EDLD+5363+Week+5+Collaboration

__ ﻿ ﻿ Our Finishing Touches (Week 5)__ (back to Week 4: http://rogerdreger.wikispaces.com/EDLD+5363+Week+4+Collaboration) media type="youtube" key="-QA3vtAHNqo?fs=1" height="385" width="640"

Final PSA uploaded to these sites from an AVI file on Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 6:00 pm. Karen
[] Posted Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 5:45 pm [] Posted Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 5:50 pm media type="custom" key="7010143" media type="youtube" key="sG00caT5sxA?hl=en" height="344" width="425"

**Final PSA uploaded to this site from a WMV file on Friday, September 24, 2010 at 2:35 pm. (Karen)**
**[]** **WMV loaded onto box.net on Friday, September 24, 2010 at 2:37 pm. (Karen)**

The rubric says each of us needs to upload (not the same as embed) the PSA to our wiki. I thought the .WMV would be a smaller file and not hog so much wiki storage space. I'm sure Karen would let me know if .AVI is really better.--E. I'll pass on that since expert opinion is involved and I'm not usually "right" enough.

It's week 5, and our PSA is nearly complete! We'll use this page to decide on final edits and tie up lose ends. Meritte has used Atomic Learning Storyboard Pro to create our final story board. See the .PDF version below, and add you comments, ideas, and suggestions in the table provided.




 * ~ **Shot_ID** ||~ **Comment/Notation** ||
 * 1_Opening_Title
 * || Text effect appears at top center of "driving at night" shot. I think the unobtrusive positioning and brief appearance of the title is appropriate--avoids delay and quickly connects viewer with content. ||
 * 2_Driving_at_Night
 * || I think the night driving scene works well as an opening shot, establishing the setting for events and creating a mood of impending danger (driving at night always makes me uneasy) . Shooting from the driver's point of view helps the audience that a similar tragedy could actually happen to them.

I don't know what kind of shot this is--I know extra-close, close, medium, and long. Which is is? || Interesting that the opening footage places the viewer in the driver's seat, as though they will actually experience the crash; then the next scene of police cars distances viewers from the event. Maybe using footage that doesn't quite fill the screen allows the audience to witness the tragedy form a respectful distance. || These are extra-close shots, right? Probably, I don't really know the dividing line between close, extra close, and extreme close shots. ||
 * 3_Police_Cars_at_Accident
 * || The police car scene supplements the story-telling, letting viewers know that the accident has occured (without focusing on more graphic accident images).
 * 4_Flipped_Car
 * || This image helps viewers clarify the nature of the accident, as described in the narration (definitely a long shot). ||
 * 5_Karla_and_Friends
 * || I think the less than technically perfect quality of these still images is appropriate. They appear to be authentic relics of a lost life. More polished, professional images would appear contrived. ||
 * 6_Accident_Memorial
 * || The comment above applies here, as well. ||
 * 7_Car_Rolling_in_River
 * || This shot (accompanied by statistic) transitions the viewer form the narrative section of the PSA to the informational content (this one looks like a medium to long shot). ||
 * 8_Getting_Rescue_Tool_From_Glovebox
 * || The arm is mine and my daughter was the camera person. I wanted 2 different shots of both getting the tool for the car and putting it in the glovebox. This would give Karen more flexibility during editing. -Roger
 * 9_ Struggling_with_Seat_Belt
 * || Another extra-close shot. Struggling and seat belt cutting shots integrate very well. ||
 * 10_Hammer_to_Break_Glass
 * || The actress is my niece, not my daughter.-E. If we need to include names our the talent in credits, her name is Nicole Pressler. The power window failure (buttons don't operate) and hammer raised to glass is composed of two shots, spliced with a fade transition. When I tried to record as a single shot, it seemed too long, so I reshot as two clips that I trimmed and pieced together get the most visual information in the shortest time. I would call these extra-close to close shots. ||
 * 11_Picture_of_Rescue_Tool
 * || This still image (close shot) lets the viewer see an example of an emergency tool; at the same time, the label on the tool ("In memory of Karla") makes the tool another authentic artifact (like the photographs of Karla and the memorial shots), transitioning back to the narrative. ||
 * 12_Karla's_Portrait/Memorial
 * || Reminds the audience of the personal tragedy and the reason to carry the emergency tool. Juxtaposed images (portait on the left/memorial on the right) emphasize that Karla's memory lives on to inspire other's to take preventative action.

I'm not sure what this type of photo effect is called. ||
 * 13_Credits
 * || This is actually a comment about the video rather than the storyboard. I noticed that the statistic (300 deaths per year) is not cited in the credits. Well, I guess if CBSNews can get away with not citing . . . ||

**__Review the PSA Post-Production Rubric and indicate either your approval or your concern.__** 9/25--Everything looks good story-wise. We've addressed a specific topic within a clearly defined genre (pubic safety), and designed our message for a general audience of drivers. The narrative and visuals complement one another to convey the message. As far as shot quality goes, I think the amature photography adds authenticity, and the grader should recognize our purpose in including these images. I'm a little concerned about some of the borrowed clips from news reports. Should we include a justification (in our post-production documentation) for using images marked with a logo (which is appropriately obscured in the shots)? Or do you think the grader will understand why we used these clips?

