2. Materials Development. 1) Desktop Video Production

Transcription

1 2. Materials Development 1) Desktop Video Production Dr. Merza Abbas Acting Deputy Director Chairman of Graduate Studies Centre for Instructional Technology and Multimedia University of Science, Malaysia 1. Introduction A video programme tells a story or delivers its message in two modes: the aural or audio mode that appears as voiceover narration, dialogue, sound effects, and background music, and the visual mode which consists of a stream of continuous sets of images and graphics. Video production this involves techniques of editing or weaving the aural and visual components into a coherent and exciting presentation. This paper briefly discusses the three aspects of video production with an emphasis on desktop video editing. The PC simplifies video editing tasks by providing random access to pre-recorded video and audio footage or clips already stored in the hard disk or CD, and by offering a facility for assembling these clips in a cut-and-paste process very similar to the way that text is edited in a word processor. Like traditional editing, the footage is usually assembled into a sequence in a linear fashion, but unlike tape-based systems, any number of new footage or clips can be inserted within the established sequence without erasing any existing material. The desktop video editing software also offers a bewildering array of special effects transitions and graphics facilities. Today s systems can be used to perform a number of functions that previously could be done only on very expensive single-function video production hardware. The major concepts involved in video production are outlined in the next page:

2 Content Outline Video Production Audio Component Visual Elements Editing Techniques Music, sfx Script Narration Line of Action Scene, Sequence Transitions Cuts, cut-away Graphics Treatment Central Idea Programme Format Composition Types of Shots 2. The Audio Component 1) The Script The most challenging step in producing a video programme is coming up with a script. A script is a blueprint or a recipe for a programme. It clarifies the content of the programme and may include detailed instructions on how each segment of the programme is to be presented. It is the final product of the design or planning stage. There are a variety of programmes being produced on video; hence there are as many types of script formats or scripting strategies being used. Instructional video programmes tend to be of the illustrated word type, i.e., visuals are used to clarify or enact the ideas or points being presented by the narration. Hence, for instructional programmes the contents of the narration or the audio component are of primary importance. The preparation of the script thus stars with the written word and once the text, flow of ideas, or arguments are established, the words will then be embellished with their corresponding illustrations. Storyboarding is a common technique employed to visualise the programme and decide on the types and sequence of pictures or visuals. Marsh (1983) offers an excellent approach for writing scripts for effective video programmes. The assumptions underlying Marsh s approach are that the audience is highly intelligent, choosy, and will switch off their participation if anything offends them, and that each programme is prepared for a specific audience only. It has been argued that the acquisition of new knowledge, skills, and preferences, occur in this order: Abduction Induction Deduction (creating hypotheses: observing and studying the available information, and devising an explanation for the problem or situation at hand based on existing knowledge) (drawing a general statement from a specific successful experience) (predicting a specific instance from a set of general statements) This may be one of the ways that the audience mentally participates with the contents of the video programme during the presentation. So although video programmes may be viewed in large groups, the approach taken is as in addressing one person. In preparing the script the writer begins by choosing one or a combination of the following strategies to capture and captivate the audience: to inform, stimulate, interpret, instruct, solve, persuade, argue, or to entertain. Each strategy employs a slightly different tone or treatment, and calls for a different programme format. Common programme formats are voice-over narration, documentary, interview, panel discussion, magazine, demonstration, and dramatisation. The first task of the writer or producer is to select the combination of strategy, treatment, and programme format that is most effective for a given content and audience. Another technique that helps the writer to focus is establishing the central idea of the programme. A central idea is a single sentence that summarises the essence of the message. The central idea determines the subsequent content, binds all the segments together, and runs through the programme like a theme. The audience of any programme is not merely a spectator or observer but becomes a participator in and evaluator of the logic and arguments of the programme. After the screening each member of the audience will come up with his or her own summary or evaluation of the programme. A measure of the success of a video programme is the closeness of the audience s summary after the programme to the writer s summary prepared before producing the programme. A central idea for the LRC programme can be the improvement. This idea may be narrated in a sentence, or parts of the idea may be stressed throughout the programme and at the end of the show the audience will put them together. 2) Narration The major ideas of an instructional programme are usually carried by the narration. Effective narration is delivered in a simple, personal and conversational tone. Another simple rule is to observe is that what is heard in the narration must not compete but complement what is shown on the screen. The visual, when properly sequenced, can convey the ideas just as well or even better than the narration.. In general, for a pleasing programme there should be more visual than narration.

