Out On The Stoop is my exploration about things to know, talk about or experience these amazing times. The Stoop mantra is Think, think, it ain't illegal yet.
Ok, here is the deal. Ernmander has AudioMo which is 30 days of audio recording.
Usually in June. I think.
He also has Audio365 which is what folks can do when the want to post an audio to Twitter or whatever.
Ernmander decided that he wanted to have something that would allow folks to connect with each other in regards to Covid-19 so he put the word out about #AudioCov.
I saw the post and thought it was a good idea. So I made a trailer with Headliner. Headliner allows folks to easily add captions to an audiogram to make it easier to open the content to others.
I want to put this here so that I remember to make more than a trailer. I need to share as well.
Putting this here as a time and place marker. Because if things do not substantially change then we are going to have to face this again. And again. And then someday, what the fuck just happened.
Watch the whole thing before you start to have an opinion.
This was a public health movie about encoraging soldiers to get treatment for venereal diseases. This was something you did not say out loud in the 1940s. The movie tries to talk about the topic without talking about the topic.
This means no discussion of sex, how you contracted the disease or how to prevent it. Yep, a sex education movie without sex being mentioned once. Now besides the fact that it has Robert Mitchum and Noah Berry at the beginning of the movie, there are other reasons why I am positing this PSA.
I had heard of the Jean Hersholt Awards for years. Had no idea of who the guy was. The actor playing the doctor is Mr. Hersholt himself. This was also the guy who help to build the Screen Actor's Hospital and other humanitarian acts.
The final reason that I wanted to post this movie was that toward the end of this 20 minute movie there is a segment about health care overseas. The film mentions that anyone at any time can go in, get tested and treated without a fuss or a commotion. The rate of disease was far less than the United States at the time.
If I need a sledge hammer to make my point I'll go get one. We've got work to do. We have 50+ years to catch up.
This is the fourth segment virtual handout on the BlogHer09 Web Video/Videoblogging session of the Geek Lab. There is a lot of pure bunkum that is being perpetrated in this area. Lurk, observe and do not give your money until you are sure that the person or company has demonstrated experience.
This means that if you see a tacky looking slide show and they claim to be “video experts” who will teach you how to create video for a price, move along. Also Search engine optimization is not the same as producing good content be it text, audio, photos or video.
The flim flam is excessively high so be very picky about these type of content providers. What I am trying to say is the true goal is the same for all types of web video; to communicate a message.
You first need to understand what you want the video to do for you. Yes, I know for a fraction of you the goal is to make money.
I have to tell you most successful money generating people I have met, and I do know some Benjamin packing people, have in common is that they have a product or service that they believe in AND that there is a clear benefit to the consumer.
The benefit has a value of X . Honestly the focus has to be on what can you do for your potential customer before she or he commits to buying your service or product.
What Has This Got to do with Web Video for Business?
This is your opportunity to by pass your local TV and radio stations who will not sell you time to promote your product and service.
This is your time to help your customers understand what your product can do for them and explain it on your terms. Your occasional or ongoing series of videos can help make that decision.
Cori Chavez's goal is to help small business people using video with the equipment that they have. Her focus may be to be known as an expert. I don't know. But the videos on her blog do not talk about her knowledge. They demonstrate help and assistance to the viewers and potential customers.
Videos can help in product support or demonstrating how to use, wear or incorporate a product into a consumer's lifestyle. At BlogHer I received a DVD from a woman who is promoting Pilates for desk jockeys. When my box of stuff arrives I'll put in the name of the video.
Now I'm do not have an exercise blog, and I am not the first person you think of when it comes to physical fitness. But if someone asks me about desk based back and abs exercises I now have a resource for them to check out. I do know folks with back and fitness problems.
I can refer them to the website that if they have good sense, demonstrate one or two exercises that would cause a person to buy the DVD. This is Social Media 101.
Are you catching my drift? The business videos you create have to support the needs of your potential clients and customers. Not how great the product is or could be for them.
Oh, yeah, one more thing. Do not lie of deceive people. It is wrong. People will talk. And not everybody gets to go to the Country Club prison.
Equipment:
Upper Level Digital Camcorder
Prosumer Camcorder
External good quality microphones, tripods, lighting.
