Can AI Create Better Revision Materials?

Why the most useful question may be the one chosen after a mistake

Revision becomes much more useful when the questions change according to what the student gets wrong.

A student completes a revision worksheet, checks the answers and discovers that several are incorrect. What happens next?

Quite often, they move on to another worksheet.

But those mistakes contain valuable information. Perhaps the student understands probability but forgets that eating a sweet changes what remains in the bag. Perhaps they can use standard form but struggle with the arithmetic inside the calculation. Perhaps they know a scientific definition but cannot apply it to an unfamiliar situation.

AI can help turn that information into focused practice. It can draft graded questions, flashcards, quizzes, summaries and revision checklists. Its value depends on whether those materials address what the student actually needs to learn.

After around forty years in teaching, my interest is in how this technology can support an essential part of tuition: finding the point at which understanding breaks down, then helping the student move forward.

Three Requests, Three Different Kinds of Revision

Consider these three instructions:

Request	What it offers	What still needs checking
“Give me ten GCSE probability questions.”	General practice across a topic.	Relevance, difficulty and coverage.
“Create original probability questions aligned with this exam-board specification and tier.”	Practice directed towards the course being studied.	Whether the questions genuinely match the supplied requirements.
“Create questions for a student who keeps denominators unchanged when objects are removed.”	Practice targeting an observed misconception.	Whether that misconception explains the student’s mistakes.

Each adds useful information. The strongest approach combines the course requirements with evidence from the student’s work.

Naming an exam board alone does not establish alignment. Supply the relevant current specification extract and suitable official examples, then check the result.

AI-generated questions should be labelled as original practice, with suggested marks where useful. They should never be presented as official exam-board questions.

The Sweet That Changes the Next Question

Imagine a bag containing four red sweets and three yellow sweets. A student takes one sweet, eats it, then takes another.

The question asks for the probability that both are red.

The student writes:

4/7 × 4/7 = 16/49

There is useful understanding here: the student has multiplied probabilities along a branch. The mistake concerns what happens after the first sweet is eaten.

A helpful follow-up sequence would be:

1. After a red sweet is eaten, how many red sweets remain?
2. How many sweets remain altogether?
3. What is the probability that the second sweet is red, given that the first was red?
4. Now calculate the probability that both sweets are red.
5. How would the calculation change if the first sweet were replaced before the second selection?

The answers are three red sweets, six sweets altogether, and a second probability of 3/6.

Therefore, without replacement:

4/7 × 3/6 = 2/7

With replacement:

4/7 × 4/7 = 16/49

The contrast helps expose the underlying idea. We can then use a different bag or context to check whether the student can apply it independently.

This is where AI can help: drafting carefully varied follow-up questions once a teacher has identified a likely difficulty.

One wrong answer should prompt investigation. It is not enough to establish exactly what a student does or does not understand.

Graded Questions Need Purposeful Steps

“Easy, medium and hard” is a start, but good progression requires more thought.

For surds, a sequence might move through:

• Simplifying a single surd.
• Combining surds after simplification.
• Expanding brackets containing surds.
• Rationalising a denominator.
• Solving a problem that combines these skills.

The harder question should demand an additional decision or connection. Simply increasing the numbers may add arithmetic without improving the learning.

A useful prompt would be:

Create eight original GCSE Higher Maths surd questions, progressing from simplification to a problem combining expansion and rationalisation. Identify the skill each question assesses. Include two short checks for common misconceptions. Put worked solutions in a separate section and check each calculation.

I would still work through the solutions myself before giving the sheet to a student. Asking AI to check its work can help, but it does not provide an independent guarantee.

Once a student gains confidence, mixed practice also matters. Can they choose the right method when the heading no longer tells them which technique to use?

Flashcards Should Make the Learner Retrieve Something

AI can quickly turn notes into flashcards. The challenge is choosing useful questions.

A card saying “Photosynthesis” on the front and an entire paragraph on the back gives the learner a large, uncertain task.

More focused cards might ask:

• What is the word equation for photosynthesis?
• Why can light intensity limit the rate of photosynthesis?
• Why might increasing light intensity eventually stop increasing the rate?

These separate recall from explanation and application.

The learner should attempt an answer before turning the card over. Reading both sides repeatedly can feel productive without showing whether the information is available from memory.

The Education Endowment Foundation emphasises planning retrieval activities around their purpose and the particular knowledge pupils need to recall. Generating a large deck is only the beginning. EEF

Ten carefully chosen cards that are used thoughtfully can be more useful than a huge collection that becomes another unfinished task.

Quizzes: Make a Wrong Answer Informative

A useful multiple-choice quiz includes plausible wrong answers.

For the sweet problem, 16/49 is informative because it may indicate that the student kept the probabilities unchanged after removing a sweet. A random fraction tells us less.

Ask AI to explain the possible misconception behind each incorrect option. Then ask the student to explain their choice.

Even a correct answer needs interpretation. Was it a confident calculation, a guess, or recognition of a familiar pattern?

For some learners, I would begin with three short questions and discuss the reasoning behind each. A small quiz can provide enough information to decide what to teach next.

Summaries Should Lead to Independent Explanation

AI can draft concise summaries from checked notes, but polished wording can hide shallow understanding.

A better sequence is:

1. Study a short, checked explanation.
2. Close it.
3. Explain the idea aloud or write it from memory.
4. Compare the explanation with the original.
5. Correct the gaps and answer an application question.

For Biology, a summary of diffusion should retain the idea of net movement down a concentration gradient. Making the language simpler must preserve the science.

I would also ask for a “commonly confused with” section. Diffusion, osmosis and active transport become clearer when students explain their differences.

A useful question after reading a summary is:

“Could you explain this to someone else without looking?”

