Class Seven: Wednesday, March 11, 2009


Class Seven Topics

Brief Discussion on Legal Interpretation of Copyright, Fair Use and Use with Permission
 

We will spend a few minutes discussing Gary's recent post on these subjects.

 

Review Assignments from Class Six

For the last assignment, you were asked to: shoot some video footage with a camcorder and then post a comment in which you describe what you chose to shoot with the camcorder, how you think it turned out and include any additional information you feel would be of interest to the rest of the members of the class.
 

Hi Y’all. With the goal of just grabbing raw footage I headed to Galveston Island and sat out on Boddecker Road to catch big ships going into the Houston ship channel. First off, let me say to do so is an exercise in patience. Big ships aren’t just filing in one after the other. I tried the zoom features first because the ships looked like dark blobs inching across the LCD monitor. When zooming in, the details came into focus but I remembered that in class a close-up could mean a loss of quality image. Tried long shots, zoomed shots, and some in-between. Also learned panning smoothly is not as easy as one might think. I shot some footage of just me sitting on the seawall because I had this idea to use it with an old photo of a friend and me sitting in the same place. The camera was easy to use and when the battery was depleted I found it easy to charge. I took my laptop along hoping to transfer the footage directly onto the computer but discovered I did not have compatible cables. So, I haven’t seen the footage on a large screen yet but will stop by the CITE lab and check out cables to make the connection from cam to computer. I’ll know more about the quality of what was recorded when it’s all correctly connected. So far the camcorder is enjoyable—much more so than what I expected.
 
I have spent my time videoing my digital craft cutter and pop-up books. I have chosen to focus on experimenting with lighting because I always struggled with it in the past. (Video editing software doesn’t offer a quick “Auto Adjust” function like Photoshop does, you know?!) Jamie had suggested using utility lighting covered with used dryer sheets, which has worked well to get rid of the natural orange glow that is cast by ordinary interior bulbs. I also experimented with natural light from a large window in my dining room, which yielded surprisingly nice results…especially in early morning light. I have a lot of random raw video footage right now, so I won’t post it as it would not make sense and would be a huge file size. I do plan on using the footage in my final semester project and I am happy to have had the opportunity to experiment with lighting as it can definitely make or break the professionalism and aesthetics of a video project.
 
I've been using my Camcorders a bit more recently than in past months. Last weekend my daughter gave a talk on here recent experiences overseas. And on Friday I took all of my daughters to Seaworld where I did some recording of Shamu and other sea creatures. I am trying to transfer some of the video and then do some editing. In the past I have not had much success with transferring direct from the cameras and am eagerly awaiting some Premiere experience. I am also intending to do some test shots of myself introducing some of my on-line coursework for a class I will be teaching this summer.
 
I painted outdoors with some friends on Sunday, so I attempted to film their painting process in addition to my own. I haven't decided yet about the subject for my final project, but another idea I had was to show how to paint outdoors all at once and why it's still important to learn about traditional media. The main difficulty I had was in getting a good shot of the canvas. When I filmed a friend, I noticed that there was a glare coming from the white paper which made her painting difficult to see. My canvas worked better as it had a layer of paint to begin with, but it was odd to have the film showing my back the entire time. Otherwise, I did get a few interesting shots of my friends interacting with each other, and the tripod did help (I tended to go too fast while panning). I think that filming went well considering that I have little experience.
 
I thought it would be a good idea for me to interview my coworkers and students at UH and also librarians, researchers for "Texas Reading First Project" and hopefully a comic book store rep. 
I want to try to get different insights on using graphic novels and comic books in classrooms. I also want to find out from people who have watched "watchmen" if after watching the movie, they felt compelled to read the graphic novel. For my first interview, I interviewed Greg, a coworker who never really read comics growing up, but watched "watchmen" and is now going to read the graphic novel.
 
 
 


 

Introduction to Adobe Premiere Elements 7

Importing (Capturing) Video from a Camcorder

We will use Adobe Premiere Elements 7 for Windows to import video from the camcorders so that it can be edited.

When you first launch Premiere Elements, you should see the initial splash screen, like this:


Click on New Project.

You will then be prompted to name a new project, and you can choose any name you like. You will also be able to designate where the project files will be saved and you should choose a location on your portable hard drive or other external storage device.



 

The Video Capture window should appear, like this:



The VCR-like controls at the bottom of the Capture panel let you play, rewind, and fast-forward your video to find the specific video you want to capture. You can capture either all your video or specific scenes. 

