The Liberty High School Video Yearbook

 

 

There are three reasons to consider undertaking the school-based video yearbook project, and they are listed in order of importance.

 

1. The school-based video yearbook provides a total video production experience for students. This is the most important reason to have a video yearbook. Students will become involved in every phase of production: They will plan the program, order blank tape, select a tape duplicator, take orders, and deliver the product. The students will also learn about copyright law, bookkeeping, and working as a team. This top-to-bottom experience closely emulates the real world of video production.

 

2. The school-based video yearbook provides a historical record of the school year. A good video yearbook is basically a two-hour documentary of the school year. Twenty years from now, the video yearbook will truly represent high school life in the nineties.

 

3. The school-based video yearbook can make a profit for your program. Notice that this is the last, and therefore the least important, reason to produce a video yearbook. Video yearbook production is a labor of love and should not be considered solely as a fund-raiser. However, many schools make a substantial profit for their programs while reaping the first two benefits.

 

Getting Started

 

An outstanding video yearbook is the result of careful planning. Before starting the project, consider the following questions:

 

Do I have access to all of the equipment that I need? You will need to perform basic edits in your video yearbook. Do you have access to an editing system? Will you use electronic character generation? Do you have access to cameras? Before beginning the video yearbook production, make sure that You have access to the necessary equipment.

 

Do my students have the skills to produce the video yearbook? Video yearbook production needs to begin the first day of school, as students start the new school year.  The video yearbook is definitely not a small project.  If your school offers three or four years of video production instruction, you probably have a loyal crew of veterans.  They can begin on Day One.

 

Legal Use of Music

 

With the daily news reports frequently featuring stories related to copyright violation cases, many television production instructors have become hesitant to use any music in their video yearbooks. Others throw caution to the wind and adopt the "So, sue me!" attitude. Neither approach is appropriate for video yearbook production, and the latter can land the teacher in jail!

 

There are legal and acceptable ways to use music in a video yearbook production. They include “production music" (designed for copyright purchase) and original music.

 

Production Music

 

Many companies are in the business of providing music for video productions, commercials, and news programs. These companies usually have an extensive collection pf songs available for use-for a price. This music, called production music, is usually available on cassette and compact disc; all of the companies provide free demonstration tapes and discs as sales tools. You will probably be surprised when you hear this production music. Some of the music will surprise you with its full orchestration film-score arrangement. Other music will sound like it should be played on popular radio stations. Unfortunately, you will also be surprised by the low quality of many of the companies' offerings. Some selections are boring, repetitive, and sound like they're being played by a precocious 12-year-old on a mini-keyboard. Others are blatant rip-offs of popular songs, with only one or two notes changed to tease the copyright law.

 

This music is usually offered for purchase through three methods: the buyout, the lease, and the needle drop.

 

Buyout music. Once the last refuge of low-quality production music, the buyout system is now the dominant method of purchasing production music. The customer is charged a flat fee for the unlimited rights to the music. While each company varies in specifically assigning those rights, most buyouts include playing the music for an audience and duplicating the music on a videotape program (like a video yearbook) .Of course, you need to examine the purchasing agreement for yourself. Duplication is usually the last right to be relinquished. A buyout compact disc with eight or ten selections usually costs about $50. One or two of these discs will usually meet the needs of your program. Many companies offer educational discounts and substantial discounts on "last-year's" music. Make the best deal that you can, but make sure that you're buying all of the rights that you need.

 

Leased music. Unlike the buyout, which gives the purchaser the rights into eternity, the lease pro- gram offers the music for a certain amount of time, usually one year. Leased music is practical for television news shows or commercial production houses who will use the music for a brief period of time. Leases are usually only available on large music collections (20 to 30 compact discs) and can be quite expensive, and unlike buyout music, many lease agreements do not include duplication rights.

 

Needle-drop music. For companies that use music only once or twice a year, and don't intend to duplicate the program, needle-drop music is a reasonable alternative to music purchase or lease. The production music company loans the customer a library of production music. When the customer uses the music, he or she completes a brief report form and mails it to the music company. The company then periodically bills the customer for the music use at a pre-established rate. Duplication and broad- cast rates are available for needle-drop music, but those rates are much higher than the rate for a single use. Why would a person ever use needle drop7 Here's an example. Let's say that you are the owner of a large manufacturing company, and you host annual meetings for your sales staff. You like to play background music while you show slides of your factory employees making the product. As you may know from your copyright studies, playing this music constitutes a public performance and is a violation of copyright law. Your option is to pay the needle-drop fee on a music selection available from the music company. (This example is actually based on a real court case-except the company used a theme from a popular movie and was sued by the copyright owners. The out-of-court settlement was in the million-dollar range!) Because of the paperwork involved, many music companies have "dropped" the needle-drop method of payment in favor of buyouts and leases.

