Session 28: Photos, Audio & Video
At a glance: pupils take a well-lit, steady photo using the rule of thirds, crop, rotate, resize and compress it while watching the file size, record and trim a voice note, and plan, film and edit a 30-second "my community" video in teams, with consent and privacy rules throughout. · Time: 90 minutes (adjust the timings if your period is shorter) · Workbook pages: 6
Learning outcomes
By the end of the session, pupils can:
- Take a clear photo (good light, steady hands, rule of thirds) and always ask permission before photographing a person.
- Crop, rotate, resize and compress a photo, choose a sensible format (JPG, PNG, HEIC) and compare file sizes in KB and MB.
- Record and trim a voice note, storyboard a short video, and edit clips with titles and music they are allowed to use, without showing faces without consent or school uniforms.
Before the session
- Check every pupil PC has Photos, Sound Recorder and Clipchamp (Windows 11 includes them; if one is missing, install it from the Microsoft Store). Sign Clipchamp in and start one test video, so the first-run screens are done. The Clipchamp app needs a Microsoft account; otherwise use app.clipchamp.com in the browser with the Hub Google learning account.
- Gather cameras: Hub phones or tablets, webcams, or a parent's phone used with permission. One per team is enough. Charge them. Plan how clips get onto the PC (USB cable, the Hub's cloud account, or Bluetooth).
- Headsets with microphones for recording, if you have them.
- Put two or three sample photos (a big phone photo of about 3–5 MB, no people) in a shared folder for pupils without a camera.
- Test the Media Studio 3D lab on the projector PC and a pupil PC; keep the offline pack on USB.
- Agree filming areas around the Hub that are safe and have no strangers or private homes in shot. Tell pupils the rules before anyone picks up a camera.
Running order
| Time | Activity | Workbook | What the mentor does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–10 min | Typing warm-up | – | Pupils open the typing trainer and do today's warm-up. |
| 10–17 min | The jollof analogy | Page 1 | Read Page 1 together. Show a dark, blurry photo and a good one on the projector: "What went wrong?" |
| 17–27 min | Four habits and photo formats | Page 2 | Demonstrate light behind you vs behind the subject using a pupil volunteer (with their agreement) and the projector camera, or with an object. Turn on the camera grid. |
| 27–37 min | Crop, rotate, resize, compress | Page 3 | Live demo in Photos, including Save as copy and Resize image. Pupils do "Do the Maths". |
| 37–42 min | Media Studio warm-up | Page 5 | Demonstrate one mission on the projector; pairs try the rest quickly. |
| 42–50 min | Photo and voice note missions | Page 5 | Pupils take 3 photos (no faces), edit and resize one, fill the table; record a 15-second introduction (trimmed in Clipchamp later). |
| 50–55 min | Storyboard and the video rules | Page 4 | Read the consent box aloud together. Teams fill in the six storyboard boxes on Page 5. |
| 55–78 min | Film and edit the 30-second video | Page 5 | Teams film for 8 minutes maximum, then edit in Clipchamp: import, order, trim, title, credits, music, export. |
| 78–85 min | Premiere time | Page 5 | Play each video. Vote for best storyteller, best shot, best sound. Award team points. |
| 85–88 min | Review | Page 6 | Scenario decisions by show of hands; the two written questions. |
| 88–90 min | Self-assessment and sign-off | Page 6 | Sign off using the evidence below. |
Key ideas and how to explain them
- Capture, edit, export, share (the jollof analogy): good ingredients, careful preparation, the right portion on the right plate. Consent comes with you through every step.
- Light, steady, thirds, ask first: the light falls on the subject; two hands and elbows in; the subject on a grid line, not always in the centre; and a person always says yes before you take their photo.
- Crop vs resize: cropping cuts away part of the picture; resizing keeps the whole picture but with fewer pixels. Compressing makes the file smaller by throwing away detail you hardly notice. Always Save as copy, so the original stays safe.
- File sizes (link to Session 6): a phone photo is often 2–5 MB; resized and compressed it can be a few hundred KB. Twenty-five photos of 4 MB is 100 MB of someone's data bundle.
- Formats: JPG for photos, PNG for screenshots and designs with text, HEIC from iPhones (save a JPG copy to share).
- Storyboard first: six shots of 5 seconds = 30 seconds. Film 6–8 seconds per shot so there is room to trim.
- Music you may use: the editor's own free library. Popular songs are copyrighted and videos using them can be muted or removed.
- Team points: a finished video of 30 seconds or less, a bonus for following all the consent rules, votes at the premiere, and helper points.
The 3D lab
Media Studio ("Crop and resize a photo, trim a voice note and cut a short video on a 3D editing desk, and see how file sizes change.") lets every pupil practise the editing moves before touching their own files, which matters when there is only one camera per team. A before-and-after file size tower on the desk shows how much each edit saves. The three missions are:
- Fix the market photo: rotate, crop, resize and compress it to under 500 KB, then Save as copy. The photo arrives sideways, 4000 × 3000 and 4 MB, with a stranger's elbow at the edge. Rotating doesn't change the size; cropping (4:3 rule of thirds or square) trims it a little; resizing to 1600 px and Medium quality brings it to about 320 KB. "Save (replace the original)" is refused as a mission finish: pupils must undo and use Save as copy.