Premiere Elements can automatically detect how many different clips are on your tape, based on when you started and stopped recording, and creates a separate video clip for each start/stop segment. 

To capture video from your camera, let the video play to the point where you want the clip to begin and click on the Get Video button, and conversely, when you're ready to stop the capture, click the Stop button.

After you've captured the video clips you want, close the Capture window.

Remember to save your project early and often!

 

Using an External Hard Drive in the CITE Lab

When you are plugging an external hard drive into one of the computers in the CITE Lab, you may need to change the drive letter of the device for it to work properly. This is especially the case when you are using Windows Movie Maker and you are going back and forth between locations and using one computer in the lab and another computer in another location.

More information on changing drive letters may be found by clicking on the following link:

changing-drive-letters.html

Also, some of the external hard drives that students may be using, such as the Maxtor One-Touch drives have built-in “backup” software. It can be confusing when the computer prompts for drivers when you connect the drive. The standard Windows dialog boxes hint that if you cancel the driver installation the device will not operate. This isn’t the case….if you cancel the driver installation, the backup features of the drive will not operate, but the drive will show up in My Computer and act just like a normal external hard drive.

Adobe Premiere Elements 7 Help Files

Download Complete Help File
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/PremiereElements/7.0/premiereelements_7.0_help.pdf
 

 

Tutorial on the Creation of Intro to Digital Storytelling Video - Not Yet Completed!
 http://courses.coe.uh.edu/brobin/7346/intro-to-DS-tutorial/intro08-tutorial.htm





The bin on the right includes the video clips that have been imported into PE7. The first clip has been inserted into the timeline and the first frame appears in the preview window.
 





A second clip has been inserted into the timeline and is separated by a gap.
 

Video Clips to Download


 

Additional Resources


At the end of class this week, we discussed the online tool, Adobe Premiere Express. After investigating this tool, it turns out that it is not a stand-alone web site that you can log into to use, but instead is a resource that works in conjunction with other web services.

Photobucket is one such website that is using Premiere Express. If you are interested in trying this out, I suggest that you view the tutorial at: http://tutorials.photobucket.com/tutorial_126.html

Note that you must be a Photobucket account holder and have content in your account in order to use this tool. You can sign up for a free  Photobucket account at: http://register.photobucket.com/?ref=homejoin

 

 

Getting Started with Premiere Elements 7 - Module 1.02 Introducing the Workspace
http://www.vimeo.com/2566153


Getting Started with Premiere Elements 7 : Module 1.02 from Colin Barrett on Vimeo.


Adobe Premiere Elements 7 - Part One
 


Adobe Premiere Elements 7 - Part Two

 

Adobe Premiere Elements 7 - Part Three

 

 

Assignments for Next Class

Reading Assignment

Class Seven Assignment (Due on March 25, 2009)

 For this week's assignment, you should create a short video on any topic of your choice, either related to your final semester project or on another topic. The completed video should be at least 60 seconds long and include at least 5 different video clips edited together. You may use video clips that you shot with a camcorder, downloaded from the web, created with a software program, in any combination. 

We used Premiere Elements 7 in class and you may download a free 30-day trial version of this program for Windows at:
http://www.adobe.com/products/premiereel/

Or if you prefer, you may use another video editing program to complete the assignment.

When you have completed the video, go to the course discussion blog at: http://cuin7346.blogspot.com/ and under Discussion Assignment Seven, post a comment in which you discuss your experience creating the video.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please upload your completed video to a location online where I can view it (such as Google Video, YouTube, Blogger, or other location) and include the URL in your post. Or, if this is not possible, please be sure to bring a copy of your video with you to the next class.
 

Midterm Project Assignment (Due on March 25, 2009)

As we discussed in this week's class, for the midterm project, you are being asked to put together a list of equipment that could be purchased for approximately $500 to put together a digital video kit that a student could check out from the lab. This kit would more than likely include a digital video camcorder, a microphone, a tripod, assorted cables, and any other items you feel should be included. For this assignment, you may find the Additional Resources listed above helpful as you research digital video equipment, as well as using web search engines and in-person visits to stores that sell this type of equipment.

When you have determined what items should go in the kit, please provide the following information for each item:

When you have completed the midterm assignment, please email the information to: brobin@uh.edu

 


REMINDER: We will not have class next week because of Spring Break. Our next class will be on Wednesday, March 25, 2009.