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Kurt Dreier EDCT 602
Welcome to my EDCT 602 wiki space.

Link to my final video:
http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~kd250300/Pro_Page/animations/caricature_commercial.html

5 Links On Content (Computer Graphics Focus)
http://www.adobe.com/education/instruction/teach/digitalcareers.html This Adobe site has year long lesson plans for various computer graphics disciplines. The site is specifically made for educators.

http://www.youthlearn.org/learning/activities/multimedia/graphics.asp This site would be good for a new teacher that is going to begin teaching graphics using technology. It breaks down basic philosophies in teaching computer graphics as well as lists resources and lesson examples.

http://movies.atomiclearning.com/k12/home This site provides a vast number of tutorials on all types of software from productivity to graphics. Some services require a subscription.

http://vtc.com/ This site also provides numerous project based video tutorials that are created by working professionals. There are basic tutorials for each program that are free but to access all the advanced tutorials you must subscribe.

http://www.filmeducation.org/primary/animation/index.html This site is a good reference for teachers that are just beginning to teach animation and film. Although some of the site discusses traditional hand drawn animation there is another section on stop frame animation. This is a good starting place for teachers wishing to get into animation. This is not an advanced manual for animation however.

10 Definitions Used in Video Production

 * chroma key** Method of electronically inserting an image from one video source into the image of another through areas designated as its "key color." It is frequently used on news programs to display weather graphics behind talent.


 * cross fade** Simultaneous fade-in of one audio or video source as another fades out so that they overlap temporarily. Also called a dissolve.


 * depth of field** Range in front of a camera's lens in which objects appear in focus. Depth of field varies with subject-to-camera distance, focal length of a camera lens and a camera's aperture setting.


 * establishing shot** Opening image of a program or scene. Usually, it's a wide and/or distant perspective that orients viewers to the overall setting and surroundings.


 * NTSC** (National Television Standards Committee) U.S. television broadcasting specifications. NTSC refers to all video systems conforming to this 525-line 59.94-field-per-second signal standard. [See PAL, SECAM]


 * pan** Horizontal camera pivot, right to left or left to right, from a stationary position.


 * post production** (post) Any video production activity following initial recording. Typically involves editing, addition of background music, voiceover, sound effects, titles, and/or various electronic visual effects. Results in completed production.


 * rule of thirds** Composition theory based on dividing the screen into thirds vertically and horizontally and the placement of the main subject along those lines.
 * streaming** Playing sound or video in real time as it is downloaded over the internet as opposed to storing it in a local file first. Avoids download delay.


 * three point lighting** Basic lighting approach employing key, fill and back lights to illuminate subject with sense of depth and texture. Strategic placement imitates natural outdoor lighting environment, avoids flat lighting. ( back light, fill light, key light)


 * adapted from http://www.videomaker.com/learn/glossary-of-terms///

5 Research Links
http://edt.ite.edu.sg/ite_conf/int_conf/pdf/et02.pdfDoes Multimedia really improve learning effectiveness? [|http://www.unm.edu/~moreno/PDFS/chi.pdf][|A] Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning: Implications for Design Principles http://www.joe.org/joe/2001june/tt1.html Thinking in Multimedia: Research-Based Tips on Designing and Using Interactive Multimedia Curricula. http://www.uoregon.edu/~moursund/dave/Article&Presentations/five_summaries.htm#5-Sum-2 Research on Multimedia in Education http://www.cdli.ca/~bmann/0_ARTICLES/Mann_L&I_05.pdf Children’s Attention to Temporal Auditory Cueing by a Pedagogical Agent

5 Tutorial Websites
Adobe Premiere Company site Tutorials: http://www.adobe.com/ap/products/tips/premiere.html Tutorializied : Premiere Tutorials: http://www.tutorialized.com/tutorials/Premiere/1 Media College: http://www.mediacollege.com/lighting/ Flash Tutorials: http://flashkit.com/ Video Compression Tutorial: http://www.ataricommunity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=509949