 

If you have a question about the use of copyrighted music that you intend to purchase or lease, ask the questions before you spend the money. Unfortunately, copyright law is open to various interpretations. Contact the AIME Copyright Hot Line (see page App-A-4) with your specific questions. Encourage your district to purchase buyout music with the stipulation that all schools within the district can use the music. Production music companies are in the business of selling music. They are usually willing to work with schools on special educational packages. They often appreciate the fact that you plan to abide by the law, rather than rip off the copyright owner and claim ignorance later .

Production music is reasonable and affordable for most schools producing video yearbooks. Budget a certain amount of money for music purchase, and make sure you know exactly what you're buying before you place the order .

 

Original Music

 

Another source for video yearbook music may be right under your nose. Your school could pro- vide a fountain of original music that will give your production a truly unique approach. Here are some possible sources for original music. .

 

School music labs. Many schools are now offering music composition and electronic music classes. The music created in these classes can be adapted and designed for video yearbook use.

 

Student band/music groups. If you scratch the surface, you'll probably discover that there are a few bands or other musical groups at your school. If these "garage bands" have original songs, they can be used in your video yearbook. One school used a rap about the school in its video yearbook.

 

Drum cadences. High school marching bands often write their own drum cadences, which can be used effectively in sports segments. Students proficient at insert editing will enjoy editing to the beats.

 

Local professional bands. Touring nightclub bands trying to break into the big time are often looking for any free publicity that they can get. Most of these bands perform original  songs and have demo tapes and discs for promotional use. You may be able to persuade these groups to let you use their music in exchange for a mention in the credits. At one high school, students phoned a local radio station to request a song by an undiscovered band that they had heard on their video yearbook.

Remember: You must obtain all of the rights for the music that you use. These copyright holders include the songwriter, the arranger, the publishing company, and the performers. For high school students and local bands, this could be a simple process.

 

Do I Really Need Music?

 

After reading this section, you may get the impression that a video yearbook is just one big music video. This is not true. Because no other aspect of video production has such a great potential for legal action against a school, an explanation of the use of music is necessary.  However, many sections of your video yearbook will have no music at all. The sound recorded at athletic events can certainly add impact to your video yearbook. And you wouldn't want to audio-dub over a pep rally or commencement exercises. Often the best sound is the natural sound recorded with the video.

 

Don't rely on the music to sell your video yearbook. Violating copyright law to include the most popular songs of the year probably won't sell more tapes, and is certainly not worth the risk. The selling point of your video yearbook should be the sights and sounds of the school, not a jukebox assortment of music.

 

Possible Contents for Your Video Yearbook

 

Each school is unique, and one school's video yearbook may be completely different from another. Still, there are some school events that you probably don't want to omit.

  

To Host or Not to Host

 

Some schools select a popular, verbose student to introduce each segment on camera and serve as a host for the video yearbook. There are certainly advantages and disadvantages to this option. A good host can serve as a continuity point for the video yearbook. The problem lies in the selection of the host. You may be able to find a natural, unassuming host for your video yearbook. But many students would not want to see the student body president or the head cheerleader get more special treatment. Gone are the days when an entire school could unanimously select a representative. Choosing one or two people to personify the video yearbook may alienate more potential customers than it attracts, and you always run the risk of selecting a student who is intelligent and talkative-before he or she gets in front of the camera. The effects of a nervous host could be a frustrating shooting session and a lessening of the video yearbook's overall quality.

 

In our opinion, the video yearbook belongs to everyone in the school. It is a production that strives to feature and represent every segment of the student body, not just the smartest, best dressed, and most popular. If you decide to go with a host, make sure to ask a large and representative sample of your student body whom they would like to see hosting their video yearbook. If no general consensus is reached, reconsider your decision.

 

Tips and Suggestions

 

Here are a few more points of information that may make the video yearbook production process easier.

 

• Present a positive image of your school. Remember, you are chronicling the school year on videotape. Don't grind personal axes.

 

• Remember your audience. Most of your tapes will be sold to high school students. Don't be patronizing or condescending. This is their video yearbook. Make it a tape they will enjoy.

 

• Start working early. You will probably want to include the first day of school rituals (picking up schedules, greeting old friends, finding new classrooms) on your video yearbook. At the end of the first week of school, edit a S-minute segment based on the previous week. Continue to produce brief segments, according to your plan, throughout the school year .

 

• Continue to fine-tune your table of contents. Shoot everything, even if you hadn't originally planned to include it in your video yearbook. Remember: Your table of contents is a "living document." Be prepared to change it if something significant happens at your school that was not included in your early plans. For example, you may have planned to budget one or two minutes to the girls' basketball team. But if they win the state championship, they deserve more time. "A Tribute to the Champs" could become a selling point of your project.

 

• Follow the one-segment, one-tape rule. Don't crowd five or six video yearbook segments on one tape. At the end of the school year, they can all be combined onto the video yearbook master tape.

 

• Label the tapes and lock them away.  Tapes on certain topics, especially sports highlights and dance footage, can "walk away" once they are completed. Keep your tape cabinet locked at all times.

