So the video announcements plan goes like this in shortform for our 50-minute period:
20 minutes: film it.
20 minutes: edit it and add titles/music
10 minutes: finish it and ready for tomorrow’s day-long loop
We’ve made it about halfway through step two so far, and I’ve learned a few things that have surprised me a bit.
1)The filming part is pretty easy. Once the shots are framed correctly, getting a workable feed to edit is pretty quick. Anchor issues aside, this is way smoother than I thought it would be.
2)The editing part isn’t so bad either. We don’t have a clap board, so we instead flash a copy of Hillary Clinton’s “Living History” in front of the camera when restarting if a mistake is made to make the editors’ lives easier. Don’t ask.
3) The pictures and titles are the hard part. We have some pre-made LiveType transitions that are easy to throw in, but dropping titles in will take a little bit of technique work to get our rhythm down. It’s getting there, but I’ll be convinced when we actually finish a whole segment.
4)Having a student director is crucial to the process, especially if the goal is a self-operating broadcast. The director has to drive everyone to get the job done in the above allotted times.
5)I need a 36 hour day to figure out a good method for chroma keying, and then I’ll be happy with how the set looks. More on green screen and iMovie 09 later.
6) A student is currently serving as the manager of the studio. This is essential to me, as I can have this aide get the studio up and running while I’m teaching MT upstairs. Plus, any technical issues can be solved without me having to ignore the other groups. Absolutely essential.
MEANWHILE…
While all this was going on today, the mobile team was interviewing the principal for an early run segment on school rules per his request.
While the studio team is doing the news, this team will be upstairs editing the 10+ minute interview into something under 2 minutes for mass consumption. I get a good workout running back and forth between the two teams.
What’s cool is that the teams are just now starting to gel as far as the individual jobs go. What we’re still working on is this entity running itself on a day-to-day basis. Maybe Hillary has some tips for us…
