Student Projects that ROCK! Xtranormal (animated short films) Candie Black & Susan Reed. November 14, 2011 Location Eastridge HS Room 136

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1 Student Projects that ROCK! Xtranormal (animated short films) Candie Black & Susan Reed November 14, 2011 Location Eastridge HS Room 136

2 My Xtranormal username is : My Xtranormal password is: Sample videos Informational video movie?page=1 Getting started with students started- for- educators?page=1 2

4) The 4 tabs: Home, Make Movies, Watch Movies, My Movies 5) Creating your 1 st movie a) Choosing a collection/theme (# of actors) b) Choosing a

3 Workshop Agenda 1) What is Xtranormal? 2) What is the teacher account under Xtranormal for Education? 3) How do I sign up for a free trial account and activate my account? 4) The 4 tabs: Home, Make Movies, Watch Movies, My Movies 5) Creating your 1 st movie a) Choosing a collection/theme (# of actors) b) Choosing a background (sets) c) Choosing the characters (actors) d) Choosing the language/accent e) Adding sounds f) Typing in the dialogue (stories) 6) Adding advanced elements a) Camera angles b) Motions c) Points d) Faces e) Look- ats f) Pauses g) Noises 7) Getting additional help 3

What is Xtranormal? Xtranormal is a website that hosts text- to- speech based computer animated videoclips, featuring animated three- dimensional characters speaking in monotone computer voices.

4 What is Xtranormal? Xtranormal is a website that hosts text- to- speech based computer animated videoclips, featuring animated three- dimensional characters speaking in monotone computer voices. Users who log into the site may create videos by scripting the dialog and choosing from a menu of camera angles and predesigned characters and scenes. How do I sign up for a free trial? Xtranormal provides free accounts for everyone with 300 points. Most movies can be made for 300 points, so you could create a teacher account and then have students create their own accounts and everyone can make their own movie for free. However, once the movie is published, most of the free points will be used up and in order to create more movies, you will have to purchase more points (1,200 points cost $10 equivalent to 3-4 movies). Alternatively, you could simply create another account with a different username and to get another 300 points. 4

What is the teacher account under Xtranormal for Education? Xtranormal offers special accounts for teachers called Xtranormal for Education.

5 What is the teacher account under Xtranormal for Education? Xtranormal offers special accounts for teachers called Xtranormal for Education. This services costs $10 a month for the teacher account and $0.50 per student per month. So if you wanted to do a project with one class of 30 students (that will take less than a month), it would cost you $10 + $15 (30 students x $0.50/student), for a total of $25, all of which can be tax- deductible. Alternatively, you can sign on to your account for a student so that multiple people can be covered under your account. The benefits of creating a teacher account include: Instant set for classes of all sizes (Xtranormal allows you to choose certain settings (what students have access to) and protects students privacy (that is, only you and the individual student have access to their movies)). Unlimited publishing of movies for all at no extra cost (that is, you can create hundreds of movies per month for the $10 total fee no counting points). Unlocked access to all actors, sets and services that are usually limited under the normal account or have to be paid for separately. This gives you a tremendous amount of flexibility to be creative. Administrative access to student accounts and grading tools. This type of web subscription can be purchased through the IT department using department funds. We recommend you make one teacher account for your department and share the password. This teacher account can have unlimited students (that is, you avoid paying the extra $10 for another teacher). 5

The 4 tabs: Home, Make Movies, Watch Movies, My Movies The Home screen just lists the different options for Xtranormal. Make Movies is the tab you click to begin making a film.

6 The 4 tabs: Home, Make Movies, Watch Movies, My Movies The Home screen just lists the different options for Xtranormal. Make Movies is the tab you click to begin making a film. Watch Movies features other people s movies as well as keeps a list of the most recent movies you have viewed (not including your own movies). My Movies is the tab where you will find all of the movies you are creating and have created. 6

You must decide at this point how many actors you want as you will not be able to go back and change the number of actors without losing your work. Choose the collection you wish to use.

7 Creating your 1 st movie Your first step is to choose a collection from the ones available on the previous page. This can be thought of a theme complete with characters and backgrounds that go together. Most collections include the possibility of films with one or two characters. You must decide at this point how many actors you want as you will not be able to go back and change the number of actors without losing your work. Choose the collection you wish to use. 1: Sets Next you will choose the set or background from the 1: Sets tab. (The $ that appear next to each set indicate the point value that will be deducted when using them. If you have the teacher account, the $ s are irrelevant.) 2: Actors Next you will choose the actors or avatars this is the visual representation of the person speaking. Click on the actor you wish to include. If you have chosen to do a film with 2 actors, click on the 2 nd icon and choose another actor. On this screen, you must also choose the language/accent of the voice of each actor. American English is the default. Pull the down arrow to see the list of possible languages and accents. Once you have selected a language, click on the orange arrow facing right to hear the actor say their name with an authentic accent. You may need to play around with this to get just the right accent for your actor. 7

3: Sounds Next you can choose a background noise (such as pigeons cooing, a lounge with people speaking softly in the background) or musical score (instrumental) to accompany your film.

