I began working on my content based video first. The first step I took was to research important sites in Plymouth Harbor. Based on these sites, I planned my video. Over Fall Break, I used a digital camera to capture the noteworthy monuments, statues, gravestones etc. Once I had all of the footage I needed, I uploaded the photos to Windows Movie Maker. From there, I simply played with different transitions/animations and added text. I think that it came together nicely. In fact, out of all three components to the final project, this is my favorite. My only concern is the lack of audio. As I mentioned on my blog, an instrumental loop seemed too cheesy. Other than this, I am pleased with how the finished video turned out.
My second endeavor was the instructional video. For this, I used an iPhone for filming. It seemed to be the most convenient approach. We recorded the craft in segments, one step at a time. I emailed the videos to myself and then uploaded each snippet to Windows Movie Maker. I wasn’t sure how the segments would flow together but after playing with transitions, it turned out great.
Lastly, for my stand-alone audio, I read a children’s book, Corduroy by Don Freeman. My original plan was to read a Thanksgiving themed story but I didn’t have one on hand so I made a minor change. I used an iPhone to record and then uploaded the file to iTunes. This was by far the easiest part of the project.
Now that I have finished my project, I can honestly say that the process as a whole went a lot better than I had expected. I anticipated the editing process to be complex and tedious but Windows Movie Maker was actually self-explanatory and very easy to learn. I am glad that I had the opportunity to play around with this technology because I can now see the potential of video and audio in the classroom. I am relieved that I am done however this was certainly a learning experience and I definitely think that it will be useful in the future.
