Edcasting - California State University, Sacramento · 2009-10-27 · books about podcasting or multimedia . some of the outstanding unique needs of educators include: Bandw dth Issues.

Edcasting

creating and deliveringmultimedia learning experiences

Mathew Mitchell

Version 0.8 (Fall 2006 draft)

August 21, 2006

TableofConTenTs �

Contents

CHaPTeR1 Edcast�ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2edcastingDefined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Typesofedcasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3sevenReasonstoedcast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5edcastinglimitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Theedcastingstudio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Institutionalsupport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14exercise1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

CHaPTeR2 Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17liveslideshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Projectfolders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20ProjectManagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Keystages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23exercise2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

CHaPTeR3 Storyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25storyDevelopment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27VisualModels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28VisualModelexamples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29DraftVisualModel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Thescript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34CreatePauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40sectionnumbering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Thefinalscript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42exercise3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

CHaPTeR4 Aud�o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44PracticalReminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Rehearsal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47TheRecordingsession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48audioediting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49audacityoverview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52audacityProjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55audacityediting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57audacitylabels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62QTMovienoteTaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66audacityMixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66exporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70MP3Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

TableofConTenTs ��

summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75exercise4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

CHaPTeR5 V�sual Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77ModelConstruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79ModelstyleTips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80MappingTools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80CmapToolsoverview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82buildingtheVisualModel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84RefiningtheModel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88exportingtheVisualModel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93DynamicModels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94UnfoldingModels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95HighlightedModels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99exercise5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

CHaPTeR6 T�tle Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102ImagestoUse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104PowerPointPhluff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105Imagestoavoid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106Titlingsoftware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108setup&export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109specialexportsetups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121exercise6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121

CHaPTeR7 Support Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123basicConcepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125ImageTypes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126supportImagesoutline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127Photographs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128scans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130screenCaptures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132WebDownloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133ImageProcessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135Cropping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136Colorenhancement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139sharpening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140saveandexport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145exercise7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145

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CHaPTeR8 Profess�onal Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147Photoshopelements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149Understandinglayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149layersinPse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152Understandingopacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155opacityinPse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156layerstyles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158layerscreens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162Masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163Multipleexports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167

CHaPTeR9 Glue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169CalculatesectionTimes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171orderandRenameImages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174ThelssTemplate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174liveslideshow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175Modifyinglss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179batchInsertImages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180batchInserteffects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .181batchInsertTimings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182Insertaudio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183sectionTypes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183MacroTiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185MicroTiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189finishingTouches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191extraoptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192exercise9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193

CHaPTeR10 Del�very . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195finishingTouches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197PackagingtheMovie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199DeliveringtotheInstructor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199Deliveringtostudents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200MultimediaintheClassroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204Continuingeducation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205educationalleadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207

PRefaCe �v

Prefaceedcastingisapracticalbookthattakesyouthroughtheprocessof creating effective multimedia products to enhance academiclearning .notonlydoeducatorsneedmanyofthesameskillsaspodcastersandmultimediacreators,buttheyalsoneedtoacquireunique skills and tools that are not addressed in more generalbooksaboutpodcastingormultimedia .someoftheoutstandinguniqueneedsofeducatorsinclude:

Bandw�dth Issues. largefilesizescanbeaheadacheforeducatorsatbothendsofthedeliveryprocess:(1)uploading/storingfilesontheirownserverand(2)studentshavingthecapabilitiestoeasilydownloadfiles .Duetotheproblemsofvideomaterialintermsofbandwidthandfilesize,thisbooklooksonlyattheintegrationofaudioandstillimagestocreatemultimediaproducts .

V�deo Not Needed. Ifyou’rewatchingKing Kongthenit’simportanttobeabletoseemotion .However,whenexplainingacademiccon-cepts,it’srarethatmotionisneeded .Ifyou’rediscussingtheSum of Squaresconceptthenitmaybe“nice”tohavemotion,butwhat’snecessaryistohaveclearandcompellingimagesthatintegratetheaudiotrackusedtoexplaintheconcept .

D�vers�ty of Academ�c Needs. educatorsneedtouseacademicmul-timediainavarietyofformats .Insomecases,audio-onlypodcast-ingorenhancedpodcastingmaysuffice .Inothercases,integrat-edaudio-imagemoviesarenecessary .still, inothers,acompletelearningpackageincludingaudio,multimedia,andvariousdocu-mentsisnecessary .Thisbookaddresseshowtocreateanddeliveracademicmultimediainalloftheseformats .

Intended Audience Thisbookcanbeusefultoanyoneworkingineducation .specifi-cally,theintendedaudienceforthisbookareeducatorsinterestedincreatingacademicmultimediabutwhohavelimitedexperiencemakingsuchproducts .educatorswhohaveahighlevelofexpe-rience working with multimedia will find some portions of thisbookextremelyhelpful,butotherportionsthey’llfindthematerialredundant .Ioriginallywrotethisbooktoteachmystudentshowtocreateedcasts .Inasimilarvein,youmayfindthisbookavalu-ablelearningtoolforhelpingyourstudents .

Operating Systems IhavekeptinmindtheneedsofbothWindowsandMacintoshus-erswhenwritingthisbook .Infact,mostofthesoftwareproductsthatarerecommendedworkonbothoperatingplatforms .How-ever,whensoftwaredifferencesoccur,I’veprovidedgoodoptionsintermsofsoftwareforeachrespectivesystem .

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PRefaCe v

What’s the Cost? InChapter OneIdiscussvariousoptionsforestablishingyourownedcastingstudio .Inthatchapteryou’llfinddetailsaboutvarioussetups and their costs . However, you should know that you cancreateyourownbare bonesedcastingstudioforonly$105 .forap-proximately$65extra,youcanalsoincludePhotoshopelementstocreateastrongstudioenvironment .Putdifferently,beingabletohaveasolidmultimediastudiofor$170isagreatbargain .

You’llneedaudiorecordinghardware:andI’llsuggestagood$65starterkit .Inadditionyou’llneedaudiorecording,audioediting,audio mixing, and MP3 compression software . I’ll recommendtwo products that will do all these steps for free . You’ll need tobeabletoviewmultimediaproductsandtocreatevisualmodels .likewiseI’llsuggesttwopiecesofsoftwarefordoingthisthatarefree .liveslideshow,themultimediasoftwarewe’lluseforintegrat-ingimagesandaudio,willcostyou$40 .Youprobablyalreadyhavesoftwareproductsforcreatingsomeofyourimages .addontheoptional,butverypowerful,Photoshopelementsandyouhaveapowerful,yetaffordable,edcastingstudio .

Using This Book Thebookisdividedintotenchapters .Myworkingassumptionisthatyouwanttocreateacademicmoviesthatintegrateaudioandimages .Youshouldreadeachchaptersequentiallyaseachbuildsupontheideasandskillsdevelopedinthepreviouschapter .Thenextpageprovidesaschematicoverviewofthestructureandes-sentialcontentinthebook .onthepagesafterthemodelIprovideashortdescriptionofthecontentsofeachchapter .

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PRefaCe v��

Chapter 1: Edcast�ng. In this chapter, edcasting is defined . I thendiscussvarioustypesofedcastsandsevenkeyreasonswhyyou’dwant tocreateanedcast .Thechapteralsoaddresses theprocessusedtosetupanedcastingstudiointermsofneededhardwareandsoftware,anddiscussesgettinginstitutionalsupporttohelpcoversomeofthefinancesinvolvedincreatingedcastingproducts .

Chapter 2: Startup. Thischapterdescribeshowtoprepareyourharddriveforcreatingedcasts,howtoinstallliveslideshow(themul-timediasoftwareyou’lluse),aswellashowtoprojectfolders,setupprojectmanagement,andunderstandthekeystagesinvolvedinthedevelopmentofedcasts .

Chapter 3: Storyboard. beforeyoucancreateanything,youneedtohavefleshedoutagoodidea .Thischapterlooksatstorydevelop-ment,creatinghanddrawnvisualmodelstohelpstructureyourthinking and presentation, creating a script, and finally addingpausestothescript .

Chapter 4: Aud�o. nowthatyouhavea scriptandahanddrawnvisual model, it’s time to record and edit your audio . The chap-tercovershowtoprepareforrecordingandwhattododuringarecordingsession .Includedareinstructionsforusingaudacity,afree audio editing software program, that will be used to refineyour audio . finally the chapter describes using the free iTunessoftwaretocreateafinalMP3product .

Chapter 5: V�sual Models. You will have already created a handdrawnvisualmodel .Thischaptershowsyouhowtocreateadigitalvisualmodeltouseinyouredcast,lookingatmodelconstruction,model style tips, and software tools for creating visual models .Included are examples using Cmap Tools, another free softwareprogram,andhowtouseittobuild,refine,andexportyourvisualmodel .finally,thechapterlooksattheissuesinvolvedwithcre-atingdynamicmodelsincludinghowtocreateunfoldingmodelsandhighlightedmodels .

Chapter 6: T�tle Images. Text only images are usually “titles” foranewsectionorsub-sectionofanedcast .specifically,thechap-ter looks at creating an outline, the hazards of overreliance onPowerPoint, typesof images toavoid,varioussoftwareproductsthatcanbeusedtocreatetitleimages,keystandardstoconsider,andexportingtheimagestoaJPGformat .

Chapter 7: Support Images. Visualmodelsand title imagescreatethevisualscaffoldingforyouredcasts .support imagescompletetheroleofimagesbyprovidingvisualexamplesandelaborationstoanaudiotrack .Thesetypesofimagesfilloutyourpresentationthrough the use of a digital photos, scans, or other images thatsupporttheconceptsbeingpresenting .

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Chapter 8: Profess�onal Images. Thisisanoptionalchapterforthosewho want to learn how to make their images look professional .ThechapterfocusesonhowtousePhotoshopelementsthroughsuchkeytopicsaslayers,layerstyles,layeropacity,layerscreens,andmasks .

Chapter 9: Glue. now that you have all the images completed,as well as the audio MP3, you’re ready to integrate them into asmoothedcastmovie .Thischaptertakesyouthroughthepacesofhowtouseliveslideshowtocreateacademicmovies .specificallythechaptercoverscreatingatimesheet,usingtheliveslideshowtemplate, insertingimagesintothetimeline, insertingeffects(ortransitions),insertingaudio,andaligningthetimingbetweenin-dividualimagesandtheaudiotrack .

Chapter 10: Del�very. Thischapterlooksathowtomakeyoured-castingproductseasilyavailabletoothers .severalspecificissuesare investigated including: exporting the final liveslideshowproductasaQuickTimemovie,deliveringedcaststotheinstruc-tor, delivering edcasts to your students, general issues involvingmultimedia in the classroom, continuing your edcasting educa-tion,andbecominganeducationalleaderinthe21stcentury .

Using the Website notallofthekeylearningmaterialscouldbeputintothisbook .otherlearningmaterialscanbedownloadedfrommyprofessionalwebsite . In addition, I’ve developed templates to help you workfaster, easier, and more efficiently with Cmap Tools, Photoshopelements, and liveslideshow . further, I and some others havedevelopedseveralmultimediatutorials(oredcastsaboutcreatingedcasts) . finally, I have several movies my students have devel-opedthatyoucandownloadasexampleedcasts .Youcanvisitmywebsiteat:

http://socrates .usfca .edu/mitchellm/

ChoosetheEdcastingsectionwithinthewebsitetofindtheseextramaterials .

Thanks Iwant to thankbothColleenChechoandGailKirby forkindlyreading and editing an earlier version of this manuscript . Theirnumeroussuggestionshavemadethisamuchbetterproduct .anyflawsremainingaremyowncreation .

Summary edcasting is an exciting and important tool for creating power-fullearningexperiences .Thechaptersaheadwillprovideyouwithimportantpracticalandconceptualtoolsforcreatingedcasts .Withamodicumofpracticeyou’llbeabletotakeadvantageofyoural-readyestablishedcontentexpertisetocreateedcaststhatincreasetheprobabilitythatmoreofyourstudentslearnchallengingmate-rialefficientlyanddeeply .

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1 Edcasting

Chapter 1

Edcasting

CHaPTeR1 . EDCASTING 2

Overv�ewThe purpose of this chapter is twofold . first, the chapter intro-ducestheconceptofedcastingandhowitcanserveasapowerfulinstructionaltool .second,thechapterprovidesabriefoverviewaboutkeyhardwareandsoftwareproductsusedtocreateedcasts .Threepricelevelsofedcasting studiosareproposed .Theyarethebarebones,foundational,andprosumerstudios,respectively .

Edcast�ng Definedlet’sbeginwiththewordthatstarteditall:podcasting .bartfarkasinhisbookSecrets of Podcastingdefinespodcastingas:

In a nutshell, podcasting is a World Wide Web-based form of broadcasting that allows anyone with a computer and/or a digital media device to download and listen to content. Formed by the combination of the words iPod and broad-casting, podcasting involves the creation of “radio” shows that are not intended to be broadcast over Marconi’s inven-tion. Indeed these podcasts can be downloaded and enjoyed only through access to the World Wide Web.

PodcastingwassuchabigphenomenathatitwasnamedWord of the Yearfor2005 .Here’sanexcerptfromanarticleinMacCentral(datedDecember6,2005):

The editors of the New Oxford American Dictionary have selected “podcast” as the Word of the Year for 2005. The word beat out such runners-up as “bird flu” and “IED” (im-provised explosive device). . . . Podcast, which is to be de-fined as “a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player,” will be added to the next online update of the dictionary, due in early 2006.

Inaboutnovember2005aspin-offwordwascreated:vodcasting .Thisnewwordreferstospeciallyformattedvideoswhichcanbedownloadedandplayedon thenewvideo iPodsreleased in late2005 .

Ingeneralthereseemtobefourkeyfeaturesofpodcasts:

simple and easy delivery of new content through web-baseddeliverysystems(suchasRss feedsand the iTunesMusicli-brary) .easiermethodsforfindingnewcontent .easierandbettertoolsforcreatingpodcasts .overalllowcostofcreatinganddeliveringcontent .

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Iuseedcastinginasimilarmanner .specificallyIdefineedcasting as:

Edcasting is the creation of academic learning materials in either an audio or multimedia format that is made avail-able to end-users via the World Wide Web.

edcastingopensupnewopportunitiestoeducators,partlybecauseitmakesthepragmaticsofcreatinghybridanddistance-learningenvironmentseasier .Yetevenmoreimportantly,edcastingoffersavaluabletoolforalmostalleducatorstoenrichanddeepenthelearningexperiencestheycreateforstudents .

Please keep in mind that while new tools make the creation ofedcasts fairly simple, the timeandeffort involved indoingany-thingwellstilltakestime .anexcellentpresentation(whetherdonelivewithhandwrittennotes,viaPowerPoint,orinamultimediaformat) takes careful thought, a deep level of content expertise,a careful understanding of students’ previous knowledge andmisconceptions,andmore .simplyput, it’salwaysdifficult todosomethingwell .Thatdoesn’tchange,norshouldyouexpectitto .Whathaschangedistheeasewithwhichthatplanningcanthenbetransferredintoamultimediaformattoprovideyourlearnerswithadditionalwaystolearncomplexanddemandingmaterial .

Types of Edcastsedcastingisagenerictermthatdescribesanymultimediamaterialthathelpswithacademic learning .edcastingmaterials couldbeusedwithprimary,secondary,communitycollege,orUniversityenvironments .let’s lookat fourdistinct formatsforedcaststhatwillbeaddressedinthisbook .

Podcasts a straight ahead audio-only presentation . The only differencefromaregularpodcastisthatthismaterialisintendedtosupportacademic learningonly .Podcasts canbeplayedwithanydevicethatwillplayMP3files .

Enhanced Podcasts enhancedpodcastsarepodcastswithatleastone,orboth,ofthefollowingenhancements:(a)thepodcastisorganizedintochap-tersand(b)thepodcastincludesimages .

Imagine you had a 30 minute podcast and someone needed toreviewonlyaportionofthatpodcast .searchingamongstthe30minutesofmaterialwouldbetimeconsuming .Podcastchapters,likebookchapters,allowyoutosubdivideapodcastintoadiscretenumberofchapters .eachchaptercontainsashortdescriptivetitleandgivesthetimeatwhichitbegins .Thismakesnavigating,orre-viewing,thepodcastmucheasier .


sometimes includinga few imageswould increase theeffective-nessofapodcast .enhancedpodcastsallowyoutoincludeimagesnolargerthan300x300pixels .Theimagesarealwaysconnectedtoaspecificchaptertitle .

enhancedpodcastscannotbeplayedwithanyMP3player .Cur-rentlytheonlydevicesthatwillplayenhancedpodcastsare:iTunes,iPods,andQuickTime .

Academic Movies Thisistheprimarytypeofedcastyou’llbelearningaboutinthisbook .anacademicmovieintegratesanaudiotrackwithanimagetracktocreateamultimedialearningexperience .Inmostlearningsituationsit’smoreeffectivetocombineaudiowithvisualmaterialto communicate difficult conceptual material . academic moviescanbeviewedusingthefreeQuickTimePlayerorQuickTimePro .However, these movies will not play correctly using Real Playeror Windows Media Player . The primary reason for this is thatQuickTimeisamoreopen-endedarchitectureallowingyoutouseawidevarietyofimage,audio,andvideoformats .RealPlayerandWindowsMediaPlayerarebothmorerestrictiveintermsofthekindsofaudio,image,orvideoformatstheyallowtobeused .asaresult,someproductsviewableinQuickTimearenotviewableusingtheothermediaplayers .

Learning Packages Theseareedcaststhatincludemultipleitems .apackagecanin-cludeone(ormore)podcasts,academicmovies,orboth .Typicallyalearningpackagewillalsoincludetext-basedhandouts,suchasreadingmaterials,instructornotes,homeworkassignments,visualmodels,andmore .Thetextmaterialsareintendedtobeusedwhilelisteningtoapodcast,orusedafterwardsaspartofahomeworkassignment .


Relationships The four types of edcasts presented above are not independent .Thefigurebelowillustratestheconnectionsbetweentheseedcast-ingtypes .

Figure 1.1. Types of Edcasting

EducationalPodcasts

LearningPackages

EnhancedEd Podcasts

AcademicMovies

as the figure indicates, educational podcasts themselves are thefoundationforotherformats .anenhancedpodcast isanexten-sionoftheoriginalpodcastwitheitherchapters,orimages,orbothadded .Podcastscanalsoserveasthefoundationforanacademicmovie .sometimesapodcastcandodoubleduty:studentscanlis-tentothepodcastonly(whichgivesthemmuchmoreflexibilityintermsofhowtheylistentothematerial)oritcanbeintegratedintoanacademicmoviewherestudentslistentothematerialonacomputeraccompaniedbyrichvisualmaterialthataidsthelearn-ingexperience .finally,learningpackagesarecomposedofacom-bination of podcasts, enhanced podcasts, academic movies, andtexts .Thus,asthefigureindicates,allthreeoftheotherformsofedcastsmaybeusedaspartofalearningpackage .

asanaside, creatinga script forapodcast tends tobedifferentthanascriptforanacademicmovie .Inapodcastthereisnovisualsupport .asaresult,theaudioneedstobemoredescriptive .Withanacademicmoviethescriptcanbeshorterbecauseyoucantakeadvantageofthevisualmaterialtotellpartoftheacademicstory .Putdifferently,inanacademicmovietheaudiodoesn’tneedtodoasmuchdescriptiveworkasinapodcast .

Seven Reasons to EdcastThereareseveralreasonstoconsiderusingedcastingifyouareaneducator .followingaremyown“top7”reasonsforusingedcasts .

Reason 1 edcastingaddstheconvenienceofwhen learningoccursforyourstudents .studentscan listen toorviewmaterials at those times


thatbestfit their learningneeds .studentscanalsoviewmateri-als in chunks that work well for them . some students may viewthecompletematerialsatonego,whileothersmaylearnbetterbylisteningtosmallerchunksofthepresentationsatdifferenttimes .

Reason 2 edcastingaddstheconvenienceofhowlearninghappensforyourstudents .studentsusethesekindsofmaterialsinavarietyofways .somesitathomeandusetheirstereosystems,somelistentokeymaterialwhiletakingalongwalk .somestudentsneedtoviewthematerialsonce,whilemanyothersviewthematerialsseveraltimesinordertomasterthecontentpresented .nomatterwhattypeofedcastyouuse, theyallofferflexibility intermsofhowstudentsdigestandinteractwiththematerials .

Reason 3 edcasts tend to elevate student mot�vat�on . since students havegreatercontroloverwhenandhowtheylearnwithedcasts,theytend to have an enhanced level of motivation . It’s the increasedperception of controloflearningthatincreasesstudentmotivationtolearn .

Reason 4 edcasts tendtocreateagreaterpersonal connect�onduetothepowerofvoice .studentsareabletolistentoyou,orotherexperts,outsideoftheregularclassroomsetting .Thistendstoworkbet-terthantextbecausethehumanvoicecreatesastrongersenseofconnectionandpresence .Thisisespeciallyimportantindistance-learningorhybridlearningsituations .Yetevenregularclassroomstructurestendtobehelpedbyusingedcastingasasupplementarylearningtool .

Reason 5 edcastingtakesadvantageofdual cod�ngthroughtheintegrateduseofaudioandimagestomoreeffectivelyexplainconcepts .ThetheoryofdualcodingwasfirstproposedbyalanPaivio .Inover-simplifiedterms,Paivioproposedthatourmemoryencodesinfor-mationintwoways:inatextualformandinanimageform .Hisclaimwasthatinformationthatwasencodedusingbothformatsledtoeasierrecallandmoreefficientcodinginlongtermmemoryrelativetoinformationthatisencodedinonlyoneformat .

RichMayerlaterproposedamult�med�atheoryofencodingwhichdifferedinimportantdetailsfromPaivio’stheory .Itexplainedindifferenttermswhyinformationthat ispresentedinbothimageandaudioformatstendstobeencodedbetterthantextonly,au-dioonly,orimageonlyformats .Thebottomline,however,isthatwhenacademicmoviescarefullyintegrateaudioandvisualmate-rial,complexconceptstendtobelearnedbetter .

Reason 6 edcasting allows educators greater t�me flex�b�l�ty in how theyuseclassrooms .lectures,orpartsoflectures,canbedeliveredout-sideof theregularclassroomsothatmore in-class timeisspentondiscussionsorgroupactivities .sinceedcastingcreatesthepos-


sibilityforbetterlearningtooccuroutsideoftheclassroom,thisinturnhasanimpactonhoweducatorsmightthinkaboutusingtheirliveclasstime .edcastingalsomakesthecreationofhybridlearning environments or distance-learning environments morefeasible .

Reason 7 edcastingcanbeaneffectivewaytoincreaseact�ve learn�ng .Giv-entherightcircumstances,someinstructorscanasktheirstudentstodemonstratetheirunderstandingofkeymaterialbydevelopingstudent-generatededcasts .I’veoftenheardstudents(especiallyina subject like statistics) state that they learned key material at adepththeyneverthoughtpossiblewhenpresentedwiththechal-lengeofcreatingedcaststhatwouldteachfuturestudentsaboutakeystatisticalconcept .

Edcast�ng L�m�tat�onsIwouldberemissifIdidn’tstatetheobvious:edcastingisnotasilverbullet .edcastingcanenhancethequalityofthelearningen-vironmentsyoucreateforstudents .However,usingedcastingonlymaybealimitingwaytoworkwithstudents .let’sconsidersomeof thereasonsyouprobablydon’twanttouseanedcasting-onlylearningenvironment .

Learner Needs edcastsdon’tfulfilltheneedsofalllearners .edcastingisawon-derfuladditionaltooltouseinanylearningenvironment .Yetstu-dents typically benefit from live classroom settings . eliminatingstudentdiscussions(whetherliveoronline),groupactivities,andother learning experiences may inadvertently decrease studentachievement .learnersneedavarietyofexperiencestolearnwell .edcasting,typically,can’taddressallthelearningneedsofallstu-dents .

Textbooks Textsusuallydon’tfulfillalloftheneedsoflearners .Thatsaid,de-pendingonyourdiscipline, textsareagreatsourceofacademiclearning .Whilemanystudentswill learnbetterby listeningandviewingedcastingmaterials,otherstudentsmaylearnbetterwhenthe right text materials are used . You don’t want to throw awaythebabywiththebathwater .edcastingisanimportantenhance-menttoeffectivelearning,butedcastingdoesn’timplygettingridoftexts .

ontheotherhand,byincorporatingedcasting,educatorsmayfindtheyhavemoreoptionsintermsofthekindsoftextmaterialstheychoosetousewiththeirstudents .Thishappensbecauseedcastingsavvyeducatorsknowthatthetextbooksdon’tneedtodoalltheacademicheavylifting .


The Edcast�ng Stud�oI’mtypicallyaskedbypeoplehowmuchitcoststocreateanedcast-ingstudio .There’snoperfectanswer to thatquestion .What I’mgoingtodointhissectionistoproposethreelevelsofedcastingstudio .Thefirst level, thebare bones studio, costsapproximately$110 .Thesecondlevel,thefoundational studio,costsapproximate-ly$350 .Thethirdlevel,theprosumer studio,costsapproximately$1,100 .

Togotoeachnewlevelcostsaboutthreetimeswhatthepreviouslevelcosts .Thisisprobablyareasonableexpectation .Productsarechangingandimprovingallthetimesoit’simportantthatyoutaketherecommendationsbelowasguidelines .It’sstillimportanttodoyourownhomework tosee ifevenbetterproductsareavailablebeforeyoubuildyourownedcastingstudio .

In addition, you can always visit my website to learn about thenewestedcastingproducts .Usethefollowinglinktogotomypro-fessionalwebsite .Whenyouenter thewebsiteclickon the“ed-casting”optioninthenavigationmenutofindrecentinformationaboutvariousedcastingproducts:

http://socrates .usfca .edu/mitchellm/

Assumpt�ons. because this book has been written for educatorsandstudents,I’mmakingtheassumptionthatyouhaveascannerand digital camera that you can borrow/use at your educationalinstitution . Virtually all colleges and universities, most commu-nitycolleges,mosthighschools,andevenelementaryschoolshavethesetwotoolsthatyoucanuse .Unlessyouarescanningalargequantityofmaterial,youmightaswelltakeadvantageofthescan-nersyourinstitutionalreadyowns .Irealizethatmanyindividualsalready have digital cameras, but in addition, many educationalinstitutionshavedigitalcamerasthatinstructors,andsometimesstudents,canuse .

Aud�o Hardware. Inthevariousedcastingstudiorecommendationseachsuccessiveconfigurationbuildsuponthetoolsinthepreviousconfiguration .forexample,thefoundational studioconfigurationwillassumeyoualreadyhaveliveslideshow(asoftwareproduct)which was listed in the bare bones studio configuration . buyingsoftware forone levelofstudio isnotwasted ifyouwant toup-gradetothenextlevelofstudio .Theoneexceptiontothisrule-of-thumbiswithaudiohardware .eachsuccessivestudioconfigura-tionsuggestsbetteraudiohardwaresetup .Inturnthismakestheaudiohardwareinapreviousconfigurationobsolete .

Bare Bones Studio This configuration consists of several tools that are essential forcreatingedcastingproducts .Withthetoolssuggestedinthiscon-

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figurationyou’llbeabletocreatebasic,buteffective,edcasts .let’slookateachofthesuggestedtoolsinturn .

Plantron�cs Aud�o 40 M�crophone Headset. Thisisaninexpensive,but decent, audio recording device . The cost will be about $24 .ThisdeviceworksequallywellwithMacsorWindowsbasedcom-puters .

Gr�ffin �M�c. This is a very simple in/out box that helps transfersoundfromthePlantronicsheadsetintoyourcomputer .IfyouareaWindowsuseryoumaynotneedtheiMic($40) .TryrecordingsomeaudiowithjustthePlantronicsheadset,andifturnsouttobeverynoisyorhardtohear,thenthemostlikelyculpritisacheapsoundcard .onesolutiontobuytheGriffiniMicwhichwillthenhandletheaudiojustfine .

Ifyou’reaMacintoshuseryou’llneedtheiMicforadifferentrea-son:thePlantronicsheadsetstransferaudioatalevelthat’sdiffer-entfromhowtheMacisexpectingtoreceivethesound(thishastodowithlinelevelversusmicrophonelevelissues) .Despitethedif-ferentcause,thesolutionforMacusersisthesameasforWindowsusers:gettheGriffiniMicwhichwilldotheconversionfrommicleveltolinelevelsoyoucanusethePlantronicsaudio40headsetonyourcomputer .

Audac�ty. Thisisafreeaudiorecording,editing,andmixingsoft-warethatworksonbothWindowsandMacs .Inthechapteronau-dioyou’lllearnwheretodownloadthissoftware .Thepeoplewhohavedevelopedthisproducthavedoneagreatjob .Itcan’tcompetewithprofessionalproductsintermsofkeyfeatures,butforanov-iceedcasterthissoftwarehasplentyofpowerandfeatures .

Cmap Tools. Thisisfreesoftwareforcreatingvisualmodelsorcon-ceptmaps .ItworksonbothWindowsandMacs .Inthechapteronvisualmodelsyou’lllearnwheretodownloadthissoftware .likeaudacity,thissoftwareproductcan’tcompetewithbetterprofes-sional products, but it nonetheless has a solid feature set and isextremelyvaluableforcreatingedcasts .

L�veSl�deShow. Thisissoftwarethatintegratesyourvisualandau-diomaterialtocreateastunningmultimediapresentation .Thekeyfeaturetoliveslideshowisthatyoucanindividualizethetimingofeachimageinyourpresentation .ThedetailsofusingthisprogramwillbepresentedinChapter8 .liveslideshowcanbeboughtatanacademicpriceof$40andworksonbothWindowsandMacs .

Qu�ckT�me Player. Thisisthefreesoftwareyouneedtoplayyouracademic movies . There are two products that compete withQuickTime:WindowsMediaPlayerandRealPlayer .ThereasonforchoosingQuickTimeisthatitsarchitectureisopen-ended .The

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resultofthisisthatthird-partysoftwaredeveloperscanmoreeasilydevelopmultimedia-creationsoftwarethatworkswithQuickTime .QuickTimeworksonbothMacsandWindows .PleasebeawarethatonlyQuickTimePlayerisfree,whiletheQuickTimeProap-plicationscosts$30andhasseveraladditionalfeatures .

�Tunes. Thisisafreecross-platformsoftwareprogramthatyoucanuse for several purposes . However, our main purpose for usingiTunesisthatitgivesusafree,andverygood,MP3compressionability .You’llreadmoreaboutthisinthechapteronaudio .

Foundational Studio Thislevelofanedcastingstudiobuildsuponthebare bonesstu-dio .Itaddsimportantsoftwareintothemix .WhilethePlantronicsheadsetisgoodforbasicaudio,atthefoundationallevelIsuggestaudiorecordingdevicesthatareastepupintermsofqualityandeaseofuse .

Photoshop Elements. This(andbigbrotherPhotoshop)areperhapsthebestsoftwareprogramseverdeveloped .Versions2,3,and4areallreallygood .YoushouldbeawarethatoftentimescompanieswillbundlePhotoshopelementswiththeirscanners,cameras,ordrawingtablets .Photoshopelementscosts$65andworksonbothWindowsandMac .However,ifyouseeascanneryouwantfor$80thatincludesPhotoshopelements,thendothemath!IwentbackandforthaboutwhetherPhotoshopelementsshouldbeincludedinthebare bonesstudioandfinallydecidedagainstit .nonetheless,whenyoudecidetoupgradeyouredcastingstudio,thenthefirstadditionshouldbePhotoshopelements .Thisbook,andespeciallytheaccompanyingmultimediatutorials,providea lotofhelponhowtousethissoftware .Keepinmindthatmostdigitalcamerasandscannersassume you’llbeusingoneofthePhotoshopprod-uctstorefineandenhancephotosandscans .

SnagIt or SnapzPro. asanoviceyoumaynotrealizeit,buttheabil-itytotakehighqualityphotosofwhat’sonyourcomputerscreenis incredibly useful . sometimes you’ll want to show what yourcomputerscreenlookslikeinapieceofsoftware,othertimestoshowwhatawebpagelookslike,andsoon .screenimagecaptur-ingsoftwarecanbeveryhelpful .WithoutadoubtthebestscreencaptureprogramforWindowsisTechsmith’ssnagIt .and,withouta doubt, the best screen capture program for Macs is ambrosiasoftware’ssnapzPro .bothsellforanacademicpriceofabout$25 .nootherprogramscomecloseoneitherplatformintermsofqual-ity,control,andflexibility .

Podcast Maker. Tocreateanenhancedpodcastwithchaptersandsmall imagesyoueitherneedtoknowhowtodocodingoryouneedsoftwarethatwillhelpyoudoit .PodcastMakerisaMac-onlysoftwarepackage($30)thatmakesaddingchaptersandimagestocreateanenhancedpodcastveryeasy .Italsodoesthemundane,

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but important,workofcreatingRssfeedinformationandXMlfilesforallyourpodcasts(regularorenhanced) .IknowofnogoodproductonWindowsforcreatingenhancedpodcasts,butthiswillsurelychangesometimein2006 .

Samson CO1U USB M�crophone. This isoneof thefirst twoUsbmicrophonescreated .Ithasaveryaffordablepriceof$80 .You’llalso need to get a desktop microphone holder . This is a betterstudiomicrophonethanthePlantronics: itcapturesmoreof thefullnessofavoice,has lessbackgroundnoise,anddoesabetterjobwithrejectingunwantedsoundslikeplosives(thisarecausedwhenyousay“p”soundslike“popcorn”) .Tofindoutmorevisittheirwebsite .

http://www .samsontech .com/

BLUE Snowball USB M�crophone. ThisisthesecondoftwoUsbmi-crophonescreatedandreleasedin2005 .Itisbetterthanthesam-sonproduct,butalsocostsmoreatabout$130 .blUeisacom-panywellknownforcreatinghighendmicrophones .Youcanfindoutmoreaboutthesnowballmicbyvisitingthissite:

http://www .bluemic .com/

ThesecretofbothUsbmicrophonesisacombinationofusingabettermicrophonecombinedwithapre-amplifierinsidethemi-crophonecasing .Inessenceallmicrophonesneedtoworkwithapre-amplifiertoincreasethelevelofthesoundbeingpassedontoarecordingdevice .ThepreampsthesemicrophonesusearebetterthanthoseprovidedbytheGriffiniMicoragoodsoundcard .

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Prosumer Studio let’spretendthatyouhavethemoney,theinterest,andtheskillstocreateaveryniceedcastingstudio .WhatI’mgoingtosuggestinthissectionareproductsthatwouldfitintotheprosumercategory .Prosumer is a word that implies a high-level consumer, but notquiteprofessional,levelofquality .

Inthearenasofaudioandimagesit’squitepossibletospendalotmoremoneythansuggestedbelow .Willtrulyprofessionalprod-uctsbebetterthantheonesIrecommend?almostcertainlyyes,however,that’sabigsteptotakeandforthepurposesofthisbookI’massumingeveryoneisatanearlierstageofdevelopment .IfI’mwrongaboutyouinparticular,emailmeorconsulttheweb .Therearealotofgoodwebsitestohelpyounavigateprofessionalaudioandimagingproducts .

HerearetheproductsIsuggestaddingtoyouredcastingstudioattheprosumerlevel:

Omn�Graffle or MS V�s�o. Thefirstupgradeyou’dwanttomakeintotheprosumercategoryistobuyreallygoodvisualmodelingsoft-ware . The best product I know in this category is omniGraffle .It comes inbotha standard ($48)andprofessionaledition .Un-fortunatelyit’sMac-only .Ifyou’reaWindowsuserthenthebestmodelingsoftwareIknowofisMicrosoft’sVisio(italsocomesinstandardandprofessionaleditions) .Thesearebothverypowerfulprograms that will increase the professional look of your visualmodels .

Aud�t�on or Peak LE. bothoftheseproductsarepowerfulcommer-cialaudioeditors .byusingthemyou’llbeabletoworkfasterandbetterthaninaudacity .Whileaudacitydoesalotofthingswell,bothoftheseprogramstakeeffectivenessandpowertoanewlev-el .adobeauditionworksonWindows,hasanacademicpriceofabout$145andincludespowerfulmixingcapabilities .bIasPeaklehasanacademicpriceofabout$100andprovidesfirst classaudioeditingcapabilities .forabout$70moreyoucanaddonthebIasDeckleprogramthatisadedicatedmixingprogram .

Mbox 2. Thisisthe lowest-levelprofessionalaudiointerface .TheproductismadebyDigidesignandcomeswithProToolslesoft-ware (an excellent audio mixing program) . You may find Mboxatdiscountedprices,butresist theurgeandpayfortheMbox2productat$450 .Thesecondversionisreportedtohavevastlyim-provedpreamps .You’llalsoneedtobuyamicrophone,miccable,andamicholder .asaprosumermicrophoneIsuggestthestudioProjectsb1microphone .forabout$650totalyoucanhavealow-endprofessionalaudiorecordingsetup .Giventheimportanceofvoiceincreatingpodcastsandacademicmovies,thepayoffiswellworththeprice .

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Inst�tut�onal SupportIrealizemosteducatorsdon’thavemoneytreesintheirbackyards,butpleasenotethatthebare bonesstudioispricedatabout$110 .Thisisaffordabletomanyprofessionalsandallowsyoutogetintotheedcastingdoor .

However,inmanycasesyou’llwanttocheckifthere’sinstitutionalsupportratherthanusingyourownmoney .Thereareseveralwaysthatinstitutionsoffersupportincludingthefollowing:

Talk to Technology Support. Most institutions have a technologysupportdivision .especiallyattheUniversitylevel,mostofthesetechnologysupportdivisionshaveaspecificdepartmentthatpro-videsassistancetofacultymembers .Thesefacultysupportdepart-ments tend tobeveryresponsive .WantaUsbmicrophoneandcan’taffordtobuyone?Putforwardtheideatoyoureducationaltechnology people . They may be able to justify buying 2-3 suchmicrophonesthatarelentouttofacultymembers .

Use Faculty Development Funds. Most Universities, and severalotheracademicinstitutions,providefacultydevelopmentsupport .findoutwhatfinancialsupportisavailableatyourinstitution .Youmayneedtowriteashortgrantapplicationtotherelevantcom-mittee,buttheremaybethemoneyavailablesoyoucanbuyanMbox2withagreatmicrophone .

Department or School Purchases. sometimes you may not havethemoney,andtherearenofacultydevelopmentfunds,butde-partmentsorschoolsoftenhavebudgetsthatenablethemtogetsomeofthesoftwareorhardwarethat’sneededtocreateanedcast-ingstudio .Theupsideisthatitmakesitmorepossibletoacquireneededtools .oneconsequence,however,isthatallsuchpurchasesneedtomakesenseasaunit-wideacquisitionthatcanbesharedamongstmany,ormost,ofthefacultyintheunit .Thisapproachmakesacquiringdecenttoolspossible,orinsomecasesitmakespossiblegettingprofessional-leveltoolsthatwouldbeimpossibleotherwise .

ConsiderthecaseoftheHHbflashMic .Thisisahigh-endmicro-phone that contains a pre-amp and flash drive recording mediainside themicrophonecasing . It’s anelegantdesign,worksverywell,butcosts$1,300 .ConsiderthattheHHbflashMicofferspro-fessional levelrecording,severalpeoplecanuseit,andthereareno cables or connections so it can easily be used to record livelecturesanddiscussions,aswellas,formoretraditionaledcastingrecordingsituations .oneHHbflashMiccouldbesharedamongsta group of 15-to-30 faculty . This solution is cheaper than just 2peoplebuyinganMbox2setupsthatcan’tbeeasilysharedwithothercolleagues .Yet,atapriceof$1,300, themoneyforbuying

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suchaproductwouldneedtocomefromadepartmentorschool,andwouldneedtobesharedwitheveryoneintheacademicunit .

Theremaybeotherwaystofindfundingforanedcastingstudiosuchasexternalgrantsandotherideas .Mypointisthis:ifyouseethevalueofedcastingforyourlearnersthenfightforyourabilityto createanedcasting studio .There is likely tobeaway to cre-atesuchastudiothroughacombinationofmoniesfromseveralsources,onlysomeofwhichmaybeoutofyourownpocket .

Summaryedcastingisanexcitingextensiontopodcasting .Thetoolsavailablenowmakeitmucheasierforeducatorstocreateanddeliveraca-demicallyrichlearningmaterialsthatareinamultimediaformat .Thereareseveraldistinctformatsthatanedcastmaytakeinclud-ingpodcasts,enhancedpodcasts,academicmovies,andlearningpackages .fromaneducationalperspectivethereareatleastsevenreasonsforaddingedcastingtoyourteachingarsenal .Thatsaid,therearelimitationstoedcastingthatanyeducatorshouldkeepinmind,includingthecontinuingvalueofwell-writtentextualma-terials . fortunately it’s relatively inexpensive to create your ownedcastingstudioandthreedistinctlevelsofstudiowerepresented .finally,theremaybeseveralwaysthatyoucanfindinstitutionalsupporttohelpyoudevelopanddeliveryouredcasts .

Exerc�se 1brainstormthreewaysyouwouldwanttouseanedcastwithyourlearners . Use a paragraph to describe each of these three ways .Givethespecificsofthecourseandwheretheedcastwouldmeetauniqueneedwithinthatcourse .forthepurposesofthisexerciseitwouldbebetter(butnotnecessary)thatallthreebrainstormedusesofedcastsapplytothesamecourse .WriteupthethreewaysandsaveyourresponsesasaWordorPDfdocument .sendthedocument tomeasanemail attachment .nameyourdocumentmyfirstnameStorm.docormyfirstnameStorm.pdf .so,ifyournameisamyIshouldreceiveadocumenttitledAmyStorm.docorAmyS-torm.pdf .

2 Startup

Chapter 2

Edcasting

CHaPTeR2 . STARTUP 16

Overv�ewGettingstartedwithmakingedcastscanbethemostdifficultpartof the process for some students . I’ve found that those studentswholackfundamentalcomputerskillsusuallyhavethemostdif-ficulty .Therearesolutionstothisproblemifyouactearlytomakesureyouhavekeyskillsmastered .

Your Computer Thereareseveralbasicskillsthatimpactyourabilitytoworkwithmultimedia including: knowing how to copy folders, renamingfolders,downloadingmaterialfromwebsitesandmuchmore .ThekeystartingpointtoensureyouhavemasteredbasicskillsistheEssent�al Computer Sk�lls Package thatwasgiventoyouasanin-comingdoctoralstudentatyourinitialorientationsession .

Essent�al Computer Sk�lls Package. Thisisanintegratedsetofmate-rialsintendedtomakesurealldoctoralstudentshaveaminimumsetofcomputerskillsmasteredwithintheirfirstsemesterinaUsfdoctoralprogram .Thesetofmaterialsincludes:

TableofessentialComputerskillsRecommendedVisualQuickstartGuide(foreitherMacintoshorWindows)Multimedia presentations about seven key areas you need toknowaboutregardingbasic computerskills .

Using LiveSlideShow ThismultimediacreationsoftwareproductismadebyTotallyHipsoftware .It’sasimple,inexpensive,effective,andpowerfulsoftwareprogramthatrunsonbothWindowsandMacs .L�veSl�deShowisthemultimediagluethatwillmergeyouraudioandvisualmate-rials intoone integratedmultimediaproduct .Hereare thebasicstepsinvolvedinedcastingcreation:

Create the scr�pt .Thisisusuallyaccompaniedwithavisualmodelthatprovidesanorganizingandconceptualstruc-turetoyouracademicpresentation .Record, ed�t, compress the aud�o .now the script ismaderealbytherecordingsession .editingandcompressingtheaudiowillhelpmakeitapolishedMP3product .Create the v�sual �mages. atthisstagethefinalformofallyour imagesarecreated including:visualmodel images,title images, andall support images . Images canbe cre-atedbyscanninghand-drawnimages,usingpresentationsoftware,usingPhotoshopelements,orseveralotherex-cellentimagecreationprograms .

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Create the mult�med�a product. Useliveslideshowtomergetheaudioandvisualimagesintoonecoherent,well-timedQuickTimemovie .Del�ver the mov�e. Thefinalstepismakingsureyoudeliveryourwonderfulproducttome .Typicallythemoviewillbeabout10-to-15Mbinsize .YoucandeliveritviaaCD,oraUsbflashdrive,orbybringingyourlaptoptoclassormyofficefortheexchange .

Preparat�onbasedonpreviousexperienceI’venoticedsomekeystepsthatstu-dentscantaketoenhancetheirefficiency .Threemajorpreparationstepsarediscussedbelow .

Monitor Resolution beawarethatyourcomputeriscapableofmultiplemonitorreso-lutions .somecomputersmaygoassmallas800 x 600pixelswhileotherswillhavearesolutionof1600 x 1200pixelsorlarger .Whenworking with multimedia, and liveslideshow in particular, youwanttomakesurethatyourmonitorresolutionishighenough .

Typicallyaresolutionof1024 x 768willbealittlesmall,sochoos-ingsomethingbiggerthanthatwillallowyoutoseemoreofthecrucial timeline in liveslideshow . Please refer to the essentialComputerskillsPackage(especiallytheCustomizationmovie)fordetailsonhowtochangeyourcomputer’smonitorresolution .

Smooth Fonts Textusuallylooksuglyonacomputerscreen .Thetextwillprintoutfine,buton-screenitlookschunky .Theformaltermforsmooth fonts isanti-aliased text .Thisprocessmakes the text lookmuchsmoother on your computer’s screen . It also results in cleanerlookingimageswhenworkingwithprogramssuchasPhotoshopelementsorPowerPoint .Youwant tomake sureanti-aliasing isactivatedonyourcomputer .

