Monday, November 26, 2007
Blog Assignment 11
Discuss your thoughts about adding video clips to the final digital story project you are creating for this course or another digital story that you might create for another purpose. If you think including video clips would help you tell the story, what kind of video might you use? For example, would you be able to find video on the web or on a DVD that you could use? If so, describe what you would be looking for and what the video clips would show. Or do you think you might be able to shoot your own video clips with a camcorder? How might video of this type be used to enhance the message of your digital story? If you don't think adding video of would help your story, discuss why you feel your story would be better without the use of video clips of any type.
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26 comments:
nice posting thx
I have been thinking about adding a couple of video clips.
My topic is on cell phones. The day before Thanksgiving, the local news channel commented that viewers could go on site and have traffic reports sents directly to their cells. I thought that I might incorporate that clip.
I also saw something on television, perhaps a commercial, where a boy was playing a game on his cell phone.
So, the possibilities are out there.
I am hoping to use some video footage of my grandfather's 80th birthday party. I have the file saved in IMovie on my apple computer. I am used to using imovie and idvd when editing and creating movie projects. I hope the process of puttiing a video clip in my photostory will be smooth.
I never thought about using video before because I thought it was sooo complex. According to yesterday's class, it's not that complicated at all...if you use windows video maker. I will be making a photostory on my point of view about fashion in society. I definitely think that a video clip would enhance my story. Because I want to show how fashion trends are set by models/superstars, I think it'd be great to include a clip of a fashion/runway show that demonstrates how models are "idolized" and used to maximize advertising. I didn't realize that it's pretty hard to find a video that we can easily download and save. We don't have much time left to do this asignment, so I hope I can find one fast. I also hope that I don't get "stuck" while trying to use windows video maker. It seemed easy enough yesterday, but until I actually do it, I can't be too sure.
Here is a link to a Windows Movie Maker tutorial I developed last year, if anyone would like to use it. It was developed in Word and can be printed out, though it is 18 pages in length. (It includes instructions on importing from a camcorder.)
I don't think I will include a video clip in my photo story. My topic is on the cost of fast food, so i'm not sure if you guys would like to watch me or someone else eating a hamburger and supersized french fries. I do think adding video clips can enhance a story; maybe i'll try it in the future.
I like the idea of using video to enhance photo stories; however, I am not sure if there is one that would work for me right now with my project. There is a possibility that I might find a commercial that might be useful, but I am not sure if it is something that would really enhance the presentation.
I do not have a camcorder - so i know that is definately out of the question for me at this time.
The process of using both a photostory and a video seems like an easy process if you have movie maker and it is something that I would definately like to work with, even if it does not come together for my final project.
By the way, Judy - Thanks for sharing your tutorial!
I like the idea of adding video clips to digital stories. I think that when used appropriately they can really add a professional edge and can convey ideas that are difficult to get across with still images alone.
I have thought long and hard about including video clips in my project and have decided not to do it this time. My project is about games and in particular my obsessions with them. It is a very personal piece and I think it would be difficult to find appropriate video to include even if I shot it myself.
There are certain issues with using video from the net. Generally due to the nature of video the files can get very very large so most video files that stream across the net are scaled to fit small windows to keep the size down. It may be that a video file appears very pixelated when included next to high resolution still images.
In any case, I promised to provide some assistance with downloading video and such from things like YouTube. The easiest way to get files converted that I have found in my long lonely evenings on the internet is by using Media Converter. This is a free online utility that will convert files into various different formats. You can just drop a YouTube URL into the little box (second radio button) and then tell it what format you want it in from the list and it will create a download link for you. It really does work well and also provides a way to grab audio from YouTube files (which is where I got the "Food Glorious Food" audio for our Food digital story).
If anyone needs any help using it I have been playing with it for a little while now so just drop me an email. There is a link to my email on my profile on here.
As a follow up to the previous - Media Converter runs in donations so if you find yourself using it a fair bit it might be nice to send the poor guy $5 or so. It is expensive keeping popular sites online especially when you are just one little fella :)
I'm thinking of inserting a video clip into my digital story, but I'm not sure if I can find anything worth putting in. My topic is 'Advertising', which I start from the influences of advertising I recognize in little kids like my daughter. I don't think any clip from Youtube would be suitable and I have searched Yahoo and Google but have not been successful so far.
