Process

Students will form into groups of and choose one of the Crusades to focus their efforts. Each student within a group will take on one or more of the following roles:

- Researcher: Study information concerning the chosen Crusade. Provide your information to the visual researcher and script writer. Maintains a record of all resources used for the bibliography.

- Visual researcher: Searches for images which might be used to support the information found and the written script. Images may need to be adjusted using Photoshop or Fireworks to ensure they are the correct size and clarity for use with iMovie. Maintains a record of all images gathered for the bibliography.

- Script writer: Use information provided by the researcher to develop a script which will be used as a voice over narration for the iMovie documentary.

- Director: Be in charge of overall project development, supervising the work of the two researchers and the script writer. Write an outline for use by the script writer.

- Narrator: (May be more than one) Reads the script dramatically as a voice over for the images.

- Production: Uses iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes and associated transitions, titles and special effects to blend the images, narration and music into the final product.

- Music Researcher: Finds appropriate music to use in the background of the documentary and finds the appropriate volume for the music. Is careful to find music that supports the mood and theme of the documentary, rather than the most popular music. May blend more than one song as the background music.

- Artist: Creates at least two images to be used in the documentary video. The image must be scanned into a digital format for use on the project.

Students will work together to gather information, identify images, music and then write, under the direction of the appropriate person.

After all material is gathered, work to combine them into a documentary that: tells the story of the chosen Crusade; gives the perspective of the Christians, Muslims and Jewish populations and soldiers; discusses the result of the Crusade; talks about the long-term effects of the Crusades in general on the cultures of Europe and the Middle East; and, makes any comparisons or similarities found to the current war in Iraq.