Mac�ntosh users. There’snoneedtodoanythingsinceanti-aliasingisautomaticallyon .

W�ndows-users. Dependingonyourcomputer’ssetup,fontsmooth-ingmay,ormaynot,beturnedon .It’sbesttocheckifit’sactivated .Checkthestepsbelowtoseeiffontsmoothingison::

UsingthestartMenuselectControlPanel .Youwanttousetheclassic view .Ifyouareinthecategory-view(i .e .“PickaCategory”),thenclickonthelefthandsideofthewindowyoucanclick“switchtoClassicView .”scrolldownuntilyoufindsystem .openthiscontrolpanel .You’llseeseveraltabs .selectadvanced .You’llnowseethreecategories .selectthe“settings”buttonforPerformance

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atthetopoftheensuingdialogboxyou’llfind4buttons .selectCustom .now go through the list of features . Make sure that “smoothedgesofscreenfonts”ischeckedon .Ifyouwant,checkorun-checkanyadditionaloptionsyouwanttochange .Presstheapplybutton .nextpressanyoKbuttontogetoutofthedialogbox .finallyclosetheControlPanelwindow .That’sit .Doitonce,doitright,andyou’llhavebetterlookingfontsonyourscreen .forsomeofyouthe“smoothedges”op-tionwasalreadyonandyouwon’tnoticeadifference .

Transfer Thereareseveraltimesinasemesterwhenyoumaywanttotrans-ferfilesfromyourcomputertome,ortoreceivefilesfromme .Therearetwogoodsolutionsforquickandefficientdatatransfer .Youneedtohaveatleastoneofthebelowoptionsoperationalinyourcomputingsetup .

USB Flash Dr�ves. Thisisthenumberoneoption .flashdrivesplugstraightintoacomputer’sUsbport .Theyaresmallandcosteffec-tive .atthetimeI’mwritingthisguideyoucanbuya256Mbflashdrive(morethanbigenough)for$25atAcadem�cSuperstore (www .academicsuperstore .com) .bringyourflashdrivetoclass,ormyof-fice,andIcanputbigfilesonitforyouveryquickly .

H�gh-Speed Internet Access. aflashdrive isn’t that important formegiving youfiles ifyouhavehigh-speed internetaccess . Icanthenpostbigfilestomywebserver,sendyouanemailwiththelinkfordownloadingthefile,andyoucandownloadthematerialinlessthan5minutes .

L�veSl�deShowearlyinthesemesteryouwillreceiveyourcopyofliveslideshow .Iwantyoutoimmediately installliveslideshowonyourcomputer .Thereareafewreasonsfordoingthisincluding:(a)ifyouhaveadefectiveCDwecanfixtheproblembeforeyouneedtostartwork-ingwiththeprogram,and(b)youcandotheExerc�sesattheendofthischapter .

Windows Install stepbystepinstructionsfor installingliveslideshowonaWin-dowscomputeraregivenbelow .

PuttheCDinyourcomputer .You’llfirstseeaWelcomescreen .Clicknext .Clicknextontheensuingscreens .IntheselectedComponentsscreenmakesureeverythingischecked .ClickoKforanothercoupleofboxesandtheinstallationrou-tinewillbegin .

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Ifyoudon’talreadyhaveQuickTimeinstalledthentheinstal-lationCDwillinstallQuickTimeforyou .Itwillinstallversion6 .5 .2 . Make sure to choose the Recommended Install option(notCustomorMinimum) .

You’re almost done . now read the section titled LSS Ser�al Number aftertheMacintoshInstallsection .

Macintosh Install belowarestepbystepinstructionsforinstallingliveslideshowonyourcomputer .

InserttheliveslideshowCDintoyourcomputerandthendou-ble-clickontheCDwhenitappearsinthefinder .You’llthenseeseveralfoldersandfiles .Double-clickontheonenamedLSS 3.0 Installer .asplashscreenwillappear,justpresstheContinuebut-ton .nextyou’llseeinformationaboutthelicenseagreement .Printitoutifyouwant .Makesuretoclickontheacceptbutton .ThenclickontheensuingContinuebutton .finallyyou’rebroughttotheactualinstallationdialogbox .bydefault Easy Install is selected . leave it that way . ChecktheInstalllocationinthelowerleftsideofthebox .Thisshouldnotbeaproblemasbydefaultliveslideshowisin-stalledintheapplicationfolderonyourmainharddrive .JustclickontheInstallbutton .Theinstallerwillthentakeabout1-3minutestoinstallallneededfiles .Itwillaskyouifyouwanttoregister .Ifyou’reconnectedtotheInternet,thenIsuggestregisteringatthispoint .Thisisaveryimportantstepforreceivingtechnicalhelpanddiscountedupgrades for futureversionsof thesoftware .nowreadthesectiontitledLSS Ser�al Number .

LSS Serial Number lssisonyourcomputer’sharddrivebutithasn’tbeenactivated .Ifyou’reaWindowsusernoticethataliveslideshowshortcuticonhasbeenputonyourdesktop .openliveslideshowusingtheshortcut .Ifyou’reaMacintoshuseropentheapplicationsfolder,thenopentheliveslideshowfolder,andthendouble-clickonliveslideshow .Youmaywanttocreateanaliasorputliveslideshowinthedock .You can’t fully startup liveslideshow at this point . Here’s whathappens:

You’llbeaskedforyourname,company(notneeded)andse-rialnumber .Yourserialnumberislocatedinthephysicalboxthatliveslideshowcamein .It’sprintedonawhitelabelappliedrightundertheCDinsidethebox .once you’ve inserted the correct serial number thenliveslideshowwillopenup .nowyou’rereadytomakemulti-media .

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User’s Manual Theofficial96pagemanualhasessentialinformationonsomefea-turesthatIwon’tcoverinthisbookincludingtheuseofthemesandnavigationbuttons .Checkthemanualoutifyou’dlike .fur-thermore,ifyouareacomputernovicethentryusingthisbook,thenusetheliveslideshowmanualifyouneedextrasupport .

Project Foldersfor most people the hardest part about using liveslideshow isdoing all the boring setup steps for your movie before you cangetgoingwiththecoolprocessofintegratingvisualswithaudio .overtheyearsI’veseenstudentsmakemanymistakesduringthis“setup”stage . In response I’vedevelopedavery simple Template Folder .Iwon’tbeteachingyouhowtogothroughtheinitialsetupproceduresinliveslideshow(ifyouwanttolearnhowthenreadthemanual) .Insteadthetemplatefolderallowsyoutogettoworkrightaway .

Generic Template There are two generic Template Folders that you can download:TemplatebandTemplateW .Thetwotemplatesareexactlythesameexcept that Templateb uses a black background and TemplateWusesawhitebackground .Ihighlysuggestthatyoustorethesetem-platefoldersinaneasytofindlocationonyourharddrive .You’lluseoneeachtimeyoucreateanewproject .Thetemplatefolderscontainthefollowing:

Template file. Theistheactualliveslideshowtemplatefilestoredwithin the template folder .This templatefile tellsliveslideshowtodoseveral things including:make thepresentation800x600pixels insize,makethebackgroundblack(orwhite),makesurethe exported QuickTime movie shows the controller, and otherimportantsettings .

T�m�ng_LSS3. Thisisanexcelfile .Youcanuseittofigureoutyourtiming .You’lllearnlateronthatit’simportanttohaveaveryde-tailed timed accounting of when specific images should appeartomatchwiththeaudio .I’vealsoincludedaPDfversionofthisworksheetforpeoplewhodon’thaveexcel .Thedownside?exceldoesautomaticcalculationsforyou,thePDfwon’t .

Or�g�nals. This is a folder . You should store all of your originalaudioandimagefilesinthisfolder .Typicallythiswillincludeyouroriginalaudiofile(inanuncompressedWaVoraIfformat),Pho-toshop documents, PowerPoint shows, and other uncompressedimages .

Buttons. Thisisafolder .Youwon’tusethefolder,butitneedstobeplacedinthisfolderforliveslideshowtowork .

Images. Thisisafolder .Thisiswhereyouwillplaceallofyourfi-

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nalcompressedimages .YourimageswillbeinaPnG,GIf,orJPGformat .IfyouaccidentallyplaceaPhotoshoporaPowerPointfileinthisfolder,liveslideshowmayhaveanervousbreakdownandbehaveerratically .

Sounds. Thisisafolder .Typicallyyou’llonlyputyourfinalcom-pressedMP3audiofilehere .

Project Templates Pretendthatyou’regoingtostartanewproject .WhatIsuggestisthatyoumake a copyofoneoftheTemplatefolders .Thisway,ifthingsgowrongthenyoucaneasilygobacktotheoriginaltem-platefoldertostartoverifneeded .

Inaddition,pretend thatyourfirstproject is foracoursecalledCognition .afterduplicatingtheTemplatefolderIwouldrenametheduplicatefoldersomethingdescriptivelikeCognition Project .Thengoinsideofthisfolderandrenamethetemplatefile .ChangeitfromTemplatetoCognition .Thismayseemsillytoyounow,butthesesimplestepscansaveyouheadacheslateron .

Project ManagementYou’llgetmanymoredetailsonthemechanicsofmakingmulti-medialaterinthisguide .Howeveryouwanttokeepinmindthatakeycomponentofmakinganysubstantialacademicproductisgood time management and a high level of organization . Whiletheseshouldbe“givens,” it’s importanttopointout thatmakingmultimediaisverydifferentfromwritingacoursepaper .Peoplesometimesthinkofthetwointhesamemanner .Manypeopleas-sume they can whip together a stellar paper in the last week ofclass . such people are wrong about writing a good paper, andthey’redoublywrongaboutcreatingmultimedia .Ittakesresearch,forethought,planning,execution,andrefinement .Makingsuchaproductisquitemanageable,butonlyifyouplan for success .

Timeline I suggest creating a semester long timeline . In the timeline putyourbestguesstimatesforaccomplishingcertainmultimediaproj-ectsteps .YoucanrefertotheEdcast�ng Step-by-Steptable(seeAppend�x A)oruse thegeneralguidelinespresented in thenextsection .Yourestimateswillbeaguessatthispoint,buttheystillallowyoutohaveatimelinethathelpsguideyouthroughthecre-ationprocess .

Key StagesThissectionprovidesanoverviewofthekeystagesinvolvedincre-atingamultimediaproject .eachstageimpactshowyoudevelopyourprojecttimeline .Thesestagesarenotequalintermsoftimedemands . setting an initial timeline of goals for accomplishing

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eachoftheseninestageswillhelpyoutremendously .

Idea Development It’shardtomakesomethingifyoudon’thaveagoodworkingideaofwhatyouwanttocreate .setareasonabledeadlineforwhenyouwillhavefinalizedthebigideaforyourproject .

Research beforeyoucanevenstartwritinganaudioscriptyouneedtohavesomecontent .Thisisyourresearchstageanditmustbedonethor-oughly .

Synthesis Thisispullingtogetherthefindingsfromyourresearchbycreatingasynthesisofthosefindings .Thiscouldbeinanoutlineform .

Visual Model Mostacademicmultimediaprojectslendthemselvestobeingcon-veyedthroughavisualmodel .Goodvisualmodelsdisplaythekeyconceptsbutalsotherelationships(ifany)betweenthoseconcepts .Thismodeldoesn’thavetobefancyorreadyforpublication,butitshouldbecreatedbeforewritingyouraudioscript .

Audio Script nextyou’llwriteanaudioscript .Peoplespeakatarateofbetween150and200wordsperminute .forthesakeofsimplicityI’mgo-ingtoassumemostofyouspeakat175wordsperminute .Ifyourmultimediamediaprojectisgoingtobebetween7and10minutesthatmeansyouraudio script shouldbebetween1225and1750words .That’snotmanywords,somakesuretousethemwell .

Record, Edit, Compress You’llneedtophysicallyrecordyouraudioscriptandthenedittheresultingaudiofiletoremoveanymistakes .ThefinalstepwillbetocompressyouraudiofileintoanMP3format .

Create the Images nowyoucanmakeyour images .Youmayuseanassortmentofsoftware products . one of the key steps will be creating a goodlookingversionofyourvisualmodel .You’llalsoneedtitleimagesandsupport images .These imageshelproundoutyourstorybyshowing images of students in a classroom, signalling that yournowtalkingaboutanewconcept,orwhateverisappropriatetothegivencontent .

Glue Withtheaudioandimagesdone,youcancreateyourmultimediaproject inliveslideshow .Thefirststepwillbetocarefully listentoyouraudiofilenotingthetimesthatkeyimagesshouldappearinordertocorrespondwithyouraudiofile .Thisprocessismademucheasierbyusingthefree,cross-platform,softwareproductQT Mov�e Notetakerwhichsimplifiesthisprocess .Thesecondstepistoplaceallofyourimages,transitionsbetweenimages,audio,andtimesettingsintotheliveslideshowtimeline .ThefinalstepistopressabuttonandwatchliveslideshowmakeaQuickTimemoviebasedonyourinstructions .

Delivery WhentheprojectisdoneitwillneedtobeexportedasaQuickTime


movie .onceinaQuickTimeformatyou’llneedtogetittomeviaaflashdrive,aburnedCD,orsomeothermethod .

SummaryThepurposeofthischapterwastoprovideabriefoverviewofthemultimedia making process including initial preparation, howto installliveslideshow,howtousetheTemplate folder,andanintroduction toprojectmanagementwhencreatingmultimedia .Making multimedia is an important and useful skill for today’seducatorstohave .likemanycomplexchallengesinlife,however,multimedia production involves the skills of preparation, plan-ning,organization,attentiontodetail,andediting .

Exerc�se 2You’re going to create your first movie . Here’s what needs to bedone:

Installliveslideshowandentertheserialnumberforthesoft-wareprogram .DownloadandinstalltheTemplatefolderstoyourharddrive .CopyandrenameTemplatebasExerc�se1.RenamethelssfilewithinthefolderasYourF�rstName1 .so,ifyournameisalan,renameitasalan1 .openthefilenownamedYourF�rstName1 .Checkthetimeline(bottomofthescreen) .Youshouldseesomeimagesplacedinthetimeline .Ifyoudon’tseeanyimages(twowillbepureblack)thenyouhavesomehownotusedtheTem-platefolder .Thismeansyoushouldgobacktostep2iftherearenoimagesinthetimeline .Youwon’tneedtoaddanythingtothetimelineareaasI’veal-readyputsomeimagesinthetimelineforyou .Inthemiddleofyourscreen(moreorless)you’llseeabuttonthatsaysExport .(Thisshouldbejustabovethetimelinearea .)ClickontheExportbutton .You’llseeadialogboxaskinghowyouwanttonameyourmovie . Call it YourF�rstName1.mov . so, if your name isalantheexportedfileshouldbenamedalan1 .mov .Pleasebeawareofwhereyou’resavingthemovieonyourharddrive .Whendone,sendmeanemailmessagesayingyoucompletedexercise 1 . Make sure to attach the movie called YourF�rst-Name1.movwiththeemail .onceI’vereceivedyourmovieI’llcheckit tomakesureeverythingwentright .onceI’vedoneacheckI’llsendyoubackanemailsaying“Congratulations .”

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Chapter 3

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CHaPTeR3 . STORYBOARD 25

Overv�ewThemostimportantaspectofcreatingamultimediapresentationis tohaveagoodgameplan . In thischapter Ipresenta stylizedgame plan for creating academic multimedia presentations thatconsistsof two interlinked ingredients: the script and thevisualmodel .

The Scr�pt .ascriptisthebackboneofyourpresentation .Itcom-bineswhattheviewerswillhearwithwhattheviewerswillsee .V�sual Model . a good visual model works in tandem with thescript .Itnotonlyprovidesasourceofvisualmaterial,butamodelprovidesanaturalstructureandorganizationfortheaudioscript .Inthischapteryou’lllearnabouthowtocreateagooddraftvisualmodel .Thismeansyourmodelcanbeapencilandpaperdrawing .Thevisualmodelissocentraltothecreationofthescriptthatwe’lldevelopthemodelfirst .Thenthechapterdescribeshowtodevelopthewrittenscript .

Keepinmindthatyou’recreatingasustainedmultimediaproductwhichmeansyourfinalproductwillbebetween7and12minutes .Thisisarelativelylongpresentationtime .Itallowsyoutocommu-nicateagreatdealofsubstantivecontent,butthesetimelimitsalsodemandthatyouremainon messagebybeingsuccinctandclearinthedevelopmentofyourscript .

Chapter Model Thenextpagepresentsavisualmodelofthechapter’scontent .Themodelemphasizesthreemajorphasesindevelopingafinalstory-boardforamultimediapresentation:

storyDevelopmentVisualModelThescript

Thestorydevelopmentphaseinvolvesdevelopingyourbasicideathroughresearchandorganizingyourthoughts .Thevisualmodelphasehelpssolidifyandgiveextrastructuretoyourpresentation .finally,basedonthevisualmodelitthenmakessensetoengageinthefinalphaseofwritingthescriptthatwillthenbeaudiorecord-ed .Thischapterbrieflydescribesthestorydevelopmentphasesasthisisalreadyfamiliartoyou .Thechapterthenprovidesmorede-tailregardingdevelopingbothavisualmodelandthewritingoftheformalscript .

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Story DevelopmentHowdoyoudevelopastory?Thisdependsonthespecificchal-lengewithinaparticularcourse .nonetheless, theessentialchal-lengeisnotthatdifferentfromwritingapaper .Youwanttoiden-tifythekeypointstopresent,youwanttoorganizeyourmaterial,andyouwantittobeengaging .Therearemanywaystocombineallthesefactorsintoaneffectivemultimediapresentation .aswithwritingapaper,themostdifficultpartisprobablyatthebeginningwhenyouaredevelopingthecoreideaaroundwhichtherestofyourpresentationwillunfold .

Identify Youfirstwanttodefinetheprojectyou’regoingtodevelopwithinafairlyshortamountoftime .Iwouldadvisestudentstochooseaprojectspecializationwithinthefirst4to6weeksoftheacademicsemester .Thistypicallygivesyouenoughtimetoconsideravari-etyofpotentialtopics .Insomecourses(suchasApplied Statistics)youaregiventhespecializationtopic .Yet inmostcourses(suchasCognitive Psychology orMultimedia Learning)youhaveawidearrayofpossiblechoicesforatopic .

Research onceyouhaveanareaoffocusthenyouneedtoconductsuitablebackgroundreadingonthetopic .Thiswilltypicallymeanreadingwhatyourcoursetextshavetosayonthetopic,findingrelevantre-searcharticlesandbooksthatmightsupplementyourunderstand-ingofthetopicatthelibrary .Inadditionit’susefultoconductageneralwebsearchtoseeifthereareanyadditionalsourcesthatmightprovideusefulinformationaboutyourspecializationarea .

Annotated Outline Isuggestmaintaininganevolvingannotatedoutlineofyourread-ings .afteryou’vereadanarticlemakesuretoimmediatelyaddtheimportantandrelevantpointsfromthatarticleintoyourprojectoutline .laterwhenyou’vefinishedallyourbackgroundreadingsyou can then reorganize the outline so the articles are groupedintoanaturalorder .Thisorganizationshouldbebasedonthekeythemesthatemergefromyourreadings .

Synthesis Outline onceyou’vecompletedallyourbackgroundreadingsconstructasecondoutline .Thisoutline shouldbea synthesisof all thekeytopics and issues that have emerged from your readings . onceyouhavethismuchshorteroutlinecompletedyoucanrearrangetheorderandstructureoftopicssotheybesthighlightthekeyis-suesinyourspecializationarea .You’renotdonestructuringyourpresentation,butthesynthesisoutlinewillhelpyouconstructthenextneededelement:thevisualmodel .


V�sual ModelsThevisualmodelservesastheorganizingstructureforyouraudioscript .anadditionalbonusisthatastrongvisualmodelcanserveasthesourcefor30to50%oftheimagesneededforyourpresenta-tion .You’lllearnmoreabouthowtocreatepolishedvisualmodelsinalaterchapter(Chapter 5: Visual Models) .fornowwhatyou’llwanttodevelopisasolidmodelusingpencilandpaperthatcanhelpguidethedevelopmentofyourscript .

one of the biggest problems I’ve seen with novice multimediacreators is theyhavedifficultiescreating images .That’sanaturalproblem .However,ifyoucreateagooddraftvisualmodelyou’llalleviatethisproblemthatmanynovicesface .forexample,ifyourscripthasbeenorganizedaroundthevisualmodel,thentherewillbeanaturalsynchronicitybetweenwhattheviewerofyouredcastsees(thevisualmodel)andhears .

Definition Visualmodelshavebeendefinedinmanydifferentways .However,forthepurposesofanacademicpresentationI’mgoingtodefineavisualmodelthusly:

Visual models are structured graphical representations that help explain the key concepts, and the relationships between those concepts, for a well-defined body of knowledge.

This definition contains essential elements: structure, graphicalrepresentation,concepts,andrelationships .We’lllookatsomeex-amplesofvisualmodels(below)laterinthischapter .alloftheex-amples,whiledifferent,willsharethesimilaritiesofthoseessentialelementsdescribedabove .

Joseph Novak. Joseph novak (see Learning How to Learn by J .novakandb .Gower,1984)hasconductedresearchintoaspecifickindofvisualmodelhecallsaconcept map .aconceptmapisamorerestrictivevisualmodelthatisstructuredaccordingtoahi-erarchyofconcepts .novak’sgeneraldefinitionofaconceptmapisveryuseful:

A concept map is a schematic device for representing a set of concept meanings embedded in a framework of proposi-tions.

Moreimportantlyhefollowedupthisdefinitionwiththefollowingclarification:

Concept maps work to make clear to both students and teachers the small number of key ideas they must focus on for any specific learning task.

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novak’s supporting statement is important because it highlightsthatthepurposeofavisualmodelistohelpclarifywhatis(pre-sumably)adifficultbodyofknowledgefortheintendedaudiencetounderstand .Youcanimaginethatagoodvisualmodel,com-binedwithsubstantiveaudioelaborationof themodel,cangoalong ways towards helping an audience develop a better under-standingofconceptuallychallengingmaterial .

Standards Whencreatingavisualmodeltherearesomekeysimplemechani-calstandardsyoushouldkeepinmind .Theyinclude:

structure is apparent in the resulting model . The structureshouldbeclearto you .later,basedonyourscript,youshouldbeabletosuccinctlyexplainthatstructuretoyourviewer .onepurposeofthemodelistohighlightkeyconcepts .Trytochooseonlythoseconceptswhichareessentialtoexplainabodyofknowledge .Useonlyonepageinlandscapemode(horizontal) .Concepts are generally represented as boxes or circles . In theresearchliteraturetheseshapesarereferredtoasnodes .Connections (or relationships) are represented as connectinglines between concepts . sometimes those lines have arrowswhenthereisdirectionalcausalityortherearedistinctorderedstepsinaprocess .Intheresearchliteraturetheselinesarere-ferredtoaslinks .

V�sual Model ExamplesThissection looksat threeexamplesofvisualmodels .fullsizedversionsofeachoftheseexamplemodelscanbefoundinAppen-d�x C .

Dissertation Planning This is a model of the structure a specific doctoral program ineducation .noticeinthefigure(below)thattherearenoconnect-inglines .Whilethisisrareinvisualmodels,itcanoccur .Thevi-sual model has a structure . Part of the structure is provided bythenumbers1through5(farleft)toindicateaparticularyearintheprogram .anotherlevelofstructureisprovidedbysemesterswithinyears(fall,spring,summer) .

Color-coding has been implemented to distinguish categories ofcourses .Inthiscaseyellowisusedformandatoryfirst-yearcours-es,orangeformethodologycourses,redfordissertationcourses,greenforprogram-specificelectivecourses,andblueforUniversi-ty-wideelectivecourses .Thuscolor-codingprovidesanadditionallevelofstructuretothemodel .

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Figure 3.1. Dissertation Planning.Fall Spring Summer

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finally,themodelreducesanyambiguityintheprogramstructurebyusingtheanalogyofrefrigeratormagnets(thisisinthetitleofthefullmodelbutisexcludedinthefigureabove) .Peopleintui-tivelyknowthatrefrigeratormagnetscanbemovedaround .asauserlistenstothemultimediamovieaboutdissertationplanningtheyunderstandhowmostofthecoursescanbemovedtodiffer-entlocationsontheprogram“refrigerator .”Thususingananalogycanaddyetanotherlevelofclarifyingstructuretothemodel .

D�ssertat�on Plann�ng Mov�e. This movie was cre-ated to orient students to the program requirements of one doctoral program. The movie uses only one visual model that is presented in a variety of ways to highlight the various requirements and stages of the program.

The Roadmap Thesecondmodelisanoverviewoftheessentialcontentinafoun-dational level statisticscourse .Thismap is structured inamoreconventionalmanner .lines(especiallythearrowedlines)indicateaconceptualorderwherecertainconceptscomebeforeothers .

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Figure 3.2. Statistics Roadmap.

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Stat�st�cal Roadmap Mov�e. This movie explains what is covered in each of the course sessions. This is done by showing only that part of the complete model that will be covered in a particular session. The images are all variations on the complete visual model.

Self-Explanation Thismodelsummarizestheresearchregardingthecognitivecon-struct of self-explanation . This model has a distinct bottom-upstructure .atthelowerlevelsself-explanationisexploredintermsofitskeyfeatures,implementationoftheconcept,andimplications forpedagogy .atthenext leveluptherelationshipbetweenself-explanationandotherkeycognitiveconcepts(self-regulationandconcept maps) is shown . finally, the connection between thesethree related concepts and the larger construct of meaningful learningishighlighted .

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Figure 3.3. Self-Explanation

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Thesethreevisualmodelsarebynomeansexhaustive .Therearemany ways in which visual models can be formed . That said, avisualmodelneedsaclearstructurethathelpstheviewerfocusonkeyaspectsoftheconceptunderstudy .

Shana on Concept Maps Mov�e. This is a student created movie about concept maps. This movie is useful because it provides additional informa-tion about the purpose and uses of visual models. In addition Shana does a wonderful job of using two complex visual models in a compelling manner within the body of her presentation.

Draft V�sual ModelThepurposeoftheroughdraftistocreateastructureandtovisu-alizethekeyconceptsandtheirconnectionsinyourareaofspe-cialization . Here’s the key mechanical considerations to keep inmindwhencreatingyourmodel:

Usepencils(regularorcolored) .Theyareeasiertoerase .Usewhitepaperinlandscape(orhorizontal)orientation .You’redoing this because your polished visual model will be almosttheexact samesizeasapieceofpaper in landscapeposition .You’lllearnaboutcreatingthepolishedmodelinChapter 5: Vi-sual Models .Havelotsofpiecesofpapertoworkwith .Youwon’tgetthingsorderedinthewayyouwantrightaway .Don’tbeafraidtodrawandredraw .nowthatwehavethosemechanicalconsiderationsoutof theway, let’s now look at the major substantive steps involved increatingavisualmodel .

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Think & Plan Useyoursynthesisoutlinetothinkaboutwhatmightbethebestvisualstructureforyourdraftmodel .atthispointyoumayendupeliminatingsomeextrastufffromyouroutline .Remember,youwon’tbeabletodrawmanyboxesinyourvisualmodel .amodelisnottryingtotellthefullstory,insteaditattemptstohighlightthemajorconceptsandtheirrelationships .

Draw Boxes nowdrawboxesforthemajorconcepts .Ifyouhaveawell-orderedoutline then your major concepts are those concepts at the firstlevelofanoutline .anyindentedconceptsarenot“major”butaresupportive .Youshouldhaveplentyofroomonyourpageforallofthemajorconcepts .Ifyoudon’tthenyouhavetoomanyofthem .Ifyouhavetoomanymajorconceptsthenyou’llneedtoreducethenumberofmajorconceptsredrawyourdraftmodel .asaruleofthumb,youshouldn’thavemorethanabout7majorconcepts .

Create Labels The outline may say, “self-efficacy is important for academicachievement .” but you’re not putting all that information into asmallbox!Insteadconvertyoursentencestolabels .Insomecasesyou’llhaveenoughroomtouse the labelSelf-Efficacy,butothertimesyou’llsimplyhavetousethelabelS-E .Rememberthatyou’llbetalkingabouteachboxinyourmodelsoyou’llneedtoexplaintoyourviewerswhatS-Estandsforifthat’sthelabelyouendupusing .

Draw Connections Putinconnections(linesorarrows)betweenmajorconceptswhenappropriate .Ifeverythingisconnectedtoeverythingelsethenyouhaveaverycomplicatedmodel .Moreoveritwilllookcomplicatedtoyouraudience .Iftherearenoconnectinglinesthenmakesurethat you have a structure that works to clarify the relationshipsbetweentopicsorconcepts .

Critique & Restructure sitbackandcritiquehowyourmodel looksafterputting in themajor concepts .Typically I startoffwithan initialdrawingandendupredrawing thismodelabout3-5 times torefineandem-phasizeboththerelationshipsbetweenmajorconceptsandalsotomakeiteasierforaviewertounderstand .

Supporting Concepts nowthatyouhaveabasicstructureforyourpaper&pencilmod-el,startaddinginthesupportingconcepts(alsoasboxes) .Typi-callythisiswheremostpeoplehavetomakekeydeletions .Moststudents find there’s not enough room to include all supportiveconceptsintheirmodel .It’syourjobtosimplifyandclarifyyourareaofspecialization .In7-12minutesyoucan notcommunicateeverythingthat’srelevanttoanarea .However,youcanexplainthegutsofatheoryinthatamountoftime .Keepingthisinmind,useyourownjudgementtodeterminewhichsupportiveconceptsgettheaxeandwhichgetputintothedraftmodel .


Add Links nowaddinthefinallinesorarrows .Typicallyallsupportivecon-ceptsshouldbelinkedtoamajorconcept .areanyofthesupport-iveconcepts linkedtoeachother?Ifso,pleaseindicate .areanyofthesupportiveconceptslinkedtoothermajorconcepts?Ifso,pleaseindicate .

Get Feedback nowthatyou’vegottenthisfaritwouldbeusefultogetfeedbackfromoneortwocolleagues .amodelshouldbeprettycleartothembutwon’tbecompletely“obvious”(otherwisetherewouldbenoneedforyouraudionarrationwhichcompletesthestory) .Thereareanumberofwaystogetfeedback .Probablythemosteffectiveapproachistositdownwithacolleagueandaskthemtotalkaloudregardingwhatthemodelseemstobeconveyingtothem .Ifyou’veusedlotsoflabelsthenprovideasheetthatlet’sthemknowwhateachlabelstandsfor .Then,justbylisteningtothemtalkthroughthemodel,youcanstarttoseeifthereareanygeneralproblemswiththestructureofthemodel .

Final Draft Take2to7daysoff .Returntothemodelandseeifitstillseemsclear .Makerevisionsandchangesasseemsappropriategivenyourownrefreshedcriticaleyeandanyfeedbackyou’vereceivedfromothers .You’restillusingsimpleboxesandlinesatthisstage .Whatyouwanttoendupwithisavisualmodelthatservesasthestruc-turalorganizerforyouraudioscript .

The Scr�ptThereareseveralgoodwaystodevelopanaudioscript .WhatI’llbedescribingisastylizedapproachthat’susefulformanystudents .

Script Length Peopletypicallytalkataratesomewherebetween150to175wordsperminute(wpm) .Thismeansifyouaretryingtocreatean8min-utepresentationthenitshouldhavenomorethan1,400wordsifyouspeakcloseto175wpm .Ifyouspeakat150wpmthenyoushouldusenomorethan1,200words .anywayyoulookatityoudon’thavealotofwordstoworkwith .Usethemwell .

WhatI’vedoneinthetwotablesbelowistobreakdownthescriptstructure . specifically I’ve suggested that you use about 50% ofyourscriptformajor concepts,25%forarich example,15%forsup-porting concepts,and10%foryourintroduction .Thesepercentagesaregeneralguidelinesonly .nonethelessthesesuggestedpercent-agescanbehelpfulindicatorsaboutwhetheryou’regenerallyontrackintermsoftime .

Table3 .1assumesyouspeakat150wpm,whileTable3 .2usesarateof175wpm .Youcangetagoodsenseofyourrateofspeakingbyreadingapassageofaknownwordcount .Makesuretotimeyourself .Thendividethetotalwordcountreadbythenumberof


minutesornumberofsecondsused .Ifyoudividebynumberofsecondsthenmakesuretomultiplythisresultby60togetyourpersonalwords-per-minutespeakingrate .

There isnothingmagicalabout thenumbersandpercentages inthetwotables .Theysimplyprovidedecentindicatorstohelpyouduringthedevelopmentofascript .Mostofthesoftwareprogramsyoumightuseforscriptwriting(suchasMicrosoftWord,nisusWriter,andothers)provideyouwithwordcountingtools .Thusit’susuallyfairlyeasytodoroughchecksontheactualwordcountofyourcompletedocument,orjustportionsofthescript .

noticethatevenifyoudoalongpresentationof12minutesyoustill don’t have that many words (1,800 or 2,100) to work with .Multimedia presentations are most successful when the imagesandaudiocomplementoneanother .Theend result is youdon’tneedasmanywords,andthewordsyoudouseneedtobeveryclearandfocused .

Table 3.1. 150 wpm estimates. 8min . 10min . 12min . 14min .

MajorConcepts 50% 600 750 900 1,050Richexample 25% 300 375 450 525supportIdeas 15% 180 225 270 315Introduction 10% 120 150 180 210

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Table 3.2. 175 wpm estimates. 8min . 10min . 12min . 14min .

MajorConcepts 50% 700 875 1,050 1,225Richexample 25% 350 438 525 613supportIdeas 15% 210 263 315 368Introduction 10% 140 175 210 245

1,400 1,750 2,100 2,450

Scripting Hints Thissectionaddressessomekeyhintsfordevelopingthephysicalstructureofthescript .

Th�nk �n Sect�ons. sectionssometimesarethesamethingaspara-graphs, but need not be . a section is a conceptually completethought .You’llhavetojudgewhatdeterminesasectionforyour-selfasyougothroughyourscript .However,youshouldknowthatatsomepointyou’llendupnumberingyourscriptsections(doneeitherbysoftwareorbyhand) .Typicallyascriptwon’thavemorethanabout20-to-25sectionsforan8-to-14minutepresentation .

Font & Font S�ze. Iwouldsuggestsettingupyourwordprocessororoutliningprogramsothatitusesaneasy-to-readfont(Timesor

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TimesnewRoman)at14pointsat1 .5ordoublelinespacing .Thisisbig,butit’sexactlywhatyouwantwhenreadingascriptaloud .

Marg�ns. Usemarginsofatleast1”or1 .25”allaroundthepage .

Emphas�ze w�th Bold. When you want to emphasize a point useboldfont .That’smucheasiertoseeandreadduringaliverecord-ingsessioncomparedtoitalics orunderlinesorallCaPs .

Stapl�ng. Don’t staple thefinal script . Itneeds tobeveryeasy toswitchfromonepagetothenextonareadingeaselasyourecord .

Number Sect�ons. If your software allows you to easily and flex-ibly number sections of your script (not line numbers, and notnecessarilyparagraphs)thenyoushouldactivatethisfeature .forexample,Inumberallofthesectionsofmyscriptwithmywordprocessingsoftware .Thefigure(below)showspartofaresultingpageusingthisnumberingfeature .noticethatinthisexamplethefirstsectionistwoparagraphslong .Ifyoudon’tnumberyoursec-tionsusingyoursoftwareprogram,thenyou’llendupnumberingsectionsbyhandatalaterpoint .It’snotterriblydifficultortime-intensivetonumberyourscriptsections,butitmakestheprocessoforganizingyourmaterials(especiallytheimages)mucheasierif there are mechanical and clear ways to associate images withspecificsectionsofascript .

Usingthesesuggestionswillresultinascriptthat’smucheasiertoreadwhenyousitdowntodotheliveaudiorecording .

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Figure 3.4. Numbered script sections.

Scr�pt Template. You can download a script tem-plate if you wish. It’s an RTF (rich text format) file that can be read by Microsoft Word, but also by a large variety of other word processing or outline programs.

Script Structure scriptscanbeorganizedinanumberofdifferentways .However,ingeneralit’susefultothinkofthescriptyou’recreatingashavingfourdistinctcomponents .Theyare:(1)theintroduction,(2)themajorconcepts,(3)thesupportingconcepts,and(4)arichexam-pletomaketheconcept“real”toyourviewers .Mysuggestionsforwritingascriptsuggestnotwritingthescriptinthisorder,primar-ilybecausetheintroductionitselfisthehardestthingtowriteandit’sbesttodothispartlast .specificallyIsuggestyouwriteaboutthemajor conceptsfirstbecause,afterall,thisistheheartofyourpresentation .nextIsuggestdevelopingarich exampletoincludeinyourscript .again,intermsofpriorities,themajorconceptswillalwaysbehelpedwhenaccompaniedwitharichexample .ThirdIsuggestincludingsupportingconceptsintothescript .Howmanysupporting concepts, and how many words you can devote tothem,willbehighlydependentonhowmanywordsyou’vealreadyuseddevelopedtheprevioussections .finally,onceyouknowallofthematerialthatwillactuallynowmakeitintoyourscript,youcanwritetheintroductionwhichisarelativelyshortandpithybridgeintoyoursubject .

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Example Scr�pt. You can download a PDF file that shows one of the scripts I developed. The content is not important, but you’ll get a sense for how a final script might look like in terms of content organiza-tion.

Major Concepts Rememberthemajorconceptsthatwentintoyourmodel?That’swhereyou’regoingtostartwriting .Writeabouteachofthemajorconcepts ina sensibleorder .at the same timeexplain linksbe-tweenmajorconcepts .Insomecasesitmaybebesttoexplainallthemajorconceptsfirst,thengobacktoexplainthelinksbetweenthem .Inothercasesexplainingaconceptandrelevantlinkssimul-taneouslymaybebest .You’llhavetojudgewhattypeoforganiza-tionwillworkbestinyourcase .Developyourroughdraft,theneditandrefine .

Word Count. onceyouhavearefineddraftofthemajorconceptsdoawordcount .Inmultimediaproductionthisiscalledareality check . as a rough rule-of-thumb you want no more than about50% of your script devoted to main ideas . let’s pretend you’reaiming at an 8 minute presentation . If we use the default rate-of-speechas175wpm(orwords per minute)thenyourcompletescriptshouldberightabout1,400wordsandyoushouldhavenomorethanabout700wordsmaximumdevotedtothemainideasthemselves .

Problem Solv�ng. let’spretendthewordcountbasedonyourdraftcontaining only major concepts is 1,200 words . This means youhaveverylittlespace(only200wordsleft)fordescribingsupport-ive details, developing an introduction, or using an example togivetheviewerapracticalsenseofwhattheconceptslooklikeinpractice .Whatshouldyoudoinacaselikethis?Youshouldnottrytoreadyourscriptatafasterrate!Thisalwaysleadstodisaster .Youwanttotalkatyournormalrate .Howevertherearesomepossiblepositiveoptionstoconsider:

Consider lengthening your presentation . This only works if youplannedon8minutessoyouhavesometimetoexpand into . Itdoesn’tworkifyouhave12minutesofmaterialandneedtoex-pandevenmore .Reducethenumberofwordsdevotedtothemajorconceptsbyatleast20% .eliminatethesupportiveconceptsfromthepresentationandfo-cusonmajorconceptsonly .Planondevelopingaveryshortandpithyintroduction .focus the remaining words on providing a good example thathelpstheviewerseewhattheconceptsmeaninareal-lifesetting .It’sbettertomakeharddecisionsearlyinthescriptwritingpro-

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cess .Thescriptproblemswon’tgoaway . It’sbetter to face them,decideonacourseofaction,andthenyoursubsequentworkwillgomuchsmoother .

Rich Example Ifyou’regoingtomakeanacademicpresentationit’simportanttohaveatleastonerichexamplethathelpstheuserseetheconceptsinaction .Ina7-12minutepresentationyoutypicallydon’twantmultipleexamplesasthiswillconfusethereader .Chooseagoodreal lifeexample that is likely tomakesense,andresonate,withyouraudience .asyougothroughthepresentationyoucanunfoldyourexamplebymakingreferencesbetweenanewmajorconceptyou’rediscussingandhowitplaysoutintheexampleyou’vepro-vided .Thusanexamplemaybeastandaloneportionofthescript,oritmaybeweavedintothescriptatvariouspoints .

Write the additional script material for your example . Typicallyyoumightprovide someof theexamplebefore you start talkingabout the visual model . Then you’d add new paragraphs usingtheexampleafterthepresentationofamainconcept,orafterthepresentationofagroupofmainconcepts .Whenyou’redonere-viewyourcompletescript .editandrefineuntil it seemstoflowsmoothly .

Word Count. Conductawordcount .let’spretendyou’restillaim-ingfora8minute(or1,400word)presentation .asaverygeneralrule-of-thumbyou“ideally”wantyourscripttotakeupnomorethan75%ofyourwords .

Problem Solv�ng. Ifyourscriptat thispointaddsup toonly400wordsthenyouhaveaproblem!supportivedetailsshouldnotbeaccountingformostofyourpresentation .Thissituationindicatesyouneed toputmore “meat” intoyourdescriptionof themainconceptsorexpandthelevelofdetailyougiveforyourexample .If you’re at 1,300 words then you know you’ll have to eliminatethesupportivedetailsandfocusonwritingagoodintroduction .If you’re at about 800 words then you know you have space fordescribingsomeofthesupportivedetails .

Supportive Concepts addoninformationaboutsupportiveconceptsjustasyoudidforthemajorconceptsandtherichexample .Thewordcountsyou’veconductedshouldhelpgiveyouasenseofhowmanywordsyoucanaffordtogivetodescribingsupportivedetails .oncedone,doawordcountandproblemsolve .Decideifthewordcountneedstobereducedornot .

Introduction Inthisfourthstepyoucanwriteyourintroduction .Whyareyoudoingthislast?Mainlybecauseuntilthispointyouactuallydon’tknowwhatwillmakeitintoyourfinalproduct!Ingeneralit’sgoodtoplanonaleadthat’sabout150-175wordslong .Putdifferently,yourintroductionshouldbeabout1minutelong .Ifit’s2minutes

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longthatmaynotbeaproblem,butifyourintroductiontakes4minutesoutofan8minutepresentationthenthatwon’twork .Theintroductionshouldsuccinctlytelltheviewerwhatthepresenta-tionisabout,whyit’simportant,andperhapsintroducetherichexampletostimulatetheinterestoftheviewer .

Create PausesYour final script in terms of the wording is done . However youhaveonemoresteptocompleteinthescriptingprocess:creatingpauses .

In addition to words, it’s useful to think about where you wantpausesintheaudio:atransitiontoanewsection,youwanttotheusertoviewanimagebutnothearwords,orsimplytogivesometheaudiobreathingspace .Whileyoucanaddpausestoyouraudiofileataudioeditingstage,it’smuch simplerifyounotewhereyouwantpausesatthescriptdevelopmentstageandlatereditoutanyexcesspauselengths .

Considerthis:ifyou’vealreadynotatedwhereyouwantpausesinyourscriptthenduringtheaudiorecordingyoucansimplyremainquietforthetimeperiodsindicatedinyourscript .Ifyouwanta2secondthensitquietfor2ormoreseconds .Ifthepauseturnsouttobetoolong,it’sveryeasytocutouttheextraspacelater .Indeed,mucheasierandmoreeffective thancreatingpausesat the lateraudioeditingstage .

Perhapstheeasiestwaytoindicateapauseinyourscriptistoaddcenteredboldtextthatexistsinit’sownparagraphlikethis:

2 seconds

Ifyoumakethesepausenotationsstandaloneparagraphsinyourscript they’remucheasier toseeandexecute forduring the liverecordingsession .

Themostnaturalplace toaddpausesofabout5 secondswouldbetweenmajorchaptersinyourscript .Whatmightbedesignatedachapteristypicallycomprisedofseveralsections .forexample,youmighthavenaturalchaptersembeddedinyourscriptlikeIn-troduction,anexample,TheTheory,WhatResearchsays,appli-cation,andsummary .oftenyou’dwantalongerthanusualpauseat the start of a new chapter as: (a) it signals that you’re transi-tioningtoanewareaoffocus,and(b)itcreatesanaturalwaytoincludeatitleimagewithoutanydistractingaudio .

addingpauses toascripthasseveral importantbenefits includ-ing:


Pausesmakeaudioeditingeasier sinceyoucaneasily see thepausesinsoundfile .Pausesmakecreating labelsduringaudioeditingmucheasiersinceit’seasytoseethebeginningandendofkeysections .Pausesmakeusingtitleimageseasiersincethenchapterimagesdon’tneedtocompetewithavoiceover .

Sect�on Number�ngYoumayhavedonethisalready,butifnot,thennowisthetimeforyoutoidentifyandnumberthesectionsinyourscript .Yourscriptisreallydividedupinto“conceptualsections .”asectionisaconceptuallycompletethought .severaltimesaparagraphandasectionwillbethesamething .However,manytimesasectionwillactuallybecomposedofseveralparagraphs .onapracticalnote,if your audio is about 10 minutes long then you probably wanttodivideyour script intoabout20 sections .Don’tgetmechani-calaboutthishowever .There’snothingmagicalabout20sections .butconsiderthepragmaticeffectofidentifyingseveralsections:a10minutemoviewhendividedinto20sectionsmeansthateachsectionwillbeabout30secondslong .noticehowIhavenowdi-videda10minuteproblemintoseveral30secondproblems .later,whenyou’retryingtointegrateimageswithaudio,solvingthese30secondproblemswillbemucheasierthantacklingthewhole10minuteproblematonetime .