I may rip a piece from a cartoon or do the recording myself with my little camera (the quality of which is not reliable). Whether it is added in the story or not, it depends on how the quality of the clip turns out. I want a clip that is really suitable to the content of my story and in qood quality. I will try.
Anyway, I don't think that we must have a clip in our story. If we can find a clip that really supports our message, then it is superb. On the other hand, other means such as good images, good script, texts.... can be as eloquent. If I cannot find the right clip, I will resort to these ways.
Thanks, Hal, for the information on Media Converter. I have bookmarked it as a possible alternative to capturing video from the Internet. Camtasia has worked for me so far with non-copyrighted videos, but it is always good to have another tool in case what one has does not work.
Kristal,
In reference to your topic on the cost of fast food, much more could be done with video than showing someone eating.
For example, I saw a blip on TV a week ago about fast foods posting nutritional information (such as calories, grams of fat, protein, fiber) on their menus in the restaurants.
I found an online video clip of Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street singing “I love trash,” that I think would work with my topic. The problem is finding a creative way to tie it in with my PhotoStory. The song is light hearted, while my PhotoStory is more melancholy. Unfortunately, the video clip did not mention food waste, which is something I wanted to cover. If I did use it, I would use it as a hook. The other idea I had was to create a fake news story about Oscar as an introduction to my PhotoStory. The original video clip of Oscar is from the 1960s; maybe Oscar dies because he lives in his own waste. By borrowing a character from pop culture, I think a younger audience will accept my message.
I have considered adding video clips to my digital story, but I'm not quite sure if I will be able to find the specific clips that I want. Given the nature of my topic and the direction that I want to go in, I wouldn't beable to make the clips myself through interviews, etc. I have searched a couple of things and didn't find what I wanted, but it's worth a shot to try again. I think that video clips can have a great impact if they are used for a particular focus...as opposed to adding them just because you can.
I think video adds great visual aids to certain lessons or concepts. In math, video is great for showing graph transformations as certain values of an equation change. It helps students make the connection from an algebraic equation to its corresponding graph. I’m not sure what types of videos are available but math applies to a wide range of real life scenarios. Or, I could have the students create skits to show concepts that they have (or should have) learned. However, that would only be occasionally to seldom, if I did decide to use video. Most of the time, the research and create-time may not be worth the idea or the idea could be produced to the same degree using a different method.
I thought that adding vido clips to a photo story project would be such a value add thing to do. I think that the hardest part though is to find appropriate video clips to use within the story. I think I will take some time to investigate video clips and find resources before I start to use them in my photo stories that I will create in the future. I think that the video clips will enhance the digital stories as moving visuals have a greater impact on the viewer and learner.
I will defintely use vidoe clips in the future as it can help get a concept or point across faster with video quality movement.
I decided not to add any video clips to my project this time because I have it already almost finished and I am having enough trouble as it is. I definitely would like to try it in the future.
I think that using my own videos would be more effective than using something "found" because I could make them be exactly the video clip I want rather than something that is kind of like what I want.
I am thinking about making a digital story to use at the beginning of the year next year to introduce what 2nd grade will be like. There are many things that I could use pictures of and video clips of such as the 2nd Grade Musical, Junior Achievement, Habitat projects, etc.
There is a long period in my photostory in which I am talking about a particular video of football highlights, so I am planning to put a couple of clips from that video into my photostory. At the moment, i'm actually planning on completely redoing my project in Adobe Premeire.
Keyana Jackson:
I would love to add video clips to my photostory. My photostory is about Hip Hop Fashion and adding a clip from a music video would definitely bring the story to life. It would transistion it from a photo story to a movie. If I were to add video to my photostory I would have to spend alot of time finding a video on the web or DVD that I could download to my computer and insert into the movie maker software.Finding video is not as simple as finding digital images and music to intert into photostory. I would have to shoot video myself and insert it.
I did find 3 video clips that I plan to use, each about 40 seconds in length.
