Audio & Video Texts

This module has brought new meaning to feeling like “a fish out of water”.  I have always thought that people who can film, edit, and mix video to create a “movie” are gifted!  I was beyond intimidated by this assignment!

After reading through the suggestions for crafting audio/video texts using the MAPS heuristic (Hicks, 2012, pg. 111), I had so many ideas about how to edit my introduction video.  I wanted to add music, still photos, and text.  I began sketching out some of my ideas on paper, as also suggested in the text, and I began to worry that the project was becoming more involved than I had originally intended. 

For one, I had difficulty finding a program that would let me “slide in” photos over the video I already had recorded.  I know they exist, but I just do not feel like I have the knowledge to find and operate them.  Audio/Video crafting is new to me, and I know that I need to start slow to avoid becoming overwhelmed and frustrated with the project.  Also, I want to use a program that I could possibly use with my students, and since I teach second grade, I know that I need to keep it simple. 

I decided to use the program Stupeflix.  I chose this program for several reasons.

1.      It’s free!  There are only two free templates to choose from, but there are options to upgrade.

2.      It allows you to create “movies” using a combination of photos and videos.

3.      It allows you to add music and text.  You can browse the music in their library which helps with any copyright issues. 

4.      It puts it all together for you—complete with transitions and effects!

5.      It was amazingly user friendly!  I definitely think my students could use it.

In order to create the effect I wanted with a combination of photos and video, I decided to rerecord my video in segments that I could align with the photos.  They are not shown simultaneously, but I think it makes a unique effect.  When I originally recorded my video segments, I used my iPad and saved them to my documents in order to upload to Stupeflix.  Unfortunately, the files were too large to upload, and I had to rerecord the segments using my webcam.  The quality of the video segments recorded with my webcam was not nearly as clear and bright as those recorded with my iPad.  I was not happy with the lighting of the fourth segment, and the audio was not aligned in the first segment. I also had to edit the music effects.  You simply click the edit button on the music/soundtrack drop-down, and you can tell the music/audio to play lower, so it will play behind your video recording.  You can also loop the music to adjust to your video time.

Although I feel more comfortable with audio/video crafting, I am still learning.  I have used audio apps in my classroom for students to record themselves reading and listen to the playback to practice fluency, but I would like to learn more about other audio/video programs.   The counselor uses the 

imovie app to record our school’s morning program.  She says it is simple to use, and you can also download a pcversion, but I haven’t tried it yet.  Perhaps, next time I will try an app for the students to use.

I hope you enjoy my video!

References: 

Hicks, T. (2013). Crafting digital writing: Composing texts across media and genres.

Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.