You are required to create a Short Video Motion Graphics by using the basic techniques of controlling and handling Adobe Premiere and Adobe Flash. Students were required to choose any type of concept eg. music video graphics, opening sequence montage, titling video motion, or short of teaser.

Objective

to familiarize with vector motion graphics using Layers and Timeline in Adobe Flash CS4 and video composting techniques in Adobe Premiere. Students will be introduce with understanding of using techniques Alpha Channel and Blending mode in Adobe Premiere.

Exercise Brief

Create any motion graphics in Adobe Flash (you can use existing Flash Exercise). Export the Flash files into Adobe Premiere Bin for creating a creative blending to create a short video motion graphics.

Video Size : 320pixel x 240pixel

Format : AVI or MOV or MPEG

duration : 30 sec – 1 min only

duedate : a Day before Final Exam of MCC0033

To submit, please captured screen of 5 different sequence and submit one by one into uploading system, make sure you name it as yourID_seq_01.jpg, yourID_seq_02.jpg till sequence 05. And for video files, please compress and zip the final video file and upload to the system. Rename your video files as yourID_video.mov or yourID_video.avi Click Here to access the uploading system. Thanks.

References

SWF2Video

Third-party plug-ins for Adobe Premiere Pro

Convert SWF In Premiere PRO

SWF To Video Converter

Using the basic techniques of controlling and handling Adobe Flash Tools and Timeline. Students were required to create a basic motion graphics by using only basic shape tools provided by adobe flash application.

Objective

to familiarize with vector motion graphics using Layers and Timeline in Adobe Flash CS4. Students will be introduce with understanding of using insert frames and insert keyframes.

Exercise Brief

use only provided adobe flash CS4 basic tool creation, and create minimum of 3 basic shape with different colors and style. Create the motion graphics form all shapes with different types of motion and in different layers

Size : 640pixel x 480pixel

duration : 30 sec – 1 min only

duedate : short presentation by NEXT WEEK 24th DEC 2009

AUDIO-VIDEO SHORT CLIPS IN QUICKTIME FORMAT
Date Breifing : Thursday 19.11.09

Objective :
Preparing Motion Visual Clips
Understanding the use of basic audio – video editing tools in Adobe Premiere for creating short video clips with sound efx and music.

Title :

A Day in your Life

Output :
Quicktime Format 320 pixel x 240 pixel, duration must be fits only 15 sec.

Assignment Brief :
Students were required to use own camera phone  | compact camera with video features to capture your own story of the day in your life. The clips should be taken with various angle, location, events, happening in a day and any moment you face daily.

eg. story of yourself to go to the campus from cyberia by walking or driving.

All clips must be taken using any phone or compact camera that comes with video features. Use the clips to edit the sequence to fit with the sound efx and music background. Yuo can use any music for background, but it must be fits and suitable to the content.

Please refer to to top menu link > INFO MCC0033 > INCLASS TUTORIAL, I did provide the step by step video tutorial lesson Adobe Premiere CS4. Please download into your hard drive before run the video lesson.

For Tutorial Exercise, i will brief in detail during next week lecture session. Thanks.

Students will explore the fundamentals of digital video on the desktop which include its characteristics, file formats, video compression, and video storage options. Students will also be exposed to video editing and compositing techniques.

The term video editing can refer to:

• non-linear editing system, using computers with video editing software
• linear video editing, using videotape
• vision mixing, when working with live video signals

Video editing is the process of editing segments of motion video footage, special effects and sound recordings. Motion picture film editing is a predecessor to video editing and, in several ways, video editing simulates motion picture film editing, in theory and the use of non-linear and linear editing systems. Using video or film, a director can communicate non-fictional and fictional events. The goals of editing is to manipulate these events for better or for worse communication. It is a visual art.

Modern non-linear editing systems are computer-based, though there was a transitional analog period using multiple source VCRs or LaserDisc players. Footage is played and captured on a hard drive. Content is ingested and recorded natively in the approriate codec which will be used by software such as Sony Vegas Pro, MAGIX Video Pro X, Avid’s Media Composer and Xpress Pro, Apple’s Final Cut Pro, and Adobe’s Premiere to manipulate the captured footage. High definition video is becoming more popular and can be readily edited using the same software along with related motion graphics programs. Clips are arranged on a timeline, music tracks and titles are added, effects can be created, and the finished program is “rendered” into a finished video. The video may then be distributed in a variety of ways including DVD, web streaming, Quicktime Movies, iPod, CD-ROM, or videotape.

