During the review phase for the Q2 German basic course G6 Abitur with Dr. Schneider, 45-minute lessons are designed to summarize the essential contents of the topics covered for the course. These lessons are particularly interesting for students who have chosen German as their third or fourth Abitur subject.
Since I don’t have the subject German in my Abitur, I wondered why I shouldn’t join the video group. This group has the special task of organizing the recording of the answers of the students to the selected questions. Room design, the development of a good speaking situation, video recording and technical production of the video are to be considered.
Some questions are, for example:
- “If you could, would you rather know when you will die or how?”
- “What does happiness mean to you?”
- … or “Is Franz Huchel someone who is suitable as a role model for you?”
I have the necessary recording equipment at home, but I haven’t had many opportunities to use it. Therefore, this video project is the perfect opportunity to practice how to shoot high-quality films with good sound quality using the available technology. A Nikon D780 is used in combination with a Zoom H5 recorder and a Rode lavalier microphone for this purpose. The Nikon D780 stands on a tripod about 1.5 meters in front of the couch in the SV room. The sound is played in via the lavalier microphone into the Zoom recorder, which is hidden behind a pillow. This means that no long audio cable is needed, which would be particularly noticeable in the image. Nevertheless, the sound quality is maintained. In order to be able to synchronize picture and sound, the following is done: after the start of each recording, three distinctive claps are made in front of the camera. This makes it possible to analyze when the palms touch and when the sound is loudest. In addition, the camera also has an internal (poor) microphone, which is sufficient for recording the claps. This will make it easier for me to synchronize during editing.
On the first day of recording, we had to first obtain the SV room, which we chose as a video group because of its cozy atmosphere. We didn’t have to search long for it: on the way to the secretary’s office, we met our kind student representative Lasse, who kindly lent us the key to the room. And so, we could get started!