Hiring professional assistance to start.
There are many kinds of business videos. These are business video examples and I make no judgment or endorsement of the products or services presented.
David C. Skul - video on YouTube on 5 Tips for Effective Web 2.0 Marketing. I then backtracked to his website to find out about his services and other resources that I will post below.
Megs Concession Supply has videos that demonstrate concession food machines and products.
Poor Specimen.TV caters to surfing enthusiasts and those that remember back in the day of the surf film. You purchase and view videos online.
WellcomeMat.com is a portal for real estate videos and real estate video services.
As you can see the video quality is all over the place. Yes thousands of folks are trying web video for business but only a few are doing it correctly. There will always be room for quality. Content rules but quality for business video is equally important. Like the Instructional tutorials you gotta have a plan. These following people can help.
Creating Business Video Resources Bill Myers Online – working on independent distribution before the Internet and has adapted to the changes. Review the sample articles and videos for free.
Cori Chavez at New Video Monday is targeting small business owners who want to use video. A new effort but she does have good video content.
David Skul's RelativityCorp.com page on business and marketing web videos. Both articles and video content.
Web Video University's blog where you can sample videos and the quality of the instructor, Dave Kaminski work.
This is the third section of the BlogHer09 Video Geek Lab. This one concerns resources for those of you interested in documentary videography, citizen journalism,video activism and presenting fact based videos.
Web Camcorder - you will have to work harder on the video but it can be done.
Digital Video Camcorder - upper level with more controls and features.
Prosumer Level Camcorder
Audio/Microphone Concerns
Tripod/Monopod
You might need better quality equipment and a bit more skills to create different versions for distribution. In addition, you might need to learn some of the techniques of traditional and web based journalism.
News University – free and paid web classes on journalism issues, storytelling techniques and new media. You will also want to hang out at the Poynter Institute for Visual Journalism page.
Audio and storytelling resources at Transom.org Please read Curtis Fox, Elizabeth Arnold and Studs Turkel on the many paths to storytelling. You will also find information about microphones and recoding software.
This is the second section of my BlogHer09 Geek Lab on finding instructional video resources. You might be interested in creating videos for demonstrating a skill or a product, presentations or screencasting. Instructional videos can be done on an occasional basis or as a normal part of you blog/vlog.
Examples of Instructional/Tutorial Videos
There is such a range of content that can and will be produced that these are just examples. Whether to support your blog, product support or to advertise your business these are some idea generators our of thousands more I could show you. Use these as idea generators:
Explaining A Software/Service - Survey Monkey Screencasting Page and also view the videos at DemoGirl.com
Certainly you will need to be aware of the core skills resources but you will also have to be knowledgeable about how to present information, how to deliver it via video and keeping your users wants and needs in mind. EHow has a simple outline of the instructional video process.
Web Camcorder
Digital Video Camcorder or Prosumer Camcorder
External Microphone
Lighting
Tripod/Monopod
If you are going to teach via video then your instructions and how you demonstrate them have to be perfect. You have to plan for that perfection. This kind of video require more planning but it does not have to be a time sink if you set up a workflow or system of how you are going to record the video.
Creating Presentation Resources
It is long past time that the presentation community and the video community got to know each other. There is much common ground. This is my peanut butter and chocolate moment. So for those of you new to presentation concepts check out the following Slideshare presentation by Kelsey Ruger:
Beyond Bullet Points - If you are using either PowerPoint or presenting by video you need to read this book. If you are cash impaired, check out Cliff's website and blog.
Nancy Duarte - just go and explore the whole shebang. This is one of her pages on using receipt tape to storyboard an idea.
Video of Garr Reynolds speaking at Google on presentation concepts. You should also check out Garr's blog.
Tim Carter's Ask The Builder Video on Making Instructional Videos is a great demonstration on the mechanical process of how to construct a video tutorial and he reminds you that it shouldn't be painful to watch.
Tom Johnson at I'd Rather Be Writing goes into more detail about his process in creating tutorial videos.
On many websites and blogs you are going to see name TechSmith and Camtasia. There is a reason for this. The software works. For casual or occasional users you might want to check out Jing. If you are an educator, professional presenter, or live in the presentation realm of the sciences then you should swing over to the Camtasia Learning Center.
