Use this 26 minute video about the basics of writing captions to improve your staffs writing. Yearbook Adviser at Waunakee High School, Mr. Willauer, presented at the 2017 KEMPA Fall Conference at UW Whitewater and it is all still relevant info. Have your students be prepared to participate in the presentation, practicing writing captions. You can pause the video for them to write at the prompts.
Yearbook Adviser, Angela St. Clair at Mater Dei High School in
Evansville, Indiana, gave the video above as homework and then gave her students the following quiz. Give it a try!
Name: _____________________________________________________
Quiz: Student Traditions Caption Video
- How many sentences does the presenter suggest for a caption?
- What does he say each caption is? What does he call each caption?
- Which sentence is the most difficult for his students and why?
- List three words you should not use as sentence starters.
- Finish this sentence: “Boring doesn’t get ______________.”
- In what tense is the first sentence of the caption written?
- In what tense is the second sentence of the caption written?
- T or F The caption should tell the reader exactly what they see in the picture.
- T or F It is a good problem to have when you write too much.
- What type of verbs should you use?
- T or F Passive voice is encouraged. (not part of video)
- What does the presenter in the video mean when he says the yearbook process is a “marathon not a sprint”?
- T or F Of all the elements on a spread, captions are read the most.
- T or F You should do research in order to write your captions.
- To what does the presenter in the video relate the length of a caption?
- Describe the presenter’s formula for each caption.
- Can the order of his formula be alternated?
- How many photographs does the presenter suggest per spread?
- What are two pieces of information you learned about group photos?
- What is something you learned that sparked an idea for our own yearbook? Be specific in your explanation of your idea.
Do you sometimes just need some good interview questions to get the your staff started? This will be a list that will grow as you share your excellent questions with us!
SPORTS
- What’s your biggest victory?
- How long have you been playing the sport?
- What is the greatest piece of advice you can give a future player.
- What is the best advice you have been given from another player? Who was it?
- What do you love about the sport?
- What makes your team different?
- What makes your team stay in sync?
- What position do you play now?
- Have you ever played another position?
- If yes, what and how were they different?
- What is your personal achievement from the sport?
- What made the season different then past seasons?
- Have you improved your skills?
- If yes, how?
- What is your biggest obstacle in the sport?
- Does your team have any superstitions or rituals before a game?
- Which teammate have you learned the most from?
- What did you learn?
- What is the longest road trip the team has made?
- How do you pass the time?
- Describe the bust trip to a game.
- Describe a specific bus trip:
- After a win
- After a lose
- Have any injuries effected your team?
- What was it?
- How did it affect the moral, success…. etc?
- Who was it? Did they need surgery? how are they now?
It has been said that a photo is worth a thousand words, and you can fill your yearbook with amazing photos, but you do need to remember that your yearbook is a historical document. It is our job to preserve that history. You may think your memories will not fade, but trust me, the details will become fuzzier every year. That is why it is so important to also document your year in words, and words that do not state the obvious, but tell the story behind the photo. Check out this spread on copy and captions for some quick tips and good samples, then read your copy and see how you might be able to make it more memorable. For a printable version, copy final Click here
Download this Caption Do’s & Don’t PDF with this link CAPTION_DO___DON_T
What not to do in an interview video – a fun way to get the conversation started about gathering content.
Student Traditions 