3 3) Music and Other Sound Effects The mood of the programme (and the audience) is greatly enhanced with the presence of background music and sound effects. Although appearing realistic, everything in a video programme is contrived or artificially put together. Many of these sounds are easily available on CDs and are easily incorporated into the programmes during the editing stage. 3. The Visual Elements Video is the preferred medium because it offers a relatively cheap and immediate means of producing and displaying moving images in colour. The recording of images and sound is done automatically and full-featured cameras or camcorders also automatically take care of the technical aspects of recording such as focusing, white balance, and camera shake. The images recorded are almost always guaranteed to appear of high quality. However, recording or shooting images or footage that will late be used in a video programme however is not so straightforward or intuitive. Below are some guidelines to guide the recording of images for a video programme. 1) Scene and Sequence When arranged in a set or a particular order, images that originally are not connected to each other can be associated together and appear to convey a story or a new meaning. Suppose we have three images or pictures from three difference countries: sunset at a beach in Malaysia, a seafood restaurant at sunset in the Philippines, and a couple having a seafood dinner at a table in Thailand. Individually, each picture conveys what it contains, but when presented one after another in video form the audience will conclude that the couple was having a seafood dinner at that seafood restaurant at sunset in Malaysia. This string of images has creates a scene. A scene is a set of pictures that convey the location, ambience, or mood of a place. A similar effect is obtained when separate images consisting of parts of an activity are strung together according to some logical order. When lined up together, images of a man coming down the stairs, getting out of the door, entering a car, driving in the city, and later entering an office building will be interpreted as a getting to work sequence even though each of these images were obtained at different times or days. A sequence is a set of images that conveys a complete action. For these interpretations to work, each of the images must share many similarities and follow some logical ordering. Thus the first rule of video shooting is to record all footage in a series that can add up to scenes and sequences. This is easily accomplished by varying the types of shots that are recorded for a given subject and breaking an activity or an act into its component stages. Images are classified as Long Shot, Medium Shot, or Close-up depending on how much o the subject is represented. In a long shot, the entire subject is shown; in a medium shot only half of the subject is shown and in a close-up shot only the face is shown. Arranging the shots in the LS MS CU order and vice versa will fulfil the minimum requirement. An additional set of footage to bridge between the shots used in creating the scenes and sequences is also taken. This set of shots is called cut-away shots. Certain activities, like cooking, take a long time to be completed. We cannot show everything that takes place as that would take more than an hour and will bore the audience. So we show only highlights of the activity and use CU shots of the cool s face, or the oven, or the clock to connect from one activity to another. 2) Line of Action For action shots, not only must the LS MS CU order must be observed but the direction or orientation of a given activity must also be maintained or preserved throughout the shots in the series. It is crucial to maintain the continuity of a given sequence so that the audience will not be confused. 3) Composition It is also advisable that the elements of each shot, i.e., the subject, the background, and the foreground are pleasingly and consistently arranged. This arrangement is called composition, and the most popular technique is based on the rule of thirds. In sum, the minimum requirement in recording the footage is conformity to the script or script outline while observing the following shooting principles: a) Composition based on the rule of thirds b) Maintaining continuity by establishing a consistent line of action for all shots, and c) Shooting in the LS-MS-CU sequence with ample cut-away shots. 4. Non-linear Editing Editing or postproduction are two terms used to describe the process of putting together all the bits and pieces of video and sound recording into a coherent whole. Basically it involves the assembly or creation of scenes and sequences together with their accompanying sounds or narration segments guided by the LS-MS-CU rule and the use cut-away shots. In essence it is a process where the shots, images, sounds and graphics are weaved or blended together. In conventional video editing, the shots and audio segments are initially recorded on some tapes and their locations on the tapes are identified. Later during editing they are rerecorded one after another onto a different tape in a linear fashion. It is very efficient but there isn t much room to make changes or alternatives within the scenes and sequences once they are established. Any alteration would involve erasing an existing shot and replacing it another of exactly the same length in its slot. This audio or video insert facility is very tight and rigid.

