Give A Kid A Camera

Looking for a fun fall project for your family this year? Why not give the kids a still or video camera, teach them do some simple editing, and then invite everyone over with a rental projector to view the finished result? This is a project that lets the kids take control, but quickly becomes a project the whole family can enjoy together.

Equipment

What equipment you decide to use will largely depend on the age of your children. Even smaller children can participate, depending on how careful the individual child tends to be with smart phones and other electronics. Rather than buying new equipment, consider what you already have that would work. For example, some digital pocket cameras have a video feature that allows you to record up to one or two minutes of video. While this might sound like a tiny amount of time, it will teach your child to become selective about what he or she chooses to record (or else suffer a lot of time and effort editing later).

You may have an older camcorder you would feel comfortable letting your child use, or you may choose to do all recording under your close supervision. Whatever you decide, be sure to teach your child about proper care of the equipment.

Ground Rules

Where video (or still photography, or any type of recording) is involved, it's always a good idea to set some ground rules beforehand. For example: anything that happens in the bathroom (toileting, showering, bathing, dressing, etc.) should be off-limits. This may be an ideal time to have a conversation about personal privacy. Another sound ground rule would be to let a person know before recording them. You can decide whether you want to set ground rules about what is off-limits for recording, or instead, make suggestions as to what would be OK for recording.

Content

Some suggestions for great content might include:

pets

performing a trick or doing something interesting or funny

people

siblings or family members putting on a performance or theatrical presentation, or perhaps a bike or skateboarding stunt (safety first!)

sports

sporting events (only when and where recording is allowable) or pickup teams

singing, dancing or other talents

storytelling

ghost stories, fun stories, silly stories, true stories, or mad-lib style stories

"a day in the life" - tracking ordinary family practices, such as performing chores, cooking dinner, eating together, family walks or games, etc.

Whether you decided to help your child take still photos with a digital camera, or shoot video instead, now comes the fun part: putting together a montage of his or her best shots.

Tools

If your child mainly took digital photographs, creating a montage is very simple. If you opted for video instead, you will need a few additional tools to edit his or her raw footage into a brief yet interesting segment. Let's take a look at still photography first.

Photo Montage

Creating a photo montage with digital pics is easy. Simply load the photos onto your computer and help your child choose his or her favorites. Look for photos that are in focus, well-composed, and tell a story or depict something interesting. Remember that your child will likely have a different opinion about what constitutes "interesting," and that is perfectly OK.

Once the pictures have been selected, the next step is to load them into a PowerPoint presentation, and select the order and any desired templates or transitions. Once this is complete, help your child set the slide show to music and burn it to a DVD. Then you are ready for its premiere!

Video Montage

A video montage takes a bit more time to edit, and if your child is small you will likely need to assist him or her. Keep in mind that it's better to have a short (two or three minute) video that's interesting rather than a longer video that doesn't keep the viewer's interest. Avoid cheesy transitional effects and let the video make its own statements. Always include your child's name (and any starring participants) in the opening or closing credits - everyone likes to see their name in lights.

Most importantly, remember to have fun with the entire process and celebrate your child's efforts.