Today’s Plan:
- Review Stockman
- Work List Assignment #1
- A Quick Introduction to Adobe Rush
- End of Class Google Survey
Review Stockman
Last class I glossed over 5 basic criteria for mediocre video offered by Steve Stockman. They were:
- shots should be 10 seconds or less
- Whites of their eyes (faces)
- Light behind the camera, not behind the subject
- Keep the camera still, don’t shoot and move
- Keep your video short
Work List #1: Intro Video Assignment
Our first worklist project serves as a vehicle for learning Adobe Premiere’s fundamental functions. I’d like you to show us something you can do. This video will be due Monday, September 9th at midnight.
We will work out the exact requirements for this video after we have read the two Schroeppel chapters.
I want to present a relay for inspiration. Think of this video as introducing yourself as if you were a character in a movie. Be creative in your shots and sequences. This is meant as a “relay,” an inventive technique that asks you to invent something while thinking about something else. It isn’t necessarily a direct imitation, more like a spirit of innovation, what I and others have written about as “choric” invention. We’ll watch these in class next Monday, and I will ask you from what movie/character you were attempting to draw inspiration.
Adobe Rush
I will recommend that you use Adobe Rush for this first assignment. If you are a Mac user, feel free to use Final Cut or iMovie.
Let’s do a quick walkthrough with Adobe Rush, using one of their learning tutorials. In case you need it later, here’s a 3 and 1/2 minute video walking you through how to set up a video project in Rush.
Super important note about saving and storing assets/video projects
Let’s talk about how to avoid the red X’s of death. Two things. First, recognize that there is a difference between a project file, the file you work in to trim clips, add transitions, edit content, etc (the working file) and the file any other person can watch. In Adobe Premiere, it is .prproj. These files can only open in their respective Adobe program, and will NOT work separate from the files used to create them. To share a video project like these, you need to use the export function and convert them into an .mp4 (there’s other video extensions, but .mp4 is the pretty much universal file extension).
One thing you should realize is how video editing softwares work. When you “import” a file into a video editor project, you aren’t actually copying those files. The computer is making a “path” from those files, located in a specific place on a specific computer, to the working file (say, the .prproj file). Those files only get copied when you export the working file into the .mp4. Once exported, a .mp4 file cannot be edited, it is a finished product.
What does this mean? It means if you move the .prproj file, if you separate it from the clips used inside that file, then the working file will no longer be able to find those clips. Where those clips should be, you’ll find red X’s of death (which symbolize File Not Found). Your work will be gone.
What does this mean? It means, when working on a video file, that you have to save the project file and all the assets used in the project (video clips, audio tracks, still images, whatever) in the same folder. Which means if you want to work on video projects in class and then, say, in the library or at home, that you are going to need a way to move files around. There’s two ways to do this.
First, you can purchase a flash drive. Ancient technology, I know. These days you can get a 32 GB flash drive for like 6 bucks. One nice thing is that you can work and save files directly to the flash drive.
Second, you can use cloud storage, like a Google Drive or a Microsoft OneDrive. These are okay, but recognize that you will have to download all the files when you start working in a .zip folder, and then upload them all back up to the cloud when you are done. This can be annoying.
Friday’s Class
My plan in Friday’s class is walkthrough chapters 1, 2, and 3 of the Adobe Premiere book. I know I said Friday’s would be workdays, but I think it is probably best if I guide you through the opening chapters of the Adobe book.
Homework
Your Work List #1 is due before Monday’s class. Please recognize that compressing and uploading a short video can take up to 15 minutes. You should upload the video to Youtube, and then submit the Youtube link to Canvas.
For next Wednesday’s class, you should read the Schroeppel chapter 2 on Composition. There’s about 10 guidelines in there for outlining a video, and we’ll identify those in Wednesday’s class.
Google Survey
This is a quick, anonymous, one question survey. What is a question, concern, or comment you have after Monday’s class and making your first video? How can I help?
