This is the last day of class and we had to finish editing. I went over the titling with the groups that wanted to use it and it worked out. There were many different little problems that were just bugs in the program that we had to work out. The good thing is that the students never gave up. They were really excited to work with video it was new to them. All five groups finished their projects and were happy with what they learned. One of the workers at the CRP, Geny, asked if we had time to teach it another week to a different group. Unfortunately, we leave on Thursday and the class was as condensed as it was.
Geny told us that most of the teachers work three shifts; 7-11am, 1-4pm, and 7-10pm. Right now they are having their break between school years. To have teachers willing to take these courses and be excited about them during their break is fortunate.
All in all the class went well. I created a CD with all the course material with the editing software and other software reviews for them to copy. Geny said the content will add to other exsisting courses such as working a still camera and Photoshop.
If I could do it over again I would have done more in-class examples. The day I used the camera connected to the projector they came more alive. I would have also given them more home assignments composing pictures. I didn't realize that all of them had cameras. The class worked in the week time frame, but most of the students said they were afraid they would forget how to use Cinelerra. I told them to focus more on the video techniques because software changes, composition will stay the same. Also, more time would be beneficial to help them understand and retain the knowledge they acquired. Not being familiar with Linux or its programs took some time. Also trying to figure out how to create projects using digital cameras and not video cameras was challenging. Digital cameras come out in all different file formats. I also didn't have a situation where I could demonstrate the program using a projector. I think being able to do that first would make the transition easier.
I felt the class went well. Only three students didn't receive their endorsement and that was because they missed more than one class period. Lindsay and I sat with Geny and we reviewed how the class went and she was very positive about the results. I feel that this would be a good place to implement instructional design and create courses to help public education teachers learn technology. It is really needed.
sábado, 14 de julho de 2007
Thursday July 12
Editing is always hard to teach, I was a little nervous teaching it to adults in another language, with a program that I knew very little of. One plus side is that Cinelerra has an installation option to change the language to Portuguese. The students were impressed. It helped them feel more comfortable.
The class was in an open lab with other courses, so it wasn't the most ideal environment. It was loud and I have an accent. The first problem was converting file extensions. In my limited experience with Cinelerra I have noticed that it only works well with raw DV files or MPEG1. Two of the digital cameras had different extensions, .mov and .avi. I told them to use the media-convert.com to convert their files. I had used the connection at the university, so in my experience it didn't take as long. The connection here was incredibly slow so it didn't work as well. I ended up putting their files into iMove and converted them into raw DV.
The students worked in their groups and took turns working the controls. I was going to have them work on their own, but I noticed their confidence level was higher working with partners. Cinelerra has many bugs and many times their projects did funny things or they lost their files. I had to explain to them that this occurs not only in Linux, but with many professional editing packages. It was sort of good for them, because they had to go over the tools and processes several times.
Some unexpected errors I ran into were creating titles and exporting. After the class I played with it and got it to work. It doesn't work like Adobe or final cut. The exporting I had to set the project as either PAL or NTSC and it had to have audio. Otherwise, it kept giving me an error.
The class was in an open lab with other courses, so it wasn't the most ideal environment. It was loud and I have an accent. The first problem was converting file extensions. In my limited experience with Cinelerra I have noticed that it only works well with raw DV files or MPEG1. Two of the digital cameras had different extensions, .mov and .avi. I told them to use the media-convert.com to convert their files. I had used the connection at the university, so in my experience it didn't take as long. The connection here was incredibly slow so it didn't work as well. I ended up putting their files into iMove and converted them into raw DV.
The students worked in their groups and took turns working the controls. I was going to have them work on their own, but I noticed their confidence level was higher working with partners. Cinelerra has many bugs and many times their projects did funny things or they lost their files. I had to explain to them that this occurs not only in Linux, but with many professional editing packages. It was sort of good for them, because they had to go over the tools and processes several times.
Some unexpected errors I ran into were creating titles and exporting. After the class I played with it and got it to work. It doesn't work like Adobe or final cut. The exporting I had to set the project as either PAL or NTSC and it had to have audio. Otherwise, it kept giving me an error.
Wednesday July 11
Before I let all the groups out to film their projects, I reviewed their storyboards to make sure they understood the requirements and had something realistic to film. That was a concern I had coming into today and I have seen that in other classes I have taught.
The projects were fine and were mostly about the center we were at. One group decided to do one of the flee market. All the groups except for one used digital cameras with the video option. It is amazing how many people have digital cameras with how expensive they are here. Basically all their technology is expensive. The other group had a miniDV camera one teacher got from his school. Fortunately I had brought a firewire cord (don't ask me why I brought one, just did) and we could capture his footage onto my laptop. None of the computers had firewire ports. I was also able to teach him how to use it because he didn't have a clue. He seemed pretty determined to do video at his school and was excited to learn how to use it. From there we transfered the footage to the computer using a 1GB pen drive several times.
The groups spent the whole period filming. One group finished within a half an hour and I reviewed their footage with them. They didn't take time to do any composition so I asked them to think of other ways they could film what they did and also some ideas to add more interest with different angles. They were receptive and filmed some more.
We didn't get Cinelerra installed in the classroom that I wanted, but we were able to get it on some other computers in another lab. Linux has so many different versions that it makes things complicated. Free software is a blessing, but can also create headaches.
