Overview & Lesson Plans

Welcome to MY HERO's Media Arts Resources site, where you'll find the tools to help you bring your heroes' stories alive through digital media creation. The resources we've created and assembled here will take you from pre-production planning through capturing and manipulating images and sound, to editing and public exhibition of your films and multi-media projects.

Creating media has become as basic a skill as writing a sentence, and the storytelling capabilities at the heart of MY HERO are a vital tool for today's students, who must be prepared to share concepts and tell stories in a contemporary way. The lesson plans will help you integrate digital storytelling into academic subjects, guiding students through the process of creating heroes' stories while honing real world 21st century skills — group collaboration, problem solving, personal expression and expertise in utilizing technology.

We look forward to viewing your projects and learning about your heroes!

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO ACCESS THE AFI SCREEN ED HANDBOOK - a guide to production for educators.

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE SEE THE AFI FILMMAKER TOOLKIT - a simple guide to production.

DECONSTRUCTING PSA's

A guide for Middle & High School students to analyze three award winning PSA's and learn about the audio and video elements that go into making a good Public Service Announcement. Two of these videos are made by students and are good examples of working with what you've got - simple answers to effective storytelling.

TIPS FOR A GOOD INTERVIEW (EXCERPT FROM JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

FAMILY PLANNING GUIDE

			Documentary Film Pre-Production Outline An outline with steps to take in pre-production planning for a documentary film.
			Production These step-by-step resources will help young filmmakers get started.
			Documentary Film Post-Production Outline This workshop outline can serve as a guide for students and teachers who have completed production (shooting) on their documentary video projects.
			Post Production Where all of the elements come together to create your film. Tutorials and tips on using non-linear editing software to build your film and prepare it for sharing with others.
			Creating and Recording Sound Sound is one of the MOST important elements in movies of all kinds. A good sound design will make a great movie even better and bad quality sound will quickly ruin a good movie. Sound communicates through the emotions. So, if you want to touch people, spend some time and creative thought on the sound in your movie.
			Working with Images Here you will find thorough explanations of different techniques for digitally shooting, scanning, processing and manipulating photos and images to use in your media project.
			Cinematography Here you will find guidelines to creating compelling images for your media project. From framing and lighting to color theory and camera movement, this resource will help all young filmmakers learn how to best match their filming techniques with their production goals.
			Understanding Copyright & Resources for Copyright free images & music online
			VR Education - Resource List A guide to virtual reality content that promotes creativity, innovation & activism. by Christopher Cain
			VR Education - Classroom Guide A guide to understanding VR and using Virtual Reality in the classroom. by Christopher Cain
			Documentary Film PRODUCTION Bootcamp An outline with steps to take in learning production skills for documentary film.

			Exhibition The final phase of the filmmaking process is Exhibition, when you have completed your film and are ready to share it with the world. Visit the Submit Your Film page for instructions on how to enter the MY HERO Short Film Festival.
			Host a Local Hero Fest Celebrate the best of your community! Click here to download [PDF]

Lesson Plans

The lesson plans help direct students to identify, research and write about their hero, then take their ideas and research material and develop them into a short film. The lesson plans focus on basic media literacy skills as students develop images, text and sound, incorporate movement, and edit the elements together into a visual tribute to their hero.

You can start with these resources to help students select appropriate Heroes for their projects:

How Should We Choose Our Heroes? Essay by Charles Harper

How Should We Choose Our Heroes? Lesson Plan by Charles Harper

CREATING ACTIVIST MEDIA GUIDE by Wendy Milette

CREATING ACTIVIST MEDIA RESOURCES by Wendy Milette and Wendy Jewell

FAMILY PLANNING VOICES - STORYTELLING TOOLKIT

Creating a Film for the MY HERO Short Film Festival and Competition by Jerrilyn Jacobs , Taft High School, Woodland Hills, CA.

Film Analysis Using the MY HERO Film Collection: Identifying Genre, Techniques, and Message by Jerrilyn Jacobs, Taft High School, Woodland Hills, CA.

Exploring Film Genres for Telling Hero Stories: Narrative Shorts by Wendy Milette

Exploring Film Genres for Telling Hero Stories: Experimental Shorts by Wendy Milette

Exploring Film Genres for Telling Hero Stories: Documentary Shorts by Wendy Milette

Exploring Film Genres for Telling Hero Stories: Animated Shorts by Wendy Milette

Also, please visit our partners in education:

AFI Screen Education