Grade by Grade
D. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts · Writing with Purpose: Research, Essays, Media and Publishing

Creating Media and Multimodal Texts: Podcasts, Videos, Slides and Infographics

D2.1 D3.1About 70 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can plan a media text with a storyboard or a two-column script that matches my purpose and audience.
  • I can use media techniques on purpose, such as shot sizes, camera angles, sound, music, layout and text on screen.
  • I can transform written information into an audio, video, slide or infographic text.
  • I can make my media texts accessible and ethical: captions, alt text, contrast, permission and copyright.

Words to know

multimodal text
A text that combines two or more modes: words, images, sound, movement, layout.
storyboard
A series of sketches, one per shot, with notes about what is seen and heard.
two-column script
A script with what the audience hears in one column and what they see in the other.
shot size
How much of a subject is shown in a frame: wide, medium or close-up.
camera angle
Where the camera is placed relative to the subject, such as low angle (looking up) or high angle (looking down).
ambient sound
The natural background sound of a place, like wind, traffic or a crowd.
alt text
A short written description of an image, read aloud by screen readers for people who are blind or have low vision.
royalty-free
Media you can use without paying a fee each time, under the terms of its licence.

Remember from Grade 8

In Grade 8 you designed a multimodal campaign, used a design process, and thought about intended and unintended audiences.

In Grade 9 the curriculum asks you to use a variety of media, tools and strategies to transform information and communicate ideas, and to produce final texts with digital design and production tools. This lesson is your toolkit for the most common Grade 9 media assignments: podcasts, short videos, slide presentations and infographics.

Plan before you press record

Every media text still starts with topic, purpose and audience. Then you plan on paper:

  • Storyboard for video: one box per shot, a sketch, and notes for shot size, action, sound and text on screen.
  • Two-column script for video or audio: AUDIO (narration, dialogue, music, sound effects) on one side and VISUAL (what's on screen) on the other. For a podcast, the visual column becomes notes on sound and music.
  • Time map for short pieces: how many seconds each part gets (see below).

A minute of finished video often takes an hour or more to plan, film and edit. Planning saves time, not wastes it.

Three basic shot sizesWIDE (establishing)shows the place;sets the sceneMEDIUMwaist up; good fortalking, interviewsCLOSE-UPface or detail;shows emotion
Shot size is a technique with a purpose: wide to show where we are, medium for conversation, close-up for emotion or an important detail. Vary them to keep viewers engaged.

Techniques and their effects

  • Camera angle: a low angle (looking up) can make a subject seem powerful; a high angle (looking down) can make it seem small or vulnerable; eye level feels neutral.
  • Sound: voice carries information; music sets the mood (and can manipulate it); ambient sound makes a place feel real; silence draws attention.
  • Editing: a quick series of short shots feels energetic; long, slow shots feel calm or serious.
  • Layout (slides, infographics, posters): a clear focal point, one idea per slide, few words, large readable fonts, and images that support, not decorate.
  • Text on screen: short, high contrast, on screen long enough to read twice.
A 2-minute podcast segment, mapped by time0s20s40s60s80s100s120smusichookhost explainsinterview cliphost: what it meansoutroMusic intro 6 s, hook 12 s, explanation 30 s, interview 36 s, meaning 30 s, outro 6 s = 120 s
Planning by time keeps a short audio text tight. The listener hears a hook within the first 20 seconds and a real voice (the interview) in the middle. Bar lengths are drawn to scale.
Worked example

Let's transform a written proposal into a 60-second video

Turn the composting proposal from Lesson 1 into a 60-second video for students (to build support before the council meeting). Plan the first four shots in a two-column script.