I am an amateur at videos, therefore, I will not incorporate any videos into my photostory. However, I would love to learn how to use it for future reference. I do not even own a video recorder, I will change that soon and learn how to use it once I obtain one. I have heard of imovie and idvd; however, I have not done anything with it, therefore, I have no hands on experience. For my photostory, I will just stick with pictures for now and maybe down the road, I will be able to add and edit videos into my future photostories.
If I had more time I would definitely want to shoot my own video. I think it would be very impactful to capture the musicians playing the music through video. There are some clips online but I am not satified with the quiality. Video of bands can aid in creating the atmosphere and feeling the energy of the band as if you were listening to it live. That is why music videos become very popular.
Since I had audio of Marion Jones, I thought perhaps a video clip would be better. However, my main focus in using her press conference was to emphasize what she had to say rather than how she looked. So audio stayed in to impress a more powerful message of how she had hurt her fans.
I also thought about putting one of her actual races into the story, but again, it was her actions she chose off the field that I wanted to focus on. I liked being able to see her in mid-motion with a snapshot because it emphasized how her muscles were flexing and also kept the focus on my words rather than her (in)abilities.
I really believe that adding video clips to my final digital story would have only conveyed the message more effectively. However, I am not confident in learning a new program just to add a video clip this late in the class. Because I'm slow to learn technology it would take a bit of learning to incorporate into the story.
I would definitely consider when I use my digital story in a lesson with more time to work in a new program, like movie maker, I will add video clips of the interviewed children from the storm. I found many clips I really wanted to include. Video clips can be beneficial if used correctly and sparingly in a digital story.
I like ealeman's suggestion of shooting video. That ensures much better visual quality than what I captured off the Internet with Camtasia. The one point to keep in mind about capturing video with Camtasia is that the encoding is not recognized by Windows Movie Maker (which is great for quick-editing video). However, I had no trouble in importing it into Adobe Premiere Elements and exporting it again. That provided the encoding I needed. (Yes, I could have edited in Premiere Elements--but Movie Maker just makes it so easy and uncomplicated.)
Having said that, I feel that the three video clips I captured and edited add to my product nicely, with some pop culture,some humor, and with some demonstrations.
I had never used Photoshop Elements before and did not know about the slideshow feature. I found it very easy to use and a bit more robust than Photostory 3 or Windows Movie Maker, but not as complex as Adobe Premiere Elements--which I have used before in creating my WW II video (which is wonderful when using a number of tracks).
I saved often because it is always wise to do so. Towards the very end of my production, the program suddenly had to close. I knew to remain calm and systematically start analyzing where to find my project file.
Just as Dr. Robin had mentioned to us in class, the file is found within the program, and named with a date and time. I finally found it in the organizer (which I do not feel is intuitive in how the program is set up), opened it, and continued my work.
The videos I imported were .avi, and my audio were wave files. The entire product is five minutes in length and took a while to publish as a .wmv--perhaps 10 minutes, though I did not time it.
One other feature I want to mention is that one of the videos I captured was set to music I did not like, and so I captured only the video and not the audio. I added my own choice in music to it in Photoshop Elements--and that is when I discovered that I cannot import an audio file (such as music) and then add narration to that audio file (as one can do in Photostory 3).
So, I used Audacity to mix my narration with the music. I used a Blue Snowball Microphone for this, which is very nice quality. When I imported it into PhotoShop Elements, I discovered that the quality of the narration (besides being a little different in volume) was of better quality than what I had narrated within the Photoshop Elements program. That resulted in me using Audacity to mix all my narration with music clips, and then import into PhotoShop Elements.
I like Audacity better than GoldWave for both recording and for mixing. It is easy to adjust the volume of the various tracks and to add fade-in's and fade-out's.
I plan at some point to pick up PhotoShop Elements in the school computer store for $69. I think that it best fits my needs for creating digital stories--and I think that Audacity fits my needs best for audio editing.
I will not be using video in this photo story, but I definitely will be in the future. For this project I had planned only using photos from the beginning so there was no point looking for video at the end. The other issue is that I do not have videos readily available on steroid use.
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