For the home market, consumer-friendly products such as MAGIX Movie Edit Pro, Adobe Premiere Elements, AVID Express DV, CyberLink PowerDirector, Final Cut Express, Sony Vegas, Pinnacle Studio, ULead VideoStudio, Roxio Easy Media Creator, and muvee autoProducer have come on the market with the emergence of computer video editing for the home PC. Two free programs that are bundled with computers are Apple’s iMovie and Microsoft’s Windows Movie Maker. There are many other free opensource video-editing software, too.

Description of video

The term video (from Latin: “I see”) commonly refers to several storage formats for moving pictures: digital video formats, including Blu-ray Disc, DVD, QuickTime, and MPEG-4; and analog videotapes, including VHS and Betamax. Video can be recorded and transmitted in various physical media: in magnetic tape when recorded as PAL or NTSC electric signals by video cameras, or in MPEG-4 or DV digital media when recorded by digital cameras.

Quality of video essentially depends on the capturing method and storage used. Digital television (DTV) is a relatively recent format with higher quality than earlier television formats and has become a standard for television video. (See List of digital television deployments by country.)

3D-video, digital video in three dimensions, premiered at the end of 20th century. Six or eight cameras with realtime depth measurement are typically used to capture 3D-video streams. The format of 3D-video is fixed in MPEG-4 Part 16 Animation Framework eXtension (AFX).

In the UK, Australia, The Netherlands, Finland, Hungary and New Zealand, the term video is often used informally to refer to both Videocassette recorders and video cassettes; the meaning is normally clear from the context.

Characteristics of video streams

Number of frames per second

Frame rate, the number of still pictures per unit of time of video, ranges from six or eight frames per second (frame/s) for old mechanical cameras to 120 or more frames per second for new professional cameras. PAL (Europe, Asia, Australia, etc.) and SECAM (France, Russia, parts of Africa etc.) standards specify 25 frame/s, while NTSC (USA, Canada, Japan, etc.) specifies 29.97 frame/s. Film is shot at the slower frame rate of 24photograms/s, which complicates slightly the process of transferring a cinematic motion picture to video. The minimum frame rate to achieve the illusion of a moving image [persistence of vision] is about fifteen frames per second.

Display resolution

The size of a video image is measured in pixels for digital video, or horizontal scan lines and vertical lines of resolution for analog video. In the digital domain (e.g. DVD) standard-definition television (SDTV) is specified as 720/704/640×480i60 for NTSC and 768/720×576i50 for PAL or SECAM resolution. However in the analog domain, the number of visible scanlines remains constant (486 NTSC/576 PAL) while the horizontal measurement varies with the quality of the signal: approximately 320 pixels per scanline for VCR quality, 400 pixels for TV broadcasts, and 720 pixels for DVD sources. Aspect ratio is preserved because of non-square “pixels”.

New high-definition televisions (HDTV) are capable of resolutions up to 1920×1080p60, i.e. 1920 pixels per scan line by 1080 scan lines, progressive, at 60 frames per second.

Aspect ratio

Aspect ratio describes the dimensions of video screens and video picture elements. All popular video formats are rectilinear, and so can be described by a ratio between width and height. The screen aspect ratio of a traditional television screen is 4:3, or about 1.33:1. High definition televisions use an aspect ratio of 16:9, or about 1.78:1. The aspect ratio of a full 35 mm film frame with soundtrack (also known as the Academy ratio) is 1.375:1.

Ratios where the height is taller than the width are uncommon in general everyday use, but do have application in computer systems where the screen may be better suited for a vertical layout. The most common tall aspect ratio of 3:4 is referred to as portrait mode and is created by physically rotating the display device 90 degrees from the normal position. Other tall aspect ratios such as 9:16 are technically possible but rarely used. (For a more detailed discussion of this topic please refer to the page orientation article.)

Pixels on computer monitors are usually square, but pixels used in digital video often have non-square aspect ratios, such as those used in the PAL and NTSC variants of the CCIR 601 digital video standard, and the corresponding anamorphic widescreen formats. Therefore, an NTSC DV image which is 720 pixels by 480 pixels is displayed with the aspect ratio of 4:3 (which is the traditional television standard) if the pixels are thin and displayed with the aspect ratio of 16:9 (which is the anamorphic widescreen format) if the pixels are fat.

