIFY STUDENTS ON SCREEN. WE NEED IT IN ORDER TO PUBLISH YOUR VIDEO.
Note: You may use the last 3 sentence starters (○) for students ineligible to vote.
USE/DOWNLOAD: RAPID RESPONSES SKILLS AND STANDARDS CHECKLIST
It is important to follow these guidelines if you would like your video to be considered for publication.
UPLOADING VIDEO FILE:
Rename the video file with your information: STATE_School_Name_Voting.mp4 Example: CT_BensonHigh_SallySmith_Voting.mp4
File type: .mp4, codec: h.264, resolution: 1920x1080, 30fps
Exporting .mp4 using Premiere or Final Cut Pro
EXAMPLE OF DESIRED COMPOSITION FOR RAPID RESPONSES:
Subject is looking at the camera, centered, from the chest up, normal headroom.
IMPORTANT: If you are submitting Google Drive links, you must change the share settings from "restricted" to "allow general access: anyone with a link can edit."
NOTE: students are encouraged to publish their stories on their school/club/program website or through video/social platforms such as YouTube, Instagram or Twitter and tag Student Reporting Labs. Check with your teacher to find out instructions for class submissions.
FACEBOOK: /STUDENTREPORTINGLABS