Build a better mouse trap and the world may never know about it.

A mouse trap placed on top of your alarm clock will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep

Back some months ago when this blog first began, I had no illusions about having information so important that the world would beat a path to my "digital" door.  Funny thing happened on the way to here though, I began to enjoy it and realize that there was information I could share that would be a resource to other digital media teachers and beneficial to novice media producers wanting to get started.  This left one piece of the puzzle, how do I get the world to take notice?
In the class that I am taking that was the genesis of this blog, we shared methods to drive people to our blogs.  Truly, some of the most simple and possible effective ones, I hadn't considered.  After some reflection I've chosen a couple of methods I think will help me.  I've added my blog address to my email.  I make so many contacts that I think this would have been very beneficial had I done it earlier.  I believe this exposure will pay dividends down the road.  I've also posted the blog address with a brief description on Classroom 2.0 and got almost instant results.  This is a forum where teachers can find other teachers from all over the country and the world for that fact in the same or similar content areas.  Within 1 hour of posting at Classroom 2.0 I had received two replies and both we excited to see the blog......wonderful.
This process has been a truly educational experience for me in several ways.  First it's gotten me out of my digital rut.  I've been using many high end video production software's for some time and just resisted the unknown...i.e. Twitter, blogs and Ning's...O My!  (that was an earlier entry).  Its also helped me see the power of connection.  In my presentation to the class, I said that this had shown me that we are smarter than I.  Well I may have come late to the dance, but I'm going to use these new tools to help build my content knowledge, professional community and resource base.  This can only help my students to see a world of content that is much larger than it would have been without this experience. As Martha Stewart says, "It's a good thing."

Just follow the manual

The secret to getting ahead is getting started

 

Did you ever wonder how to use Photoshop?

Check out these beginner tutorials I am posting on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/user/videoteacher100?feature=mhum

Franken-camera

Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities.

It's a digital camera....it's a camcorder, no its both.  This has been the confusing state of digital image capture devices for the last couple of years.  Remember when digital camcorders starting to be able to record still images to a memory stick?  Trust me this did happen back almost 9 years ago and the image quality was what you'd expect from technology that was from almost a decade ago.  The reason was that still images were not the camcorder's thing, it was all about video. 
The Single Lens Reflex Camera, has been around for decades, stable, very high quality but it cost a lot for film and processing.  Next arrives the Digital Camera, exit film and processing, but lacking the quality of their stodgy old ancestors.  Then the light bulb goes off in the collective minds of both the camcorder and the camera manufacturers .  "We've got all this technology, high resolution sensors and oodles of snappy software, we can do everything!" and they did. 
In the last two years, Canon has produced a digital camera ( Demo Video ) that takes incredible quality HD movies and most of the major camcorder manufacturers finally accessed the true power of their progressive image sensors for razor sharp HD quality stills.  
Holy Crap, do I need a camcorder or a digital camera?  Yes. The truth is for most people either may work fine.  Digital still cameras offer most consumers the option of video as well as stills, although not much available recording time.  Most camcorders can record high quality still images and also offer the possibility to record your daughters dance recital.  If you're a professional the choices get harder.  There are media workflows to consider and where the finished footage will need to end up (on broadcast TV or in someones home DVD player).
The bottom line is that the consumer, the prosumer and the professional have never had more choices at a lower cost than today.  I have people ask me to suggest a camcorder occasionally.  That question merits questions in return.  Do they want to edit their videos?  Do they want to not bother?  Do the need long lenght record times?  There are different consumer camcorders and yes even digital still camera to fit almost every need and price range so whatever your need you're probably in luck.  As we always say in the video production field, "It ain't the gun, its the gunner".  Shoot away!

To repair or not to repair that is the question

If an article is attractive, or useful, or inexpensive, they'll stop making it tomorrow; if it's all three, they stopped making it yesterday.  ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

I am often asked by friends and associates about their cameras or VCR's or other electric equipment that is not working properly or at all.  "What should I do?" asked one friend when a camcorder didn't display out an image of the flip out screen anymore.  It would still record and she could use the eyepiece, but like me, she found that image too small to be useful. 
Back in the dark days of analogue video equipment, camcorders and all electronics were big, expensive and made to repair.  With the advent of digital electronics, sizes became smaller, units became much cheaper and the ability to repair fell from the realm of reality.  It is simple economics.  If a camcorder costs $400.00 to purchase and 3 years later is stops working properly, most places that will repair it have what is known as a bench charge.  This is the cost for looking at the camcorder and evaluating the problem.  It is not the cost for repairing it.  Most times this will run between $80 and $150, remember this is only to evaluate the problem and whether you choose to fix it or not, you'll pay this amount. 
In the past 7 years, I have never known of anyone who had a consumer piece of electronic equipment repaired out of warranty, it was never feasible.  Should I now start my rant on the evils of a disposable society of conspicuous consumption, should I rail on the sorrow of overflowing landfills and a unsustainable model of  progress.......no. 
These cheaper, smaller electronics are responsible for YouTube and every event that is happening around the world being eye witnessed for everyone to view.  Natural disasters, political upheaval, groin shots.  Its all there 24/7 and we're better for it.  
As to sustainability, there are many outlets for recycling now.  Companies have discovered the precious metals used to manufacture these components can be recovered.  Baby steps, but at some point 100% of the manufacturing process as well as post use recycling will be possible.  Till then we'll keep watching those groin shots and may get some real educational content to boot.

