Amid all the talk about budgetary constraints and performance rankings, it’s easy to forget that Arizona’s schools have the power to surprise and innovate.
In a Mingus Union High School classroom are an array of high-powered iMac computers, each loaded with software designed to help digital media teacher Jeff Wood inspire his students to new heights of cinematic creativity.
Truth be told, however, on Friday, April 29, it seemed like the students were tech savvy enough on their own. Smartphones in hand for their digital filmmaking course, they filed into the classroom — bright-eyed and attentive, ready to prove their knowledge and skill with tools they had grown up using.
Finally, noting the multiple cameras and film light set up around the room — not to mention the reporters and newspaper cameramen — one student asked, “What’s going on?”
Woods stood before the class and introduced his guests: Doozie Video app developers Michael Dubrow and Henry Min, who had approached Wood with an interesting offer, which in turn led to an assignment.
According to Wood, Doozie is a social video-making application for iOS and Android smartphones often branded as a cross between Instagram and America’s Funniest Videos. Coincidentally, he added, it is a great way to inspire students to create films.
“You’re already doing amazing things,” Wood said. “Now, we’ll be the first to use this app. Hopefully, later you’ll be able to brag, ‘We were the first.’”
“It really will be like being there at the beginning of Instagram or Facebook,” Dubrow said, adding that the choice to partner with high schools was an obvious one: There is a powerful intersection between tech-savvy high schoolers and video-making app developers.
Among schools Dubrow and Min considered, Mingus stood out. According to Dubrow, the digital filmmaking program at Mingus is among the best in the state.
“That’s why we’re here — because of how special this program is,” Dubrow said.
While showing the students how to operate the Doozie application, Min praised the students for their ability to navigate the world of technology — a world he noted his own generation had some trouble acclimating to.
As if to prove his point, one student jumped the gun well before the end of Min’s presentation and filmed a video of the developers speaking. By the time Min had finished his short presentation, the film had been uploaded successfully to the app for viewing.
“You are the most tech-savvy generation in the history of the world,” Dubrow added. “It’s in your DNA.”
The numbers bear this out, according to Dubrow: This year, over a trillion videos will be watched online. On Facebook alone, 4 billion videos are viewed each day.
The assignment to film and upload five lighthearted videos to Doozie comes with a prize solely for Mingus’ digital filmmaking students: A GoPro camera. In exchange, the developers asked the burgeoning artists for their input to help streamline the app.
“Please, tell us what sucks.” Dubrow said.