4 Editing on the PC is sometimes referred to as non-linear editing and all editing work is done with materials stored in the hard disk. Thus the first step in preparing for NLE is capturing or exporting all the materials to be used into the computer hard disk. Video clips are captured via a video capture card and sound clips can be recorded directly into the hard disk using the sound card and a suitable audio recording software. The video editing software has a way of managing these materials and they are automatically sorted into their various types. Video clips are forted and saved together, as are sound and graphics clips. When properly labelled and arranged, these materials will look like a storyboard. As in conventional video editing, the shots and audio segments are assembled one after another into scenes and sequences in a linear fashion. The biggest difference however is that in non-linear editing; the editing process does not involve any rerecording at all. We merely provide instructions for the computer to employ in creating the video programme or the movie. We can preview the whole movie or any segment of the movie at any tine and we can make any number or length of changed anywhere within the completed set of instructions. The editing software will adjust for the increase or decrease in time and execute whatever changes when the programme or the movie is rendered. Rendering is a process where the software or the computer builds the movie based on the visuals, sounds, and instructions embedded during editing. The final and complete rendering is done when we are fully satisfied wit the programme. The clips and editing instructions are also saved in the hard disk. If we have to update or reedit the movie at a later time we only have to open the files. A video programme consists of a stream of continuous display or images and sound. The shots are connected to each other by visual displays called transitions. The most common is the cut, an instantaneous change from one shot to another. The editing software offers a bewildering array of special effects transitions such as dissolves and wipes and can be incorporated into the programme to make it more exciting. The software also provide graphics facilities to generate titles, texts and diagrams that can be superimposed on to the programme. It appears cluttered and complex but it is actually very simple. In general, the process of non-linear video editing involves the following steps: a) Select the footage to be digitised: The first step in the editing process is to convert the footage into digital form and record them into the computer. The storage capacity of the hard disk is limited so only footage or clips to be used are digitised. b) Select a video compression rate: When video is converted from analogue to digital form, it is compressed. Compression allows the computer to reduce the amount of information that is stored in digital form. By varying the mage quality (resolution, colour versus black and white), frame rate, audio quality, and size of the video window (half of full screen), a given amount of footage will take more or less storage space. 3) Digitise shot by shot The software or the digitiser allows for the in and out points of each of the lip to be digitised to be marked. Digitising takes place in real time, and can be thought of as dubbing the footage, shot by shot, into the digital domain. Digitising can be a time consuming process when a large amount of footage is involved. Additional elements such as music, sound effects, graphics, and photos can also be imported. The computer sorts all files or clips according to an alphanumeric order. To ensure that the files stay in the same group and order, it is advisable to invent a system of naming the files and save them in a folder. Footage for the first segment, scene, or sequence can be called aintro so that the shots for the introduction will be placed on top. Individual shots in the set is then labelled aintro 1, aintro11, aintro12 etc. 4) Trim each digitised clip to its actual in and out point. 5) Use the timeline to arrange the shots in the proper sequence. The computer s mouse is used to drag and drop the shots into the timeline at the appropriate place, and the shots can be easily moved elsewhere if the sequence need to be changed. This is one of the most powerful advantages of the non-linear editing systems. The order of shots can be changed without reediting the entire piece. 6) Add transitions between shots There are many transition effects to choose from, but these effects are used sparingly in instructional programmes. 7) Add graphics Programme titles, keyed titles and other graphics can be created electronically within the editing programmes and incorporated into the project. 8) Add music and sound effects The sound attached to the picture is assembled into the timeline as the pictures are edited. Most programmes allow the addition of several tracks of audio, and will use 3 or more tracks (voice, natural sound, stereo music, sound effects, and so on). 9) Allow the system time to render the special effects and transition. Rendering is a process in which the computer builds the movie frame by executing the instructions on the timeline. This process may take a long time to complete depending on the processing speed of the computer, the types of pictures used and the complexity of the effects and transitions involved.

5 10)View the edited project in real time to judge its effectiveness and acceptability 11)Make changes as necessary The principal advantage of non-linear editing is the ease, which sequences can be rearranged or new material integrated into the timeline. 12)Field test the programme Drag video clip to Video 1B Drag transition effect Window>transition>choose Drag title to Video 2, superimpose: highlights>clip>video>transparency>white>matte>overlay>ok - Preview (ALT+scrub, or file>export>print to video, or project>render selection) - Final movie (file>export>movie>file>name>save in folder) References 1. Compesi, R. J., & Sheriffs, R. E. (1997), Video field production and editing, Boston: Allyn and Bacon 2. Marsh, P.O. (1983) Messages that work Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications Task & Short Notes for the LRC Desktop Video Production 1. Write a script a) 400 words essay (70-80 wpm), b) clear purpose, theme, central idea, c) spoken words, d) simple sentences 2. Prepare a storyboard a) Break essay into small sections, b) Identify pictures visuals to illustrate each section, c) Clarify types of shots: clarify scenes and sequences, d) Identify narratoin breaks 3. Shoot the pictures a) Choose types of shots, b) Use rule of thirds to compose c) Choose camera movements (pan, zoom, dolly, tilt), d) Shoot cut-away shots, e) Focus, f) White Balance, g) Shoot interview with external mic. 4. Record the narration a) Use mic. and camera, b) Record on black (with lens covered), c) Use conversational tone 5. Capture all clips to PC a) Connect camera to PC, b) Create a folder, c) Open Premiere (Preset setting 25fps for PAL>OK), - To capture vide & audio (file>capture>movie> capture>play>tape>record>mouse>clic) - To save (preview>trim>file>save as>folder>clip>name: a1, a Music and sound effects copy directly from CD to folder (.wav and.aif files) 6. Edit on Premiere Open Premiere - Import to project windiw (file>import>folder>ok) - Make background (project>create>colour matte>black>ok>save) - Make title (file>new>title>type text or project>add this clip>save in folder) - Edit (windows>timeline>ppj>folder) Drag black to Video 1A