Video
Digital Video Objectives
Preparation
Read through the VIDEO module of Digital Media Basics and complete all tasks outlined there including the quiz at the end. If you have not had any experience with iMovie, look to the bottom of this page for links to a set of iMovie tutorials.
- ISTs will discuss common streaming video sites on the Internet.
- ISTs will learn techniques for downloading streaming video for offline use in the classroom. Example, this FireFox Extension.
- ISTs will learn techniques for shooting original video.
- ISTs will discuss video file formats.
- ISTs will discuss copyright issues related to digital media and locate public domain resources for downloading content legally.
- ISTs will create a simple digital video example using available software like PhotoBooth or iMovie.
Preparation
Read through the VIDEO module of Digital Media Basics and complete all tasks outlined there including the quiz at the end. If you have not had any experience with iMovie, look to the bottom of this page for links to a set of iMovie tutorials.
Assignment for Level 1 Students
Create a short movie to introduce yourself. You will use this video in your final project. You can use the Titles feature of iMovie or ClipChamp to create a title that will appear at the beginning of your video. Keep the total time for this video to under 30 seconds. To keep file size down, share from iMovie as a 720p movie rather than 1080p. If possible, share the file to your personal YouTube account. If you prefer, you may find online video editing with ClipChamp.com to be useful. ClipChamp is very easy to use and is great for the linear videos you will need to produce for 1B. ClipChamp provides a small amount of cloud storage and generates an embed code similar to the code provided by YouTube. A popular open-source video editor is available for Mac and Windows at OpenShot. |
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Assignment for Level 2 Students
Level 2 Students - Take the audio file you created in either project 2 or 3 in the Audio part of this course and use it as the basis for a new movie project in iMovie or other editor. Add still images, titles, and transitions. See the Action/Adventure Movie Music example below as a possible model. Then upload your MP4 or M4v video to your Weebly space using the File widget if it is under the 10 MB limit for free accounts. If you have a YouTube account, you may instead upload it to your account. There is no file size limitation for files shared to YouTube. If you create a video file, you can use the Media-->File widget in Weebly to upload the file from your hard drive to your Weebly site where users can download it by clicking a link. Here are two examples I created that you can download by clicking the link. If you need to convert MOV to MP4, there is a decent free app in the Apple App store called Free MP4 Converter. You can also use VLC, the free open source video and audio player/converter. |
Embed a YouTube Video
To embed a video from YouTube, click the Share button on the YouTube page for your video, then copy the Share link. Then drag Weebly’s YouTube widget into your page and paste the link. Here is an example. |
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If you right click on the scale720p.m4v link above, you can copy the link URL. You can then use it to embed the video, using the HTML5 video element. Just use the EMBED CODE feature of Weebly to embed
<video controls style="width:100%;" src="https://digitalmediabasics.weebly.com/uploads/2/1/1/3/21131416/scale720p_1.m4v" ></video> |
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Embed NoteFlight Scores
NoteFlight makes it possible today to share any score you create by embedding it on your web page. Get the embed code from your NoteFlight page and use the Embed Code widget in Weebly.
NoteFlight makes it possible today to share any score you create by embedding it on your web page. Get the embed code from your NoteFlight page and use the Embed Code widget in Weebly.
Making Screen Recordings
There are many ways to create video of the action and audio happening on your computer screen. Here is an article containing a few solutions. You can create screen recordings easily today with ClipChamp.com using their screen recording feature. Here are some other options.
QuickTime Player (pre-loaded on your Mac) - screen recording using the built-in microphone of your computer will capture anything audible in vicinity of your computer including any sound coming out of the speakers and anything visible on your screen. This is a free solution but requires you are in a quiet room to avoid capturing unwanted audio. To capture the audio internally through the computer, without going through the microphone, use Sound Siphon 2.0 (a $39 commercial product) or the SoundFlower open source solution (for safety get it only through GitHub). Given the cost, Sound Siphon makes sense only if you have other reasons to route audio internally on your Mac (such as sending audio from one audio application to another). I am getting more hesitant to recommend free software, however, as once reliable sites like SourceForge have fallen to the dark side and started include adware in their installers. As of June 2016, GitHub still appears to be safe but there are no guarantees. Free software has long been the major source of malware on Windows and the trend is gradually moving to the Mac. If it is worth using, it is worth paying for.
