Looking for something fun and new to do with the kids? Why not make videos. Many people feel special events and vacation trips are the only times we should pull out the old camcorder. But according to an article published in the July 2006 issue of Videomaker, making a video with your kids is a fun activity. They offer these ideas on the types of videos you can make.
(1) Documentary — There are many choices available including interviewing family members or friends. They also suggest making a documentary about such things as a neighborhood park. You can interview the people who use and maintain it and also give a bit of history about it.
(2) Fiction— Why not write a short drama and have your kids act it out? Or you can act out scenes from favorite movies.
(3) Sports— If you regularly attend or participate in sporting events, videotape it and then later interview members of the teams and the coaches about the game.
(4) Variety Show— Have your kids perform comedy routines or show their talent for singing, dancing, acting, etc.
(5) History— This is different from the documentary where you interview family members or friends. In the documentary, you can have the people being interviewed talk about general or specific issues but in the history video you should target older family members like grandparents, or older neighbors or family friends. Ask them to talk about what it was like growing up, historical events they witnessed and so on.
(6) Personal Biography— This video is intended for family and friends who don’t live close by. In it your kids can talk about whatever they like including your neighborhood , their school, etc. Then simply mail the videos off.
They also suggest that once you are finished with your completed video project, you should plan a big premiere and invite friends and family members over to watch it. Be sure to include some yummy snacks!
You can use a camcorder to create longer videos, however some digital cameras can also record and are great for making short videos. I recently purchased a Canon Powershot A430 for about $200, which makes excellent short movies. I also have a movie maker program on my laptop which allows you to take still photos and video clips and make movies out of them. It’s called Muvee Autoproducer and it’s really cool. You can add sound, credits and can also select different modes like “old fashioned cinema” or “over the top video”. I recently made a cute little video called, “Busy Day,” using still shots from a trip to Mobile’s Exploreum Science Museum. I ended it with a picture of Tyler that I took months ago when he feel asleep on the sofa with his mouth wide open! It was a great ending and went well with the whole busy day theme.
So the next time the kids say they have nothing to do, grab your camcorder or digital camera and make a movie.