 

• Form follows function. Try to keep most of the tape as "real-world" as possible. You may have a fancy special effects generator you'd like to use. But remember: Most people would rather see the winning touch- down video without all of the mosaic, strobe, and paintbox effects.

 

• Don't play favorites. Your end product should be an accurate account of the school year. Share your table of contents with your administrators and several students and teachers. Strive for balance of presentation.

 

Editing a Video Yearbook

 

Once the raw footage has been recorded and most of the segments completed, you are ready to edit your video yearbook Here are some tips that will maintain the high quality of your project

 

• The fewer the generations you use, the better. A copy of an original videotape looks about like the original. A copy of that copy looks a little bit worse. A copy of a copy of a copy (fourth generation) lacks the resolution of the earlier copies. A fifth-generation copy really starts to deteriorate, and a sixth-generation copy is unwatchable. Your video yearbook master tape should be no more than a third generation (a copy of a copy). That means you shoot the original footage (first generation) , edit it onto a segment (second generation) , and edit the segment onto the master tape (third generation) .As you near the end of the school year, you may choose to edit segments (prom, senior activities) directly onto the master tape. While doing this risks tape breakage, it does produce second-generation video of the most-watched part of the tape. The choice is yours. However, your master video yearbook should never contain fourth- or fifth-generation video. A professional duplication company can take your third- generation master and produce copies with very little deterioration.

 

• Always produce your master tape on the best format available

 

• Set deadlines. Don't plan to have each segment completed the last week of school. A major portion of the video yearbook should be completed every three months.

 

 

Generating Interest in Your Video Yearbook

 

• No matter how spectacular your finished product, you still need to promote the video yearbook in your school. Here are a few ideas that may generate sales.

 

• Videotape during the print yearbook's club picture day. Announce to clubs that you plan to feature a few seconds/minutes of each club on the video yearbook.

• Conduct a number of person-on-the-street interviews, with questions such as "What is your favorite class7," "What was the best thing about this year7," and "What are your plans after high schooI7" A person who knows that he or she will be on the video yearbook is more likely to purchase a copy.

 

• Start a cover contest. Have the students vote on their favorite cover.

 

• Show completed segments on classroom TV’s.

 

• Advertise in the parent newsletter. Some parents may want a copy, even if the student is not tremendously interested.

 

• Make a brief presentation to the PATS, especially if the PATS have donated money to our program. Be prepared to take orders.

 

• Write a press release for your local newspapers. Make sure to include ordering procedures.

 

 

Video Yearbook Sales and Delivery

 

To many, selling and promoting the video yearbook will be the most exciting aspect of the production. To others, this will be a chore. Here are some strategies that may help you in this area.

 

• Take orders in early May. Have a cutoff date, but extend it for late orders. Keep selling until the last possible order date.

 

• Give the lowest price possible. If you are getting your copies for $10, don't go higher than $20.  Most students spend a lot of money at the end of the school year for various school activities. A $40 price tag may make more profit per tape, but fewer people will see the work of your students. Give discounts to faculty and staff and students who worked on the project. The principal, the library, and the television production instructor(s) should each get a free copy.

 

• Collect the money with the orders and deposit the money into the school account daily. Many schools have strict bookkeeping requirements. The school bookkeeper needs to be an ally in this project.

• Use an order form with important information listed. 

 

• Clip the payment and your copy of the receipt to the order form. This will help with bookkeeping procedures and daily deposits.

 

• Set up a table at graduation for parents to purchase the video yearbook.

 

• Order 8-10 percent more tapes than you have sold. Many students and parents will want to purchase video yearbooks when they hear about your super product.

 

• Stock-extra tapes at the school store, and make sure the school store gets at least $5 profit on each tape.

 

• Deliver the video yearbooks during the last few days of school, even if they are duplicated a week before. This will discourage copying.

 

• Have each student sign his or her order form when accepting delivery of the video yearbook. Each student should also present a photo ID. This way, you will make sure the right customer gets the tape. If he or she can present the sales receipt, that's all the better .

 

• Be prepared to replace the occasional defective tape. These tapes should be credited by your duplicator.

 

Obviously, you will produce an outstanding product. However, one or two customers are bound to complain about the quality of your video yearbook. Like it or not, you have to understand that a very few students will try to return the video yearbook after they have made a copy of it. Generally, we remind the occasional complainer that like the school newspaper, print yearbook, and all other school productions, the video yearbook is produced by students, and students make mistakes. You can't get your money back at a school play if a student misses a line. If the complainer persists, collect his or her receipt (this prevents thieves from trying to cash in on a stolen video yearbook) and write a purchase order for the refund. The refund will be mailed to the student within a week or two. Once again, this will discourage an epidemic of refund-seekers looking for quick cash.

 

Don't get the wrong impression about this approach to dealing with complaints. Defective products should be replaced immediately with an apology and a smile. However, it must be acknowledged that videotape can be duplicated by connecting two VCRs. Less-than-ethical customers may try to get a free video yearbook with little regard for the finances of your program or the hard work and dedication of your students.

 

 

 

 

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