Making Movies out of Digital Stories
Introduction
There are so many advanced options for embellishing a Digital Story into movie format that it would be difficult to give a full training on all the options in a Sidebar. Instead you will be given some guidance and advice, a few basic techniques, and some online resources.
Digital Video has become a popular medium in the last few years thanks to vast increases in computer speed and storage capacity. Input and output (I/O) features have advanced as well. Ports for Firewire (a.k.a. IEEE1394;or i.Link), USB 1 and USB 2 come standard on many new computers. Additional ports can be installed using video capture cards from 3rd party vendors like Pinnacle Systems and Dazzle Multimedia. that have S-Video, Composite, and various other I/O options.
It is possible to upload video to your computer from a television, a VCR, an analog video camera, a digital video camera, a cell phone, and several other peripherals. The content can then be edited -- cut, pasted, trimmed, shuffled, given a sound track and rolling credits. The finished versions can be output to a VCR, TV, analog or digital camera, CD, DVD, or sent across the Internet as a downloadable file or a streaming video.
One does not need video to make a movie. As we have seen by the work of the Digital Clubhouse, excellent movies can be made using still photographs and a voice-over. If you have a movie-making program, such as the free Windows Movie Maker that comes with Windows XP or the free Apple iMovie that comes with OS X, a microphone, and some digitized photographs, you have all you need to make a movie.
Training on using Movie-Making Applications
Regardless of the program and format you use, you will see the basic design of the programs and process is the same.
IMPORT CLIPS (pictures, movies, sound)
COMBINE and EDIT clips on a TIMELINE
EXPORT the TIMELINE as a MOVIE
Timeline in iMovie with two tracks -- video and
audio
The timeline has multiple tracks so pictures and sound can overlap and play together in the finished file. The skill is in placing clips on the timeline and adding other effects such as transitions and credits. Once the timeline has all the necessary elements placed, the movie is previewed. When the final version is finished, users EXPORT the movie. Usually, many export formats are available (such as MPG, AVI, MOV) and many bitrates are possible (file can be saved in large high-quality formats for local viewing, or trimmed down to a lower quality that creates smaller files for streaming across the Internet.
If you chose to make a movie for this course, it is suggested that you EXPORT two versions. 1. A high-quality (CD or DVD) version for your personal use, and 2. A trimmed version for uploading, streaming, and sharing with the class.
Windows XP Newest Movie Maker Version
The newest MS Movie Maker makes exporting easy.
Save a high-resolution version by choosing either My computer or Recordable CD.
Saving for The Web will automatically reduce the bitrate for small file size and
easy streaming.
Save-to-The-Web Options Window
When saving to The Web, users can select one of
three default options.
Dial-up will create an extremely small, low-resolution movie and the
DSL option will create a larger, better-looking, but still stream-able version.
Users can select the exact file size (5 megabytes) and Movie Maker will adjust
settings to match
Many online tutorials exist for learning video editing. Below are links to some useful tutorials and resources
iMovie 2 for Macintosh Tutorial
Movie Maker Tutorial from Microsoft in PowerPoint format (view online or download)
Premiere Training from Adobe (Mac and PC) -- free registration required
Premiere Tutorial (Mac and PC)
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