I tendtousingnumbering inawaythat’snatural forme:wholenumbers represent major sections and numbers with decimalsrepresent subsectionswithinamajor section .so Imighthaveasection called “2 a Quick survey” and then later have “2 .1 Thefirst10Years .”The“2 .1”sectionisasubsectionofthe“2”section .Howeverthisapproachmightseemawkwardtoyou .noproblem!Thenjuststartnumberingwith“1”andgoingthroughtoyourlastsectionnumber .Ifwebothhave20sections,thissecondapproachwouldhavesectionsnumbered1through20 .Usingmyapproach,however,theremightonlybesixmajorsectionsandthenseveralsubsectionsunderthem .Istillhave20sections,butthey’reorga-nizedabitdifferently .Thebottomlineisthatthenumberingap-proachneedstobesimpleandclearfor you .

Software Auto-Number�ng. some of you may have used softwarethatallowsyoutoidentifysectionsandnumberthemsequentiallyforyou .Ifyoursoftwarehasthisoptionthentakeadvantageofitandgobackanddivideupyourscript intosections .Remembertherealreasonforthisistocreateanumberofsmallerproblemstosolveratherthanscramblingtosolvetheonebigproblem .

Penc�l Markups. Manyofyouwilleithernothavesoftwarethatcaninsertsectionnumbering,oryouwon’tknowhowtofindorusethis feature .noproblem .as longasyouhaveapencil, youcan

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stillaccomplishthesamething .first,printoutyourscript .Readitoverandpayattentiontonaturaltransitionsthatrepresentanewsection .number the sections in the leftmargin from“1” to theend .

The F�nal Scr�pt Whenyouputinallthewords,addedstandaloneboldedindica-tors forpauses, thenyouhaveafinalscript!Printout thescriptandcheckthatthefontsizeandotherissuesmakeitveryeasytoread for your eyes . In addition, take the time to read the scriptaloud .forinstance,sometimesIfindthatI’veincludedwordsthatI’mveryfamiliarwithbutunfortunatelyInonethelesshaveahardtimepronouncing .Thislastcheckofspeakingthescriptaloudwillallowyoutomakeminorrefinementstowordinginthescriptsoit’suser-friendlyforyoutoreadaloud .

Exerc�se 3Developyourfirstscript .Thisscriptwillbedifferentfromtherealcoursechallengebecauseyoudon’tneedtodevelopavisualmodelforthisexercise .

The Script Developa90-to-120secondscriptthattellsus(therestoftheclass)something about you personally or about your professional life .Rememberthattalkingatarateof175wordsperminutestrans-latesintoascriptthatshouldbe350wordsat the most .

Please make sure to include relevant pause indicators in yourscript .

Delivery sendyourscripttomeasanemailattachment .ThescriptshouldbeeitheraWorddocumentorinaPDfformat .Makesuretonameyourscriptas:YourfirstnameScript.docorYourfirstnameScript.pdf .so,ifyournameisedthenyoushouldbesendingmeadocumenttitledeitheredscript .docoredscript .pdf .

InlaterexercisesforChapter 6 andChapter 7youwilldevelopim-agesthatgoalongwiththisaudioscript .Don’tworryaboutthisnow,but Iwant to let youknow inadvance thatwe’llbebuild-inguponthisexercisetocreateashort90-120secondmultimediamovieaboutyourself .

4 Audio

Chapter 4

Edcasting

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Overv�ewaudio is the backbone of an effective multimedia presentation .The primary source of audio for your presentation will be yourvoice . “ohgreat,”you say, “audio is so importantandyet Ihatethesoundofmyvoice .”That’sanaturalreaction .However,mostpeoplehavenotheardtheirvoicesrecordedataprofessionallevel .Theyimplicitlycomparetheirrecordedvoice(usuallydonewithaninexpensivetaperecorder)againstanaudioCDnarrationdoneby James earl Jones . In comparison they do sound pretty lamecompared toMr . Jones .butwhenyourvoice is recordedwell itwillhaveahighlevelofinterestingness .

Peoplecreateaudioproblemswhentheydon’tspeakintheirnatu-ral rhythm . If you force yourself to speak too fast (or too slow)thenthataltersmanyaspectsofyourvoice,usuallyso itsoundsworse .starttolistentohownarratorsusetheirvoice(whetheritbeonaPbsshoworinatelevisionadvertisement) .Goodnarra-torsareabletotakeadvantagenotonlyofhowtheysaywords,butalsotocreatepauseswhenappropriate .That’simportanttokeepinmind .sometimesyouwantsomethingto“sinkin”oryouwanttheviewertoactuallylookatanimage(e .g .atableofstatisticalfind-ings) .Youcantakeadvantageofpausestosupplementyourvoiceandincreasetheeffectivenessofyourmultimediaproduct .

Chapter Model Thenextpagepresentsavisualmodelofthechapter’scontent .Themodelemphasizesthreemajorphaseswhendevelopingyourau-diofile:(1)audiorecording,(2)audioediting&mixing,and(3)audiocompression .

Thischapterfirstlooksatvariouspracticalconsiderationstokeepinmindbeforetheaudiorecordingsession .However,thischapterdoesnotprovidedetailsonhowtodoyourownrecording .Therearesimplytoomanyvariablesthatcanchangedependingonthespecific equipment you use . Please consult the documentationthat came with your recording equipment for details . If record-ingdirectlytoyourcomputerthenyoucanuseaudacityorotherinexpensive software programs to handle your recording needs .(note:severalpeoplehaveexperiencedproblemsusingaudacityasarecorder,especiallyonMacintoshcomputers .)

Most of the chapter describes how to use audacity software toedityouraudiofile .Inthisphaseyouwanttoeliminateunwantedsoundsandgenerally improvethequalityof thefile .There isanoptionaladditionalstepcalledaudio mixingwheresomeonemightcombinetheirvoicewithsomebackgroundmusic .Thelastphaseinvolvesaudiocompression .audiofilesareverylargeandasalaststepyouwant tomake sure to reduce the sizeof that audiofilewithoutcompromisingaudioqualitytoanynoticeabledegree .

CHaPTeR4 . AUDIO 45

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Pract�cal Rem�ndersbeforedelving into theprocessofcreatingandeditinganaudiofile,Iwanttopresentthreekeypracticaltips:

DialoguesworkwellYourvoiceforgesconnectionsGetoveryourself

let’slookateachofthesetipsingreaterdetail .

Using Dialog asimpletechniquethatoftencreatesamoreengagingpresenta-tionistousetwovoicesthatgobackandforthasinaneverydaydialog .Thistendstocreateamoreengagingandintimatesetting .Youcanworkonapresentationwithanotherperson,orwriteascriptthatincludestwopeopleandrecruitanotherstudenttobethesecondvoice .newsshows(whetherontheradioortelevision)almostalwaysusethetwopersondialogapproachthesedaystocreatethesensethatyou’relisteningtoaconversation .Recordingtwopeopleatonceistrickyandsoyou’llneedtorecordatwoper-sondialogatmyoffice .

Rememberthatyouarecreatingasustainedmultimediaproduct .Yourproductswilltypicallybebetween7and12minutesinlength .Thislengthallowsyoutocommunicateagreatdealofsubstance,butyoualsohavetobeonmessageandsuccincttousethattimewell .

Primacy of Voice The use of voice is very important in educational settings . Theteacher’svoice,bigbird’svoice,andyourvoice .Voicehelpstocre-ateaconnectionwithanaudience .Inthiswayitcanhelptocon-nectorcreateasenseofpersonalizedinstruction .Voicecanalsoreducecognitiveload .Ittakesalotofattentiontoreadtextandtodosomethingextralikepayattentiontoadiagram .Whenyouusevoice insteadof text thenmostpeople experienceaneasier andmoreeffectiveabilitytointegratethespokenwordwithvisualim-agescomparedtoreadingtextandlookingatimagesinabackandforthfashion .

Get Over Yourself Yourvoiceisfine .Theissue,asmanyvoicecoacheshavenoted,isnotwithaperson’svoicebutinhowtheyusetheirvoice .I’llonlycoverafewbasicsofhowtouseyourvoicelaterinthischapter .Inaddition,averygoodbooktoconsult isThe Broadcast VoicebyJenniMills(focalPress,2004) .

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RehearsalThis is theactof sittingdownandreadingyour script .While itmayseemsimpleandboring,doingagoodrecordingnecessitateskeyplanningstrategies .

You need to be prepared before coming to a sound studio . Youwanttohavepracticedyourstoryorally .Thishastwopurposes .first, itgetsyouusedtotalkingout loudandallowsyoutofindthosepartsofyourscriptthatmaybeeasytoread,butaredifficulttopronouncewhentalking .Inthiswayyoucanreviseyourscriptso that it ismoreuser-friendly foranoralpresentation .second,thispracticeallowsyoutogetadecentsenseofthelengthofyourpresentation .Youwanttomakesureyourvoiceisnatural(i .e .thatyoudon’tenduptalkingeitherslowerorfasterthanis“natural”foryou) .

Practice Themostimportantsinglefactorinfluencingthequalityofare-cording is whether the individual has practiced their script out loudseveraltimesbeforetherecording .Readingthescriptsilentlytoyourselfdoesnothelp .Readingthescriptoutloudatafaster-than-usualpacehelpsverylittle .specificallyyouneedtopracticereadingyourscriptatthesamepaceyouplanonusingwhenre-cording .Duringyourpracticesessionsyoumayencountersomeofthefollowing:

Hard to Pronounce Words. You’ll find that some of your writtenwordsarehardtopronounce(atleastforyou) .InthiscaseIsug-gestchangingthewordorphrasesothatit’seasiertopronounce .

Automat�c�ty. bypracticingreadingthescriptoutlouditwillbe-comesecondnature,orautomatic,toyou .Thismeansyou’relikelytomakemany fewermistakesduring the live recordingsession .Don’t expect perfection, but limiting vocal mistakes will greatlyfacilitatetheaudioeditingstageofyourproject .

Sit Up, Talk Up Howyousitandhowyourheadispositionedgreatlyaffectsyourvocalquality .Trytositcomfortablybutwithastraightback .Youwanttopractice, ifpossible,viewingthescriptstraightaheadofyoubecauseyourvoicesoundsbetterwhenthevoiceboxisopenedup .lookingdownatascripttendstoclosethevoiceboxabit .

Yourvoicewill soundmorepersonal andengaging if you thinkthatyou’retalkingtoaparticularperson .so,thinkofafriendorcolleague .Havethemvisually inyourmind .Whenyoustartre-cording pretend that you’re talking directly to that one person .Thiswillresultinatoneofvoicethat’smorewarmandengaging .

Your voice level doesn’t have to be loud when recording, but itshouldbeatadecent level . Imaginethat thepersonyou’re talk-

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ingtoisacrosstheroom:inthiswayyoucanmakesurethatyourvoiceisloudenoughnotonlyfortheimaginaryfriendtohearbutalsotocaptureagoodrecordingwiththeaudioequipment .

Throat Tips Thereareabunchof tips thatvoicecoachessuggest formakingsureyou’rereadyforarecordingperformance .Theseinclude:

Dr�nk plenty of water .bringwaterwithyoutoarecordingsession .Takeabreakevery5minutesandtakeadrinkofwater .Warm up your vo�ce .Practicetalkingaloudbeforerecording .Thismightmeanreadingyourscript(oranythingelse)inanotherroomwhereyoucanspeakup .Relax .onaphysical leveloneway torelax thevocalcords is toyawn . one coach (ann Utterback) recommends yawning thensaying,“HowmanyhatsdoesHenryhave”severaltimes .Repeatasneeded .Green apples .anothercoach(Jamesalburger)recommendstak-ingabitofagreenappletohelpcutthroughmucousbuildupinthemouthandtoclearthethroat .

The Record�ng Sess�onTherecordingsessionitselfwilltakeplaceeitheratmyofficeoratyourhome .Ifyouarefairlycomfortablewithcomputersyoumaywanttotryrecordingathome .I’llhaveaUsbmicrophoneandaPlantronicsheadsetkitthatpeoplecanborrowanduseathome .belowaresometipsforrecording:

Accept M�stakes .Mistakesareanaturalpartoflife .Ifyou’veprac-ticed the script thenyou’llonlymakea few . If you worry aboutmakingmistakesthenyou’llmakemanymore!Worryingdoesn’thelp .Stop & Rew�nd .Whenyoudomakeamistakesimplystop,wait2seconds,thenstartagainatthebeginningofthesentencewherethemistakewasmade .forsubsequenteditingreasonsyou’llmakelifeeasierforyourselfbysimplystartingattheverybeginningofthesentencewherethemistakehappened .Pause & Dr�nk .Designateplacesinyourscriptwheretherearenat-uralpauses:theendofasectionforexample .Takeashortbreak,drinkabitofwater,relax,andthenbeginrecordingthenextsec-tion .editingoutthesebreaksisveryeasytodo .Theideaistotakea1-2minutebreak .

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Session Setup IfyouarerecordingatmyofficeIneedtodoafewquickthingswhenyoucomeintodotherecording .However,thesesamestepsshouldbedoneevenifyouarerecordingathome .Theyinclude:

Gettingyouseatedcomfortablyinthechair .arranging the microphone so it’s within 6 to 10 inches of yourmouthbutjustofftotheside .arranging the document easel so you can read the script whilealsomaintaininggoodbodyposture .DoasoundchecksoIcanmakesureIhavetherecordingequip-mentsettotherightsoundlevelsforyourvoice .Thesequickcheckpointsshouldtakeabout3minutestoconduct .Iwill then leaveyou inmyoffice to recordwith theofficedoorclosedsoyouhaveprivacy .Youdon’thavetoworryaboutturningonoroffanyequipment .I’lltakecareofthat .

Receiving the Audio Youwilledityouraudiorecordingonyourowncomputer .Icangiveyoutheaudiofileinoneoftwoways:(1)bringaflashdriveandI’llputtheaudiofileonit(typicallytheaudiofilewilltakeup50-100Mb)or(2)Icanputtheaudiofileonmywebserverandyoucandownloaditathome(thisonlyworksifyouhaveafaster-than-a-modemconnection) .

Aud�o Ed�t�ngInthissectionIprovidegeneralstrategies .I’llalsoshowyouthespecificstepstotakewhenusingaudacity1 .3software(forbothWindows and Macs) . These general strategies apply when usinganyotheraudioeditor .

Use Headphones Unlessyouhavereallygoodcomputerspeakers(andmostpeopledon’t)thentheonlywayyou’llbeabletolistentoyouraudiotohearthedetailsisbyusingheadphones .Youprobablyalreadyhaveadecentsetofheadphonesatyourhome .Ifyoudon’t,I’drecom-mendgettingtheexcellentsennheiserHD202headphones .Theycost $20 and can be bought at amazon .com and several otherplaces .

Software Packages TherearethreemajorsoftwareprogramsthatIwouldsuggestfordoingrecordingandeditingofspoken-voicematerial .oneoftheprogramsisfreeandsoit’snaturalthateveryonewouldbeattract-edtousingit .

Audac�ty. Iwouldsuggestusingthisfreeprogramtostartwith .Ifyouthenwanttopursueusingaudioinfutureventuresyoumaywanttotrythemorepowerfulandeffectivecommercialprograms .formetimereallyismoney .sinceIworkmuchmoreefficientlywith a commercial program than I do using audacity, within a

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fairlyshortamountoftimethecommercialsoftwarehasbecomecheaper formethanaudacity .audacityiscurrentlyatversion1 .3andisopen-sourcesoftware .TheprogramworksonbothPCandMacintoshplatforms .Itdoesaudiorecording,editing,andmixing .Youcandownloaditat:

http://audacity .sourceforge .net/

Peak LE. Currentlyatversion5 ,PeakwascreatedbybIassoft-ware .ThisisaMac-onlyaudiorecordingandeditingsoftwarepro-gramthatisacademicallypricedat$90 .bIasoffersatrialversion .YoucandownloadamovieaboutPeakandthetrialversionat:

http://www .bias-inc .com/downloads/freeTrials/

Aud�t�on. Currentlyatversion2 .0andownedbyadobesoftware .This isWindows-onlyaudiorecording,editingandmixingsoft-warethatisacademicallypricedat$140 .adobeoffersatrialver-sion of the software that can be used for 30 days free . You candownloadatrialversionat:

http://www .adobe .com/products/audition/

Editing Strategies editing is akin to sculpting: you’re not adding anything, you’resimplytryingtoeliminatethestuffyoudon’twant .Ifyou’reanov-iceIwouldsuggestdoingyoureditinginfourpasses .Whenyoubecomemorecomfortablewiththeeditingprocessyoucandoallthenecessaryoperationsinoneortwopasses,buttakealittlebitmoretimerightnowandmakeiteasieronyourselfbyusingthefollowing suggestionsbelow . I’llprovide specific instructionsonhowtodoeachofthesestepsinaudacitylaterinthechapter .Rightnow,however,Iwanttoprovideyouwithaconceptualoverviewoftheeditingprocess .

Pre-Ed�t�ng: Backup & Save. Before editingcreateaduplicateofyouraudiofile .Thus,ifworsecomestoworseandsomethinggetsre-allyscrewedup,youcanstartoverwithafileinit’soriginalform .second,pleaseremembertoconsistentlysaveyourworkafterev-ery5minutesofaudioyouedit .I’veseengrowndoctoralstudentsbecomeblabberingsobbingstudentsbecauseacomputercrashedandtheylosttheireditingwork .

savingandbackinguparetwokeywaystoprotectyour-self .Makesuretonameyouraudiofileinawaythatisdistinc-tive . for example, Myaudio is not distinctive . However,something like aboutMetacognition is distinctive . Thiswillmakeiteasiertofindthefiletouselateron .

Pass 1: Remove Unwanted Sounds. allyou’redoingislisteningforunwantedsoundssuchascoughs,extraspace(whenyoutooka

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break),mispronouncedwordsthatyousubsequentlyredidinare-peatsentence,andanyothermistakes .

Pass 2: Double Check�ng. Inthissecondpassyou’retryingtomakesure that you actually removed all the unwanted audio . at thispointyoucanremovesmallermistakesifneeded .

Pass 3: Add�ng Pauses. okay,soIexaggeratedabit .editingismostlyabout getting rid of unwanted material . an additional aspect ofeditingismakingsurethere’sagoodrhythmtotheaudio .some-times you’ll have too little empty space between one paragraphandanother .Ideallyyouwouldnot needtodothispassbecauseyou had already inserted plenty of relevant silences in your liverecording .Theadvantagesof includingsilences in therecordingare:(1)it’seasiertodeleteextrasilencethantocreateit,and(2)thepauseswillsoundmorenaturalbecausethe“silence”includestheroom toneofwhereyourecorded .It’simportanttounderstandthateveryroomhasasoundtoit .Thus,thereisadifferencebetweencompletesilenceandthesilencethatisroomtone .Thetwopro-cessesdescribedbelowhelpcreatesilencebuttheresultisacom-pletely“dead”silence thatdoesnotsoundthesameasanaturalroom tone silenceinyourrecording .nonetheless,youmayneedtoendupdoingthesetwothingsduringthethirdpass:

Insert�ng s�lence .Thismaybeusedtocreateasmoother,more harmonious audio file . Peak calls this “inserting”butauditionandaudacitycallthesameprocess“gener-ating”silence .eitherwayyou’readdingafewsecondsofsilencetotheaudio .Convert to s�lence . There may be sections of your audiothathaveanappropriatelengthofsilencebutthere’ssomeannoyingsoundsthatyouwanttogetridofsuchaspapershuffling . In thiscaseyoudon’tneedtoaddsilence,butyouneedtoconverttheaudioregiontosilence .

Pass 4: Creat�ng Labels. labels(alsocalled“markers”or“cues”de-pendingonthesoftwareyouuse)aretextdescriptionsofaportionofyouraudio .Thehugeadvantageoflabelsisthattheyincludethename,thestart,andtheendtimesfortheaudioportionassociatedwiththe label .Youalreadyknowwhatyourlabelnameswillbe:usethesectiondescriptionsfromyourscript .Thispasswon’tim-proveyouraudio,butinsteaditwillendupgivingyouallthekeytimingsyou’llneedtousetointegratetheaudiowiththeimageswhencreatingthefinalmultimediaproduct .

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Audac�ty Overv�ewThis is thesoftwareprogramI’mexpectingeverystudent tousebecause:(1)it’sfreeand(2)itworksonbothoperatingsystems .Whileallaudioeditingprogramsworkinasimilarmanner,youshouldbeawarethataudacityworksinaslightlyfunkymannercomparedtoprofessionaleditingprogramslikePeakoraudition .Professionalprogramswillbemorestable,containmorefeatures,andwilltendtooperateinamoreintuitivemanner .Thatsaid,au-dacityiswonderfulandpowerfulaudioeditingsoftwareforabe-ginningmultimediastudent .

The Screen Inthefigurebelowyouseeanoverviewofthebasicscreenafteropeninganaudiofileinaudacity .You’llbecomeveryfamiliarwiththisscreen,butnoticeafewkeythingsrightaway:

Youcanseethewaveformoftheaudiofile .You can see the basic navigation buttons just above the wavefile .You can select various tools, most importantly the select�on tool .

Figure 4.1. The Audacity Screen

Basic Tools Thereareonlyafewbasictools .Realisticallyyouwon’tusemanyofthesetools .Infactthetoolyou’lluseabout100%ofthetimeistheonealreadyhighlighted(inarea3inthefigureaboveandinthefigurebelow):the selection tool .Ignoretheothertoolsinthisarea fornow .Theselectiontool is just like thecursor inawordprocessing program . Place the selection bar where you want tostartlisteningtoanaudiofile,thenpressPlayandyou’llhearaudiofromthatspotonwards .

Figure 4.2. The Basic Tools

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Play & Pause You need to know how to navigate (play, pause, et cetera) youraudio file . audacity works is a somewhat unintuitive fashion inthisregard,butonceyouunderstandhowaudacity“thinks”thenyou’llbeabletonavigateeasily .first,beawareofthekeynaviga-tionbuttons(shownbelow) .

Figure 4.3. Navigation Buttons

Thenavigationbuttonsfromlefttorightinclude:

PausePlay(alsothespacebarwillactivatePlay)stopGobacktothestartGoforwardtotheendRecord

Here’stheunintuitivepart:inmostprogramspressingthespace-barwillengagePlaystartingwherevertheselectiontoolislocatedinthefile .audacitydoesthistoo .However,inotherprogramsifyoupressthespacebaragainthentheaudiostopsplayingandtheselectiontoolismovedtothatpointwhereyouhavestoppedplay-ing audio . In audacity if you press the spacebar then the audiowillalsostop,but insteadofshiftingtheselectiontooltowheretheaudiohasstoppedaudacitywillreturntheselectionbarbacktoit’soriginallocation .Thusifyoupressthespacebaragainyou’llthenheartheaudioportionagainfromthebeginning .

Workaround. startingwithversion1 .3ofaudacityaworkaroundtothisproblemwasbuiltintothesoftware .onyourkeyboardyouhavetwokeysthattypebrackets .Theleftbracket([)islocatedjustabovetheapostrophekeyonthefarrightside .Therightbracket(])isjusttotherightofthefirstbracketkey .

Move Cursor to Current Locat�on. Whenever you press the leftbracketkey([)thecursor(orselectiontool)ismovedtothecur-rentlocationintheaudiofile .Thismeansyoucanplayyouraudiofilewhenyounoticeaproblemorwanttomovethecursorforanyreason,justtapontheleftbracketkeyandthecursorisautomati-callymoved!nowwhenyoupress the stopbutton(orpress thespacebar)thecursorwillbelocatedwhereveryoulastpositioneditusingtheleftbracketkey .

Dynam�cally Select an Aud�o Reg�on. Ifyouwanttoidentifyanau-dioregionthentherightbracketkey(])shouldbeused .audacity

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keepstrackofwherethecursoris .Wheneveryoupresstherightbracketkeyaudacityselectstheregiondefinedbythecursorlo-cationandalsoindicatesthecurrenttimeoftheaudiofile .Ifyoucontinuetoplay theaudioandfindtheregionshouldbea littlelongerthenjustpresstherightbracketkeyagainandtheregionselectedwillbecomelarger .

Left Bracket, R�ght Bracket. Don’t forgetthesetwokeys .Theyareprobablythemostvaluabletoolsyouhavetomovethecursorortoselectanaudioregion .

Magnification Just above thewaveform(on the top rightof the toolbar)you’llfindthefouriconsshowninthefigurebelow .Thefirsttwoicons(lefttoright)zoominandzoomout,displayadetailedlevelofthewaveform .Thethirdbuttonwon’tbeveryuseful toyou,but thelastbuttoncreatesthebigpictureviewthatallowsyoutoseeyourcompleteaudiofileatoneglance .

Figure 4.4. Viewing Tools

Inthenextfigureyoucanseewhataudacitylookslikeafterthezoom intoolhasbeenclickedonafewtimessothatyoucanseeonlyabout7secondsofaudio .

Figure 4.5. The waveform viewed as a 7 second interval

notice how you get a much better view of the audio using a 7-secondwindowoftimeratherthanusingthebigpictureviewasshowninfigure4 .1 .

MP3 Compression audacityofferstheabilitytoconvertyouraudiointoanMP3file .Thisinvolvesdownloadinganextraplug-in .However,Iwouldsug-gestnotusingaudacityforthefinalMP3compressionasiTunesdoesabetterjobofMP3compression .

Keyboard Shortcuts someofyouarefamiliarwithkeyboardshortcutsforcommandsthat you use often . suggested keyboard shortcuts are presentedforsomecommandsinaudacityjusttotherightoftheselectedmenuoption .However,youcanchangethesekeyboardshortcuts,

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orcreatekeyboardshortcutsforcommandsthatdon’talreadyhaveashortcutsequenceassignedtothem .Here’showtodoit:

UndertheaUDaCITYmenuselectthePreferencesoption .Intheensuingdialogboxyou’llfindseveraloptionspresentedas tabs arrayed horizontally along the top of the dialog box .ChoosetheKeyboardtab .scroll through the list of commands . When you find a com-mand you want to assign a keyboard shortcut, then just typethatshortcutintotheKey Combinationcolumn .becarefulnottocreatekeycombinationsthatwillconflictwithgeneral computer operating system commands . for example,don’tuseControl-Q(orCommand-Q)becausethisisthecom-mandthattellsvirtuallyallsoftwareprogramstoquit .Howevertherearenot thatmanykeysequencesyouneedtoavoidandyou’reprobablyawareofalltheonesyouusefrequently .

Audac�ty ProjectsMostaudioeditingprogramsworkonaspecificfileandwillsaveyour changes to that file . audacity works differently . With eachprojectitcreatestwofilesandonefolder:

TheProject.aupfilethatstoresinformationaboutchangesmadetotheoriginalfile .TheProject.aup.bakfilethatisabackupfile .TheProject Data folderthatcontainstheactualaudio .

Project.aup. Thisfileonlycontainsinformationaboutkeychangesandadditionstotheaudio .Itisnottheoriginalaudiofile .Thisfilecontainsinfoaboutchangestotheaudioplus informationabouttheoriginalaudioitself .

Project.aup.bak. There’sasecondfilenamedsomethinglikeproject.aup.bakandthisisabackupofyouroriginalprojectinformationwhichaudacityautomaticallycreateseveryfewminutes .

Project Data folder. You’llfindafoldernamedsomethinglikeProj-ect Data that contains the actual audio file . audacity breaks upyouroriginalaudiofileintoabunchofdifferentchunksofaudio .Don’tworryaboutthis,audacitywillputallthechunksbackto-getherintooneseamlessfilewhenyoudoexportyouraudioafterediting .

Commercialeditingprogramsgiveyoutwoviewsatonce:abigpictureview(soyoucanseeyouentireaudiofileatoneglance)andadetailedview(soyoucanfocusoneditinga10secondsequenceofaudioatatime) .audacityprojectsonlygivesyouoneview .Youcanchangetheviewsoyouseetheentireaudioatonceorseeashorterdetailedlookatyouraudio .Mostofthetime,formosted-

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itingpurposes,beingabletoseeabout8-11secondsofaudioataglanceisoptimalforspottingproblemareasinyouraudio .

The Project Menu The PRoJeCT menu is where you’ll go to add material to yourproject .InthefigurebelowyoucanseethemanyoptionsyouhavewhenclickingonthePRoJeCTmenu .

Figure 4.6. The Project Menu options

Thetwooptionsyou’llusethemostareImport Aud�oandAdd Label At Select�on .noticethatbothofthemhavekeyboardshort-cutsbecausethey’reusedsooften .(Ifyou’reaWindowsuseryou’llseeControl-IandControl-brespectively .)

Importing Audio Whenyouopenupaudacityitcreatesa“project”andautomati-callygivesyouablankaudiotrack .sinceyouwillhavereceivedyourrawaudiofilefromme,whatyou’lldofirstisusetheImport Aud�ooption .You’llthenseeadialogboxthatallowsyoutonavi-gatetowhereveronyourharddrivetheaudiofileislocated .Clickonthedesiredfileandthenpresstheopenbutton .audacitywilltakeafewsecondstoreadthefileandplaceitasanewtrackwithinyouraudacityproject .

Adding Files Youcanalwaysaddtrackstoaproject .Inyourcasethetwomostcommontypesoftracksyoumayaddarea:(1)alabeltrackor(2)amusicMP3thatyouwanttoaddasbackgroundmusictoyourpresentation .

Toaddnewaudio,usetheImport Aud�ooptionagainandfindtherelevantaudiofile .Tocreatealabelstrack,usetheNew Label Trackoption .

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Audac�ty Ed�t�ngThe editing process consists of selecting and deleting unwantedaudiomaterial,convertingsomepassages tosilence,andaddingsilence toanaudiofile .Thestepsonhowtodoeachprocess inaudacityaredescribedbelow .

Select & Delete You’velistenedtoaportionoftheaudiooryounoticedabadpas-sageandwanttoeliminateit .MovetheselectionTooltowherethebadpassagebegins .Clickthemousedownanddragtoyourrightuntilyouselectorhighlighttheentireregioncontainingthebadaudio .Whenyou’vemadeyourselectionitwillbehighlightedandlooklikethescreenshotbelow:

Figure 4.7. Selecting the audio region

noticehowtheselectedaudioishighlightedindarkgrey .Thepro-cessofhighlightingunwantedaudioisabout90%ofwhatyou’llbedoinginanaudioeditor!nowpresstheDeleteorReturnkeyonyourkeyboard .Theaudiopassageisdeletedandtheremainingaudioafterthedeletedregionisautomaticallymovedovertotheleft .

Figure 4.8. Audio file after deleted unwanted selected audio

You’llberepeatingtheselectanddeletestepsoften .Insummary,thekeystepsare:

startplayingtheaudio .listenforbadaudio .Movetheselectiontooltothebeginningofbadaudio .Usingselectiontoolclickanddrag fromthebeginningto theendofthebadaudiosegment .Pressdeleteonthekeyboard .Repeatasneeded .

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Remembertosaveyourchangesevery5-10minutes .

Convert to Silence sometimes you may want to convert to silence . In this case youwanttogetridofnoise,butyoudon’twanttoeliminatethespacethatexistsintheaudio .Inessenceyouwanttoreplace“noise”with“silence .”forexample,perhapsyoucanhearthesoundofpapersbeingturned .Youwantthepause,butnotthepageturningsound .Inthiscaseselecttheoffendingaudio(clickanddrag)andinsteadofusingyourDeletekeyyou’llpressonthesilencebuttoninau-dacity .Thethreefiguresbelowshowyouthesilencebutton,andthebeforeandafterversionsofwhathappenswhenyouusethisbutton .ThekeyboardshortcutforconvertingtosilenceistouseControl-l(Win)orCommand-l(Mac) .

Figure 4.9. Silence Button (far right).

Figure 4.10. The selected audio region before converting to silence.

Figure 4.11. The audio region after converting region to silence.

Adding Silence anothertechniqueyoumaywanttousewithanaudioeditoristorefineyouraudiobyaddingsilence .oneofthekeyreasonstoaddsilence is tocreateasenseofcalmandspace inyouraudio .forinstance,sometimespeoplegotooquicklyfromoneparagraphtothenextwhenrecording .Inordertomaketheaudiofeellikeithasnaturalpauses(whenappropriate)addingsilenceisagreattoolifyoudidn’talreadycreatesilenceduringtherecordingprocess .

ThenextfewfiguresshowhowtousetheGenerate Silenceoption .Pleasenotethatyouneedtofirstputtheselectiontoolatthepointintheaudiowhereyouwantadditionalsilence .WhenyouselecttheGenerate Silenceoptionthenadialogboxpopsup .enterthe

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amountofsilenceyouwantinseconds .Youcanonlyenteranum-berintermsofseconds .Ifyouwant,youcanusedecimalandenternumberssuchas1 .7or2 .5seconds .

Figure 4.12. Selection tool at “adding point” in audio

Figure 4.13. Generate Silence option

Figure 4.14. Silence added to file

Normalizing The term “normalizing” refers to a technique for increasing theoverallvolumeofyouraudiofile .Thereareavarietyoftechniquesfornormalizing,butaudacityoffersyouonlyoneoftheseways .That’s perfectly fine for beginners . Here’s how the normalizingprocessworksinaudacity:

select theaudioyouwant tonormalize .Typically thiswillbethecompleteaudiofile,butsometimesitmaybejustaportionofit .GototheeffeCTmenu .ChoosetheNormal�zeoption .Upcomesthedialogboxshownbelow .Makesurebothoptionswithinthedialogboxarechecked .ClicktheoKbutton .audacitywilltakeafewminutestoana-lyzeandthennormalizeyouraudio .

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Figure 4.15. Normalize Dialog Box.

sowhatreallyhappens?Thefirstcheckedbox(RemoveanyDCoffset) actually has nothing to do with normalizing . sometimeswhenrecordingtheaudiocanbecompromisedbyotherelectricalcircuitsintheroom .Inessencethisoptioncheckstoseeifthere’sbeenanyDCoffsettingduetotheelectricalsetupintherecord-ingandthencorrectsit .Thisisalwaysagoodthingtocheckandrepair .

The second checked box actually does the normalizing . specifi-callyitlooksthroughoutthecompleteselectedaudioandfindstheaudiowiththehighestpeak(orgreatest loudness) .It thenshiftstheentireaudioselectionsothatthishighestpeakisat-3db .ThisisaperfectlygoodoptionsoIwon’tgointoothernormalizingop-tions .

However,here’swhatyoushouldbeawareof:doesyouraudiohaveagreatvariationintermsofmaximumpeakscomparedtotypicalrecordingpeaks?Ifso,normalizingwillhaveonlyasmalleffect .Inessence,itwon’traisethelevelofyour“typical”audiolevelmuchbecausenormalizingbasesit’scalculationsonthemaximumpeakfoundinaselection .However,ifthere’snotagreatdealofvolumevariationinyouraudiofile,normalizingdoesagoodjobofopti-mizingthesoundvolumeforyourlisteners .

Ifyoursoundfiledoeshavea lotofpeaksandvalleys, thenyoumaywant to talk tomeaboutotheroptions fornormalizing . InmanycasesImayrecommenddoingnothingandyoushouldjustlivewithit .

Amplify Insomeextremecaseswhereanindividualhasveryhighpeaks,but90%oftheiraudioisataverylowvolumelevelthenyoumaywanttotakeadvantageoftheAmpl�fyoptionundertheeffeCTmenu .Intuitivelyyoumightthinkthisoptionamplifies,butitcanalsobeusedtoreducethesoundlevels .Ifmostofyouraudioisatarelativelysimilarvolume,butyouhave3-to-6placeswheretheaudioisquiteloud,thenIsuggestyouselecteachofthose3-to-6audio snippets and reduce the sound level of each . Then, after-wards,youcannormalizethewholeaudiofile .

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Here’showtodothesoundvolumereduction:

selecttheaudioregionwhereyouwanttoreducethevolume .GototheeffeCTmenuandselecttheAmpl�fy option .asthedefaultamplificationissetto+9 .0decibels,clickinthatboxandchangeittoeither-3or-6 .Youmayhavetotrybothofthesesuggestedoptionstoseewhichworksbest .Don’treducethevolumebymorethan-6decibelsbecausethentheaudiowilltendtosoundstrangeintheselectedarea .Click theoKbuttonandaudacitywill takea fewseconds tochangethevolumeoftheselectedaudioregion .If you typed in -3 db and that was not a sufficient reductionthenundo theamplification(Control/Command-Z) .Gobacktoamplifyandnowinsert-6db .Repeatthesestepsasneeded .animportantcaveatisthatyoushouldnotbedoingthisinmorethanabout3to6placeswithyouraudio .Ifpeaksandvalleysoccurofteninyouraudio,justlivewithitasthisisanaturalpartofyourspeakingvoice .

Figure 4.16. The Amplify dialog box.

Pleasenotethatamplificationisnotafreelunch .Whenyouraisethevolumeofanaudioselectionyoualsoraise/lowerthelevelofthe background sound . When the amplify option is used judi-ciously then the listenerwon’tnotice thatyoualtered theaudio .However,whenreductionsaredoneatextremelevels(greaterthan-6db), thenyour listenermaybecomeaware that theaudiofilehasbeendoctored .anythingthatdistractsyourlistenerfromtheactualcontentyou’retryingtoconveyisnotgood .

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Audac�ty LabelsWhen you get to the point of creating your multimedia prod-uctyou’llneedtoknowexactlywheneachofyour20-50imagesshould show up on the screen . audacity has a powerful featurecalledlabelsthatcangreatlyaidinthisprocess .

Label Regions alabelisaspecificpointintime .alabelregionisdefinedbyaspe-cificstartandendpoint .simplystated,alabelisamomentintimebuta labelregionhasa lengthtoit .essentiallythelabelregionsfeatureallowsyoutomarkspecificregionsinyouraudiowithde-scriptivetext .forexample,startingat31secondsandlastinguntil1:04youmightfindtheaudiothatcorrespondstoSection 2inyourscriptiflabeledthisway .bycreatingalabelregioninaudacityitbecomeseasytomarktheexactstartandendpointsforeachofthe10-25sectionsinyourscript .

nowifallaudacitydidwascreatetheselabelregionsitwouldn’tbeofmuchuse .However,thekickeristhataudacitywillexportyour label regionsas a textfile .This textfile contains thenameofeverylabelregionplustheexacttimewherethatregionbeginsandends .Inessenceyou’llgetaprintoutofyourneededtimeline!You’ll need to do some further refinement of this timeline out-sideofaudacitysinceasectionmaycontainmorethanoneim-age .However,bycreatinglabelregionsandthenexportingthemas a text file in audacity, you’ll greatly simplify the multimediacreationprocess .

Subproblems Putting together a 10 minute presentation that integrates audiowithimagesisacomplexproblem .oneapproachistotackletheissue as one big problem . Generally speaking this doesn’t workwell .anotherapproachistodividethebigproblemintoaseriesofsmallerproblems .Theresultisthatwhileyouhavemore“prob-lems”tosolve,eachoneisprettysimpleandstraightforward .Thecumulativeresultisthatthevastmajorityofpeoplefinditmucheasiertosolve15-to-20smallproblemsascomparedtotryingtosolveoneverycomplexproblem .Thissectiondescribestheinitialstepsforbreakingdownyourmultimediacreationproblemintoaseriesofsmalleasy-to-solveproblems .

Creating Labels nowthatyouhaveidentifieddiscretesectionsforyouraudioscriptyou’llwant toopenupyouruncompressedaudiofile inaudac-ity .oneofthekeyaspectsofcreatingmultimediaisknowinghowlongaparticularimageshouldappearonthescreen .Whatwe’regoingtodowithlabelregionsinaudacitygreatlysimplifiesthisprocess . When label regions are added your audio file will looklikethefigurebelow .noticethelabeltrackabovetheaudiotrack .furthermore notice how you can see beginning and end pointsforeachregion,andthateachregionisnamedinapithybutclear

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manner(“1intro”or“4theory”) .

Figure 4.17. Audio with label regions.

Create the Label Track. selectnewTracklabelfromthePRoJeCTmenu .IpersonallylikethelabelTracktobepositionedabovetheaudiofile .Todothisclickonthedown arrowjusttorightofthela-beltrackname .You’llseeanoptionthatsaysMove Track Up .se-lectthisoptiontorepositionthelabeltrackabovetheaudiofile .

Creat�ng Labels. Clickat theverybeginningofyouraudiotrack .Tocreatealabelatthispointusethecontrol-B (orcommand-b)keysequence .YoucanalsochooseAdd Label at Select�onfromthePRoJeCTmenu .Whenthelabelisinsertedit’sautomaticallyreadyforyoutotypeinadescription .Theeasiest thingtodoistypein“1”andaverybrieftextdescriptor .IntheexampleaboveIused“1intro”asmyname .Youalreadyknowthe“1”standsfor“section1 .”Playtheaudio .Whenyouidentifythenextsectionstoptheaudio,movethecursortothatpoint,andaddanewlabel .Con-tinueasneeded .

Creat�ng Label Reg�ons. labelregionsaredefinedbyastartingand endpoint,whereaslabelsaredefinedonlybyastartingpoint .Theyareeasytoinsert .Inaddition,byclickingonthenameofalabelre-giontheportionofaudioforthatregionisautomaticallyselected .Thismakes it easier to identify and listenonly to specificaudiolater on . I suggest that you create label regions instead of labelsbecauseoftheirextrafunctionality,butthedecisionisuptoyou .

Tocreatearegionyouhavetoselectboth beginningandendpointsofasectionandthenusetheControl/Command-bkeysequence .audacityautomaticallyknowsinthesecasesthatyouwantare-gion .Typeinanumberandshortdescriptoraswithregularlabels .Continueasneeded .

Creat�ng Labels on the Move. onewaytocreateallthesubsequentlabelsistolistentotheaudioandthenbetweentheendofonesec-tionandthebeginningofthesubsequentonecreatealabelwith-outpausing .Thewaytodothiswhiletheaudioisplayingistousethecontrol-MkeysequenceifyouuseWindows .Unfortunately,ifyouuseMacintoshthecommand-Mkeysequenceconflictswith

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thesystem-widecommandtominimizeascreen .but,atleastforWindowsusers,thecontrol-Mkeysequenceallowsyoutolistentotheaudiostraightthroughandcreatelabelsasyougoalong .Mac-userscanchoosetoselectthePRoJeCTmenuandthentheAdd Label at Playback Positionoption .

afterlisteningtotheaudioyou’ll thenneedtoenterdescriptorsforeachlabel .Todothisclickonthefirstunnamedlabelandputinyourdescriptor(e .g .“1example”)thepressthetabkey .You’llautomaticallybetakentothenextlabel .Typeinthedescriptorandtabagain .Repeatuntilfinished .

Working with Labels Youcanmovelabelsorlabelregions .belowIdescribethreewaystomovethelocationoflabelsaswellashowtodeletelabels .

Mov�ng Labels. Ifyoucreatedalabelandhavethepositionwrongthenyoucanmoveit .Clickonthelabelboxicon(justtotheleftof thetextdescription)anddragtoyourright .Youmayhavetomagnifytheaudiowaveformandlistencarefullytogettheadjust-mentcorrect .

Transform�ng Labels to Reg�ons. If you created a label, but reallywantaregionyoucanmakeitso!Clickonthelabelboxicon(justtotheleftofthetextdescription)anddragtoyourleft .Youcanseehowyounowhavetwolabelboxicons .Toadjusttheregionstartandendpointsreadbelow .

Mov�ng Reg�on Start and Ends. You can adjust the start and endtimesofaspecificregion .bydefaultaudacity interprets the leftsideboxasthebeginningandtherightsideboxastheendofaregion .Clickon theright sideboxfirstandmove toanewendlocationifyouwant .Clickontheleftsideboxandmovetoanewbegin location if you want . The figure below shows one specificlabelregion(“4theory”) .Youcanseetheadjustmentboxesateachendoftheregionarea .

Figure 4.18. Detailed view of the labels track.

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Delet�ng Labels. To delete labels involves a trick . first select theareacontainingallthelabelsyouwanttodelete .nowusetheeDITmenuandchooseSilence .Thatcommandwilldeletealltheselect-ed labels in thehighlightedarea .anotherway todeleteasinglelabelistofirstclickonit,presstheDeleteorbackspacekeyuntilyou’vedeletedallthecharactersinthelabel,thenpressenter(orReturn) .

Exporting Labels let’s quickly recap . My script has 20 sections so my label trackshould end up with 20 label regions . now I want to export thelabeltrack .Thisexportedinformationwillinclude3columnsfor:thelabelname,theexacttimeinsecondswherethelabelbegins,andtheexacttimeinsecondswherethelabelends .

GotothefIlemenuandselectExport Labels .Inthesubsequentdialogboxbeverycarefulwhere onyourharddriveyousavethistext file . Then click save . You can now open this text file usingWordorevenexcel .The imagebelowshowswhatmyexportedlabeltracklookslike .

Figure 4.19. The exported label text file.

noticethatthedocumenthas3columns .Thefirstcolumngivesthetimeinsecondswhenalabelorlabelregionbeings .Thesec-ondcolumngivesthetimeinsecondswhenalabelorlabelregionends .ThethirdcolumngivesalistofthenamesIputinforeachlabelorlabelregion .

You’llusethisinformationinChapter 8tofigureoutwhen,andhowlong,eachofyourimagesshouldappearonthescreen .

