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Following are a number of suggestions and helpful hints for recording, developing, and publishing online presentations and education.

Slide Shows

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Tools, Techniques, and Formats

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  • Portable Document Format (PDF)
    Advantages: Open Standard (ISO 32000). Viewable on many platforms. Can be created from many applications via PDF print drivers.

Capturing Video and Audio

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Common audio file formats are MP3, AAC, AVI or QT. Most any computer understands these file formats. Inside the audio file, the audio may be compressed with various coder-decoder (codec) compressions. Most computers understand MP3 and simple AVI compressions. AAC and QT often require the installation of Apple Quicktime or iTunes software.

  • Webcam
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    Many desktop and laptop computers support periperal webcams. Often these devices are attached via USB or FireWire connector. They can be enabled to record directly to a computer file. Use the webcam in a bright well lit room for best results. Use a subdued and non-distracting background to keep the viewer focused on the subject. Do not use extreme closeups (a nearby webcam with wide angle lens), it tends to exaggerate faces in a non-flattering way. It is better to keep the webcam further back with a bit of zoom.

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  • Video Camcorder
    Camcorders are useful for recording presentation videos. Often conferences and classrooms are recorded from the back of the room. In this case, be sure to use a nearby microphone to record audio, either a podium microphone or a wireless lavalier microphone. If you are not an experienced camera operator, the best thing you can do is set up the camcorder on a tripod and hit record and stop once: do not zoom in and out, do not pan the camcorder, do not start and stop the video needlessly.

Once you have captured the video, you need to transfer it to the computer. VHS, Hi8, MiniDV, and Solid State videos may all be transfered to a computer via capture software (e.g. Sony Vegas or a utility provided with the camcorder). Other camcorders allow video transfer via USB or FireWire cable. Solid State memory-based videos can be inserted into a memory reader or USB based memory adapter.

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Similarly, the file length may be a consideration. For the web, you can save download time by using a high compression. One way to save size is use 15 frame per second. Another is to use a more aggressive video compression badnwidth. Most DVD havs a 8 MbS (mega bits per second) video budget. You can compress the video to less than that with lower quality or lower motion.

Capturing Desktops

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Often a presentation is enhanced when a presenter shows the topic in action. For Tuscany, this might be a hands-on software demonstration where the speaker drives the computer and illustrates the exact computer input and output to acheive the results. There are many tools that one can use to provide still screen shots or video screen captures.

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**Camstudio Camstudio is an open source video product. Free to use. Donations accepted. This software can record your mousing, page turning, and web surfing. Use the Microsfot Video 1 codec to ensure easy transportability.
An example Camstudio Motion Capture Demo with computer desktop video and sound is attached.

Editing and Compiling Assets

Once you have collected your slides, audio clips, talking head videos, desktop capture videos, you must assemble them into a useful video. Some ideas:

  • Add fade-in and fade-to-black at the beginning and end of the video.
  • Add titles for speaker name or organization or date or venue.
  • Enhance audio or video quality.
  • Cut out boring parts or mistakes.
  • Add picture-in-picture for multiple videos at once.
  • Assemble multiple talking heads videos and desktop videos into one stream.
  • Add exciting background music, explosions, and laser light show effects (only kidding).
  • Add video watermark or copyright statements.

Before editing, it is useful to know which method of publishing you will use. Some sites offer features such as speaker notes and multi-language translations. You don't want to edit in titles or subtitles if the hosting site offers these features and the titles look mismatched. Similarly, you don't want to perform some other amalgamation (mashing together slides and video and audio) if the publishing site does this for you. Also be aware that mixing items of different sharpness such as razor-sharp slides and slightly-blurry video might lead to bad looking video for both.

Example video editing software includes:

  • Sony Vegas
  • Apple iMovie
  • Adobe Premiere
  • Microsoft Movie Maker

Publishing

Choosing a publishing medium or a hosting site is often the decision that drives all other presentation issues. Does the site offer multiple media? Can I include audio, slides, video, images unaltered? What quality and how much video can be included? How long will my presentation be available? What cost? This section describes various publication techniques and the advantages and disadvantages to each.

  • You Tube
    You Tube allows users to post videos on a publicly hosted website. They support video files only and submitted videos are resampled to fit the two quality levels offered. Unfortunately the quality levels are poor for slide presentations and computer graphics. Videos can be tagged by subject, and similarly themed videos are easy to search and find. Users can comment on and rate videos. The videos are hosted indefinitely for free.
  • Vcasmo
    Vcasmo is a site that helps users assemble, publish, and view presentations and educational videos. Currently they offer a synchronized slide show and video. Clicking on various slides jumps to various segments in the video.

The site gives various tools for assembling and enhancing your videos. You upload all media assets to the site, and then you assemble and publish the presentation. You can subtitle videos for different languages. You can make presentations private, password-protected, or public, and you can control group access.

Videos can be hosted at the Vcasmo site, they can be downloaded as movies, or as JavaScript applications that you host on a different site. The Vcasmo hosting is free, but free accounts are limited to 1 GB in total storage and 200 MB upload/download daily. Paid accounts increase these limits.

Here is an example video: "Java Security in Apache Tuscany", Dan Becker (password tuscany)

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