Week 5 EDLD 5363 Multimedia and Video Technology

The PSA above was created by Michael Alves, Pam Comer, Janie Fryar, Emily Priesmeyer and Emily Wisbrock for EDLD 5363 Multimedia and Video Technology and is licenced for limited use through Creative Commons.


Working with my group on the PSA over the past two weeks has been a refreshing change. I was concerned about how we would accomplish our task when we live in different parts of the state. My PSA team experience has not only taught me what goes into creating a video, but also how to effectively manage a project through the use of Web 2.0 tools when the team members live and work in different areas.
Pre-Production
My group began the video production process by collaborating through email and a on Google site created by Emily Wisbrock. We began brainstorming ideas for our PSA on the website and decided to address the issue of cyber bullying. Also on our Google site,we assigned roles based on our talents and areas of expertise. A tinychat.com web conference, organized by Pam Comer, afforded us valuable time to talk face-to-face and establish our timetable. I believe the web conference was vital because it helped us focus on the individual tasks and the direction the project took . Accountability moved to the forefront of the project when the group members saw each other, rather than just exchange words in an email. With our topic and a schedule completed by Pam Comer, we were ready to write a script and put together a shot list to guide our production. Michael Alves wrote the shot list and I wrote the script outline and narration script. Originally, the script outline and shot list did not match, but the more we talked and shared ideas, they came together to create the final PSA. Janie Fryar edited the script and narration, while Emily Wisbrock maintained the web site and kept us organized throughout the pre-production process.
Production
With a timeline to guide us, we each completed our tasks and shared them on the web site and email. I shared the video footage and narration recording with Michael. Using the footage and narration, Micharl put together a rough PSA and we followed-up with another web conference during which we discussed changes we wanted to make in the video, audio, text, and additions we needed on the web site. Constant communication on the web site kept everyone informed and the web conference proved to be an invaluable means of exchanging ideas and sharing so that we stayed on track. Once again, Emily Wisbrock made changes and additions to the web site, Pam Comer organized the web conference and maintained the timetable. Based on our web conference discussion, I reshot two scenes, shot an additional scene, and rerecorded the narration, Janie Fryar edited the script and narration, and Michael edited the video, audio, added music, and edited the text for a second rough PSA. The group followed-up the second rough PSA with third web conference in order to be sure that each member agreed with the changes. The third web conference also gave us a chance to share what we learned in the class web conference and to revisit the rubric. All of the raw footage and narration was posted on the group web site so that the group could collaborate on the shot selections and editing decisions.
Post-Production
Once the final PSA was completed, the group met again on tinychat.com to debrief about the changes we made and to discuss the final submission of the project. We determined that we would post our PSA on YouTube. We discussed our overall impression of the project, the problems we had, our solutions to those problems, and what we needed to turn in as part of our final project.
Improvement and Team Collaboration
As far as improving our PSA is concerned. I think a better quality camera and video footage would improve the overall quality of the PSA. I shot the footage with a Flip camera, and that was fine, except that I was not happy with the quality of the video-it definitely looked like an amateur shot the video. I learned a lot about how not to shoot video when I had to reshoot scenes over and over, but I would like for my footage to look more professional.
At our final web meeting, we discussed our strengths and weaknesses. Everyone in our group contributed to the production of the PSA in some way, and some more than others. The Google site was the best way for each person to contribute to the documentation aspect, and we did use email quite a bit to let everyone know as changes were taking place. The group web conferences were, by far, the most beneficial. It helped tremendously to see faces and know that we were all working toward a common goal. The only collaboration problems we encountered were related to busy schedules outside of class. We were able to overcome this problem, however; by being flexible and maintaining communication throughout the process.