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QT Mov�e NoteTakerIfyouuseanothersoundeditorotherthanaudacity,orifyousim-plyfindthelabelsfeatureofaudacitytoofrustrating,thenthere’sagreatalternativefornotingdownthetiminginyouraudiocalledQT Mov�e NoteTaker .

This is a free cross-platform program that allows you to open aQuickTimemoviewithinit .Italsocontainsanotepadarea .Justbyusingtherightbracketkey(justaboveandslightlytotherightofthecommakey)youcanstartandstopyourmovie .butwait,itevendoesmore!eachtimeyoustopitplacestheexact timeofthestopinthenotepadareaandyoucanaddwhatevercommentsyouwantinadditiontothetimestamp .Youcansaveallyourtimesandnotesasatextfilethatcanbeeasilyprinted .

TheprogramwascreatedtoworkwithdigitalvideoandQuickTimemovies .(Infact,you’llbeusingQTMovienoteTakerwhendoingthefinalstagesofeditinginliveslideshow .seeChapter9forde-tails .)However,italsoworkswithaIf,WaVandMP3files .

Currently the program is at the 0 .5 stage which means it’s notevenatversion1 .However,it’sfreeanddespitesomequirksworksamazinglywell .onequirkyoushouldknowaboutisthatthepro-gramcurrentlysaysitcannotopenasoundfilewhenyoutrytodosoThis isaknownbugandis incorrect . Infact theprogramdoesopenthesetypesoffiles .Ignorethewarningitgives .Justgoaheadandusetherightbracketkeytomovethroughtheaudiotonotekeytimes .

YoucandownloadQTMovienoteTakerat:

http://www .dvcreators .net/qt-movie-notetaker/

Audac�ty M�x�ngMixing is the process of combining a group of sounds into onecoherentaudioproduct .onlyafewofyouwillwanttolearnaboutthisprocedure .Increatingamultimediaprojectyoumightwanttoenhanceyouraudiobyhavingmusicorambientsoundsthatplayinthebackgroundasyouarespeaking .Mixingwillallowyoutocombineyourvoicewithmusicorambientsoundsintooneaudiofile .Thesectionsbelowdescribehowtodoaverysimplemixingproject .Pleasebeawarethatmixingcanbequitecomplicated .forexample,youcouldhavetracksfor20different instrumentsandvoices that all have to be combined into one song . This sectionwon’t describe how to do these more complicated mixing proj-ects .

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Adding Music Thefirststepistoaddaudiotoyourproject .YoumustalreadyhavetheaudioinanMP3format .IfyouhavethedesiredaudioonaCDthenuseiTunestofirstimportandconverttheaudiointoanMP3file .

ToaddadditionalaudiogotothePRoJeCTmenuandselecttheImport Aud�ooption .Intheensuingdialogboxyou’llthenneedtofindtheaudioonyourharddrive .onceyou’vedonethisstepthenaudacitywillopentheMP3fileandplaceitbelowyourcur-renttracks .

Trim and Adjust Typically the importedaudiofilewill eitherbe too long,oryouonlywanttouseaportionofthesong,orthesongwillnotbesitu-atedwhereyouwanttouseit .bydefaultwhenaudacityimportsnewaudioitmakessuretheaudiostartsat0seconds .However,you may want to only use 30 seconds of the audio starting at 2minutes .Inthesetypesofcasesyou’llneedtotrimtheaudiofiletogetridoftheunwantedmaterialandadjustthestartlocationofthesong .Here’showtodoit:

firstwe’lltrimthesong .listentoitcarefully .ClickontheSolobutton(justunderthetrackname)thenwhenyouplaytheaudioyou’llonlyhearthesongandnotyourvoice .(later,ofcourse,you’llclickonthesolobuttonagaintodeselectthisoption .Intheendyouwanttohearalloftheaudiotracks .)Identifythestartandbeginpointoftheaudioareayouwanttokeepbyusingtheselectiontool .Usethetrimtool(2ndfromrightontoolbarasshowninfigure4 .20) . by selecting (as shown in figures 4 .21 and 4 .22) you’lldeleteanyaudiothatisnotcurrentlyselected .Youstillneedtopositiontheaudiotowhereyouwantitrela-tivetothespokenvoicetrack .Tomovethestereotrackaroundyou’llwanttousetheT�mesh�ft toolthat’slocatedwiththeed-itingTools (seefigure4 .23below) .Clickon the stereoaudiofilewiththeTimeshifttool .Usingtheclick-and-dragtechniqueyoucanmove theaudiofileanywhereyouwanteither to therightorleft .Youmayhavetomagnifytheaudioviewtoplacethestartoftheaudioexactlywhereyouwantitrelativetothespokenvoice .You’re done . figure 4 .24 shows what our trimmed music filelooks like when it has been repositioned using the timeshifttool .

Figure 4.20. The Trim Button.

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Figure 4.21. Before Trimming.

Figure 4.22. After Trimming.

Figure 4.23. The Timeshift Tool (highlighted).

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Figure 4.24. Timeshifted music.

Fade In and Out nowthatyouhave somemusic trimmedandplacedwhereyouwantityoufaceanadditionalproblem .It’slikelythateitheratbothendsofyourmusicselectionthevolumeistooloudandsoundsunnatural(asifyou’vejustwalkedintothemiddleofasong) .Youcancleanupthisproblembyusingfadeinandfadeouttomakeasmoothertransitionoutofyourmusic .Here’showtodoit:

selectaportionofyourbeginningaudio .Isuggestselectingthefirst5-10seconds .(Theoneexceptionisifyou’reusingtheac-tual beginning of a song that probably already fades in quitenicely .)ChooseeffeCTmenu,thentheFade In option .afade instartswithsilenceandprogressestofullvolumebytheendofthedes-ignatedaudioregion .audacitywillcreatethefade inwithin10seconds .nowgototheendofyourmusicselection .You’llgothroughthesamethreestepsasaboveexceptnowyou’llselectFade Out .afade outstartsatfullvolumeanddecreasestosilenceoverthelengthoftheselectedaudiosegment .Youshouldchoosethelast5-10secondsofyourmusicsegmenttofadeout .

The Gain Slider Ifyouplayyouraudacityfileyoumayfindthatthemusiccom-petes,oroverwhelms,thespokenvoice .That’snogood .Youwantthemusic tobe subtle and to sound like it’s in thebackground .Thisiseasytocontrolbyusingthegainslider .specificallyI’dsug-gestsettingthemusictobesomewherebetween-21dband-30db,lowerthanthespokenvoice(whichiscurrentlysetat0db) .Here’showtodoit:

Gotothetrackwiththemusic .Clickonthegainslider(seefigurebelow) .

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Movetheslidertotheleft .startat-21db .listentothevoiceandmusictogether .Ifitdoesn’tsoundright,movetheslidereitherdownorupasappropriate .Makesurethatyoulistenatapointwhenthemusicisatitsloudestwhencheckingforhowtoadjustgainlevels .

Figure 4.25. Gain Slider moved to -24 decibels.

Export�ngonceyouhaveyouraudiofilecompletedyou’llwanttoexportit .If you are a Mac user you’ll export your file as a aIff uncom-pressedaudiofile .Ifyou’reaWindowsuseryou’llexportyourfileasaWaVuncompressedaudiofile .Here’showtodoit:

GotothefIlemenuandchooseExport as AIFF(Mac)orEx-port as WAV(Windows) .(specialnote:ontheMacthefilemayresult inanaIfforanaIfextensiondependingonthesoft-wareyouuse .botharethesameformat .)In the ensuing dialog box you’ll be asked where you want tosavetheexportedfileonyourharddrive .Chooseasuitablelo-cation .

About Stereo Files Ifyouonlyexportyourspokenvoiceaudiothenyou’llendupwithamonofile .However,ifyouaddedmusicthenyou’llendupwithastereofile .stereofilesaretwiceasbigasmonofiles .YournextstepwillbetocreateanMP3compressedfilewhichwillmakethefilemuchsmaller .However,ifyouareconcernedaboutbigsizes,andyouhaveastereofile,thencontactme .Ihavewaystochangeyourfilefromstereotomono(andthusIcanreducethefilesizeby50%foryou) .

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CHaPTeR4 . AUDIO 71

MP3 Compress�onYou’vefinishededitingyourfile .nowyouhaveafine-tunedun-compressed audio file . since it’s uncompressed it’s quite large insize . We’re going to create a second version of your audio that’scompressed intoanMP3format(thisisaveryspecificandcom-mon compression format) . Generally speaking your MP3 com-pressedfilewillbeabout10%thesizeofanuncompressedaIfforWaVfile .

somestudentsnaturallyask:“Whydon’twestartoffusingacom-pressedfile?”Whenyoucompressafileitlosessomeofit’soriginalquality .Themoreyoucompress, themorequality is lost . If youstartedoffwithacompressedfile,didseveraleditsandthendidseveralsavesof thefile,you’dendupwithaudiothatwasnicelyeditedbutwouldsoundugly .Withanuncompressedfileyoucaneditandsavetoyourheart’scontentwithno loss in quality .Thus,compressionisalwaysdoneasthe laststep .Thisistruewithvisualimagesaswell .Inaddition,youalwayswanttokeepabackupofthefinaluncompressedfilebecauseyoumayneedtomakechang-estoitagainatsomelaterpoint .

You may have noticed that it’s possible (with some extra down-loads)tocreateanMP3filefromwithinaudacity .sowhyareweusing iTunes?Tworeasons .first, thequalityof the iTunesMP3exportisbetterthanaudacity .second,iTunesgivesyouimportantoptionsabouthowyouencodeyourMP3file(thisaffectstrade-offsbetweenqualityandfilesize)thataudacitydoesn’tprovide .

iTunes iTunesisfreeandthequalityoftheMP3compressionishigh .let’slookatthestepsinvolved .

Set Preferences. firstyouneedtosettheiTunesPreferencessoitknowstousetheMP3compressiontechnique .Youonlyneedtodothisonce .Here’showtodoit:

startiTunes .GotoPreferences .ontheMacthisisunder�Tunes: PreferencesandonWindowsthisisunderFILE: Preferences .seefigure4 .26below .Inthenextdialogboxyou’llseeseveraloptionsalongthetop .selecttheAdvancedoption .You’llseethreetabslabeledGen-eral,Importing,andburning .selectImport�ng .fortheoptionbarlabelledImport Us�ngclickontheselectionbarandchooseMP3 Encoder .note:asadefaultiTunesissettoaaCencoder .fortheoptionbarlabelledSett�ngclickontheselectionbarandchooseH�gher Qual�ty (192 kbps) .seefigure4 .27below .ClicktheOKbuttonatthebottomofthedialogbox .That’sit .

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CHaPTeR4 . AUDIO 72

Figure 4.26. The Preferences Panel

Figure 4.27. Importing Preferences set correctly.

MP3 Compression eachtimeyouwanttoconvertanaudiofileyoufirstneedtoaddtheaudiofiletotheiTuneslibrary .Here’showtodoit:

Go to the FILE menu. Choose the Add to L�brary option(see figure 4 .28 below) . alternatively you can use Control-oonWindowsorCommand-oonMacstoimplementthesamecommand .Intheensuingdialogboxnavigatetowhereyouruncompressedaudiofileislocated .Clickonthefile,thenclickontheChoose button .iTunes now adds the audio to its library . Depending on thelengthof theaudiofile thismay takebetween10and60sec-onds .(specificallyiTunesmakesacopyoftheoriginaluncom-pressedfileandaddsthatcopytoitslibraryofsongs .)

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CHaPTeR4 . AUDIO 73

ClickintheSearch boxofiTunes(seefigure4 .29below) .Typeinthefirstfewlettersofthenameoftheaudiofile .Inthefig-urebelowtheterm“fastfood”hasbeenusedinthesearchbox .Whenyouseeyouraudiointhelibrarylistclickonittomakeittheactiveselection .You’llseeabrightmediumbluehighlightaddedtotheaudioinformationwhenyouclickonit .UsetheADVANCED: Convert to MP3menuoption(seefig-ure4 .30below) .ItwilltakeiTunesbetween20and60secondstocompressyouraudio .Whenit isdoneyou’llseetwoaudiofileswiththesamename .oneisuncompressed,theotherisinanMP3format .

Figure 4.28. Adding to the iTunes library.

Figure 4.29. Using the Search box to find the audio file.

Figure 4.30. Choosing the song.

Find & Move nowthattheaudiohasbeencompressedyouneedtolocatetheMP3fileandmoveitintoyourmultimediaprojectfolder .Here’showtodoit:

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CHaPTeR4 . AUDIO 74

Ifyou’reaMac-userpressdowntheControlbuttonandclickwithyourmouseoneitheroneofthefiles .Ifyou’reaWindows-userthenright-clickoneitheroneofthefiles .eitherway,afteraboutthreesecondsasmalldialogboxwillpopup .ChoosetheShow Song F�leoption(itshouldbethirddownfromthetopinthelistofoptions) .Refertofigure4 .31below .Youwillbe taken toyourcomputer’sdesktop/finderareaandthe folder containing both audio files will be automaticallyopenedupforyou .CopyormovetheMP3filefromthatfolderintothesoundssubfolderwithinyourProjectfolder .seefigure4 .32below .Ifyoucan’ttellwhichfileistheMP3version,thenchoosethelist View (if a Mac-user) or the Details View (if a Windowsuser) .Theseviewstellyouwhatkindoffileyou’reseeingandoneofthetwofileswillbelistedasanMP3file .That’s it . You’ve now successfully recorded, edited and com-pressedyourownaudiofile .Congratulations!

Figure 4.31. Control-click (Mac) or right-click (Win)

Figure 4.32. The MP3 file on your hard drive.

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CHaPTeR4 . AUDIO 75

SummaryInthischapteryou’vebeenpresentedwithaconceptualoverviewofaudioediting,aswellasthepracticalstepsneededtodobasicediting . furthermore you’ve learned about mixing audio tracksandcompressingaudiofilestocreateahigh-qualityMP3filesthatyoucanuseinyourmovieorsharewithothersasapodcast .

Exerc�se 4Youaregoingtorecordyourfirstscriptdevelopedinexercise3 .

The Recording Here’s the stepsyou’llneed togo through in termsof theaudiorecording:

Recordatmyofficeorathome . Ifyouwant tousemyoffice,thenyou’llneedtomakeareservationtodoso .Ifyou’reinter-estedintryingtodoahomerecordingthenaskmeabouttheGriffiniMic:PlantronicsmicrophonerecordingsetortheUsbmicrophonethatIwilllendouttostudents .edit theaudiofileathome(nomatterwhererecorded)usingaudacity .CompressintoanMP3usingiTunes .

Delivery sendthefinalMP3filetomeasanemailattachmentorbringtoclassonaflashdrive .namethefileasyourfirstname.mp3 .so,ifyournameisHelen,thennamethefileHelen .mp3 .

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5Visual Models

Chapter 5

Edcasting

CHaPTeR5 . VISUAL MODELS 77

Overv�ewThischaptertacklesthefirsttypeofimageyou’llbecreating:thevisualmodel .Inessenceavisualmodel(sometimescalledacon-cept map)showsthegutsofaconceptbothintermsofessentialcomponentsanditsconnectionstootherconcepts .Withinavisualmodelthenodes(representingkeyconceptsormainpoints)areimportant, but just as crucial are the links (physical lines or ar-rows)thatexistbetweenconcepts .

agoodvisualmodelmakesiteasiertopresentdifficultconcepts .Theaudiocansupplytheneededdetailandexamples,butthevisu-almodelkeepstheviewerorientedandfocused .Thevisualmodelissimilartoageographicalmap:ithelpsthelearnerknowwherethey are located, know where they are going, and know how tonavigatedifficultconceptualmaterial .

some people focus on the big picture, others focus on details .When tackling the learning of new conceptual material, an in-structorneedstopayattentiontoboth .avisualmodeltendstofocusonbigpicturematerial .Withintheaudioandothervisualcontent of a multimedia presentation you’ll provide importantsupportivedetailby:

synchronizingaudionarrationwiththevisualmodelthatdeep-ensunderstandingoftheconceptstobelearned .addingadditionalinformation(typicallyintheformofanex-ampleortwo)thatfillsoutthebasicconceptsandtheirlinkagesasdescribedinavisualmodel .

Yourvisualmodeldoesn’thavetodoall theworkforyou,butitdoesserveasanimportantfoundationforyourmultimediapre-sentation .assuch,itneedstobesimple,clear,andeffective .

Chapter Model Thenextpagepresentsavisualmodelofthechapter’scontent .Themodelemphasizesthreemajorphaseswhendevelopingyourau-diofile:(1)developingthemodel,(2)buildingthefinalversionofthemodel,and(3)creatingadynamicvisualmodel .

Chapter3(storyboarding)alreadycoveredtherationaleandstepstoconsiderwhendevelopingavisualmodel .Thischapterassumesyouhaveagooddraftmodelalreadydeveloped .soChapter5startsbylookingathowtobuildyourfinalspiffyversionofthemodelusingCmapToolsoranyothervisualmodelingsoftwareprogram .Thelastpartofthechapterthenaddressestwodifferentwaystoin-creasethevisualintrigueofyourmultimediamoviebyusingeitherunfoldingmodelsorhighlightedmodels .bothtechniquesresultinamodelthatappearsdynamicbecauseitsappearancechangesasthenarratorexplainsvariousfacetsofthemodel .

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Model Construct�onYou’ve alreadycreatedavisualmodelforyourpresentation .atthispointyoumaywanttotweakyourmodelabitusingpencilandpaper .Remember,however,thatthemodelhastobeentirelycon-sistentwiththeaudioyou’vealreadyrecorded .Thusonlytweaksthatdon’tconflictwiththeaudionarrativeshouldbedone .

Therearethreewaystogetyourmodelreadytouseinamultime-diamovie:thehanddrawnmodel,theCmapToolsmodel,andtheothersoftwaremodel .eachofthesethreeapproachesisdescribedbelow .

Hand Drawn Model Inthisapproachyoure-drawyourmodelincolorongoodpaperandthenscanthefinalmodeltodigitizethemodel .althoughyoucouldusecoloredpencils,ingeneralyouwanttousesomesortofmarkerbecausethickerlinesscanmuchbetterthanthinlines .

Tombo and Sharpie both make great sets of colored drawing pens. The Sharpie color pack is easily available at most office supply stores, while the fancier Tombos are more expensive and usually found only at art supply stores. If you choose to use Sharpies make sure to use only the fine point markers as the thicker Sharpies are too thick.

oncethedrawingisdoneyoucanthenscanthemodel(eitherathomeoratmyoffice) .

Draw�ng Strategy. Whenusinghanddrawnmodels,becarefultomakesureallshapesandlinesareindependentofoneanother(i .e .thattheydon’tcrossoveroneanother) .Thismakesitmucheasierifyouwant tocreateadynamicvisualmodel (discussed later inthischapter) .

Cmap Tools CmapToolsisfreesoftwarethatworksonbothoperatingsystems .Cmapisacademicslangfor“conceptmap .”(sometimesyou’llalsohearaboutKmapsforknowledge mapswhicharesimilartocon-ceptmaps) .Thissoftwarewasdevelopedbyacademics(notprofes-sionalsoftwaredevelopers)soithassomeroughedges .Thatsaid,itworksverynicely .since this software tool is free, thischapterwillshowyouhowtocreatevisualmodelsusingCmapTools .

Other Software TherearelotsofsoftwareprogramsthathavebeendevelopedtocreatebasicvectorillustrationsincludingadobeIllustrator,Mac-romediafreehand,CorelDrawandmanyothers .Theseprogramstendtobetoogeneralforyourpurposeshowever .IfyoualreadyknowhowtouseaprogramlikeIllustrator,thenyou’rewelcometousethatprogramtocreateyourvisualmodel .

Inadditionthereareseveralsoftwareprogramsavailableforcreat-

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ingvisualmodels .someoftheseprogramshavebeendevelopedprimarilyasmind mappingsoftware .Ingeneralthemindmappingsoftwareprogramsaretoorestrictive .Therearealsoseveralpro-gramsaimedatcreatingflow chartsandvisualmodels .IwillbrieflydiscussafewofthesesoftwareprogramsinthesectiontitledMap-ping Toolslaterinthischapter .Thetwosoftwareleaders,however,areMicrosoftVisio(Windowsonly)andomniGraffle(Macintoshonly) . both of these excellent software programs can be boughtatanacademicpriceofapproximately$65and$48respectively .bothoftheseprogramsareverypowerfulandworththefinancialinvestmentifyouanticipatecreatingvisualmodelsoften .

Model Style T�psbeforewe lookatcommercial software forcreatingvisualmod-elsandthenexploreCmapToolsindetail,therearesomegeneralmodelstyletipsthatyoushouldalwayskeepinmindnomatterwhatsoftwareprogramyouusetocreateyouvisualmodel .

Page Setup Youaretryingtocreateanimagethatwillshowupoptimallyonan800x600pixelscreen .Thisisapproximatelythesameasaregularlettersizepagethatisinahorizontal(orlandscape)orientation .Infact,800x600pixelsconvertstoexactly11 .11x8 .33inches .

Font Styles & Sizes Whenstudentshaveproblemswith theirvisualmodels it’s typi-callybecauseofapoorchoiceof font,or fontsize,or fontstyle .Here’ssomebasicrecommendations:

forallnodesuseafontsizeof14pointsorlarger .foralllinklabelsuseafontsizeof12pointsorlarger(butlabelfontsshouldbesmallerthanconceptnodefonts) .Useasans-seriffont .forinstancethisdocumentusestheMinionProfont .It’sserifbecauseithaslittlecurlsintheletters .Thismakestheprintedpageeasiertoread .How-ever,formoviesandmultimediait’smucheasiertoreadsans-serif(i .e .,withoutthecurls)fonts .Thereareseveralchoices,butthebestsans-seriffontswouldbe:arial,Ver-dana,orHelvetica .

Mapp�ng ToolsThereareavarietyofothersoftwaretoolsouttherethatyoucanuse for creatingvisualmodels .Here’s someof the softwarepro-gramsthatyoucoulduse .

Visio ThisisMicrosoft’sdedicatedflow-chartingprogram .Itworkswell,butithasafairlysteeplearningcurveforsomepeople .Inaddition,it’sWindows-onlysoftware .YoucanbuyVisiostandardatanaca-

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demicpriceof$60 .asfarasIknowthereisnotrialversionofthissoftware,butitisthestandardforcreatingflowchartsandvisualmodelsontheWindowsplatform .

OmniGraffle Thisisfantasticandpowerfulvisualmodelingsoftware .Itworkseasily,itthinkslikearealgraphicsprogram,anditgivesyougreatcontroloverthefinallookofyourvisualmodel .Thedownsides?ItonlyworksonMacintoshesanditiscommercialsoftware(theaca-demicpriceis$48) .Ihighlyrecommendthissoftwareprogram .

Inspiration Thisisaverypopularcross-platformsoftware(especiallyattheK-12gradelevels) .Thesoftwarewascreatedtohelpstudentsprimar-ilywithwritingand,inthatregards,itworksverywell .Inessence,Inspirationtogglesbetweentwomodes:avisualmodelmodeandanoutlinermode .studentscanthusfirstdevelopavisualmodelandthenseewhattheoutlineofthemodelwouldlooklike .Thistextoutline,inturn,canhelpstructuretheirwritingprojects .

Unfortunately your challenge is not organizing or preparing forwriting,but rather tocreateagoodvisualmodel . In thispurelygraphicaspectInspirationis“okay”atbest .Ithassomeofthesameproblemswithexportingimagesatpre-specifiedsizesthatCmapToolshas .IfyouchoosetoworkwithInspiration,pleasedownloadthetemplateI’llmakeavailabletohelpyouknowyouarecreatingamodelofthecorrectsize .

PowerPoint MicrosoftPowerPointdoesn’t think likeCmapToolsorVisiooromniGraffle .butyoucancreatefaux visualmodelsbyusingthebox,oval,andothershapetoolsalongwiththelineandcurvelinetoolswithinPowerPoint .Youwon’tbeabletoinsertlabelsforthelinksautomatically . Insteadyou’llneed to insert little textboxesnear the lines . PowerPoint also doesn’t automatically connect alinefromoneshapetotheother .You’llneedtodrawalineorcurvethatgoesfromoneshapetotheother,butsincethere’snowaytohavetheresultinglinesnaptoeachshapeyou’llthenneedtomakesuretheshapesarepositionedatthefrontofthedrawingandthelineorcurveisback .However,itispossibletocreateadecentvi-sualmodelusingPowerPoint’sdrawingtools .

I would suggest using PowerPoint only if you already know theprogramwellandyoufindCmapToolstoofrustrating .otherwisestaywithCmapToolsorconsiderVisioand/oromniGraffleasanalternative .

Keynote apple Keynote is Macintosh-only presentation software . Just aswithPowerPoint,thissoftwareisnotintendedasavisualmodelcreation tool,but it canbeused tocreatevisualmodels .all thesamecaveatsthatapplytoPowerPointalsoapplytoKeynote .


aswithPowerPoint,IsuggestcreatingvisualmodelsusingKey-noteonlyifyoufindCmapToolstoofrustratingtouseanddon’twanttobuyomniGraffle .It’spossibletocreatedecentvisualmod-elsinthissoftwareprogram .

Cmap Tools Overv�ewThegoodnewsaboutCmapToolsisthatit’sfreeandthatitdoeshelp in the development and refinement of visual models . ThatsaidyoushouldnotexpectCmapToolstoworkaseasily,orwithasmuchpower,asaverygoodcommercialmodelingprogramsuchasomniGraffleorVisio .below isanoverviewon thegood, thebad,andtheuglywithregardstoCmapTools .

The Good Cmap Tools is free software developed with input from Josephnovak (the visual model researcher) and is easy to use . CmapToolsalsocomeswithgoodonlinehelp .TheonlinehelphasalsobeencollatedintoonePDfdocumentwhichyoucandownloadfromtheCmapToolswebsite .

The Bad While Cmap Tools does accomplish all the basics of creatingavisualmodel, it isvery limited in the typesofoptions itgivesyou .Youcanonlydrawrectanglesandovalsbutnototherkindsofshapes .Therearemoresubstantivedownsidestothesoftware(fromamultimediacreationperspective)thatinclude:

Youcannotsetthepagesizeofavisualmodel .Thismeansyou have to visually guess at the size of the map andwhetheritwillfitwellintoyourmultimediapresentation .ThesolutiontothisproblemistousetheCmap Template thatyoucandownloadfrommywebsite .Itdoesnotoffertheoptionoflayers .Thisaffectshowyougoaboutdoingyourfinalrefinementofthemap(asde-scribedintheDynamicModelssectionlaterinthischap-ter) .The coding for the software is not done very efficiently .ThismeansthatCmapToolsendsupbeingaRaM-hog(i .e .itdemandsmoreresourcesfromyourcomputerthanit really should) . for most people this may mean theyneedtomakesureallothersoftwareprogramsareclosedandonlyhaveCmapToolsopenwhenusingit .

Key Limitation onekeylimitationtoCmapToolssoftwareisthatitrequiresyoutouselinkingwordswhenyoucreateaconnectinglinebetweentwonodes .othersoftwareprogramslikeVisioandGrafflemakenosuchrequirement .Ifyouwantnolinkingwordsinyourmodelthenyoushouldconsidercreatinganicehanddrawnmodel,orusingalternativesoftwareproductssuchasVisiooromniGraffle .

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Installation GototheCmapToolsdownloadwebpageat:

http://cmap .ihmc .us/download

once you’ve selected Windows or Macintosh, you’ll then beshowninformationaboutoperatingsystemrequirementsforus-ingthesoftware .Pleasereadcarefully .It’sunlikely,butsomeofyouwitholdercomputers(i .e .3yearsorolder)mayhaveproblemsus-ingCmapToolsduetothesystemrequirementsitmakesonyourcomputer .It’sbesttoknowthisearlyon(whenwecanmakeal-ternativeplans)ratherthanfacingtheagonyofnotknowingwhyyourcomputeriscrashing,freezing,orotherwisebehavingbadly .finally,clicktodownloadthesoftware .PleasenotethattheMacin-toshdownloadisabout21MbandtheWindowsdownloadabout50Mb .Ifyouuseamodemthenitmaybedifficultorimpossibleforyoutodownloadtheinstaller .Ifso,letmeknowviaemailandI’llmakealternativearrangementsforyou .Inaddition,theserverforCmapToolsseemstobeslowsoevenpeoplewithhigh-speedaccessshouldbepatientduringthedownloadprocess .

arathergenericnamefortheinstallerisgiven .Doubleclickontheinstallertobegin .You’llthenbetakenthroughthefullinstal-lationroutine .Theinstallationroutineisprettyslow,sobepatient .ItmaybeespeciallyslowiftheprogramalsoneedstoruntheJavaenvironment on your computer . Whatever the case, just go andfoldlaundryorwashdishesasitwilltakeawhile .

Startup Funk�ness. on the Macintosh Cmap Tools starts up in amanner that is both long and funky . specifically you’ll see theCmapToolsiconintheDock,thentheiconwilldisappearforafewseconds,thenyou’llseeitagain .Don’tworryaboutanyseem-ingstrangebehaviorduringstartup .Justbepatient .Theprogramworks perfectly fine once it’s ready to go . The Windows startupseemstobesmootherandquicker .

The Cmap Template It’simpossiblewithinCmapToolstosetthesizeofyourdocument .Thereisnodefaultdocumentsize .Thiscanleadtoproblemsforyouintryingtosizethevisualmodel tofitwithinan800x600pixelsize .ToalleviatethisproblemI’vecreatedaCmap Template .Whenyouopenthetemplateyou’llseeablankwhitedocumentexceptthatithasalittleorangesquareatthetopleftandanotherlittleorangesquareatthebottomright .(Ifyoucan’tseethissecondsquareyoumayneedtowidenyourviewingarea .)Thesesquaresserveasanchorsthatdefinean800x600pixelarea .

Whencreatingyourvisualmodelyouwanttomakesurenoneofthe nodes/boxes or links/lines falls outside the perimeter estab-lishedbythesetwoorangeboxes .Whenyourmodelisfinallycom-pleted, you’ll change the color of the anchor boxes to white (sotheyseemtodisappear)butthey’llstillworkasinvisibleanchors

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tellingtheCmapToolsprogramtoexportanimageatthecorrectsizewewant .

GotomywebsitetodownloadtheCmapTemplate .oncedown-loadedhere’swhatyouneedtodo:

MovethetemplatetotheMy Cmapsfolder .CmapToolsautomati-callycreatesthisfolderforyou .ItshouldbelocatedwithinyourDocumentsfolder(ifaMacuser)orMyDocumentsfolder(ifaWindowsuser) .WhenyounextopenCmapToolsclickontheCmaps �n My Com-puter icon .You’llnowseetheBlank with 2 Anchorsoption .Dou-ble-clicktoopenit .Go to the fIle menu and select Save Cmap As . In the ensuingdialogboxprovideanamefor thenewmapyouwant tocreate .That’sit .nowyouhavethetemplateinstalled,renamed,andreadytouse .

Bu�ld�ng the V�sual ModelInthissectionyou’ll learnthebasicsaboutcreatingvisualmod-elsusingCmapTools .Thesebasicstepsarethesameforanyflowchartingorvisualmodeling software .Thedetailsofwhere toolsarelocatedonatoolbar,whichmenutouse,andsoonwillchange,butthebasicsremainthesame .andthosebasicsincludethesekeysteps:

Makesureyournewdocumentis800x600pixels .Createthenodes(orboxes) .Createthelinksbetweennodes .Rearrangethenodepositions(ifnecessary)sothediagramhasasimpleandclearstructure .style the links as simple lines, one way arrows, or double ar-rows .stylethenodesusingcolor .exportyourfinalimageasaPnGorJPGimage .

This basic step sequence, and the general instructions for usingCmapTools,alsoapplyforusingVisiooromniGraffle .

Cmapisveryeasytouse,andhasgoodonlinehelpregardinghowtodospecificprocedures .oneof thenice featuresofanyvisualmodelingsoftware is that it“knows”youwant tomaintaincon-nectionsbetweenconcepts .Thismeansifyoumovethelocationofonenodeinyourvisualthenanylinks(eithertoorfromthenode)getautomaticallymovedandadjusted .Thismakestheprocessofeditingandrefiningyourmodelmucheasier .

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Creating Nodes fromtheCmaps �n My Computerareaselectandopen(bydou-ble-clicking)thedocumentthatyou’vealreadymade .Inthefigurebelowiswhatyournewdocumentwilllooklike .noticethattherearetwosmallorangeboxes(oranchors)locatedinthetopleftandlowerrightcorners .Don’tchangetheseanchorboxesastheyareusedtoestablishthecorrectsizeforyourdiagram .Makesurethatallinsertednodesandlinksarewithintheimaginaryrectanglede-finedbythesetwoorangeboxes .

Figure 5.1. The Blank Model.

Tocreateanode(orconceptbox)simplydouble-clickanywhereinthedocument .You’llautomaticallyseeaboxcreatedthatcontainsquestionmarks .Youcantypeawordorphraseintothebox .Youcansee that I’ve typed in“bigconcept” formyfirstnode in thefigurebelow .


Figure 5.2. Initial node.

noticethatabovethetopofthenodethere’sacurveddouble-ar-rowicon,andatthebottom-rightthere’sasmalldouble-arrowedline .Youcandouble-clickonthenodetoeditthetextinside .Thedouble-linesabovethenodeareusedforconnectingthenodetoothernodes .sincethisisthefirstnodetherearenoconnectionstomake .Thesmalldouble-arrowatthebottom-rightisatoolforresizingthenode .

ThenextfigureshowswhatitlookslikeafterI’vecreatedtwonodeswithlabels .

Figure 5.3. Two labelled nodes.


Creating Links InthefigurebelowI’vecreatedalinkbetweenthetwonodes .

Figure 5.4. Creating the link.

TocreatethelinkIwentthroughthefollowingsteps:

Clickonthenode .You’llnowseealink-icon(representedwithacurveddouble-arrowline)justabovethenode .Clickonthislink-iconanddragyourmousetothenodetobeconnected .You’llfindthatthissecondnodeshowsyouseveralhandleswhereyoucouldattachthelink .(Infigure4 .4IchosethehandleatthebottomcenterofthenodebutIhadanumberofotherpossiblehandlestochoosefrom .)eachhandleislikeaninvisiblemagnet .Clickonwhateverhandleyouwanttouseforthelink .Inthemiddleofthenewlycreatedlinkyou’llseeaboxwithafewarrows .Typeinyourconnectingphrase .Repeatasneeded .Please don’t worry too much about the arrow direction, or linestyles,atthispoint .lateryoucanrefineallthestyling .Yousimplywanttodrawinallofyourconcepts(nodes)andconnectinglines(links)atthispoint .

Moving Around onceI’vecreatedthenodesand linksthenIcaneasilydragthevariousnodestorearrangetheminmydocument .Thefigurebe-lowshowswhathappensifIchangethepositionofthe“support-ingconcept”node:therelevantlinkisautomaticallyrepositioned!

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Figure 5.5. Node moved with automatic link changes.

Youalreadyhaveaverygoodideaofwhatyourmodelshouldlooklikebasedonyourhanddrawndraftmodel .Makesureyouputinalltheneedednodes,links,andconnectingphrases .Thenextsectionthendescribeshowtotakethisbasicmodelandrefinethelooksothatthefont,fontsize,colorandothercharacteristicsareexactlyasyouwantthem .

Refin�ng the Modelnowyouhavethebasicstructureofyourvisualmodel .Unfortu-natelyyoumaywanttochangethefont,fontsize,color,linearrowsand other features to make the visual model look good to youreyes .UsingCmapToolsyou’llcontrolalltheserefinementsusingtheStylespalette .However,beforelearningtousestyles,youneedtoknowhowtoselectmultipleobjects .

Making Selections oneproblemisCmapToolsdoesn’toffertheregularwaystoselectmultipleobjects (suchasshift-clickingon theMacintosh) .Thusitcouldseemtheprocessofstylingwouldbeverytediousifyouhadtostyleeachobjectonebyone .fortunatelyCmapToolsoffersgoodalternativewaystoselectmultipleobjects .ThekeytomakingintelligentselectionswithinCmapToolsistousetheeDITmenu(seefigurebelow) .


Figure 5.6. EDIT menu suboptions.

ThemiddleareaoftheeDITmenuoffersyouseveralwaystoselectmultipleobjects .let’slookateachoption .

Select Concepts. Using this option allows you to then adjust thestyleofallnodesallatonce .Ifyouwantallnodestohaveacom-monfontandfontsize,forexample,this isagreatselectionop-tion .

Select L�nk�ng Phrases. Thisoptionallowsyoutoadjustallthelink-ingphrasesthatareusedinthelinks .Ifyouwantallthelinkingphrasestohavethesamefeaturessuchasfont,fontsize,colorandmorethenthisisagreatselectionoption .

Select Connect�ons. Thisoptionallowsyoutoadjustallthelinks .Ifyouwantallthelinkstohavecommonfeaturessuchaslinecolorandlinethickness,thenthisisagreatselectionoption .

Select All. Thisoptionallowsyoutoadjusteverythingatonce .Typi-cally,thisisnotaveryusefulselectionoptionformostpeople .

Select w�th Lasso. Thisoptionactivatesahidden(andundocument-ed) lassofunction .Thelassoworksbyclicking inthedocumentandthedragging .You’llseesomedancing-antlinesthatstretchasyoudrag .Inthiswayyoucanselectmultipleobjects .Thisisuse-fulifyouwanttoselectonlythreenodesinsteadofallnodesforexample .Ipersonallyfindthelassotoolawkward,soyou’llhavetoplayaroundwithitabit .beawarethatonceyouinvoketheselectwithlassooptionitstaysactivateduntilyougobackandselectitagain(whichthendeactivatesthelassotool) .

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Des�gn T�p. ThedefaultbehaviorforCmapToolsisthatifyouclickanddraginthedocumentwindowitwillstartselectingallobjectswithintheareaoftherectanglethat’sdefinedbyyourclick-and-dragaction .Manytimeswhenyouwanttoselectmultipleobjectsyoucandosowithintheshapeofarectangle .Thelasso,ontheotherhand, let’syouselectagroupofobjects inamoreflexiblemanner .

Styles Palette ThestylesPalette ismadeviewablebygoingto theWInDoWsmenuandselectingShow Style Palette .Whenyouopenthestylespaletteyou’llfindthatitisorganizedinto4separateareaseachofwhichcanbeaccessedbyclickingontherelevanttab .The4styleareasare:font,object,line,andCmap .let’slookateachoftheseareasinturn .

Font Styling Thisisthefirsttab,andit’salsothefirsttypeofstylingyou’llwanttodo .IngeneralIsuggestmakingallofthenodeshaveafontsizeof 14 and to use a font such as Verdana or arial (i .e . sans serif fonts) .Italsolooksbestiftheconnectingphrasesforthelinkshaveasmallerfont(probably12willworkfine) .

Figure 5.7. Font tab.

noticethatbyusingthissectionyoucancontrol(fromtoptobot-tom)thefont,fontsize,boldanditalic,fontcolor,marginfromtheedgeofthebox,textalignment,andverticalalignment .font,fontsize,andcolorwillbethemostimportantoptionsforyou .

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Object Styling This is secondstyle tabandalsorepresentswhatwillusuallybeyoursecondareaofstyling .

Figure 5.8. Object tab of Styles palette.

onceyou’veselectedanodeyoucancontrolit’scolor,whetherithasashadow,alterit’sshape(rectangleoroval)andalteritslook(via stretching) . If you select multiple objects at one time thenyoucanalsocontroltheverticalalignmentbetweenthoseobjectsandestablishafixedgapbetweenobjects(denotedbypixels) .Thebackgroundimageoptioninthetabsectionwilllikelynotbeveryusefultoyou .

Object Des�gn T�p. Mostmappingprogramsoffertheabilitytocre-atedropshadowswithyournodesandlinks .Resisttheurge!Donewell drop shadows can be a good way to add emphasis . Unfor-tunatelymostmappingprograms(omniGraffle isanexception)makedefaultdecisionsabouthowdropshadowsaredrawnandthosedecisionsdon’tlookgoodwhenthemodelisexportedtoaPnGorJPGimageformat .You’llendupwithaclearer,moreread-ablevisualbyignoringthedropshadowoption .

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Line Styling This is the third tab, and it’s also the last type of styling you’lllikelydo .Youhaveseveralimportantstylingoptionshereforyourlinesincludingcolor,linethickness,style(solid,dotted,andmanymore), shape(straightorcurved),connectiondirection,anddi-rection/typeofarrowheads .

Figure 5.9. Lines tab of Styles palette.

Cmap Styling Thisisthefourthtab,andit’sunlikelyyou’llusethistypeofstyl-ing .Thistaballowsyoutoassignageneralbackgroundcolortothewholevisualmodel,toscalethesizeofthemodel,andtoin-sertabackgroundimageforthemodel .Therearespecialoccasionswheresomeoftheseoptionsmaybewarranted,butIwouldsug-gestcompletelyignoringthistab .

Figure 5.10. Cmap tab.


Export�ng the V�sual ModelYou’llsaveyourvisualmodelinthefileformatdeterminedbythesoftwareprogram .(Thisiseventrueofscannedhanddrawnmod-elsthatwillinitiallybesavedasaPhotoshopdocument .)Wheth-erscanning,usingCmapToolsorsomeothersoftwareproduct,you’llwanttoexport yourfinalvisualmodelinaformatthatcanbeusedbyliveslideshow .

You’llwanttoexportyourworkaseitheraPnG,JPG,orGIfim-age .Ifyouhavetheoptionsinyoursoftwareprogramtryallthreetypesofexportsandseewhichoneendsuplookingbest .Howev-er,formostsoftwareprogramsthebestlookingexportwilloccurwhenyousavetoaPnGformat .

assuming you’re using Cmap Tools you’ll want to use the fIlemenu and choose the export Cmap as option . Within this op-tionyou’llhaveseveralsub-optionsasshowninthefigurebelow .ChooseImagefile .

Figure 5.11. Export Options.

You’llthenbetakentoadialogboxliketheonebelow .


Figure 5.12. Image Options

Inthemiddleofthedialogboxyouhaveafileformatbarthatyoucanclick .You’llfindmanyoptionshere .ThebestoptionforyouisaPnGimage .ThePnGformatisacompressiontechniquetheresultsinmuch better handlingoftextrelativetoaJPG .sinceyourvisualmodelcontainsseveraltextlabels,offairlysmallsize,youwanttomakesureyourresultingexportedimageisofthehighestqualitypossible .finally,rememberwhereyousaveyourexportedimageonyourharddrive!

Dynam�c Modelsadynamicvisualmodelisonewherethereisatightintegrationbetweenaudioandvisual .Inadynamicmodelastheaudionarra-tionprogressesoneseesthevisualmodelbuildingupstepbystep .oneofthemainpurposesofdynamicvisualmodelsistoreducecognitiveloadonthelearnerbylettingthemseerelevantpartsofthemodelonly .Thisdoesn’tmeanthatifyourmodelhas20boxesthenyouneedtocreate20imagestovisuallybuildupthemodel .butitwillhelpifyourmodelischunkedinto3-5sectionsthatap-pearwhenneededduringtheaudionarration .

Researchershavelabelledthereactionofmanypeopletomoder-atelycomplexvisualmodelsasmap shock .Thismeansthatevensomewhatsimplemodelscanseemcomplexandforeigntopeople .Yet,oneofthereasonsyoucreatedavisualmodelistohelpreducecognitiveload!

Toreducecognitiveloadithelpsthevieweriftheycanbothhearandseeyourmodelinchunks .achunkdoesnotneedtobeonebox inthemodel .However,onechunkshouldprobablycontain


nomorethan3-5nodesandtheirrespectivelinks .You’llhavetouseyourjudgementhere,butremembertheoverarchingpurposeistohelpyourlearnereasilydigestthevisualmodelalongwiththesupportivedetailsintheaudio .

Thegoodnewsisyouhaveavisualmodelthatlooksgreat .You’renotquitedonethough:wewanttoincorporateadynamicvisualmodelintoyourmultimediapresentation .Imaginethatwhenyoutalkaboutthefirstconcept,youonlyseeonenode .Thenwhenyoutalkaboutasecondconcept,youseeasecondnodewithanyap-propriatelinksappearingonthescreen .Continuethisthroughoutthepresentation .Thefinalresultisthatitlookslikethemodelisbeingnaturallybuiltupasyoutalkthroughthemodel .Theresultisamoreentertainingmultimediaproduct,butmoreimportantlyit’seasierandclearerforyouraudiencetounderstand .

You’vealreadycreatedtheaudiofilewhichtakesaviewerthroughyourvisualmodel .Tocreateyourmultipleimagesforadynamicmodelwe’ll lookat twopracticalways toaccomplish this:usingunfoldingnodesandusinghighlightedmodels .eachtechniqueisdescribedinthesectionsbelow .

Unfold�ng Modelsanunfolding modeliswhenyoudon’tseethecompletemodelatfirst .Insteadyouseethefirstpartofthemodel,thenasthenarra-tionprogressesyouseepartoneplusparttwoofthemodel .laterpartthreeisaddedtothevisual .Thiscontinuesuntilthecompletemodelappearsasavisualinthemovie .

Therearetwogeneralapproachestocreatinganunfoldingmodel:(a)workingbackwardsand(b)usinglayers .Workingbackwardsisthebesttechniqueformostofyou .However,ifyouuseaprogramthathastheabilitytocreatelayers(suchasomniGraffleorPho-toshopelements)thentheusing layersapproachmayworkbetterforyou .bothoftheseapproachesaredescribedwithstep-by-stepinstructionsbelow .

