Hi all:

Many of the ideas you’ve posted here could work well as short videos and it looks like a lot of you are thinking stylistically, which is good. Do you want to make a cooking show, a documentary, a “journalistic investigation” of a particular object, a “video letter” to city politicians, or maybe a really short thriller called “Hunter: The Cafeteria!” Any of these formats can work and you’ll probably be most comfortable with a style that you know and like (i.e. if you always listen to NPR or Ira Glass you might want to take a simple storytelling approach or perhaps you are a really awesome rapper and want to make an educational music video: http://www.northeastern.edu/edtech/links/biology_rap)

Whichever style you choose, however, you’ll need to decide what the main point, or thesis, is for your video and this is primarily a writing exercise. Those in the video groups should meet and write out a short script or storyboard. Once you have a short script, it’s time to think of the footage you’ll need. Can you find footage online? Or are you going to film it yourself? Will you need a voice-over or a soundtrack?

Remember, your video is part of an overall presentation of your research and should accompany your poster and talk. I think the best advice for the video is to keep it simple. Try to convey one or two ideas that elaborate on the chapter you have created. A simple investigation of a day in the life of a soda can or Hunter cafeteria salad could be very revealing.