Creating Instructional Videos Don Carlin Walter Bracken Magnet School CCSD Technology Conference October 23-24, 2009

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1 Using Windows Movie Maker Introduction We all know the usefulness and educational importance of using videos to teach. With United Streaming, we have thousands of titles only a mouse click away. When it comes to student learning, does it matter if you download a video from United Stream, create your own video, or have your students create the video? I think it does. Involving your students in the production of an instructional will greatly increase their understanding. Let s be honest, when you are showing a video from United Streaming, haven t you ever said, I could have made a better video than that. With the availability of powerful, easy to use video editing programs such as Windows Movie Maker, Photo Story, and imovies teachers have the ability to make their own kind of movies. This tutorial will describe the steps to create instructional videos in the classroom using Microsoft Windows Movie Maker. Movie Maker is FREE and included on the District images; anyone with a PC has access to Movie Maker. Movie Maker easily makes videos with titles, narration, music, credits, and transitions with incredible quality. Movie Maker involves the students! Students from grades 3-12 can easily create, edit, and share their learning experiences in just a matter of minutes. Additionally, Movie Maker can be used in any subject. It is the role of the educator to be an innovator for change in education. The innovation of desktop movies makes it easy enough for anyone to create a movie on their desktop computer. Desktop movie software provides a powerful method for students to create movies. Students are given the opportunity to collaborate with their peers in a project based learning environment to create desktop movies. Getting Started First decide the project or movie you would like to make then search the Internet for pictures, videos, and audio files you want to use. Make a folder on your hard drive and save all your project files there. When working with the movie document, be sure to save this activity as a movie file so you can edit it. If you render the movie without saving the movie as a project you will not be able to edit your finished product once you have closed it. While you can use still images captured from the Internet or a digital camera, you or your students can utilize videos from a video camera such as a Flip Camera or a digital camera with video capabilities. You do not need an expensive video camera. A simple web camera may be used to capture video clips. 1

2 Creating a Storyboard Capturing Video From a Video Camera Importing Video, Audio, and Picture Files Inserting Video and Pictures and Editing Your Movie Video Effects and Transitions Adding a Title Slide and Text to Clips Adding Narration and Audio Rendering/Saving Your Movie Saving Your Video in DVD Format Creating a Storyboard By now, you or your students have an idea what you want included in the video. Preview the picture/video files you have collected then make a plan on how to put them together to tell your story. Think of your video as a story. All good stories contain certain elements. Don t under estimate the importance of a storyboard; it saves countless hours of writing, shooting, and capturing images. When creating your story keep in mind the 5 W's; Who, What, When, Where, and Why. This will help you fill in the main body of your story. Using pictures, a storyboard creates a rough sketch representation of the video. A storyboard is essentially a timeline going from top to bottom, with the top occurring first. Using a storyboard allows you to see what the scene will look like and what narration is needed. The narration can be made at the time of recording the video clip or when editing the movie. Below are links to a couple of blank storyboards. Don t like what you see, create your own using Tables in Word or Publisher. Blank storyboard for narration Generic storyboard 2

How do we do it? I'm not really sure. We should probably plan it out first before we actually get started. I agree, but how should we go about planning it. I don't really know.

It is a good idea for students to create a folder within their folder or within the classroom folder to keep all movie files separate from other files.

3 How do we do it? I'm not really sure. We should probably plan it out first before we actually get started. I agree, but how should we go about planning it. I don't really know. We could just get started and see how it goes from there. It is a good idea for students to create a folder within their folder or within the classroom folder to keep all movie files separate from other files. If you are using Rooms Folders, students can create a folded with their name inside the Rooms Folder. Have students turn in their storyboard as an artifact of their learning experience. Example Storyboard Title Slide The Storm of 1928 By: Fatima The unnamed storm of September 1928 marked my life. Everything was destroyed. My house, along with many others, was broken into pieces. 3

Buildings and stores were now on the floor.

My father, brother, and many other dead bodies were

4 Buildings and stores were now on the floor. All that was left was boards of wood. Nobody had a home where to live. Many people drowned from the flood like my mother, father, and my brother. The survivors, like me, had no place to go. Trucks were floating in the water. We used boats to move around. My father, brother, and many other dead bodies were stacked up in coffins. Some bodies were burned, and some were never found, like my mother. The coffins were put into trucks once the water was gone. The trucks took the bodies to cemeteries all over palm beach county. 4

A statue was built in Belle Glade in memory of the unnamed storm of 1928.