Non-linear editing system

Non-linear editing

Non-linear editing for films and television postproduction is a modern editing method which involves being able to access any frame in a digital video clip with the same ease as any other. This method is similar in concept to the “cut and paste” technique used in film editing from the beginning. However, the cutting of film negatives made it originally a destructive process. Non-linear, non-destructive methods began to appear with the introduction of digital video technology. It can also be viewed as the audio/video equivalent of word processing, which is why it is called desktop editing in the consumer space ^[1].

Video and audio data are first captured to hard disks or other digital storage devices. The data is either recorded directly to the storage device or is imported from another source. Once imported they can be edited on a computer using any of a wide range of software. For a comprehensive list of available software, see List of video editing software, whereas Comparison of video editing software gives more detail of features and functionality.

In non-linear editing, the original source files are not lost or modified during editing. Professional editing software records the decisions of the editor in an edit decision list (EDL) which can be interchanged with other editing tools. Many generations and variations of the original source files can exist without needing to store many different copies, allowing for very flexible editing. It also makes it easy to change cuts and undo previous decisions simply by editing the edit decision list (without having to have the actual film data duplicated). Loss of quality is also avoided due to not having to repeatedly re-encode the data when different effects are applied.

Compared to the linear method of tape-to-tape editing, non-linear editing offers the flexibility of film editing, with random access and easy project organization. With the edit decision lists, the editor can work on low-resolution copies of the video. This makes it possible to edit both standard-definition broadcast quality and high definition broadcast quality very quickly on normal PCs which do not have the power to do the full processing of the huge full-quality high-resolution data in real-time.

The costs of editing systems have dropped such that non-linear editing tools are now within the reach of home users. Some editing software can now be accessed free as web applications; some, like Cinelerra (focused on the professional market) and Blender3D, can be downloaded free of charge; and some, like Microsoft’s Windows Movie Maker or Apple Computer’s iMovie, come included with the appropriate operating system.

A computer for non-linear editing of video will usually have a video capture card to capture analog video and/or a FireWire connection to capture digital video from a DV camera, with its video editing software. Modern web based editing systems can take video directly from a camera phone over a GPRS or 3G mobile connection, and editing can take place through a web browser interface, so strictly speaking a computer for video editing does not require any installed hardware or software beyond a web browser and an internet connection.

Various editing tasks can then be performed on the imported video before it is exported to another medium, or MPEG encoded for transfer to a DVD.

Quality

One of the primary concerns with non-linear editing has always been picture and sound quality. The need to compress and decompress video leads to some loss in quality. While improvements in compression techniques and disk storage capacity have reduced these concerns, they still exist. Most professional NLEs are able to edit uncompressed video with the appropriate hardware.

With the more recent adoption of DV formats, quality has become an issue again: DV’s compression means that manipulation of the image can introduce significant degradation. However this can be partially avoided by rendering DV footage to a non-compressed intermediary format, thereby avoiding quality loss through recompression of the modified video images. Ultimately it depends on what changes are made to the image; simple edits should show no degradation; however, effects that alter the colour, size or position of parts of the image will have a more negative effect.

Lossless data compression

Lossless data compression is a class of data compression algorithms that allows the exact original data to be reconstructed from the compressed data. The term lossless is in contrast to lossy data compression, which only allows an approximation of the original data to be reconstructed, in exchange for better compression rates.^{[citation needed]}

Lossless data compression is used in many applications. For example, it is used in the popular ZIP file format and in the Unix tool gzip. It is also often used as a component within lossy data compression technologies.

Lossless compression is used when it is important that the original and the decompressed data be identical, or when no assumption can be made on whether certain deviation is uncritical. Typical examples are executable programs and source code. Some image file formats, like PNG or GIF, use only lossless compression, while others like TIFF and MNG may use either lossless or lossy methods.

Lossless compression techniques

Most lossless compression programs do two things in sequence: the first step generates a statistical model for the input data, and the second step uses this model to map input data to bit sequences in such a way that “probable” (e.g. frequently encountered) data will produce shorter output than “improbable” data.

