Caught in the Crowd

For the second year in a row, I have seen my students have incredible reactions to Kate Miller-Heidke’s song, “Caught in the Crowd.” You could hear a pin drop as the students watch the digital story unfold. I found this amazingly moving digital story a couple of years ago when I was searching for an example of a good digital story to introduce this genre to my seventh graders. "Caught in the Crowd" was the subject of a 2009 schools video competition, in which students were asked to address the issue of bullying by producing a music video for the song. Each year, this one being no exception, students have downloaded this song to their phones and iTunes accounts. As we work on our digital stories, students will ask to see and hear the digital story again. Many questions arise about the song and video, for which I have not had answers. I decided to do a bit of research to see if I could find some answers. I found an article published in the February 2009 Herald Sun which included an interview with Kate. The link to the article is below. I also found a Facebook post from Kate sharing the information about the video competition. So the question, “Which came first, the song or the video?” has been answered. The song came first, then the video (digital story). If you want to see the official video of the song featuring Kate, check it out here: Kate Miller-Heidke-Caught in the Crowd. It is very different from the digital story we have been watching. I hope this has answered some of the questions my students have asked about the song and digital story.

Kate Miller-Heidke’s sings Caught in the Crowd about bullying -Herald Sun interview:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/music/grab-bully-by-horns-says-kate/story-e6frf9hf-1111118893136

Kate’s Facebook Message about Video Competition:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=58698602196\