Working Backwards Theworkingbackwardsapproachinonewhereyoucreateafinalcompletemodel,andthencreateaseriesofmodelseachofwhichissimplerthanthepreviousone .However,inthepresentationyoufirstusethesimplestmodel imageandbuilduptothecompletemodel . Thus the approach of working backwards describes howonegoesaboutcreatingtheseriesofimagesthatyou’llbeusinginyourmultimediapresentation .Here’stheapproach:


Create your final snazzy visual model (you’ve already donethis) .Doaconceptualanalysisofthemodel .Theworkingquestionis,“Howmanysectionsshouldthismodelbedividedinto?”atthispointyouaredecidinghowmanypartsyou’llusetobuilduptoyourcompletemodel .let’spretendthatyou’vedecidedyourmodel should include 5 progressive chunks . The fifth sectionwillbethecompletemodel .(adapttheinstructionsbelowifyouhavemoreorlessthan5parts .)export thefinalvisualmodelasaPnGimage .You’llwant tonamethisfirstexportedimageasModel5.png .UsethesaveascommandinCmapToolsandsaveanewver-sionofthemodelasModel4 .WithModel4openusetheselectionanddeletetoolstoelimi-nateanypartsofthemodelthatshould notbeshowingatthefourthstage .exportthisModel4imageasaPnG .Repeatsteps3through5withaModel3document .Repeatsteps3through5withaModel2document .Repeatsteps3through5withaModel1document .Younowhave5PnGimagesthatwilllookgreatinamultime-diapresentationasModel1crossfadesintoModel2andsoon .

PowerPo�nt and Keynote. If you’re using this working backwardsapproachinPowerPointorKeynotethenyoudon’tneedtokeepcreatingnewdocuments .Insteadyoucanusethesl�de sorter v�ewtoduplicateyourslideandtheneliminatebitsfromit,thendupli-cate thatslideandrepeatasneeded .Whenyou’redone(assum-ingthatyouhave5partsyouwanttoemergewhentalking)you’llhaveaPowerPointfilecontaining5slides .Goto FILE:Save AsandchoosePnGastheformatinthedialogbox .PowerPointwillthencreateafoldercontaining5PnGimagesforyou .ThedirectionsarenotexactlythesameinKeynote,butareverysimilar .

Using Layers Themostelegantwaytocreateanunfoldingvisualmodelisifthesoftware you’re using supports the use of layers . layers are thesoftwareequivalentofmultipletransparencies .objectsinadraw-ingcanallbeassignedtodifferent layers(ortransparencies) .Tomakeanimagelookmorecomplexyoucansystematicallyaddlay-erstothedrawing .Unfortunatelymostsimpledrawingprograms,andmostvisualmodelingprograms,donot support layers .oneexceptionisomniGraffle .IfyougetomniGraffle,therefore,setupanappointmentwithmeifyouwanttolearnhowtousethelayer-ingfeature .

another way to use layers is if you have Photoshop elements .Whatyou’dneedtodoisexportyourmodelfromaprogramsuchasCmapToolsasaPnGimage,bringitintoPhotoshopelements,andthenusingacombinationofduplicatinglayersandtheeraser

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tooltosystematicallyeliminatepartsofthemodelwitheachsuc-cessivenewlayer .

Using layers in a program like Photoshop elements is the bestwaytocreateanunfoldingvisualmodelbasedonahanddrawnscannedimage .Here’sastep-by-stepguidetocreateadynamicvi-sualmodelinPhotoshopelements:

export your Cmap Tools model as a PnG image or use yourscanofahanddrawnmodel .Doaconceptualanalysisofthemodel .Theworkingquestionis,“Howmanysectionsshouldthismodelbedividedinto?”atthispointyouaredecidinghowmanypartsyou’llbebuildingupinyourfinaldynamicmodel .let’spretendthatyou’veconcludedyourmodelshouldbeshownusing5progressivechunks .Thefifthsectionwillbethecompletemodel .startPhotoshopelements .Createanewdocument .Makesureit’s set to800pixelswide,600pixelshigh,72pixels/inch,andbackgroundcontentssettowhite .GotoFILE:Place thenselecttheexportedPnGimageorthescanneddocument .Photoshopwillautomaticallycreateanewlayer with the image centered . Click on the arrow (the Movetool)andyou’llbeaskedifyouwanttosavethenewplacedim-age .Respond“Yes .”namethelayerthecompletemodelisonasModel5 .DuplicatetheModel5layer .namethenewlayerModel4 .TurnoffthevisibilityoftheModel5layer .GototheModel4layerandselecttheerasertool .Whenyoufirsttrytoeraseanypart of the visual model you’ll get a dialogue box saying youcan’tdothisuntil the imageisRasterized .Click“Yes”tohavetheplacedimagerasterized .(note:thisonlyneedstobedoneonce .)UsetheerasertooltoeliminatethosepartsofthevisualmodelthatshouldnotappearinModel4 .DuplicatetheModel4layer,namethenewlayerModel3,andturnoffthevisibilityoftheModel4layer .Usetheerasertooltoeliminatethosepartsof themodelthatshouldnotappearinModel3 .Repeatthistwostepprocessofduplicating,hiding,anderasingwhatshouldnotbeshowingonthenewlayer .Intheendyoushouldhave6layersinyourPhotoshopdocument:thegenericwhitebackgroundlayerplus5layersforeachofthe5sectionsoftheevolvingmodelyouwanttoshow .Usingthis1Photoshopdocumentyou’llbeexporting5PnGimages .WithonlytheModel1layervisible,gotoFILE:Save for Web .IntheensuingdialogboxselectPnG-24 .ThenclicksaVe .In thenextdialogboxgivea suitablename(suchasModel1.png) .Makesureyou’resavingthefiletoanappropriateplaceonyourharddrive .ThenclicksaVe .

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MakeonlytheModel2layervisible .Repeatsteps14&15butnameasModel2.png .Repeatsteps14&15foreachsectionoftheunfoldingmodel .Whendoneyou’llhave5exportedPnGimagesthatwill lookgreatasModel1crossfadesintoModel2andsoon .

H�ghl�ghted Modelsacomplementarytechniqueforcreatingemphasis,increasingin-terest,anddecreasingcognitiveloadistousehighlighting .High-lightingmethodscanbeusedinaddition,orseparately,fromun-foldingmethods .

Color Highlighting onebasicwaytohighlightisbytheuseofcoloring .let’spretendyouhaveavisualmodelconsistingofnodes,links,andlabelswheretheonlycolorsareblack(lines,outlines,text)andwhite(insidesofshapes) .Imaginethatwhensomeoneseesyourmodeltheyseethecompletemodel .Howeverasyoustarttalkingthroughthemodelinyournarrationtheparticularnodesandlinesthatarethefocusofdiscussionatanypoint in timeareorange incolor .Thisverysimple techniqueallowssomeone toeasily focuson thatpartofthevisualmodelthatyou’rediscussing,andtoignoretherestofthemodel,whileseeingthecompletemodelatalltimes .

Thegoodthingaboutthecolorhighlightingapproachisthatyoucanuseitwithanyprogramyouusetomakeyouroriginalmap .forpedagogicalpurposesIwillassumethattheaudionarrationfocusedonfiveareasofthemodel .Herearethegenericstepsfordoingthecolorhighlighting:

If you’ll be highlighting 5 areas of the model this means youshould plan on creating 6 images (one of those images is thecompletemodelwithouthighlights) .Planonnamingthedocu-mentsasModel1,Model2,andsoon .Model6willbethecom-pletemodel .Youcandothiseasilyrightnowinyouroperatingsystembyduplicatingtheoriginalfile5times(foratotalof6documents)andnamingappropriately .let’sassumeyou’reworkingwithModel1whichwillhighlightthefirstareaofyourmodel .Usingyoursoftwarefillallthenodeswithcolors .Usingthesamecolorforthenodesworksbest .onlyusedifferentcolorsifthereissomeimportantreasontodoso .Ifthere’snorationalbehindthecolor-codingthenyou’llendupmakingtheviewermoreconfused .WhenModel1iscoloredasyouwantit,thenexportorsaveas(dependingonyourprogram)asaPnGimage .openModel2andcolorwhatneedstobehighlighted .Thenex-portasaPnG .Continue until all models have been colored and exported .openModel6andexporttoaPnGasitis .

Youshouldnotmakeany changestothemodelsonceyou’vedupli-

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catedthem,asidefromcoloring .sopleasemakesurethatevery-thingaboutyourcompletemodelisasyouwantitbeforeduplicat-ingandcoloring .

PowerPo�nt and Keynote. You’ll essentially do the same steps asaboveexceptthatinsteadofcreating6documentsyou’llcreate6slidestotalandaddcoloring .Yourfinalstepwillbetoexportall6slidesatonceasPnGimages .

Framed Highlighting anotherapproachis tocreate frames(essentiallycoloredboxes)around thecurrentareaof thevisualmodel thatyou’rediscuss-ing .likecolorhighlightingthishelpsfocustheviewer’sattention .byfarthebestprogramfordoingframedhighlightingisPhoto-shopelements .Iwon’tgivethedetailedstepshere,butifyou’dliketolearnaboutframedhighlightingconsultwithmeorcheckoutsomeofthemultimediatutorialsonPhotoshopelements .

SummaryInthischapteryou’vebeenpresentedwithaconceptualandprac-ticaloverviewofhowtocreateandrefinevisualmodelsthatwillbeintegratedintoamultimediaproduct .Thesuggestedsoftwarepro-gramforcreatingvisualmodelsisCmapTools,freecross-platformsoftware . The chapter also looked at various problems you mayrunintowithCmapToolsandhowtoaddressthoseproblemsbyusingtheCmaptemplate .finally,theissueofcreatingadynamicvisualmodelwasaddressedalongwithpracticalstep-by-steptipsforhowtoconstructunfoldingmodelsandhighlightedmodels .

Exerc�se 5Createavisualmodelofyourchoice .Choosesomethingyouknowwell:howtobakebrownies,howtotakeaphotograph,howtoavoidbeingauditedbytheIRs .Thetopicisuptoyou .Isuggestdevelop-ingaroughdraftmockofyourmodelusingpencilandpaper .

Use Cmap Tools first,makesuretousetheCmap Template .Youneedtofindoutquickly whether Cmap Tools is a program that will meet yourneeds .onceyouhavea roughdraftmodelonpencilandpaperthentransferthatmodeltoanelectronicformatusingCmapTools .WhendonewithyourmodelexporttheworkasaPnG .MakesuretousetheCmaptemplate .

Create Dynamism ChunkyourCmapmodelintoparts .Youwon’tbecreatinganau-diotrack,butimagineyouhad .Howwouldyoupresentyourvisu-almaterial?Youcaneithercreateamodelthatunfoldsoramodelthatuseshighlights,butwitheithermethodyouarepracticingfo-cusingattention,reducingcognitiveoverload,andincreasingthe

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visual intrigueofyourmodel .Remember,youwillbecreatingaseriesofimagesthathelptheviewerbuildupanunderstandingofyourcompletevisualmodel .

Deliver to Me Put all your images into a folder named Yourfirstname Model .nameeachimageinthefoldersequentiallyusingyourfirstname:yourfirstname_model1 .png, yourfirstname_model2 .png and soforth .so,ifyournameisMarkthenIshouldreceiveafoldercalledMark Model andinsideofthefolderIshouldfindacollectionofimagesnamedMark_Model1.png,Mark_Model2.png,andsoforth .Youcansendthefoldertomeattachedtoanemail,orbringittomeonaflashdrive .

6 Title Images

Chapter 6

Edcasting

CHaPTeR6 . TITLE IMAGES 102

Overv�ewThischaptertacklestheissueofcreatingimagesthatareprimarilytext .atthispointyou’vecompletedabout75%ofthepreparationworkneededbeforeyouactuallyputyourmaterialstogetherintoamultimediamovie .Youstillneedtocreateyourtitleimagesandthen your support images . The issue of creating support imageswillbedealtwithinthenextchapter .

I’m calling the type of images you’ll create in this chapter “titleimages”sinceyouwillseethemprimarilyusedastitlestodenotespecificchaptersorsectionsofyourpresentation .anotherreasonforusingthephrasing“titleimages”isthatitsuggeststhesetypesof imagesshouldnotbeused toomuch .That’s true .Youraudionarrative is driving the multimedia boat and, thus, your imagesonlyneedtosupport thecontentintheaudio .

Chapter Model Thechaptermodelonthenextpageprovidesanoverviewofthekeyconceptsandproceduresdiscussedinthischapter .Youcanseetherearethreemainstepsintheprocess:creatingthetitleimages,exportingthemintoaPnGorJPGformat,andfinallystoringfilesinthecorrectlocationwithinyourprojectfolder .

Creatingtitles images isprettystraightforwardbut involves fourkeyconsiderations:choosingyourfontandfontsize,makingthetextconcise,usingahighcontrastbetweenfontcolorandback-groundcolor,andchoosing thespecificsoftwareprogramyou’llusetocreatetheimages .

exporting (or converting) your title images into a PnG or JPGcompressedformatcantakeoneoftwobasicapproachesdepend-ingonthesoftwareprogramyouareusing .oneapproachisthateachfileyoucreategetsexportedasoneimage .Thiswouldbetypi-calwhenusingsomethinglikeIllustratororadrawingprogram .Thesecondapproachiseachfileyoucreateendsupbeingexport-edasmultipleimages .ThiswouldbetypicalwhenusingaprogramlikePowerPointwhereonefileconsistsofseveralslides .Whatyouwanttodoisexportoneimageforeveryslide .

storingyourtitleimagematerialsinthecorrectlocationissome-whattrivial,buthasimportantnegativeconsequencesifdonein-correctly . specifically you’ll want to make sure all original work(such as PowerPoint files) are stored in the Or�g�nals subfolderwithinyourProject folder .allexportedJPGsandPnGs,however,need to be stored in the Images subfolder within your Projectfolder .


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Images to UseYou’vealreadydevelopedanoutlineandascript .Thesedocumentshavealreadycreatedanaturalstructure toyourpresentation . Infact your outline and script have natural “titles” embedded inthem .allyou’lldonowistakeadvantageofthatexistingstructuretocreatenaturalvisualtransitionsbetweenonepartofyourpre-sentationandthenext .Inaddition,you’llprobablyhavetocreateasmallnumberoftext-basedslidesthatprovideappropriatecreditforthecreationofyourmovieandalsoprovideanyrelevantaca-demicreferencessuchasarticlesorbooks .

Whiletherewillalwaysbeexceptions, ingeneralyouhavethreetypes of title images you’ll want to create: a movie title image,chapterorsectiontitle images,andcredit title images thatgoattheendofyourmovie .Inadditiontherearetwotypesofpotentialtitleimagesthatyouwanttoavoid:quotesandlists .These“imagestoavoid”willbediscussedinasectionlaterinthischapter .

Presentat�on T�tle. Youshouldhaveapithypresentationtitle .Usethat,andincludetheauthor(s)nameonthistitleslide .

Chapter T�tles. In essence your presentation will be divided upinto “chapters” or defined subsections of your presentation . forinstance,youmayhavethefollowingstructure:

overviewTheTheoryevidencefortheTheoryTheoryintoPracticesummary

Inthisexampleyour7-12minutepresentationhasa titleplus5chaptertitles .Whilenoteverychapterwillbeofequal length, ifweassumeapresentationlengthofabout10minutes,thenyourviewerwillbeseeingachapter titleaboutevery2minutes .

somepresentationswillhavefewerchapters,somewillhavemore .but,clearly,havingonly1chapteristoofew .alternatively,having10chaptersover7-12minutesistoomany .Ingeneralyourpresen-tationislikelytobedividedupinto3-to-6chapters .

Cred�t T�tles. at the end of your presentation, typically after theaudioisdone,you’llwanttoshowyourviewersasmallnumberofcredit titleswhereyouacknowledgekeysourcesandprovidetheviewerwithguidanceregardingkeywrittenworksorwebsites .Youprobablywon’tneedmorethan3-to-5credittitlestotal .Keepthesethingsinmind:

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Givecredittoyourselfforanyimagescreatedandfortheaudio .Give credit to any other individuals or websites whohelpedwiththecreationoftheimagesortheformationofthemovieinanyway .Provide key references to articles, books or websitesdiscussed in thepresentation .Usea large font size (nosmallerthan18points)andusemultipleimagesinsteadofcrammingallreferenceswithasmallfontsizeontooneimage .

Other Images. Theremaybeothertypesoftextimagesyouwanttocreatesuchasquotes, lists,andotherthings .Pleasereadthenexttwosectionsfirstaboutsometypicalproblemsstudentsfacewhentheycreateinappropriatetitleimages .

PowerPo�ntPhluffnowthatyouhaveanoutline,yourfirst instinctivetendencyistodevelopslidesinPowerPoint .Please,resisttheurge!listshavetheirplace in life: theyhelpwhen shopping forgroceriesor increating a “to do” list . What most people create in PowerPointarelists .However,listsasvisualimagesleavealottobedesired .oneoftheproblemswithlistsisthattheydon’tconveyimportantinformationaboutconnectionsbetweenconcepts .Thereareotherproblemswithlist-drivenvisualsalso .Ifyouwanttolearnmoreabouttheproblemswithlists,andwithPowerPointforcommu-nicating conceptually-challenging material, I suggest readingThe Cognitive Style of PowerPoint (Tufte,2003) .Tufteaddressesthe issue of what he terms PowerPointPhluff . specifically Tuftepointsoutthreedistinctwaysthatlistsencourageustobelazy:(1) listsaretypicallytoogeneric,(2) lists leavecriticalrelation-shipsunspecified, and (3) lists leave critical assumptionsabouthowsomethingworksunspecified .Tufte’sgeneralclaim is that,“ . . .PowerPointisentirelypresenter-oriented,andnot content-ori-ented, not audience-oriented”(p .4) .

nowthatI’veessentiallytoldyoutodumpPowerPointyoucouldfeeldepressed .(Unless,ofcourse,youdon’tusePowerPointandaregladyouhaven’tinvestedtimelearningit .)However,keepinmindthatsoftwarelikePowerPointandKeynotecanbevery goodinmultimediapresentationsforcreatingtitleandchaptertextim-ages .suchimagestypicallymakeupabout10-15%ofyourpre-sentationimages .so,don’tworry,yourPowerPointskillscanbeusefulforcreatingsomeofyourimages .MywarninghaslesstodowithusingPowerPointper seandmoretodowithanoverreli-anceonPowerPointresultinginseveralunneededordistractingimagesinyourmovie .

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Images to Avo�dlet’spretendthatyou’vecompletedyourpresentationtitle,chaptertitles,andcreditimages .Youshouldnowhaveasetofabout7-to-12imagesthatfitintothe“titleimage”category .beforeproceedingtomakeextra title images, think longandhardabout includingthesetypesofimages:

Quotes. People love quotes . Here’s the problem: if people see aquoteon thescreenandarehearinganaudiopresentation thentheyaretornbetweenwhethertoreadortolisten .You’recreatingcognitiveoverload .Thisseemstobetrueevenifwhatthepersonishearingisthesameasthetextonthescreen!Theproblemoccursbecausepeoplelistenandreadatdifferentrates .Thesimplestsolu-tion:considernotusingquotes .Ifyoumustuseaquotethentrytoprovidesilenceinyouraudiosothateventheslowestofreaderscanreadthetextwithoutanydistractingaudio .

L�sts. PeoplelovelistsofthingssuchastheubiquitouslistsmadeinaprogramlikePowerPoint .aswithquotesthereareafewocca-sionswherelistsareneededsuchaspresentingthestepsinvolvedincalculatingastatisticalprocedure .However,ingeneralIrecom-mendavoidingusinglistsinyourpresentation .Rememberagoodvisual model will address most (though not all) of the reasonsyou’dwanttousealist .

Ifyoudoneedtousealist,considermakingadynamic list(simi-lar toadynamic concept map)where theviewerdoesn’t just seethecompletelistatonce,buteachelementofthelistappearsonthescreenwhentheaudionarrationstartsaddressingthatspecificpoint .Thusifyouhavealistof5points,you’dendupusing5im-ages .Themechanicsofhowtodothisareexactlythesameasthemechanicsforcreatingdynamic concept maps .RefertothechapteronVisualModelsfordetailsifyouchoosetotakethisroute .

T�tl�ng SoftwareTherearelotsofsoftwareprogramsyoucanusetocreatetitleim-ages .YoucanevenuseMicrosoftWord(thoughit’snotthemostelegantsolution) .let’sbrieflylookatsomeoftheoptionsavailabletoyouforcreatingtitleimages .Isuggestyouusewhicheveroptionyou’realreadymostfamiliarwith .

PowerPoint ManystudentsarealreadyfamiliarwithusingPowerPointanditdoesaperfectlyfinejobofcreatingtitleimages .Ifyouknowthispieceofsoftwarealreadythenitislikelytobeyourmostefficientwaytocreatetitleimages .

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Keynote Keynoteisasimpleno-frillstoollikePowerPointforcreatingtitleimages .Itisapple’sequivalenttoPowerPoint .Keynoteautomati-callyassumesyouwanttocreateimagesthesizeof800x600or1024x768 .sinceyouwantyourimagestobeexactly800x600,thisoptionmakeslifesimpler .

Photoshop Elements Photoshop,anditssiblingPhotoshopelements,arebothfantas-ticsoftwareprogramsforcreatingandrefiningimages .However,IsuggestusingPhotoshopelements foryourtitle imagesonly ifyou’realsoplanningonusingitfortheotherimagesthatwillfilloutyourpresentation .

sincetherearealwaysafewstudentswhoareunfamiliarwithPho-toshopelementsbutwanttouseittodeveloptheirpresentationimages,IhavetriedtomakethePhotoshopstartupprocesseasierforyoubyofferingsomePhotoshop-basedtemplatesforcreatingtextimages .besuretocheckmywebsitetodownloadthesetitleimagetemplatefiles .

Colored Markers Usingcolormarkersandpapercanworkjustfine .sometimeshav-ingtitleshanddrawnlooksmoreeffectivethancomputer-generat-edtext .Justmakesuretousegoodwhitepaper(orcoloredpaperifyouwant) .alsomakesuretowriteonthepaperusingahorizontal(orlandscape)orientation .Youcansubsequentlyscanthesetitlesathomeoratmyoffice .Icanlendyouascannertouse .

Other Software Thisshortlistofsoftwareforcreatingtitleimagesisnotexhaus-tive .Youmayhavesomefavoritesoftwarethatyouthinkcanmaketitle images justfine .You’reprobablycorrect, andcertainly takeadvantageofanyknow-howyoualreadypossess .onceinawhilesomeoneasksiftheycanuseMicrosoftWordtocreatetitleimages .Theanswer:yesandno .YoucaneasilycreatetitlesinWord .TheproblemisthatcurrentversionsofWorddonotallowyoutosaveadocumentasanimage .However,therearetwoworkaroundstothisproblem .

Workaround 1. a“hidden”featureofliveslideshowisthatitcanactuallyreadone-pagePDffilesasimages .Thus,ifyoucreateev-erytitleimageinWordasaseparateone-pagedocument,thenyoucansubsequentlyconverteachofthesedocumentstoaPDffor-mat .Ifyou’reaMac-useryoucanautomaticallycreateaPDf(fromanyprogram)byclickingonthePDfoptionwhenyouaskforadocument tobeprinted . Ifyou’reaWindows-userandhave thefullacrobatprogram(notjustthefreeacrobatReader)thenyoucancreateyourownPDfs .finally,ifyou’reaWindows-useranddonothaveacrobat,thenyoucansendmeyourWorddocumentfilesandIcanhavethemquicklyconvertedtoaPDfformat .

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Workaround 2. In both Windows and Macs it’s possible to takescreenshots .Ifyouhavetherightsoftware(snagItforWindows,snapzPro for Macs) you can take high quality screen shots . forexample,ifyou’vecreatedatitle(oranyother)imageinaprogramthatwon’texporttoanimageformatsuchasPnG,thenyoucantakeadigitalsnapshotofthatportionofthescreenthatcontainsthematerialyouwanttouseasanimage .

StandardsThereareveryfewstandardswhenitcomestocreatingtitleim-ages .Titlesdonot havetobecentered:eitherverticallyorhorizon-tally .Titlesdon’thavetobeinblackandwhite .Infacttherearelotsofoptionsforhowtocreategoodtitleimages .Thatsaid,therearethreesimplerulesyouwanttokeepinmind .eachoftheseguide-linesisdiscussedbelow .

1. Fonts Researchhasfoundthatitismucheasierforpeopletoreadtitleswhentheyarecreatedinasans-seriffontsuchasarial,Verdana,orHelvetica .Interestinglyenough,researchhasalsofoundthatit’smucheasierforpeopletoreadalotoftext(likethisguide)whenthewordsarecreatedinaserif fontsuchasTimes,Times-Roman,orMinion .essentially serif fontshave little curls in them .Sans-seriffontshavenoextracurls .forshorttitlessans-seriffontslookcleanerandcrisper .Considerthisexample:

example Example

The“example”ontheleftisinMinion .The“example”ontherightisinarial .lookatthe“p”inbothexamples .noticethatthebot-tomofthe“p”ontheleftexamplehasanextraflourishatthebot-tom .nowlookatthesameletterontherightexample .nothingextra .Ifyoulookcloselyyou’llalsonoticethattherightexamplehasnovariationinwidthwithinitsletters .However,theleftex-ampleinMinionhasvariationsinwidth(forexamplecomparetheending“e” inbothexamples .)asageneralrule-of-thumb,useasans-serif fontfortitles .

fontsizeisevenmoreimportantthanthetypeoffont .Ingeneral,foratitleslideyoudon’twantthefontsizetobelessthan48points .Infact,ifthewordingwillfit,there’snothingwrongwithhavingafontsizeof72or96points .Titlesshouldbeclearandeasytoread .Youalsodon’twanttomix-and-matchfontsizes .bythisImeanyoudon’twantonetitleslidetousea48pointfontsizeandan-othertitleslidetousea72pointfontsize .Consistencyinthelookofyourtitleslidesisimportant .

In practice I’d suggest picking out your longest title . Then withsomefiddling,figureoutwhat’sthebiggestandbest-lookingfont

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sizeforthatparticulartitle .sincealltheothertitlesarethesamelengthorshorter,youknowyoucanusethissamefontsizeforallyourtitleslides .

Theexceptiontothisapproachcomeswiththecredits .Thesearemoredetailedimagescontainingbookreferencesandsuch .WithcreditimagesIwouldsuggestgoingnosmallerthan18points .Infact,justassumeyou’regoingtouse18pointswiththeseimagesunlessyouhaveextraroomandcanuseaslightlylargerfontsize .

2. Concise Themostimportantfeatureofatitleimageisthatitshouldbeshortandconcise .Inessence,itservesmoreasalabeltohelptheviewerkeepinmindthecurrentcontentbeingdiscussed .Itdoesn’talwayshavetobeoneword,buttitlesarebestiftheyinvolve“looking”butalmostnoconsciousreading .

3. High Contrast Therearelotsofwaystocreatetitleimageswiththeuseofcolors .Youmakereadingeasierforyourviewerifthetitleshaveahighlevelofcontrastbetweentextandbackground .Here’sashort(butnotcomprehensive)listofgoodcontrastoptions:

Whitebackground,blacktextWhitebackground,navybluetextblackbackground,Whitetextblackbackground,Yellowtextblackbackground,orangetext

ontheotherhand,lightgreentextagainstalightbluebackgroundmaylookfineonyourcomputermonitor .butitmaynotprovidesufficientcontrastonalltypesofmonitors .Maintainhighcontrasttohelpyourviewereasilyreadandnotbedistractedfromtheau-diotracktoyourmovie .

Setup & ExportCreatingtitleimagesisverystraightforward .PowerPointandKey-notebothcontaintemplateslidesdevotedtocontainingonlyati-tle .ThePhotoshopelementstemplatesIprovidehavebeencreatedusingtheassumptionthatonlysimpletitleswouldbeneeded .

ThetrickierissueformultimedianovicesishowtoexportthosefinalimagesasPnGcompressedimages .Ingeneraltherearetwodifferentapproachestodoingthis .

One doc, one PNG ThisistheapproachyouwouldtakewhenusingPhotoshopele-ments .Ifyouwantedtocreate8titleslidesthenyou’dendupwith8 different PsDs (or Photoshop documents) . You always want tomaintainyouroriginal artwork (in this case theoriginalPsDs) .let’spretendthatyoumisspelledonetitle .Ifyoudeletedtheorigi-

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nalyou’dhavetostartalloveragain .IfyousaveditasaPsDthenyoumerelyneedtomakeasmallchangeandexportitasaPnGagain .

Rememberthatallofyouroriginalwork(suchasPsDs)shouldbestoredintheOriginalssubfolderinsideyourProjectfolder .

HowyoucreateaPnGfilemayalterfromprogramtoprogram .sometimesyou’llusesomethinglikeanexportcommand,othertimesasaveascommand .InthecaseofPhotoshopandPhoto-shopelementsyou’llusetheSave For WebcommandunderthefIlemenu .Detailsregardingthisprocedurearegivenlaterinthischapter .

One doc, many PNGs Thisis theapproachyouwouldneedtousewhenworkingwithaprogramlikePowerPointorKeynote .Youmustfirstcreateonefilethatconsistsofseveralslides .liveslideshowcan’tunderstandPPT or Keynote documents . Instead you’ll need to export yourworkasPnGimages .PowerPointwillcreateanewfolderforyouandwithinthatfolderwillplaceoneimageforeveryslideinyourPowerPointpresentation .Ifyouhave8slides,anexportedfolderwillcontain8PnGimages .

Spec�al Export SetupsThissectionlooksathowexportfilestoPnGorJPGfromthreesoftware programs: PowerPoint, Keynote, and Photoshop ele-ments .

PowerPoint Exports bydefaultPowerPointcreatesslidesthataresized720x540pixels .sinceyourpresentationis800x600pixelsit’susefultofirstchangethesedefaultsettingssoyourimageswillbe800x600 .Here’showtodoit .

Figure 6.5. The Page Setup option.


ClickonPagesetupandyou’llseethenextdialogbox .noticehowPowerPointexpressessizesonlyininches .

Figure 6.6. Page Setup default settings.

Change these settings . since 800 pixels is equal to 11 .11 inches,and600pixelsisequalto8 .33inches,whenyou’veinsertedyourchangesthedialogboxshouldlooklikethefigurebelow .

Figure 6.7. The altered Page Setup box.

You’ll very likely thenget awarning fromPowerPoint afteryouclickontheoKbuttonthatlookslikethis:


Figure 6.8. Warning message

noticehowthedefaultbuttoninthisdialogboxisfix .Youdon’twant this! Instead click on the oK button . In essence you don’tcareaboutprintersandpagesizes:you’remakingimagesforcom-puterscreenssothewarningdoesn’tapply .

now create your title slides . (I’m assuming here that you havesomefamiliaritywithhowtousePowerPoint .Ifthisassumptioniswrongthenyou’llneedto take the timeto learnthebasicsofPowerPointorconsideroneofthealternativesI’vementioned .)

I’vecreatedashortsetoftitleslidesusingPowerPointasshownintheslidesorterviewinthefigurebelow .

Figure 6.9. Slide Sorter View.

Thesearesimpleimages,buttheydothejob .TheproblemisthatInowhaveone“document”that’saPowerPointfile .WhatIreallyneed is tocreate6distinctPnGimages .Tocreate thePnGsgothroughthestepsbelow .

first,selecttheSave AsoptionunderthefIlemenu


Figure 6.10. The Save As option

You’llnextseethefollowingdialogbox .

Figure 6.11. The Save As dialog box

noticethat inthemiddlecenteroftheboxthere’sanoptionforselecting Format . Click on that selection bar (it currently readsPowerPointPresentation)toseethedrop-downmenubarshowninthefigurebelow .


Figure 6.12. Save as formatting options

select the PnG (Portable network Graphics) option . WhatPowerPoint is going to do is save each of your slides as a sepa-rateimage .beforeyouclickonthesavebuttonmakesurethatthenameinthesaveasboxisthenameyouwant .specificallythiswillbehowPowerPointwillnamethefolderofimagesitcreates .nextmakesurethatyouknowwhereyouaresavingyourfolderonyourharddrive .fromthefigureaboveyoucanseethatI’msavingim-agestoafoldercalledMultimedia .

onceyouclickonthesavebuttonthenPowerPointgoestowork .Whenit’sdoneyou’llgetamessageliketheonebelow .

Figure 6.13. The completion message

You can leave PowerPoint and go to the location on your harddrivewherethenewfolderwascreated .InthenextfigureyoucanseehowPowerPointhasnamedeachimageinsideofthatfolder .


Figure 6.14. The insides of the exported folder of PNG images

PowerPointautomaticallynamestheimages .noticethatalloftheimages have the PnG extension . In every case PowerPoint willname the images starting with Slide1 and continue that namingconventionuntilthelastimage(inthiscaseSlide6) .

You’llwanttorenametheseimages .Dosonowifyouwish .Inad-dition,makesureyouhavetheseimagesstoredinagoodplaceforeasyretrieval .ProbablytheImagessubfolderinyourprojectfolderwillbethebestchoice .YoumaywanttorenamethemasTitle1,Title2,Title3,andsoon .


Keynote Exports I’massumingyou’vecreatedasetoftitleslidesinKeynote .asanexample, see the image below for what it looks like in KeynotewhenI’vecompletedmysetof6titles .

Figure 6.15. The set of completed slides in Keynote.

noticehowyouseethecurrentlyselectedslideinthemainview-ingarea,butthefullcollectionofslidesintheslidessidebar(ontheleftside) .noticethatIhave6imagesinthisarea .

nowgotothefIlemenuandselectExportasshowinthefigurebelow .

Figure 6.16. The Export option.

You’llbetakentoadialogbox .Makesuretoselectimagesfromtheformatoptionsavailable .


Figure 6.17. Select the Images option.

Whenyouclickonthenextbuttonyou’llthenbetakentoanotherdialogboxasshownbelow .

Figure 6.18. Selecting the Image format

MakesuretoclickontheformatselectionbarandselectthePnG(Highquality)format .Therearesomecases,especiallywhenusinglotsofshadowsandotherfeatures,whereyoumightwanttousetheTIff(Highestquality)option .Whendone,clickonthenextbuttonandyou’llthenseethefollowingdialogboxasshowninthefigurebelow .


Figure 6.19. Create the Naming Schema

Youwanttobecarefulinhowyounameyourimages .Isuggestus-ing“Title”or“Titles .”KeynoteworksdifferentlyfromPowerPointinthespecificsofhowitexports .PowerPointwillexportafolderwithimagesinside .Keynote,ontheotherhand,onlyexportstheimages .Giventhisyoumaywanttofirstcreateafolder(e .g .titled“TitleImages”)inyourfinderarea,gobacktoKeynoteandthenmakesuretheexportedimagesaresavedinsidethisfolder .

onceyouclicktheexportbuttonKeynotewillthenexportalltheslides based on the name you provide plus a three-number se-quenceitwilladdtotheend .Thefigurebelowshowswhatmy6exportedslideslooklikeafterbeingexported .

Figure 6.20. The exported & named images.


PSE Exports I’veusedoneoftheprovidedPhotoshoptemplatestocreateapre-sentationtitlecalled“Readingstrategies .”

Figure 6.1. The Photoshop document.

onceyourtitleiscompletethenyouneedtogotothefIlemenuandchoosesaveforWeb(seefigurebelow) .

Figure 6.2. Using Save For Web.

Intheensuingdialogboxnoticehowthere’sapop-upboxwhereyoucanselecttheexacttypeofcompressedimageyouwanttocre-ate(seefigurebelow) .YouwanttoselectPNG-24(ashighlightedinthefigure) .

Conceptuallyit’shelpfultounderstandthatthesaveforWebcom-mandisreallyashortcutthattellsPhotoshop,“Iwanttocreatea


filethat’ssmall insize .”Mostof thetimepeopledothisbecausetheywanttoputtheimageonawebsite,butthecommandisalsousefulforanysituationwherepeopleneedtocreateacompressedversionoftheoriginalPhotoshopdocument .Typicallythecom-pressedPnGimagewillbelessthan10%ofthesizeoftheoriginalPhotoshopdocument(orPsD) .

Figure 6.3. The Save For Web dialog box.

althoughyouwon’tneeditoften,it’susefultoknowthatyoucanchangethesizeoftheimageifneeded .figure6 .4showstheImagesizetabbeingselected(lowerright)andtheoptionsfordecreasingtheimagesize .

Figure 6.4. Changing the image size.


Thereareseveralwaystocompressanimage,butthemostpopularformatsareGIf,JPG,andPnG .eachmethodhasitsstrengths,butoverallPnGisthebestchoicebecauseittendstoretainahigherleveloftheoriginalimagequality .

SummaryThereareseveralwaystocreatetitleimages .Usethemethodthatbestsuitsyourpreviousskillsandexperience .Ifyouwanttostartlearning how to use Photoshop elements, then creating simpletitleimagesisagreatplacetobegin .

Conceptuallythemostimportantthingtorememberwithtitleim-agesistonotcreatetoomany .beconcisesothetitleimageservesasamental placeholder ratherthanasachunkoftextindividualsneedtoconsciouslyreadasthey’relisteningtotheaudio .Useclearfontsanduselargefontsizes .fontandfontsizeisamatterofper-sonaltaste,butingeneralsans-seriffontsareeasiertoreadwhenusing1-to-3wordsasinatitle .exceptforcredits(suchasbookreferences)youwanttouseafontsizeofatleast36points .

Exerc�se 6Thisexercisecomplementstheworkyou’vedoneinpreviousex-ercises .

Create Titles Develop3ormoretitleimagestoaccompanyyour“Mystory”au-dio .Makesurealloftheimagesareexported(orsaved as)PnGimages .

Name the Images nametheimagesasyourname1 .png,yourname2 .png,andsoon .so,ifyournamehappenstobealice,thentheimagesshouldbetitledalice1 .png,alice2 .pngandsoforth .

Send the Images sendyourimagestome .Inmostcasestheeasiestwaytodothisis to attach the images to an email message that you send me .However,youcanalsobringtheimagestomeonaflashdriveorburnedtoaCD .

7 Support Images

Chapter 7

Edcasting

CHaPTeR7 . SUPPORT IMAGES 123

Overv�ewThischapteroffersavarietyoftechniquestoconsiderusingwhencreatingsupportimages .Thevisualmodelandtitleimagesprovidethevisualscaffoldingforyourpresentation .Thatis,theymakeiteasierfortheviewertounderstandthetheoryandconceptsyouareexplaining in theaudio .support images,on theotherhand,roundoutthepresentationbygivingahumanface(insomecases)orvisualconcreteexamples(inothercases)totheviewer .Thetypeofsupportimagesyouusetendtomakeallthedifferencebetweenagoodpresentationversusagreatpresentation .

Theproblem,andtheopportunity,isthattherearemanydifferentwaystocreateeffectivesupportimages .Thefirstpartofthischap-terdiscusses,andprovidesgeneraltips,forcreatingfourdistincttypesofsupportimages:photographs,scans,screencaptures,andwebimages .Thesecondpartofthechapterlooksathowtoprocessimages .Ingeneraldigitalphotos,orscans,orscreencapturesall needfurtherprocessing:colorneedstobeenhanced,theyneedtoberesized,andoftentheclarityoftheimageneedstobesharpened .Thus this part of the chapter discusses how to do each of theseprocessingstepsinthesimplest,mostefficientmanner .althoughthereareseveralsoftwareoptionsforworkingwithdigitalimag-es,thischapterassumesthatyou’reusingPhotoshopelements .Ifyou’reusinganothersoftwareprogramthenthegeneralstepswillstillapply,althoughthespecificsoftwarestepswilldiffer .

Chapter Model Thenextpagepresentsavisualmodelofthechapter’scontent .Themodelemphasizesthatthischapterlooksattwobigissues:theva-rietyofimagetypesyoumaywanttouseforcreatingsupportim-agesandtheessentialstepsneededtoprocesstherawimagesthatarecreated .

asamatterof fulldisclosure, I shouldnote that imageprocess-ingisaverycomplexissue .You’llfindmanybookswrittenaboutdigitalphotographyandPhotoshop .Mostofthecontentinthesebooksdealwithimageprocessing .WhatI’veprovidedforyou,asanovicemultimediacreator,areonlythefundamentalbasicsfordoingimageprocessing .Therearemoreadvancedandmoreeffec-tiveproceduresforprocessingimagesthatwon’tbecoveredinthisbook .Thatsaid,fortheinterestedstudent,thereareseveralgoodbooksaboutworkingwithdigitalimages .


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Bas�c ConceptsIt’shardtounderstandmanyissueswithregardstosupportimagesif you don’t have at least a basic understanding of two essentialdigitalimagingconcepts:pixelsversusvectorsandcropping .

Pixels and Vectors Digital images essentially come in two different flavors: pixel-based(sometimescalledraster orbit-mapped)andvector-based .Thesetwoapproachestocreatingdigitalimagesarefundamentallydifferentandhaveimportantimplicationsforhowyouthinkaboutdevelopingandrefiningyourownimages .

ThedifferencebetweenpixelsandvectorsIprovideisaparaphraseof Mordy Golding’s excellent treatment of this subject (in Real World Adobe Illustrator CS2) .

P�xels. Imagineyouhadapieceofgraphpaperinfrontofyou .onefilled-insquare in thatgraphpaperwouldbeapixel:essentiallyasquare-shapeddot .Combinationsofthesesquarescanformanimagepattern .so,anypixel-basedimageismadeupoflotsofindi-vidualsquares(dots) .Therearedifferencesinthequalityofpixel-basedimagesandthisislargelyduetohow bigtheindividualpixelsare .bigpixelsresultinbumpier(lowerquality)images .smallpix-elsresultinfiner,morenuanced(andthushigherquality)images .Thesizeoftheindividualpixelsisdeterminedbythenumberofpixels per inch(orpp�)intheimage .Inaddition,eachpixelcanbeadifferentcolor .However,onepixelcanbeonlyonecolor .Thus,throughacombinationofcolorandsize,thefinenessofyourcolorimageisdetermined .Ifyoutrytoenlargeapixel-basedimageyouend up stretching the individual pixels (no matter how large orsmalltheywere) .Thisstretchingalwaysresultinsomelossofqual-ity .asmallenlargementmaynotleadtomuchlossinquality,butevenifyouenlargeby50%thelossinqualityisquitenoticeable .

Vectors. stillimageyouhadthatgraphpaperinfrontofyou .In-steadofcoloringindividualsquaresonthegraphpapertocreateanimage,yousettheboundariesofashapebyusingspecificco-ordinatesonthegraph .Thenthroughstraightorcurvedlinesyou“connectthedots”tocreatetheshape .Thisisamoremathematicalway to createan image .Wecall this thevector-basedapproach .Vectorimageshavetwodistinctadvantagesoverpixels .Vectorim-agesaresmallerinsize .second,andmoreimportant,ifyoustretchavector-basedimagethereisno loss in quality!allyouendupdo-ingisstretchingthecoordinatesthatserveasanchorsforanimage,butthe“connectthedot”lines/curvesbetweenthosecoordinatesremainsmoothandclear .

The Bottom L�ne. Vectorimagesaremainlycreatedinillustrationimages (or vector-specific software) like Illustrator, fireworks,CorelDraw,andothers .almostalloftheimagesyou’llworkwith

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(likephotographsandscans)arepixel-based .Themainimplica-tionofthisisthatanypixel-basedimageyoucreatecanbereducedinsizewithnolossinquality,butanyenlargementwilldecreasequality .Putdifferently,enlargementandpixelsdon’tgotogether .

Cropping Thisisadesignwordthatreferstoatypeofselectionprocess .onyourcomputerwhenyouselect something thismeansyouhaveidentified the “stuff ” that you want to use . Cropping is a selec-tionprocessalso .Imagineyouhaveadigitalphotoonyourscreen .Whenyoucropyoufirstselectthatpartoftheimageyouwanttokeep(justlikeregularselection) .However,whenyoufinalizethecroptherestoftheimageisdeleted .atcore,croppingisgettingridofunwantedportionsofanimage .Itworks,however,byfirstidentifyingwhatyouwanttoretain .

Image Typesonceyouhaveyourvisualmodelandtitleimagescompletethenyou’rereadytoroundoutyourpresentationwithanyneededsup-portimages .Yoursupportimagesmightcompriseanywherefrom25to75%oftheimagesyouuseinapresentation .

Photographs Imagine your presentation is about the reading comprehensiondifficultiesoffifthgraders .Wouldn’titbenicetohavesomeim-agesofafifth-gradeclassroomandimagesof thesefifth-gradersimmersedinthereadingprocess?ofcourse .Inpracticeyoumay,ormaynot,beabletousesuchimagesbasedontheschooldistrictyouworkwithandotherfactors .Ingeneral,though,thesekindsofexamplesaregreatforcreatingafull-bodiedpresentation .Themainwaytogetthesekindofimagesisthroughtheuseofadigitalcamera .

Scans let’s pretend that in the presentation you compare the readinginstruction methods of an earlier era with some new methods .Wouldn’t it be nice to include some dorky pictures of studentsfromanearlierera?ofcourse . Ifyouhaveoldphotos(afterall,youandyouroldbuddiescanbethesourceofdorkyoldclassroomphotos),thenyoucanscantheseimageseasilyenoughtoincludeinyourpresentation .