Revision Checklists: Replace “Covered” with Evidence

A tick beside “circle theorems” tells us little about what a student can do.

A stronger checklist uses observable statements:

• I can identify the relevant theorem in an unfamiliar diagram.
• I can calculate a missing angle.
• I can give the reason for each step.
• I can connect several theorems in one problem.
• I can solve a fresh question without hints.

Useful columns would be:

Skill	Needs teaching	Can do with help	Can do independently	Checked again later

Confidence matters, but independent performance provides stronger evidence of readiness.

A student saying “I understand it now” is encouraging. Solving a different question a week later tells us more.

A Practical Routine: Attempt, Inspect, Adapt, Revisit

Here is a manageable way to use AI-assisted revision.

Start with a short independent attempt.
Keep answers and hints out of sight.

Look at the working.
Does the difficulty concern knowledge, interpretation, method, arithmetic or explaining a reason?

Generate focused follow-up practice.
Ask for a short explanation, a supported example and a fresh independent question.

Check the material.
Verify the answer, wording, syllabus relevance and any diagrams.

Return later.
Try a new question after a gap, then include the skill in mixed practice. The EEF’s evidence review considers both spaced learning and retrieval practice; neither depends on AI. d2tic4wvo1iusb.cloudfront.net

For a student who is easily overwhelmed, this might mean one question at a time, plenty of space and brief instructions. We can make the task easier to access while preserving the intended intellectual challenge.

A Reusable Prompt for Better Revision

Create a short revision activity for [qualification, subject, exam board, specification code and tier where applicable].

Use the specification extract and checked notes below. Flag any missing information rather than inventing requirements.

The student can already [skills]. Their recent work suggests difficulty with [specific error and an anonymised example].

Include two diagnostic questions, one brief worked example, four progressively challenging questions and one transfer question in a different context.

Include one question checking earlier learning. Use clear UK English and put suggested answers and worked solutions in a separate section.

Explain the purpose of each question. Identify uncertainties and anything requiring teacher verification. Label all questions as original practice.

[Insert relevant source material.]

For flashcards, replace the activity instructions with:

Create ten focused question-and-answer cards, each testing one clearly defined point.

Describe learning needs without including names, school details or confidential records.

Where Professional Judgement Still Matters

AI can produce an incorrect solution, an ambiguous question, a misleading diagram or a convincing explanation that omits a crucial detail.

Department for Education guidance makes clear that education professionals remain responsible for checking the accuracy and appropriateness of AI-produced content. It also notes that evidence about the effects of students’ AI use is still emerging. GOV.UK

That distinction matters. Evidence supporting a revision method does not establish that every AI tool implements it well.

In my tuition, the aim remains to discover what a student can do independently, explain what they need next and provide practice that builds towards the examination. Practical work, conversation, subject knowledge and careful feedback all contribute to that judgement.

AI can support the preparation. The student must still do the thinking.

Better Revision Begins with a Better Response to Mistakes

Can AI create better revision materials? Yes—when it helps us produce accurate, relevant practice and respond intelligently to a student’s work.

A beautiful summary is useful only if the student can explain its ideas. A flashcard deck matters only if the learner can retrieve the answers. A worksheet earns its place when it helps resolve a difficulty or develops an important skill.

At Hemel Private Tuition, this is the purpose of personalised support: understanding where the learner is now and choosing a useful next step.

The most valuable revision question may be the one we choose because of the answer the student has just given.

 

Why Going Beyond the Syllabus Can Improve Examination Results

Sometimes the best way to understand what is on the syllabus is to look just beyond it.

“Will this be in the exam?”

It is a reasonable question. Students have limited time, parents want tuition to make a difference, and examinations have specific requirements.

Yet studying only what appears in a specification can leave a student knowing individual facts without understanding how they fit together.

A carefully chosen glimpse beyond the syllabus can give those facts a purpose. Something that initially appears to be an interesting diversion can become the explanation that makes an examinable idea clearer.

The important distinction is this: enrichment should support the syllabus and lead back to examination preparation.

The Syllabus Is a Framework, Not the Whole Subject

An examination specification tells us what students need to learn for a qualification. It cannot contain every interesting application, discovery or unanswered question.

Physics continues beyond the last page on electricity. Biology extends beyond a diagram of a cell. Mathematics is much more than a collection of procedures.

After around forty years in teaching, my approach is to keep both things in view: the requirements of the examination and the wider subject that makes those requirements worth understanding.

At Hemel Private Tuition, having a classroom and laboratory gives me opportunities to connect explanations with practical observations. A short demonstration can provide a reason to revisit an equation, interpret a graph or explain a process.

The aim is to make the required learning clearer.

From Flame Tests to the Composition of Stars

Consider a chemistry student learning flame-test colours.

They can memorise that sodium produces a yellow flame. But a question takes the lesson further:

How can we find out what a star contains without collecting a sample?

Different elements have characteristic spectral patterns. Astronomers use patterns in starlight to identify elements in stars. The same wider idea gives laboratory observations a much bigger context. NASA Science

For an A-level student, this can connect directly with electrons, energy levels and emitted light. For a GCSE student, the explanation can remain simpler: characteristic patterns help us identify substances.

A useful lesson might compare a teacher-demonstrated flame test with a reference spectrum, then return to an examination question about identifying an unknown substance.

We do not need a full astrophysics course. A few minutes can turn a colour to memorise into evidence to interpret.

From Genetics to Antibiotic Resistance

Genetics can become a vocabulary exercise: gene, allele, genotype, phenotype.

A wider question gives those words something to do:

Why can a treatment become less effective against a bacterial population over time?

Some bacteria possess inherited variation that makes them resistant to a particular antibiotic. Treatment changes which bacteria survive and reproduce, so resistance can become more common in the population.

