The Door

You've started working on filming with video. I gave you a basic script, you made changes to make the movie yours, and then we started filming. Using the video camera is different from just taking a picture. You are going to find out that editing (trimming out the bad parts) takes some careful work also. If you are careful when you are shooting the video, then editing is a lot easier.

What problems have you run into using the video camera? How is your movie going so far? What character did you make the "hero" run from?

Photostory Finished

Today is the day all of your Photostory projects should be done! Some of you have finished already I know. It was interesting with what you came up with. A few of you actually used your own music instead of what the program could give you. :> I realize having no speakers made it a little hard to do the music part but by the time the next project is due we will have the new computers and their speakers. (YEAH!!).
How did your Photostory project go? Was this too easy? Did you have trouble coming up with an idea?

Photostory Project

This week we started a new project. This time we are actually going to create a video using 15 or 20 pictures. This is a simple process, but we are learning to walk before I let you run. Using Photostory 3 from Microsoft you are to make a video. It can be about you, the school, or something else that you are interested in. You don't have to use the photographs you have taken around the school. You do have to add the following things:

• text to each picture (make sure it shows up easily and it doesn't cover up the picture)
• transitions from picture to picture
• music for a background, if you bring some from home it needs to be in .wav format and you need to follow copyright.

What are you planning to do your project on? How is it going so far?

Taking Pictures

You've had your first chance to go out and take pictures and it went pretty well. There were a few groups that grew too large and, of course, some pictures that didn't turn out well. Surprisingly some of the "bad" pictures actually looked cool. Like you had deliberately done some sort of special effect to them.
Now we are working on some picture editing techniques. I showed you how to crop a photo and also how to remove one person from a photo and put them into a second photo. This last requires some effort to do right because you have to make sure that the person you add has all the old background removed, has been adjusted so they are the right size, and then fits into the picture in a realistic way. We are not going to worry about the shadows for this assignment, but that also can affect your results.

How is you picture editing project going?

Once Again the Start of New Year

A brand new school year and we start a new semester of Video Production. In this class you will learn how to take pictures and video and how to make movies. You will be both behind the camera and in front of the lens! (We have to take pictures of somebody.)

Movies are more than just pointing a camera and hoping something happens. You have to plan out what you are going to do by writing a script and drawing a storyboard. You have to consider what camera angles you are going to use and how close up you want the image. You have to plan how to record the sound, what extra sound effects you will need, how the light affects your image. You have to take your video and edit out all the parts you don't want, put in the sound effects and narration, add the title to the front and credits to the end, and then add music for a sound track. All of these are part of a good quality video.

What do you think you will be creating movies about for the class? Do you have any questions or worries about the class?

Dealing with Special Effects.

The newscast movie is our first attempt to deal with adding special effects to a video. Special effects are great because they allow you to do some really cool things, like add a different background making you look like you are somewhere else, or showing an object on your screen that really isn't there. Things like this make your movies look really great.
But, special effects are not easy! Of course, if they were then they wouldn't be special. They can be tricky so you really have to pay attention to what you are doing. In Adobe Premiere you actually have to open a special set of controls for each effect so that the computer knows just what you want to do.
How are you doing with adding your special effects to your newscast movie?

Beta Versions Away.

Well you have tried out that new website, http://xtranormal.com/, and used it (or tried to use it) to make a movie that was stored on the Internet. Most of you had some frustration on this I know. Some things for you to remember.
First, the website is in the beta version. For those of you who do not know a beta version is a version that is being tested prior to a full release. This is why those three extra groups of characters are available at this time instead of just the basic group. It is also one of the reasons you had some of the trouble using it that you did.
Beta versions are put out there to test so that the programmers can have real people use the program and find all the 'bugs' that they missed when they created the program. Then they go in and fix the problems before they do the full release. There are many companies that do this including Microsoft. One of the nice things about Beta versions is that normally they are free to use. This balances out the running into software problems.
Some people like using Beta programs because they are the newest versions. Some people hate them because they can be full of problems, especially on any new features the old version did differently or didn't have. What are your feelings about using beta version software? Have you ever used beta version software before?