Digital Commons at Penn State

Adobe Presenter 7 Basics

The staff at Digital Commons completed a video podcast that provides a quick overview of how to access iTunes U at Penn State on a Mac or Windows PC using the free iTunes software. To watch the video click on the link below:
How to access iTunes U at Penn State

First, make sure you have iTunes installed. This is a free application (WIN/MAC) which can be downloaded here.

Then browse to http://itunes.psu.edu and click on the appropriate button under "Open Penn State on iTunes U."

Need more help? Feel free to view our "Penn State on iTunes U FAQ" page here (coming soon.)

Because iMovie 09 no longer encapsulates media into the project file like iMovie 06, the procedure to backup an iMovie 09 project and media is slightly different than just copying a single file to the Digital Commons Server.

iMovie 09 will autosave all of its data into the users Movies folder. You will notice that there are a number of folders created. Each one has a special purpose and must not be renamed or else iMovie 09 will stop working.

The iMovie Events folder contains all of the media imported into a project.

The iMovie Projects folder will contain all of the actual edit information.

If you have Shared a project out to another program, it may also appear in your Movies folder.

The staff at Digital Commons completed a video podcast that provides a quick overview of how to create a podcast on a Mac or Windows PC using the free Audacity software. To watch the video click on the link below:
Audacity Video Tutorial

Resources

• Download Audacity
• Download the LAME encoder (this is required for exporting MP3's from Audacity)
• Additional Tutorial (SourceForge Web site)

Installation instructions for the LAME encoder for Audacity on Windows:

Shooting with the gray screen is similar to shooting with the green screen in that you want to make sure to light your subject separately from the background.

The second thing to remember is you want to put your subject as far away from the screen as possible. If you put your subject too close to the screen you will have harsh shadows behind them on the screen that will not look good.

The next thing to remember when using the gray screen is to not over or under light the screen. You want the light level on the screen to be close to that of your subject. If you don’t have any light on the screen it will be too dark and cause noise in the image and if you have too much light on the screen then it will start to appear white. So try to balance the light levels between the background and your subject.

And finally, be creative. Because grey is not the most visually interesting background color try using the colored gels in the light kits to create more visual interest.

Setting up for an interview.

Conducting an on camera interview is one of the most important aspects of production. It is important to understand some basic production techniques so that you get the most out of your interview.

Rule 1: Don’t place your subject too close to a wall or the grey screen. If you do, it will make your image seem very claustrophobic as well as cause unsightly shadows on the wall behind your subject. Instead put at least 4 feet between your subject and the background.

Rule 2: Sit down interviews are generally more formal and more comfortable than stand up interviews. You may want to do a stand up interview for a “man on the street” feel, but typically film your subject sitting down.

Rule 3: Keep the camera at around eye level to your subject. Filming from above or below your subject can be useful for dramatic effect, but for a typical interview you want to keep the camera as close to eye level as possible.

Rule 4: Use proper 3-point lighting. Please review the 3-point lighting tutorial if you have any questions.

Storyboarding is one of the most effective ways to communicate visual ideas and organize your thoughts and plans for a video. The idea behind story boarding is to give a rough visualization to your project. You don't have to be good at drawing to storyboard, it can be just as effective using stick figures to illustrate the movement of a shot.

If you feel that stick figures just aren't getting your Idea across try using still images with people to illustrate your idea. The most important thing is communicating your thoughts into a visual medium for later use.

Below is an example of some things you can do with story boarding.

Below is a blank storyboarding template.

Click here to Download the Storyboarding Template

Determining which aspect ratio you want to work in when starting a new project in Final Cut Pro is extremely important. Chances are if you used the HDR-FX1 provided by the Digital Commons you have recorded video in the 16:9, or widescreen, standard definition format. This tutorial focuses on settings using Standard Definition footage.

This tutorial will cover setting up a new project in FCP with an eye towards choosing the proper aspect ratio settings from the beginning, before you even capture footage into FCP.

Let’s begin by starting a new project. Go to File and choose New Project.

Now go to Final Cut Pro and choose Audio/Video Settings.

There are two options to pay specific attention to on this screen. Let’s look at the Capture Preset option first. This option should be set properly before capturing any footage with FCP. Final Cut will default the Capture Preset to DV NTSC 48 kHz. This setting is the 4:3 (non-widescreen) aspect ratio.

The Digital Commons makes 50 GB of storage space per project available to students and faculty for storing their digital media projects. Please note that this storage is strictly for saving your project, when accessing your saved project, be sure to copy the project to your local computer. When finished, save your work and then transfer your project back to shared storage.

The first step to using this space is to create space for your project on your campus’ local server.

To create space for your project:
1. Go to https://clc.its.psu.edu/dc

Pre-production, Production, and Post-production

Duration: 40 Minutes

This training is a general overview of all of the steps involved in planning, shooting and Editing a video.

• Scripting
• StoryBoarding
• Learning the Gear
• Executing the shoot
• Editing
• Publishing