The primary encoding algorithms used to produce bit sequences are Huffman coding (also used by DEFLATE) and arithmetic coding. Arithmetic coding achieves compression rates close to the best possible for a particular statistical model, which is given by the information entropy, whereas Huffman compression is simpler and faster but produces poor results for models that deal with symbol probabilities close to 1.

There are two primary ways of constructing statistical models: in a static model, the data is analyzed and a model is constructed, then this model is stored with the compressed data. This approach is simple and modular, but has the disadvantage that the model itself can be expensive to store, and also that it forces a single model to be used for all data being compressed, and so performs poorly on files containing heterogeneous data. Adaptive models dynamically update the model as the data is compressed. Both the encoder and decoder begin with a trivial model, yielding poor compression of initial data, but as they learn more about the data performance improves. Most popular types of compression used in practice now use adaptive coders.

Lossless compression methods may be categorized according to the type of data they are designed to compress. While, in principle, any general-purpose lossless compression algorithm (general-purpose meaning that they can compress any bitstring) can be used on any type of data, many are unable to achieve significant compression on data that is not of the form for which they were designed to compress. Many of the lossless compression techniques used for text also work reasonably well for indexed images.

HDV

HDV is a format for recording and playback of high-definition video on a DV cassette tape.^[1] The format was originally developed by JVC and was supported by Sony, Canon and Sharp.^[2] The four companies formed the HDV consortium in September 2003. Conceived as an affordable high definition format, HDV quickly caught on with many professional users due to its low cost, portability and image quality acceptable for many professional productions.

Two major versions of HDV are HDV 720p and HDV 1080i. The former is used by JVC and is informally known as HDV1. The latter is preferred by Sony and Canon and is sometimes referred to as HDV2.^[3] The HDV 1080i defines optional progressive recording modes, and in recent publications is often called HDV 1080 or 1080-line HDV as progressive 1080-line recording becomes commonplace.^[4][5]

Most HDV camcorders use “small” MiniDV/DVC cassettes. Some shoulder-mount camcorders are also capable of recording onto “large” DV/DVCAM cassettes. The recording time is the same as DV Standard Play. Unlike DV, HDV does not offer Long Play speed.

HDV is backwards compatible with DV, meaning that HDV equipment can play and record DV content. On the other hand, DV devices cannot play nor record in HDV format.

HDV and HDV logo are trademarks of Sony and JVC.^[6]

HDV 720p

HDV 720p closely matches broadcast 720p progressive scan video standard in terms of scanning type, frame rate, frame size, aspect ratio and data rate. First HDV 720p camcorders could shoot only with 24, 25 and 30 frames per second, but later models remedied this issue, providing true 50p/60p recording modes.

Presently, JVC is the only manufacturer of HDV 720p camcorders. JVC was the first to release an HDV camcorder, the handheld GR-HD1. Later JVC shifted its HDV development to shoulder-mounted cameras.

A common misconception is that JVC developed a proprietary extension to HDV called ProHD, featuring film-like 24-frame/s progressive recording mode and LPCM audio, for professional use. JVC has clarified that ProHD is not a video recording format, but “an approach for delivering affordable HD products” and a common name for “bandwidth efficient professional HD models”.

HDV 1080i

Being a major manufacturer of interlaced video equipment, Sony adapted HDV, originally conceived as progressive-scan format by JVC, to interlaced video. Instead of using 1920×1080 frame size with square pixels HDV 1080i utilizes 1440×1080 frame with 1.33 pixel aspect ratio. Such downsampling is not unique to HDV 1080i, it is used in other high definition video recording standards like HDCAM or DVCPROHD to reduce the amount of information to be recorded.

Interlaced video has been a useful compromise for decades due to its ability to display motion smoothly while reducing recording and transmission bandwidth. Interlaced video is still being used in acquisition and broadcast, but interlaced display devices are being phased out. Modern flat-panel television sets that utilize plasma and LCD technology are inherently progressive. All modern computer monitors use progressive scanning as well. Interlaced video must be converted to progressive before it is displayed on a progressive-scan device. The process of converting interlaced video into progressive is known as deinterlacing. Progressive-scan television sets employ built-in deinterlacing circuits to cope with interlaced broadcast signal, but computers rarely have this capability. Interlaced video often exhibit ghosting or combing artifacts when watched on a computer.

