JCMS Teaching Dossier Vol 5 (3)
Not Another Brick in the Wall: The Audiovisual Essay and Radical Pedagogy
Sean Redmond and Joanna Tai, Deakin University
Within the Higher Education sector there is an increased focus upon authentic assessment where learning outcomes are conceived in terms of their “real world” relevance (Boud & Soler 2016). Authenticity can also be understood in terms of creative activity and criticality, where what is learned and assessed relates to the individual’s unique imagination and to their understanding of the power relations that operate in society. The video essay can be argued to foster authenticity in both these senses, uneasy bedfellows as they are. [1]
In this paper we look to address both these definitions of authentic assessment, outlining the findings of a pilot research project with third year undergraduate students taking the Celebrity Industries: Star Images, Fan Cultures and Performance unit, at Deakin University, Melbourne, in 2018. The unit belongs to the generalist BA Arts degree, with students coming from a diverse range of academic backgrounds including, film and television studies, digital media studies, psychology, marketing, education, law, and sociology. 182 students took the unit, of which 55 were solely enrolled online, in our “Cloud” classroom. For their first assignment, the students were required to make a five minute video essay and accompanying 750 word exegesis: details can be found in Appendix One.
The research developed in response to the authors’ desire to promote and investigate the notion of learning authenticity, and because the unit in question, with its focus on celebrity, lends itself to the creative and critical underpinnings of the video essay. The research sought to answer these entangled questions: first, how might use of the video essay as a mode or tool of learning improve students’ educational experience? Second, how do students view it in comparison with written forms of assessment? Third, is it seen to have “real world” relevance? Finally, how does the video essay work as an empowering assessment item within the communication and creative arts disciplines?
A mixed methods or “fusion” approach was used to collect the data. This was done to favour “triangulation” or “multiple operationalism” (Fiske, Campbell, 1959), and opened up the way the data was collected and analysed. Following Denzin (1978), the project drew upon triangulation in three ways: the data sources it drew upon included students’ responses to questionnaires, a focus group, and the assessments themselves; several different researchers worked upon the study; and multiple perspectives and theories were utilised to interpret the data, which was comprised of both qualitative and quantitative responses.
The research involved two phases. First, students were invited to complete a voluntary online, anonymous questionnaire, after the video essay assignment had been submitted, and the marks had been returned. The questionnaire was designed to elicit responses from “first impressions” to final outcomes, taking students through the essay’s production process. Thirty-seven students responded. Second, students were invited to a one-hour focus group, at the conclusion of the unit, on the Deakin Burwood campus: three students attended. The focus group was organised around questions that explored the learning experience in relation to planning for, and producing, the video essay. For quantitative data, summary statistics were calculated in Microsoft Excel. Qualitative data were inductively coded by both researchers: codes were grouped and themed in relation to the research questions we outline above. Ethical approval was sought and gained from the Deakin University Arts & Education Human Ethics Advisory Group, application HAE 17-004. See Appendix Two for the questionnaire and focus group questions.
Authenticating the Data
In relation to the project’s research question, “How might use of the video essay as a mode or tool of learning improve students’ educational experience?”, we found that it was generally perceived as a positive assessment option, being “a unique opportunity,” “interesting and refreshing,” and “a fun way to explore our topics.” One cluster of responses focused upon the creativity the essay fostered, with variants of the word being used thirty-five times to describe the learning experience. In total, 66.67% of our respondents indicated they would choose it over a more traditional form of assessment such as a research essay or report. One respondent wrote, “it allows for creativeness, and gives me something to include in a portfolio for future use/employment use.” The conceit that the “product” can be used to show future employees relates to the sense that the video essay did, for some at least, lead to “real world” outcomes.
