Overview
Bring your stories to life using video. Learn video planning, filming, and editing techniques to create content designed for online audiences.
What this unit is about
In this unit, you will explore how video communicates stories, ideas, information, and emotion in online spaces. You’ll learn how digital creators plan, film, edit, and publish content for different audiences and platforms.
You will build on your visual design skills from Unit 1 (Digital Identity & Visual Storytelling) and your audio skills from Unit 2 (Podcasts & Audio Stories) to create a polished, web-ready video project.
Learning goals
By the end of this unit, you will be able to:
- Plan a clear message, purpose, and audience for an online video.
- Create scripts, storyboards, and shot lists using industry-inspired methods.
- Apply cinematography techniques such as framing, angles, lighting, and audio.
- Edit video with titles, transitions, pacing, colour, and sound design.
- Publish video content ethically and responsibly for the web.
- Build a webpage to showcase your final video project.
- Reflect on your creative choices and revise based on peer feedback.
Skills you will develop
- Technical: camera work, lighting, audio recording, editing workflows, export settings.
- Creative: storytelling, sequencing, visual language, captioning and titles.
- Strategic: audience analysis, communication choices, platform conventions.
- Professional: planning, organization, collaboration, feedback and iteration.
Major project & unit deliverables
Your main task for this unit is to create a 60–120 second video designed for a specific online audience. Examples include a short film, mini-documentary, tutorial/explainer, PSA, or a creative narrative piece.
You will also design a Video Project Webpage that embeds your video and presents your work professionally.
Unit deliverables
- Pre-Production Package — concept pitch, script, storyboard, shot list, production plan.
- Draft Video (Rough Cut) — first edited version of your video.
- Final Video — polished edit with titles, transitions, colour/audio adjustments and captions.
- Video Project Webpage — embedded video, thumbnail, description, credits and accessibility features.
- Reflection & Peer Feedback — RISE model peer feedback plus a self-reflection on your process.
How this unit fits into the course
- Builds on Unit 1: applying branding and design principles to moving images.
- Builds on Unit 2: using audio production and storytelling in a new medium.
- Prepares you for Unit 5 / Capstone: more advanced or emerging digital media projects.
- Contributes to your final digital portfolio by adding a video-based project and web page.
Unit structure
Use the navigation on the left to open each lesson.
- Lesson 4.1 — Introduction to Video for the Web
- Lesson 4.2 — Pre-Production: Scripts, Storyboards & Planning
- Lesson 4.3 — Filming: Cinematography & Audio Techniques
- Lesson 4.4 — Editing: Visual Storytelling & Post-Production
- Lesson 4.5 — Publishing: Thumbnails, Captions & Web Embedding
- Lesson 4.6 — Peer Review, Reflection & Revision
U4 Final Project Rubric
This rubric is used to assess your final video, project webpage, and your reflection and peer feedback. Use it as a checklist while you work.
| Criteria | Extending (4) | Proficient (3) | Developing (2) | Emerging (1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communication Purpose & Audience Awareness | Clear, compelling message; strong sense of audience; all video choices (shots, pacing, tone, titles, audio) enhance communication and engagement. | Clear message; choices support the intended audience; video is engaging and easy to follow. | Message somewhat clear but inconsistently supported by visuals or audio; audience needs not fully addressed. | Message unclear or unfocused; little evidence of intentional communication choices. |
| Pre-Production (Script, Storyboard, Shot List, Planning) | Detailed, complete, and creative planning documents; ideas are well thought out and used effectively during filming. | Solid plan with clear details; documents guide filming; mostly followed during production. | Basic planning with limited details; documents incomplete or not consistently used. | Minimal planning; missing documents; unclear or incomplete ideas. |
| Cinematography & Audio Quality | Strong framing, stable shots, intentional angles; excellent lighting; clear audio; effective use of B-roll and visual language. | Mostly clear and stable shots; decent lighting and audio; some shot variety. | Inconsistent shots, lighting, or audio; limited variety; technical issues noticeable. | Frequent technical problems; poor visibility or audio; minimal understanding of filming techniques. |
| Editing & Post-Production | Smooth pacing; clean cuts; polished titles and transitions; strong colour and audio adjustments; professional, cohesive flow. | Good pacing; mostly clean edits; appropriate use of titles and transitions; overall clear. | Rough or choppy edits; pacing uneven; limited transitions or titles; needs refinement. | Minimal editing; unclear flow; missing required elements; unpolished. |
| Ethical & Legal Use of Media | All media original or correctly licensed; full credits; clear evidence of ethical decision-making and understanding of copyright and permissions. | Mostly original or correctly credited media; demonstrates appropriate ethical use. | Some media not clearly credited or licensed; unclear understanding of permissions. | Uses copyrighted or uncredited media; ethical guidelines not followed. |
| Final Video Quality (Impact, Clarity, Storytelling) | Engaging, creative, polished; strong emotional or informational impact; clear story arc; excellent use of audio and visuals. | Effective and coherent; message communicated clearly; minor distractions only. | Some confusing or incomplete sections; uneven storytelling; unclear moments. | Hard to follow; weak or missing story; lacks cohesion. |
| Webpage Presentation (HTML/CSS, Layout, Embedding) | Clean, accessible webpage; well-organized layout; embedded video works; includes captions, alt text, thumbnail and credits; strong visual hierarchy. | Organized webpage; functional embedding; includes required components and basic accessibility features. | Functional but inconsistent layout or formatting; missing some elements. | Webpage incomplete, poorly formatted, or missing embedded video. |
| Reflection & Peer Feedback (RISE) | Insightful, specific reflection; thoughtful analysis of strengths and growth; detailed RISE peer feedback; revisions clearly applied. | Complete reflection with clear reasoning; meaningful peer feedback; some revisions applied. | Surface-level reflection; limited peer feedback; unclear revisions. | Minimal reflection; missing peer feedback; no evidence of revision. |