Screen Captures nowimagineyourpresentationgivestheexampleofaparticularwebsite thatreallyhelpsfifthgradereaderswithcomprehensionproblems .Wouldn’titbenicetohavesomeimagesofsomeofthespecificpagesfromthiswebsite?again,ofcourse .accomplishingthis isa lot easier thanyoumight imagine .This involves takinggoodscreenshotsofwhatyouseeonthecomputerscreen .

Web Downloads finally, your presentation discusses how a new reading strategywasdevelopedandrefinedinfinland .Youdon’thaveanyoldpho-


tosoffinland,youcan’teasilytraveltofinland,andscreenshotswon’thelpinthiscase .Itsoundslikeyounowmaywanttoseeif thereareany imagessharedonthewebthatcouldhelpyourpresentation .Idon’tknowhoweasyitistofindimagesoffinn-ishschoolsandschoolchildren,butyou’dhaveadecentchanceto find such images through a judicious use of Google’s searchengineandsomeotherwebsites .

Support Images Outl�neThepurposeofthesupportimagesoutlineistohaveasolidideaof both how many images you need and what kind . once youhavetheoutlinethenyou’llhaveanorganizedapproachforcreat-ingyoursupportimages .beforecreatingtheoutline,it’susefultokeepinmindtwogeneralguidelines:

a support image should last at least 6 seconds on thescreen (3 seconds for image, 3 seconds for transition) .Itcouldeasily last longer .Ifyouguesstimatethatyou’llneed120secondsofsupportimagesthatmeansyouneedabout20images .Ifyouneedabout20imagesandyoucreate30or40thenyou’refine .Ifyouneedabout20andyoucreate200thenyouprobablydidn’tdoagoodjobatrefiningyouroutline .Whateveryourguesstimateisforthenumberofsupportimages you’ll need, you should create about twice thatnumber .Thisgivesyouoptions ifyourun intovariouspracticalproblemslateron .

Guesstimate You can make a decent estimate of how many support imag-es you’ll need in your presentation . let’s assume your audio is8 minutes long . let’s further assume that your core discussionaroundavisualmodelwillbeabout5minutes,andvarioustitleimageswilltakeupabout1minutemore .Thatmeansyouhaveabout2minutestocoverintermsofsupportimages .Ifwefurtherassumethateachsupportimagewilllastabout10seconds,thenthismeansyoushouldplanonusingatleast12supportimagesinyourmovie .Thiswillonlybearoughestimate,butit’sstillhelpfulforgettinganideaofhowmuchtimeneedstobefilledwithsup-portimages .Thekeyfactorstouseformakingaguesstimateare:

findhowmuchtimeisdevotedtoyourvisualmodel .findhowmuchtimeisgiventoshowingtitleimages .subtractbothtimeestimatesforyourtotalaudiolength .What’sleftistheamountoftimethatneedstobecoveredbysupportimages .

Brainstorm Thinkupallthekindsofimagesthatmightbeusefultosupportthe presentation you’re creating . next, organize those brain-

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stormedimagesunderyourvariouschaptertitles .

Refine stepawayfromtheoutline .Returninanhour,aday,evenaweek(ifyouhavethetime) .nowthatyouhavelotsofideas,andnowthatthosevisualideasareorganized,starttorefinetheoutlinebyeliminatingideas .essentiallywhatyouwanttodoatthispointiseliminatewhatseemtobebadorimpracticalideas .

Game Plan Theimagesleftinyouroutlinenowformyour“gameplan”forthekindsofimagesyouwanttocreate .It’salwaysbettertohavetoomanyimagesratherthantoofew .nowthatyouhaveacleargameplanyoucanstartgatheringtheimagesyouwant .

PhotographsDigitalcamerashaveevolvedtremendouslyoverthepastdecade .Professional-level digital cameras are used by newspapers andmagazines . Yet even $200-300 cameras are often very solid intermsofperformance .ThetopicofdigitalcamerasisfarrangingandIwon’tcovermostoftherelevanttopicsinthischapter .forsimplicityI’llassumeyoualreadyhavetheuseofadigitalcameraandyouralreadyknowhowtooperatethecameraatabasiclevel .IfI’mwrong,andyou’relookingtobuyacamera,Ihighlysuggestdoingyourhomeworkwiththeaidoftwowebsites:

cnet .com

dpreview .com .

Pleaserefertoyourcamera’smanualforfurtherdetailsonhowtousethatspecificdevice .

In general, more expensive cameras come with better features .Thosefeaturesincludebetterlenses,bettersensorsforstoringtheimage,moreandquickerabilitytotakeimages,andsoon .Howev-er,therearesomebasicsthatyoushouldbeawareof,independentofthequalityofthecamerayouareusing .

Camera Settings everycameracomeswithoptionsthatyoucanset .Thetwomostimportantoptionsareimage sizeandimage quality .

H�gh Qual�ty. first,makesurethecameraissettotakeimagesatthehighestqualitypossible . (Theoneexception is if youhaveacamerathatwilltakeuncompressedTIfforRaWimages .Don’tusethisoptionunlessyoureallyknowwhatyou’redoing .)Typi-callythecameramenuwillallowyoutotakeimagesat2or3levelsof JPGquality .Choose thehighest .You’llbeable to store fewerimagesonyourmemorycard,but thequalityofwhatyoustorewillbemuchhigher .

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Large S�ze. Cameraswillalsogiveyou2to4optionsforthesizesofyourimages .Choosethebiggestsizeavailable .forinstance,mycameraissettotakeimagesatover3,000by2,000pixels .Thisismuchlargerthanthe800by600pixelsthatIneed .Takinglargeimagesaccomplishestwoimportantthings .first,itallowsyoutomakegoodqualityprintsifyouwant .second,itgivesyoumanymoreoptionsabouthowyou’llcropanimage .Imaginetakinganimagethatincludessixstudents,butyoureallywantjusttheim-age with two particular students working together on a project .Ifyou’vetakena largeenoughimage,thenyou’vegivenyourselftheextraspaceneededtobeabletocropthetwostudents,throwawaytherest,andlosenoquality .Thisisanincrediblyimportantpointtounderstandsinceanytimeyouenlargeadigitalimagethequalitygoesdownhillquickly .However,takingalargeimage,thenkeepingonlyaportionofitwithoutenlargement,resultsinahigh-lyfocusedimagethat’satthesamelevelofqualityastheoriginal .Considerthis:aboutten800 x 600 imageswillfitwithinanimagethat’s3,000 x 2,000pixels .Thismeansyoucanselectaboutaninthoftheimagetocropandlosenothingintermsofquality .

Hold Steady Unlessyouhaveanearprofessionaldigitalcamera,therewillbealagbetweenwhenyoupressthebuttontocaptureanimageandwhenthatimageisactuallycaptured .Thelessexpensivethecam-era, typically thegreater the lag time .This isveryunintuitive tomost people . My general advice: when you click on the “shoot”button,holdthecamerasteadyfor2to3seconds .Thatwayyou’llmakesureyou’vecapturedasharpimage .newer,cheaperdigitalcamerasaregettingmuchbetteratshrinkingthislagtime,butit’salwaysbesttoplanforthelagandnotendupwithablurryphoto-graph .

About Light lightcanbeyourenemyorlightcanbeyourfriend .Herearesomeconsiderationstokeepinmindwithregardstolight .

Natural L�ght Rocks. Ifpossible,shootinnaturallight(i .e .withouta flash) . everything looks better with natural lighting . only useyourflashifthelightingistoolow .Unfortunatelymostclassroomshavequitepoorlightingandsoyoumayoftenneedaflashinthesecircumstances .

Put the Sun Beh�nd You. This is particularly true on nice sunnydays .shootingintothelight(i .e .thesunisinfrontofyourcam-era)canworkifyouknowwhatyou’redoing .Ingeneral,however,youwanttomakesurethesunisbehindyou .Thismakesitmucheasierforthedigitalcameratogetatruereadingofwhat’sgoingonandtoabsorballthecolorspresent .

About People Modelsgetpaidalotofmoneypartlybecausethey’rephotogenic .Thismeanstheirfaceshaveanglesthatlookcomplementarywhencaptured with a camera and their skin absorbs/bounces light in

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justtherightwayforacamera .That’sthegeneticspart .However,theotherpartofbeingagoodmodelismanagingtolooknaturalevenwhenyou’re inaveryunnaturalsituationsuchasthetypi-calfashionmagazineshoot .Thereareplentyofphotogenicpeoplewhocan’tmanagetolooknatural .Generallythisisalearnedskill .Thisisimportanttoyoubecauseitmeansthatgettingposedshotsfromamateurs(yourstudents,yourteachers,etcetera)willtendtocomeoutlookingverystiltedandposed .

Isthereasolution?Inshort,yes .Thesolutionisfirsttoaskyoursubjects(let’spretendyou’reshootinginaclassroom)nottopose .Thatwon’tsolvetheproblem,butitdoessetatone .

second, start taking severalphotographsofmanydifferentpeo-pleintheroom .afterawhilethepeopleintheroomwillbecomeboredoraccustomedtoyoutakingphotos .Inessence,takinglotsofphotostendstoputpeopleatease .I’dsuggesttakingphotosfor5minutesorsobeforetakinganyphotosthatmightbeonesthatyoureallywant .You’rejusttryingtocreateacomfortzoneinthefirstfiveminutes .

Then,afterthesetwosteps,takephotosatarelativelycontinuousrate .someofthephotosyou’llwant,otherswillbetakentomain-tainthecomfortlevelintheroom .Remember,takinglotsofpho-tosisnotaproblemasyoucanalwaysthrowawaytheunwantedoneslater .

Thekeytothisapproachisunderstandingthatalargepartofyourjobasaphotographeristogetpeopletofeelcomfortable .Youcanlargelydothisbytakinglotsofphotos .Thisprovidesanimportantnon-verbalcuethatwhatanyoneindividualisdoingisnotallthatspecialorphotogenic .asanaturalresponse,yoursubjectsstarttorelaxandgobacktonormalmodesofbehavior .

Scansscanningallowsyoutodigitizethingsthatweren’toriginallymadeon a computer . for multimedia creation purposes some of thesourcesof scanswould include:hand-drawn images,oldphoto-graphs,magazineimages,andmuchmore .Therearelotsofgoodscannersavailabletoday .Youcangetaverygoodscanner(e .g .theCanonliDescanners)forunder$80 .beforescanning,however,therearesomeconceptualissuesyouneedtoknow .Themostim-portant is the role of dp� (or dots per inch) in producing goodscans .

DPI settingtherightlevelofDPIordots per inchaffectsboththequal-ityandthesizeofascan .scanningsoftwaretypicallygivestheuserseveraloptionswithregardstosettingthedp� .oneoptionis72 dpi .Youdonotwanttousethisoption .It’sgoodenoughforabasic


reproductionofthescannedobject,butthat’sall .Thehigherthedp�, therichertheresultingscannedimage .IngeneralIsuggestscanningobjectsat400dpi .let’slookatwhy .

Better Deta�l. byscanningat400dpiyou’llgetaricher,morenu-ancedreproductionoftheobject .That’salwaysgood .

Enlargement Factor. When you scan at 72 dpi, the image on thecomputerscreenwilllookthesamesizeasitisinreallife .some-timesthiscanbefine .butabonusofscanningat400dpi is theobjectonthescreenismuchlarger,withbetter detail,thana72dpiscan .Whyshouldyoucare?let’spretendyou’rescanninganoldwalletsizephotograph .asyouknowthosewallet-sizedphotosaremuchsmallerthanthe800x600pixelsyou’lluseinyourpresenta-tions .However,ifyouscanat400dpithenyourwallet-sizedphotowillendupbeinglargerthan800x600pixels .byusingahigherlevelofdpi(suchas400)youcanenlargethesizeoftheobjectandincreasethequalityofthescan .Whatadeal!Thesecrettothisisthatbycontrollingthedp�youendupwithalargerscancontain-ingmore,andsmallerpixels .

Crop Factor. byusing400dpiyougetaclearerandbiggerimage .Thismeansyouprovideyourselfwithroomtodocropping .let’ssaythatoldelementarylevelclassphotoisscanned .Whatyoure-ally want are you and your two best friends, but not the wholephotograph .bymakingsureyouscananimageatasuitablylargedpisuchas400 dpi,thenyougiveyourselfplentyofroomtocropthatphototoincludeyou,yourtwobestfriends,littleelseandthewholethingwilltakeup800x600pixelswithoutanylossofqual-ity .

Mode Typicallyyou’llbegivenachoiceofatleastthreemodestoworkin:color,grayscale,andblack&white .Mostofthetimeyouwantcolor .However,ifyourimageisablackandwhitephoto,thenusethegrayscaleoption(grayscalewillgiveyouanequalqualityscantocolorbutatasmallersize) .Theblackandwhiteoptionisonlyforscanningthingsliketextsoalloneseesisblacklettersagainstawhitebackground .Thisresultsinthesmallestfilesize,butisonlysuitableforscanningdocuments .

Photoshop almostall scanningsoftwareworkswithPhotoshopandPhoto-shopelements .TypicallyscannersprovideyouwithaPhotoshoppluginonaCDthatcomeswiththescanner .(Youcanalsocheckthemaker’swebsiteforadownloadoftheplugin .)IfyouhaveoneofthePhotoshopproducts,installtherelevantpluginandthenyoucanalwaysdoyourscanningbyopeningPhotoshopelementsfirst .WhathappensisanextramenuitemisaddedtoPhotoshopele-ments(undertheFILE: Importoption) .You’llselectthatoptionandyou’retakentothescannersoftware .What’sniceisthatonceyou’redonescanningallofthedocumentsyouareautomatically

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transferredbacktoPhotoshopelementsforextrapost-productionwork(suchascropping,enhancing,andsharpening) .

VirtuallyeveryscanneroffersaPhotoshoppluginoptionbecauseover95%of thepeopledoing scansona regularbasisusePho-toshoporPhotoshopelementstodofinaleditingworkontheirimagesaftertherawscanhasbeencaptured .

Screen Capturessometimesyouwant tobeable toshowsomethingthatappearsonlyonacomputerscreen .You’vemadeachartinexcel,orhaveasetofexceldatayouwanttodisplay,orawebsitepageyouwanttoshare,oryouwanttoshowsomebodyhowtodoaparticularstepusingInspirationsoftware .allofthesesituations,andmanymore,necessitatetheuseofscreencapturesoftware .

Software boththeWindowsandMacintoshoperatingsystemshavebuilt-inmethodsfordoingscreencaptures(orscreenshots) .bothmethodsworkatarudimentarylevel .It’smuchmoreusefulifyouusesoft-waredesignedtocapturescreenshotsatahigher levelofqualityandcontrol .fortunatelythereisagreatsolutionforeachoperat-ingsystem .

SnagIt for W�ndows. Techsmithmakesthissoftware .Theacademicprice is $25 . once installed snagIt is very easy to use: press thecontrol-alt-P key sequence and an image will be taken of yourscreen . You have many choices about the exact size and type ofimagethat’stakensuchasthefullscreen,aspecificsectionofthescreen,andmore .IngeneralyouwanttosetsnagIttosaveallim-ages as PsDs (or Photoshop documents) . This means there’s nocompression,anditallowsyoutoeasilyopenuptheimageslaterinPhotoshopandaddemphasishighlights .snagItcomeswithavarietyofhighlightingtools(suchasarrows,bordersandsuch) .

SnapzPro for Mac�ntosh. ambrosiasoftwaremakes this software .Theacademicpriceis$29 .onceinstalledsnapzProisveryeasytouse:pressthecontrol-sh�ft-3keysequenceandthesnapzProdia-logboxwillappear .Youcaneasilytakeimagesofthewholescreen,aspecifiedareasetbyyousuchas800x600pixels,orobject(sothatyouget just thedialogboxitselfforexample) .YoucansavetheimagesasPsDsandthenlateropentheimagesinPhotoshopelementstoaddemphasishighlights .

Controlling Size Youwantanimagethat’s800 x 600pixels .onewaytodothisistochangeyourmonitor’sscreenresolution .forexample,inregularworkingmodemyscreenresolutionis1280 x 854 pixels .However,Icanchangemyscreenresolutionto800 x 600pixelswhile tak-ingscreenshots .ThishastheadvantagethatIknoweverythingI

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seeonthescreenwillfitperfectlyintothesizeofthemovieI’llbeconstructing .

alternatively you can also control the image size within snagItandsnapzPro .WhenI’mdoingalotofimagesinarow(e .g .whenshowingallthestepsinvolvedinusingapieceofsoftware),thenIfindchangingmycomputermonitorresolutiontobetheeasiestwaytoproceed .IfI’monlytakingoneortwosnapshots,thenIsetthedesiredsizeofmyscreencapturewithinsnapzProorsnagItto800 x 600pixels .

Web DownloadsImagesdownloadedfromthewebcanbeagreatwaytobuildyourpresentation,butdon’trelyonwebsources toomuch .first,youneedtorespectcopyrightissues .second,assumingtheimagesyouwanttodownloadarenotcopyrightrestricted,thenthesizeoftheimagebecomesacriticalmatter .

Figure 7.1. Google image search result window.

let’sconsideracasestudy .Youneedimagesofbaseballtoroundoutyourpresentation .YougotoawebsitelikeGoogleandclickontheirimagesearcharea .Youtypeinbaseball parks (seefigure7 .1above) .Inafewsecondsawholeloadofimagesarepresentedonyourscreen .Theimagesyouareviewingarethumbnails .athumb-nailisasmallerversionoftheoriginalimageandisonlyintendedtogivetheviewerabasicideaofwhattheoriginalimagelookslike .Mostthumbnailsarelessthan100 x 100pixelsinsize .

Underneaththethumbnailusefulinformationisprovidedinclud-ingthesizeoftheoriginalimageandthewebsitelocationoftheimage(seefigure7 .1) .someimageswillhaveasizeof200 x 175,


others1024 x 768 .Youwanttouseimagesonlyiftherearecloseto,orlargerthan,800 x 600 pixels .IfyouclickontheAdvanced Image Searchlink(seetoprightsideoffigure7 .1andfigure7 .2),youcanspecifythatyouonlywanttoseelargerimages .Thiscanhelpsimplifyyoursearch .

Figure 7.2. Advanced Image Search in Google

onceyou’veidentifiedanimagethathastherightcontentandsize,clickonthethumbnailandyou’llbetakentotheoriginalimage .oncethefullimageappearstheneitherright-click(Windows)orcontrol-click(Mac)tobringupoptionsfordownloadingtheim-age to your hard drive . Windows users get an extra option: theformatofthe image .Makesurethatyoudon’t downloadimagesasbMPs .setthedefaultforimagedownloadstobeJPGorPnGifyou’reaWindowsuser .

Give Credit Makesureattheendofyourproductiontogivecreditwherecreditis due . Tell the viewer where you downloaded web images . Re-member,Googleisonlyasearchengineandthusisnotthewebsitewhereyoudownloadedanimage .Insteadyouneedtogivecredittotheindividualororganizationthatpostedtheimage .


Image Process�ngMost of the images you work with are bit-mapped images con-structedfromlotsofpixelsbeingputtogethertoformanimage(thinkofapointillistpainting) .bit-mappedimagescontainalotofcolorandalotofnuanceintheimage .That’sverygoodforcreat-ingarealisticimage .Themajorlimitationofbit-mappedimagesisthatifyouenlargeapixelitlooksdistorted .Inpracticaltermsthismeans it’sfine toworkwithbit-mapped imagesat theiroriginalsize,oratareducedsize .However,tryingtoenlargeabit-mappedimageresultsinaseriousreductionofimagequality .

Vector images (sometimes called scaleable vector graphics) areessentially composed of lines and a set of directions sent to thecomputerabouthowtodrawallthevariouslines .Thedownsideofvector images is theyare limited in theamountofdetail andnuancetheycontain .Theupside?Youcaneasilyscalethemupordownwithnolossinquality .

InthischapterI’massumingthatyou’reworkingwithbit-mappedimagesandtheprocessing instructions that followapplyonly tobit-mappedimages .someofyourbit-mappedimageswon’tneedadditionalprocessing .such images includescreencaptures (un-lessyouwanttoaddemphasishighlightstothem)andwebdown-loadedimagesthathavealreadybeenprocessed .

on the other hand, digital photographs and scans don’t look asgoodastheycouldintheirnativeform .asanexample,adigitalphotographtypicallyneedstobecropped,toundergosomecolorenhancement,andtobesharpened .Manytimesthesameistrueofscans .

The four essential steps you’ll go through in working with anyphotoorscanincludes:

CroppingColorenhancementsharpeningexportingasaJPG

We’ll lookat each step in turn .by theway, theorderof steps isimportant!Youwant tocropfirst, thenenhance,andat theendsharpen .asafinalstep(nomatterwhattypeofimageyou’rework-ingwith)you’llwanttoexporttheimagetoaformatsuchasJPGorPnGthatcanbereadbyliveslideshow .

1 .2 .3 .4 .


Cropp�ng Croppingallowsyoutogetridofunwantedmaterial .specifically,cropping is a procedure where you select a given part of a bit-mappedimageandthenthesoftwareprogramdeletesalltheothersurroundingbitsoftheimage .Inadditioncroppingallowsyoutoresizeyourimagessotheyareexactly800x600pixels .

Thegeneralideaisthatyouwanttogetasfullanddetailedacap-tureofanimageasyoucan .forinstance,withdigitalcamerasyoutypicallyhaveachoiceofvariousimagesizesandimagequalitieswithwhichtocaptureyourphotos .Ingeneralyoualwayswanttochoosethelargestsizeandthehighestlevelofqualitythat’spos-siblewithanygivencamera .This,inturn,willgiveyouoptimumflexibilityintermsofhowyourfinalimagelooks .

Exact Fit let’spretendyou’vetakenaphotothatyouwanttouse .It’ssizeis3,000x2,000pixels .Yourpresentationusesimagesthatare800x600pixels .Thusthedigitalphotoismuchlargerthanwhat’sneed-edforyourslideshow .Thebeautyofcroppingisthatitallowsyoutosimultaneouslychoosewhatportionofthephotoyouwanttokeepandresizethephotosothatitisexactly 800x600pixels .

Step by Step let’s look at how cropping works in Photoshop elements . firstwhatyou’llseeisanimagethatI’veopenedupinPhotoshopele-ments .Thisimageis3504x2336pixels(asyoucantellbylookingattheinformationjustunderneaththeimageinfigure7 .3) .

Figure 7.3. The raw image in Photoshop.


nextyouwanttoselectthecroptool(seethegrayhighlightedtoolinthefigurebelow) .Thesymbolforthecroptoolisthesameinallsoftwareprograms .InPhotoshopelementsitisthefifthtoolontherightsidefromthetop .However,thecroptoolwillbeindif-ferentlocationsinotherprograms(evenPhotoshop) .nonethelessitwillalwaysbeofferedasatool,andtheiconforcroppingwillalwaysbethesameregardlessofthesoftwareprogramyouuse .

Figure 7.4. The crop tool

afterclickingonthecroptool,you’llclick-and-dragstartingatthetopleftcorneroftheexactareathatyouwanttopreserve .Therestoftheimagewillbecropped(orthrownaway) .

Sett�ng Crop S�ze. before taking thestepofcropping let’s lookathowtoresizeourimagesoit’sexactly800x600pixels .noticethatonceyou’veselectedthecroptoolanewhorizontal informationbarwillappearatthetopofthescreenasshowninthefigurebe-low .

Figure 7.5. The cropping tool information bar.

noticehowyoucanpresetthewidth,height,andresolutionofthecrop .Makethesesettings800forwidthand600forheight .

Sw�tch�ng from Inches to P�xels. It’s possible that Photoshop ele-ments (or another program) is set up to display information intermsofinchesinsteadofpixels .There’stwoworkaroundstothis .oneoptionis toselectPreferenceswithinPhotoshopelements .You’ll see several categories of preferences . Choose Un�ts and Rulers .WhenthedialogboxappearschangethesettingforRul-ersfrominchestopixels .anotheroptionistousetheequivalentcommandinincheswhere800pixelsequals11 .11inchesand600pixelsequals8 .33inches .Justputtheseinchequivalentsintothecropinformationboxandyou’llbefine .

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Cropp�ng the Image. oncethesizesettingsaremade,clickontheimagewhereyouwanttostarttheupperleftcornerofyourcrop .Keepingthemouseclickdowndragtotherightanddownuntilyou’vecoveredthecompleteareayouwanttocrop .(Ifyoumakeamistakeyoucanpresstheescapekeytodisengagethecroptool .)onceyou’veclickedanddragged,letgoofthemouseclickeryou’llsee marching ants defining the boundaries of your crop area asshownbelow .

Figure 7.6. The crop area defined by marching ants.

let’s pretend that your crop area is not placed exactly as youwanted .Youcouldpress theescapekeyand start again .or,usetheright,left,upanddownarrowsonyourkeyboardtonudgethedesignatedcropareatogetanexactplacement .Youcanalsoclickon thehandlesat the fourcornersof thecroparea toresize thedesignatedcrop .

Whenyou’re readydouble-click inside thecroparea .Voila!Theimagewillbecroppedandresizedasshownbelow .

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Figure 7.7. The resulting cropped image.

noticehowthe image isnow800by600pixels (youcan tellbylookingattheinformationjustbelowtheimageitself) .

Color Enhancement Thisstepspiffs upyourimages .Itenhancesthecolorinyourim-age,getsridofhaze,makesthecolorlooktruertolife,andmore .Youwanttodocolorenhancementsaftercropping .Thenyouwon’tinclude irrelevant information from the original image that youwon’tbeusinganyway .Your imagewillbeenhancedevenif theprocessisdonebeforecropping .but,enhancementaftercroppingwillleadtothebestresults .

TherearethreespecificenhancementprocessesI’llrecommend .Inmanycasesonly1or2oftheseprocesseswillimproveyourimage .Insomecases,noneofthemwill .Youneedtobeanintelligentuserofimagingsoftware .Testoutenhancementswithallyourimages .Keep the enhancements that lead to improvements, undo thosethathavenoeffectoranegativeeffect .

Camera Quality Thelessyoupayforadigitalcamera,thefewerfeaturesyouget .Twocriticalaspectsofacameraare:(a)thequalityofthelensand(b)thequalityofthefilmused .Inthecaseofadigitalcamerathereisno“film”intheregularsenseoftheword,butanimageiscap-turedandthensavedtoastoragedisk .bettercamerascomewithbetter capturing sensors . better cameras also come with betterlenses .TheconsequenceisthatifyouhaveaprofessionalCanonornikondigitalcamerathenenhancementprocessesmaydonoth-ingtoimproveyourimages .However,ifyouhaveagood,reliable$250digital camera thenmostofyour imageswillbe improved


moderately to significantly by using three quick enhancementsteps .

Step by Step We’ll go through a three stage enhancement process in Photo-shopelements .eachofthethreestagesyoumayuseornot,butwe’ll check out each possibility . In Photoshop elements use theenHanCemenuandthenyoucanselectautolevels,autoCon-trast,andautoColorCorrection in turnasshown in thefigurebelow .

Figure 7.8. Color adjustments options.

IgnoretheAuto Smart F�xoption .Dothethreeotheroptionsinorder .Ifyoudon’tliketheresultofonestep,justusethekeyboardcommandofcontrol-Z(Win)orcommand-Z(Mac)toundoanadjustment .Here’sthethreesteps:

autolevelsadjustmentautoContrastadjustmentautoColorCorrectionadjustment

Sharpen�ng sharpening is the third enhancement step when working with

a bit-mapped image . Most electronic devices take “soft” images,meaningthere’sanoticeableamountofblurintheimage .There’stworeasonsforthis:

Theextraamountofblurusually leads tobetterprintedimages .ausercanalwayssharpenanimagetotheirowntaste .byleavinginalittleextrablur(orsoftness),theusercansub-sequentlydecideforthemselveshowmuchextrasharpen-ingshouldbedone .

sharpeningmakestheimagelooksharperorcrisperonthescreen .It’spossibleforanimagetohavetoo muchsharpening:theresultisanimagethatlookstoharshor“bitty”totheeye .Thetrickistoapplyjusttherightamountofsharpening .

I’mnotgoingtoteachyouhowtoapplyjusttherightamountof

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sharpening because that takes a good photographic eye, as wellas significant practice and skill . Instead I’ll give you a shortcutmethodthattypicallyleadstogood,butnotexcellent,sharpeningresults .

Step by Step alldigitalimagingsoftwareprogramshaveanoptionforsharpen-ing .I’mgoingtoshowyouwhattodoinPhotoshopelements .It’sonlyonestep,butit’sanimportantone .GotothefIlTeRmenuandyou’llseetheselectionsasshownbelow .

Figure 7.9. The Sharpen filter

ChoosetheSharpenoptionandyou’llfindfoursuboptions .With-inthosefoursuboptionschooseSharpenagain .simplystated,youwanttochoosetheSharpen-Sharpenoption .TheUnsharp Maskis theoption thatprofessionalsuse, soyoumaywant toexplorethisoption ifyouchoose todelve intoPhotoshopelementsatadeeperlevel .

Save and Export onceyouhavemadeallyourenhancementstoanimagethenyou

wanttosavetheimageasaPsDfile .asyoustartedwithaJPG,whythechangeinformat?JPGisacompressiontechniquethatisusedonimages .ThebadnewsisJPGsaren’tverygoodforeditingbecauseeachtimeyousaveaJPGimagethequalityoftheimagegoesdown .Withinafewsavesyourimagewillstarttolookmuchworse .ThetrickistoconverttheimagetoaPsDfile(orPhoto-shopDocument)assoonaspossible .ThePsDformathasnono-ticeablelossinqualityasyousave,resave,andmakechangestoanimage .ThedownsideisthatPsDsaremuchbigger,butthat’snotamajorproblem .


Save As PSD Use thefIle:saveascommand inPhotoshopelements .You’llthenseeadialogboxthatallowsyoutochoosethenamefortheimage (thiscanremain thesame)and the format .Clickon thatformatbarandseveraloptionswillpopup .MakesuretochoosePsDorPhotoshopformatoption .

My Software Doesn’t Offer the PSD Opt�on. let’spretendyouhavea very simple image editing program . It doesn’t offer the abilitytosaveasaPsD .anotheralternativeoptionwouldbetosaveasaTIff(thisisalsoanuncompressedimageformat) .IftheTIfffor-matisnotofferedthenyouneedtogetcreative .specificallymakeall the changesyouwant toyour image, then saveas a JPGbutwithaslightlydifferentname .forinstanceiftheimageiscurrentlynamed“MyDog .jpg”thencallthenewsavedimage“MyDog2 .jpg .”byrenamingtheimageyou’llavoidthenegativeconsequencesofmultiplecompressionsdoneonthesameimage .

Export as JPG onceyou’vecompletedalltheworkdoneonyourbit-mappedim-ages,thenthefinalstepistothensaveallofthemasJPGs .Thisfi-nalstepcreatessmallerfilesizesthatwillresultinyourmultimediaprojectbeingsmallerandmorecompact .However,don’tdothisfinalstepuntilyou’recompletelydonewithanyeditingorchangestoyourimages .

Thespecificcommandvariesfromsoftwaretosoftware .somepro-gramsrefertothisstepas“exporting”andothersjustusethe“saveas”command .ThemostefficientwaytodoallofthisinPhotoshopelementsistousetheSave for WeboptionunderthefIlemenu .

Figure 7.10. The Save for Web dialog box.

Thereareseveralimportantaspectsofthisdialogbox,butnotice

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theupper rightarea (under theHelpbar)whereyoucandeter-minewhatkindofformatwillbeused(JPGischosen)andatwhatquality(Very Highischosen) .IngeneralusingtheJPGformatat“veryhigh”qualityistheroutetotake .

Batch Processing somesoftwareprograms(likePhotoshopelements)offeryoutheabilitytodobatchconversionsofPsDstoJPGs .Whatthismeansis that if all your PsD images are in one folder then by using asimplecommandPhotoshopelementswillconvertallofthoseim-ages(whetherit’s3or300)intoJPGs!Thisisabigtimesaverandisbecominganincreasinglyavailableoptiononmostphotoimagingsoftwareprograms .

Here’showtodoitinPhotoshopelements .GotothefIlemenuandchooseProcess Mult�ple F�lesasshowninthefigurebelow .

Figure 7.11. Batch Processing.

You’llthenbetakentoadialogboxthatoffersyouseveraloptionsasshowninthenextfigure .


Figure 7.12. The Processing Dialog Box.

Thetwomostimportantfeaturesofthisdialogboxarethetopandthebottomareas .Thetopareaallowsyoutodesignatetwofolders:onethatcontainsalltheimagesyouwanttoprocessandanotherwhereyouwanttostoretheprocessedimages .so,beforestartingtousethisoptionmakesureyouhavecreatedanewfolderonyourharddrivetoputtheexportedJPGsinto .asyoucanseethere’sanoption for brows�ng your hard drive to locate the specific fold-erstobeusedasasourceandasadestination .onceyouhavethispart completed, then go down to the bottom of the dialog box .Hereyoucanchooseexactlyhowtoconvertyourfiles .YoucanseeI’vechosenJPG H�gh Qual�ty .Isuggestyouusethissamesetting .ThenclicktheOK buttonandPhotoshopelementswillconvertall ofyourPsDdocumentsatonceintoJPGimages .


SummaryTherearemanydifferentwaystocreategoodsupportimagesforyourmultimediapresentation .Thechapterfirstsuggesteddevel-opingagameplan for thekindsandnumberof support imagesyou’llneed .Thischapterthenbrieflylookedatfourdistinctwaystofindorcreatesuchimages:photographs,scans,screencaptures,and web downloads . The chapter then looked at the importantprocessof imageprocessingfocusingonthreedistinctenhance-ment procedures: cropping, color correction, and sharpening .finallywelookedattheimportantissuesofsavingyouroriginalworkasanuncompressed PsDfileandexportingyourfinalworkforliveslideshowasacompressedJPGfile .

Exerc�se 7Thisexercisecomplementstheworkyou’vedoneinpreviousex-ercises .

Create Titles Develop3 support images toaccompanyyour“Mystory”audio .Make sure all of the images are exported (or saved as) JPG im-ages .

Name the Images name the images as yournamesupport1 .jpg, yournamesupport2 .jpg,andsoon .so,ifyournamehappenstobealice,thentheim-agesshouldbetitledalicesupport1 .jpg,alicesupport2 .jpg,andsoon .

Send the Images sendyourimagestome .Inmostcasestheeasiestwaytodothisistoattachtheimagestoanemailmessage .However,youcanalsobringtheimagestomeonaflashdriveorburnedtoaCD

8 Professional Images

Chapter 8

Edcasting

CHaPTeR8 . PRO IMAGES 147

Overv�ewThis chapter is optional . each year students want to tackle thechallengeofmakingsomeoftheirimages“special”insomeway .In essence they are wondering about how to make their imageslookmoreprofessional .Thereis,ofcourse,noeasyanswertothisdesire .

Professionallookingimagesrequireanumberofskills,includingthecriticalabilitytothinkandseelikeagraphicdesigner .Ifyoudon’t already have this skill (and most students don’t), then theshortanswerisyouwon’tbecomeagraphicdesignerandproduceprofessionalimagesovernight .Ittakestimeandpractice .nonethe-less,therearesomekeypracticaltechniquesthatcanhelpanyonemaketheir images lookmoreprofessional .Thischapterpresentsthosekeytechniques .

Whenworkingwithbit-mapped images suchasphotographsorscans,thesoftwareusedbyatleast95%ofprofessionalsisPhoto-shop .sincePhotoshopisexpensive,andI’llassumemostofyoudon’thaveit,I’llfocusonit’ssibling:Photoshopelements .WhilePhotoshopelementscan’tdoeverythingthatPhotoshopdoes,itisveryaffordableand verypowerfulsoftwareforworkingwithbit-mappedimages .

Chapter Model The chapter’s visual model (next page) provides an overviewofthechapter .asyoucantell fromthemodel, thecentraltech-niquetounderstandwhencreatingprofessionalimagesislayers .Thesecondmostimportantconceptisopacity .Ifyouunderstandthesetwotechniqueswell,thentheothertechniques(suchaslay-er styles, screens, filters and much more) will become relativelyeasytolearn .Withthetechniquesoflayeringandopacityinyourgraphicstoolkit,yourabilitytocreateprofessionalimagesislim-itedtoyourdesignskillsbutnotyourcomputerskills .

Thischapterpresentsaconceptualoverviewonly .Therearemanygood books that go into detail about how to use Photoshop orPhotoshop elements on a more refined level . I’ll provide basicdefinitionsandconceptualoverviewsofkeytopicslikelayersandopacity .somestep-by-stepinstructionsarealsoprovided .Justasimportant, you can download several multimedia tutorials thatgo into more detail about how to use Photoshop elements . Thetutorialsaddressscanning,usinglayers,exportingdifferentlayersfromone image,usingmasksandmuchmore .Pleasedownloadand take advantage of these multimedia tutorials if you want amoredetailedunderstandingofthespecifictechniquestoenhanceyourimages .


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Photoshop ElementsI’vechosentohighlightPhotoshopelementsasthegraphicdesignsoftwaretoolbecauseitissoversatileformultimediacreationpur-poses .Photoshopcandomorethanelements,butbothhavethecapabilitiestodoalltheproceduresdiscussedinthischapter .Insomecasesthespecificlabelingusedinoneprogramisdifferentfromtheother(e .g .Photoshopusestheword“styles”andPseuses“layerstyles”) .Insomecases,thespecificmenulocationordialogboxforaprocedureisdifferentinoneversionthantheother .nei-ther this chapter, nor the multimedia tutorials, will try to coverallthesevariations .Justbeassured,inaworstcasescenario,thatthemenuoptionorproceduredoesexist,butmaybeinaslightlydifferentlocation,orhaveaslightlydifferentname,thanshowninthischapter .

V�ew Bas�cs_of_PSE. This 20 minute tutorial pro-vides you with an overview of all the major basic features of Photoshop Elements. It was written for PSE2 (now at version 3 on the Mac and version 4 on Windows). However, all the key concepts dis-cussed still apply to the newer versions.

Understand�ng LayersThe idea of layers is important to designing and editing profes-sionalimages .notallsoftwareprogramshavetheabilitytocreatelayers,butthebestgraphicsprogramsallhavethiscapability .

An Example Imaginedrawinganimage(e .g .aredcircle)onasheetoftrans-parencypaper .nextimaginedrawinganotherimage(e .g .abluesquare) on another sheet of transparency paper . now put onetransparencysheetontopoftheother .Ifyouwanttorearrangethepositionofthebluesquareyoucansimplymoveitstransparencysheetandthiswillhavenoeffectonthepositionoftheredcircle .Thetwofigurescanbealmostontopofoneanotherorprettyfarapart depending on how you position the transparency sheets .Layers are the software equivalent of transparency sheets.

The Power of Layers Graphicprofessionalslovelayersbecauselayersgivethemmuchmorecontroloverthefinalimage .Mostofthiscontrolcomesfromallowingapersontoeasilyeditanimage .forexample,let’ssayyouoriginallywantedtoseearedcircleoverlappingwithabluesquare .Youcouldsimplydrawbothononelayer inagraphicssoftwareprogram .That’sgreatifyouneverchangeyourmind(orifaclientneverchangestheirmind) .However,ifatalaterdateyoudecidethatitwouldbemoreeffectivetohavethebluesquareintheupperleftcornerofyourdrawingspaceandtheredcircleinthecenter,then the power of layers kicks in . If everything is on one layer,

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thenit’simpossible(orcumbersome)tochangethedrawing .ontheotherhandifthetwoshapesareontwodifferentlayersthenit’seasytorepositionbothshapesbecausethepositioningofoneshapeisindependentofthepositionoftheothershapeduetous-inglayers .

3 Reasons to Care Whymightyoucareaboutlayers?Thereareatleastthreecompel-lingreasons:editingbecomeseasier, it’seasiertoarrangeforthepresentationofanimageinmultiplestages,andtheabilitytocre-atemorecompellingimages .

Ed�t�ng Graph�c Images. editingandre-editingbecomesmucheas-ierwiththeuseoflayers .Whenyoudon’thavelayersalltheele-mentsofyourimageareflattenedontoonelayerortransparencysheet .Justasgoodwritingisoftengoodediting,thatsameistruewithcreatingimages .Takingawaytheabilitytoeditmeansthatit’sveryhardtocreateimagesataprofessionallevel .

Mult�-Stage Images. Using layers formultimediamakes iteasytocreate imageswhicharebuilt upduring themultimediapresen-tation .oneimageinPhotoshopcreatedwith layersmayendupbeingexportedas5-10differentimagesrepresentingthestep-by-stepbuildupofamodel,aformula,orsomeothergraphic .Thisallowsyoutopresentcomplexgraphicmaterial(suchasadetailedvisualmodel)insuitable“chunks”thatisalignedwithyouraudiotrack .Insteadofseeingthecompletevisualmodelatonce,takingadvantageoflayersallowsyoutocreateaproductwherethevisualmodelslowlybuildsupinseveralpartsuntilattheendtheviewerseesthecompletemodel .Thiscreatesvisualvariationwhilealsoallowingtheviewertoconstructivelybuildupthemodelintheirownmindsonechunkatatime .

Compell�ng Images. Programs like Photoshop elements provideseveraltoolsforcreatingcompelling images .laterinthischapteryou’ll learnaboutfilters .oneof thefilters includedwithPhoto-shopelementsallowsyoutotransformanimagewithaspecialef-fectnamedCutout .essentiallythisfiltertransformstheimageintoaflatgraphicdesignobjectsuchasonewouldseeonaposter .Thiseffect, and most of the others, provide interesting effects . Here’stheproblem:theeffectscanbetoooverwhelming .Whatyouwant,muchofthetime,isapartialapplicationoftheeffect .byusinglay-ers,combinedwithlayeropacity,youcanincreasevisualinterestbyhavinganeffectpartiallyappliedtoanimage .

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V�ew RoadMap. I made this movie to provide an overview of the course content in a foundational level statistics. The movie is about 10 minutes long. Only one graphic image is used. The graphic image (i.e. the statistical roadmap) is provided all at once as an overview. Then the model is presented part-by-part to emphasize those concepts in the roadmap that would be covered in a particular class session. In all there were 9 variations to this one master im-age. Thanks to layers this was simple to do.

Checking for Layers Howdoyouknowifaspecificsoftwareprogramworkswithlay-ers?Therearemanypotentialwaystofindout:readareviewoftheproduct(ifithaslayersthenitwilllikelybementionedinthereview),lookatthespecificationsforasoftwarepackageatitswebsite(theywillcertainlymentionlayersasacriticalfeature),orasksomeone who is familiar with the program . The various profes-sional software programs that illustrators and designers use all havetheabilitytoworkinlayers .Thesesoftwareprogramsinclude:Photoshop,Illustrator,freehand,fireworks,andCorelDraw .

Theabilitytouselayersisalsobuiltintoseveralnovice-levelsoft-wareprograms .forexample,omniGrafflefortheMacintoshhastheabilitytoworkwithlayers .IfyouareconsideringusingsomeothersoftwareprogrambesidesPhotoshopelements,thendoyourhomeworktocheckifituseslayers .

Thereareseveralwellknownsoftwareprogramsthathaveelemen-tarygraphiccapabilitiesbutdonothavethelayeringfeature .Theseprograms include Word, PowerPoint, and excel . Two programsthat probably should have layers but don’t are Microsoft WorksandappleWorks .bothprogramsoffer illustrationandpaintingmodules,butneitherof themhastheabilitytoworkwith layer-ing .

Planning is the Key Themainingredientincreatingalayeredimageistoplanahead .evenifyouaregoingtocreateyourfinal imageusingcomputersoftware, it’s useful to create a hand drawn sketch of your finalmasterimage .Thisallowsyoutomakementaleditsbeforeyougetstarted . Italsoallowsyou tomentallyplan forhowmany layersyouwanttouseandwhichelementsshouldgoonwhichlayer .

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Layers �n PSE InPhotoshopelementsthelayerstabisusuallystoredinthetoprightcornerofourscreenwithseveralothertabswithnamessuchasHowTo,filters,effects,andsoon(seefigure8 .1below) .You’lllearn about using the filters and layer styles tabs later in thischapter .

Figure 8.1. Various tabs in PSE including Layers.

Workingwithlayersbecomesunwieldyifyouareconstantlyclick-ingonthelayerstabinthetabshelf .oneveryelegantdesignfea-tureofPse is that isallowsyouto teara tabaway fromthe tabshelf .Totear,clickonthefar leftsideofaspecifictab,keepthemouse-clickdown,anddragthetabintoagoodlocationonyourcomputerscreen .Voila!You’llnowseethelayerstabalwaysopenandreadytouseonyourscreenasshowninthefigurebelow .

Figure 8.2. The opened Layers palette.

notice that in figure 8 .2 the image has 3 layers: the first is thebackgroundlayerwhichisblack,thesecondisatext layer,andthethirdisashapelayer .everyimagewillhaveabackgroundlayer,butyouwon’tnecessarilyhavetextorshapelayerswitheverydocu-mentyouworkwith .

agreatfeatureofPseisthatitbothputsthingsonseparatelay-ersandithelpsdistinguishbetweenthedifferentkindsofmaterial


(suchastext,shapes,andsoon) .eachlayerispreviewedinthetab .Ifyouwant,youcanrenameeachlayersothatithasamoreintui-tivenamethantheautomaticnamingPseprovides .

The Background Layer Thereisalwaysabottom line layercreatedbyPsethatisnamedbackground .Youcanneverdeleteormovethislayer .Isuggest:

Ifstartingfromscratch,leavethebackgroundlayerblankandstartyourimageonanewlayer .If starting with a photograph, make a duplicate layer of thebackground photograph and work on that duplicate layer . Ifanythingevergoeswrong,youcanreturntotheoriginalstateofthephotographythatresidesonthebackgroundlayer .