The projects were fine and were mostly about the center we were at. One group decided to do one of the flee market. All the groups except for one used digital cameras with the video option. It is amazing how many people have digital cameras with how expensive they are here. Basically all their technology is expensive. The other group had a miniDV camera one teacher got from his school. Fortunately I had brought a firewire cord (don't ask me why I brought one, just did) and we could capture his footage onto my laptop. None of the computers had firewire ports. I was also able to teach him how to use it because he didn't have a clue. He seemed pretty determined to do video at his school and was excited to learn how to use it. From there we transfered the footage to the computer using a 1GB pen drive several times.
The groups spent the whole period filming. One group finished within a half an hour and I reviewed their footage with them. They didn't take time to do any composition so I asked them to think of other ways they could film what they did and also some ideas to add more interest with different angles. They were receptive and filmed some more.
We didn't get Cinelerra installed in the classroom that I wanted, but we were able to get it on some other computers in another lab. Linux has so many different versions that it makes things complicated. Free software is a blessing, but can also create headaches.
terça-feira, 10 de julho de 2007
Tuesday July 10
The second day was far better than the first. We all arrived on time and I was able to have a little prep time before hand. We started out with a lighting exercise. We reviewed some video clips of lighting I had and read through the content. Then I sent them out with cameras to find interesting lighting in the building. They really enjoyed that and used some of yesterday's principles in the shots.
Next we reviewed editing. We went over the material and did a live practice with a camera connected to a projector. I had them cut between two actors talking.
The last topic was storyboarding. I had them split into groups and start thinking of ideas for a final project and to start storyboarding. I feel that I am a little ahead of schedule and hope I don't end a day early. But I have the feeling when the time comes to edit that they will get stuck and it will take a while.
I spent the evening making the course content into a printable version for them to download for future use.
Next we reviewed editing. We went over the material and did a live practice with a camera connected to a projector. I had them cut between two actors talking.
The last topic was storyboarding. I had them split into groups and start thinking of ideas for a final project and to start storyboarding. I feel that I am a little ahead of schedule and hope I don't end a day early. But I have the feeling when the time comes to edit that they will get stuck and it will take a while.
I spent the evening making the course content into a printable version for them to download for future use.
Monday July 9
This was the first day of class. To my surprise, there were about fifteen students in the class. They are all, with the exception of one or two, public school teachers. It was exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. We started out with some glitches. I was told 9am, Aires was told 8:30am, and the coordinator set it at 8am. Luckily, I got there at 8am to prepare and could get things going a bit, but it got me a little nervous. Not to mention some technology glitches. The internet cord had a short in it so I couldn't bump it. Two of the cameras had dead batteries. There wasn't anytime to charge them. I didn't have access to them so it was out of my control.
We covered the topics of Composition, Focus, and Camera Movement. We went through the material a little faster than I wanted to. Teaching in a different language is really difficult. I am amazed at how some professors are able to do it. It was a very good experience. The students were very receptive and enjoyed the topic. They were all new to video production.
Afterwards the coordinator informed me that it went well and that the students enjoyed it. My brain was fried and I wasn't as optimistic. As the saying goes, "we are our own harshest judges."
The remainder of the day was spent preparing for tomorrow and reviewing words I wasn't familiar with. I will try and to more demonstrations with the students tomorrow. Three hours of class time is a lot, so I need to be prepared.
We covered the topics of Composition, Focus, and Camera Movement. We went through the material a little faster than I wanted to. Teaching in a different language is really difficult. I am amazed at how some professors are able to do it. It was a very good experience. The students were very receptive and enjoyed the topic. They were all new to video production.
Afterwards the coordinator informed me that it went well and that the students enjoyed it. My brain was fried and I wasn't as optimistic. As the saying goes, "we are our own harshest judges."
The remainder of the day was spent preparing for tomorrow and reviewing words I wasn't familiar with. I will try and to more demonstrations with the students tomorrow. Three hours of class time is a lot, so I need to be prepared.
sábado, 7 de julho de 2007
Saturday July 7
Today was spent in preparation for the video class that starts on Monday. Natasha went through all the text and I had to add it back into the flash module and the site. I also went over my lesson plan for Monday and made sure I have all the resources that I need. I made adjustments to the site in SOLAR and added a course description and a class agenda.
Friday July 6
First, Lindsay I went over to the CRP to see the classroom where we will be teaching the video class. We tried installing the Linux video editor Cinelerra. I am not familiar with Linux so I had to rely on someone there do perform the installation. Unfortunately no one there was capable of installing it either. We spent a while trying to figure it out. I called Prof. Aires and we will get someone from the UFC to come down and install it Monday or Tuesday. I don't need it until Wednesday anyway.
Next we went to the Campus at Pici. I was still having difficulty exporting video from Cinelerra. It would be disappointing to create a project and not be able to export it. It took a while and I figured it out. If I load the .AVI files into media-convert.com and convert them to mpeg1, then they will import to Cinelerra without any problem. Then intead of export, I had to render the project into Raw DV files. This makes them compatible to show in Quicktime. It's a long process, but the best I've seen on Linux. Most of their programs have lots of bugs and crash quite frequently. It's been a challenge to create something with little resources, but that's the way life is usually.
Next we went to the Campus at Pici. I was still having difficulty exporting video from Cinelerra. It would be disappointing to create a project and not be able to export it. It took a while and I figured it out. If I load the .AVI files into media-convert.com and convert them to mpeg1, then they will import to Cinelerra without any problem. Then intead of export, I had to render the project into Raw DV files. This makes them compatible to show in Quicktime. It's a long process, but the best I've seen on Linux. Most of their programs have lots of bugs and crash quite frequently. It's been a challenge to create something with little resources, but that's the way life is usually.
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