How to Create and Produce an Amimoto Video: Part 3 of 4

Greetings,

Hope you are having a great Spring Break.  Today I will be sharing with you the video I created in animoto.  I will also be sharing with you the various steps in creating the video.  So let's get started.  When going through this tutorial I would recommend pulling up this blog article side by side on your computer screen as you follow the various steps.  You can also print it out and follow along if you choose to.

The first thing you want to do is pick a video style.  The video style will add a theme to your slides and will have an impact on the movement of your slides.  You can also preview your slides to see the various themes that will be in your video.

After you have selected your theme, you will need to upload or add pictures or videos you want to put into your movie.  You will need to select Upload to add your pictures to your project from your computer.

In the picture below you will see the pictures I selected to use in my video.  Once the pictures are ready you will have several options to select from.  You will be able to Add More Pictures, Add Text, Spotlight, Rotate the Pictures, Duplicate, Delete and Shuffle the Pictures.  After you are satisfied with your choices, click on the Done button.

If you choose not to use your pictures on your computer, animoto gives you the option to use their pictures and videos in your video.  Listed below are the various themed pictures that animoto will allow you to use in your video.

Here are the video themes you can add to your video if you wish.

You can even choose to add pictures form a photo hosting web site from the following accounts listed below.

Once you have assembled the pictures the way you want them and the order you want them to play, you will go to Step 2: Music.  Listed below you will see the second option with the plus sign and it is the Upload button.  This feature will allow you to add your own music from your own computer.  Animoto also has a range of music to choose from, if you want to use their music.

Listed below are the different types of genres of music you can choose from to add to your video.

After you have added the music you want, then you can move to Step 3: Customize your video.  You will be given the choice of Image Pacing, Video Length, Video Style and various other Options.  After you have selected your preferences, simply click on the blue Continue button.

Now you are ready to add your title to your video and description.  There is also a place to put your name as the Producer.  How cool is that?  When you are done with filling in this information, you are ready to create your video. Just click on Continue.

Now you will see the animoto production screen.  This process will go through the following stages: Processing, Composing and finally Producing.  For a 30 second vide, it may take anywhere from 3 - 5 minutes to go through the three stages of video production.  Remember the various stages are all done on the computer and automatically.

When your video is finally finished, you will see a screen like the one below.  You will have the option to re-mix up the images again to produce another movie if you wish.  You can also download it to your computer or share it using Facebook, Twitter, Youtube or even email it to all your family and friends. 

If you click on the My Videos tab on the top of the screen it will take you to where all your videos are stored.  You will also see Untitled Projects, these are projects that were not completed.  If you click on the Edit Project button you will be given several choices such as Edit, Create New Video, Rename and Delete.  If you chose to click on Delete, you will not be able to get the video or project back.

If I move the mouse over the light blue are under the title of my Video "Majestic Places of the World", it will show the following details about the video:

1. Length of the Video

2. The type of Style

3. The Description of the Video

4. The Number of Views

5. The Music you selected.

Here is my final 30 second video that I created with my pictures and the music I selected. Click on the play button to see it.

I hope you enjoyed the detailed tutorials with screen shots.  Next week I will be sharing with you Part 4: How to Promote your Video.  See you next week.  

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What Is IVC?

Greetings,

What an awesome week we had this past week! I had the great opportunity to participate in a 5 day (IVC) boot camp. If you were not able to partipate in this Conference then you are probably asking, what does IVC stand for? Well it stands for Interactive Video Conference.

By using videoconferencing technology, two or more people at different locations can see and hear each other at the same time, sometimes even sharing computer applications for collaboration. This rich communications technology offers new possibilities for schools, colleges, and libraries, who are now using videoconferencing systems for a variety of purposes, including formal instruction (courses, lessons, and tutoring), connection with guest speakers and experts, multischool project collaboration, virtual field trips, professional activities, and community events. Remember all activities are live.

