Cyberqueer, a course taught by Gender Studies Professor Jillana Enteen, centers on the ways in which race, gender, and sexuality are represented, imagined, stereotyped in digital environments. In order to help her students understand the technical and stylistic ways they can portray themselves (and others) through video, Professor Enteen invited Harlan Wallach and myself to give a demonstration to the class.
Harlan began with various internet clips and explained how the framing, lighting, and camera-type, can all send different subconscious messages to the viewer. I continued the discussion with a demonstration on 3 point lighting, and overview of the production spaces downstairs, as well as a homework assignment.
We pulled a variety of stock footage from our archive along with music and a voice over. Then we had the students cut together a short piece to make sure they all had an understanding of video editing. Luckily everyone grasped the concepts really easily, and it shows how tech-savvy most students are these days!