Week 2 Multimedia EDLD 5363 Video Editing Software Evaluation

This week, I had the opportunity to evaluate two video editing software products. I chose Windows Live Movie Maker and Adobe Premier Pro CS4. I also created a video clip using Movie Maker. I used Movie Maker to edit the video clip and add a title and credits.
You may view this clip below:

Movie Maker and Adobe Premier Pro Software Evaluation
Prior to this course, I had no experience with video editing software, but when I read Gretchen Siegchrist's advice on About.com regarding Movie Maker I decided it was a great place to start. Siegchrist said Movie Maker is perfect for beginners, which couldn't be more accurate. I downloaded Live Movie Maker for Windows 7 for free and I was up and running in less than five minutes. Windows Movie Maker is available as part of the Windows XP package, but can also be downloaded for free.
Upon opening the program, I was impressed with the simplicity of the screen. With a little basic guidance on the different tools, anyone can use Movie Maker. First, I added a .wmv file and an .avi file by simply clicking on the "Add Video" button and then clicking on the video in my video library. My videos appeared in the storyboard immediately as a thumbnail. I trimmed the length of one video using the "Trim" tool. I added a title at the beginning of the movie and credits at the end. Adding music was as simple as clicking "Add Music" and adding an mp3 from my music library. Movie Maker also supports commonly used Audacity and .wav audio files. After that, I edited the order of the photos and video by clicking and dragging them into the correct order. I was also able to add simple animation effects to the title and credits. Overall, it took me about 20 minutes to put the movie together.

In addition to being beginner-friendly, Movie Maker is free, making it ideal for use in educational settings where technology is welcome, but not affordable. Movie Maker is also a friendly program in a classroom with a wide variety of ability levels. The program is easy enough to use that a core subject would feel comfortable allowing students to use it in order to, in the words of Andrew Garrison, "...find new access to students and help them find new access to the material."

I also like the sharing feature that allows users to share movies in high definition, standard definition, and widescreen to YouTube, mobile devices, burn a dvd, and email. Tech support for Movie Maker is widely available through Windows Help and How-to, and a multitude of forums and YouTube tutorials dedicated to assisting Movie Maker users.

I wanted to experience the difference between a free video editing product and a professional quality product so I used Adobe Premier Pro to create the same video I created in Movie Maker. Premier Pro is used by Audio Visual Production and Advanced Audio Visual Production classes to produce intermediate movies and the advanced school news show on my campus.

When I opened the program, I quickly discovered that my experience using Flash came in handy. Importing the video file was not difficult, I simply clicked on File>Import and chose the file I wanted to use. The video clip appeared immediately in the editing window, and as a line on the timeline under the video. This was a bit confusing and I had to ask for help from the AVP teacher. I learned that Premier Pro also supports .avi, .m4v, .swf, and a host of additional video formats. I was also able to import some .jpg and .bmp still shots using the same import process. At this point, Premier Pro became more challenging and I found a beginner tutorial on YouTube that was very helpful in learning how to control the audio and add transitions and effects. After watching the tutorial, adding a beginning transition was easy using "Video Transitions". There are several transitions to choose.I chose a dissolve which I added by dragging and dropping it at the beginning of the movie. Next, I added an mp3 music file using the same import process I used with the video. The audio appeared in a synchronous timeline under the video timeline. Premier Pro also supports .wma and .avi audio files.
Completing my movie in Premier Pro took me about an hour, and I was pleased with my results. While not as beginner-friendly as Movie Maker, Premier Pro is not impossible to learn and offers more options for editing and creating effects, but I would not recommend Premier Pro to the average classroom teacher as a tool for technology integration. Adobe offers several tech support options including online chat support, email, phone, and an array of forums and tutorials on the Adobe website.

Garrison, A. (1999, Winter). Video basics and production projects for the classroom. Center for Media Literacy. Retrieved August 30, 2010 from http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article3.html

Siegchrist, G. (n.d.). Before you buy video editing software. About. Retrieved August 31, 2010 from
http://desktopvideo.about.com/od/editingsoftware/bb/Buyeditsoftware.htm