This provides a valuable opportunity to challenge the idea that bacteria deliberately change because they “need” to survive.

The return to the syllabus is explicit. Ask the student to explain variation, selection and inheritance in a short examination-style answer.

Broader understanding helps only if the student can express the mechanism accurately. An interesting discussion must still end with clear scientific language.

From Infinity to a Better Understanding of Limits

Ask a mathematics student:

If you keep halving the distance remaining to a wall, will you ever arrive?

The question opens a discussion about infinity, but its first steps are familiar:

1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 + 1/16 + …

There are infinitely many terms, yet the partial sums approach 1.

For a GCSE student, this can reinforce fractions, sequences and the distinction between approaching a value and reaching it after a finite number of steps.

For an A-level student, it can lead back to geometric series and the conditions under which an infinite series has a finite sum.

The enrichment question is memorable. The examination benefit comes from explaining why the mathematics works, then practising the required calculations.

Why Connections Can Help With Unfamiliar Questions

A student may complete an exercise successfully when the method has just been demonstrated, yet struggle to recognise that method in a different setting.

That is where carefully guided connections can help.

A graph might describe cooling, population change or the motion of a trolley. The context changes, but students may still need to interpret a gradient, identify a trend or evaluate evidence.

Enrichment gives us another setting in which to practise recognising those underlying ideas.

It can also expose gaps. A student who can recite a definition may discover that they cannot explain it in a new example. That gives the teacher a useful starting point.

However, enjoyment alone is not evidence of secure learning. Students still need to answer questions independently.

Try This: One Question Beyond, One Question Back

Choose a topic the student is currently studying and allow around fifteen minutes.

1. Start with the syllabus. Identify one idea that needs strengthening: natural selection, energy levels or geometric sequences.
2. Ask one wider question. How do we identify elements in stars? Why does antibiotic resistance spread? Can an infinite sum be finite?
3. Explore one example. Use a short explanation, a photograph, a demonstration or a simple calculation.
4. Make the connection explicit. Ask: “Which part of your course does this help explain?”
5. Return to an exam-style question. Have the student answer without copying the explanation.
6. Review the result. Identify what became clearer and what still needs practice. Revisit it in a later lesson to check retention.

The Education Endowment Foundation recommends teaching students to plan, monitor and evaluate their learning within subject lessons. These reflection questions offer one way to apply that guidance; they do not establish that any particular enrichment activity will raise grades. EEF

When Going Further Becomes a Distraction

There is a difference between a useful extension and an absorbing diversion.

A discussion of relativity may inspire a physics student, but it will not automatically improve their ability to calculate resistance. Chaos theory may open fascinating questions about prediction, but it should not crowd out essential graph skills.

Before extending a lesson, I would ask:

• Does this illuminate the topic we are studying?
• Is the explanation manageable for this student?
• Can we return to a relevant question or skill?

Students with substantial gaps may need a brief, concrete example. Confident students may benefit from a deeper challenge. Neither group needs to be overwhelmed with additional material.

As examinations approach, targeted revision, recall, timed practice and careful review of mistakes must remain central.

Curiosity and Examination Preparation Can Work Together

My aim is for students to leave a lesson better able to answer the question and more interested in the subject behind it.

At Hemel Private Tuition, individual teaching and practical laboratory work allow me to choose examples that suit the learner, while keeping GCSE and A-level requirements in view.

Sometimes that means looking through a microscope. Sometimes it means examining a spectrum. Sometimes it means asking an unexpected mathematical question.

The syllabus gives us direction. A carefully chosen step beyond it can help students understand where they are going.

The best enrichment brings students back to the examination material with a clearer explanation, a stronger connection and a better question.

 

Why DaVinci Resolve? One Program, Four Very Different Types of Video

The same software that edits a sailing race can also produce a concert, a science lesson or a podcast.

A sailing boat approaches the start line. An organist begins a recital. A science experiment produces an unexpected result. A presenter welcomes viewers to a podcast.

All four deserve a well-made video, but each asks something different of the editor.

The sailing film needs movement, context and a sense of the action. The organ recital needs musical continuity and carefully chosen camera angles. The science lesson needs clear explanations and close-ups that reveal what is happening. The podcast needs intelligible speech, comfortable pacing and a recognisable identity.

This variety is one reason DaVinci Resolve is such an interesting choice for the work we do at Philip M Russell Ltd. It brings video editing, visual effects, colour correction and audio post-production into a single application. Resolve 21 also introduces a Photo page, extending that connected approach to still photography. Blackmagic Design

However, the attraction goes beyond a long list of features.

It is the ability to move between different creative tasks while keeping sight of the same purpose: helping the audience see, hear and understand what matters.

Getting Your Bearings: What Are the Resolve Pages?

Opening Resolve for the first time can feel rather like walking into a studio with several departments.

There are tools for editing pictures, creating graphics, adjusting colour and mixing sound. Fortunately, these are organised into dedicated workspaces called pages.

Here is a brief introduction:

Page	Main purpose	Example from our production work
Media	Import, review and organise video, audio and other assets.	Separate sailing footage into starts, racing action, boat details and shore scenes.
Cut	Assemble and trim footage quickly.	Build an initial race highlights sequence.
Edit	Shape the detailed timeline, including cuts, titles and multiple tracks.	Combine a presenter, an experiment close-up and an explanatory graphic.
Fusion	Create visual effects, compositing and motion graphics.	Animate an arrow identifying a component in an experiment.
Colour	Correct and match images, then develop an appropriate visual style.	Make different camera views of an organ recital look consistent.
Fairlight	Edit, process and mix sound.	Balance podcast voices and keep introduction music beneath the speech.
Deliver	Render the finished programme into the required output files.	Export a full video and a separate promotional version.
Photo	Organise and adjust still photographs using an integrated photography workflow.	Prepare a recital photograph or sailing image for promotion.

