Media Exercise 7

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Basic Video Editing   (Due: Feb. 26)

Contents

[edit] Task

  • The goal of this media exercise is for you to learn (or practice) basic video editing and "remixing" skills. You will make a short video using a soundtrack that I provide, and photos of your choosing that have an appropriate Creative Commons or Public Domain license.


[edit] Guidelines

  • Your video should be one minute long (before credits). The video should include a title at the beginning (that you make up) and credits at the end that provide your name (or nickname) as the creator of the video, and a list of your sources.
  • Your goal is to create a video in which the selection, timing, pacing, sequence, and juxtaposition of images adds meaning to the soundtrack. This meaning should aim to be illustrative of the soundtrack, or to offer a new way of reading and interpreting the soundtrack. Repetition of images is acceptable.
  • Please edit using "cuts only" and/or dissolves between images. Note that if you're using MovieMaker 2, I recommend you use cuts only and stay away from dissolves because the software does a very bad job of dissolves. For the most part, please try to avoid zooms, noticeable transitions, and other effects. You can use the occasional effect if you wish, but the goal of the exercise is really to use the timing, pacing, sequence, and juxtaposition of images to create meaning.
  • The photos you use should either be in the Public Domain or have a Creative Commons "Attribution" or "Attribution-NonCommercial" license (any version number associated with either of these licenses is fine).


[edit] Steps to Create Your Video

  1. If you do not already own or use video editing software, please review Help Selecting Video Editing Software. Choose software to purchase or download a trial version.
  2. Once you have your video editing software, review the basic "getting started," help, or tutorial resources that come with the software. For this exercise, you will need to learn how to import audio and still images into your project; arrange and trim your images on the timeline; create titles; and, export or save your project as a standalone movie file.
  3. Download the audio file from ccMixter, Who Am I To Disagree With Freedom, as an mp3 file. Once you have downloaded the audio, create a new video project and import the audio into your project. Be sure to save and name your project file.
  4. Think of a theme or concept for how you will use images with the audio track, and then search for and download related images with an appropriate license. There are over 5 million photos with Creative Commons "Attribution" licenses that you can find using this Flickr search portal, and over 6 million photos with Creative Commons "Attribution-NonCommercial" licenses that you can find using this Flickr search portal. Of course there are many other ways to find images with Creative Commons licenses or images in the public domain. Use whatever strategies you prefer, but make sure to keep a record of the link(s) and attribution info for the photo(s) that you use. Tip: If you have a Flickr account you can "favorite" photos that you are considering using in your project; which is a handy way to keep track of a large number of photos.
  5. Once you have several images selected, you can begin importing images into your project and arranging them on your timeline. Be sure to experiment with the timing, pacing, sequence, and juxtaposition of the images. Save frequently so you don't lose your work! Get input from friends and family, as it is easy to get too involved in the editing process to be objective.
  6. Use the titling features of your software to create the title for your video (at the beginning of the video) and the credits (at the end of the video). Note that if your software has poor titling capabilities, it is sometimes better to create your titles as images (using image editing or presentation software, such as PowerPoint), and then import these images into your video project.
  7. When you are finished editing, you will need to save (or export) your video as a standalone movie. The process for doing this is different depending on your software, and it is sometimes called different things (e.g. "save as," "export," "compress," etc.). If you have an option to save the video as an .mp4 file, I would recommend that option. (If you don't have that option, I provide instructions below on how to convert your movie.)
  8. Once you have a standalone movie, watch it and see if it exported correctly. If something looks bad, you might need to go back to your project file and re-edit something, or you might need to experiment with your export settings.


[edit] Steps to Create Your Blog Post

  1. Save or convert your video to an .mp4 file. For ease of online playability: The bit rate should not exceed 1 Mbps (1000 kbps). The pixel dimensions should be between 320 by 240 and 640 by 480 pixels. If your software can not save or export these file settings, you can use an online free service for converting your files at: http://www.media-convert.com. If you use this service, I recommend selecting the iPod preset, "IPOD/IPHONE MP4 (.mp4)," for your output format.
  2. Upload your video to your iSpace account or the server of your choice.
  3. Create a blog post with the following components:
  • Title your blog post with the title of your movie. Do give your movie a title!
  • Provide a link to your media file at the top of your post. This should result in your video being playable from within the blog itself. If it doesn’t play, or just provides a link instead of embedding the video player in the post, make sure the link to your video ends in .mp4. If your video won't play and you can't figure out why, please write a post to Peer Support.
  • Optional: Attach an appropriate Creative Commons license to your video. Follow the steps for selecting the type of license you want provided at Creative Commons "Choose a License", and then copy the html code directly into your blog post (in the “code” window, not the "visual" window), immediately below the link to your video.
  • Categorize the blog post under "Media Projects."


[edit] Submission Instructions

  • Submit the assignment in Blackboard by going to Blackboard > Assignments > Media Exercise 7. Click "View/Complete Assignment" and provide the URL to your blog post in the Comments Box.
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