However, researching and preparing for the video essay was seen as challenging (29, 78%) but also rewarding (24, 65%). Similarly, the technical process of making the video essay was seen as both challenging (25, 68%) and rewarding (26, 70%), descriptions very often used in the same response. Reasons for this included the open-ended nature of the task set, finding resources, editing skills, and the lack of student video essay exemplars (this was only the second cohort to take the unit). However, the very fact that students had to exercise both their creative and critical autonomy resulted in quite deep levels of learner satisfaction, with respondents using such words as “thinking outside the box,” “being engaged,” and “learning new skills.” The majority of students also thought the video essay format allowed them to demonstrate their skills and knowledge (25, 68%). This form of authenticity is one where, as David Lusted writes, and the editors of this dossier quote in the introduction, “knowledge needs to be conceived as produced in exchange,” with “all agents in its active production conceived as producers” (1986).
In terms of whether our respondents largely affirmed the video essay to be an empowering form of knowledge generation, answers tended to favourably compare it to the traditional written essay (4), or for the way it fostered and enabled creativity through multi-media work, seen as particularly relevant for creative arts courses. As one respondent wrote, “As a student of Communications & Digital Media, a video essay in conjunction with an exegesis is an opportunity to create media, present ideas and develop thinking in a way relevant to my degree.”
The value of the accompanying exegesis produced quite diverse responses: a small number felt “nervous” (2), while others wrote that it was an “interesting new aspect” (4). The question of translation also emerged, with students worried about repeating ideas in the video, with others recognising its value to extend and enrich upon their creative work. 27 responses (from 33), or just over 81% indicated that they felt the exegesis complimented their video essay, commenting, for example, “I believe it does as while it can offer points covered in the video in shorter form it also can provide different aspects regarding the video topics as well.” The conjunction between making-thinking, creative-writing, seems to ultimately offer our respondents a positive and self-affirming learning experience. What we would now like to do is explore some of the creative work produced on this unit: a type of “show and tell.”
Show and Tell: Authentic Creativity
The video essays produced during this pilot certainly suggested an opening up of critical enquiry through creative experimentation. The authorial voices of the students were clearly sounded out, lessening and resisting the strictures of the traditional essay form. For example, two respondents wrote:
It allows for more creativity in presentation—instead of writing an essay for the 10000th time, I was able to craft a creative presentation using clips, music, photos and voiceovers, and I found the process to be more enjoyable.
As much as I struggled with making my video essay, I think they are a really new and interesting way to learn and explore topics. I really feel traditional essays are kind of outdated, and I personally can’t stand having to sit down and read 10 pages of academic writing, knowing that I’m not even understanding most of it. I also really love the freedom of being able to work outside of the usual structures and rules that come with essay writing’.
(Q13: Why would you prefer that form of assessment)
The video essays employed such techniques as montage, the supercut, irony, sound experimentation, juxtaposition and datafication strategies to move fluidly across critical ideas and to evidence argument through the very materiality of the subject being studied. This conjunction between form and content, creativity and analysis, is seen to authenticate the relationship between thinking and making, leading to an enabling form of praxis where what one does is “informed by theory and also…theory informed by practice” (Williams, in Johnson et al., 2004, 90). As one respondent wrote, “In conjunction with the exegesis, the entire body of work can be viewed as a complete understanding of a topic.”
We found that three types or genres of video essay were made. First, the voice-over montage essay, with still and moving footage threaded in and around a case study or key question that the student was answering. The voices here were often both scholarly and affective, their investment in the work coming through tone, pitch and timbre. There were numerous examples of empowered feminist readings of star figures, particularly from female students clearly taking up a position in the discourse. See: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ygj927jcux7otto/What%20is%20Stardom%20and%20Celebrity%20ALC304%20Celebrity%20Industries%20%20Video%20Essay.mp4?dl=0
Second, video essays in which the student engaged in direct camera address, with still and moving image inserts used to evidence their arguments. The direct address itself took three forms: performative, in which the student took on a role, such as the “larrakin” when analysing Australian celebrity; journalistic/analytical, where the student assumed the role of a commentator; and fan-driven, in which the student spoke from the position of a fan, often with a set design that illustrated this (such as a Doctor Who–inspired scene). This form of embodied personalisation both sets in train professional cues, such as the role of “investigative journalist,” and critically mirrors the self-as-brand. See: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fg31k6rt7ahuloe/ALC304%20Video%20Essay%20%20-%20Australian%20Icons.mp4?dl=0
Third, there were text/written driven videos, built like a traditional essay, separated into three clear parts—introduction, main body, and conclusion—with inserted written text providing anchor points as the essay progressed. These essays were of course audio-visual equivalents to the written form, where students perhaps retreated to the safety of argument-led analysis. Nonetheless, they immersed their analysis in the poetics of the moving image, using the very materials of film/video to hear and see analytical thinking. See: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8qvu9cviakhcawo/Marilyn_Monroe_Video_Essay.mp4?dl=0
What we have found is what we would like to define as authentic creativity, framed through a liberating praxis, where making and thinking opened up new possibilities for learning, for assessment, for the “media stylo” of the twenty-first century.