If you insert text anew layer isautomatically createdwhenyouclickinthedrawingarea .Ifyoudrawashapelikewiseanewlayerisautomaticallycreatedwhenyouclickinthedrawingarea .How-ever,ifyouopenaphotographicimage,thenitisplacedonwhat-ever layer is currently selected . If aphoto ison thebackgroundlayerjustduplicatethelayerandworkwiththenewlycreatedlayer .ThenextthreefiguresshowyouhowtoduplicatealayerinPse .

Figure 8.3. Background layer only after opening a photo.

notethatthelayernamedbackgroundhasalockicon(farrightside)indicatingthislayercannotbemovedorremoved .

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Figure 8.4. Click on More button and select Duplicate Layer.

Figure 8.5. Two layers, one changeable, after duplicating.

Moving Layers layersare like transparencies .oneconsequence is thatyoucaneasilychangetheorderofthosetransparencies .Theorderofthetransparencies(orlayers)controlswhichobjectsareaboveotherobjects . You may find that you want to change the hierarchy oflayersfromtimetotime .It’sveryeasy .Justclickonthelayeryouwanttomove .Keepthemouseclickdownanddragthelayerup(ordown)tothelocationwhereyouwanttoplaceitrelativetotheotherlayersintheimage .

Scans & Layers Youmaywanttoknowhowtotakeabasicscanofanimageandturnthat intoa layeredPhotoshopelementsdocument thatcanthenbeexportedasseveralimagesthatbuild-uptothefinalmas-terimage .Thiscanbedonefairlyeasily,butIsuggestviewingthemovienamedScan&Layer .


V�ew Scan&Layer. This 10 minute tutorial provides you with the step-by-step procedures you would need to do in order to create a layered version of your scanned master image.

Understand�ng Opac�tyopacityallowsyoutocontrolthelookthatresultswhentwolayersoverlaporareontopofoneanother .Whentheopacityforthetopimageissetto100%thenthatlayeristotallyopaque .Ifbothlayerscontainphotographsofthesamesize,thenallyou’llbeabletoseeisthetoplayerphotograph,asthebottomlayerphotocan’tshowthrough .

opacityisusedinanumberofcreativeways,mainlyinconjunc-tionwithlayers .forinstance,intheexamplejustgivenifIsettheopacityofthetoplayerto50% .Inthiscaseafairamountofthebottom image will bleed through and be visible . sometimes thiscanlookhorrible,butinthehandsofagraphicdesignerthistoolleads to very interesting and compelling effects . In this chapterwe’llonlyskimthesurfaceofwhatcanbedonewithopacity .

The example I want to use is that of a photograph to which wewant toapplya special effect .However, all theeffectsweuse inPseareall or nothingeffects .sometimeswhatyoureallywantisabout30%of thateffect,not thewhole thing . Inessence, this isthegraphicdesignequivalentofdecafcoffee:wewanttheflavorandsomeofthecaffeine,butwewanttobeabletomoderatetheamountofthecaffeineblast .

asarule-of-thumb,you’lloftenwanttoapplyabout20to30%ofaneffecttoaphotograph .However,there’snowaytodothiswith-outtakingadvantageofopacity .Thenextsectiontakesaconcreteexampleofhowtoapplyopacity .Pleaseremember,however,thattherearemanydifferenttimesandwaysinwhichyoumightwanttouseopacity:theexampleprovidedonlygivesaglimpseofhowyoumightusethistechnique .

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Opac�ty �n PSEConsiderthephotographbelow .ThisisthebasicimageIwanttouseafterapplyingcropping,colorenhancements,andsharpening .InthisexampleI’llbeusingaPsefilter .Justgowiththedirectionsrightnowtolearnaboutopacity,butmoredetailsaboutfilterswillbeprovidedlaterinthechapter .

Figure 8.7. Photograph of street dancers.

Duplicatethebackgroundlayer .Chose the Dry Brush filter from the Art�st�c submenu underfIlTeRs .Theresultingimagelooksliketheimageinfigure8 .8 .Mostpeoplewouldwantamoresubtleimagethentheresultinfigure8 .8 .YoucancontroltheamountofDry Brushfilteringseenbyus-ingtheopacityoption .first,selectthelayerwhereyouwanttochangetheopacity .Clickonthelayertabandsetthelevelofopacityinthelayerstabasshowninthefigure8 .9 .You’llfindtheopacitysettingintheupperrightregionofthelayerstab .noticethatinthisex-ampletheopacityofthesecondlayeris50% .Theresultisshowninthefigure8 .10 .Youcanprobablyseethedifferencebetweentheoriginalandthisalteredimage .

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Figure 8.8. Photo after the Dry Brush filter has been applied.

Figure 8.9. Setting opacity level in the Layers tab.

Figure 8.10. The final image after applying opacity.


Text with Opacity althoughopacityisoftenusedwithphotographicimages,itcanbeusedwithgreatbenefitinmanyothersituations .onetypicaluseistocontroltheopacityoftextlayerssothatablockoftextshowsupinamoresubtlewaysthanitwouldbepossibleotherwise .Thismaybeofsomeusetoyou,sokeepinmindthatopacitycanbeusedonanylayer,eventextlayers .

Layer Styleslayerstylesprovideyouwiththeabilitytoeasilyapplyprofession-allookingstylestoindividuallayersinyourimages .Whenyouuseastyleit’sappliedtoeverything ontheselectedlayer .Conceptuallythisreinforcestheideathatyouwanttokeepindividualcompo-nentsofanimageonseparatelayers .

If you click on the layer styles tab in Pse you’ll see somethingsimilartothefigurebelow .

Figure 8.6. The Layer Styles tab.

There’saselectionbuttonjustunderthewording“layerstyles .”Infigure8 .6thespecificlayerstylessetshowingisnamedWow Neon .Ifyouclickontheselectorbuttonyou’llfindseveraladditionalsetsofstylesthatcanbeusedinPse .stylesarenotalwaysself-explana-tory,soyoutypicallyhavetotrythemouttoseehowtheywork .

notethatwithinthecurrentsetofWow Neon stylesyouaregivenavarietyofchoicesintermscolorsandshadows .allofthestyleshaveamissingcenter .Thismeansthatifyouhavealayerthatcon-tainsasolidcircle,andthenyouclickononeoftheWowneonstyles,thentheinsideofthecirclegetsknockedoutandthebordergetsstyledwithaspecificcolorandshadoweffect .stylesetsthatknockoutthemiddlesofobjectsaregreatifyouwanttoaddem-


phasisboxesorcirclesinyourimage .However,moststylesetsdonotknockoutthecenter .

Undoing Styles If you need to undo a style it’s quite simple . notice that in PsethereisamenucalledlaYeR .ClickonthismenuandselecttheLayer StyleoptionfollowedbytheClear Layer Stylesuboptionsasshowninthefigurebelow .

Figure 8.7. Options under the LAYER menu.

TheClear Layer Style commandisveryusefulwhenexperiment-ing,ormakingamistake,whileapplyingalayerstyle .It’salwayspossibletoundothelayerstyle .

Extra Styles YoucandownloadextrastylesthatarenotalreadyincludedwithPse .ThebestsourceforadditionalstylesetsistheAdobe Studiowebsite .allof thestyle setsprovidedare free todownload .Thewebsitetouseis:

http://share.studio.adobe.com

Whenat theAdobe Studiowebpage,clickonthePhotoshopop-tion .nextclickonthestylessuboption .Currentlythereareover1,000stylesetslistedthere .onceyou’vedownloadedastylesettoyourcomputer’sharddriveyou’llneedtomovethestyletoaspe-cificlocationwiththePhotoshopelementsfolder:

Within your Pse application folder you’ll find a subfoldernamedPresets .open this folder and you’ll find another subfolder namedStyles .Moveanyofyourdownloadedstylesintothisfolder .YouneedtoquitandrestartPse(ifit’salreadyopen)beforethenewstylesetsbecomeavailabletoyouwithintheprogram .

somestylesetsareespeciallyusefulformakingyourtexthaveex-

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tra pizzazz . Typically text-enhancement styles only work well ifyourfontsizeisat48pointsormore .nonetheless,throughabitofexperimentation,youcanfindseveralstylesthathelpenhancethevisualattractivenessofyourtext .

Layer Screenslayer screens are primarily used with photographic material .There are a lot of different screens and I won’t attempt to coverallofthem .However,therearethreespecificscreensyoushouldknowabout:multiply,screen,andcolordodge .

screensworkbyhavingthesame photographicmaterial interactwith itself . This is accomplished by duplicating a photographiclayerandthenapplying thescreento the layer that isabove theoriginallayer .Therearetwomainreasonsforusingscreens:

Thephotographistoolightandyouwanttoadddetailandsomedarkness .The photograph is too dark and you want it to appearlighter .

selecta layerscreenbyclickingon thebarat the top leftof thelayerstab,justtotheleftoftheopacitysettingbox .Thedefaultforlayerscreensis“normal .”Ifyouclickonthatnormaloptionyou’llthenseeseveralsuboptionsasdepictedinfigure8 .8(below) .

Figure 8.8. The layer screen options (partial view).

Theonlythreeoptionswe’lllookataredarkenandscreen .belowyouseethreevariationsofanimage:theoriginalimage,theimageafterthescreen screenhasbeenapplied,andthe imageafterthemultiply screenhasbeenapplied .

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Figure 8.9. Streetdancers original photograph.

Figure 8.10. Photograph after using the Screen screen.

Figure 8.11. Photograph after using the Multiply screen.

Youshouldbeabletovisuallyseethedifferencesbetweenthethreeimages .ThestepsItooktocreatethesescreenswere:


Duplicatethelayerwiththeoriginalphotographonit .IftheimageistoodarkthenclickonthescreentabandchooseScreen . There is an option called L�ghten, but it’s the Screenoptionthatlightensupaphoto .IftheimageistoolightthenclickonthescreentabandchooseMult�ply .Moderate theamountof lighteningordarkeningthatappearsbyadjustingtheOpacitysetting .

PleaserememberthatopacityisamajortechniqueinPhotoshopelements . Itcanalwaysbeused tomoderate theamountofanyeffect applied to a specific layer . The end result is that by usingopacity you gain much more control over the exact look of thefinalimage .

F�ltersInadditiontostyles,Pseoffersalargevarietyoffilters .filtersareprimarilyusedwithphotographs .notice that there is afIlTeRoptiononthePsemenubar . IfyouclickonthatfIlTeRmenuthenyou’llseetheoptionspresentedinthefigurebelow .

Figure 8.12. The Filter menu options.

You’realreadyfamiliarwiththeSharpenfilterthatweusedtodobasicimageenhancementstophotographsaspresentedinChap-ter7onSupport Images .

However,youcanseethatthereareatonoffilteringoptions .Youcanexploretheseoptionsonyourown .figure8 .12highlightsthesuboptionsavailablewhenyouclickontheArt�st�cfilteroption .every filter option has several suboptions . In general, though,you’llprobablyfindtheArt�st�cfiltersthemostuseful .

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The artistic filters can create intriguing effects when applied tophotographicimages .Thefiltersyou’llprobablyfindmostusefulare:

CutoutDrybrushfilmGrainPosteredges

Theessentialstepsforusingeffectsare:

Duplicate the layer with the original photograph on it . Makesureyouselecttheduplicated(ortop)layer .fromtheFILTERmenuchoosethespecificfilteryouwanttoapply .Ifyoudon’tliketheresult,chooseUndo fromtheeDITmenu .Moderate the effect of the filter by adjusting the Opacity set-ting .

somepeoplefindthevarietyoffilterssointriguingandmesmer-izing that they lose countless hours playing around with them .Playingaroundcanbeaveryproductiveapproachtogainingnewskillsandinsights .Thatsaid,I’dsuggestjustexperimentingwithafewbasicfiltersduringanacademicsemester .otherwiseyoumayfindthatyou’vebeenprettyunproductivefromanacademicper-spective .later,whenyouhavemorefreetimeduringanacademicbreak,thenexperimentmoreextensivelywiththevariousfilterop-tions .

MasksMaskingisatechniquethatessentiallyallowsyoutoblockoutonepartofanimagetorevealanotherimageonaseparatelayer .forinstance,byusingmaskingyoucancombinepartofaphotoofastudentwithanotherphotoofaschoolbuilding .Throughmask-ingyoucancreateanewimagewhereitlookslikethestudentwasphotographedattheschoolbuildinginsteadofatherhome .

Maskingcanbeusedtocombineimagesincountlessinterestingandcompellingways .Masteringtheartofmaskingtakespractice .Thisbookwillnotaddressthisadvancedandimportantskillthatprofessionalsuseall thetime .However,someofthemultimediatutorialsdoaddressmasking .Here’swhereI’dstart:

V�ew Us�ng Masks. This movie, created by Maria Estrada, shows how masks work in Photoshop and how to do a simple mask in a step-by-step manner. I highly suggest viewing this movie just to get a ba-sic idea of what masks can do.

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Mult�ple Exportsalthoughyouwillcreateamasterimage,howyouexportaseriesofimagesthatcanbeusedeffectivelybyliveslideshowneedstodonecarefully .Theessential ideaisthatyouwanttoexportinasystematicfashion .Thismeansthatyoumaywantyourviewertofirstseeonlythelayerthatcontainsthefirstpartofyourdrawing .Thenyoumaywantyourviewertoseethatfirstpartplusthesec-ondpartaddedon(usuallyviaacrossfadetransition) .Theimagecancontinuetoevolveinthisfashionuntiltheviewerseesthefinalimagewithalllayersvisible .

let’spretendyourimagehas7layers .eachlayercontainsauniqueelementofyouroverall image .asanexample, let’spretend thatyou’vecreatedyourvisualmodelinPse .eachlayeraddsimpor-tantshapesthatmakeupyourcompletevisualmodel .asyoutalkthroughthevisualmodel,youwanttocreatethevisualeffectofthemodelbeingbuiltupsothattheviewerseesthebeginningpartofthemodel,andthenseessuccessiveadditionstothemodeluntilitiscompleted .

Youneedtoorganizeyourlayersfrombottomtotopwiththetoplayercontainingthefinalelementyouwantviewerstoseeandthebottomlayercontainingthefirstelementyouwantviewerstosee .(I’massumingherethatyourbackgroundlayerhasnothingonit .)Ifyourlayersarenotorderedinthisfashion,thenclick-and-dragthevariouslayersuntiltheyareinthisorder .

Inthefigurebelowyouseethelayerstab .noticethatthereare5layers in this example .Thefirst4 layers impact theoverall lookofthephotographicimage .Thefifthlayeraddsontextthatsays,“streetDancing .”

Figure 8.13. The layers tab.


Whatwewanttoaccomplishisthattheviewerseestheimageonly,andthenafewsecondslaterthetextwillemergeontotheimage .ToaccomplishthiseffectweneedtocreatetwoexportedimagesfromthisonePsDdocument .later,inliveslideshow,you’llthenaddtheneededcrossfadetransitionbetweenthesetwoimages .

noticethatatthefarleftofeachlayerisasquarewhereyouseeaneyeballforthelayers .Theeyeballmeansthelayerisvisible .Tomakealayerhidden,clickontheeyeballiconforaspecificlayer .Thefigurebelowshowswhatthelayerstablookslikeafterhidingthetoptextlayer .Comparethisagainstfigure8 .13wherethetoptextlayerisvisible .

Figure 8.14. Top text layer hidden.

Thefigurebelowshowswhattheimagelookslikewhenthetextlayerismadevisible .Youcaneasilyimaginewhattheimagelookslikewithoutthetextlayervisible .

Figure 8.15. Image with text layer visible.


Iftheviewerfirstseestheimage(withnotext)andthenfivesec-onds later sees the “street Dancing” text emerge via a crossfadethiswilltendtolookmorestylishandprofessional(ifdonewell)relativetohavingeverythingshowupatonce .I’mgivingasimpleexample,butyoucanimaginemorecomplexexamples .Usingthesameapproachaviewercouldseeavisualmodelunfoldincom-plexityasyoutalkthroughitviatheaudiotrack .However,toac-complishthesekindsofeffectsyouneedtomakemultipleexportsfromonePsDdocument .

Multiple Export Steps Thenumberoflayerstohide,andthenumberofimagestoexport,willchangedependingonthespecificPsDdocument .belowarethegeneral stepbystepinstructionsforconductingmultipleex-ports .

orderyourlayerssothefirstobject/textyouwantvisibleisjustabovethebackgroundlayerandthelastobject/textyouwanttomakevisibleisthetopmostlayer .Clickontheeyeballbyeachlayersoonlythebottomlayerandthe background layer are visible . (note: sometimes you mayevenwantthebackgroundlayerhidden .)GotothefIlemenuandselecttheSave for Weboption .saveasaJPGimageat80%quality .You’llwanttogivethemul-tipleexportssequentialnamessomakesurethisfirstimageisnamedsomethinglikemodel1,01,title01,orsomeotherappro-priatestartername .savethefirstJPGimage .Clickonthe layer justabovetheoneyou justworkedwithtomakethisnextlayervisible .GotothefIlemenuandselecttheSave for Weboption .saveasaJPGimageat80%quality .Provideasequentialname .If thefirst imagewas“03a .jpg” then thenext shouldbe“03b .jpg”andsoon .Repeatsteps5through7asneeded .Ifyourcompleteimageconsistsof5keypartsthenyoushouldendupwith5exportedimagesthatusesequentialnumberingnames .

V�ew LayeredExports. This 8 minute movie shows you how to systematically export your master im-age in terms of layers in Photoshop Elements. The example master image has 4 layers resulting in 4 exported images. The tutorial also shows what us-ing these layers in LiveSlideShow will look like.

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SummaryThischapterprovidedabriefintroductiontoPhotoshopelementsand the power of using layers . If you watch the tutorial moviescloselyyoucanstartmakingveryeffectiveandprofessionalimagesrightaway .Thatsaid,oneofthebestwaystolearnabouthowtousePse(orPhotoshop)istotakeadvantageofthemanywellwrit-tenbooksthatareavailable .ThereviewsoftechnicalbookspostedatAmazon.comareveryhelpfulfordecidingwhichspecificbookmaybebestforyou .

9 Glue

Chapter 9Edcasting

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Overv�ewThischapterlooksathowtoputtogetherallofyourrawmateri-als(imagesandaudio)intoonecoherent,well-timedmultimediapresentation .specifically this iswhereyou learnhowtouse theliveslideshowsoftware .However,moreimportantlythanthesoft-wareitself,ishavingawell-organizedapproachto“prepping”yourmaterialsbeforeusingliveslideshow .forsimplicityI’lloftenrefertoliveslideshowaslssinthischapter .

Inessencelssisaformofelectronic gluethatallowsyoutointe-grateallyourrawmaterials(images,transitions,andaudio)intoaseamlesswell-constructedmultimediaproduct .

I’m providing you with a highly stylized approach to creating amultimediamovie . In fact,liveslideshowismuchmoreflexiblethan is indicated in this chapter . Please understand my reasonsforcreatingthisstylisticapproachtocreatingamovie: fromex-perienceI’vefoundthatmostdoctoralstudentstendtofeelover-whelmediftheydon’thaveanexplicitscriptforputtingtogethertheirmaterials .Thus theapproach Iprovide ishelpful in that itgreatlyreducesthepotentialforcognitiveoverloadwhencreatingmultimedia .but,intheend,itrepresentsonlyonepossiblewaytocreatemultimediawithintheliveslideshowenvironment .

Chapter Model Thechaptervisualmodel(nextpage)providesanorganizationaloverviewofthechapter .Themodelindicatesthattherearethreeprimarystagesincreatingaliveslideshowmovie:

Preparationviathetimingsheetandrenamingimages .basiclssstepsthatcanbedoneveryquickly .alignmentofvisualandaudiocontentthroughestablish-ingmacroandmicrotiming .

Theskillsyouneed in thischapteraremost like thatofbeingafilmeditorratherthanadirector .Putmoreprosaically,thecreativepartsofconceivingthebigideaofthemovieisdone,carryingoutthecreativeaspectsofmakingsuitableaudioandimagecontentisdone,andnowyouwillbeengaginginmultimedia accounting .

Mostpeoplefindgettingthetimingbetweenimagesandaudiojust righttobedifficultandtimeconsuming .Yet,ifyoudotheprepara-tionandbasiclssstepsstageswell,thenyou’llgreatlyreducethetimeneeded toestablish the timing .furthermore, ifyoudo themacrotimingfirst,thenthesubsequentm�crotimingwillbecomemucheasier .

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Calculate Sect�on T�mesassembling a 10 minute presentation that integrates audio withimagesisacomplexproblem .Ratherthantacklingthisbigprob-lemheadon,amoreefficientapproachis todividetheproblemintoaseriesofsmallerproblems .Theresultisthatwhileyouhavemore“problems”tosolve,eachoneisprettysimpleandstraight-forward .Thecumulative result is thatmostpeoplefind itmucheasier to solve15-to-20easy smallerproblemscompared toonelargecomplexone .

We’llessentiallycreatesubproblemsbasedonthesectionnumbersinyourscript .each“section” isamini-movie . Ifwecanget thetimingrightforeachmini-movie,thenthewholemoviewillhavecorrecttiming .ourfirststepsinthatdirectionistouseandtrans-late the labels text fileyouexported fromaudacity (seeChapter4) .Thenwe’llcompletethetimingsheetthatresidesinsideofyourlssprojectfolder .

Translating basedonyouroriginalscript,youdividedupyouraudiointosec-tions .Youthenexportedthelabelstrackfromaudacityintoatextformat thatcanbereadbymanywordprocessorsandexcel .atthispointyouwanttoopenyourlabelstextfileanddosometrans-lation .Ifyouhaveexcel,takeadvantageofthetimesheetI’vepro-videdwithintheTemplate folder .

for right now it’s best just to write on a print out of your la-belstextfile inordertodosometranslations .Whenworkinginliveslideshow,andforusingtheexceltimesheet,it’simportanttoknowwheneachsectionbeginsintermsofminutes and seconds .However, audacity has given all your section times in terms ofpureseconds .forexample,iflabel“section8”wasat125 .01sec-onds,thenyouneedtotranslatethisintotheequivalentnumberintermsofminutesandseconds .

Todothetranslationsyouneedtorememberthat60secondsareequaltoaminute .furthermore,sinceaudacitygivesyouthetimein both seconds and fractions of a section, just round off to thenearestsecond .sincewehave125 .01seconds,wecanroundoffto125seconds .UsingourhandydandyTable 9.1 (below) wecanseethatwehave2minutesand5seconds .Wewouldenterthatvalueintoexcelas2:05 .You’llneedtodothesevarioustranslationssoyoucanputthecorrectnumber,intermsofminutesandseconds,intoyourmultimediatimesheet .

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Table 9.1. Seconds to minutes quick conversion guide. seconds Min:sec

60 1:00120 2:00180 3:00240 4:00300 5:00360 6:00420 7:00480 8:00540 9:00600 10:00

The Timing Sheet openupthetimesheet(eitherinexcelorasaPDffile) .Iwillas-sumeyouhaveexcelforpurposesofthedirectionsgivenbelow .IfyouonlyhaveadobeReaderthenyou’llmanuallyhavetodosomecalculations .ablanktimingsheetisdisplayedonthenextpage .

noticehowthetimesheethas5columnslabeled:section,content,start, lengthandnotesrespectively .InmycaseIknowIhave20sectionssoI’mfirstgoingtoenterthenumberforeachsectionandaverybriefdescriptionortitleforthecontentinthatsection .

Usingtheprintoutfromyourlabelsinaudacityyoucannextfillinthestarttimesforeachsection .WhenenteringnumbersintheStartcolumnyoumustenteranumber,thenacolon,thenadoubledigitnumber .Ifasectionbeginsat8minutesand7secondsthenyouneedtotypein:8:07 .Ifasectionbeginsat43secondsthenyouneedtotype:0:43 .

Pleasekeepinmindwhileworkinginliveslideshowit’simportanttoknowbothwhenaparticularimageshouldappearandalsohow longitshouldappear .Thusthelengthcolumniscriticalforyou .

Ifyou’reusingexcelthiswillgetautomaticallycalculated .noticethatasyoufillinthestarttimeforanewsectionthenexcelhasenoughinformationtocalculatethelengthoftheprevioussection .This iswhy it’s important tohavea time for theending timeoftheaudiofile:soexcelcancalculatethelengthofthelastsectionbeforetheend .

Ifyou’reusingtheadobeReadertimesheet,you’llneedtomanu-allycalculatethetimesandenterthemintotheLengthcolumn .

once all the essential timing information is entered you have agreat organizational tool for establishing the timing of each ofyoursections .Usingthetimingsheetwillgreatlysimplifythetim-ingproblemsyoufaceinliveslideshow .

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Order and Rename Images Yourscripthasbeennumberedinsections,youaudiofilehasbeenlabeledbysectionandyou’vecompletedatimingsheet .nowyouneedtorenameallofyourimagestomatchthiscoding .

let’spretend(somewhatunrealistically)thatyouhave20sectionsinyourscriptandyouuseonlyoneimagepersection .Thismeansyousimplyfindyour20 imagesandnumberthemfrom1to20basedontheordertheyshouldbein .Makesurethatalltheim-agesarenamedusetwonumberplacesinthename .Thismeanstheimagesshouldbenamedsomethinglike:01 .jpg,02 .png,03 .jpgandsoon .

nowlet’slookatthemorerealisticsituationwheresomeofyoursectionshaveonlyoneimage,butseveralsectionsusemultipleim-ages .Thebasicnumberingapproachisthesamewithatwist .let’spretend that section 1 uses one image, section 2 uses 3 images,section3uses4images,andsection4uses1image .Here’showtolabeltheimages:01,02a,02b,02c,03a,03b,03c,03d,and04 .De-pendingonyouroperatingsystem,youmayneedtoaddonappro-priateextensions(suchas“ .jpg”or“ .png”)toeachimagename .

What’sthebenefitofthisimagerenaming?Huge .later,whenyouareinlssyou’llbeabletograballyourimagesatonceandplacethemintothetimelineasagroupinsteadoffindingandplacingeachimageonebyoneintothetimeline .

The LSS TemplateTomaketheprocessofmakingmultimediaprojectssimpler,I’vecreatedatemplatefileforyou .ThiswasthefileoriginallynamedTemplate.lssanditresidedwithinyourTemplatefolder .bynowyoushouldhaverenamedbothyourtemplatefolder,andthetem-platefilewithinit,tomoredescriptivenames .forinstance,youmayhaverenamedthetemplatefileReading Strategies .

Why a Template oneof thegoodthingsaboutliveslideshowis that itgivesyoualotofoptionsintermsofhowyourmultimediaprojectshouldlookandexactlywhatkindofformatitshouldbewhenexportedasaQuickTimemovie .However, forbeginnersall theseoptionscanbeoverwhelming,thereforeI’vemadetheprocessofgettingstartedmuchsimplerbycreatingatemplateforyoutoworkwith .InessencethismeansI’vemadesomedecisionsforyouregardingthestructureandlookofyourmovie .

Template Features Underneaththehoodthetemplatehasseveralpresetoptionsforyouthataredifferentfromthedefaultsprovidedbylss .Table9 .2summarizes the key differences between using the lss defaults

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versusthefeaturespresentinthetemplateI’veprovided .

Table 9.2. Comparison of template versus default settings. Default Template

Presentationsize 400x300pixels 800x600pixelsImagearea 200x200pixels 800x600pixelsbackgroundColor lightblue blackControllerbar Hidden Visible

Whatcanbeespeciallyconfusingforanoviceisthedifferencebe-tweenthepresentationsizeandthe imagearea . Iwon’tdescribethatdifferencehere,butyoucantellfromthetablethatyourtem-platemakessurethatthepresentationsizeandtheimageareaareexactlythesamesize .Thismeansyourimagesdon’tgetsquashedortakeuponlyaportionofthepresentation .

Inadditiontherearesmallerdifferencesbetweenthelssdefaultsandthetemplatesettings .

L�veSl�deShowbeforeyoulearnhowtodoprocedureswithinlss,it’simportantthatyouhaveanunderstandingofhowtheprogramworks .es-sentiallylssisadatabase .assuchitcollects informationaboutyourmultimediamovie:thespecificorderoftheimagesyouwanttouse,thetransitionsyouwanttouse,andthesoundsyou’regoingtouse .However,alssfiledoesnotcontainthoseimages,orthosetransitions,orthosesounds .You’vestoredtheimagesandsoundsinalocationthatmakesthemeasytofindbylss .ThetransitionslssusesarefromQuickTime .Thisisoneofthereasonsyouneed tohaveQuickTimeinstalledonyourcomputerinorderforlsstowork .

Ifyouweretosendmeyourlssfile, Iwouldbeable totell theorderofyour images,what transitionsyouwant touse,and thenameofyouraudio,butIwouldnotbeabletoseeanyofthoseob-jects(excepttheirnames) .Mostimportantly,Iwouldn’tbeabletoplaythemultimediapresentation .Thefinalsteponetakesinlssistoexportmaterialssothatallthecomponents(images,sounds,andtransitions)areintegratedwiththelssdatabaseinformationtocreateanintegratedQuickTimemovie .Ifyousentmetheex-portedQuickTimemovie,thenIwouldthenbeabletoseeyourcompleteproduct:images,sounds,andtransitionsallputtogetherinawell-timedmanner .

Remember,lssisadatabase,andaverycooldatabaseatthat .onethatcan,asafinalstep,createaQuickTimemovieforyou,butthelssdatabaseitselfisnotamovie .

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Basic Landscape before we get started with making a multimedia product I firstwantyoutobecomefamiliarwithliveslideshowandhowitoper-ates .Clickonthelssfilewithinyourprojectfoldertoopenuptheprogramitself .

liveslideshowisorganizedintothreesections:thetimeline(bot-tomof thescreen), theassets libraries(rightsideof thescreen),andthepreviewarea(leftsideofthescreen)asshowninthefigurebelow .

Figure 9.1. The LiveSlideShow environment.

Inadditionyoucanseeseveralbuttonsonthisscreenincluding:

sevenbuttonsbelowthepreviewarea(middleofthescreen)Twobuttonsjustabovethetimelineareafourbuttonsintheassetsarea(toprightareaofthescreen)

Preview Area Thisarea(leftsideofscreen)includeshelpful information .notetherelativelylargeimage:thisisapreviewofthecurrentselectedimageinthetimeline .Justundertheimagepreviewareatwobitsofkeyinformationareprovided .Thefirstsays“0 .0s .”Thisistellingyouexactlywhen thepreviewed imagestarts showingup in thepresentation .The“800x600”justbesideittellsyouthesizeofthepresentation .Yourfileshoulddefinitelysay“800x600 .”Ifnotthenyou’vesomehownotusedthetemplatefile .

Buttons. Justunderthepreviewimageisarowofsevenbuttons .Thefirstthreebuttons(fit,50%,100%)allowyoutocontrolhowlarge the preview image is displayed . for most of you I suggestclickingonthe50%view .Thepreviewisonlyaroughrepresenta-tionoftheimage .Ifanimagelooksworsethanitshouldinthisareadon’tworry .Thepreviewdoesnotgivea faithfulreproduc-

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tion,justaquickanddirtyindicatorofwhereyouareinthetimeline .Thenextbutton,“Play,”isnotusefultoyouasyou’llmainlybeusingthe“export”buttonandviewingthesubsequentQuickTimemovie to check how your movie looks . The “background” and“Theme”buttonsyoucanignore .

Assets Area Thisarea(rightsideofthescreen)includesfourtabsthatshowsallthevariousassetstobeusedinaproject .Thefourtabsarelabelledasslides,buttons,sounds,andeffects .let’slookateachinturn .

Sl�des. ThisincludesalloftheimagesyouputintotheImagessub-folderwithinyourproject folder . Itwillalso includea fewextraimagessuchasthe“blankslide”imagethatshowsupblack .

Buttons. Youcancreateinteractiveslideshowsthatincludenaviga-tionbuttons .Youwon’tbedoingthis,butthat’swhatthisshelfisallabout .Readthemanualifyou’dliketouseliveslideshowforsomefutureprojectswhereyou’dliketoincludenavigationbuttons .

Sounds. ThisincludesyourMP3audiofileassumingyouputitintothesoundssubfolderwithinyourprojectfolder .You’llseeothersounds here also that come with liveslideshow . Typically yourMP3filewillbelistedlastinthelistsosimplyscrolldownuntilyoufindit .

Effects. Thisincludesallofthevarioustransitions(oreffects)youcanusetomovefromoneimagetothenext .If this isyourfirstmultimediaprojectthenIhighlysuggestsimplifyingyourlifebyusing only one effect for all you images . In particular I suggestusing the “Cross fade” effect . for those of you who are beyondthecomplete novicestagethenyoucanchoosetomixandmatcheffects as you want . You’ll also notice that it’s possible to createyourowncustom transitionsaswell . Iwon’t addresshow todothatinthisguide,butyoucanlearnmoreaboutthisfeatureinthelssManual .

Timeline Area Thetimeline iswhereall themultimediaaccountingwork takesplace .Inessence,thisistherealbrainsofthelssprogram .

What’sespeciallyimportanttonoticeisthattherearetwobuttonslocatedjustabovetheimagesinthetimelinearea .onebuttonsays“slideView”andtheother“TimeView .”bothoftheseviewsareneededtocompleteamultimediapresentation .let’slookateachoneinmoredetail .

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The Sl�de V�ew. figure9 .2showsthetimelineintheslideview .

Figure 9.2. Details of the timeline in Slide View

Thereareseveralkeythingstonoticeabouttheslide view:

eachimageisenclosedinabox .eacheffect (or transition) isplacedbetween two imagesandisindicatedbyasmallsquare .eachimagelength(inseconds)isindicatedbythenum-berenteredinthetopleftboxofeachimage .eachtransitiontimeisindicatedbythenumberenteredinthegreyboxjustabovetheeffectrectangle .Youcanaddachaptertoamoviebysingle clickingandtyp-ingintheareaatthetopofeachimagebox .Youcaninserttextinsideanimagebydouble clickingandtypingintheareaatthebottomofeachimagebox .Youdo notwant touse this featureasyou’vealreadydevelopedyourtextimages .(I’malsoleavingoutthefactthattherearesomefunkyaspectstothistextinsertoptionthatyoudon’twanttodealwith .)

You’llusetheSlide View mostofthetime,especiallyforthebatchinsertingofmaterialsandgettingyourtimingsdownright .

The T�me V�ew. IfyouclickontheTimeViewbuttonyou’llthenseesomethingsimilartothefigureshowbelow .

Figure 9.3. Details of the timeline in Time View

There is a new element to notice: you now see a light grey areaunderneaththeimageandeffectboxes .asthetext intheimageindicates(“Drop background music here”)thisiswhereyouraudioMP3filewillbeplacedinthetimeline .You’lllocatetheMP3fileinthesoundsshelf,thenclickonit,dragitovertothetimeline(inTimeView)anddrop(orreleasethemouseclick)whenthesoundiconisoverthelightgreyarea .ThefigurebelowshowswhattheTimeViewlookslikeafterasoundfilehasbeendroppedintoit .

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Figure 9.4. Time View after inserting an MP3 file.

Theactualformofthesoundwaveisnowvisible .Youcan’tactu-allyplaytheaudiointhisview,butit’snonethelessveryhelpfultosee .for instance, if afterkey sectionsofyouraudioyoupausedfor2-5secondsthenthatsilentsectionwouldbeeasilyvisibleinthesoundwaveform .Thisinturnmakesitmucheasierforyoutodoublecheckwhetheryourtimingiscorrectbecauseyoucanseewherethepausesoccurredinyouraudio .

Mod�fy�ng LSSIwouldsuggestmodifyingtheinitiallookofliveslideshowsothatyourworkflowcanbemuchsmootherandefficient .You’llneedtodeletethelsssuppliedextraimagesandsoundsatsomepoint .It’seasiertodothisbeforeyoubeginotherwork .Youwanttodothisbecausewhenyouarecreatingyourmovieyouwanttobeabletoselectalloftheimagesintheimageshelfwithonecommandandthenputthemallintothetimelineatonce .Ifyouhaveextraim-agesinyourslidesshelfthatmeansyou’lllaterneedtosearchandeliminatethemfromthetimeline .

Delete Extra Images Whenyouclickon theslides shelfyou’ll seeabunchof imagesin theshelf .asmallnumberof thoseshowupbecause theyareincludedinthetemplate .alltemplate-suppliedimagesstartwithanumber(e .g .“0black,”“101madewith,”and“102black”) .alltheimagesyouhave inserted shouldalsobenumbered .Youshouldkeepalloftheseimages .However,liveslideshowalsoinstallsad-ditionalcuteimagesinitsdefaultslidefolder .Theseallhavenon-numbered names . These images are probably all located at theendofyourImagesshelfas theyareorganized tocomeafterallthenumberedimages .Isuggestselectingeachextraimageintheslidesshelfandpressingthedeletekeytoeliminatethem .elimi-natinganimagebyselecting/deletingintheImagesshelfinsurestheywillnevershowupagainwhenyougointolss .

Delete Extra Sounds Inasimilarmannerliveslideshowcomeswithacollectionofpre-installedsounds .TofindyourMP3fileyou’llneedtoscrolldownto the bottom of the sounds shelf . If you want, select all of thepre-installedsounds,pressthedeletekeyandgetridofthemallatonce .Inthefuturewhenyouclickonthesoundsshelfyou’llonlyseethosesoundsyou’vepersonallyputintothesoundsfolder .Theissueofextrasounds,however,isaminorannoyanceandthisstepneednotbetakenifyoudon’twantto .

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Batch Insert Imagesfirst you want to create a timeline that contains all the imagesyou’regoing touse .To insert imagesyoucan take twodifferentapproaches .Ifyou’vepre-namedyourimagessothey’reordered,then use the batch approach . However, if you have not orderedyourimagesthroughpre-naming,thenyou’llneedtousetheman-ual approach .

Batch Approach Thisapproachonlyworksifyouhavepre-namedyourimagessotheyarealreadyorderedcorrectlybeforeopeninglss .

Makesureyouhaveanemptytimeline .MakesurethetimelinehasSl�de V�ewselected .ClickontheSl�desshelfintheassetsarea .Usecontrol-A(orcommand-A)toselectalltheimagesatonce .Clickanddragthiscollectionofimagestothetimeline .Whentheimagesareoverthetimelineareareleasethemousebutton .Within a few seconds all of your images will show up in thetimeline .Ifyouhavenotalreadydeletedtheliveslideshowpre-installedimages,thenyou’llnowneedtofindtheminyourtimelineanddeletethem .Generallythey’llbelocatedattheverybeginningorendofyourtimeline .

Manual Approach Herearethestepsinvolvedforthemanualinsertionofimagesintoa timeline . You generally want to avoid this approach, but mayneedtodosoifyouhavenotpre-namedyourimages .

Makesureyouhaveanemptytimeline .MakesurethetimelinehasSl�de V�ewselected .ClickontheSl�desshelfintheassetsarea .findthefirstimageyouwanttoinsertintheSl�deslibrary .Clickonthatimage,thendragtheimagetothetimeline .Whentheimageisoverthetimelineareareleasethemousebutton .findthenextimageyouwanttoinsert .Clickonthatimage,dragittothetimeline .Whentheimageisjust totherightof the last imagethenreleasethemousebut-ton .Repeatasneeded .

Extra Notes Youneedtoknowaboutthemanualapproachbecausesometimesyou’llwant toaddanew image to the timeline thatwasnot in-cludedinyourinitialbatchofimages .or,youmaywanttore-or-derasmallnumberofimages .Inthatcaseyou’lldraganimagetoitsnewlocationinthetimeline .You’llalsohavetodeletetheimagefromitsoldlocationinthetimeline .Todothisclickontheimage

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inthetimelineandpressthedeletekey .

alloftheimageshavebeengivenadefaultlengthoftwosecondseach .lateryou’llindividualizethetimingofeachimage .

Batch Insert EffectsYounowhaveacompletesetofimagesinthecorrectorderinyourtimeline .However,ifyouplayedthemovieasitisatthispointyouwouldseeone image jump to thenext .Themovie isfine,but itlooksprettyrough .ToseeforyourselfjustclickontheExportbut-ton,givethemovieaname,andsavetoyourharddrive .ThenopenuptheexportedmovieinQuickTimeandseehowitlooks .

Thewaytocreateasmoothmovieistoinserttransitions(oreffects)thattaketheviewerfromoneimagetothenext .Whiletherearemanydifferenttransitionsyoucanuse,forthenoviceIsuggestus-ingtheCross Fadeeffectforallofyourtransitions .Justaswithim-ages,toinserttransitionsyoucantaketwodifferentapproaches .

Batch Approach Herearethestepsinvolvedforthebatchinsertionoftransitionsintoa timeline .Thisapproachismuchquickerthanthemanualapproach .

MakesurethetimelinehasSl�de V�ewselected .ClickontheEffectsshelfintheassetsarea .ClickontheCross Fadeeffect .Clickonanimageinthetimeline .Docontrol-A(orcommand-A)toselect alloftheimagesinthetimelinearea .Go to the oPTIons menu and select Set Trans�t�on for Se-lected Sl�des .Within a few seconds you’ll now see that there’s a transitionplacedbetweenalltheimagesinyourtimeline .Youcanalsoseethateachtransitionissettobetwosecondsinlength .

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Manual Approach Herearethestepsinvolvedforthemanualinsertionoftransitionsintoatimeline .

MakesurethetimelinehasSl�de V�ew selected .ClickontheEffectsshelfintheassetsarea .ClickontheCross Fadeeffect .Dragthetransitiontothetimelinebetweentwoimages .You’llseetheimagesmoveaparttomakeroomforthetransition .Re-leasethemouseclick .Clickonatransitionagainanddragittothetimelinebetweentwoimages .Repeatasneeded .

Batch Insert T�m�ngs You’vecreatedyourtimesheetsothatyoucanfigureouthowlongeachimage/effectpairshouldstayonthescreen .You’llmakelifesimplerifyoumake allofthetransitionsbetweenimagesthesamelength .Thetwoseconddefaulttimingforeffectsisgenerallyabittooquick .especiallywhenusingtheCross Fade effect,you’llwantalongerandsmoothertransition .Inpracticeathreesecondcrossfadeworkswell .Tochangethetimingofaneffectyouclickineacheffect’stimingareawithinthetimeline,backspace,andtypein3(or some other number) instead of two . This is easy but can beboringifyouhavelotsoftransitions .Here’showtobatch changethetransitiontiming:

ClickonanyonetransitioninthetimelinewiththeSl�de V�ew selected .GototheeDITmenu,thenchosetheSelectoption,thentheTrans�t�ons sub-option . Voila, all your transitions are nowselected(asindicatedbyyellowoutlinesaroundeachone) .Go to the oPTIons menu . Choose Set Selected Trans�t�on T�mes .Intheensuingdialogboxenterthenumberofseconds(e .g .3)thatyouwanteachtransitiontobe .

That’sit!nowifyouexportyourworkasaQuickTimemovieandyou’ll see that not only are the images in the correct order, butthere’sasmoothtransitionfromoneimagetothenext .

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Insert Aud�oThisisthelaststepbeforeyoustarttoworkonthedetailedtimingofeachimage .Herearethestepsyouneedtotaketoincludeyouraudiointhemovie .

MakesuretheT�me V�ewbuttonforthetimelineisselected .scroll to the beginning so that the first image shows in yourtimeline .selecttheSoundsshelfintheassetsarea .scrolldownandfindyourMP3file .Clickonitsothatitishigh-lightedbyathinyellowline .Withthemousebuttonstillselected,dragtheMP3filefromtheSoundsshelftothelightgreyareaofthetimelinejustundertheimagesandtransitions,thenreleasethemousebutton .Depending on the length of your audio file it may takeliveslideshowuptotwominutestorenderthesoundwaveforthefile .Checkexactlywheretheaudiofilebegins .Youmayfindthatitactuallystartsatsomethingliketensecondsormore .Ifso(andthisislikely)thenjustclickonthesoundwaveanditbecomeshighlightedinyellow .nowclickanddragthesoundwavetotheleftuntilthebeginningofthesoundfilestartsatzero .

now if you export your movie into a QuickTime format you’llfindthatallofyourimagesshowthetransitionsbetweenthemaresmooth,andtheaudioplaysjustfine .Whatwillnotbeworkingisanysynchronicitybetweentheimagesandtheaudio .

Thesefirststepsofputtingimages,transitions,andaudiointothetimelinetakesmelessthanthreeminutes .Itwilltakeyoulongerbecause this isyourfirst timecreatingmultimediaprojectswithliveslideshow . However, the point is that these first steps don’ttakevery long .Thedetailedworkofgetting the timing foreachimagecorrectcomesnext .

Sect�on TypesIt’susefultomakeadistinctionbetweenwhatIcallsimple sectionsandcomplex sections .

S�mple Sect�ons. This is any numbered section in your script forwhichyouwilluseonlyoneimage .

Complex Sect�ons. Thisisanynumberedsectioninyourscriptforwhichyouwillusetwoormoreimages .

