Educational Video Workshop
Outcomes
Work as an individual or a small team to:
- Conceive and plan a short educational video program based on helping a target audience enhance specified knowledge, skills, or attitudes.
- Prepare a content outline specifying the main themes and points of view for inclusion in an educational video.
- Draft a narrative treatment to enable your client to "envision" and approve the planned educational video.
- Write a script for the planned educational video, using an appropiate script format.
- Draw a storyboard for the planned educational video, incorporating appropriate picture composition, sequencing, camera and actor moves and transitions.
- Develop a production plan for the development of an educational video.
- Shoot or animate an educational video implementing the script and storyboard, with acceptable sound and picture quality.
- Edit an educational video to comply with appropriate style guides and other specifications.
Educational Video Workshop print material
You may download the print material here:
Educational Video Workshop—intro and all 7 phases (PDF 4.2MB)
NOTE the videos that play within phases 4 and 6 in the PDF file. Please be sure you're using Adobe Reader version 5 or above.
Example of completed live action movie featured in EVW
EduCalm Executive - all you need is the Flash Player, probably already in your browser.
Example of completed animated movie featured in EVW
Flash video (.flv) version plays with just the regular Flash Player, probably already installed in your browser.
Flash Shockwave version - all you need is the Flash Shockwave plug-in to play this in your browser.
FTP version (Win) self-extracting zip file, original .fla movie - download, extract, then open it in Flash, or play it in Flash Player or your browser.
FTP Version (Mac), stuffit archive, original .fla movie - download, extract, then open it in Flash, or play it in Flash Player or your browser.
Copyright
Who will own the copyright for your project? It depends. If you're doing it entirely on your own, you'll own it, of course. If you are doing it for a client—even when they aren't paying—you'll want to negotiate ownership before you start.
Should you need it, here is a sample copyright assignment agreement [MS Word] you can modify to suit your and your clients' needs. This is for your use only, and there is no need to turn it in to the instructor. Be sure to use this or a similar agreement that specifies who owns the project early on in your relationship with your client.
Regardless of who owns it, if you post your video on the web, we'd be very grateful if you'd include a link back to the SDSU EDTEC department (see bottom of this page).
Phase 1: Conceiving and planning an educational video
This semester (Fall 2012) we have a number of Learning DesignLab Partners interested in recruiting you to work with them on projects dear to their hearts. Please see a listing of current Learning DesignLab projects.
Examples of some previous students' animated educational videos:
- A brief introduction to deductive logic by campus philsophy masters degree student Kimberly Unger who used visual analogies and down-to-earth examples to effectively convey this abstract topic. For production, she used Inkscape to create the animation scenes and then Quicktime to record audio for each clip. Finally, she assembled the clips using iMovie.
- Logical fallacies is a capable—if long (philosophers, you know!)—animation built by teacher and COMET student Jason Barclay using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator for the design of the characters and thought bubbles and Adobe After Effects for the animations. He did all the voices himself, and used MorphVOX to make it sound different for each character. These days you could quickly and easily make your own characters using the free customsouthpark.com website, and animate them and do the voice morphing using modestly priced CrazyTalk. As of September, 2012, Jason's video had nearly 12,000 hits on YouTube.
- How lightning is formed by on line student Greg Snow uses Flash animation to explain (as nearly as science can tell at the moment) how lightning forms.
- HITECH Act by campus student Manny Oliverz is a simple, clever, and very effective presentation of a complex topic—electronic health care records. Manny made the drawings in Illustrator and animated them with in Adobe After Effects. The production values are enviable, but it's the learning design that makes this a work to be studied.
- Surfing 101: The Popup on YouTube by on campus student Gina Yusypchuk is a very clever use of stop-action animation, done in Photoshop and iMovie HD. Gina also did all the voices using pitch raising and lowering features in iMovie.
- Goldpanning (right) by online student Cathy Arreguin is a wonderful example of mixing still photos with Flash animation.
- Rainbow Magic by Reshma Kotwal is a carefully visualized video for kids or adults on how rainbows form, in Adobe Flash.
- Protein on YouTube by online student Nathan Blesse for his school classroom.
- Pythagorean theorem is an unusual silent video by on campus student Peter Kronfeld for use in his math classroom.
- Photosynthesis, another school video by online student Felicia Brown.
- Leaf color explains why they change, by online student Kathy Versteeg.
- Extraterrestrial life by on campus student Lyford Rome makes creative use of archival video, audio, and still images.
