Using iMovie for student book trailers

There is no limit to the ways that iMovie can be used for classroom use. That's the beauty of the app: the only barrier is imagination. With that being said, I've been fortunate enough to work with iMovie in many schools across many different grade levels, from kindergarten to 9th grade. One of the most widespread uses of iMovie has been for creating book trailers. It's been widely popular and very easy to accomplish. Here are some tips and resources to support your project. 

Plan, plan, plan!

I'm not a huge proponent of exclamation points, but I think it's applicable here. Planning is the most important piece of creating book trailers. There is a ton of work that needs to be done before iMovie comes into play. And if you work with kids, you know the value of having a plan. One of the best features of iMovie is the ease of inserting videos and still images. Therefore, the hardest part in my eyes is finding the right content to add. This is where that planning comes into play. So...our gift to you: 

Here are two storyboard examples for you to use:

Storyboard for the "Teen" iMovie trailer - created by me

Storyboard for the "Romance" iMovie trailer - created by the awesome duo of Anna (@annaoz429) and Jill (@jillkiley03)

Show students how to save images to the camera roll

Don't assume anything. Teach the students what to do. This concept isn't tough for any age. However, the smaller the fingers, the harder it is to press the screen without moving the image. I've helped six year-olds with this, and it can be a bit of pain. 

Find an easy way to publish

iMovie offers several ways to publish and share your work. So choose a method that's going to be easy for you, but still offers an audience for your students. Here are some suggestions:

• YouTube - some folks have an aversion to YouTube. I get it. But it's so easy to export your finished trailers to your class YouTube channel. Easy and awesome for open sharing.
• Vimeo - a better option if you want to put your videos behind a password-protected wall. Upload trailers to your account and distribute the password to just your students and parents. 
• Camera Roll - a bit pedestrian, but it works. Save to the camera roll, plug in to your computer, and move it over. Then do whatever you want with them from there. 

So there's three tips and some resources for you. It's a great app to use, and the students absolutely love it. And it's one of those apps that once the students use it once, they start seeing other projects to complete using iMovie. Have fun, and be sure to share your trailers.