Some HDV 1080i camcorders are capable of recording progressive video within an interlaced stream, provided that the frame rate does not exceed half of the field rate. The first HDV 1080i camcorder to implement such Progressive Scanning was the Sony HVR-V1.^[7] To preserve compatibility with interlaced equipment the HVR-V1 records and outputs video in interlaced form. 25-frame/s and 30-frame/s progressive video is recorded on tape using progressive segmented frame (PsF) technique, while 24-frame/s recording employs 2-3 pulldown. The camcorder offers two variations of 24-frame/s recording: “24″ and “24A”. In “24″ mode the camera ensures that there are no cadence breaks for a whole tape, this mode works better for watching video directly from the camera and for adding “film look” to interlaced video. In the “24A” mode the camera starts every clip on an A frame with timecode set to an even second margin.^[8][9] Several editing tools, including Sony’s own Vegas, are capable of processing 24A video as proper 24 frames/s progressive video.^[10]

Prior to the HVR-V1, Sony was offering Cineframe, essentially an interlaced-to-progressive converter, to simulate film-like motion. The conversion process involved blending and discarding fields, so vertical resolution of the resulting video suffered. Motion, produced in the 24-frame/s variant of Cineframe was too uneven for professional use.^[11] The same or better film look effect can be achieved by converting regular interlaced video into progressive format using computer software.^[12]

In 2007 Canon commoditized progressive scanning, releasing the HV20 camcorder. The version for 50 Hz market featured PF25 mode with PsF-like recording, while the version for 60 Hz market had PF24 mode, which utilized 2-3 pulldown scheme. The HV30, released in 2008, implemented additional PsF-like PF30 mode for 60 Hz markets. Output is performed via component, HDMI and FireWire in interlaced form.^[13]

To achieve full vertical resolution without introducing interlace artifacts the progressive scan video must be properly deinterlaced. 25P and 30P video must be deinterlaced with “weave” or “no deinterlacing” algorithm, which means joining two fields of each frame together into one progressive frame. 24P video must go through film-mode deinterlacing also known as inverse telecine, which throws out judder frames and restores original 24-frame/s progressive video.

HDV 1080p

The original 1080-line HDV specification defined interlaced recording only, which is suitable for television broadcast. As users have become increasingly interested in digital cinematography and in web videos, progressive recording became a necessity. In response to this need, capability for native progressive recording has been added to the 1080i HDV specification. Progressive recording modes are optional for 1080i HDV devices, which means that not every HDV 1080i camcorder or deck is capable of recording or playing back native progressive video. Because HDV 1080i specification now includes both interlaced and progressive recording modes, in recent publications it is often called HDV 1080 or 1080-line HDV, but the official name still bears the “i” suffix.

HDV camcorders capable of native 1080-line progressive video record it at rates of 24 frame/s (actually 23.98 frame/s) and 30 frame/s (actually 29.97 frame/s) for 60 Hz markets, and at 25 frame/s rate for 50 Hz markets. Video is output as true progressive video via an i.LINK/Firewire port. Output through other ports is performed in interlaced mode to preserve compatibility with existing interlaced equipment.^[14][15]

The first 1080-line HDV camcorder to offer recording in native progressive format was the Canon XL H1, introduced in 2006. It was followed by the the XH-G1 and XH-A1. When shooting in progressive mode, also known as Frame mode, the camcorders generate progressive video from interlaced CCD sensors.^[16] Vertical resolution of the resulting video is about 25% lower than theoretically possible because of row-pair summation, but is still higher than the resolution of a single field.^[17] Video shot in Frame Mode is recorded to tape according to HDV native 1080p specifications.

In 2008 Sony released its own models capable of native progressive recording: the HVR-S270, the HVR-Z7 and the HVR-Z5. Sony claims superiority over Canon models by saying that native progressive recording has been called 24F/25F/30F in some camcorders, which actually use interlaced CCD imagers.^[4] Sony stresses that the progressive-scan CMOS sensors used in its new models create true 1080p images, meaning that the signal is processed as progressive all the way from capture to encoding to recording onto tape to output.^[18]

In 2009 Canon released the HV40. Its 60 Hz variant became the first consumer HDV camcorder to feature 24-frame/s native progressive recording. Like the aforementioned Sony models, the HV40 uses progressive-scan sensor.^[19]

Sony designed Native Progressive Recording logo for the devices that are capable of native progressive recording and playback. Canon has no special logo to identify cameras that can record in “F” modes, though the HV40 camcorder bears 24p native progressive mark. Despite differences in branding, 24F/25F/30F modes offered by Canon and Native Progressive Recording offered by Sony are compatible.^{[20][21][22][23]}

Other HDV devices capable of reading and recording in native progressive 1080-line format include the Sony HVR-M15AU, HVR-25AU,^[24] HVR-M15AE, HVR-25AE^[25] and HVR-M35 HDV videocassette recorders, and the Canon HV20/HV30 camcorders when used in tape recorder mode.

