Abstract

This article introduces a case study of student-created, platform-specific promotional videography for profit and nonprofit service-learning clients produced summer 2017. In an era of emerging video technologies, new digital commercial motivations, and increased viewing of video on mobile devices, this article examines the influence of the intended channel, both the device and platform, upon the production of the message, including the fluidity between media, content, and medium. In addition, the students’ time constraints, interpretation of instructions, introduction to video-production technology, and need to meet the clients’ expectations will be examined as influencing the outcome of the promotional videos that were produced, including both individual and group projects. Communication theory, specifically linear models of the mass communication process (SMCR—sender, message, channel, receiver), will be utilized as a framework to comprehend the students’ choices and expectations as “senders” of the video “message.” The results of these findings, gathered from questionnaires to which the students responded, will be examined to report upon aspects that influenced their work, with specific focus on the extent to which the intended medium shaped aspects of the video message.