  1. Purpose and audience: inform and persuade Grade 9 to 12 students, who will see it on the hallway screens and the school's social media. It must hook in 5 seconds and work with the sound off, so it needs captions.
  2. Shot 1 (0 to 5 s). VISUAL: close-up of a full cafeteria garbage bin, lid opening. AUDIO: sound of a lid banging, then the narrator: "This is what our cafeteria throws away... every day." TEXT: 40 kg a week.
  3. Shot 2 (5 to 15 s). VISUAL: wide shot of the cafeteria at lunch. AUDIO: ambient chatter under the narrator: "We measured it for two weeks. About 40 kilograms of food scraps a week."
  4. Shot 3 (15 to 30 s). VISUAL: animated diagram: scraps, a compost bin, soil, the school garden. AUDIO: "Composting turns scraps into soil we could use in our own garden." Upbeat royalty-free music begins.
  5. Shot 4 (30 to 45 s). VISUAL: medium shot of an eco club member speaking (who agreed to be filmed). AUDIO: "We just need the council to say yes."
  6. Shots 5 and 6 (45 to 60 s): the call to action: Sign the petition in the library by Friday, with the hashtag on screen; end on the school logo.

The written proposal's numbers become a close-up and an on-screen statistic; its argument becomes a diagram and a student voice; its call to action becomes the final shot. That's transforming information for a new medium and audience.

Accessible and ethical media

  • Captions on every video (many viewers watch with the sound off, and captions are essential for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing).
  • Alt text for images in slides, posts and web pages.
  • High contrast between text and background; don't rely on colour alone.
  • Permission before recording or posting anyone, and follow your school's rules about filming students.
  • Music and images: use your own, Creative Commons or royalty-free media, and credit them (see the citation lesson).
Hands-on activity

One-minute media remix

Choose a paragraph you've written this year (or a news paragraph).

  1. Decide on one medium: a 60-second audio segment (phone voice recorder), a 30-second video, a 3-slide presentation or a one-page infographic on paper.
  2. Make a time map or storyboard before you create anything.
  3. Produce it with tools you have at home (a phone, a free slideshow program, paper and markers). Ask permission before recording anyone.
  4. Add captions (video), alt text (slides/images) or a source line (infographic).
  5. Show it to a family member. Ask: What was the main message? What did you notice first?

What to look for: a hook early, one clear message, techniques that serve the purpose, and credits for any media you didn't create.

Just for fun

Film editors have a saying that every movie is written three times: once in the script, once on set and once in the editing room. Your 60-second video gets the same deal, just with fewer snacks on set.

Your turn

1

Which shot size would you use to show (a) a whole outdoor rink at night; (b) a coach giving instructions; (c) a tear on a player's face?

2

What goes in each column of a two-column script?

3

How might a low angle shot of a politician affect viewers?

4

Give two ways to make a video accessible.

5

Why should a short video or podcast have a hook in the first few seconds?

6

You want to use a popular song in a video posted publicly. What should you check?

More practice: warm-up

1

What is a storyboard?

2

Name three modes a multimodal text might combine.

3

What is ambient sound?

4

What is alt text for?

5

Good slide rule: how many main ideas per slide?

More practice: on your own

1

A slide has 120 words in small font. Give three revisions.

2

Plan a 3-shot storyboard (shot size + what's seen + audio) for a 15-second ad about snow-shovelling for a neighbour.

3

Explain how music could manipulate an audience in a video about a new energy drink.

4

Turn this sentence into an infographic plan: Of 150 students surveyed, 66 took the bus in February, 42 were driven, 40 walked and 2 biked.

5

Your interview subject agrees to be recorded but asks not to be posted online. What do you do?

Challenge

1

Write a two-column script for the first 20 seconds of a podcast or video about your favourite winter activity. Include a hook, at least one sound technique and one visual or sound transition.

2

Evaluate this plan: A 10-minute video with no captions, for Grade 9 students, explaining how to register for clubs, posted on the school's social media page.

3

Explain how the same information about road salt and streams would be transformed differently for a podcast and an infographic.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which shot is best for showing emotion on a face?

2.

A two-column script separates:

3.

Which slide follows good design?

4.

Why add captions to a video?

5.

A high-angle shot (camera looking down) can make a subject seem:

6.

Which music choice is ethical for a public school video?

For parents and teachers

Media assignments are common in Grade 9 English and often feel more fun than essays, but they still require planning, purpose and honesty. Help by lending a phone or computer, and by being a test audience: watch the draft and tell your teen what you understood and noticed first.

Common difficulties: starting to film without a storyboard or script; slides full of text; no captions; using copyrighted music; filming people without permission. Remind your teen of the school's rules about recording other students.