Using beat markers to create a video poem in iMovie

The use of beat markers and the associated "Snap to Beats" feature in iMovie allows students to create very engaging video poems or music videos in a very short time. I used the feature last month in some sessions with Key Stage 3 groups from Aldersley High School. The students had written poems about snakes in their English classes, and wanted to enhance these through the addition of imagery.

Below is a demo screencast showing the process. Before starting, make sure that "Snap to Beats" is enabled in the View menu in iMovie:

Click on the full-screen button to see the detail in the screencast.

Using beat markers in iMovie to create a video poem. from Richard Anderson on Vimeo.

Tomorrow's World - A podcasting project with Year 7

Updated on Dec 30, 2010 by Richard Anderson

Updated on Jan 16, 2011 by Richard Anderson

Early next term, I’m working with groups of Year 7 students from Colton Hills Community School in Wolverhampton. In common with several of the Secondary schools in the city, Colton Hills have moved to an integrated curriculum for their Year 7 classes, with different half-termly themes for learning. Next half-term, the theme is “Tomorrow’s World”. Discussion with class teachers led to the idea of the students creating “future news” broadcasts, in which the students would imagine that they were hosting a radio show in the year 2100, looking back on world and local events since the Year 2010. It was now my job to pad out this concept into a creative learning experience designed to last 4 hours.

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