Mark Basse is the DLC’s video and digital media production specialist. Mark’s primary work is supporting the integration of curricular video and creating content for online courses here at the Institute. He has collaborated with Digital Learning Specialist Fellow, Amy Slay, to produce interactive videos for the Spanish Online Community Interpreting Certificate program and the Fall 2015 Department of State grant funded course for English Teacher preparation managed by Assistant Dean of Language & Professional Programs, Patricia Szasz. This workflow starts with capturing faculty and other subject matter experts in a studio setting using green screen techniques.  This footage is then edited with new backgrounds and graphics and placed into an Adobe Captivate project which in turn generates a SCORM compliant, fully responsive web page for students to access.

Additional projects include an introductory video for Envisioning Middlebury social network analysis “Connections Survey” project and planning is under way to assist video production for the Fall 2016 Middlebury alumni online course featuring the work of The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS).

For the CNS course he shot field footage of the CNS staff studying satellite imagery of an Iranian rocket launch site to give a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how the organization functions. The video will also feature interviews with alumni and members of the nonproliferation professional community. When completed the course will showcase the benefits and importance of the work happening at the CNS to the MIIS alumni network.

The social network analysis project aims to map out true connections between the staff, not simply reflect the organizational hierarchy. Mark edited green screen interviews with staff from the MetaLab, inserted visual models of the social network and condensed the footage into just three minutes.

The production involved careful consideration into what content to include and required building trust with the staff so they would feel comfortable sharing their experiences. This project was Mark’s first time working with the MetaLab, who have a similar mission in their work. Both video production and data analysis require taking large amounts of information and finding creative ways to visualize it so others can easily process and understand its message.

Mark creates content for many purposes from student support to public informational viewing, but says that regardless of your audience the challenge is the same. Shooting video and editing is only 20% of a production, the other 80% should be focused on planning and thinking carefully about your audience to achieve the best results. To focus their project vision, one of the first things he asks clients is “What are you trying to accomplish?”. His mission is always to find the most effective way to relay information to help people understand something they might not have before. Mark is currently producing new online courses, and says he views every project as an opportunity to improve the online student experience.