- Trim the voice note so only the speech is left: no "Erm… is it on?" at the start, no cough at the end. Pupils move the start and end handles on a waveform (sliders or buttons), press Play to hear what is kept, then Trim and save. Cutting into "Welcome to Bozoma!" or the last sentence is caught too. The file drops from 336 KB to about 250 KB.
- Cut a video of 30 seconds or less: clips in storyboard order, a title, credits and free music. Then export it. The clip bin includes "Classmates in uniform" (faces and uniforms) and the music list includes a famous Afrobeats hit: export is refused until the uniform clip is removed, at least 5 storyboard clips are in order, the total is 30 s or less, the title and credits are added and the editor's free library music is chosen.
On the projector, show mission 1 and ask "Why did the size drop so much?" (link it to 1 MB ≈ 1,000 KB from Session 6). Pairs then do the voice note and video missions. The file-size changes they see link straight to the Page 3 diagram and the record table on Page 5.
Common mistakes and quick fixes
| Pupils often… | Try this |
|---|---|
| Edit the original and lose it | Undo or Revert if possible; next time, always Save as copy. Keep originals in a folder called Originals. |
| Mix up cropping and resizing | Crop = scissors (less of the picture). Resize = photocopier set to smaller (the whole picture, smaller). |
| Film in portrait (upright) for a landscape video | Hold the phone sideways before you press record. |
| Shoot into a bright window | Turn around so the window is behind you. |
| Record with lots of background noise | Move to a quieter corner, hold the mic a hand's width away, and do a 3-second test first. |
| Make a 2-minute video | Trim each clip to about 5 seconds; the timeline shows the total length. |
| Add a famous song | Swap it for a track from Clipchamp's free music library. |
| Can't find the recording | Look in Documents → Sound recordings, or use Sound Recorder's "Show in folder" option (it may look slightly different). |
When things go wrong
- No internet: Photos and Sound Recorder work offline. Clipchamp needs the internet to open and edit, so prepare it while online; if it will not open, edit on a phone editor or simply play the clips in storyboard order and present them live with the voice note. The Media Studio lab runs from the offline pack.
- Not enough PCs or cameras: one camera per team; roles: director (holds the storyboard), camera operator, sound person, editor. Rotate after each shot.
- A PC freezes or the power goes: clips stay on the phone, so nothing is lost. Clipchamp saves projects automatically. With no power at all, teams finish the storyboard in detail and "perform" it as a live 30-second advert.
Answer key
Your turn (Page 2): PNG, because a screenshot of a poster has text and sharp edges, which stay crisp in PNG. (JPG is accepted if the pupil explains that it gives a smaller file for WhatsApp.)
Do the Maths (Page 3): (a) 25 × 4 MB = 100 MB. (b) 25 × 300 KB = 7,500 KB = about 7.5 MB (accept 7–8 MB).
Lab table (Page 5): values vary. The cropped copy has fewer pixels than the original (and usually a smaller file). The resized copy is much smaller in both pixels and KB.
Scenario Decisions (Page 6)
- Esi photographs her friend in front of a bright window: Bad idea (the friend becomes a dark shadow; stand with the window behind you).
- Kofi crops, then Saves as copy: Good idea.
- Fatima compresses photos before sending on a small data bundle: Good idea.
- Yaw posts classmates in school uniform on TikTok: Bad idea (no consent, uniform reveals the school and location).
- Akosua uses a famous song without permission: Bad idea (copyright; the video may be muted or removed).
Written Review Questions
- Cropping cuts away part of the picture, so you see less of it. Resizing keeps the whole picture but makes it fewer pixels wide and high, so the file is smaller.
- A storyboard is a plan: you know which shots you need, who films them and how long each lasts, so you waste less time and the video tells a clear story in 30 seconds.
Support and stretch
- Needs more support: use the sample photos from the shared folder; focus on crop and Save as copy, and let a partner lead the resize. In the team, give them a clear role such as director with the storyboard.
- Finished early: make a 15-second vertical (9:16) version for a phone status; add captions (subtitles) to the voice-over; or compare the file size of the 720p and 1080p exports.
Evidence for sign-off
The pupil shows an original and an edited copy of their own photo (cropped and resized) with the record table filled in, a trimmed voice note, and a part in their team's finished video of 30 seconds or less with a title, credits and allowed music. The video follows the consent rules: no faces without permission and no school uniforms. They answer at least 4 of the 5 scenario decisions correctly.
Safety and wellbeing
Consent is the heart of this session. Pupils must ask before photographing anyone and accept "no" without argument; for these projects, encourage places, hands and objects instead of faces. No school uniforms, crests, name tags, house numbers or number plates in shot. Phones belong to the Hub or are lent with a parent's permission: pupils open only the camera, never messages or galleries. Delete practice clips that show people from Hub devices at the end of the session, and do not post any video online without the Hub's and parents' agreement. Supervise filming outside the room, and keep teams within the agreed areas.