Copyright
It is not enough to ethically supervise what kids CAN'T use — they need generous and proactive support in what they CAN use. Be aware that Educational Fair Use of media does not apply if student projects are distributed outside their classrooms. So make school-wide plans to include generous budgets for Royalty-Free Music and Image Libraries. Purchase software that allows students to create their own music loops. Initiate a service club of students who would build over time a database of music.

Creative Commons is a very useful site for obtaining legal media.

Audio
Increase the quality of the Narrative Voiceover by using external microphones and spit guards. Internal microphones tend to pick up unnecessary white noise.

It is recommended to digitize voiceovers outside of video-editing software in order to focus due attention on digitizing the script as a FIRST and SEPARATE step. There is a tendency to adlib or modify the narrative stories if the authors record their narration when viewing their images. Voiceovers FIRST — then all media decisions made and sequenced to pace and match the storyteller's voice.

Using the storyboard as a guide, record each section as a separate "chuck" of the script. These "chunks" are intentionally divided by the natural break of the breath (pauses or paragraphs) in ways that will match the text/image layout in the storyboard. Recording in "chunks" also allows readers to center themselves in order to perform rather than read or recite their words. Voices need to be a conduit to the emotional context of the story being told to a circle of friends or family. It is easy to re-do the small chunks of voiceovers rather than trying to deliver the entire script with no flaws. If the voice is too hurried, slurred, mumbled, or has unintentional speaking goofs, it is easy to record the one small chunk. When the chunks are sequenced in the video-editing, it will flow AS IF the voiceover was done as one take.

Using software like Audacity (freeware for Macintosh and Windows) enables voiceover tracks to be "normalized," which enhances the clarity of the delivery. Audio files can be spliced and faded in/faded out along with other special effects like echoing. Separate audio files can mix sound and music into single tracks. This is helpful if your Post-Production software is limited to one track.

Images
Use pan and zoom effects judiciously to increase intimacy with the subject or topic or give the feel of moving inside a still as part of the storyline. This special effect can easily be overdone and is certainly not something you would add to every image.

Transitions
Each transition should be a subtle or dynamic part of the message. Beware of sprinkling transitions into the story as if they were decorating the story. It is very distracting and distills the story for viewers. There is no rule that there HAS to be a transition — Hollywood uses lots of direct cuts to the next screen shots.