Compatibility between brands

Generally, HDV devices are capable of playing and recording in DV format, though this is not required by HDV specification. Many HDV devices manufactured by Sony are capable of playing and recording DVCAM tapes. 1080-line devices generally are not compatible with 720-line devices, though some standalone tape decks accept both HDV formats. Devices that can play and record native 1080p video can play and record native 1080i video, however the opposite is not always the case.

HDV camcorders are usually offered with either 50 Hz or 60 Hz scanning rate, but some models can be made switchable for “world” capability. In particular, Canon XH-A1/G1 models and third-generation Sony models such as HVR-S270, HVR-Z5 and HVR-Z7, can be upgraded.^[26]

HDV compression

HDV video is compressed with MPEG-2 encoder and is wrapped into transport stream. HDV audio is compressed using MPEG-1 Layer 2 compression scheme.

MPEG-2 is an established compression method used in DVD-Video and in many digital TV broadcast formats, in particular ATSC. HDV 1080i uses a recording data rate of 25 Mbit/s while HDV 720p records at 19.7 Mbit/s. In both cases the data rate is constant because the recording media — tape — is transported with constant speed. Constant data rate limits the video quality in scenes with lots of detail, rapid movement or other complex activity like flashing lights. Such scenes may exhibit visible artifacts such as blockiness or blurring, depending on the amount of movement and on the algorithm employed in the encoder.

MPEG-1 Layer 2 compression used for audio allows reducing the audio bitrate to 384 kbit/s, compared to 1536 kbit/s for DV video and 1411 kbit/s for audio CDs. In most cases, HDV audio is not a significant limiting factor and is considered perceptually lossless.

Use of HDV in broadcast television

HDV is accepted with varying restrictions for broadcast TV use. It has been used for shows like “Deadliest Catch” and “MythBusters”, and was used in the TV series “JAG” for scenes where larger HD cameras would have been impractical.

The BBC currently considers HDV to be a “non-HD” format. With advance approval, the BBC accepts HDV footage for up to 25% of HD programming content, if the contributed material meets one of the five “technical exemption” categories: Artistic interest, Historical interest, Actuality material, Early television and cinema or Home videos.^[27] The BBC has adopted HDV cameras as replacement for DV camcorders to produce widescreen standard definition content.^[28]

The Discovery HD Theater accepts content sourced from 1080-line HDV camcorders, but limits it to 15% of a whole program. Producers wishing to use HDV are required to submit an approved postproduction path outlining their handling of the footage in the editing process.^[5] However, the main Discovery Channel’s HD simulcast has fewer or no guidelines and accepts a mix of XDCAM HD, HDV and AVCHD for the length of a program. For example, Discovery Channel aired 911: The Bronx, a six-episode reality series set in a hospital and shot with HDV cameras.^[29][30]

The PBS requires that for HD broadcast the camera must use three CCD imaging sensors, each with at least a 1/2-inch diagonal and a minimum resolution of 1280 x 720. PBS does not list specific encoding formats and data rates, but requires that compression artifacts “must not be obvious when viewed on an HDTV monitor”. For certain circumstances PBS allows usage of “less than full broadcast quality equipment”.^[31] In particular, the Art Wolfe’s TV series “Travels to the edge” is being produced for PBS in HDV format using Canon XL-H1 camcorders.^[32]

Guiding Light, the longest-running soap opera in production in television and radio history, broke away from traditional three-sided sets and pedestal-style cameras in 2008, choosing the handheld Canon XH-G1 for shooting on practical locations.^[33]

Quicktime 6 (Pro) can be used to do simple video editing such as cutting a video, splicing together video, applying a filter to the video and adding sound tracks.