Conclusion: Press Play
The findings of this pilot project are limited by the sample size, and the meagre uptake of the focus group option. Further, on reflection, the design of the questionnaire fell into the often default position of asking “rating” and “evaluation” teaching-type questions, rather than the more important issue of addressing authentic learning in relation to the task-in-hand. Nonetheless, in response to our research questions we identified four main findings. First, the majority of students favoured the video essay as an assignment option. Second, they affirmed its unique ability to offer both creative and critical learning opportunities. Third, students were seen to value this praxis-led form of assessment above traditional forms, including the long form written essay. Finally, In terms of career or work relevance authenticity, students perceived the video essay as being transferable and translatable—the median student rating (out of 10) was 8 as an assessment for the unit, and 7 in relevance to their current studies and future work situations.
The intention is to extend this pilot to other courses and to refine our methodology. For example, we could utilise an “audio diary” where students record their experience from first impression to last. Further, we could look to hold focus groups, in situ, at the end of the last class, and to re-imagine their content and form. For example, the focus group could be peer-led, lessening the chance that students feel obliged to be positive when faced with their teachers.
Authenticating assessment is a complex issue: authenticity can be seen as related to student-led learning and real world outcomes; and to the more radical idea of creative criticality, where imagination is loosed upon the world, and argument and analysis challenges the status quo. In this research, we have brought together these bows of critical and creative autonomy, and the shared learning experience that leads to so-called real world outcomes.
Notes
[1] We note that a third meaning of “authentic” is now surfacing, relating to the need to ensure the work is indeed the student’s, and that no plagiarism or other forms of cheating has occurred. This meaning is not included within this paper.
Appendix 1
Guidelines for Assessment Task 1: Video Essay and Exegesis
Prepared by Sean Redmond and Brett Farmer
Introduction
The first assignment for this unit is the making of a video essay, no more than 5 minutes in duration, and an accompanying exegesis of 750 words.
The video essay allows you to creatively explore a topic area you have studied on the unit through the medium of sound and image, drawing upon the critical ideas you have been introduced to. We use the word video essay because we are asking you to imagine that you are using the ‘camera’ (images, representations) like a pen. Having said that, there is no one or right way to make a video essay: as you can see from the unit examples below, the video essay takes many forms.
The exegesis is a critical and reflective account of what you have produced and why, drawing on the key terms and concepts from the unit. The exegesis reflects on what your video essay aims to do, drawing on your academic research. It allows you to tell us what you have made and why.
What is a Video Essay?
As its name would suggest, a video essay is a critical commentary and/or analysis that is expressed via audiovisual means. Video essays come in a wide range of styles and formats. Some are poetic and experimental, some are formal and didactic. Some assume a personal and subjective voice, others foster a detached and objective point-of-view. Some use voiceover narration, some superimposed titles and text, while others use nothing but image and music. Regardless, the central aim of the video essay is to offer an engaged and, hopefully, thought-provoking meditation on a given topic by using the dynamic expressive materials of videographic media.
