More video editing tutorials for Premiere

Layers Magazine has a tutorials section as well as Layers TV, which has a range of content for the whole of the Adobe suite, including Premiere Pro:

http://www.layersmagazine.com/category/tutorials/premiere-pro

Community TV goes digital

Finally! Community TV has been given some digital broadcasting signal:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/news/community-tv-stations-receive-spectrum-to-go-digital/story-e6frg90f-1225794240507

Video Editing with Premiere Pro

Adobe TV has some good video tutorials for working with Premiere Pro CS4. Most techniques should still apply for earlier CS versions. You can get to them from here:

http://tv.adobe.com/show/learn-premiere-pro-cs4/

I would take Video 2 with a cautious eye – be aware that here we use DV PAL standards rather than NTSC. There are also other notes that I feel need to be clarified (like naming tapes for standards, and performing log and capture rather than a direct capture, in order to work off Log Sheets and EDLs more), but then again, that’s me and I’m a bit of a stickler for those things. I will try to create some more detailed notes for myself and my students, however for a basic glance these are really good.

There are also some available from Adobe’s Design Centre  site:

http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/video_workshop/

Updates in new media issues

Seems like the law is finally catching up with recognising and prosecuting online forms of legal infringements.

Tom’s guide has some recent stories that are pretty exciting in regards to new media:

Man Jailed After Consulting Apple Genius. Lesson: Don’t leave illegal or incriminating content on your computer. Especially if you plan to take it in for a service.

Teen Jailed for Facebook Death Threat Lesson: Don’t make threats online, as online harrassment is now recognised by the courts.

Swedish Court: Pirate Bay Must Die Lesson: Even those who set up torrent websites or provide hosting for sites that allows for torrents may be in trouble, let alone those who actually are proven to share illegal content.

The ten commandments of social media

Social media has become the norm. In one of the classes I teach, all the students have or have had iPhones. Facebook is blocked, however twitter is allowed. For individuals, and particularly students and young people, Web 2.0 and social networking opens up new possibilities in media creation. Blogging and podcasting is now a simple and effective means of communication, and social media sites not only allow for keeping up with friends, but are being exploited by savvy companies as well as independents as marketing tools to promote themselves or their business.

Simon Whatley posts the ‘ten commandments’ of social media, as first written by Lon Safko, with some good links to relevant software and sites.

In terms of video podcasting, I recently found Screenjelly – an online video screenshot tool that could be used for creating video tutorials.

Syn fm also runs radio sessions for students, and has a range of resources, like how to create podcasts with Audacity. The media learning week which runs end of August has a range of free sessions at the State Library, including audio and video podcasting workshops.

Phone etiquette

Article on Wired regarding phone etiquette and the digital age divide, titled “Text Etiquette On ‘Today’ — Or, How I Survived Five Minutes Without My iPhone”.

Writing for the screen

Currently we are looking at how to write one line, one paragraph and one page treatments for films in my Year 11 Media class. As an activity, the students looked through newspapers, magazines and the internet and in groups, brainstormed and wrote a list of possible ideas that could be turned into documentary or film productions, based on their research. Today we began exploring how to turn one of these ideas into a synopsis, treatment and pitch. Next they will get into groups and do the same thing again, with a project that they will actually then produce as a film.

As such, I’ve been on the hunt for good resources on writing treatments/outlines/synopses, etc, so here’s a list in some sort of vague order that might benefit in delivering the topic for teaching.

Screen Australia is a gold mine for good resources. I began by looking at the DIY DOCO site. The section on From Story to Screen, and the subsection Development, cover writing treatments, and also have interviews with directors, producers and others relevant to the topic (this site can also be used for looking at production roles).

Screen Australia also has a great pdf document What is a synopsis which goes through the difference between a synopsis, outline and treatment, with examples. eHow has some good tips and exercises that could be used in the classroom to get started, which could be good for as an exercise on its own or after an exercise on research/looking for stories.

Stuff I love: iGoogle (or the issue with convergent media)

I have a dirty secret. I am actually one of the few people of my generation NOT to own an iPhone. I currently get free Facebook access through my (non-iPhone) mobile, and I STILL haven’t touched Facebook in months.
And I have only just recently started to get onto the downloading podcasts bandwagon.

I am, however, addicted to iGoogle.

I like the fact I can put RSS feeds directly in my browser and have them come up whenever I want. I like that I can customise the look of it. I like that I can have my favourite websites and videos (TED, Wired and their associated Wired blogs/sites) on hand. I like that I have google and wikipedia search bars side by side, as if these are the only ways to search. (Ok, so that last one was a little sarcastic, but I was actually sincere about the others).

Our society has obviously become more knowledge-based. Or if not knowledge-based, then just plain information heavy. Doesn’t mean that the information is any more useful, or that we actually know what to do with it. There’s just…. well, MORE. More of it in general. I don’t know if having access to more of it in the one place is a good thing or not. The upside, is that for the sites I like and trust and use regularly, I can have them right there. This limits how much searching I do for new resources though, and limits my range of valid sources that I use. However, I like the fact that I can choose what I view and organise the information in a way that suits me. I can layer, order, organise and view information in ways that makes that information seem less… overwhelming, I guess.

Unfortunately, while all these apps are meant to make our lives easier, and there is talk of the “killer app”, so far all there seems to be is a glut of more of the same apps that converge information. Do I really need a facebook account, a myspace AND a twitter? Do any of them actually do the job I want them to? Are they all the same, or do they suit a specialised purpose? Which one will die out and will suck my data into its own belly when it faces its demise? Do any of these actually make my quest for information (both accessing and sharing/publicising) any easier?

Here is a link to a bnet article that questions the same issues:
http://industry.bnet.com/technology/10002385/google-facebook-twitter-microsoft-all-miss-the-big-picture/

Diegetic vs Non-diegetic sound

One of the more important elements to discuss in Media, particularly when discussing Narrative or Representation, is diegetic vs non-diegetic elements, and in particular, sound (as this element/code best allows for the diegetic/non-diegetic distinction). I have brought this in within the Representation unit, and now am looking to follow up and use it as a segue into Media production techniques with video for Unit 2. As such, I’ve been looking for some good info/definitions/resources on the topic:

Basic definition:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071126162923AAoluw6

More complex definitions with film/text resources:
http://www.wikindx.com/wikindx3/index.php?action=metaKeywordProcess&id=75
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diegesis

Teaching resources:
Powerpoint on diegetic sound production
Study guide for Star Wars and diegetic/non-diegetic sound (includes class activity)

Telstra’s policy on using social networking

The company image on Twitter and Facebook: Where employers stand on the use of social networking services at work.

It seems that employers are becoming more flexible/accepting of the use of twitter, facebook, etc. while at work, as long as the company image is maintained. Not sure, however, if this means employees are less likely to get into trouble or be judged on future jobs due to employers looking them up employees’ or potential employees’ facebook/mySpace profiles.