Are you a convert?

"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it."  Mark Twain

Its happened to all of us.  You have a video, audio or image file that you need to convert to some other format for a specific application.  Fortunately today there are several new free software packages that are available to save you time, money and worry!

Lets look at Format Factory.

Format Factory is a free tool that can convert image, video or audio files from one format to another.   It easily converts WMV, AVI, MPG, MP3, WMA, AAC, JPG, PNG, GIF, and many more as well as supporting media formats used by most major portable devices, including PSP and iPhone. 
This alone gives this package great appeal for everyone from the novice hobby person to expert video producer.  While there are several free file converters on the market what sets Format Factory apart is its ability to convert images as well as video and audio.  While the user interface is not very intuitive and it lacks presets that could be helpful, I still recommend using this software.  What can you expect, it’s free after all.  Some of the other outstanding features of this software are:

1.      It supports converting all popular video, audio and image formats to others types of files.

2.      It can repair damaged video and audio file.  Very helpful in certain “o crap” moments.

3.     Format Factory can reduce multimedia file size.  This can really save your beacon by making video easier to play within PowerPoint or other graphic presentation software programs.

4.      It supports iPhone and iPod multimedia file formats.  For those using iPods for instruction this can be a real lifesaver.

5.      Picture converting supports Zoom, Rotate/Flip and tags.  This can really help if you’ve taken pictures using both landscape and portrait orientation and need to use both in your presentation.  You also can zoom in on the portion of the image you really want and get that embarrassing face Uncle Otto is making out of the shot.

6.      Audio Joiner allows you to bring two audio clips together or join them....get it, then convert them to another type of audio file.

7.      It has the ability to be a DVD Ripper.  For school produced videos this can be very helpful if you want to post it to an iPod or other mobile device.

A couple of caveats, first the interface is a bit confusing leading to high frustration level if you’re not familiar with other software packages that convert files.  Being patient is the key here.  Don’t start converting when you’re on a deadline, do it when you have time to experiment and try different settings to get the output that looks and works best for you.  One thing I didn’t like was that the software tries to install a couple of tool bars and shortcuts on your computer, make sure you look at the installation screens before clicking next and uncheck those squares if you don’t want them.   Also be sure your firewall allows the full installation of the program or you may get problems with your conversions.  Also this is only for Windows based computers.  Follow the link below to download your copy.

http://download.cnet.com/FormatFactory/3000-2194_4-10968547.html?tag=mncol;1

Jing....not just a sound

"Success is often the result of taking a misstep in the right direction"

 

How many times have you watched a tutorial or webinar where the speaker was narrating a software package as the action is taking place on the screen?  Step by step, they show you and tell you, only tactile stimulation is missing. Cool huh?  It was probably created by a neat little software package called Camtasia Studio by TechSmith.  It is a great software package, fast, versatile and relatively easy with a little practice to master.  It will also cost you between $100 (Mac version) and $200 (Windows) for the package (yes that's educational pricing). That's not what this blog edition is about.  Its about Jing.
Jing is also offered by TechSmith and its free.......yes its free.  While it offers less function than its expensive cousin, it is a really great tool to place in your educator tool kit that will allow you to create a spectrum of resources for your instruction that students can access anytime.  Of course you'll have to place your tutorials on a school server, CD in the class or on YouTube, but Jing makes all those easy to accomplish.

Below is a link to their website

http://www.techsmith.com/jing/

I won't go into a tutorial here, they have a great one on their website. It only takes minutes to start creating your own educational resources....oh and if you want to show Mom how to use email or Dad what YouTube is all about its great for that as well.  Just FYI, if you try to install it at school make sure you can access it around your school system firewall, your I.T. department can help with this.  Tally Ho!

Bring out the Gimp

Life is like a taxi. The meter just keeps a-ticking whether you are getting somewhere or just standing still.

The time has arrived when I am beginning to post tutorials on a Google site that I have.  I will post updates as new items are added but for the first posting I have created 8 tutorials for using the GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) software.  For those of you who don't know this software think Photoshop, but free!  This is a small free open source program that runs on most computers without issue.  I encourage you to download the software, look over the tutorials, (by the way there are hundreds more on YouTube and all over the internet) and begin creating havoc for your friends and family by turning those old boring photos into incriminating evidence.  Imagine your octogenarian uncle flexing his muscles on Muscle Beach in Venice or your sister walking arm and arm with George Clooney.  If you can imagine it, with enough practice you can do it with GIMP.

Your choice, a beach with strangers or all to yourself.......as far as anyone has to know.  

The practical application for educators is that this software will allow for the creation of slides, graphics, images or other components of any presentation that might need graphic editing.  If there is a picture that represents a concept you want to teach but the image is too dark or there are other elements you wish were or were not in the picture.  No problem!  With a little practice this can become a tool that can help you create eye popping instruction.

Follow the link below to the basic tutorials

https://sites.google.com/site/pchsvideoproduction/tutorials