- Peasant Cottage by online student Beth Cawelti. This is bit higher end, due to Beth's singular skills and knowledge, but worth seeing for the instructional design alone. Here's her description of how she developed it. "I used Google SketchUp to create a 3D model of the "set." It's FREE and fairly easy to learn through web tutorials. SketchUp has a camera feature so I navigated around the model and took "photos" for my various shots. Then I edited the images in Photoshop to add words and highlights. I created the scene transitions in ImageReady. Then, I put the whole thing together with sound and some animation (i.e., fire) in ToonBoom."
- Comparing Football Passing Offenses by online student Steve Corbett, another high-end effort with good instructional design. Steve used 3DS Max for the stadium and animated plays; CrazyTalk and Audacity for the announcers and narration, Adobe Premiere and After Effects for video editing.
- Golf. Patrick Mosely, an online student, designed and developed this tutorial on how to avoid slicing and hooking in Adobe Flash.
- The credit card. Michael Rohrer, an online student, designed and developed this video in Macromedia Flash. The audio is a little low, so you may need to turn up your computer volume to hear it very well.
- Roads by on campus student Rob Tirsbier helps secondary students take a fresh view of an ordinary topic. Flash with still images.
Examples of previous live action videos:
- How to saddle a horse - English style by 2012 online student Debby Andrews is a textbook example of a live-action, how-to video.
- Introduction to beekeeping by Aaron Briggs, on line, 2010, posted on Vimeo. Soundly designed and capably produced, includes live action with clear diagrams.
- Camper's guide to knot tying by Chrissy Chamberlain, an on campus student, is a nicely planned and executed how-to. As a Flash movie [17.4MB] or a QuickTime movie [6.7MB]
- Keyboard shortcuts. A clever parody of Ronco-style TV commercials by Aaron Zachmeier, you can actually learn useful stuff in a couple minutes. A rare example of successful use of humor for learning.
- Patching your flat on the road. Wonderfully straightforward one-person-crew, how-to video by on line student Dan Comins.
- Captioning promotional video on Google Video by campus students Renee Cohen and Desnise Myers.
- Yoga is another silent video, this one intentionally playing on the silent movie era, by a 4-person campus team including Grace Kim, Phuong La, Yaxha Mancillas, and John Park.
- Reality 2 3D is a "get started fast" video about Google Sketchup by Matt Sherwood, who hosts and demonstrates this mixture of live action and screen recordings.
- LACK is a silent (with music, but no narration) video by campus student Lisa Wortman who wanted to put an Ikea instruction sheet into video. Clever mix of live action and animation.
- Anza-Borrego in the Pleistocene Era. Designed and developed by Jerry Marino and Susan Connell who were online students taking 561, this video includes live action as well as a bit of animation.
- ESCC Databases vs. Google is a clever and informative take-off on the Mac vs. PC commercials of recent years. Designed and produced by on line student Kim Grewe.
Examples "out there" on the net:
- Science teachers say these hiphop music videos by CityLabatUCLA help kids learn important vocabulary.
- RSA Animate does a superb job visualizing relatively complex, very abstract ideas.
- Of course you know about Schoolhouse Rock.
- See some other great examples of animated educational videos at BrainPOP
- One of my favorite animation styles, a little harder than it looks, but way easier than most alternatives, on Commoncraft.com
- A whole trove of nicely, semi-professionally made how-to videos on MonkeySee.com
- ej4 e-learning videos are brisk and pretty easy to emulate, if a little on the stodgy side.
- knowmia hosts classroom video lessons in just about any subject you could name.
- Khan Academy is strong on math and science, but includes other subjects as well, mostly in a pretty simple—but effective—chalk talk format.
- Of course, you'll find a variety of educational videos on YouTube.
- Classroom teachers may be interested in seeing some of what's on TeacherTube.
Oh, and here's a really neat trio of short movies by CNN on how to make an educational video with a mobile phone video camera.
Phase 2: Outline and treatment for an educational video
Phase 3: Scripting an educational video
Phase 4: Storyboarding an educational video
Be sure the digital video files that you downloaded with the EVW pdf file(s) (see above) are in the same folder or directory as the EVW pdf file(s).
Phase 5: Planning an educational video shoot
Generic release form for adults and minors [doc]
Instructions for using a camcorder depend on the make and model you use. For the camcorders we have available here in the department:
- Canon Optura: See EVW, Phase 6
- Sony DCR-HC1000: Download this QuickStart Guide
Phase 6: Shooting an educational video
Only for those who are including live action videotape in their project.
