Evolutionary and Ecological Biology Associate Professor Rebecca Safran used an ASSETT Development Award last year to purchase and refurbish equipment for her Film and Climate Change class at CU Boulder.
Safran's students created an online exhibit project in their Film and Climate Change class.聽 In the course, students are asked to present their views on climate change in several聽 five minute short films.聽 Her students learn about the science of climate change and receive an聽introduction to filmmaking and storyboarding editing.聽 Each student makes聽two to four聽short films聽each semester.聽 Safran spoke about how her students engage the challenges of communicating abstract and overwhelming science concepts:
Having to translate science into story so [that] other people can consume it and think about ... A lot of聽students get a lot of out of that process of writing something for a broader audience ...聽to get people more engaged in the issue ... I try to get the聽students to think about a personal story ... [or ]聽personal narrative, and聽... give them enough science [background] to give them solid footing.
The course was created several years ago as part of the聽 climate change communication program at CU.聽 Safran says that she first taught this course in 2009 without audio equipment.聽聽That's when Safran applied for her first ASSETT Development Award, with which she purchased audio and video equipment for her students.聽 Last year, Safran received her聽second ASSETT Development Award.聽 This time, she purchased聽additional high to mid end audio equipment for students to use to record interviews and perform voiceovers for their films,聽as well as a DLSR聽camera, tripods, batteries, and HD聽cards.聽 Safran was also able to聽refurbish many pieces of equipment that she had purchased with her first ASSETT Development Award that she received a few years ago.聽 "We鈥檙e going into our seventh year," she said.
"Through the聽ASSETT grant, I鈥檝e been able to build up stockpile of audio," says Safran.聽 She聽says that with better equipment, she has聽noticed聽improvements in terms of the students' films' production quality.
Students vote on their favorite films of the class, and those films are entered into a film festival.聽 Some students used聽stop motion animation in their films, like the聽most recent winner聽about a聽canary in a coal mine did. 聽The student聽who made this film聽did not have prior filmmaking experience.