5 After the hurricane had passed and the bodies were gone they started building new houses to live in. A statue was built in Belle Glade in memory of the unnamed storm of Credit Slide Pictures: floridamemory.com sunsentinal.com Music: Flashkit.com Equipment Manager: Mrs. Nicholson Special Thanks: 5

6 Capture Video To get video directly from your camera you would use the Capture from video device option. Then follow these instructions: Start Movie Maker Plug in your digital video camera to your computer. Your computer should recognize it. If not use the CD that came with your camera to install the driver so the computer will recognize the camera. Click on the Tasks Pane: Capture Video> Capture from video device and use the Wizard. Specify a Name and Place where you want your captured audio and video file to be saved. Be sure to save all of your files to the same folder. Choose the video setting. Follow the instructions provided. o Select Best quality to keep it in DV format (This setting is well suited for a majority of the video you capture in Windows Movie Maker and plan to edit in Windows Movie Maker. Only save it back onto the video camera after editing.) o Select Digital device format. (This video setting is designed to be used if you want to edit the captured video on your computer and then later save it back to a tape in a DV camera or VCR using the Save Movie Wizard These files can be quite large.) o Select other settings. (When choosing a setting from this list, consider how you plan to ultimately use and share the video in your final saved movies.) Select the Capture Method. If you select Capturing individual parts of video manually, you want to capture only certain parts of videotape. These will be more manageable clips when you import video files into Windows Movie Maker. Click the Start Capture button and press the play button on your camera. You should see the video in the preview window. 6

7 When finished capturing video click the Stop Capture button and press stop on your camera. Clips will now appear in your Collections List. Importing Video, Pictures, and Music that is Saved on your Computer into a Collection Remember, when working on a project save each project to a different folder. This helps keep your project intact when saving it to an external device like a CD or Jump Drive. In the Movie Tasks pane, under Capture Video, click: Import video to import video clips. Import pictures to import pictures. Import audio or music to import music or audio files. 7

For files that are non-linear, hold down the Control key while selecting more than one file.

8 In File name, browse for the file you want to import, and then click Import. When selecting more than one file you can hold the Shift Key down to select files that adjacent to each other. For files that are non-linear, hold down the Control key while selecting more than one file. If you want selected video files to be separated into smaller clips, select the Create clips for video files check box. Your video, pictures and audio files will now appear in the collection bin as shown below: When importing video clips, Movie Maker might place the video in a different collection. That is no problem because you can switch between collections by dropping down the collection menu and click on the collection you want to use. 8

Placing the Clips on the Storyboard: The next step is to take the pictures, audio and videos and place them on the timeline.

9 Inserting Video and Pictures and Editing Your Movie Creating a Storyboard in the Movie Maker application First look at the files you have collected, then make a plan on how to put them together to tell your story. Your Storyboard will be a great help; it will be your map. Placing the Clips on the Storyboard: The next step is to take the pictures, audio and videos and place them on the timeline. Make sure that the Storyboard view is up. If the Storyboard view is not showing, click on the button marked Show Storyboard outlined in red below to turn the Storyboard on. 9

10 Click, hold down the mouse button, and drag and drop pictures onto storyboard. Use the CTRL button to select multiple clips. Move the clips around as needed to set the sequence of your show. 10

To Trim Clips: In the Timeline view, click on the clip you'd like to trim or manipulate. You can mute imported video clips if you are going to be adding your own narration.

11 To Trim Clips: In the Timeline view, click on the clip you'd like to trim or manipulate. You can mute imported video clips if you are going to be adding your own narration. To mute the imported video clip, click on the clip in storyboard view, right click and select mute video. In the Preview window, drag the scroll bar slowly and watch as the video progresses. Stop at the point where you want to trim the clip. On the Clip menu, click Set Start Trim Point. 11

In the timeline window, you can manipulate the length (duration) of images, videos, audio or music.