Camtasia is expensive and there are low cost/free/open source alternatives like HyperCam, CamStudio and others. But if you need a functional no hassle system and your job depends on it, yes, Camtasia is it.
Full Disclosure: I have owned Camtasia Studio for two years. I also have purchased SnagIt. I was recently gifted with an upgrade to the new versions of both programs. Thank you Betsy!
But I did want to mention the upgrade. I do believe in letting you know when I have received items. I don't want to talk about transparency without standing up for my beliefs and not acting accordingly.
I receive no money or other types of compensation for this blog. Because of my prior videos and Creative Commons licenses from musicians that have permitted me to use their music for non-commercial purposes; I do not have advertising content on this blog.
I gave a short presentation at BlogHer09 about the resources available to help folks create videos. This will be a series of virtual handouts and additional resources I did not have time to share.
This section will cover resources on basic skills for those folks using the following devices:
Web Cameras
Web Camcorders
Digital Still Cameras with Video Recording
If you plan on recording personal commentary/talking head videos, occasional outside events and recording people in casual settings then your needs are basic. You can produce good video with these recording devices if you understand their strengths and their limitations. For personal narrative and quick commentary web cams are very useful. You can tell your story, give highlights from a conference or use it as a creativity tool.
Web Camcorders are best used outside for spontaneous events, recording life in the city, tutorials, digital storytelling, citizen journalism, documentation and whatever else comes into your head.
I think this is where the future technology will merge into; the ability to shoot quality photos and record video has to come together. In the meantime, manufacturers of upper level still cameras are working to find the best way to balance both mediums.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The strengths are ease of use, portability and with the Web Camcorders and upper level Digital Still Cameras improved video quality.
The main limitation is light. You need lots of it. This is true if you are recording indoors with the web cameras, web camcorders or inexpensive digital still cameras.
Another limitation is audio. You might record ambient sounds that you can't remove. Those sounds can spoil a good video. There are ways to compensate for those liabilities.
If you are new to creating web video or videoblogging preparing and uploading your video these are the most helpful and accessible resources:
This is a short clip from Lisa’s presentation on how to bring fun into presenting information.
My understanding is that you cannot expect to have people happy to hear what you have to say if you are a drip or a monotone piece of cardboard. Lisa Braithwaite gives solid advice about the mindset required to deliver a good presentation.
For more info check out Cliff Atkinson’s blog or to see if there are other videos or notes, check out the PresentationCamp wiki.
I've told folks last week about PresentationCamp L.A. I wish I knew about it sooner but such is life. My previous post mentioned the serendipity that caused me to become aware of the techniques and skills of presentation. There are very similar to writing, blogging and storytelling.
So this video is for folks that could not attend or wonder why would you give up a Saturday to do this? There were professional presenters, entrepreneurs, people that worked in non-profit organizations, life coaches, representatives from engineering and health sciences. The common intersection among us was the need to transfer what we know to another person.
What are the questions? How do you do it. So at the beginning of an Un-conference/BarCamp experience the participants decide on the day’s agenda. Cliff Atkinson and Lisa Braithwaite kick of the day with the invitation to “ask for what you want.”
For more information or to check to see if there are other videos or notes check out the PresentationCamp wiki.
The PSA project was and is making me crazy. I know what I want to do, I know the information I want to convey but I need to deliver it in an accessible and visual manner. I also want to teach people how to do this as well but I have to simplify the process.
Yes, I don't lack for things to do.
Here is the thing, I am not a designer, educational media specialist or the slickest video kid on the block. I don't have to be but I needed help.
I stared looking for books and resources on how to convey information that could help me with the stories I need to pass on down the line.
I decide on Slide:ology by Nancy Duate. Off I go to the local bookstore. Not in stock. Store #2, nope just sold out.
Hit up on Store #3, where I call before I make a move, and "Yes, we've got it."
They didn't have it.
I look down and I see this book, Beyond Bullet Points by Cliff Atkinson. I open it up, flip the pages and it seemed to speak of the processes on how to do this and understand what the audience needs from people who present information.
Sold. I'll order the other book online. Time marches on.
Ok a full three months pass by without ordering the book.