SnagIt by TechSmith - this $50 application is probably the best solution for simple recordings of your screen, Mac system audio, and optionally the Mac microphone.
Camtasia and ScreenFlow are $100 solutions that have a heavy learning curve but produce professional results. Use these tools if you intend to produce high-level tutorials for a broader market.
Converting to MP4/M4V
Many applications on the Mac create video in the QuickTime MOV format. MOV is great for desktop use and classroom presentations but not suitable for the web. For the Web you need MP4 or M4V formats. To convert to M4V, before MacOS Catalina, you can open the MOV video in QuickTime Player and then choose "Export --> iTunes" from the File menu. Choose the iPod/iPhone option to create an M4V file that is compressed suitably for web use. Then locate it in your iTunes library, right-click on it to show it in the Finder, and copy it wherever you like on your hard drive. A file created this way contains no DRM (Digital Rights Management) so in this case M4V is identical to MP4 and will work on the web wherever an MP4 file would work. For the latest MacOS operating system, Catalina MacOS 10.15, you will need to use some other video editing application (iMovie is too limited in export options). There is a decent free app in the Apple App store called Free MP4 Converter. You can also use VLC, the free open source video and audio player/converter.
Frame Rate
Common frame rates for moving pictures in USA are 24 for film but 30 for video. Using a frame rate of 15 frames per second for personal or instructional videos, however, is usually acceptable and greatly reduces file size for sharing online.
IMovie Tutorials from YouTube
Below are links to a very brief overview as well as a full 40 minute class to take you through the basics.
There are many ways to create video of the action and audio happening on your computer screen. Here is an article containing a few solutions. You can create screen recordings easily today with ClipChamp.com using their screen recording feature. Here are some other options.
QuickTime Player (pre-loaded on your Mac) - screen recording using the built-in microphone of your computer will capture anything audible in vicinity of your computer including any sound coming out of the speakers and anything visible on your screen. This is a free solution but requires you are in a quiet room to avoid capturing unwanted audio. To capture the audio internally through the computer, without going through the microphone, use Sound Siphon 2.0 (a $39 commercial product) or the SoundFlower open source solution (for safety get it only through GitHub). Given the cost, Sound Siphon makes sense only if you have other reasons to route audio internally on your Mac (such as sending audio from one audio application to another). I am getting more hesitant to recommend free software, however, as once reliable sites like SourceForge have fallen to the dark side and started include adware in their installers. As of June 2016, GitHub still appears to be safe but there are no guarantees. Free software has long been the major source of malware on Windows and the trend is gradually moving to the Mac. If it is worth using, it is worth paying for.
SnagIt by TechSmith - this $50 application is probably the best solution for simple recordings of your screen, Mac system audio, and optionally the Mac microphone.
Camtasia and ScreenFlow are $100 solutions that have a heavy learning curve but produce professional results. Use these tools if you intend to produce high-level tutorials for a broader market.
Converting to MP4/M4V
Many applications on the Mac create video in the QuickTime MOV format. MOV is great for desktop use and classroom presentations but not suitable for the web. For the Web you need MP4 or M4V formats. To convert to M4V, before MacOS Catalina, you can open the MOV video in QuickTime Player and then choose "Export --> iTunes" from the File menu. Choose the iPod/iPhone option to create an M4V file that is compressed suitably for web use. Then locate it in your iTunes library, right-click on it to show it in the Finder, and copy it wherever you like on your hard drive. A file created this way contains no DRM (Digital Rights Management) so in this case M4V is identical to MP4 and will work on the web wherever an MP4 file would work. For the latest MacOS operating system, Catalina MacOS 10.15, you will need to use some other video editing application (iMovie is too limited in export options). There is a decent free app in the Apple App store called Free MP4 Converter. You can also use VLC, the free open source video and audio player/converter.
Frame Rate
Common frame rates for moving pictures in USA are 24 for film but 30 for video. Using a frame rate of 15 frames per second for personal or instructional videos, however, is usually acceptable and greatly reduces file size for sharing online.
IMovie Tutorials from YouTube
Below are links to a very brief overview as well as a full 40 minute class to take you through the basics.
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