12 Now continue to drag the progress indicator until you reach the desired end point of your clip. On the Clip menu, click Set End Trim Point. You will now have your trimmed clip. The Trim function also serves as a manual length editing tool. In the timeline window, you can manipulate the length (duration) of images, videos, audio or music. Trim works to primarily reduce the length of videos, audio or music, but for images, trim can also be used to extend or increase duration. Place the arrowhead over the right end of the clip and a double red arrowhead will appear. Click and drag to trim the clip: 12

Video Effects and Transitions The Tools menu is also used to create video effects and video transitions.

13 Splitting Clips: You can also use the split the clip into two clips button is an easy way to split a clip. It is highlighted below. If you desire to delete one of the new portions, click on that portion (highlighted in white) and either right click and select delete or press delete on the keyboard. Video Effects and Transitions The Tools menu is also used to create video effects and video transitions. Video effects are effects applied to the actual video clips and include effects such as rotating the frames, colorcycling, as well as fades. They are applied to clips. Transitions are inserted between clips and affect the way the end of one clip turns into the beginning of the other. Some examples are page curls, wiping up, swirling in, etc. Again, a little experimentation here will illustrate the possibilities. Adding Effects: Step 1: To view the effects options, click on View Video Effects link under Edit Movie to open the Video Effects listing. 13

In the timeline, effects can either be dragged into a specific track or by

14 The video effects are then shown in the collections pane. Effects can be added to a project both in the storyboard and timeline windows. In the timeline, effects can either be dragged into a specific track or by right clicking on a desired image, selecting video effects, and then adding or removing desired effects. 14

Movie Maker 2 will allow you to add up to six different (or the same) effects on each clip.

15 Step 2: Choose the desired effect, select and drag into the storyboard or timeline over the desired clips. On individual clips in the timeline you can also right click on a specific clip and add or remove effects as was discussed above. Movie Maker 2 will allow you to add up to six different (or the same) effects on each clip. Step 3: After inserting an effect, sample the change in the preview screen to determine if the effect works in the way you desire. Adding Transitions: Movie Maker 2 offers sixty different video transitions. When applied, transitions provide a unique way to smooth the exchange between clips in your project. To insert a transition follow these steps: Step 1: From the Movie Tasks pane, under Edit Movie, select View video transitions. The list of video transitions will now display in the collections area. 15

16 Step 2: Choose the desired transition, select and drag into storyboard between desired clips. Step 3: After inserting transition, sample the change in the Monitor to determine if it works in the way you desire. Step 4: To change a transition you can either Undo the action, right click on the transition in the Storyboard and select delete, or simply drag a new transition over the old transition. Adding Titles Frames containing text can be added before, after, or on any clip or still image. Each frame can hold only a limited amount of text, so inserting multiple paragraphs of text may require using several successive frames with few sentences on each frame. You can specify the color of the text and background as well as the text font. To add titles, select the appropriate clip in the storyboard. If you are doing the activity that goes with this tutorial it will be the picture called Title Slide. Drag the Title Slide to the Storyboard, then click on it to select it. Select Make Titles or Credits from the Tools menu. 16

take you to the Enter Text Title diaolog box shown below.

17 The following options are available. To put the title on the picture, you would select: This will take you to the Enter Text Title diaolog box shown below. Type in your text then click the two options to change the animation, text color, and text font. 17

As you enter text, the font size will adjust automatically to fill the frame. The various formats and animations allow for a variety to different presentations of text.

However, they are automatically positioned in the lower third of the screen and it's not possible to fine-tune their placement for good visibility.

18 As you enter text, the font size will adjust automatically to fill the frame. The various formats and animations allow for a variety to different presentations of text. A little experimentation here will illustrate the possibilities. It is also possible to superimpose titles on the clips to function as subtitles. However, they are automatically positioned in the lower third of the screen and it's not possible to fine-tune their placement for good visibility. Click Done, add title to movie to return to the Storyboard view. To edit the text you must double click on the title overlay clip on the Storyboard shown below. This will open the Enter Text for Title dialog box shown above. Continue adding text to clips in the movie where appropriate. 18

Adding Narration and Audio to a Movie Project Narrating Your Movie: You will need a microphone to make a live recording. Plug the microphone into the correct port.