Selecting Video : To do any editing of your video, you must first select the video that you want to trim. This is done by moving the selection sliders (image 1) to the area that you want to trim (image 2).

Trimming Unwanted Video : Often times you will have video that you want to put on a web site but it may be too long or contain video that you don’t want to include. To trim your video, you must first select the video that you want to trim using the instructions above. Once you have selected the area to be trimmed, click on the Edit menu and then click on Cut.

Copy Video : To copy a video selection, you first select the area to be copied using the sliders, and then click on Copy in the Edit menu.

Paste Video : Once you have copied video, you can then paste it into a new video player, or splice it into a current video file.

To paste video into a new video player window, click on New Player in the file menu and then click on Paste in the Edit menu. This creates an entirely new player that contains only the video that was copied.

Joining (or splicing video) is done the same way except, you need to open the video that you would like to join the new video with. To determine where the video will be pasted, let the video play until it gets to the point where you want the video to be inserted and then stop the video. Once you stop the video, you can then paste the copied video by going to the Edit menu and clicking on Paste.

Add a Soundtrack : The process for editing video and audio in Quicktime is the same. Being able to add audio allows you to add sound tracks to your video files, easily. Open your music file (mp3, AIFF, etc) in Quicktime and then copy the music the same way you would video. Next, open the video file that you would like to add the music to and click on Add in the Edit Menu. This will add a music track to your video file. If you use Paste instead of Add, the music will be placed in front of or behind the video file. You must use Add to have the audio play in the background of the video file.

Apply a Filter : You can also apply simple filters and special effects to your video using Quicktime. To apply a filter or special effect to your completed video, click on Export in the File Menu. In the Export window, select Movie To Quicktime Movie (image 3) and click on the Options button (obscured by the settings window in image 3). This will bring up the Settings window.

Next, click on the Filter button (image 4). This will allow you to apply various special effects and filters. Click on the arrows (image 5) to reveal the different filters and effects. A preview of the effect will be shown on the thumbnail in the lower left corner of the window.

Once you have made your adjustments, click on OK and then select Export. Your video will begin to export with the filter or special effect applied.

Tips and References

Digital Audio Formats

• AU and AIFF – Two of the oldest audio formats used on the Internet.

• MP3 – The current leader in terms of popularity and file storage.

• Ogg Vorbis – A new open source audio file format that is an alternative to MP3.

• WAV and WMA – WAV is an universal file format that can be played on almost any computer system and player. WMA is a propriety format that can only be played on Microsoft Windows Media Player.

• http://www.brothersoft.com/downloads/quicktime-editor.html

• http://www.case.edu/its/itac/doc/pdf/QuicktimeProEdit.pdf

• http://www.polyglot.pitt.edu/how/edit_audio_qt.pdf

• http://www.edflix.org/quicktime.htm

• http://www.edvista.com/claire/qt/

Tutorial Exercise 02

Brief of Project

Use any existing digital audio efx or music format that available free from web.

An audio format is a medium for storing sound and music. The term is applied to both the physical recording media and the recording formats of the audio content – in computer science it is often limited to the audio file format, but its wider use usually refers to the physical method used to store the data.

Music is recorded and distributed using a variety of audio formats, some of which store additional information. Hundreds of file formats exist for recording and playing digital sound and music files. While many of these file formats are software dependent — for example a Creative Labs Music File is a .cmf — there are several well-known and widely supported file formats. While different operating systems have different popular music file formats, we’ll mainly focus on those that are most commonly used on Windows-based PCs.

Many different digital audio formats and different software are used to create, store and manipulate these files, the good news for consumers is that there is also a wide range of devices and products available that support multiple formats. Should you not have the correct device for playing a particular file, you can also look for software conversion tools that will convert one file type to another. Because some audio files are open standards and some are proprietary, chances are we’ll be seeing a wide variety of digital audio formats for some time to come.

Types of formats

It is important to distinguish between a file format and a codec. A codec performs the encoding and decoding of the raw audio data while the data itself is stored in a file with a specific audio file format. Most of the publicly documented audio file formats can be created with one of two or more encoders or codecs. Alhough most audio file formats support only one type of audio data (created with an audio coder), a multimedia container format (as MKV or AVI) may support multiple types of audio and video data.