A video essay is not a blog, journal entry, documentary or film:
- It sets and answers a question;
- It draws upon the critical ideas embedded in the unit;
- It draws upon the reading, lecture notes and discussion threads;
- It is creative – it wants you to use the aesthetics of celebrity culture to make your case;
- It utilises found footage, still and moving images, drawn from media and film culture (but you can also ‘film’, for example, billboards or posters, magazine pages that make your case);
- ‘You’ don’t have to be in it – it can be driven by audio, voiceover and written/textual quotes (and it can be experimental, where you ‘play’ with or subvert the themes you are exploring)’;
- It should have references included at the end;
Video essays have been around for a while but, in recent years, they have undergone a veritable explosion of growth and popularity. Indeed, they have even made the pages of Australian newspapers. As part of this surging popularity, there is an evolving archive of online resources devoted to video essays and we would encourage you to explore these independently. A good comprehensive starting point is the following TED talk given by Evan Puschak, creator of The Nerdwriter website and a video essayist of some note:
The scholarly significance of the video essay in film and media studies has developed to such an extent that it has generated a peer-reviewed online journal, [in]Transition. A collaboration between MediaCommons and the Society for Cinema and Media Studies, [in]Transition is now in its sixth year of publication and it offers a dazzling overview of the current state of videographic film and moving image studies. As you might expect, the contents of the journal are of a very high calibre –– well beyond anything expected of our assessment exercise –– but they offer a good insight into the art of the video essay at its very finest. So check out some of the work and, hopefully, feel inspired…
[in]Transition: Journal of Videographic Film and Moving Image Studies
Another good forum for film-based video essays is the No Film School website. It is a little less structured than [in]Transition and so requires a bit more foraging but the link below will take you to a search result feed for posts tagged #video essay:
No Film School Video Essays
Why do a Video Essay?
We believe video essays can be an especially valuable undertaking for us in this unit because:
- they respond productively to the spectacular audiovisual dimensions of celebrity culture
- they encourage us to think more dynamically about the texts and forms of celebrity culture and thus help promote active learning
- they develop vital transferable skills in basic multimedia production and screen presentations
- they enable us to creatively engage with celebrity culture, offering us innovative ways to explore the knowledge the unit produces
- they offer an alternative to traditional forms of written assessment.
But I’ve Never Made a Video Before!
Don’t worry, this is not a filmmaking class and you are not being assessed on your video production skills…or lack thereof. Your video essay can be as simple and no-frills as you like. The most important thing is that you show thought, planning and some degree of creativity, and analytic depth in your video. There are many easy-to-use video making options available to you: from simple click-and-shoot videocams on your computer and/or mobile phone through to standard issue desktop software such as iMovie or Windows Live Movie Maker to top end videographic programs like Final Cut.
Alternatively, you could even use a presentation software such as PowerPoint and then convert the presentation using the internal ‘export to video’ function or an external screencasting app. There are lots of possibilities and the process is nowhere near as difficult as you may imagine. What’s more, because screen presentations are an increasingly vital professional practice, this experience will help develop important transferable skills for your future.
How Do I Start?
The first thing is to choose a topic. The Unit Guide lists seven broad topic areas:
- What is stardom and celebrity?
- Fandom and celebrity
- Commodity culture and stardom
- Dressing stars and celebrities: desire and identification
- The industry of celebrity
- Celebrity is the new religion
- Star case study (of your own choosing)</li
These are broad options and you can either address them at a general level and/or narrow them down to tackle a specific facet. For example, you could build your video essay around one particular celebrity. Whatever you choose you need to approach it as you would any academic assessment exercise: with thought, creativity, background reading and research, and careful structural organisation. Teaching staff will be happy to discuss ideas with you and we would encourage you to develop peer assistance and review by workshopping your projects with other students in class and/or on the Cloud discussion board.
Planning the Video
Once you’ve selected your topic and done your research, think about the style of video essay you want to make and then plan your ideas accordingly. Remember the video is only 5 minutes (+/- 10%), so don’t go overboard or try to encompass too much. Write your “script” and source whatever visual and audio materials you need. A good idea is to devise a storyboard where you visually map out the basic structure of your video with ‘scenes’ and shots. An overview of storyboarding and how it can be used in the creation of video essays is available at the following website:
“Creative Arts Toolkit” by the University of Hertfordshire
Another useful idea is to draft a production schedule. Because the project is due at the end of Week 6, time is of the essence so you will need to exercise good time management skills. Working back from the submission date, devise a schedule that gives you enough time to complete all the necessary steps of the planning, production and editing/completion process.