Journal Of My Final Video
March 13th. My journal is not very extensive because the time frame in which I created it was not very great. (procrastination!) I have, for a long time, needed a promotional video for my caricature work but had never done one. This project was very timely as the prom/after prom and wedding season is upon us. I was initially going to film my children while I drew caricatures of them but neither had facial hair (which is always fun!) so I decided to draw a couple of my seniors (both were 18 so I have their written permission but I did not have to obtain their parents) one of which did have facial hair! I set up two cameras (so I could cut back and forth between the drawing and the subject) in the library and filmed at lunch today. If I were to do it again I would have set up the model on my left that way I could have had a clear shot at the paper as well as the subject instead of what I got which was 1. my hand in the way with the right camera 2. the model obsured by me with the left camera. argggh! That is what happens when you just turn on the camera and let it run. The library had a lot of ambient light which allowed me to shoot without video lights and the need to color balance my camera.

I went home and searched for music on FreePlayMusic.com and came up a song I liked. I called FreePlayMusic to find out pricing for the song because I will be using this on my website. The initial price was $50.00 for a one year usage. I was apprehensive and the representative asked if that was too much. I explained I am a teacher and only do the caricatures on the size so I didn't have a large budget. She ask how $50.00 for two years sounded. (I wish I could get 1/2 off a car just by hesitating a minute!) I am in the process of getting the paperwork today for the actual licence for the piece. Maybe I could have gotten a friend to create something but this has the fast and upbeat sound I thought fit with the video. I thought the whole process of buying the music was interesting (if not expensive) because I had not done anything like that before. One the interesting fact about the music was that the price was for one URL only and there would be an additional charge if I wanted to put it on my website and YouTube.

I tried to edit back and forth from the subject to the drawing keeping with the theme of the music. Since I did not have anyone actually filming and running the camera I was force to do the zooming in post production which reduced the quality of the picture a bit when I was fully zoomed. The quality of the camera did allow me some flexiblility because I shot with our two Canon XL-1's, if I would have shot with our little consumer cameras I wouldn't have been able to keep the image clear with is much zooming as I did. There are many more cuts and effects than in a traditional training file (and sharp contrast to my PD on good practices in PowerPoint) but I was going for a different feel. I wanted to educate the viewer on what I do but I also wanted them to get a perception that it is fast, exciting and light-hearted. I also wanted to give them a little idea of who I am, giving them a little taste of the entertainment aspect of the event. Hopefully I didn't get away from this message.

I imported some existing files of caricatures and graphics that I already had created so that I maintained a constant feel with my newly created business cards and webpage.

I edited the piece using Adobe Premiere Pro. I rendered the movie as an .avi and then imported it into Flash 8. I was not real familar with the compression to a flash file. When I imported the video it turned it into a .flv file. I resized the video from the 720x480 down to a much smaller size. When I went to publish it I found some additional options including the flash player interface that I was unaware of. I was able to change the amount and configuration of the navigation buttons and volume and the color of the skin which I thought was a very nice option. Then at about 11:00pm my 12 old son finally gave his approval but I was having trouble loading it to my webpage. I was familar with uploading .swf files but now I had a .swf file for my movie, one for my skin/player and .html file, ac_runactivecontent.js file, and a .flv file,???? Just linking and uploading the .html, and/or .swf files didn't work. I finally figured out that I need to upload all of the files.

March 13: My students who participated got a kick out of the video and some of my geeks started asking questions about the flash player. Besides the tense moments uploading the project went fairly smoothly technically and a got to learn about buying music...all in all a pretty good day.

4 YouTube Videos (Art History Focus)
The Dome of the Rock http://youtube.com/watch?v=HFw--v6l_pw The Palace of Versailles http://youtube.com/watch?v=G93EhIGlVS0 The Louvre http://youtube.com/watch?v=YaheuazYk0E Pyramids fo Giza (Student's Tour) http://youtube.com/watch?v=mZGlm8N2CU0

2 Mash-Up LInks
Motorcycle Mash Up http://youtube.com/watch?v=RUW-lgalAkg Nice video work. It is unbelievable how not just 1 or 2 people are just down right crazy. Money and being mentally unstable must somehow be connected as shown in all the busted up bikes on this video. Star Trek and the Holy Grail http://youtube.com/watch?v=cnCvpJwKKpw Well what can I say. This too me is a mash up. Great synching of the music and images. Lots of fun.