Blackmagic calls the colour workspace the Color page in the interface. The pages provide different tools within the same application, allowing you to switch between tasks as the project develops. Blackmagic Design

You do not have to master every page before making a useful video. Nor must you visit them in a fixed sequence.

A beginner might spend most of their time on Edit, make a few basic colour and sound adjustments, and then export the result. More specialised tools can be introduced when a particular project needs them.

Start with the task you want to accomplish. Learn the tools that help you accomplish it.

Why Keeping Everything Together Matters

Imagine editing a science demonstration.

You have assembled the presenter’s explanation and the close-up of the apparatus. Then you notice three problems:

• The close-up looks warmer than the presenter shot.
• The microphone level changes between sections.
• A moving part needs a label so viewers know what to watch.

These are three different production tasks, but they belong to one explanation.

Within Resolve, you can work on the pictures, graphics and sound without repeatedly transferring the sequence between separate applications. Its integrated editing, Fusion, Colour and Fairlight workspaces are designed around that connected approach. Blackmagic Design

The practical benefit becomes especially clear during revisions.

Suppose a customer asks for an explanation to be shortened. Moving a cut may also affect a caption, a music cue or a graphic. Keeping those elements together makes it easier to assess the whole sequence and check that the revised version still works.

For a business producing several kinds of media, there is another advantage: skills carry across projects.

Careful trimming helps both a sailing film and an interview. Matching cameras matters in a recital and a science lesson. Good audio judgement benefits almost everything.

Sailing Videos: Help the Viewer Understand the Race

Sailing footage can be exciting to capture and surprisingly difficult to edit.

There may be movement everywhere: boats changing direction, crews adjusting sails, water reflecting sunlight and the camera platform moving beneath you.

Yet a viewer can watch all that activity without understanding the race.

Where is the start line? Which boat should they follow? Why did that manoeuvre matter?

Give the action a clear structure

For a short starting sequence, I would want the viewer to recognise:

1. Where the boats are gathering.
2. Which boat we are following.
3. The moment the race begins.
4. What happens immediately afterwards.

A spectacular close-up of a sail may look impressive, but it cannot always explain the relationship between boats. A wider view may tell the story much better.

When filming Champagne, our A-Rater, there is an opportunity to combine the overall racing picture with details of the crew’s work. A shot of the boat approaching the line establishes the situation; a closer view can reveal the concentration and coordination behind it.

Practical demonstration: improve a sailing start

Take a 20–30-second clip of boats approaching and crossing the line.

First, watch it without editing. Identify the moment that actually makes the sequence interesting.

Then:

• Trim unnecessary waiting at the beginning.
• Add a short title identifying the race or boat.
• Introduce a simple line or arrow if the starting position is difficult to see.
• Make restrained exposure and colour adjustments.
• Balance useful ambient sound with any commentary.

Resolve’s Edit page supplies trimming and title tools, while Fusion supports more elaborate graphics and compositing. The Colour page provides image correction tools. Blackmagic Design

The improvement: the audience can follow an event that previously looked like a collection of moving boats.

For me, that is the central editing question in sailing: does this sequence help someone understand what happened?

Organ Recitals: Let the Music Lead

An organ performance requires a different rhythm.

The viewer may enjoy seeing the manuals, pedalboard, registration changes and the performer’s expression. But the music must retain its continuity.

Rapid cutting can become distracting. A camera change should ideally contribute something: reveal a difficult passage, show the pedal technique or support a change in the music.

Several views, one continuous performance

A useful recording arrangement might include:

• A wide view of the performer and instrument.
• A close-up of the manuals.
• A view of the pedalboard.
• A detail shot showing relevant controls.

Resolve supports multicamera editing, including synchronising angles using sound or timecode. This allows an editor to choose between views of the same performance. Blackmagic Design

The important editorial choice is to keep a reliable, continuous audio recording beneath those picture changes. Switching camera angles should not accidentally switch between microphones with different levels or room sound.

Practical demonstration: improve an organ extract

Begin with a 30-second passage from the Pergamon.

With a single clip:

• Trim the preparation before the music.
• Add the work’s title and composer.
• Adjust the picture so the performer and keyboards are comfortably visible.
• Check the audio level.
• Retain the end of the phrase and its natural decay.

If additional synchronised angles are available, extend the demonstration by cutting to the hands during a manual passage and to the pedals when that view adds musical interest.

Fairlight provides equalisation and dynamics processing, alongside audio editing and mixing tools. These offer considerable control, but a recital usually benefits from restraint. Blackmagic Design

The improvement: the pictures reveal more of the performance while the sound preserves its character.

My approach would be to listen first. The editing should give the audience a better seat at the recital.

Science Videos: Make the Important Detail Visible

Science filming combines two activities I particularly enjoy: teaching and making something observable.

A student may hear an explanation perfectly well and still miss the crucial event. Perhaps a meter reading is too small, the apparatus blocks the view, or the reaction happens before they know where to look.

Editing gives us another opportunity to guide attention.

Build the explanation around the evidence

A useful science sequence might move from:

Question → apparatus → prediction → observation → explanation.

Each stage should help the viewer interpret the next.

For example, a circuit video could begin with the question, show the connections, identify the meter and then hold the close-up long enough for the reading to be understood.

An experiment film also needs honesty. If footage is accelerated, slowed down or replayed, say so. If a graph contains measured results, keep the measurements distinguishable from illustrations or predictions.

Practical demonstration: improve an experiment clip

Take a short clip of an indicator changing colour.

Before showing the change, introduce a question:

“What should we observe at the endpoint?”

Then:

• Trim the clip while keeping enough context to understand the procedure.
• Add a clear label identifying the indicator.
• Hold on the important observation.
• Use a brief replay if the change is easy to miss.
• Record a concise explanation of what the observation means.