A few days ago a friend e-mails me that she just learned via the Apple Store how to bring her Keynote slides into iMovie and export into a Flash movie format.
I sent her a link to Cliff's website. I also check out the Beyond Bullet Points blog and that is how I found out about Presentation Camp L.A.
It was a mind inspiring day. I'm editing video so I hope to have something soon. It is that time thing, don’t have as much as I need or want.
Serendipity has often meant to me to surrender to the possible you can't see. Or getting whacked upside the head with a lot of information at one time. It is a good thing but it still knocks me out when it happens.
I mean that literally because it took three hours to get home (Dang that Metro!) and I conked out shortly after.
It was great but a really long day. In another ramble I need to re-think why I don't drive.
It has been a challenge but not just the ones that I anticipated. Finding time, yes that is a constant. To find the time to think, assemble and create always kicks me in the pants. Two working days and five to create would help. Unfortunately my life is currently structured the other way around.
There are other things as well. The subject matter. The more I read about violence, violence against men, violence against women and all the inter-linking problems associated with violence is a huge big toxic soup. That isn't correct. It is how much I'm able to digest before I become numb or even worse, despondent over our collective survival.
I have limits about how much I want to ingest. Reading about how much anger some black men have toward black women is heartbreaking. Misogyny doesn't come close to what is out there.
Behind that anger there is pain. What are we not hearing? Is it our responsibility to even try to listen at this point? Is this something that women should be concerned about? Why to we have to fix ourselves and them too? Is it time to structure a new life beyond "the haters?"
I Have An Example
Many years, almost 25 years now, I lived in an apartment building. There was a couple above me. Quiet folks, both worked.
One night there was a loud angry ruckus above me. Furniture breaking, a man cussing a woman out of her name and humanity. Punches. I heard everything. I thought it was an intruder so I reached for the phone. Then I heard it. "I am your husband, you do as I say. I don't want to heard anything come out of your M-F'ing mouth. You do for me!"
I took my hand off of the phone. You see, at the time what I was taught was that if you hear some guy beating a woman that was between them. You didn't call the police. If the woman managed to get outside and ask for help you could do it then but behind their doors, nope you couldn't do it.
For the record, if you hear or see one person beating the hell out of another person CALL THE POLICE!
Anyway, I saw the woman the next day. Half her face had been beaten. You know what she did? She smiled at me as if nothing happened. I nodded a half smile back. We were complicit in a deception. A deception supported by religion, education, business and culture.
There are many stakeholders in making sure there is control over the treatment of women, men and dollars. If they financially benefit from the sublimation of women there is no vested interest in stopping. If they produce music that cause young men to kill themselves because they live in perpetual fear there is no reason for them to change the content of the product.
There is a lot of deception going on. This must change, generally by the light of truth. I can start with me. I can do what I can do and I will. I'm still figuring things out. Trying to make the process simpler so that it can be replicated.
It seems in addition to awareness there also has to be, I don't know how to say this, but a grounding in self-love, self-esteem and being secure. Emotionally secure. Spiritually secure. This is not the same as religion, I'm talking about something to the effect that a person intrinsically knows he or she is loved. Faith based or self generated, I don't care. However you get there. There has to be more than consumption to fill the void.
So. Yeah. The violence is real. If it is in your face you have to deal with it. It is also a symptom of deeper problems. How can each one of us, in the space we have, resolve the actual problems?
There are ways. But is there willingness? I have so many damn questions it isn't funny.
This is a text based video on helping folks remember that "No" does not require a reason when it comes to deciding if you want to have sex with another person. Some people are under the impression that no is a prelude to yes. I found a good source of ideas at http://www.clotheslineproject.org and that is the organization I imagined could benefit from created the PSA
No. It is not. She may have tacky underwear she doesn't want you to see. You might have really bad breath. You might be a nice guy. You might be a self-centered inconsiderate bore. She might have other things to do and having sex with you isn't on the list.
When in doubt back up and stop. The inspiration for this came from a line text in the UCLA Freshman Handbook. There was a section on Date Rape and in the section for men it said that men should not take it personal that a woman does not want to have sex with them.