We were able to collaborate with 7 different sites or locations from all over the world including the following cities:

1. Berrien RESA, MI
2. Killen ISD, TX
3. Hays CISD, TX
4. Torfaen LEA, Wales
5. Kamloops, BC
6. El Paso ISD, TX
7. Edu Tech, ND

18 out of over 50 Teachers were selected from our Texas site to participate in this conference. This IVC project allowed participants to create project simulations and learn effective collaboration techniques to enrich curriculum with interactive experiences for many curriculum areas. This conference focused on leadership in K-12 videoconferencing. Participants created a plan for a student project for the next school year.

The goal of the conference was to get to know participants all over the world and to learn how to put together a video conference project. The 10 collaboration outcomes included the following:

1. Shared objectives
2. Sense of urgency and commitment
3. Dynamic process
4. Sense of belonging and connecting
5. Create an open communication
6. To develop a mutual trust and respect
7. Complementary, diverse skills and knowledge
8. Intellectual agility
9. Share valuable resources
10. Create memorable experiences

If you get a chance to participate in an IVC in your area, I encourage you to sign up fast because the experience was very enlightening. We were able to collaborate with the NASA Kennedy Space Center and learn all their fantastic virtual field trip programs they have to offer. To learn more about virtual field trips please visit: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=2507464n and http://vcoutonalim.org/2007/05/05/vc-on-youtube/ We also learned about the many collaborative features of Google Docs, Google Site, Skype, Flickr, Email list serves and more.

We were introduced to The ASK Program. For more information on this program please visit: http://www.misd.net/DistanceLearning/ASK/ASKProgramOverview.htm Here is one of the ASK Program activities that we had the opportunity to participate in:

ASK Specialist: The Wall by Eve Bunting
Grade Level: 5-8
Topic: Memorial Day, the Vietnam Memorial and War

This simple picture book will introduce your students to the Vietnam Memorial and will help you teach them about Memorial Day and Vietnam. Materials about "The Wall" and the Vietnam War will be included in the kit.Students will interview a Vietnam Veteran.

This experience was very touching and emotional with some of the participants. We had the opportunity to interview 2 outstanding Vietnam Veterans (http://www.lestweforgetusa.org/) We were able to interact with them, see them and ask them questions via video conferencing. For more information on this program and others please visit: http://www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl/ASK.htm This is just one activity we participated in.

Next week I will be sharing more activities and details about the conference. Remember if you are interested in participating in a conference like this, talk to your Computer Specialist, or your Campus Technician on your school campus. See you next week with more exciting details.

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1 Week to 5,000,000 Hits

Greetings,

It's amazing when something goes viral, that a lot of people find out about it, and all the sudden it spreads like a wildfire. Of course it does take time of posting to gather a following on your Youtube or Teachertube site. This next video was released on March 1, 2010, and as of today has close to 8,000,000 hits. That's right 8 Million visits. The video is about everything working together in a synchronistic way, where everything goes just perfect. You can check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w

I think this is one of their numerous videos that they have been posting consistently over a 3 - 4 year period. This is where they slowly gathered their following. Remember it takes time of posting videos consistently to get noticed. Unless you do something great and Hollywood picks it up. Yes, it really can happen. If you have not done so you can see a post I did where a video post was noticed by Hollywood Directors and Producers and someone got a nice pay out. You can check it out on the post I did back in December ,27, 2009. I have posted the video in two froms, one off of Youtube and the other posted on blogger.

Ok, today's blog is about a cool web site where you get pictures by spinning a galaxy. That's right, if you don't believe me, you can check it out yourself at http://www.taggalaxy.de/ You can simply type in the tags that you are looking for and you will see a galaxy with a sun and various tags to limit your search. Then you will continue to see more planets with tag words that will help you narrow your search. With the mouse, you can spin the planets and move them side to side, or up and down. It's pretty cool. Here is what the galaxy looks like when you do a search on Spring BreakMost of the pictures will come from Flickr or http://www.flickr.com/ a picture hosting web site. Anyways once you have found your globe with pictures you can click on it and spin it. Pretty cool. Alright, next week I will be sharing with you the importance of backing up your hard drive. What do you do when one goes bad and you have over 250GB of data and files on it and you have not backed it up? Yes, you can pay to recover it, but how much are you willing to pay? I will tell you about that story next week. Do not forget in April, I will be blogging about the Flip camera software and posting step by step pictures on how to create a movie using the software. Take care.

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