Fusion can create animated labels and other explanatory graphics. Colour correction can help shots look consistent, but in this example it must preserve the appearance of the indicator rather than exaggerate it. Blackmagic Design

The improvement: the viewer knows what to watch and why it matters.

After many years of teaching, I regard that as more valuable than adding visual effects simply because the software makes them possible. The best graphic may be one carefully placed arrow.

Video Podcasts: Make the Conversation Easy to Follow

A podcast introduction may look straightforward: a presenter, a microphone and a welcome.

However, the audience quickly notices unclear speech, distracting room sound, music that is too loud or an introduction that takes too long to reach its point.

With a video podcast, the pictures need attention too. Camera angles should feel comfortable, faces should look consistent, and on-screen information should be readable.

Edit for clarity while preserving the speaker

There is a difference between removing an accidental repeated opening and stripping every pause from a conversation.

A pause may express thoughtfulness, uncertainty or humour. Removing it can change the character of the speaker.

I would aim for a clear, purposeful introduction that still sounds like the person presenting it.

Practical demonstration: improve a podcast opening

Take a 20-second welcome containing a long pause, a slightly uneven voice level and an abrupt ending.

Then:

• Shorten the unnecessary pause.
• Add the presenter’s name and episode topic.
• Adjust the speech level.
• Apply modest equalisation or dynamics processing where useful.
• Introduce a brief music cue and lower it beneath the voice.
• Finish with a clean transition into the main programme.

Fairlight’s processing and mixing tools allow these sound decisions to be made alongside the video edit. Blackmagic Design

The improvement: viewers can settle into the programme and concentrate on its subject.

A polished introduction does not need to be long. It needs to establish who is speaking, what the programme offers and why the audience should stay.

Four Clips, Four Different Editing Priorities

Put these demonstrations beside one another and the value of Resolve becomes clearer.

Clip	Main audience need	Main editing priority
Sailing start	Understand the action.	Select the decisive moment and establish the boats’ positions.
Organ performance	Enjoy and observe the music.	Preserve continuous sound and choose meaningful views.
Science experiment	Recognise and interpret the evidence.	Direct attention and explain accurately.
Podcast introduction	Connect with the presenter and topic.	Make speech clear and pacing comfortable.

The software provides a common set of tools. The subject determines how we use them.

That distinction matters. A science explanation should not automatically inherit the pace of a race highlights film. A recital should not be cut like a promotional trailer.

Good editing begins with understanding the audience’s experience.

The New Photo Page: A Useful Connection to Photography

Resolve 21’s Photo page adds still-image organisation and adjustment, with tools including white balance, exposure, cropping and access to Resolve’s colour grading workflow. Adjustments are non-destructive, allowing the original image to remain available for further changes. Blackmagic Design

For our work, this creates useful connections between photographs and moving images.

A sailing film may need a promotional photograph. A recital needs an image for its announcement. A science video benefits from a clear photograph of the apparatus. A podcast needs an episode cover.

The opportunity is to give these materials a consistent visual identity while respecting their different purposes.

A promotional photograph can be expressive. A photograph showing the result of an experiment needs particular care to preserve the evidence.

Free or Studio: Begin with the Work You Need to Do

Resolve is available in a free edition and a paid Studio edition. Studio adds capabilities including further AI tools, noise reduction and additional effects. Feature availability also depends on the particular tool and workflow. Blackmagic Design

For someone starting this series, the sensible first objective is modest: organise footage, build a clear sequence, improve the sound and export a finished video.

Advanced features become useful when they solve an actual production problem.

The same applies to computer performance. Test the kinds of footage you intend to use. Higher resolutions, demanding effects and complex projects place greater demands on the system. Smaller proxy copies of footage can help make editing more manageable.

Above all, allow time to learn. A powerful application becomes useful through repeated, purposeful practice.

What This Means for Customers of Philip M Russell Ltd

Our work brings together teaching, sailing, music, photography and video production.

That combination matters because each subject benefits from someone who understands what needs to be communicated.

Our facilities include two video studios, multiple cameras, studio lighting, microphones, a visualiser and an ATEM Extreme ISO production setup. Alongside those facilities, the home classroom and laboratory provide opportunities to film practical science with detailed views of apparatus and observations.

These resources support work such as:

• Educational videos and practical demonstrations.
• Organ and other musical performance recordings.
• Sailing films and event highlights.
• Video podcasts, interviews and presentations.
• Promotional material drawing on both photography and video.

Resolve provides a connected finishing environment for that range of work. The cameras and microphones capture the material; the edit shapes the experience.

Whether the subject is a boat, a musical phrase or a scientific observation, the aim is to give it the attention it deserves.

One Program, Many Ways to Tell a Story

The reason to choose DaVinci Resolve is not that every production needs every feature.

It is that very different productions can benefit from a connected set of tools—and that we can choose those tools according to the story.

A sailing video should help us feel and understand the race. An organ recital should bring us closer to the performance. A science lesson should reveal something clearly. A podcast should make us want to listen.

The real achievement is not an impressive timeline. It is an audience that sees more, hears more and understands more.

That is the starting point for this series: taking the videos we already want to make and learning how to make them better.

Make a Video — One Skill, One Short Film at a Time Week 1: Wide, Medium, Close-Up — Three Shots to Start Making Videos

Make a Video — One Skill, One Short Film at a Time 

Week 1: Wide, Medium, Close-Up — Three Shots to Start Making Videos

Make a Video — One Skill, One Short Film at a Time: Week 1

The same person. The same notebook. Three different views—and three different pieces of information for your audience.

Making a video begins with a decision: what do you want the viewer to see?

