Media Exercise 6

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Basic Video Editing

Contents

Task

  • The goal of this media exercise is for you to learn (or practice) basic video editing and "remixing" skills, with an emphasis on creating meaning through the fast paced juxtaposition of images and words.
  • You will make a short video using a soundtrack that I provide (below), and photos of your choosing that have an appropriate Creative Commons or Public Domain license.


Guidelines

  • Use this 42 second sample from the song, "2025," as the soundtrack for your video:
Download
  • To download the audio file, right click on the green arrow to the right of the audio player above. Choose "save target as" or "save link as" (the terminology varies on different computers), and then save the mp3 file to your computer.
  • If you want to listen to the song in its entirety, click here. The song is by DoKashiteru. It has a Sampling Plus 1.0 license and includes samples from Colin, murat ses, and kjackson (from CCMixter). (Note: The original lyrics that are used in the song can be found in the audio sample, "everyday choices," in case you want to hear the lyrics more closely).
  • Your video should be 42 seconds 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 complete list of your sources.
  • Your goal is to create a video in which the selection, timing, pacing, sequence, and juxtaposition of images and words add 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.
  • You should use a minimum of 15 images, 5 words (in addition to the title and credits), and 30 edits. Repetition of images and/or words is acceptable.
  • Your transitions should be cuts only (no dissolves, wipes, or other "effects"), and should aim to be timed to the beat of the music.
  • You can edit and manipulate images before you bring them into your video editing software if you wish. You can generate titles, credits, and other words in your image editing software or the title generating tools of your video editing software.
  • The images 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).
  • To view examples of how other students have completed this exercise, see the links listed under "Resources" (below).


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. (Note that trial versions sometimes come with constraints such as having a watermark on your movie, so investigate carefully before you invest too much time/effort in a particular editing software.)
  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 (or import "title slides" that you've created in image editing software); and, export or save your project as a standalone movie file.
  3. Download the audio file, "2025 sample," posted above. 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 links and attribution info for the photos 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), the credits (at the end of the video), and the words that you intersperse in between images. 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. Credits should include your name (as the creator or editor), the name of the song ("2025") and the song artist ("DoKashiteru"), and the names/authors of the images used in the video.
  8. 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.)
  9. 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.


Steps to Create Your Blog Post

  • Save or convert your video to the file format of your choice (e.g. wmv, mp4, avi, etc.). I recommend MP4 if possible (but note that this is just a recommendation, not a requirement). Create an account with blip.tv, and upload your video to your blip.tv account. This will convert your video to Flash; the playback quality will vary widely depending on the quality and settings of your original media (and you may want to experiment with your settings to get the highest possible quality).
Note: As mentioned above, I recommend saving your video as a .MP4 file. In general, MP4 offers good quality with a relatively small file size, which is very good for the web. For ease of online playability, use these settings: 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 video editing software does not have MP4 as an option, there are many software programs that convert video files to MP4. For example, 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 preset "IPOD" for your output format (this is an MP4 format). If your file size is very large, the online conversion might be extremely slow. In this case, consider searching for other video conversion software. (Quicktime Pro is a good option that is relatively inexpensive.)
  • Create a blog post with the following components:
  • Title your blog post with the title of your movie. Do give your movie a title!
  • Embed your video file in your blog post. See the blog tutorial on How to Embed a Video in a Blog Post, which includes the specific instructions you need for embedding video from blip.tv.
  • Attach a 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 “HTML” window), immediately below the link to your video.
  • Tell us what software/hardware you used to create the video (including any audio or image editing software you might have used in addition to the video editing software).
  • Tag your blog post, "2025" (without the quotes) and whatever other tags you wish.
  • Categorize the blog post under "Media Projects," save, and publish the post.
  • Check it to verify that it is displayed in Media Projects and that it plays correctly, and revise it as needed to get it right.


Submission Instructions

  • When you have completed your blog post, go to Blackboard > Assignments > Media Production Exercises, and follow the instructions to submit the assignment.
  • Assignments can only be submitted the week they are due (not before, and not after--unless prior arrangements have been made with the TA or instructor).


Resources

  • Examples of Student Projects (Media Exercise 6) from Fall 08:
  • Consequences, By Elisabeth C. This is a good example of focusing the editing exercise on a specific theme, in this case about the environment.
  • Our Past Shapes Our Future, By Lindy B. This is another good example of focusing the editing exercise on a specific theme, in this case about voting and social/political issues.
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