A Bronx School Revives: New York Times video
The video A Bronx School Revives is about a Hasidic Jew who since becoming principal of Jordan L Mott junior high school has turned it around completely. Once a school filled with violence it is now a school filled with hope. I think the video portrays this in an effective way, but a few parts could be changed.
Scenes of children being scolded for slumping in an assembly, grabbed by the hood to get in the back of line, and saying the pledge of allegiance in unison show the authoritative side of the principal and his military background. He seems insensitive and unlikeable when he tells a science teacher with more than two decades of experience that he isn’t teaching right. One scene shows him writing “Live life to its fullest,” on the dry erase board, showing he has a nurturing side.
Some of the close-up shots in the video seem unnecessary and I feel like the video could have been made shorter. If some clips like the many close-ups of shoes were eliminated, the video might have been smoother and less boring. A good example of a short video with effective close-ups is Last Call for Haircuts, where there aren’t any shots that don’t have some sort of connection to the story.
Overall I think the video was good and portrayed the message it was intended to. I think with less random shots it could have been smoother.