You might be recording a family occasion, demonstrating a skill, explaining a science experiment or introducing your business. You point your phone or camera towards the action and press record. That is a useful beginning.

Now try choosing three different views of that action.

A wider view can explain the setting. A medium view can show what someone is doing. A close-up can reveal the detail that makes it understandable.

For the first article in this weekly series, that is our entire task: film the same subject at three shot sizes.

A Small Beginning with Plenty of Possibilities

My work brings together teaching, practical science, photography, sailing and video production. Across those interests, I keep coming back to the same question: can the audience clearly see the thing I want them to understand?

In a science demonstration, a view of the whole apparatus is useful, but a student may also need to see a small change or a reading. In an organ performance, the overall view introduces the performer and instrument; a closer view can show what the hands are doing. In sailing footage, the whole scene shows the boats’ positions, while a detail can draw attention to a particular action.

Those are different subjects, but the underlying decision is similar: choose the view that supplies the information the audience needs.

I want this series to make those decisions approachable. Each week will introduce a manageable skill, a short shooting session and something concrete to review.

The practical approach of The Movie Making Book by Dan Farrell and Donna Bamford helped inspire this series. Here, I am developing original activities for adult beginners, drawing on my own teaching and filming interests.

We will begin with an ordinary notebook. Familiar objects make useful subjects because we can concentrate on filming them.

What You Need

• A phone, tablet or camera that records video.
• A notebook and a table.
• Someone willing to open the notebook—or an object to film if you are working alone.
• Enough light to see the subject clearly.
• About 15–20 minutes, including time to watch your clips.

Optional: a tripod or suitable stable support.

Your device’s ordinary video mode is enough for this exercise.

Three Shots, Three Questions

Shot size	What it shows in our example	The viewer’s question
Wide	The person, table and some of the room	Where are we?
Medium	The person’s upper body, hands and notebook	What is happening?
Close-up	The hands opening the notebook’s pages	Which detail matters?

These are shot sizes: they describe how much of the subject appears in the picture. Camera height, angle and movement are other choices that we will explore in later articles.

1. Wide: Show the Setting

Position the camera far enough away to include the person, the table and some surroundings.

The viewer should be able to understand the situation. Someone is sitting at a table with a notebook in front of them.

Ask yourself: does the extra space tell us something useful?

A wide view of a workshop might reveal tools and a workbench. A wide view of a classroom might show where a demonstration is taking place. Including more surroundings is useful when those surroundings help explain the scene.

A shot that introduces the location or situation is often called an establishing shot. A wide shot can perform that role, although the two terms describe different things: the framing and its purpose.

2. Medium: Show the Action

Move closer so that the person’s upper body, hands and notebook are clearly visible.

For a person, a medium shot often frames roughly from the waist upwards, though the precise boundary varies. In this exercise, the important thing is that the viewer can follow the person opening the notebook.

There is enough of the person to see posture and movement, and enough of the notebook to understand the task.

This is a useful view for many demonstrations. It connects a person with what they are doing.

3. Close-Up: Show the Detail

Move closer again and frame the hands and notebook.

Now the viewer can see fingers lifting the cover, a page turning or a pencil touching the paper.

A close-up can also show a face and its expression. For this exercise, our close-up is of the object and action.

Choose a detail that contributes information. If the purpose is to show how a page opens, include the relevant hand movement. If the purpose is to show a written note, make the words large enough to read.

Watch the Difference

For the accompanying demonstration, I suggest three matching views of someone opening a notebook:

1. A wide view showing the setting.
2. A medium view showing the action.
3. A close-up showing the hands and pages.

Use the same notebook, person, table and lighting throughout. That makes the effect of changing shot size easy to recognise.

Watch the views separately first. Then watch them in sequence.

Notice how the viewer’s attention moves from the situation to the action and finally to the detail.

You can demonstrate exactly the same idea with three photographs. Still images are also useful when planning a video.

Your Shooting Session: Record Three Usable Clips

Your goal is one recognisable wide shot, one medium shot and one close-up.

Before Recording

Choose a well-lit position. Face towards or sit beside a window if that gives you a clear view of the subject.

For this exercise, hold the device horizontally and keep that orientation throughout. We can explore different screen formats later.

Check the picture. Can you see what you intended to include? Is anything important hidden or cut off?

Shot 1: Wide

• Frame the person, table and some of the room.
• Start recording and hold still for a couple of seconds.
• Ask the person to open the notebook at a natural pace.
• Continue recording briefly after the action finishes.

Aim for roughly ten seconds in total.

Shot 2: Medium

• Stop recording and move closer.
• Frame the upper body, hands and notebook.
• Return the notebook to its starting position.
• Record the same action again, with a brief pause before and afterwards.

Shot 3: Close-Up

• Stop recording and move closer again.
• Frame the hands and notebook.
• Check that the image is sharp; move back slightly if your device cannot focus.
• Repeat and record the action.

You have now completed the filming task.

Editing can come later. This week, it is enough to watch the clips in order and recognise the three different views.

Working Alone? Choose an Object

You can complete this activity without a performer.

Try a plant on a table:

• Wide: the plant within the room or garden.
• Medium: the whole plant and its pot.
• Close-up: one leaf or flower.

The distances will differ from the notebook exercise because the subject is a different size. What matters is the relationship between the subject and the frame.

There is no requirement to speak or appear on camera.

Watch Your Results: One Improvement at a Time

Ask three questions:

• Does the wide shot make the setting clear?
• Can I follow the action in the medium shot?
• Does the close-up reveal a useful detail?

Choose one clip that works well and say why.

Then choose one improvement, if needed. Perhaps the medium shot cuts off a hand. Perhaps the close-up is blurred. Perhaps an object in the background distracts your attention.

Reshoot that view and compare the results.