I do agree with that sentence but there wasn't an equivalent statement for the women. For the women it was all pro-active self defense and awareness. So if all it takes is to spread the word that men need to know that no having sex from someone who says no to them is not a bad thing then heck yeah, pass the word.
(Yes, I know it is about self esteem, power and a bunch of other stuff. But if we can stop one guy from doing something seriously wrong with a few words let's put the thought in his head.)
Process and Tools:
Swish Max a very easy to use Flash animation program.
Slide screen PNG image. I used Corel Paint Shop Pro X2 to make transparent
Sound Loops from FlashKit.com
Assembled in Serif Movie Plus X3
This week I wanted to keep it really simple and play with text and music. I am learning to focus on one idea and express that idea.
Using music, a tombstone and text I made a simple PSA on three statistics about women and violence. In the video I linked to Violence UnSilenced, a place where people can go to share or read stories about people in domestic violence situations.
People who are abused may not be able to talk about what is happening but in a private safe community place, web site or blog there can be a connection made to their personal danger.
Process:
I used Tombstone Builder. I started out with Tombstone Generator. Created a bunch of markers 15 to 20 or so. When I tried open them they wouldn't open. Grievous. This is no reflection on Tombstone Generator, I've used it before. I just was too upset to figure out the problem.
I then thought ok, I'll make my own but all of the real world tombstone makers have their logo or other watermark on the headstones. Understandable and because they are facing foreign mechanical knock-offs, I don't blame them.
My point in describing the process is that using basic tools and technology you can tell a story or convey information. Music helps a lot too.
Thoughts and Concerns
This was harder than I anticipated. I initially wanted to have parts of faces showing bruises. I did find those, most regrettably. I needed women of color. There is one recent woman of color who was assaulted by her partner.
Here is where the ethics kick in. I could make the case that this woman is a public figure and the photos have become public record. I could crop or distort the photos. I could focus on just the bruises.
To change factual photographs is not a good thing. It is dishonest. Damn me for taking a photo-journalism class but there you go, it is not a good practice to distort the actual recorded experience.
The second issue is that I don't know who took the original photos. I don't know who owns them. They look like police photos. Either way, I don't have permission until I find that out. Since I don't want to it is ok.
I decided not to use those photos. There is a real live person involved. I don't know this woman. I don't know the truth about her situation but I do not want to be perceived as benefiting from her sorrow.
It seems others have no problem doing so but I do. So yes, it would have been a better piece with photos but the ethical costs was much too high.
This is the second PSA with Barbara Jordan knocking the stuffing out of the inarticulate comment. I've had to sift through a lot of comments to find the ones that are clean enough to put up as an representative examples.
A lot of people still hold this woman in high regard. She may have left the planet but thankfully people have been posting her words, audio and video.
University of Texas interview with Professor Jordan
Process:
The tools I used were photos, mp3 audio and a video software editing program called Serif Movie Plus X3. It made it really easy to pan, zoom and keep the aspect ratio correct. You can do the same thing in Windows Movie Maker or iMovie. Corel VideoStudio 12 has that feature as well.
Serif gives me a good balance between my intermediate video skills and access to advanced features, if I need them.
Inspiration and Reason for this PSA Video:
There is some nasty, vile stuff and a some of it is coming from young African-American men.
Seriously. Those that posted their ages seem to range from 18 t0 25 or so. There is some older male commentary as well but it is coming from young men. And Fox News. And cable reality shows. I can go on.
Let me get back to the young men thing for a moment. I seem to remember something about there are stages of development. There is a phase in some young boys around seven or eight start to "hate" girls. They are learning to construct their own identities independent of mom and the culture tells them that they are "different" than girls.
Then puberty hits and 9 out 10 of them like girls very much. Well, parts of them anyway. There is a later adolescence phase where some men lock into self-esteem by exerting mental and/or physical power over women.
Not saying they are actually abusing - though that is happening; but that internally they cannot be a man without disrespecting women. The are supported in that thinking by the church, images from the dominate culture and lack of seeing other types of women. A potion of these men never leave that stage.
Who performs rap music? What do lower skilled performers rap about? What has been programmed into our childrens' heads for the past 30 years?
I am not bashing rappers. I want to make that clear. When rap music started out there was a diversity in voices and approaches. You had political, comedy, gospel, women and a range of performers.