With the actor you wish to speak highlighted (or not greyed out), click in the box that says Type here. Type in the first thing you want the actor to say. This is called a script block.

8 3: Sounds Next you can choose a background noise (such as pigeons cooing, a lounge with people speaking softly in the background) or musical score (instrumental) to accompany your film. Select a sound and click on the orange Listen button to listen to the sound. 4: Story Next you will type in the dialogue that you have previously written out. With the actor you wish to speak highlighted (or not greyed out), click in the box that says Type here. Type in the first thing you want the actor to say. This is called a script block. You may preview what it will sound like by clicking on the orange speaker button. The X button will delete a script block. The + button will add another script block. If you have chosen a film with two (more actors), to get the 2 nd actor to speak, create a new script block, then click on the 2 nd actor (the first actor will now be whited out). Click in the box, highlight any text that is already in it, and type the text of what the 2 nd actor will say. Preview the dialogue if you would like by clicking on the orange speaker icon. Continue adding script blocks until your entire dialogue is entered. Tip: To slow down the spoken language, insert multiple spaces in between words. 8

9 Recommendations before you begin a project with students Before starting this project, students need to know their computer logon as well as have valid address in order to create an access an account. It is highly recommended to write out the finished dialogue prior to starting an Xtranormal project so that you have a clear idea (storyboard) of what will happen in the film. Having the big picture in mind will allow you to make the best choices for sets, characters, and other options. In addition to the benefits stated above (of having the big picture in mind), having the dialogue finished will ensure that students will be able to create their films quickly (in one to three class periods). Allowing students to play with Xtranormal before the dialogue is done will result in many students possibly wasting class time trying out all of the different bells and whistles without making adequate progress on the project. Playing with camera angles, motions, etc is much more tempting than creating an academic dialogue. As with any project, adequate supervision must be provided at all times. Immature students may be tempted to have their actors do or say inappropriate things. For that reason, it is important that teachers explain to students that completing this project with Xtranormal is a privilege that will be taken away should the student engage in inappropriate behavior. Other recommendations? 9

10 Advanced elements Add various actions and animations to your movie by dragging an icon into your dialogue. Auto cameras use this option to make movies quickly. Clicking it switches on automatic cameras, which will change throughout themovie automatically. This feature is on if it is illuminated. If you wish to insert camera angles manually, make sure to click on this icon to turn it off (it will be greyed out). Camera angles drag this into the dialogue where you would like the angle to change. A box with a variety of angles will appear. Test them out and choose the one that works best for you. Motions drag this into an actor s dialogue box to have him/her perform various gestures and movements. Faces drag this into an actor s dialogue box to have him/her show various facial expressions conveying emotions. A box will appear with a list of facial expression. Test these out and then choose the one that works best for you. Look- ats this will cause the actor to turn and look at the camera. Pauses this will cause your actor to perform a variety of pointing gestures (chosen from a list). Sounds in addition to the background sounds/musical score, a variety of sounds can be added to the dialogue. A box with the available choices will appear one you drag this icon into a dialogue. 10

Previewing, Saving & Publishing Your Movie Listen just plays the audio portion of your movie. Preview allows you to see the movie in a small screen (grainy resolution).

11 Previewing, Saving & Publishing Your Movie Listen just plays the audio portion of your movie. Preview allows you to see the movie in a small screen (grainy resolution). This process also takes a few minutes depending on the length and complexity of your movie. Save allows you to save your movie in whatever state it is in, close the site and come back at a later time. The movie is not published at this point and cannot be accessed by anyone else but you. Publish finalizes the movie in a better resolution and prepares it to be shared with others. Movies can be shared with others via a link, uploaded to social media sites such as Facebook, or uploaded to YouTube (you must have a YouTube account to do this). Getting additional help This document is available on the district share under the folder labeled Student Projects that Rock Xtranormal. Tap into the talent of your fellow colleagues and share your ideas. Please feel free to us with any questions: candace_black@eastiron.monroe.edu, susan_reed@eastiron.monroe.edu Thank you for being a part of this workshop! 11

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