PE2_iMovie

 Editing made easy with iMovie

Although editing is one of the most important aspects of creating enjoyable family or educational movie tutorials, it is the part I have been procrastinating  to start because the clips and tools can appear daunting to use from a novice users perspective. With a quick glance at the overwhelming amount of  footage I  imported, starting  to edit my own always footage seemed to be another task placed on my “future project  to do list”.   However, after viewing Garrick Chow’s easy step by step process of editing located within Chapter 5 of his narrated  tutorial called Editing Video.

A brief overview of the key terms and post-production processes and tips I learned about in this section include:

• Creating a new project to edit
• Adding clips to the project
• Trimming
• Slip edits
• Precision and fine tuning editing
• Realtime previewing
• User controls
• Edit points
• Cropping and Rotating
• Time saving tips and shortcuts

Creating a New Project is as easy as 1-2-3

1. Select the New Project button located in the Project Pane
2. Name your new project, select your preferred Aspect Ratio, click Create
3. Go to your Event Library and Click on your Titled selection that you want to use for the current project.

Trimming and Editing

PE_1 i Movie

Lynda.com is a great tool for learning an audio and visual step by step process of all the essential functions that makes iMovie an easy tool to navigate  and use for both beginner and experienced filmmakers. The first important thing I learned  during this experience was  to directly connect my ethernet  cord into my computer for the best viewing experience. Using a WiFi connection continued to make the viewing process longer and the tutorial continued to pause making the total viewing time longer than needed and also can minimize the true functionality and personal interest in using this great tutorial tool for a valuable learning experience.

For beginning users like myself I recommend starting with the first four chapters to get an understanding of the basics of the initial steps when using the filming software for projects.

Here are a few basic things I learned in the beginning steps of the iMovie tutorial clearly narrated and created by Garrick Chow.

The Basics 

Chapter 1-3

• Bookmark and Tags
• Software Updates
• Types of Connections
• Importing Videos
• The User Interface
• Auto-Save
• Organization

Bookmark and Tags

The first handy tool i used during my iMovie tutorial sessions was Lynda.com Bookmarks and Tags options to help me remember where I left off and what important aspects I need to return to for future projects. This feature helped label and tag areas quickly to return and search quickly through the iMovie chapters when I returned to continue or review only a specific clip  I was interested in for a bookmarked chapter.

Importing Videos for DV Tape Based Camera’s

The next part that was useful to my learning was how to import various types of video from different types of hardware. I have a lot of video’s that have piled up over the years from tape based DV videos and I have yet to import them  into a software that helps me manually go throw the specific footage that is of value to me. With the manual click on specific clips that  right into iMovie. I also know that many  of my old videos are shaky I can use a stabilization option to help edit the unstable footage after being captured with a handheld camera with no prior tripod access.

The User Interface

Understanding the key terms and interface elements was an important component to my learning process since I am new to film making basic. The iMovie interface is made up of several areas or “panes” as Garrich Chow explains. The bottom portion of the interface is dedicated to your Events. Located on the bottom left view is the Event Library where all the movies you have imported into iMovie are found. The bottom right view is the Event Browser where you can see the Source video, and select clips you want to use from the video you clicked on in the Event Library.  I am  so happy about learning about the Source video because I usually think I unknowingly deleted the original but the Source video will always remain how it was imported. This information will allow me to explore more in the next section of editing when creating my videos. If I make a mistake I can always return to Source!

The top left portion of the interface is dedicated to the Project Pane and it is where you drag and drop the clips you are choosing for your video project. The top right portion of the interface is called the Viewer where you can see your project play. The middle grey bar that separates the top and bottom portion is called the Tool Bar where you can fine tune and adjust your projects.

Auto Save

The cool thing I learned about iMovie is that you never have to worry about saving your projects because all projects automatically save so you do not have to worry about losing your projects.

Getting Organized

Getting organized can be tedious and time-consuming but overall it saves time and energy that will later make it worthwhile once you put the effort. Merging your events can ultimately save space since events in your library can add up!

Organizing your clips can be done in several ways:

• splitting  events
• using keywords
• Putting into their own event
• Renaming
• Searching, saving, and choosing by drive, months, days, events

 Before jumping to editing I will take some time and organize my library!

BP4_Rise Commenting and Linking

• Educators, can you imagine your written and spoken words come to life so your students can actually hear and see them?
• Are you looking for creative and fun ways to  enhance your  communication skills while capturing and engaging your students and audiences attention?
• Do you want to encourage your students to explore their own creative writing skills and imagination with virtual tools through storytelling?

Check out educator reviews on Paula’s blog for a cool tool called Xtranormal.  My classmate Paula found a great way to add a novel experience into your day that communicates any simple written message through both audio and visual way’s too.   See Paula’s review of this virtual education tool,  watch her video she created to relay a memorable message to her music students, and follow her simple steps to creating your own animation video for your classroom.

Here is a link to Paula’s blog so you can check out more about Xtranomal.

http://paulamichele.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/bp2_xtranormal/?blogsub=confirmed#blog_subscription-2

BP1:iGoogle-PLE

Here is a screenshot of the Home page on my iGoogle Personal Learning Environment (PLE). I added a few gadgets on this page to keep me balanced in my home, personal, and spiritual life while maintaining direction and action towards accomplishing my career goals. I added the gadget “Inspirational Quotes and Pictures” to remind me that photography has brought  much inspiration and has taught me to realize I can recognize the beauty of life all around me when I slow down and capture the presence of a moment . I also added “Motivational Life Quotes” by Jim Garrison to infuse positive affirmations into my day and keep me moving forward towards my goals even when obstacles sometimes get in the way.

My second tab and screenshot connects me to my educational journey at Full Sail University while pursuing a master’s in Educational Media Design and Technology.  Each link I created has immediately improved my organizational skills, and helped me quickly access everything I need to be successful when preparing to complete a fast track program with efficiency and flowing manageability. Saving time is a must in order to balance my home life and educational life. Using iGoogle to organize my digital world has made pursuing  this journey much more possible than I presumed.

 

My third tab and screen shot is a Google Personalized Tab that was shared from my instructor, Rena Hanaway. Sharing her personal ETC tab taught me how to  access and communicate valuable information that can be useful for teaching and learning with others through a collaborative and collective  educational community interested in enhancing the entire educational process of diverse learning and communication with ET.  I will continue to add additional links and share valuable resources to other fellow FSO EMDT students to stay connected and help share knowledge,  awareness, valuable links that provide easy access to learning, teaching and creating  in a collaborative and social community of educators. I will continue to add valuable time saving and management tabs and links to the this igoogle PLE as I continue my journey as an educator and  FSO EMDT student.

Hello world!

Welcome to my blog post Reflective Connections. I am a educator, mother of 3, and a full time student at Full Sail University’s Education in Media Design and Technology Master’s Program. I intend to use this blog to reflect on the emergent technology applications I am connecting with throughout this program and beyond my educational career. I hope to help teachers, parents and children find a way to bring more motivation and engagement into their life and create more educational, technological, social and personal reflections while  sparking meaningful connections within and around the virtual and physical community we all live in. I hope you connect with my reflective connection and welcome any feedback. Thank you all for reading and following my blog.