You might also benefit from looking at the useful ‘how to guides’ offered on the Reframe website, many of which can be downloaded as PDFs:
“How-To Video Essays” by Greer Fyfe and Miriam Ross
Copyright Issues
It is almost inevitable that you will want to include images and/or audiovisual material as part of your video essay. This material will likely be subject to protection under international copyright law, so it is important to tread carefully. As students and scholars, we enjoy a special status in relation to copyright law called “fair use” provision (Parts Va and Vb of the Australian Copyright Act and Section 107 of the U.S. copyright law). This provision holds that is permissible to cite and reproduce copyright-protected audiovisual material as long as it is for the demonstrable purpose of educational use and/or critical commentary.
Even with the “fair use” provision, it is crucial to exercise due diligence. Proper attribution must be given in all instances. Keep a record of where you source images, video and/or audio content and include full citations in your reference list (which can be placed either in end credits of the video or in written form at the end of your exegesis as part of your bibliography/works cited).
Another salient aspect of “fair use” copyright exemption to consider is the requirement that any material produced using copyright-protected content not be made available for commercial or public use. This is admittedly a grey area and there is on-going debate––and, it must be said, confusion––as to where and how video essays can be displayed. The general consensus is that video essays are safely covered by the “fair use” provision as long as they are housed within a clearly demarcated scholarly context such as an online journal or educational website.
It is for this reason that we recommend you house your video on DeakinAir or if using an external video-sharing site like YouTube or Vimeo you make it private and submit the link and password details. If they are not made private, YouTube uses automated copyright scanning technology—popularly called “copyright bots”—to scan submitted videos for copyright-protected material and it will automatically disable videos determined to contravene regulations. Indeed, we have had instances in this very unit where students have had their videos disabled by YouTube (see image below). The YouTube “bots” seem especially attuned to music used on soundtracks. Vimeo is less aggressive than YouTube –– it will typically send an electronic query in cases of suspected copyright infringement but leave the video online till the case has been concluded. Ultimately though, you are much safer using Deakin Air, even though we acknowledge it can be a little cumbersome. Details on how to upload videos to Deakin Air and then insert them into your submission are included in the companion document, How to Submit Your Video Essay and Exegesis for Assignment.
Don’t Forget the Exegesis!
The term ‘exegesis‘ means critical interpretation or explanation and, in this case, it is where you offer additional and/or complementary analysis of the topic or theme of your video essay. This doesn’t mean you simply restate the same material covered in the video but rather you express and/or expound upon it, showing us what you did, what your aims and objectives were, and theories and arguments you were working with or against. You need to discuss the video—or, at least, one of more of its core concepts/points/issues—in a way that is analytic and reflective, and not simply descriptive. There are many ways you can do this, for example:
- discuss the topic and central claims of the video at a general level
- focus on one or two major points and/or critical frames incorporated into your video
- explore one or more key concepts profiled in the video
- profile one or more key theorists/readings that were central to the video’s development/argument.
Whatever approach you take in the exegesis it is important to bear in mind that you only have 750 words (+/- 10%) so you need to scale your discussion accordingly and be economical. Moreover, you mustshow evidence of scholarly research and include a short bibliography of works consulted in the development and production of your project (both video and exegesis). You are free to use any citational style with which you are familiar, as long as you use it properly and consistently.
How Will the Assignment Be Assessed?
- demonstrable evidence of effort and planning (is the project well structured and coherently developed; does it show careful conceptualisation and execution; is the topic and material appropriately focused/tailored/framed?)
- critical insight (does it advance a novel or illuminating perspective on its chosen topic; does it show critical thinking and intellectual rigour?)
- analytic efficacy (is the topic well designed; does it deploy useful and/or productive strategies to develop its thesis and/or claims?)
- scholarly depth (does the project draw, directly and/or indirectly, from appropriate research; does it show engagement with the field of celebrity studies?)
- creativity and imagination – has the video essay been designed with creativity in mind?
- critical multimedia literacy (does the project demonstrate basic competence in multimedia production and/or an understanding of the form of the video essay and how it can be used for engaged critical commentary?)
- expression (is the argument/commentary expressed clearly and coherently; does the written component exhibit effective presentation and accurate style?)