Overall, I think the video meets the grading criteria. I wish we had been allowed more time to do experiment with editing techniques and shoot more original footage. I've barely gotton started learning how to shoot video properly. --E.



** Team Debriefing **: Team members will address issues/concerns below to finalize the project. What **file type(s)** will our video be produced in? Why this/these choice(s)? Advantages/disadvantages? If video is to be posted to youtube, it does not really matter what file types are used, since they accept "a wide variety of formats" in HD, up to 2 gig, up to 15 minutes and will house on their servers so that only an html embed code is needed to "fetch" the video to play from other web sites. (Karen) || used to produce our final cut? Why this choice? Advantages/disadvantages? different //mediums/formats//**?** format: avi **DVD-ready** dimension: 720 x 408 format: avi **HD** dimension: 1280 x 720 format: mpeg-4 (mp4) **iPhone** dimension: 480 x 320 format: iPhone (m4v) **iPod** dimension: 320 x 240 format: iPod m4v **Web** dimension: 640 x 360 format: mpeg-4 (mp4) **Screencast** dimension: 640 x 360 format: custom production settings **Youtube:** dimension: 640 x 360 format: custom production settings Custom Production Settings offers many options within these formats: mp4/flv/swf, **wmv (has 27 custom embed options, 27 size options, background color options, ability to embed to html directly, watermark options etc),**mov, avi, m4v, mp3, rm, camv, gif. For more information, download a free trial version of Camtasia and look it up. I have Camasia on my computer, and I used if for my week 2 project and other puposes in this course. I just didn't understand the question in our assignment. So, I take it we are supposed to explain all the formats and file types that the editing program we use offers. OK. Avi was used to upload to screencast and youtube because those formats are compatible and avi was first on the list of output choices for me. As youtube puts it, they accept "a wide variety of formats." However, by request, I also output to wmv and uploaded it to youtube as well. (Karen) || (YouTube, TeacherTube, GoogleVideo, Flickr). Why this choice? (for Karen). How do the various images and shot types contribute to the story? What transitions and effects where used? Why these choices? Effects such as zoom and pan were chosen to maximize screen space usage. Some shots were left in smaller viewing format to maintain resolution. Although we cited our fair-use of two videos, I used a blur overlay to cover up commercial logos as they were distracting from the main content of the frame. (Karen) || Any particular challenges?
 * || Video rendered as avi since it is a fairly universal format. Avi was uploaded to youtube and screen cast. At the request of Elizabeth, I rendered the video to wmv and uploaded it to youtube as well. The wmv was loaded in our shared video box.net as requested. (Karen)
 * What video editing program was
 * || Final work completed using Camtasia because its easy to use, and renders quickly. Camtasia allows editors to upload to screencast and youtube directly from the software. Camtasia also allows an editor to render final videos to different formats fairly quickly. There are no disadvantages to using Camtasia. (Karen) ||
 * What options do we have for exporting the video to
 * (**Karen, do you know what this means?**)**
 * Explain our web-delivery formatting decision.**
 * || Video can be exported into multiple mediums (computer, CD, dvd) and formats (too many to list of various display sizes and compression rates). (Karen) At Elizabeth's request, here are all the medium and format choices available in Camtasia (Karen): **Blog** dimension 640x360 format: mpeg-4 video (mp4) **CD-ready** (yes, Elizabeth, there is a CD format!!) I'm not all that clear on the difference between a CD and a DVD. I'll have to look it up. dimension 640 x 360
 * Which free video hosting site will we upload the video to?
 * || Youtube and Screencast because they are easy to use, have upload links in Camtasia software, and allow for limited viewing via address links. Youtube also accepts many formats, HD, up to 2 gig, up to 15 minutes, and houses video on their servers so all we need are embed codes to "fetch" the video from youtube to play from another site. (Karen) ||
 * Discuss the process of writing/editing the script
 * || ﻿I started with a brief story about Karla, then used the statistic as a bridge to tie the story to all Americans. Some editing was done to make the wording more succint to get the time reduced.(Karen) ||
 * Discuss the shot selection for this project?
 * || We wanted to intersperse real footage of Karla and the dangers of cars going into the water. It would have been impossible for us to get the "emergency car" shots ourselves, so we used stock footage. But we figured we could do interior shots of the car and close ups of using the tool. -Roger Based on the original script Karen wrote, I searched the web for video clips we could use. As Roger said there was no way we could take video of a car wrecking and flipping over, using the emergency tool to cut a seat belt, or breaking a car window, but all of us did contribute original video or pictures to the final product. I uploaded all the stock footage to Box.net and sent all the sources to be sited to both Karen and Elizabeth. For my original footage, I took my Canon digital camera with me on a night drive and video taped me driving at night. I downloaded the footage to my computer and uploaded it to Box.net for Karen to download. I also video taped a car wreck with police lights, but I was too far away from the wreck and lighting was not good making the video unusable.~Meritte  The driving at night shot is my favorite! I sets the tone for the whole video. Night travel symbolizes unknown dangers lurking on the road, or driving off into a permanent night (end of life). --E. ||
 * Describe the editing process.
 * || Fade was chosen for transitions because it is the least intrusive to the content.
 * Describe the process of recording/editing narration.

