Why Video for Education?

• Video surpasses the written word• Seeing and hearing is better than reading or

hearing and reading• Video stimulates emotionally• Information is conveyed more successfully by

demonstrating• Video is a compact, concise media• Video is attractive (for GenerationX, Y, Z…)

Video ProductionLet’s make a complex process simple

1. A familiar, engaging and learnful subject2. Prepare an outline or “script”3. Carry out research, collect the essential

information4. Record the material (images, screens, sound,

graphics…) 5. Edit the video6. Publish the video

What do you need?

• Subject• Time

• to prepare• to record

• Location

Subject

Two main types• An event organised by others or somewhat out of

your control over time and location• football game, theatre play, live lesson• a touristic video• a vox populi

• An event under your control• demonstration, fiction, presentation, animation,

interviews

Good preparation

• Scenario (storyboard) or planning• Location scouting• Find/meet actors or experts, accessories ... • Rehearse and practise

Scenario/storyboard

• See the film in your mind (role of video and of audio)

• Put the film on paper• script, scenario, storyboard...

• Why is it important?• Foresee: (4C)

• control during the recording (and editing!)• content• continuity• cost

• Execute the recording (but don’t forget to prepare it!)

What do you need?

• Camera: • DV (or best affordable) www.whatcamera.com / Video

magazine• web cam?• Screen cam• Photocamera…

• Tripod for video recording: safety first

Possibly also• Additional microphone, headphones• Additional batteries• Lights

Good images

• Enough light and good light• no dark, grainy images

• Use tripod• jerky images make seasick and cost bandwidth

• Choose camera position and angle carefully

Free Screen Recording Software

• http://www.techsmith.com/jing.htmlcapture your screen for videos, add text boxes, arrows or rectangles to highlight spots, record audio together with the video

• http://camstudio.org/open source screen recorder software records all screen and audio activity on computer, creates AVI or SWF

• http://www.advancity.net/eng/products/capturefox.htmlFirefox add-on records screen frame by frame with voice and provides AVI output

• http://www.utipu.com/screen recording with audio and video, AVI and FLV output, audio can be re-recorded, trim beginning and end, zoom video to mouse cursor with smart zooming and ability to draw free-style during recording

• http://www.debugmode.com/wink/tutorial and presentation creation software, capture screenshots, add explanation boxes, buttons and title, records voice, creates highly compressed Flash movies

Video Editing Tips 1

• Always shoot with the editing in mind: • take different shots, close shots, wide shots, hold the

camera steady, film enough footage, you can always cut out later what you don’t need.

• Work organized: • if you are making a longer movie, prepare a storyboard

up first. Name your clips in your video editing software. Use the same names as you use in your storyboard. If you don’t name your clips you will end up with a heap of files and you will lose a lot of time trying to find the footage that you are looking for.

• First assemble: • Once you have your footage loaded into the editing

software, start with creating a “rough cut”: put the main footage you want to use in chronological order in the time line.

Video Editing Tips 2

• Cut out the crap:• trim the beginning and endings of each clip and cut out

all the unusable shots• Tell your story:

• where can you add close ups? What shots can you add to enhance the effect? Try out different things and notice the impact, effect or feeling, the emotion that the video brings across

• Take it easy:• Your shots last at least between 2 and 10 seconds. Vary

shot lengths, some longer shots and then some shorter ones. Don’t go for the stroboscope effect, MTV or boredom. In about 5 seconds, the human brain has seen most details of a picture

Video Editing Tips 3

• Add some effects: • bring your audience into the movie, prettify your movie.

Careful: try to “feel” what different effects do to your movie, don’t go crazy with flipping and twirling stuff, read the language of movies

• Create intro, opening and closing titles: • have a proper beginning and ending, black at the end of

a movie creates a dramatic effect. When a title follows black, the audience can relax.

• Add music and sound effects:• test different kind of music tracks for your video and

“feel” the difference. A good choice of music will enhance your video