As previously mentioned, taking this course allows you to borrow equipment from Gavilan. If you have your own videocamcorder, wonderful. If it's Mini DV, even better. If you intend to use Studio DM for editing, Mini DV or Digital 8 are best, but we can handle 8 mm, Hi 8 mm, VHS, and SVHS tape. Hi Def in HDV format will also work. AVCHD format from hard drive or Flash memory cards s ubder development. Please email or stop by to discuss what we can do. Sorry, we can't handle film! If you do have one of these older analog formats, you might want to consider borrowing one of our cameras. It will just make editing easier.

Gavilan also has shotgun and wireless microphones, fishpoles, and tripods. I recommend using at least a shotgun microphone. This will become apparent in the movie below. Tripods are clumsy to use, but highly recommended.

To get your equipment: Go to the OE building in the lower northeast side of the campus (see map at http://www.gavilan.edu/maps/main_map.htm). Look for the green front building labeled OE and go in the first double door, OE102, to the left as you face the entrance. Oh, make sure you fill out the form so the police know where to find you if the equipment is missing.

AtomicLearning has a great Video Storytelling Guide in both text and video form. the text part is more organized and also has blue links to some of the video material. It is at http://movies.atomiclearning.com/k12/home. you must log in--use our name, gavilan, and the password, media. This site is for Digital Media students only, so please do not broadcast this secret code.

Once logged in, go to the Menu item, Resources, and select Video Storytelling Guide. You will see an index of topics that will help with the steps on this and the next pages. Just choose the topic that relates to the steps listed on this and the next page.

Towards the bottom is the link to the video examples. These are good, but I recommend that you read first, then watch--http://movies.atomiclearning.com/k12/movielist.shtml.

Manuals for Gavilan cameras are here on the Sony Electronics site, http://esupport.sony.com/perl/select-di.pl. Since we have different models, you will have to search for the correct manual. Most Sony cameras work in a similar fashion, but there may be a difference between the Digital 8 and the Mini DV series.

Now, read the Intro and the tips about camera use, setting exposure and focus, and using tripods.

In the video tutorials, watch the movies about lighting. Are you having fun yet? Soon.

Always pay attention to your audio. You can't see it, but you can here it and hen it's not recorded correctly, it sounds awful in the editing phase! A little tip for when you're in the field on location. Record extra sound that can be used in the edit for fill and thickness. No real need for a audio deck, just record the sound on your video with the camera facing the scene. The visual can be edited out later.

Under the Camera section, the reading entitled Audio is good. The example video clip on Audio for your Video is good has wonderful information about microphones and recording audio.

B-roll in GavTV lingo are extra shots that can fill a void, be a cutaway, or make a talking head look good by cutting to a B-roll shot. To get B-roll, shoot your camera at extra things around the scene or at related subjects if doing a documentary. You never know if this will be used later. Tape is cheap now. Film was expensive and couldn't be erased afterwards to be used again.

Examples of video effects can be found on te bottom of the example videos.

In a very boring video, the camera is stagnant. Notice the new TV shows. The camera is always moving--handheld at that. One of these new programs makes me dizzy! Please don't move that much, but establish a style. That is if you do move the camera, use the same technique during your whole film.

Zooms bring things closer and farther away without any physical movement. This creates a certain look which sometims changes the relationship between the close figures and the background. Dolly shots (the camera is on a dolly pushed back and forth) also bring things closer and farther away, but the relationship between foreground and background is much more realistic.

Pans are similar. The are a left-right movement of the camera and again they change the relationship between the foreground and background. A tracking shot maintains the relationship, but is harder to do. Image running alongside of car at 30 mph getting the interior shot. You could pan or you could have the car go next to a railroad and you shoot from the train--hence tracking shot.

Stills are great. They can show the establishment of a scene or place; they can freeze action for an effect, they can be animated to look like video, or they can be used as filler, when you don't have enough handles (i.e., film on either side of an edit point) to have a dissolve. Some students have even made their whole video out of still images. Oh yes, it was much better than a boring slide show.

Images are easily imported in to iPhoto so they can be accessed while in iMovie. iPhoto can take most any file. .jpg is probably the best. Make sure they are larger than 640 x 480 pixels. This will allow you to animate without pixelation effects like the jaggies and boxies. If you have slides or prints, you can scan them in Studio DM. If you have a digital still camera, we have card readers to get your pictures into the computer.

See the Post Production module for techniqies to add stills.

Please turn in a 2 - 5 page storyboard. See the Moodle site or email to digitalmedia@gavilan.edu