Social media has changed the way television and films can be produced. Producers in New York can interactively discuss scripts, storyboards and rough cuts with their contacts in Los Angeles via on-line or via mobile devices and applications. The implications for integrating mobile media technology into higher education curricula and pedagogic methodology are equally transformative. For faculty teaching film and video production, mobile media can provide students with access to an infinite number of resources that exponentially expand what can be taught, how it can be conveyed, and where learning can take place. At the University of Cincinnati a group of thirty-three students from four academic programs in three different colleges utilized a variety of social media technologies to experience an interdisciplinary class that was "team-taught" by both their UC Professor and professionals from the film and TV industry in LA and NY. Their work resulted in the 2012 Gold Rush Expedition Race documentary, an hour-long film that will air this March on a national cable television channel.

1. Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production
Kevin Burke
Electronic Media Division
University of Cincinnati

2. Social media has changed the way television
programming and films can be produced.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

3. Social media has changed the way television
programming and films can be produced.
Producers in New York can now interactively
discuss scripts, storyboards and rough cuts
with their contacts in Los Angeles either on-
line or via mobile devices by using a variety of
social media applications that are available for
little or no cost.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

4. Social media has changed the way television
programming and films can be produced.
Social media is also changing the way in which
classes that emphasize “experiential learning,”
or “hands-on production” can be taught.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

5. Social media has changed the way television
programming and films can be produced.
Social media is also changing the way in which
classes that emphasize “experiential learning,”
or “hands-on production” can be taught.
And by whom….
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

6. Social media has changed the way television
programming and films can be produced.
Social media can also help facilitate
interdisciplinary collaborations and class
initiatives that cross curricula of programs
within the same and/or different colleges.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

7. Social media has changed the way television
programming and films can be produced.
It can provide mobility and comfort for the
students, teacher, and guest lecturers, all of
whom don't necessarily have to be in the
physical classroom.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

8. Social media has changed the way television
programming and films can be produced.
It can provide mobility and comfort for the
students, teacher, and guest lecturers, all of
whom don't necessarily have to be in the
physical classroom.
And it can greatly enrich the overall student
learning experience.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

9. Over the past two years at the University of
Cincinnati, a collaborative group of senior
students–from a interdisciplinary range of
diverse programs–have used a variety of social
media applications to work with their
professor and a professional director/producer
in New York to produce a ninety-minute
documentary for national television
distribution.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

10. By using social media, these students were
able to work Brian J. Leitten, who works for
VEVO in NYC, to create a student-produced
documentary television series for national
cable distribution. Brian is my former student
and essentially “co-taught” the course that
was formed to produce the documentary
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

11. This project took the form of an
interdisciplinary course and received an
internal three-year, $10K UC Forward grant.
The enrolled students came from a variety of
programs at three different UC Colleges:
CCM's E-Media program, DAAP's Graphic
Communication Design program, and the
Anthropology and Communications programs
from the College of Arts and Sciences.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

12. Brian Leitten and I structured the course
around a common objective that fused the
skills of this disparate group, the production
of a three year documentary series on the
Gold Rush Adventure Race, held annually in
the Sierra Mountains of California in August
2012, September 2013 and again this year in
September 2014.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

13. The Gold Rush Adventure race involves fast
packing/trekking, mountain biking, navigating,
paddling and cliff rappelling and is part of the
Adventure World Racing Series. Brian’s
production company, Hyperion XIII
Productions and the Gold Rush Mother Lode
Expedition Adventure Race partnered with us
to find national cable television distribution
on NBC’s Universal Sports HD Network.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

14. In August 2012, five Electronic Media Division
students traveled to California to join Brian
and another professional film crew member
in shooting the 2012 Gold Rush Mother Lode
Expedition Adventure Race. The crew used
over a dozen different cameras to cover the
grueling four-day event.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

15. In September 2013, nine UC students from
five different programs at three different
colleges traveled to California to join myself,
Brian and four professional film crew
members in shooting the 2013 Gold Rush
Mother Lode Expedition Race.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

16. While shooting the 2013 race students used a
variety of social media to update their
activities to various internal and external
constituencies on campus and beyond.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

17. While shooting the 2013 race students used a
variety of social media to update their
activities to various internal and external
constituencies on campus and beyond.
They created their own Twitter page, with
daily video updates.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

