When money is no object, and you are into making films, Canon has just made something for you. $20,000 is all it takes.
Read this and dream!
Friday, January 6, 2012
Been a long time since I rock and rolled, (and posted).
With the passing of my mother, the holiday's, and general winter blues, I have been MIA from my blog. With the new year, new resolutions, and new expectations, I plan on getting back into the blogging groove.
Our school radio station, WJSV, holds it's annual marathon on Friday, January 13 from 9pm until Saturday, January 14, 10am. The students are excited, I'm excited, and we hope our listeners are excited.
Our TV show, Colonial Corner, will air show number seven this Thursday, 1/12 and show number eight on Friday, 1/20. The show has been great all year and we look to improve as we continue the school year.
My broadcasting 1 and 2 classes are working on a really cool project (if I may say so myself). They are creating "video time capsules". Students can tell their own story, any way they choose. Serious, comical, inspirational, or any way they can come up with. I have told them that the most important aspect of this project should be the "IDEA", not the production. What is it that they would like to see if they looked at this video, 20 years from now. I can't wait to see the results.
Students are really taking ownership of projects and lessons. Today, a freshman was beginning her "time capsule" project and she excitedly called me over and said, "Mr. Butler, Maxine is showing me how to edit my project". Maxine is a junior and a very skilled editor. I paused a moment and then thought how great it was to have one student teaching another. An upperclassman, teaching a freshman.
Have a great weekend!
Our school radio station, WJSV, holds it's annual marathon on Friday, January 13 from 9pm until Saturday, January 14, 10am. The students are excited, I'm excited, and we hope our listeners are excited.
Our TV show, Colonial Corner, will air show number seven this Thursday, 1/12 and show number eight on Friday, 1/20. The show has been great all year and we look to improve as we continue the school year.
My broadcasting 1 and 2 classes are working on a really cool project (if I may say so myself). They are creating "video time capsules". Students can tell their own story, any way they choose. Serious, comical, inspirational, or any way they can come up with. I have told them that the most important aspect of this project should be the "IDEA", not the production. What is it that they would like to see if they looked at this video, 20 years from now. I can't wait to see the results.
Students are really taking ownership of projects and lessons. Today, a freshman was beginning her "time capsule" project and she excitedly called me over and said, "Mr. Butler, Maxine is showing me how to edit my project". Maxine is a junior and a very skilled editor. I paused a moment and then thought how great it was to have one student teaching another. An upperclassman, teaching a freshman.
Have a great weekend!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Another great video contest...Entries Due 12/20/11
Students,
Check out this PSA video contest. If you are interested, you had better get moving. The deadline is 12/20/11.
Mr. Butler
Check out this PSA video contest. If you are interested, you had better get moving. The deadline is 12/20/11.
Mr. Butler
Losing my mom.......
I lost my mom last week. She was 83 years of age.
My mother was a simple woman. Family came first, second, and third.
She taught me to respect my elders, to do unto others as you would have them do to you, and to always wear clean underwear.
She made a mean matzoh ball soup and noodle kugel.
She disliked dogs but loved mine.
She stood by my father through thick and thin.
She loved sports, especially the Yankees and football Giants.
She adored my daughter Hannah.
She had more medical problems than any human should have to endure.
She loved going to the beauty parlor.
She will be missed.
I love you mom.
My mother was a simple woman. Family came first, second, and third.
She taught me to respect my elders, to do unto others as you would have them do to you, and to always wear clean underwear.
She made a mean matzoh ball soup and noodle kugel.
She disliked dogs but loved mine.
She stood by my father through thick and thin.
She loved sports, especially the Yankees and football Giants.
She adored my daughter Hannah.
She had more medical problems than any human should have to endure.
She loved going to the beauty parlor.
She will be missed.
I love you mom.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Video Contest......Check It Out
Looks like a pretty cool video contest. Cash prizes and a good message.
Check it out.
Check it out.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Sounds like a good event....Check it out.......
Good people over at Montclair State University. I wish they would mention who some of the guest speakers will be. You can find more details and register at www.montclairnjfilmfestival.org.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
As the first marking period comes to an end.......
I am learning a great deal about my students this year. Their unpredictability has become more evident to me the first two months of this year than all of last year.
Likes, dislikes, interests, focus, and priorities all change like the fall winds.
A common thread however is the stress today's high school students deal with. When I was a high school student back in the 70's, things seemed much more uncomplicated. I wasn't dealing with the world's problems, I was worrying about when the next WHO album was to be released. I was a so-so students, I went to college, discovered what interested me (television), went on to have a successful career, and now am enjoying teaching as much as anything I have done in my life. My parents were very uninvolved in my education, both in high school, and in college. Is that a bad thing? I really don't think so. I motivated myself without pressure, I went by my own pace, my own successes and failures. I turned out alright.
Has today's ever-present technology, made life for our students more complex? The kids seem so pre-occupied worrying about who is texting who, what their favorite celebrity is Tweeting, who has the latest "cool" gadget, and which "single" song is coming out on Itunes. Maybe that is the problem, TIME! I would sit and listen to an ENTIRE album, over and over. Reading the lyrics, scanning the album art, and savoring every moment of my purchase. While today the kids are finished with their song in three minutes, and then are looking for something else to do immediately. Just maybe, today's kids have to sit down, relax, and do something for more than three minutes. Maybe they shouldn't worry about the future, instead they should let the future come to them, slowly. They should absorb all that is around them, discover what "MOVES" them, and then make choices. It may be a corny cliche but maybe they should take a little time and smell the roses.
I preach to my students all the time about finding a passion. Look towards the future with an eye on your bank account, but more importantly knowing that if you really, truly love what you do, a vocation will never be WORK.
I look forward to meeting with some of my students parents/guardians at school conferences this week.
Enjoy Sunday,
Mr. Butler
Likes, dislikes, interests, focus, and priorities all change like the fall winds.
A common thread however is the stress today's high school students deal with. When I was a high school student back in the 70's, things seemed much more uncomplicated. I wasn't dealing with the world's problems, I was worrying about when the next WHO album was to be released. I was a so-so students, I went to college, discovered what interested me (television), went on to have a successful career, and now am enjoying teaching as much as anything I have done in my life. My parents were very uninvolved in my education, both in high school, and in college. Is that a bad thing? I really don't think so. I motivated myself without pressure, I went by my own pace, my own successes and failures. I turned out alright.
Has today's ever-present technology, made life for our students more complex? The kids seem so pre-occupied worrying about who is texting who, what their favorite celebrity is Tweeting, who has the latest "cool" gadget, and which "single" song is coming out on Itunes. Maybe that is the problem, TIME! I would sit and listen to an ENTIRE album, over and over. Reading the lyrics, scanning the album art, and savoring every moment of my purchase. While today the kids are finished with their song in three minutes, and then are looking for something else to do immediately. Just maybe, today's kids have to sit down, relax, and do something for more than three minutes. Maybe they shouldn't worry about the future, instead they should let the future come to them, slowly. They should absorb all that is around them, discover what "MOVES" them, and then make choices. It may be a corny cliche but maybe they should take a little time and smell the roses.
I preach to my students all the time about finding a passion. Look towards the future with an eye on your bank account, but more importantly knowing that if you really, truly love what you do, a vocation will never be WORK.
I look forward to meeting with some of my students parents/guardians at school conferences this week.
Enjoy Sunday,
Mr. Butler
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