Ifthisisyourfirstmultimediamovie,thenyoulikelyhavemoresimple sections thancomplex sections .However, it reallydoesn’t

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matterwhetheryouhavemoresimpleorcomplexsections .Whatmattersisthatyouareabletoclearlyidentifyeachtypeofsection .

notsureifasectionusesoneormoreimages?It’ssimpletotellbylookingatyourimagenames .Ifanimageisnamed12a,thenthat’saverygoodindicatorthatit’soneofseveralimagestobeusedinsection12 .ontheotherhandifanimageisnamed05,thenthat’sagoodindicatorthatit’stheonlyimageusedtoillustratethatsec-tion .

simplesectionsaremucheasier toestablish the timing for thancomplexsections .forthisreasonwe’regoingtodothetimingoftheimagesintwopasses .firstwe’regoingtotreatallsectionsas iftheyaresimplesections .lateryou’llreturnandrefinethetimingwithineachcomplexsection .Itermthismacroandmicrotiming,andeachisdefinedbelow .

Macro T�m�ng. Thisiswhenyougetthecollectivetimingforalltheimage/transitionpairs ina section tobealignedwith theaudio .let’sconsidertwocasestudiesofmacrotiming:

Youhaveasimple sectionthatis17secondslong .You’vesetallyourtransitionstobethreesecondslong .Thismeanstheoneimage in this section is 14 seconds long and the transition isthree seconds, so the image/transition pair equals 17 secondsexactly .Youhaveacomplex sectionthatis17secondslong .Thesectioncontainsthreeimage/transitionpairs,witheachtransitionthreesecondsinlength .Thatmeansyouhaveatotalof17-9=8sec-ondsforthethreeimagescollectively .Itdoesn’tmatterhowyoudivideupthetimingforeachimageaslongastheirtotaltimeiseightseconds .forexample,youcouldusea2-2-4timing,a3-3-2timing,orsomeothercombination .Itdoesn’treallymatteratthispointaslongastheendresultisthatthethreeimage/transi-tionpairstakeupexactly17seconds .

noticethatwhendoingmacro timingonacomplexsectionthatthetimingforthesectionasawholewillwork(i .e .thenextsectionwillstartatthecorrecttime),butthetimingwithinthesectionislikelytobeincorrect .

M�cro T�m�ng. Thisisdoneonlyafteryouhavesuccessfullygottenallof themacro timingsofsectionscompleted . Inmicro timingyou’re trying to refine the timingwithin complexsections .Thusmicro timing iswhenyouget the timing forall the image/tran-sition pairs in a complex section correct . This involves taking acloserlookthanyouhaddonepreviouslytothetimingwithinacomplexsection .You’llmakelifemuchsimplerforyourselfifyoufirstdomacro timings forall the sections, thengobackanddomicrotimingsofjustthecomplexsections .

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CHaPTeR9 . GLUE 185

Macro T�m�ngThemajorworkinvolvedincreatingamultimediaprojectismak-ingsuretheaudioandtheimagesarealigned .Youhavecreatedatimesheettohelpreducethecomplexityofthistask .

Think Pairwise oneplacewherebeginningstudentsgettrippedupisthattheyareveryawareofthelengthofanimage,andtheyareveryawareoftheaudio,buttheytendtoforgetthattransitionstaketimetoo!You’vemadeallyourtransitionsthesamelength(let’sassumethreesec-ondseach) .nowwhatyouneed tokeep inmind is that ifyourtimesheettellsyouaparticularimageshouldlast27secondsthenwhatthatreallymeansisthattheimage-transitionpairshouldlast27seconds .Thustheimageshouldlast24secondsandthetransi-tion should last 3 seconds so that you have an image-transitionpairthattakesupexactly27seconds .

Add Chapters Thefirstthingyou’regoingtodoistoaddchapterstoyourmovie .This will make the work of checking out draft versions of yourmovie much more efficient . Chapters are like multimedia book-marks .Ifyou’vecreatedchaptersinliveslideshowthenit’seasytocheckthetimingofspecificsectionsinyourQuickTimemoviebyselectingtherelevantchapter .Ifyourscripthad12sectionsthenyou’lltypicallywanttocreate12chaptersinliveslideshow .

let’spretendyouknowthatyouhavethetimingdownjustrightfor thefirstfivesectionsofyourmovie .Younowexporta thirddraftversionofyourmovie . Insteadofhaving towatch thefirstfivesectionsagain,youcansimplyselectthechapterforsectionsixandwatchthedraftmoviestartingatthatpoint .

Here’showtocreatechaptersinlss:

MakesuretheSl�de V�ewforthetimelineisselected .findtheimagethatwillfirstappearatthestartofthefirstchap-ter .Typicallythisisthefirstimageinyourtimeline .achaptershouldbeplacedwiththefirstimageforanewsection .singleclickinthegreyareajustabovetheselectedimage .Typeintheshortdescriptivenameforyourchapter .atthispointit’sprobablybesttouseveryobviousnamingsuchas“section1”andsoon .findtheimagethatwillfirstappearatthestartofthenextchap-ter .singleclickinthegreyareajustabovetheselectedimage .Typeintheshortdescriptivenameforthechapter .Repeatsteps5and6untilfinished .

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Simple Sections Rememberthatsimple sectionsaresectionsthatcontainonlyoneimage . Here’s how to do the macro timing for your simple sec-tions:

selecttheSl�de V�ewforthetimeline .Makesureyourtimesheetiswithyou .Clickontheimagethatillustratesthesection .Checkyourtimesheet(let’sassumethetimesheetsaysthesec-tion should last 15 seconds) . subtract the number of secondsthetransitionwilllast(15-3=12seconds) .Clickonthetimeboxwithinthe image(top leftcorner) .Youmayhavetobackspacetogetridoftheoldtime .Thenenterthenewtime(i .e .12seconds) .Gotothenextimagethatillustratesasimplesection .Repeatsteps4and5 .Repeatsteps6and7asneeded .

Complex Sections Rememberthatcomplex sectionsaresectionsthatcontainmultipleimages .Here’showtodotheinitialroughdraftmacrotimingofcomplexsections .

selecttheSl�de V�ewforthetimeline .Makesureyourtimesheetiswithyou .Clickonthefirstimageofabatchthatillustratesacomplexsec-tion .let’sassumethatwehavethreeimagesinthecomplexsec-tion .Checkyourtimesheet(let’sassumethetimesheetsaysthesec-tionshouldlast21seconds) .subtractthetotalnumberofsec-ondsthethreetransitionswilllast(21-9=12seconds) .Clickonthetimeboxwithinthe image(top leftcorner) .Youmayhavetobackspacetogetridoftheoldtime .Thenenterthenewtimeforeachofthethreeimages .Justmakesuretheirtotaltimeequalssection length minus total transition length . Inourexample the three images should collectively last 12 seconds .Probably the easiest approach in this case would be to makeeachimagelastfourseconds .Gotothenextfirstimagewithinacomplexsection .Gotothenextcomplexsection .Repeatsteps3through6 .Repeatstep7asneeded .

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Time View Auditing asyou’veprobablynoticed,we’vemadeverylittleuseoftheT�me V�ewversionofthetimeline .Infact,sofarwe’veuseditonlytoinsert our audio file into the timeline . However the T�me V�ewisofgreatvalueinmakingsurethatourtimingiscorrect .WhenusingtheSl�de V�ewforcreatingtimingyouhavenowaytodou-ble-checkyourinput:youcanseethenumberofsecondsyou’veinserted foreach imageand transition,butyoucan’t seeexactlywhere they start in a continuous timeline . The advantage of theSl�de V�ew is that it’seasierandquickertousebecauseyoucaneasilytabfromoneimagetothenextplusthe“length”ofeachim-ageisthesame .ontheotherhand,thedisadvantageoftheT�me V�ewisthatimagesmimictheirlengthinthistimeline .animagethatlastsfor2secondswillbemuchshorterthanonethatlastsfor30seconds .YettheT�me V�ew hasthehugeadvantageofyoube-ingabletotellexactlywhereeachimagestartsalongacontinuoustimeline .

IngeneralIusetheSl�de V�ew forinputtingallmybasictimingvaluesfrommytimesheet .IthenswitchtotheT�me V�ewtodou-blechecktosee ifmytimingsareactuallycorrect .forexample,mytimesheettellsmethat“Title02”shouldbeginat2:17 .IntheT�me V�ewIcanseeifthat’sexactlywhereitstarts,andifnot,howfaroffthetimingis .

TheT�me V�ewallowsyoutolookatthetimelinewithvariousde-greesofdetail .Thedefaultsettingisthatthetimelineismarkedin3-secondintervals(i .e .you’llsee1:03then1:06andsoon) .atthefarleftofthetimelinearea(justundertheactualtimeline),you’llfindtwoicons .onelookslike“smallmountains,”theotherlookslike“bigmountains .”Theseiconsallowyoutochangetheintervalsusedtomarkupthetimeline .Clickonthe“smallmountain”iconand then the timeline will be divided up by 5-second intervals .Clickonthe“bigmountain”iconandthetimelinewillbedividedup into2-secondintervals . Ialwaysclickonthe“bigmountain”iconsoIsee2-secondintervals:thismakesiteasierformetoknowataglancewhereanimagebeginsifitfallsinbetweentheintervalmarkers .

asgeneralstepsthisishowI’dsuggestauditingyourmovie’smac-rotiming:

switchtoT�me V�ew .Clickonthe“bigmountain” iconsoyousee intervalmarkerseverytwoseconds .scroll to the very beginning of the movie’s timeline to makesurethattheaudiofilebeginsat0 .Ifnotdragtheaudiosoundwaveovertotheleftuntilit“bumps”intothebeginningofthetimeline . (note: if theaudio isnotpositionedcorrectly in thetimelinethenallofyourtimingswilllookincorrecteveniftheywereplacedcorrectly .)

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scrolltotheimagethatbeginseachsection(simpleorcomplex) .Checktoseethattheimagebeginsattheexacttimeyouhavewrittendownonyourtimesheet .Ifthereareanymisalignmentsthenmakesuretofixtheprob-lem .Typicallymisalignmentsresultinthetimingbeingoffbyonlyoneortwoseconds .Continueuntilallsections(simpleorcomplex)havebeenau-ditedandfixed .

Macro Draft Movie afterdoingthemacrotimingandauditingforallofyoursections,you’renowreadytoexportyourworkasaQuickTimemovietochecktoseeifthere’saperfectmatchbetweentheaudioandtheoveralllengthofeachsection .(Remember,atthispointyoudon’texpectagoodmatchbetweentheaudioandimageswithinacom-plexsection .)specificallythemacrodraftmovieshouldhavethesefeatures:

Thetotallengthoftheimagesandthelengthoftheaudioshouldmatch(e .g .theaudioshouldnotendandyoustillseetwomoreminutesofimages) .each section (simple or complex) should start and endwiththerighttiming .allsimplesectionsshouldhaveperfecttiming .Thecomplexsectionsshouldhaveperfectoveralltimingbut will need specific adjustments to images within thecomplexsequence .

Ifyourroughdraftmoviedoesnothavetheabovefeatures,thenyouneedtofigureourwhereyourroughdrafttimingwentoff .

Fix the Draft Inordertofixabaddraftnoticewherethetimingbeginstogooff(not including specific slides within a complex section) then goand fix the timing for that particular section . export the movieandplayagain .oftentimeswhenpeoplehave“baddrafts”itonlymeans they needed to refine the timing of one to three images .Whenyourdraftmacromoviemeetsallofthefourcriteriaabove,thengoontoestablishthemicro timingforthemovie .

Use Your Chapters. WhenyouopenyourQuickTimemovieyou’llnoticethechaptertracksinthecontrollerbar .let’ssayyouknowthetimingisfineforsections1through3 .Thenselect“section4”fromthechapterlistandstartwatchingthemoviefromthatpointonwards .bytakingadvantageofchaptersmakesitmuchquickertonavigatetoproblemareasinyourdraftmovie .

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CHaPTeR9 . GLUE 189

M�cro T�m�ngYounowhaveamoviethatrunsfairlywell .Thetiminggetsabitoffwhenproceedingthroughcomplexsections,buttheoveralltimingofeachsectioniscorrect .Thefinalphaseofgettingthemicrotim-ingforeachofyourcomplexsectionscorrectisthemostdetailed,andformany,themostdifficultpartofthealignmentprocess .be-forewelookatspecificstepstotake,Iwanttopresentyouwithfivegeneraltoolsthatmayhelpyouwiththisfinalstage .

Five Micro Tools Therearefivekeytools/proceduresyoushouldbeawareofbeforegettingintothehomestretchofthefinalalignment .

The Qu�ckT�me Controller. You’llneedtocarefullylookatthemov-ieinQuickTimeandpayattentiontoboththeaudioandtheim-ages .PleasenotethattheQuickTimemovieshowsyouatimer .bylistening,looking,andpayingattentiontothistimeryoucangetagoodsenseofhowtoadjustyourimagelengthswithinacomplexsection .

Figure 9.5. QuickTime playing movie with controller bar visible.

QT Mov�e NoteTaker. This is a free cross-platform program . YoumaywanttouseitinsteadofQuickTime .ThisprogramallowsyoutoopenaQuickTimemoviewithinit .Italsocontainsanotepadarea .Justbyusingtherightbracketkey(justaboveandslightlytotherightofthecommakey)youcanstartandstopyourmovie .butwait,itevendoesmore!eachtimeyoustopitplacestheexacttime of the stop in the notepad area and you can add whatevercommentsyouwantinadditiontothetimestamp .Thisisprobablyan easier, more efficient way to write down the details of microtimingforspecificsections .ItrecognizesQuickTimechapters,so

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youcanquicklynavigate toonly thosesections thatneedmicrotiming .Currentlytheprogramisatthe0 .5stagewhichmeansit’snotevenatversion1 .However,it’sfreeanddespitesomequirksworksamazinglywell .

YoucandownloadQTMovienoteTakerat:

http://www .dvcreators .net/qt-movie-notetaker/

Total Changes Equal Zero. Theoverall lengthof thesectionmustremainthesame,buttypicallyyoumayhavetoshortenoneim-ageby1second,anotherby2seconds,andlengthenthethirdby3seconds .notethatthetotaleffectofallthechangeswithinacom-plexsection(-1,-2,and+3)shouldequal0totheoverallsectiontiming .

Conquer and D�v�de. Ifyouhavecomplexsectionsmadeupoftwoimagesthenfixthemfirst(they’llbeeasiest) .Thengoontofixthesectionswiththreeimages,thenfour,andsoon .Itdoesn’tmatterifyouronlycomplexsectionwithtwoimagesistowardstheendofyourmovie:fixingtheshortercomplexsectionsfirstisamucheasiertask .leavethehardertasksfortheend .forexample,fixthat8imagesequenceusedinonesection,irrespectiveofwhereitap-pearsinthemovie,last .

Export and Check. When you think you’ve fixed one or morecomplexsectionsthenexportasamovieandcheckthetiminginQuickTime .fixasmallnumberofcomplexsectionsfirst,export,check,refineifneeded,andsolvebeforegoingontofixothercom-plexsections .Remembertotakeadvantageofthechapterfeaturetoquicklynavigateneartheareayouwanttolookat .

Micro Timing Steps Micro timing need not be difficult if you take an organized ap-proachplustackleyoureasierproblemsfirst .Here’sthebasicstrat-egieswillbeusing:

Watchthedraftmovie .Makeanoteofthosecomplexsectionsinwhichthetimingisoff .Probablymost(ifnotall)ofthecom-plexsectionswillbeoff in termsof timingwithinthesectionatthispoint .However,yourearlier,seeminglyrandomtimingswillhappentobecorrectabout10%ofthetime .Using QT Mov�e Notetaker (or the timer in the QuickTimecontroller)writewhenspecificimagesshouldappearwithinthesection .Yourfirstimageinacomplexsectionwillalwaysstartatthecorrecttime,butsubsequentimagesarelikelytohavefaultystarttimes .

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CHaPTeR9 . GLUE 191

Go to each complex section with faulty timing and manuallymake thechangesasneededto individual images .Rememberthatthetotalchangeswithinasectionneedtoequalzeroastheoveralltimingforthesectionwasalreadycorrectinthemacrodraftmovie .UsetheT�me V�ew tocheckthelengthandstarttimeofeachimagewithinacomplexsection .exportandcheck the resultsofyourmanualchanges . It’s ad-visablethatyouexportandcheckthemovieafterfixing1-to-2complex sections to make sure there are no mistakes . This isbetter than making adjustments to 10 complex sections andthen finding several mistakes remain . The problem is that it’snotalwaysobviousinwhatspecificcomplexsectiontheprob-lemoccurs .Repeatsteps2through7asneeded .

Congratulations! You should now have successfully completedyourmovieexceptforafewsimplefinishingtouches .

F�n�sh�ng Touchessometimesyou’llneedtoreviseyouraudiooryourimagesafter you’vegottentothelssproductionstage .Changingyouraudioisabiggerproblemthanchangingyourimages .Putsimply,changingyouraudiowillmeanre-doingthetimingsheet .

Revising Images Whenyouneed tochangeorupdatean image thisneednotbea big problem . let’s pretend that after showing your movie to acoupleoffriendstheybothtellyouthetitleimageistooconfusing .Youthenrevisethisimagesoit’sclearer,usesbiggerfonts,andsoforth .Redoingyourlsswork,however,canbefairlypainless .

Image Renam�ng Tr�ck. Thekeyisthatwhenyoucreatearevisedimageyougiveitexactly thesamenameastheoneitisreplacing .InfactwhenyouputthisnewimageintoyourImagesfolderyouroperatingsystemshouldaskifyoureallywanttoreplacetheolderimagewiththenewerone .Yourresponseshouldbe“yes .”Whenyoureopenyourlssprojectfilethenewimagehasautomaticallyreplacedtheoldoneinthetimeline:sameposition,sametiming .allyouneedtodoisexportthemovieagain!

Final Chapter Names You don’t need many chapters for your end users . for instance,ina10minutemovieImighthave20sectionsbutthosesectionscouldallbecollatedintoafewchapterssuchas:Introduction,TheTheory, an example, The Research, and summary . This meansyouwanttodeletemanyof thechapternamesyouhadinsertedbefore .andthechaptersthatareleftshouldberenamedsoinsteadof the end user seeing “section 1” they see something like “In-troduction .”onceyou’vefinalizedthechapternamesthenexportyourfinalmovie .

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Extra Opt�onsI’vepresentedahighlystylizedapproachtocreatingamultimediaprojectusingliveslideshow .I’vedonethisbecausethisapproachwill help most students when they create their first multimediaproject .However,liveslideshow itself isapowerfulandflexiblesoftwareproductthatincludesfeaturesandoptionsthatIhavenotdiscussedinthischapter .

The Manual liveslideshowcomeswithamanualontheCD .Whiletheman-ualcoversmuchofthesamematerialasinthischapter,pleasebeaware that it covers additional featuresandapproaches tousingliveslideshowthathavenotbeencoveredinthisguide .

LSS Text Option one of the very seductive options for some students is thatliveslideshowprovidesawaytoveryeasilyinserttextintoaslide .Thiscanbeaprettynicefeaturebutbeware:

Usingthe“inserttext”optionmeansunderstandinghowtousethetextboxareawithinaslide .sincewehavenotcoveredtheissuesoftextareas,backgroundareas,andim-ageareasthenyouabsolutelyneedtoreadthelssmanualfirst, otherwise you will quickly become frustrated andconfusedabouthowtheinserttextoptionreallyworks .Whiletheinserttextoptionisaniceadd-on,theapproachI’vegivenyoutocreatetitleimagesleadstoamuchhigherqualityintheresultingtextimages .

forbothqualityandquantityissues,pleasedon’ttrytousethetextoptionfeaturewithinliveslideshowwhenconstructingyourfirstmultimediamovie .

SummaryThischapterhasprovidedyouwithaleanandmeanapproachtousingliveslideshow .lssisyourelectronicgluetoorganizeandcombineallofyourimages,transitions,andaudiointooneseam-lesswell-runningmultimediamoviethatyoucansharewiththerestoftheworld .

Thechapterbeganbylookingathowtoorganizeallyourrawma-terialsinamethodicalandintegratedfashion .Youthenweregivenashorttourofliveslideshow .Youwerethenprovidedwithstep-by-stepinstructionsaboutaddingimages,transitions,andfinallyaudiotoyourtimeline .Themostimportantpartofthemultimediaintegrationprocessisgettingaproperalignmentbetweenimagesandaudio .Thelastfewsectionsprovidedinstructionsandstrate-giesforfirstcreatingthefinalmovie .

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Pleasenotethatwhilemostofyouhaveprobablycreatedamul-timediamovieaspartofacourserequirement,thesameessentialsteps will allow you to create many other kinds of multimediaproductsincludingotherproductsforacademicorpersonaluse .

Exerc�se 9Usingtheimagesandaudiothatyou’vealreadycreatedfromear-lier exercises, now put them together with proper alignment tocreatethefinalmultimediamovietitled,“Mystory .”

Pleasenameyourmovie,“Yourfirstname .mov .”so,ifyournameisannathenthefinalQuickTimemovieshouldbenamed,“anna .mov .”

Thefinalmoviemaybesmallenough(under5Mb)tosendtomeviaanemailattachment,otherwisepleasebringtoclassormyof-ficeonaflashdrive .

10Delivery

Chapter 10

Edcasting

CHaPTeR10 . DELIVERY 195

Overv�ewThischapterdescribes the last steps in themultimediadevelop-mentprocessandofferssomethoughtsonthepotentialrolethatcreating multimedia may have in terms of improving studentlearningandeducationalleadership .

The finishing touches you add to a movie in liveslideshow arefairly simple and straightforward . However, it’s important to doeachofthefinishingstepsinordertooptimizetheend-user’sex-perience .Therearefouressentialsteps:adding/deletingchaptersforendusers,addingthemoviecontrolleroption,addingthefullscreenmovieoption,andprovidingthefinalnameforyourmov-ie .

onceliveslideshowhasexportedthematerialsintoaQuickTimemovie,thenyouneedtodeliveryourmovietoyourendusers .Iprovidetwoscenarios:youasstudentandyouas instructor .al-thoughallthedetailsarenotcovered,thischapterdoesgiveyouasenseofhowtoprepareyourmoviewithotherrelevantmaterialsintoalearning packagereadytobeusedbyyourstudents .

The chapter then looks at the various skills you’ve developedthroughthisbookandhowtheycanbeusedtodevelopsixdif-ferenttypesofmultimedialearningproducts .needlesstosay,thisbookdoesnotcoveralltheskillsandtoolsyouneedtobecomeamultimediaexpert .Thesubsequentsectionprovidessuggestionsonhowtocontinueyourmultimediacreationeducationthroughthe use of books, websites, software, and hardware . The chapterendsbytakingabrieflookatthekeyrolethatmultimediaplaysintermsofeducationalleadership .

Chapter Model Thechaptervisualmodelonthenextpageprovidesaschematicoverviewofthekeymultimediaskillsyou’lllearninthischapter .noticethattherearefourkeyareastothemodel .Thefirstarearep-resentsthelastfewstepsyouneedtotakewith LiveSlideShow .ThesecondareasimplyrepresentstheexportedQuickTimemoviethatwillbeonyourharddrive .The thirdareadescribes theoptionsfordeliveringthefinalproducttoyourinstructor .ThefourthareadescribesthestepsneededifyouwanttopreparetheQuickTimemovietobedeliveredtoyourstudents .


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F�n�sh�ng TouchesRememberthatliveslideshowisamultimediadatabasethatstoresinformationsuchaswhichimagestouse,howlong,andsoon .Theliveslideshowfileitselfisnotamultimediamovie .Tocreatethemovieyouneedtousetheexportbuttonwhichtellsliveslideshowtonowcreateamoviebasedonallitsdatabaseinformation .ThemovieitselfalwaysendsupbeingaQuickTimeproduct .However,beforeyoupressthatExportbuttononelasttime,you’llwanttoaddsomefinishingtouchestoyourmovie .

Chapters for Users Ifyourmovieis longerthan7minutes,chaptersareabenefitsotheendusercaneasilynavigatetospecificsectionsofyourmovie .formostofyoutheproblemisyoumayhavetoo manychaptersinyourfinalmovie .Youthenmustdecidewhichchaptersyouwanttoinclude .Generallyspeaking,ifyourmovieisbetween7and12minuteslongthenyou’llprobablywantbetween3and6chapters .Thechaptersshouldbeplacedatconceptuallyimportantplacesinyourmoviesuchas“introduction,”“theory,”“example”andsoon .

onceyou’vedecidedonwhatchaptersyouwanttoincludeforyourenduser,thengothroughthetimelineinSl�de V�ewandremoveanyextrachapters .(or,ifneeded,addtheneededchapters .)Whenyouhaveonlythechaptersyouwantinthefinalproduct,thengothroughandmakesuretheyarenamedexactlyasyouwantthem .In most cases it’s useful to have a numeric introduction so thata chapter might read, “2 Theory,” instead of “Theory .” That waytheenduserknowsthechaptersaresequentiallyarrangedandin-stantlyhaveabetterideaofhowspecificallyyouhavepartitionedyourmovie .

Add Movie Controller If you go into liveslideshow and click on the oPTIons menuyou’llnoticeseveralchoices .Youhaven’thadtousetheoPTIonsmenu before because if you used the lss template then I madecertaindecisionsregardingthevariouschoicesforyou .

onchoiceundertheoPTIonsmenuistitled“addMovieCon-troller .”Thisshouldalreadybeactivatedbyacheckmarkasindi-catedinfigure9 .1 .However,ifforsomeoddreasonithasbeendeactivatedthenyouwanttore-activatethisoptionsothatyourenduserseesthemoviecontroller .Iftheenduserdoesnotseethemovie controller, then they also won’t be able to use the moviechaptersthatareplacedinthecontrollerbar .


Figure 9.1. The OPTIONS menu

Add Full Screen Whenyouexportamovieitalwaysappearsonyourscreenin“reg-ular” mode and you see the controller bar and the surroundingbrushedmetaloutlineoftheQuickTimemovieplayer .You’venodoubt noticed that all of the example movies you’ve viewed au-tomaticallyenter“presentation”mode .Inpresentationmodethemovieautomaticallytakesoverthescreen .Thismeansthevieweronlyseesthemovieandtherestofthescreenisblack .ThisisthepreferredlooktoafinalQuickTimemovie .

Tomakesureyourfinalmovieisinthecorrectpresentationmode,clickontheoPTIonsmenuandselectthefullscreensub-optionasshowninfigure9 .2 .beverysuretomakesurethatthe“nor-mal”optionunderfullscreenisselected .Currentlyfullscreenisselectedtobe“off .”bytheway,the“stretched”optionmakesyourmoviethefullsizeofthescreenbystretchingallyourimages,typi-callymakingyourmovielookquitebad .

Figure 9.2. Set Presentation Mode


Final Name and Export now you’re ready to do the final export . When the dialog boxcomesupafterpressingtheExport button,makesuretonamethemovieinthewayyouwanttheendusertoseeit .

Packag�ng the Mov�esometimesyou’ll simplywant todeliveryourmovie toyour in-structor (or to your students) . However, there are some classeswhereyou’llneedtodeliverthemovieandsomeadditionalma-terialstoyourinstructor .Inthatcasemakesuretocreateanewfolderwithanappropriatename(e .g .susan’sProject)andmakesurethefoldercontainsbothyourfinalmovieandalsoanyotherrequiredproductsthatneedtobedeliveredtoyourinstructor .

Thesamesituationappliestodeliveringproductstoyourownstu-dents . often you’ll want to package the movie along with otherinstructionalmaterialsforyourstudentstouse .again,makesureto create a new folder with an appropriate name (e .g . session 8PackageorReadingstrategiesPackage) .Thenmakesurethefoldercontainsallofthematerialsyouwanttodelivertoyourstudents .

Del�ver�ng to the InstructorYour final movie will likely be somewhere between 7 to 30 Mbinsize .Thismeansthefinalmoviewillbetoolargetosendasanemailattachment .Therearethreegoodoptionsfordeliveringthemovietoyourinstructor:flashdrive,dataCD,orawebsitedown-load .

Flash Drive Currentlyflashdrivesare the least expensiveandmostportableway to carry electronic information . There are several inexpen-siveproductsavailablesuchasthesanDiskCruzermicro(256Mbwhichsellsforabout$25) .

Figure 9.3. The Cruzer flash drive.

a7-30Mbmoviewilleasilyfitontoa256Mbflashdrive .Thisistheeasiestwaytobringthemovietomeatthelastclasssessionor


tomyoffice .

Data CD ThesecondbestwaytodeliverthemovietomeistoburnadataCDthatcontainstheQuickTimemovie .YouneedtomakesurethatyouburnacrosscompatibleCD(onethatcanberecognizedonbothWindowandMacmachines) .Thisoptionistypicallyonlybetterifyou’regoingtosendmethemovie .otherwiseyou’reonlyusingup7-30Mboutofthetotalcapacityofabout700MbthatcanbestoredonaCD .

Website Download someofyoumayhaveawebsite,oraccesstoawebsiteserver .IfyoudothenyoucaneasilysavetheQuickTimemovieorpackagetoyourserverandprovidemewiththeexactwebaddresswherethefileislocated .althoughnotnecessary,itmakesthingsalittleeasierifyouziptheQuickTimemovieorpackageandpostittoyourserverasazipfile .MacuserscandownloadthefreeClean-Archivertodothis(seeVersionTracker .com) .WindowsuserscandownloadthefreeZipGenius(seeVersionTracker .com) .

Del�ver�ng to StudentsThisisanoptionalsectionforthoseinterestedinlearninghowtoeasilypreparelearningpackagesforyourstudentstouse .Themostimportantaspectofthissectionisbeingawareofthebenefitsofzippedfolders .furthermorethesectiondescribeswhereyoucanfindgoodzippingsoftwareforbothWindowsandMacs .

Using Data CDs Thechaptervisualmodelindicatesthatonewaytodeliverlearn-ingmaterialstoyourstudentsisbyburningdataCDs .sinceCDsarefairlyinexpensive,thisapproachisveryattractive .and,ifyoudonothaveaccesstoawebserverthroughyourownwebsiteoraproductsuchasblackboardorWebCT,thenyoumayneedtousedataCDstodeliverelectroniccontenttoyourstudents .

However,herearesomedisadvantagesofusingdataCDsrelativetousingawebserver:

YouneedtohavethecapacitytoburnmanyCDseasily .Ifyouhave10studentsinacourse,thenburningall10CDsonyourowncomputerisnotabigproblem .butifyouhave40ormorestudents,thenyou’llwanttohaveaccesstoaCDduplicator .TypicallymostinstructorswillwanttoburnacourseCDonceonly:atthebeginningofasemesterorquarter .Thedisadvan-tageofthisapproachisthatyouhavetohaveallyourmaterialspreparedbeforethesemesterbeginsand youhavenoeasywaytoaddnewmaterialselectronicallylater .

The above disadvantages are huge . Combined with the fact thatalmostallofyourstudentswillhaveaccesstohigh-speedinternetaccess,thenthedisadvantagesbecomeevenmoreglaring .Howev-er,insomesituations,whereyoudon’thaveaccesstoawebserver

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ortoomanyofyourenduserswon’thavehighspeedaccess,thendataCDsaretheonlywaytogo .

Therestofthissectionassumesthatyoudohaveaccesstoawebserver .

Zipped Packages onceyou’vecreatedapackageoflearningmaterials,orevenifyoujusthaveasingleQuickTimemovie,thereareseveraladvantagestozippingthepackage .azippedfileorfolderisacompressedver-sionofthefileorfoldercombinedintoone“zip”file .Here’ssomekeyadvantagestozipping:

Zippedmaterialsareoften25to40%smallerthantheoriginalmaterial .ThisislesstruewithQuickTimemovies,butit’sagoodrule-of-thumb .smallerfilesmeanit’squickertodownload .every web browser I know recognizes a zip file as somethingthatshouldbedownloadedtoyourharddrive .Thus,ifyouclickonazippedfilethenadownloadautomaticallybegins .browsers vary, especially depending on user-set preferences,onhowtheyhandleMP3filesandMoVfiles .Manyaresettoplaythesefileswithinthebrowseritself .Whileyoucanalwaysdownloadthesematerialstoyourharddrive,it’snotasintuitiveorautomaticaswhenusingazippedfile .

forthesecombinedreasons,akeystepinpreparingyourlearn-ingmaterialsforyourstudentsistoputallthematerialsintoonefolderandthentozipthatfolder .let’slookathowtodothisonbothoperatingsystems .

Windows Zipping ZippingisverysimpleinWindows .Thereareseverallow-costorfreeproductsfordingthis .WinZipisprobablythebestknownzip-ping product: it both zips and unzips . However, there are othergoodoptionssuchasfreeZipandZipGenius(botharefree) .sincetheseproductsaremainlycreatedandupdatedbysmallprogram-mingcompaniesor individuals,pleasegotoVersionTracker.com,searchforzipsoftware,anddownload2or3productsthatseemtobegood .obviouslygiveeitherfreeZiporZipGeniusatryifyoudon’talreadyhaveWinZip .allofthesesoftwareproductsworkinasimplemanner,butyoumightfindthatsomeworkmoresimplyandmoreeffectively foryou .aftersometesting(includingbothzippingandunzipping),choosetheproductyouwanttouse .

Macintosh Zipping It’strickiertozipfilesandfoldersontheMacintosh .Theissueisnotthezippingper sebuttheproblemwithinvisiblefilesthattheMacintoshoperatingsystemuses .Thesefilesare,well,invisibletoMacusersbutarevisibleandconfusingtoWindowsusers .specifi-callytheseinvisiblefilesstoreinformationforeachfileyouhaveregarding how you want to view the file/folder in the operatingsystem:whatsizeyouseetheicon,howtheiconsinafolderareordered, and some other things . Technically speaking these arecalled .ds_store files . They always begin with an underline but

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otherwisehavethesamenameasthefile/foldertheyareattachedto .ThustoaWindowsuserit’sprettyconfusingwhichoneisthe“correct”file .Putdifferently,whenyouzipforusersonmultipleplatformsyouwanttomakesuretogetridofthe .ds_storefiles .fortunatelythere’safreeandeasywaytodothis .

Go to VersionTracker.com and find the software product calledClean Archiver . Download this software . once downloaded andstored on your hard drive, start up Clean Archiver . You’ll see ascreen like theonebelow .notice thatyouaregiven severalop-tions .

ThefirststeptotakeistosetthecorrectArch�ve Type .If“zip”isnotalreadyselected,thenclickonthebartotherightofArch�ve Type (seefigurebelow)andselect“zip .”

Figure 10.3. Clean Archiver compression options.

nowthatziphasbeenselectedit’scrucialthatyoutakethreemoresteps:

Makesurethe“exclude .Ds_store”boxischeckedMakesurethe“excludeIconfile”boxischecked .Click on the “save as Default” button at the bottom of thescreen .

onceyougothroughallofthesestepsthenwheneveryouopenClean Archiver in the future these settings will automatically bemadeforyouasthey’venowbecomeyourdefaultsettings .

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Figure 10.3. The Clean Archiver screen.

Website Download someofyoumayhaveawebsiteoraccesstoawebsiteserver .ThiscouldbeapersonalwebsiteoraninstitutionallysupportedwebsitestructuresuchasBlackboardorWebCT .IfyoudothenyoucanposttheQuickTimemovieorlearningpackagetoyourserver .Ifthematerialsareinazippedformat,thenwhentheuserclicksontherelevantlinkthefilesorfolderwillautomaticallystartdown-loadingtothecomputerharddrive .sincetherearesomanydiffer-entwebsiteapplications,you’llneedtorefertoyourspecificsoft-wareorweb-basedapplication(suchasblackboard)fordetailsonhowtocreatelinksandtouploadyourfilestotherelevantserver .

Thereareseveraladvantagestowebdownloadsnowthatmoststu-dentshaveaccesstohighspeeddownloading .Itmeansthatyoucanupdateyourwebsiteonanongoingbasis .notallofyourma-terialsasaninstructorneedtobecompletedbeforethesemesterbegins .Ifadditionalreadingorothermaterialsbecomeavailableduringthesemesterthentheycaneasilybeincludedinanylearn-ingpackagesyoucreateforyourstudents .

Data CD ThesecondbestwaytodelivermaterialsisbyburningadataCDoradataDVD .aDVDwillhold4 .7Gbofinformationifyou’reusingone-sidedDVDs .aCDwillholdabout700Mbof infor-mation .asnotedearlierinthechapterthisapproachhasseveraldisadvantagesmainly inthateitherallofyourmaterialsneedtobereadybefore theacademictermbeginsoryou’llneedtoburnmultipledisks .


Mult�med�a �n the ClassroomYou’vemadeyourfirsteducationalmultimediaproduct .nowit’stimetoreflectonthevarietyofskillsyoupossess .Withonlysomesmalladditionalskillsyouarereadytocreatesixdifferentkindsofmultimediaproducts .let’slookateachoftheminorderofcom-plexity(simpletodifficult) .

Aud�o Podcast. I’musing“podcast”inaloosesenseoftheterm,butfromtheskillsyounowpossess it’spossible toconceptualizeanacademicstoryline,writethescript,andaudiorecordthatscriptatahighlevelofquality .Ifyouhaveawebsiteandwebserverac-countthenyoucanmakesuchanaudioavailabletoyourstudents .Peopleoftensay,“Well,it’sonlyaudio!”Consider,asanexample,thatyou’vejustbeendiagnosedwithaseriousillness .Thedoctorexplainstheillnessandhowtotreatitingreatdetail .butyou’reinshockandcanonlyabsorbabout10%ofwhatshetellsyou .ontheotherhand,imagineshemadeahigh-qualityaudiorecordingofherdiscussionwithyou,includinganswerstoyourquestions .Youcouldplaythataudioatalaterpointwhenyou’renotsostressedtomakesureyoureallyunderstandtheillnessandwhatyouneedtodo .It’sonlyaudio,butitcanbeveryhelpful .

Aud�o Enhanced Podcast. an“enhanced”podcast isone thatcanincludesmallimages(300pixelsby300pixels)andchapters .forlongaudiofilesit’squiteusefultohavetheaudiobrokenupintochapters .forsometopicsitwouldbeequallyusefultoseesmallpictures(especially if theaudiowereabouta technicalorscien-tifictopic) .YouhavealltheskillsformakinganenhancedpodcastbutwouldneedanadditionalpieceofsoftwaretohelpinserttheimagesorcreatechaptersinyourMP3file .Thisisanareawherethere’s much current software development . The best software IknowforcreatingenhancedpodcastsiscalledPodcast Maker (Maconly,$29) .Howevertherewillbeothergoodproductsonthemar-ketbythetimeyoureadthisguide .

Aud�o Podcast Package. This is a variation on the audio podcast .Instead of using audio only, a package would include any otherdocuments or files that you’d want to bundle with the audio tomakeacompletelearningpackage .suchapackagemightincludePDfs,Worddocuments,relevantimages,andmoreinadditiontotheaudiopodcast .

Image-Only Mov�e. effectiveQuickTimemoviesneednotalwayshave audio . sometimes effective images, combined with shorttext images, create a clear and compelling educational movie .liveslideshowcaneasilycreatesuchaproductforyou .

Self-Paced Mov�e. sometimesyoudon’twanttheaudio,orimages,inamovietoplayatapredeterminedpace .Insteadyouwantthe

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usertocontrolthepace .Thisisaccomplishedthroughtheuseofnavigationbuttons .afeatureoflssthatwedidnotusewastheabilitytoaddsuchbuttonstoyourmovie .ThetrickinthisisthatyouneedtodivideyouraudiointoseparateMP3sforeachoftheimages .Ifyouhave20slidesthatneedaudiothenyouneedtodi-videyouraudiointo20smallclipsorregions .Thisisfairlysimpletodoviaeditingtechniques inaudacity,Peak,oraudition .Thebenefitisyourend-usercanclicktomoveforwardtothenextim-ageandhearonlytherelevantaudioforthatoneimage,thencanclickagainwhentheyarereadytoprogresstothenextimage/au-dio pair . They can also re-listen to the audio that goes with thecurrentimage .

Integrated Mult�med�a Mov�e. This is what you made: a self-run-ningmoviethatintegratesaudioandvisualmaterials .Thisisprob-ablythemostdifficulttypeofmultimediatomakebecausecloseattention needs to be paid to the exact timing of each image inthetimeline .Inaddition,makingyourfirstintegratedmultimediamovieisthehardest .Itgetseasierandeasierasyoucreatemore .

although you may not use all of these six formats in your owninstructional practice, it’s still useful for you to be aware of themanywaysyoucanparlayyourcurrentmultimediaskillsetintoavarietyofdifferentlearningproductsthatmaymeettheneedsofyourlearners .

Cont�nu�ng Educat�onThebestwaytolearnabouthowtocreateandusemultimediaistocontinue toexploremakingmultimediayourself,andto lookatwhatotherpeoplearedoingwithmultimedia .You’vegotveryimportantandmarketableskillsupyoureducationalsleevenow .

There are several resources for expanding your skills . Probablythetwomostimportantsourcesarebooksandwebsites .However,yourinstitutionmayofferspecializedsessionsonkeymultimediatools such as podcasting or PowerPoint or other tools . In addi-tion, such learning sessions may be available in the communitywhereyoulive .Keepyoureyesopenbecausetheselearningses-sions(freeandcommercial)canbeafantasticwaytodeepenandexpandyourskillset .

Books Keepyoureyesoutfornewbooks .forinstance,severalbookshavebeenpublishedinthelastsixmonthsaboutpodcasting .Thatsaid,thesoftwareyouwillusewiththedeepestandrichestfeaturesetsareyouraudioediting/mixingsoftwareandanyprofessionallevelimagecreationprogramsuchasadobeIllustrator,adobePhoto-shop,oradobePhotoshopelements .Inallofthesecasestherearetypicallyoneormorebooksavailablethatgointodetailabouthow

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tobestusetheseprograms .

Reviewcommentsat Amazon.comcanbeextremelyusefulinfig-uring out whether a specific book may be useful for you . Makesuretoreadoverthecommentscarefully .Thatsaid,here’saveryshortlistofsomeusefulbooksforfurtheringyoureducation:

BIAS Peak. This Mac-only audio recording and editing softwareprogramrecentlyhadaverygoodbookpublishedaboutit:

Power Tools for Peak ProbyDavidM .Rubin .

Adobe Aud�t�on. ThisWindows-onlyaudiorecording,editing,andmixingsoftwarehaseightbookswrittenaboutit .severalseemtobegood,butoneinparticularseemsuseful:

PC Audio Editing with Adobe Audition 2byRogerDerry .

Photoshop Elements. notasmanybooksasaboutPhotoshopper se,butnonethelessmanygoodchoiceshere .TherearegeneralbooksaboutPhotoshopelementsbutalsobooksthatspecializeinpho-tography .althoughthereareseveralgoodchoices,twoseempar-ticularlyuseful:

Photoshop Elements 4 One-on-One by Deke McClellandandGalenfottThe Photoshop Elements 4 Book for Digital PhotographersbyscottKelby

Illustrator. although fewer of you will want to explore a profes-sionalillustrationprogram,itcanbereallyworthyourwhileforcreatinggreatlookingtext,visualmodels,andothervector-basedimages .ThebestbookIknowofinthisareais:

Real World Adobe Illustrator CS2byMordyGolding .

PowerPo�nt or Keynote. Whilethesearesimplerprograms,itmaybeusefulforsomeofyoutogetagoodbookabouthowtotakefulladvantageoftheseprograms .Pleaselookoverthetable of contentsandthelikebeforebuyingtomakesurethebookisatalevelthatisappropriateforyou .Ifyouonlyneedafewkeyhintsabouthowtousethesoftwareyoumaybebetterofftakingadvantageofgreatinformationalreadyavailableontheweb .

Websites Therearealotofwebsitesthatprovideveryspecificadviceabouthowtouseindividualsoftwareprograms,hardwaredevices,andhintsaboutcreatingmultimedia .TakeadvantageofaGooglesearch .onceyou’vefoundawebsiteordiscussionboardthat’susefulforyou,makesuretobookmarkitandrevisititonceinawhile .

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Educat�onal Leadersh�pThefutureofeducationischanging .acriticalpieceoftheemerg-ing educational challenge is to develop educational multimediaproductsthatoffermoreeffectiveandefficientinstructionforstu-dents .There’snoreasontobelievethepressuretoincludeeffectivetechnologyintotomorrow’slearningenvironmentswon’tcontinuetoincreaseinboththeK-12andhighereducationlevels .

oneofthebiggestobstaclesobstructingafasterimplementationofrelevanttechnologyintoeducationhasbeenthelackofsavvyeducationalleadership .Typicallymanyoftheindividualsinlead-ershippositionsgrewupatatimewhentechnologywasnotpreva-lent,norwerecomputersan integralpartof theirclassroomen-vironments .Manyleadersthemselvesacknowledgethisproblem,yetthattrendisbeginningtochange .

You shouldknow thatyouremergingmultimedia skillsputyouinabetterpositionforbecominganeducationalleader:eitherasatechnologymentor,adecisionmaker,orasmoredesirableap-plicantasaprincipal,superintendent,orhighereducationadmin-istrator . It’s probably fair to say that educational leaders tend towanttobenottoofaraheadofthecurve .Yetit’sequallytruethattheyrealizethere’skeynegativesassociatedwithbeingtoofarbe-hind the curve .Themultimediaand technologydemandcurvesaremovingaheadatabriskpace,and future leadersneed tobesomewhat in synchwith thisongoingchange .Thus,even ifyoudon’t continue to make multimedia, by having a deeper level ofunderstandingregardingtheprocessofcreatingmultimediaandthevarietyofcircumstanceswheresuchproductscanhelplearn-ers,makeyouamuchsavviermultimediaconsumer .Inturn,thisincreasedlevelofmultimediasavvycanmakeyouamoreinsight-fulandhelpfuleducationalleader .