As a teacher, I value activities with a clear finishing point. “Make a video” can feel like a large instruction. “Record three different views of this notebook” gives us something specific to attempt, discuss and improve.

That is the approach I want to carry through this series.

Pro Tips

Leave a little spare time. Recording briefly before and after the action gives you room to choose a good cut when we introduce editing.

Move closer before trying digital zoom. Changing camera position helps you explore framing. Check focus as you move; being extremely close can make the image less useful.

Keep the camera still. Let the hands and notebook provide the movement. A steady view makes this comparison easier to judge.

Look around the edges. A distracting cable, bag or bright object may be easy to remove from the frame with a small change of position.

Try a Little More

Record a fourth view showing the person’s reaction to something in the notebook.

Perhaps they smile, look puzzled or notice an unexpected message.

What does that expression add to the story?

Alternatively, take three matching photographs and label them wide, medium and close-up. You have made your first simple visual plan.

Three Shots Are the Beginning of a Visual Language

A video gives its audience a series of views. Each one is an opportunity to guide attention.

The wide shot offers context. The medium shot makes the action easier to follow. The close-up reveals a detail worth noticing.

Those choices apply to an ordinary notebook, a practical demonstration, a musical performance or a sailing film.

This week, choose one subject and record those three views. Watch what each contributes.

Your first success is three recognisable, usable shots. That is a useful beginning—and something to build on next week.

You can find a lot more details on the website that accompanies the series at https://makingbetter.video/

Next Sunday: What Should the Viewer Notice? We will explore framing and backgrounds.

Make a Podcast — One Skill, One Short Recording at a Time Week 1: Press Record — Your First 30 Seconds

Make a Podcast — One Skill, One Short Recording at a Time

Week 1: Press Record — Your First 30 Seconds

 You do not need a complete podcast idea to begin. You need something you enjoy talking about—and 30 seconds to tell us why.

Perhaps you enjoy sailing, gardening, photography, music or cooking. Perhaps there is a scientific idea you find fascinating, a book you recommend or a skill you would like to share.

That is enough for your first recording.

This new weekly series, Make a Podcast — One Skill, One Short Recording at a Time, will take podcasting apart into manageable activities. Each article will introduce one main skill, give you something practical to try and help you recognise what you have achieved.

We will gradually explore presenting, interviewing, recording, editing and shaping a story. There will be photographs and short video demonstrations, but there will also be something especially important for podcasting: audio examples you can actually hear.

A photograph can show where a microphone belongs. A recording lets you hear why its position matters.

This week, however, we begin with three simple actions:

Record something. Save it. Play it back.

Why Start with Just 30 Seconds?

“Make a podcast” sounds like a substantial project.

It raises questions about equipment, software, guests, episode titles, music and publishing. Before you have spoken a word, you can find yourself planning an entire production.

“Record 30 seconds about something you enjoy” gives you a clear starting point.

It is long enough to introduce yourself, explain an interest and say something specific. It is short enough to repeat without turning the task into an afternoon’s work.

For me, this series connects two interests: teaching and media production. I have the equipment to demonstrate more elaborate recording methods, but I want the starting point to remain achievable for someone sitting at home with a phone.

My aim is to help readers finish each activity with a small piece of work they can recognise as their own.

This week’s finished piece is one saved recording of approximately 30 seconds.

What You Need

Keep the list short:

• A smartphone with a voice-recording app, or a computer with a working microphone and recording software.

• A reasonably quiet place to sit.

• Something you enjoy talking about.

• Three brief prompts on paper.

• Headphones, if available, for listening back.

You can use your device’s built-in microphone for this first activity.

If you already have an external microphone, you are welcome to use it. If you are trying someone else’s equipment, ask them to handle the initial setup so you can concentrate on speaking.

A camera is optional. This first recording can be entirely audio.

Choose a Subject You Already Know

The easiest subject is often something you would happily discuss with a friend.

You might talk about:

• Why you enjoy taking photographs.

• A favourite meal you like cooking.

• What first interested you in sailing.

• An instrument you play.

• Something unusual you noticed in your garden.

• A scientific question you would like to investigate.

Avoid trying to cover the whole subject.

“Photography” is enormous. “Why I enjoy photographing small things in the garden” is much easier to explain in half a minute.

A useful starting sentence is:

“One thing I really enjoy is…”

The recording does not have to be a lesson, an argument or a polished performance. It can simply be a short introduction to an interest.

Three Prompts Are Enough

Write down these three prompts:

1. What do I enjoy?

2. Why do I enjoy it?

3. What is one example?

Under each, add a few words.

For a sailing introduction, that might be:

• Sailing on the river.

• Always changing.

• Watching the water for a gust.

For a gardening introduction:

• Growing vegetables.

• Seeing progress.

• First tomato of the summer.

These prompts give you a route through the recording without requiring you to memorise a script.

If a full script helps you feel comfortable, use one. The aim is to get started, and different people need different amounts of support.

An Example: A Short Sailing Introduction

“Hello, I’m Philip, and one thing I really enjoy is sailing on the River Thames. I like the way the conditions keep changing, even when you sail on the same stretch of river. A patch of darker water can suggest a gust approaching, and spotting it gives you something to respond to. There is always another small skill to practise.”

Read that aloud at your own pace. It should take roughly half a minute, depending on pauses and delivery.

Notice its simple shape: an introduction, a reason and a specific example.

Get Recording: Your First 30 Seconds

Allow around 10–15 minutes for the whole activity. Only a small part of that time needs to involve speaking.

1. Find a Comfortable Place

Choose somewhere you can speak without competing with a television, music or conversation.

A furnished room with curtains, cushions and other soft surfaces will often give you less obvious echo than a sparsely furnished room with hard surfaces.

For today, choose the quieter, more comfortable option available to you. There is no need to redesign the room.