18. While shooting the 2013 race students used a
variety of social media to update their
activities to various internal and external
constituencies on campus and beyond.
They created their own Twitter page, with
daily video updates.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

19. While shooting the 2013 race students used a
variety of social media to update their
activities to various internal and external
constituencies on campus and beyond.
And notifying the UC President, Santa Ono…
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

20. While shooting the 2013 race students used a
variety of social media to update their
activities to various internal and external
constituencies on campus and beyond.
And notifying the UC President, Santa Ono…
an avid tweeter.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

21. While shooting the 2013 race students used a
variety of social media to update their
activities to various internal and external
constituencies on campus and beyond.
The students also created an Instagram page,
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

22. While shooting the 2013 race students used a
variety of social media to update their
activities to various internal and external
constituencies on campus and beyond.
The students also created an Instagram page,
a YouTube page and
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

23. While shooting the 2013 race students used a
variety of social media to update their
activities to various internal and external
constituencies on campus and beyond.
The students also created an Instagram page,
a YouTube page and a Facebook page to cover
the social media spectrum.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

24. While shooting the 2013 race students used a
variety of social media to update their
activities to various internal and external
constituencies on campus and beyond.
The students also created Instagram, YouTube
and Facebook pages to cover the social media
spectrum.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

25. When we returned to the University to begin
postproduction, we used a variety of
interactive video web conferencing platforms
That enabled Brian to “co-teach” each class
session from 6-8pm.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

26. The total enrollment for the course was thirty-
three students in 2012-13. This year we have
twenty-three students enrolled.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

27. The total enrollment for the course was thirty-
three students in 2012-13. This year we have
twenty-three students enrolled.
These students are all involved in the editing
process, both offline (logging and
transcriptions) and online work (rough cuts
and final cuts) that both Brian and I review
and provide extensive feedback about.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

28. When we returned to the University to begin
postproduction, we used a variety of
interactive video web conferencing platforms
That enabled Brian to “co-teach” each class
session from 6-8pm.
In 2012 we partnered with a new company,
OnCam, which allowed Brian and a variety of
professional guest lecturers to talk to the class.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

29. In 2012, we used OnCam for multiple professional
guest lecturers that included:
• Lonnie Sill: Director, FirstComm Music (LA)
• Rochel Holguin: Music Supervisor, MTV (NY)
• Jordan Glickson: Program Executive VEVO (NY)
• Chris Deutsh: Educational Director, Oncam
(PHX)
• Sara Hillner: Network Television Editor (LA)
• Jeongwon Joe, PhD: Musicologist CCM (UC)
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

30. In 2013, we used both Google Hangouts and a
new screen sharing software called zoom.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

31. In 2013, we used both Google Hangouts and a
new screen sharing software called zoom.
Zoom allows us to not only have Brian on the
screen, but to also upload rough cuts and edit
masters that both the class, myself and Brian
can look at simultaneously.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

32. Because of the cross-curricular nature of the
course, we used Facebook and Google Docs as
our Course Management Software, rather
than UC’s CMS system, Blackboard.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

33. Our Gold Rush Mother Lode Facebook page
became our central communications HQ,
where students from all programs could post
information regarding the project.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

34. Our Gold Rush Mother Lode Google Doc Drive
became our repository for all logs and
transcriptions, our class agendas, and other
important files. Students could work
simultaneously on the same document and
update it to our Google drive.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

35. Also, our YouTube channel and Vimeo page
was set up to allow students to upload rough
cuts of their sequences so Brian could see
them and send them notes:
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

36. The course also involved the use of a variety
of social media file transferring software such
as WeTransfer and DropBox to exchange high
resolution versions of our final cuts to Brian,
myself and the students in the class.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

37. In conclusion, social media has played a
critical role in the success ouf the Gold Rush
Documentary Project at the University of
Cincinnati. It provided our students with the
opportunity to work in a virtual “one-on-one”
basis with a professional, award-winning
television producer and director on a real-
world project, in an experiential, collaborative
and interdisciplinary structure.
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production

38. By embracing, rather than discouraging the
use of social media apps and technology, the
course ties into the University of Cincinnati's
UC2019► Strategic Plan and its vision for
undergraduate education, which is called the
UC Integrated Core Learning Initiative.
If interested in anything shown during this
presentation or about this project, please
contact me at: kevin.burke@uc.edu
Social Media: Expanding Pedagogic Opportunities in Film and
Television Production