Collaboration #3 – The Creative Crew (Story)

By Michelle Harrell and Emily Kotecki

When you watch a movie, sports game, short film, animation, or the evening news, have you ever considered how many people played a part in its creation? What you see is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the completed product. End credits give you a sense of just how many jobs and people work together to create a film. From the initial brainstorming to the final cut, videography is an inherently collaborative pursuit. The number of collaborators can range from 10 to over 100. In each case, people with individual skills come together to work toward a common goal.

We live, create, and consume in a visual culture where video is pervasive. 35 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. Instead of being passive consumers of this media, learning videography can empower students to be creative, collaborative, and visually literate members of society. Creating is at the top of the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy and a great way to to teach students about the process of collaboration. In the Museum’s online videography course for high schoolers, students pick the roles they want to play and work together on an Exquisite Corpse-style video. In their teams, they engage with the project, take control of their learning, and create together.

Collaborating and getting feedback from different perspectives can be difficult, but ultimately the process makes the final project even stronger. Marc Russo, video animator and an Assistant Professor of Art and Design at North Carolina State University’s College of Design, describes the benefits of collaborating on his own artistic projects.

Marc Russo on Collaboration from The North Carolina Museum of Art on Vimeo.