When the music companies came and stated waving big money in folks faces that when it changed. The industry focused in on a certain demographic that would pay for gangster, drugs and negative empowerment. Misogyny is a multi-billion dollar industry.
Today is Memorial and Remembrance Day in Uzbekistan. I wrote a post on the murder of Aisa McGowen. I asked there must be something that we can do. That I could do. I stared running my mouth and that is a sure sign of trouble right there.
The thought would not let me go. Aisa wasn't the first women assaulted and murdered and sadly she will not be the last. But the question nagged at me because instead of accepting that their is nothing an individual or as a group can do I think I found "something."
This is a remembrance of all women, men and children who have died because of intentional and senseless violence.
I'm using the metaphor of the traditional PSA to educate and inform. This isn't a one day thing for me. But I wanted to show that it is not totally hopeless or overwhelming.
We don't need much. We have what we need. Using very basic tools to create, display and distribute PSA videos each one can reach another.
It is doable. We can do this for ourselves. Text blogs are our first foundation steps, this is our next and we need to do it now because the constriction is starting to happen. That is a discussion for another time.
I'm going to be posting more stuff today but let me give you what I have identified as what I see as needed:
There is a lack of connection with our youth and certain young men in the music history with the women who made them possible. Not talking about their mothers but their historical mothers. The rest of us are also just coasting on name recognition but really don't know or remember the importance of the women I'll use as an example. So the imaginary campaign is Stop the Verbal Violence.
The Help information on YouTube does not have videos to show how to customize your settings so that you can control users comments. YouTube does want Help videos and they have a section on how to do it. I'm taking them up on it.
There are resources about cyberstalking, harassment and bullies. Some are good. Many are out of date and haven't been updated since 1997 or 2002. Sadly some non-profit webs sites are up but you go to a specific page it is 404'd out. Almost all are text based. Then there is the whole issues that not every state or police force has a specific policy on what do.
So that was what I identified as a need that can be filed or addressed. We don't have to wait for M$M to get it cuz it brings them no profit to do so. Where I live they no longer show PSAs on commercial television unless the show is so bad that they can't get advertising for it.
On the weekend there is nothing but infomercials or re-runs of things I would not watch in the first place. I haven't really turned on my television much since the inauguration.
Hulu? Yeah for now but Disney didn't sign on to have PSAs running in their shows.
I'm noticing on YouTube the featured videos are of M$M productions and the YT user videos are moved toward the bottom? I'm just saying...
This is first of the PSA videos. You can click the PSA tag to pull up what I have at the moment. In other posts I'll talk more about process. I have my part of Bandini Mountain and there is enough to go around.
(May 2009 update - you can upload .avi videos to Blip.tv, YouTube and most video hosting services. Try to keep the file size down below 100MBs. There are newer tools and options but this is what I knew in 2005. Consider this an historical post but check out my new stuff for current options.)
Wow! Almost finished. You gonna want to preview your PSA a few more time just to knock the bugs out. Better still have a trusted friend or a little kid peep over your shoulder. They might catch a bugaboo that you might have missed.
Time to share your PSA with the world. Here are your options:
The first order of business is to save your project. This will have the Dubit.dub file extension. Next, move to the file menu and select "Create Movie."
If you plan to post your PSA on your web site or blog Dubit can save files in the traditional Real Player format. Anyone with any version of the Real Player or Real Alternative who has a modern browser will be able to see your PSA.
The downside? Not everyone has a modern browser. Not everyone can or wants to use Real Player formatted files.
You can also save as a Windows .avi file. AVI files can be large but the advantage is that every media player can display this format. And although it is listed in the drop down menu, you can't save in the Windows .asf format. You wouldn't want to anyway.
If you have QuickTime Pro ($30) you can import the .avi file into QuickTime Pro and save it in the QuickTime format - .mov However, you run into the same issues as before. Not everyone is using a modern browser or they don't have the free version of QuickTime installed. Bummer.