Describe the process of creating music for the project. (for you Merrite, but Karen should contribute, too, if she knows about such things).
 * || Narration of rough cut created using narration tool in Camtasia. Karen read the script while the video played to sync audio with video. Narration was later cut into sections to insert other members' contributions. (Karen) When I wrote and created my part I wanted to give Karen as much flexibility as possible in editing the video. I knew there was a maximum of how long the PSA could be. I also knew that since we are all working professionals and have busy lives it would be harder to collaborate and make changes. What I mean is if we were all in one room we could watch the editing and say "Oh we need this shot to be a little longer and we need more of a close up here." That wasn't possible. So to compensate I tried to give Karen a variety of shots and narration to use. I actually recorded 3 different length clips of narration. I think editing is the most difficult part of a video, with shooting the video a close second. -Roger

Meritte created the original music in Garage Band. She chose to loop the music so Karen could use as much or little as needed. Karen used Audacity to lower the pitch and slow the tempo in order for the music to recede behind the narration. (Karen) As Karen said I used GarageBand and Audacity to create a music loop to be used in the video. I combined three different string instruments the cello, orchestra stings, and violin, to create what I hoped an eerie vibe to the PSA. ~Meritte || How might we have improved our productivity at each of these stages? I think we did a good job of deciding on a topic pretty early on. Communicating via wiki and email can be cumbersome at times. We could have decided who was doing what shots and narration sooner. -Roger I agree with Roger. We did a good job of deciding on an idea early on, and I liked that it wasn't going to be the same topic everyone else would immediately think of. When you think of PSA and educational technology several themes come to mind right off - cyber bulling, cyber safety, and driving while texting.
 * Analyze/comment on each stage of the project:
 * Pre-production
 * Production
 * Post-production
 * || Pre-production:

I think it helped that Karen wrote a rough draft script early on. I was then able to find all kinds of videos we could use to piece the video together, and I think we all had a better idea about the project after Karen made a rough draft video. ~Meritte

Production: Everyone got their shots and narration done early enough for there to be time for editing. Even with the shot list and all the communication, it still felt like I didn't have a real clear grasp of the whole project. -Roger I think once we had clearer direction about how many narrators and original video we needed for the PSA, it was easier to divide those tasks between the team members. Thank you Karen, for taking the lead in giving everyone an exact responsibility. ~Meritte Post-Production: This debriefing table represents our effort to assess the quality of our final product, as well as the effectiveness of our processes and procedures. Here, each member has an opportunity to share information related to his/her role, so all members will understand the various tools and techniques used in completing the project.

We might have improved this phase by having the debriefing table set up earlier (by Sunday night, 9/19--this is my fault) and deciding on a definite time and date for adding comments. I think using some form of synchronous communication (IM or web confer.) might have helped us address final questions.--E. || How might we have improved our collaboration and interactions as a group? Although we started on time according to the course sequence of activities, I think an earlier start might have helped us organize our work space a little better and evaluate various collaborative platforms and tools. Our tight schedules made coordinating a web conference in tokbox difficult; perhaps if we had started earlier, we might have been able to schedule better team meeting times. Also, we should have had a more complete storyboard to work from in week 3; that way we would have all started with a clearer vision of our project. || What steps did we take to respect copyright laws and follow fair use guidelines? how could we improve our PSA? ** I think if we all contribute to the debriefing above, we will be able to do our blog posts and final reflections much more easily.--E .**
 * Describe our group processes?
 * || Although Karen was our official team leader, each of us jumped in and took the lead whenever we saw a need. Roger started the team wiki and I (Elizabeth) facilitated team interactions on the wiki. I tried to prepare our team pages for our weekly activities. For example, during week 3, did some general research and posted links to informations and example videos for inspiration. During weeks 4 and 5, I added formatting to the wiki pages (such as tables or lists) to help us organize our activities. I sent emails to team members letting them know what I had posted and what steps they should take (such as participating in this debriefing).
 * Identify copyright attribution for assets.
 * || I think we have observed fair use guidelines by using very minimal portions of borrowed material, all of which are cited in our credits, and the purpose of our PSA is strickly educational and non-commercial. I discovered a way to send messages in YouTube to people who posted the videos we wanted to borrow from, but time constraints for this project prevented us from obtaining formal permissions (I never received any response on the requests I sent in YouTube). However, I don't see this as a putting us in violation of copyright or fair use (see explanation above). ||
 * If we had more time or resources,
 * || With more time, we would have been able to shoot more original footage and devise creative ways to portray aspects of our message for which "literal" shots would be impossible. I would like to have experimented with animation and editing techniques to accomplish this. For example, the Wax video editor offers the capability of creating 3-D animation effects. I thought it might be possible to suggest a flipping vehicle through some sort of animation effect. If we all had high-end camcorders and microphones, that might have helped, too. ||

Our Revised Pre-Production Document: