Lab 2: The Final Product

The editing process started off difficult, but certainly got a little easier as I moved along. After my clips were organized, I began to add different effects to my movie. I added a title bar with Mel's name, title pages stating the questions that I had asked her, a credit page and non-text transitions. Additionally, I edited my clips down to eliminate me asking Mel a question, so that I would not be too repetitive. Once all of my editing was complete, I saved the movie as a movie file, so that I could upload it to YouTube and post it to my blog. I am looking forward to repeating this exercise so that I can practice the skills that I have just started using.

The three videos that are embedded into the blog show the three different stages of the editing process. The first video is just the raw footage of all that was taped in my interview. No editing was done and no slide transitions, titles or credits were added. My second video includes the majority of my editing, including the clip-cutting, transitions, titles and credits. My third and final video includes some last-minute editing touches and the final required element: the non-text slide transition from the introduction to the start of the interview. This project certainly made me realize all of the technical work that is required to put a good movie together...and this is just the beginning!

Lab 2: Interview, Upload and Edit

Today's lab sent us out into the field to interview a subject on a certain topic. Debbie, Lauren and I ventured over to Ulrich Student Center hoping to find some people who were willing to participate, and ultimately came out successful. We filmed introductions and then got right into the interviewing. I was up first. I interviewed Debbie's friend, Mel, who was picking up a package from the Mail Center. I chose the topic of the poor economy to investigate, and Mel did a great job answering the questions! She was pretty calm and relaxed throughout the entire interview, which really helped for things to run smoothly. But little did I know that things back at the lab would not be so easy...

Once we returned to the computer lab, we immediately began uploading our videos. Because there were three of us (as opposed to two), the interviewing process and uploading process took a lot longer, so I was feeling really behind. It also took a while to figure out whose clips belong to each person because you cannot view them before converting the clips on Prism Video Converter.

NOTE TO SELF: Bring a pad and pen out into the field to note which clips/takes you want to use!

After my clips were all organized, the editing process began...

Adding titles, credits and transitions to your clips

In Monday's class, we learned how to take the clips that we had uploaded and began adding effects to them. The whole process seems pretty basic, but I'm glad that we went over how to do it because I know very little about editing movies. After watching Professor Littau go through the process, it was evident that Windows Movie Maker makes it as easy as possible for the user. On the left side of the screen it gives you the option to "Edit Movie" with "View video transitions" and "Make titles and credits" listed below. Nothing complicated! I think that I can handle that.

I am excited to put it all together in today's class. Today we will be put into groups of two or three and sent out to do an interview somewhere on campus. We will then practice uploading the clip, editing the clip, and then uploading it to YouTube. With each class that goes by, we will be learning more and more skills that will help to perfect our final project.

Week of January 18

After this week, I am finally all set with all of my accounts. I set up my twitter account, YouTube account and this blog so that I can start and continue posting this semester. Unlike a lot of my friends, I don't spend a lot of time on Facebook, YouTube or twitter, so blogging and tweeting on a regular basis will be a big change. I think that the reason why I've never used twitter or sites like that is because I know I will be continually checking the web for updates! I'm looking forward to getting started with this semester because the content of what we'll be learning is something almost completely knew to me. I'm excited to get started and to see what the semester brings!

Week of January 18

In this week's lab, we started to familiarize ourselves with the Kodak Zi8. The cameras are pretty simple and easy to use. The image that the camera produces is high-quality, which will enhance the quality of the projects that we will be doing this semester. To practice using the camera, we interviewed each other and then transferred the movie to a computer, where we converted it to a .asf file. After the conversion, we uploaded the interviews onto YouTube (our first upload!) for the world to see! The whole process is a little confusing at first, but I'm sure it will become second nature as we progress further into the semester. But for now, I'm sure I'll be using the packet!