It is often color-coded pink. Some computers come with a built in microphone, eliminating the need for the plug in microphone.

19 Adding Narration and Audio to a Movie Project Narrating Your Movie: You will need a microphone to make a live recording. Plug the microphone into the correct port. Most computers have an input jack where you can plug in a microphone. The jack looks like the headphone and it is usually labeled with the word Mick or a small microphone symbol. It is often color-coded pink. Some computers come with a built in microphone, eliminating the need for the plug in microphone. To narrate, either select the Tools menu and then Narrate Timeline (Figure A) or select the microphone icon at the top left of the timeline (Figure B). A B From the Narrate Timeline window, select Start Narration and the program will begin recording. To stop the process simply select Stop Narration. 19

As with video, title, and photograph elements, your created narration can also be moved or edited within the timeline.

20 Once stopped, you will be directed to save your narration. Give your narration a name and select save. On the Narrate Timeline window, select Done and the audio will be inserted into the Audio/Music track on the timeline. As with video, title, and photograph elements, your created narration can also be moved or edited within the timeline. Click Play on the Monitor (or top left of the timeline/storyboard) and sample your narration. To Insert Audio: In order to add audio to your story you first must import it. Once you have it in the collection bin, follow the steps below. It is very important that you don't use music CDs due to copyright issues. This has become a major issue in education in the last few years. Most feel that you can use copyright materials for educational purposes, but this has proven to be a misconception and is highly frowned upon in the education community. Midi files were once thought to be safe but with the recent lawsuits brought on to midi websites, this has also proven to be an incorrect assumption. There is a fool proof way to insert music into a story and that is by having the student create their own. This can be done with a free software entitled Audacity. For download information and online tutorials go to Click on Show Timeline button in the Storyboard section of your screen. Drag your music track from the collection to the Audio/Music level of the Timeline. Drag the endpoint of the music track to meet the end of your video track. Right Click on the sound track to set other attributes such as Mute, Fade In, Fade Out, or the Volume of sound. 20

Audio Adjustments: After inserting audio, you have a number of options for adjusting transitions between music clips, adjusting the volume of a clip, and

Between the junction of two music clips, select the right clip, drag clip left over preceding clip and release.

21 Audio Adjustments: After inserting audio, you have a number of options for adjusting transitions between music clips, adjusting the volume of a clip, and adjusting the audio strength between video and music. Between the junction of two music clips, select the right clip, drag clip left over preceding clip and release. This will create a transition between the two clips, and as one clip ends the following clip will fade in. To adjust audio levels, select the desired clip. o Select Clip menu, then Audio, and last, Volume. o In the Audio Clip Volume window, move the slider left or right to decrease or increase volume, then select OK. 21

o At the top left of the timeline or storyboard windows, select the volume icon Figure A) and the Audio Levels window (Figure B) will appear.

This can take several minutes to an hour or more depending on the length of the movie, so plan for it.

22 o At the top left of the timeline or storyboard windows, select the volume icon Figure A) and the Audio Levels window (Figure B) will appear. Figure A Figure B o In the Audio Levels window, move the slider left or right to decrease or increase volume between video and music, then select OK. Rendering/Saving the Final Result The final step is to have Movie Maker render all the clips, stills, transitions, and effects into a movie. This can take several minutes to an hour or more depending on the length of the movie, so plan for it. If you have done a lot of work and don't want to have to start from scratch again if you want to make a small change, save your work as a project first. Then if you do decide to make a change, you can pick up from this point. Step 1: From the Movie Tasks pane, under Finish Movie, select Save to my computer. 22

In the Save Movie File window, under enter a name for your completed movie name your movie, and under click the browse button to select the destination that the

In the Movie Settings window, the best quality for Playback is the default. To select more options, click the Show more options and then Other settings.