Now you can't please all of the people all of the time but I think I have a solution for the masses. Swish Video ($50 from Swishzone) allows you to convert Windows Media (.avi and .wmv) and QuickTime media files into the Flash Animation format. It is quick, easy and most important the .swf file format has become the universal format for sharing media files. It is a very easy program to use and by dingy it works. You can download a free 15 day trial copy at Swishzone. There you have it. And the good thing about it is that once you get the hang of it, you can apply what you have learned with other audio and video programs. But I wanted to use old technology to help good people reconnect with the ability to do good. Or do better. I'm not sure anymore. I need a nap.
If you decide to have music in your PSA you have to be cautious. Because your are posting them to your web site or blog you have to make sure you have the legal right to use any music you plan to use in your PSA. Noble purpose or intent is not a legal defense. Remember how the RIAA went after Jib-Jab? You don't want to know what they could do to you.
There are safe places to obtain music. It is vital that you make sure you understand you can and cannot do with the music you are using for your PSA (or any other purpose). Here are a few starting places:
Flashkithas hundreds of music loops and sound effects that are free, free for non-commercial use, or free provided you inform the author of the work how and where the musical loop is to be used. You can preview the music loop before you download it. http://www.flashkit.com
Videomaker Magazine has a download page that links to companies offering free music and musical loops.
Yahoo has a Creative Commons Search for music that can be used, modified or even used for commercial purposes (read the fine print first!) You can type in the kind of music that you are looking for and received a boatload of suggestions. At this time, the search was still in Beta form. Some of my searches pulled up non-CCS type music or education pages that mentioned music but has none for download.
But I did two good places to check out; Royalty Free Music Piano Solosand Fonogeno, which has a page of electronic music such as beats, percussion, and synthetic bass.
If your music is in a format other than .wav you will need to convert it into the correct format. Dubit can only import .wav files.
Audacity is a free and non-adware/spyware audio conversion program. All that means is that you can use it to convert MP3 into .wav sound files. You can also download a copy from Download.comhttp://www.download.com.
Once you have your sound file in a .wav format, you can insert it into your PSA.
Next - Previewing, File Formats and Distribution Options
Sorry for the delay – the realities of my life and a bad case of the flu caught up with me. Where was I? Oh, yeah. Now that you have your images saved at either 320 x 240 or 160 x 120, you now can start to assemble your images into Dubit's slide show feature.
I'm not going to go into detail about that because Dubit has a good description in the Quick Help Menu. There is also solid information to be found in the Context and Index menu.
You have two choices. Let Dubit match the timing to your music or narration. There will not be an edit option available.
Or you can custom time your slides. It is really just a matter of finding the location of your photos, bringing them into Dubit, placing the slides in order. This is the time to edit a slide or move forward or backwards in your presentation. You can also edit a slide to adjust the transition time or change the slide order.
The "eyeball" opens your media player to a preview version of your PSA.
If you have not already done so, please save your project. This will allow you to return to your project to make adjustments to your PSA at a later date. The project is saved with a .dub file extension. You need to do this before you create your distribution copy.
Keep in mind that Dubit is not Microsoft Photo Story. This is a simple program that can run on almost any Windows system from Windows 95 on up. You can add images, music in .WAV format or voice narration. You can also select the slide transition time. That is the extent of Dubit's capabilities.
You have your plan or storyboard. You've downloaded and installed Dubit. You have got your photos or image sources converted to jpeg/jpg image format. The next thing to do is to format them for use in your project.
The first step is important. Never, ever work from your original scans or digital camera images. Make a copy. If you goof it up you can always return to the master image file.
Second, you want to create one location where all of your files, sounds, and project documents will be kept. It makes it easier to find stuff when you are ready to assemble the project.
All the images in your PSA need to be the same size. In this case, you'll want to resize it 320 x 240 for a web based PSA movie or 160 x 120 for transmission by e-mail. Dubit also allows you to set the image size but I have found that the compression is a little rough on images and type.
You'll need a photo editing or photo illustration program to adjust the images. You can use one of the following free programs:
Microsoft Paint - installed on all Windows based computers. Windows Paint XP is a wee more helpful however, it is a basic and limited program.
Picassa - free image catalog software that has some photo editing and image adjustment features - http://www.picassa.com
The Gimp (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a full powered photo-imaging program. The Gimp is not for newbies, there is an installation and learning curve - http://www.gimp.org