Be sure the digital video file "Motion.mov" that you downloaded with the EVW pdf file(s) (see above) is in the same folder or directory as the EVW pdf file(s).
Shephanie Oberle, Brian Josephson, and Bob Hoffman (clockwise from left) help set up a shot in the fall, 2001 production of Financial Planning: Saving and Investing (Photo: Ruth Greene).
NOTE: To be able to view the video in the Phase 6 text, be sure the digital video file "Motion.mov" that you downloaded in Phase 4 (above) is in the same folder or directory as the EVW pdf file.
Video shot framing practice (requires Shockwave plug-in)
Video: The making of...—tips for organizing your shoot (984K)
A free online teleprompter if your talent has a lot to remember: http://www.cueprompter.com/
Phase 7a: Editing a live action educational video
Only for those who are including live action videotape in their project.
AtomicLearning: Great tutorials on everything from iMovie and and Final Cut Pro to MovieMaker and Premiere.
Phase 7b: Animating an educational video
Only for those who are including animation in their project. Use resources like the ones listed below to develop your educational video.
Xtranormal.com: Free and easy online animation tool.
Muvizu: Their motto is "3D animated movies in hours, not months." for Win only.
Goanimate.com: Another free and easy online animation tool.
CartoonSmart: One of many good and free (or cheap) Flash animation tutorials on the Web.
Create a realistic Flash animation lip-sync is a free tutorial that offers a pretty sophisticated yet reasonably simple way to lip-sync any drawing with your soundtrack in Flash. The same site also has some other good Flash tutorials.
CrazyTalk is a pretty inexpensive but sophisticated software for quickly animating and lip-synching still images of anything from people to potatoes. Use the free trial software with good tutorials.
AtomicLearning: Great (not free) tutorials on everything from Flash and Photoshop to iMovie and MovieMaker.
Sample Flash animation file [right-click (Win) or click-and-hold (Mac) to download ARO2.fla file for Flash MX 2004 - 600k.
Making a map or other animation that needs to draw lines on the screen? Consult this excerpt from the Flash Visual QuickStart Guide on using still or animated masks.
Some other animation resources you might find useful:
Toon Boom a variety of animation software for different needs.
Aquafadas BannerZest for creating Flash animated banners.
SWiSH Flash animation tools.
Flypaper for creating Flash content.
Noodle Flix (Mac only) to make animated talking heads
Online Tools
- xtranormal.com
- JibJab.com
- aniboom.com – Shapeshifter
- goanimate.com
- Memoov.com
Open Source (FREE)
- pencil-animation.org
- Blender.org
- Synfig open source 2D animation software for all platforms
- Creatoon 2D animation software for PC
Animated GIF makers on line
Other material relevant to the Educational Video Workshop project:
Images
- Stock Exchange
- Free down-loadable graphics
- The e-Learning Coach collection of stock photo and illustration sites
Other visuals
Music
- Free-play music organized by genre, mood
- Free and not-so-free music and other sounds
- Public domain recordings of American roots music
Sound effects
Special effects and other production software
- Morpheus software for gradually changing shape between two images
- ScreenCast cross-platform free screen movie capture utility though not as full featured as 30-day free trial versions of Win only Captivate or Camtasia
- MorphAge (Mac) www.creaceed.com
- FreeFun Morphing (PC) www.ablelaunchbar.com
- Fanta Morph http://www.fantamorph.com/
Video conversion utilities
Turning in your live action video on line
The preferred method of submitting your educational video assignment is to post it on YouTube, Vimeo, or the like, or as a Flash video (FLV) on your own web site. If your video includes proprietary information or there's some other reason you don't wish to "go public," you may send it to the instructor as a DVD or as a media file.
To send it as a media file, use one of these free services to send it to your instructor's email address:
Linking back to EDTEC
If you would associate you and your video with us with a link back to the SDSU EDTEC department home page, we'd be most grateful!
Here's how.
When you post your video to YouTube, Vimeo, or elsewhere, if it's appropriate, would you be kind enough to include a link (with or without comment) to the EDTEC department's home page (http://coe.sdsu.edu/edtec/)? This link would be in the web page, not in the video itself.
Not only are we proud of you and your work, and happy to be associated with you, but it will also improve the department's search engine ranking, and help attract more folks like you to our programs.
If you wish to include a comment, you could say something like:
Developed by [your name, but only if you want it to be public] as a class project for the San Diego State University Department of Educational Technology (http://coe.sdsu.edu/edtec/).