23 In the Save Movie File window, under enter a name for your completed movie name your movie, and under click the browse button to select the destination that the file will be saved. At the bottom right of the window select Next to go to the Movie Setting options dialog box. In the Movie Settings window, the best quality for Playback is the default. To select more options, click the Show more options and then Other settings. The Select More Movie Saving Options below explains the different formats. We will except the default option of Best Quality for Playback. Once you have made your selection, select Next and the file will be saved. 23

24 Once you have saved your project as a finished movie, you will not be able to make changes. You can, however, reopen your Windows Movie Maker project file, makes additions or changes and then save the project again as a finished movie. Selecting More Movie Saving Options: From the drop down menu you are given the option of selecting one of the settings. Note: all of the settings except one will compress the file size to varying degrees as indicated at the bottom left of the Movie Settings window. All of the settings options, except one, will save your project as a proprietary Windows Media Version (wmv) file. If you choose, you may select the nonproprietary AVI (NTSC) file. This option will save your project as an uncompressed file, 720 x 480 pixels, 30 Mbps bit-rate, at 30fps (frames per second). If you are unsure which option to select, under Settings Details at the bottom right of the Movie Setting window, you can review the estimated file size of your project. By selecting different file options, the file size will change accordingly. Note: Some DVD burning software will not support the WMV file format. In such a case, you must save your project as an AVI file. Appendix Save your movie to a DVD Microsoft.com, September 2009 Published: August 8, 2006 Part of the tradition of home moviemaking is gathering the family around the TV to watch the movie. You don t have to give up that tradition when you make the switch to digital video. You can save a Windows Movie Maker project to a high-quality video file, and then burn (or write) that file to a DVD using a DVD burner and video DVD burning program. You can then watch the DVD in almost any standard DVD player. DVDs are a great way to share movies with friends and family, and they make great gifts. Save your movie to your computer To save your movie in the ideal video format for burning to a DVD 1. Open your project in Movie Maker. 2. In the Movie Tasks pane, under Finish Movie, click Save to my computer. 24

25 3. The Save Movie Wizard opens. On the Saved Movie File page, type a name for your movie. You can also choose a folder to save it in by clicking the Browse button, but My Videos (the default) is usually the best place. Then click Next. 25

26 4. On the Movie Setting page, click Show more choices, then select the Other settings list, and click DV-AVI. Then click Next. 26

27 5. Movie Maker saves your movie, which may take several minutes. On the Completing the Save Movie Wizard page, clear the Play movie when I click Finish check box, and then click Finish. 27

28 If you want to save more than one movie to a DVD, repeat steps 1 through 5 to save a different movie. Then follow the steps in the next section to burn the file to a DVD. Burn your movie to a DVD To burn a DVD that you can play in a video DVD player, you need to have a DVD burner and video DVD burning software on your computer. Many new computers come with an internal DVD burner. However, if your computer does not already have one installed, you may find it easier to install an external USB DVD burner. You can choose from a number of programs for burning video DVDs, such as Roxio MyDVD. Keep in mind that every program is different, but the basics are the same. These instructions show you how to create a DVD using Roxio MyDVD 8. 28

29 To burn a movie to a DVD 1. Insert a blank, writeable DVD into your DVD drive. 2. Click Start, then click All Programs, point to Roxio MyDVD, point to DVD and Video, and then click MyDVD. 29

If you want to add more than one video, return to the previous step and add

30 3. In the MyDVD window, under Menu Tasks, click Add New Movie. 4. In the Select Media File dialog box, choose your video, and then click Open. If you want to add more than one video, return to the previous step and add more movies. 5. In the MyDVD window, click the File menu, and then click Burn project to disc. 30

31 6. In the Burn Project dialog box, make sure the Burn to disk check box is selected, and then click Burn. 31

32 7. MyDVD burns your movie to a DVD, which will take several minutes. After MyDVD finishes, it automatically plays the movie. Close the movie, and then click OK in the Burn Project dialog box. 32

33 You can now eject the DVD and play it in a standard DVD player. Be sure to label it with a permanent marker so that you can identify it later. To burn another copy of the DVD, insert another writeable DVD, and then return to step 6. Note: While most new DVD players support most types of writeable DVDs, some older DVD players can have problems playing custom DVDs. DVD-R or DVD+R are compatible with most players. DVD-RW and DVD+RW media are only supported by newer DVD players that specifically support rewriteable discs. 33

Windows Movie Maker 2 (aka MM2) Tutorial

Windows Movie Maker 2 (aka MM2) Tutorial - 1 - Introduction This tutorial is designed as a basic introduction and guide to Microsoft s digital video editing program, Windows Movie Maker 2 (MM2) and will