IST 531 Multimedia Tools: Audio/Video
"MultimediaTools I: Audio&Video Production: Is intended for students who want to acquire the skills and expertise necessary to produce informational audio and videos intended for interactive multimedia projects. The emphasis will be to create media that one can incorporate into classroom and corporate training environments."
Final Video and Reflection
For my final video I continued to use Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction to organize the content which focussed on giving a basic overview of the Raspberry Pi in two minutes. I as usual used my iPhone and FilmicPro to do all the filming and then used Airdrop to send the clips to the desktop on my computer. I then split the audio from the video and imported everything into Camtasia. I feel I have a good grasp on many features for Camtasia although there several elements which I never got around to using. I'm somewhat torn between continuing with Camtasia or going ahead and beginning to learn Adobe Premiere and After Effects. Either way I feel I have a video creation took with which I can fairly quickly put together a training video. I used essentially four scenes which varied between extreme closeup to a medium distance between the camera and the subject. I also used the lavalier mic for almost every scene except the opening which gave me good audio to use without having to worry if it was good enough to use. I think the only disadvantage at times is that the voice can seem a little disembodied from the images shown rather then if the narrator is there in the shot. I again explored creating my own music in Garageband and used minimal video effects other then in the transitions between scenes. All the text used a strongly contrasting white against a black background for maximum readability. For the most part as usual I ended up having to shorten scenes and the scope of what was shared to keep the video within the required time.
In terms of what I learned from the class, given that my for my first video I was using my iPhone in the portrait orientation and the built in mic only, I've learned a lot and not just technical knowledge. I enjoyed the freedom to no only explore playing with effects and editing techniques, but there was growth on my creative or artistic side as well. I learned much about dividing the filming area into thirds and how to frame the subject. I didn't have a chance to use a green screen, and that will be next on my list. It was also great getting to see the different ways that other students solved the problems presented and then to share with each other our thoughts and reflections. In terms of my growth, I went from just shooting videos and beginning to read a few prepared statements. I quickly learned that maintaining eye contact off the screen while trying to read was not a good way to engage an audience. I also learned that if I needed to explain something very technical that couldn't be done while standing and maintaining eye contact that I should put a relevant image for the viewer to see while I then could read verbatim something technical. I also improved in keeping my videos organized to a point in which I would create a three column script with more detail about the visual and auditory elements as well as the expected times for the scene. Lately while using Gagne for instructional structure I started putting which stage of the process that particular scene represented.
Here's the final script for the Raspberry Pi video.
Here's the final script for the Raspberry Pi video.