Appendix 2
Questionnaire
(taken after the video essay has been submitted)
- Was this the first time that you undertook the video essay as a form of assignment? (Yes/No)
If yes, what unit/course did you undertake the assignment on?
- In 2-3 sentences, write down what your first impressions were when you read that the first assignment was to be a video essay with supporting exegesis?
- After learning more about the video essay, did these impressions change? Again, use 2-3 sentences to explain your response.
- What was your experience of researching and preparing for the video essay?
Did you find it challenging? Explain your response
Did you find it rewarding? Explain your response
What might you do differently next time?
- What was your experience of making the video essay?
Did you find it challenging? Explain your response
Did you find it rewarding? Explain your response
Did you think it allowed you to best demonstrate your skills and knowledge around the chosen topic? Explain your response
- Do you think you were given enough support and advice in both preparing for and making the video essay? Use 2-3 sentences to explain your response.
What do you think could be improved upon?
- Do you think you were sufficiently prepared to write the exegesis to your video essay? Explain your answer in 2-3 sentences.
- Do you think the exegesis compliments and supports your video essay work? Again, explain your answer in 2-3 sentences.
- Do you think the video essay and exegesis is a useful form of assessment for this unit? Given reasons for your answer.
- What if anything might you change about the way you were supported and advised to work on the video essay and exegesis?
- If you had a preference for choosing between making a video essay and undertaking a more traditional form of assessment such as a research essay or report, which one would you choose? Give reasons for your answer.
Focus group schedule
(With 3-4 students, held after the end of the unit)
Welcome, introductions across the group
Framing questions for further exploration:
Thinking back, what are you most proud about the video essay that you made for this unit?
What were most challenging and or rewarding for you?
In your own words, can you explain what you were trying to say about stardom and celebrity when making it?
Could you think you have captured this in a written form essay?
What advantages does the video essay bring to learning?
What downsides were there for your learning?
What skills do you think it provided you with and that you can take forward?
How did you feel about the exegesis part? Is this a necessary part or would you prefer for the video essay to stand on its own?
Do you think you might make video essays in the future?
References
Campbell, D. T., and D. W. Fiske. 1959. “Convergent and Discriminant Validation by the Multitrait-Multimethod Matrix.” Psychological Bulletin, 56, 81–105.
Boud, David, and Rebeca Soler. 2016. “Sustainable Assessment Revisited.” Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 41 (3): 400–413. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2015.1018133.
Denzin, Norman K. The Research Act: A Theoretical Introduction to Sociological Methods. New York: Praeger, 1978.
Lusted, David. 1986. “Why Pedagogy?” Screen, 27 (5), 2–14.
Johnson, R., Chambers, D., Raghuram, P., & Tincknell, E. 2004. The Practice of Cultural Studies. London: Sage Publications.
Sean Redmond is Professor of Screen and Design at Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. He has been a media and screen educator for over 25 years, including being Chief Examiner of the NEAB A Level Media Studies syllabus (1999″ndash;2001) in the UK, which championed the ‘critical and creative autonomy’ of students. He is the author of 15 books, is a curator and installation artist, and guest edited (with Tessa Dwyer and Claire Perkins) an edition of the video essay journal, [in]Transition, on the Poetics of Eye Tracking: http://mediacommons.org/intransition/theme-week/2017/36/poetics-eye-tracking Sean’s video essay work, The Ear That Dreams: Eye Tracking Sound in the Moving Image, can be found here: http://mediacommons.org/intransition/2017/09/07/ear-dreams-eye-tracking-sound-moving-image
Joanna Tai is Research Fellow at the Centre for Research in Assessment and Digital Learning (CRADLE) at Deakin University. Joanna is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She is co-editor of Developing Evaluative Judgement in Higher Education: Assessment for Knowing and Producing Quality Work (Routledge). Her doctoral work on peer learning won the Association for Medical Education Europe (AMEE) inaugural PhD prize in 2016. She has a background in health professions education. Her research interests include student perspectives on learning and assessment in a digital world, peer-assisted learning, feedback and assessment literacy, developing capacity for evaluative judgement, and research synthesis.
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