2. Put the Device in a Stable Position

If you are using a phone, place it securely on a stand or prop it so its microphone is unobstructed.

As a starting point, try positioning it around 20–30 cm from your mouth. Different devices behave differently, so a short test matters more than finding an exact distance.

Avoid touching or moving it while speaking. Handling sounds can be surprisingly noticeable in a recording.

3. Make a Five-Second Test

Record:

“This is my test recording. I’m checking that you can hear my voice.”

Stop and play it back.

Can you hear yourself clearly? If the voice is very faint, try moving a little closer. If it sounds rough or distorted on louder words, try moving farther away, or lowering the recording input level if your app provides that control.

Then make another brief test.

4. Record Your Introduction

Look at your three prompts.

Press record, pause briefly and begin.

Speak as though you are explaining your interest to one friendly person. Use your ordinary speaking voice.

Aim for approximately 30 seconds. Twenty seconds or 40 seconds is perfectly acceptable for this exercise.

If you stumble over a word, you can carry on. If you lose your place completely, stop and try again.

5. Stop and Save

Some apps save automatically when you stop; others require an extra step.

Check that the recording appears in the app’s list and give it a useful name, such as:

Week 01 — Sailing Introduction — Take 1

A clear name will help you find it again when you begin collecting more recordings.

6. Play It Back

Listen once from beginning to end.

You have now completed this week’s main task.

You recorded something, saved it and listened to it.

Listening Back Without Picking Yourself Apart

Hearing your recorded voice can feel unfamiliar.

When you speak, you hear your voice through sound travelling through the air and through vibrations transmitted within your head. A recording captures a different listening perspective.

An unfamiliar voice does not automatically mean an unsuccessful recording.

For your first playback, ask three practical questions:

• Can I understand the words?

• Can I follow what I am talking about?

• Can I hear one thing I like?

Perhaps the opening sounds welcoming. Perhaps your enthusiasm comes through. Perhaps the example makes your interest easy to understand.

Then choose one thing you might improve.

You could slow down slightly, use a more specific example or move away from a noisy window.

There is no need to produce a long list of faults.

Hear It for Yourself: Audio Belongs at the Heart of This Series

Podcasts are made to be heard. The examples accompanying this series should help readers develop their ears as well as their recording skills.

For this first article, I would include two short audio clips using the same introduction:

Audio A: A first attempt
A natural recording with a slight hesitation and an ordinary speaking pace.

Audio B: One small improvement
The same introduction recorded again, with a little more space between sentences.

The listening question is simple:

“Which version is easier to follow—and what changed?”

Neither clip needs music or elaborate processing. The example should make one change easy to notice.

In later articles, we can compare:

• The same words recorded in two different rooms.

• A microphone positioned farther away and closer.

• A microphone directly in front of the mouth and slightly to one side.

• An original recording and a version with an unnecessary pause removed.

For these comparisons, I would keep the words and equipment the same wherever possible, change one factor at a time and present the clips at a similar playback loudness. That makes it easier to judge the difference being demonstrated.

Each clip should have a clear label and a transcript. Photographs can then show the setup that produced the sound.

Hear the difference first. See how to reproduce it second.

Pro Tips: Small Changes That Help

Speak to One Person

Imagine a friendly listener who is interested in your subject.

That gives your voice a purpose and can make the recording feel more like a conversation.

Leave a Little Space

A brief pause before you begin and after your final sentence helps avoid cutting off the start or end of your speech.

Small pauses between ideas also give the listener time to follow you.

Aim for Comfortable Speech

You do not need to shout at the microphone or invent a “radio voice”.

Start with the voice you would use in a relaxed conversation.

Limit the Number of Takes

Try one recording and, if you wish, one more with a single improvement.

Repeatedly restarting can turn a small activity into a frustrating search for perfection.

Keep Your First Attempt

Save the original even if you prefer the second version.

In a few weeks, it will give you something useful to compare with your newer recordings.

If Speaking Feels Like Too Much Today

The activity can be made smaller.

Start with one sentence:

“Hello, I’m Philip, and I enjoy sailing because every trip gives me something new to notice.”

Record it, save it and listen.

You can add more next time.

If you are working with someone supporting you, they could ask three questions:

• What do you enjoy?

• What do you like about it?

• Can you give me an example?

Your answers can become the recording. For this first exercise, it is fine if their questions are audible too.

You might also practise once without recording, or let your helper operate the controls while you speak.

The useful achievement is taking part in the process and recognising what you have made.

An Optional Second Take

If you would like a little more practice, record the introduction again.

Choose just one change:

• Slow down.

• Add a pause between sentences.

• Explain your example more clearly.

• Move the device slightly closer.

• Speak with a little more energy.

Listen to both versions.

Which do you prefer? What makes that version work better for you?

Keep both. You have begun learning how to make a deliberate change and judge its effect.

What Have You Actually Learnt?

A short recording introduces several practical skills.

You have chosen a subject, organised an idea, operated a recorder, saved a file and reviewed the result.

Those are useful foundations for podcasting. They are also relevant to presentations, interviews, teaching and explaining your work to other people.

As a teacher, I want this series to make progress visible. A saved file does that: it gives you something concrete to play, discuss and build upon.

You can keep this first recording private. Sharing and publishing will come later, when you have something you want others to hear.

Your First Podcast Begins with a Saved File

There is a moment when podcasting moves from an idea to something you have actually done.

It happens when you press play and hear your own recording.

It might contain a hesitation. It might be shorter than you intended. You might immediately think of a better example.

But it exists—and you made it.

This week’s challenge: record approximately 30 seconds about something you enjoy, give the file a clear name and listen to it once.

That is enough for the first step.

Next time, we will explore how the place where you record changes the sound—and listen to the difference.