There are three major groups of audio file formats:

• Uncompressed audio formats, such as WAV, AIFF, AU or raw header-less PCM;
• formats with lossless compression, such as FLAC, Monkey’s Audio (filename extension APE), WavPack (filename extension WV), Shorten, Tom’s lossless Audio Kompressor (TAK), TTA, ATRAC Advanced Lossless, Apple Lossless and Windows Media Audio Lossless (WMA Lossless).
• formats with lossy compression, such as MP3, Vorbis, Musepack, AAC, ATRAC and lossy Windows Media Audio (WMA).

Common Windows-compatible Audio Formats

MP3 (.mp3)

MP3 is the name of the file extension and also the name of the type of file for MPEG, audio layer 3. Layer 3 is one of three coding schemes (layer 1, layer 2 and layer 3) for the compression of audio signals. Layer 3 uses perceptual audio coding and psychoacoustic compression to remove all superfluous information (more specifically, the redundant and irrelevant parts of a sound signal. The stuff the human ear doesn’t hear anyway). It also adds a MDCT (Modified Discrete Cosine Transform) that implements a filter bank, increasing the frequency resolution 18 times higher than that of layer 2. The result in real terms is layer 3 shrinks the original sound data from a CD (with a bit rate of 1411.2 kilobits per one second of stereo music) by a factor of 12 (down to 112-128kbps) without sacrificing sound quality.

WMA – Windows Media Audio (.wma)

Short for Windows Media Audio, WMA is a Microsoft file format for encoding digital audio files similar to MP3 though can compress files at a higher rate than MP3. WMA files, which use the “.wma” file extension, can be of any size compressed to match many different connection speeds, or bandwidths.

WAV (.wav)

WAV is the format used for storing sound in files developed jointly by Microsoft and IBM. Support for WAV files was built into Windows 95 making it the de facto standard for sound on PCs. WAV sound files end with a .wav extension and can be played by nearly all Windows applications that support sound.

Real Audio (.ra  .ram .rm)

Real Audio is a proprietary format, and is used for streaming audio that enables you to play digital audio files in real-time. To use this type of file you must have RealPlayer (for Windows or Mac), which you can download for free. Real Audio was developed by RealNetworks.

MIDI – Musical Instrument Digital Interface (.mid)

Short for musical instrument digital interface, MIDI is a standard adopted by the electronic music industry for controlling devices, such as synthesizers and sound cards, that emit music. At minimum, a MIDI representation of a sound includes values for the note’s pitch, length, and volume. It can also include additional characteristics, such as attack and delay time.

Ogg (.ogg)

Ogg is an audio compression format, comparable to other formats used to store and play digital music, but differs in that it is free, open and unpatented. It uses Vorbis, a specific audio compression scheme that’s designed to be contained in Ogg.

Converting Audio Formats

With a slew of software applications available today, consumers can convert one digital audio file format to virtually any other. many of the programs available today offer standard burning or converting tools to enable consumers to create CDs on their computer which can be played in home or car stereos. Usually these tools will convert or burn uncompressed WAV PCM, compressed WAV , MP3, and Ogg Vorbis.

References

Digital audio file formats & codecs by Matt Ottewill

Optimising (compressing) digital audio files

When Is Downloading Music on the Internet Illegal?

JUMBO Audio & MP3 Downloads

Find free and trial versions of music & sound editors, encoders, plug-ins, and more!

The goal of this lesson is to help designers and clients understand the importance of good type skills, while avoiding some of the common mistakes. Please keep in mind that most of these mistakes are subjective and can be changed varying on the project, goals or circumstances.

Below is a list of 10 common mistakes used in type design/layout that can make a large impact in the effectiveness and appearance of your designs, in addition to saving you time and money when dealing with printers.

1. Not enough leading

Leading/linespacing can improve the overall readability of large blocks of text on a page, making it easier on readers to follow lines of text without losing their place. Too little can cause a cramped feeling. It’s important to remember that different fonts need different linespacing. Varying heights in letterforms may demand more or less.

2. Not enough tracking

Tracking/letterspacing is applied to a group of letters. It prevents letters from running into each other, especially during print. It’s similar to leading in which it can improve or hinder readability, flow of text and the density/weight of a block of text.

3. Getting tracking confused with kerning

While tracking is applied to a group of characters, kerning is the adjustment of space between two letter pairs. Effective for use with headlines, text with ALL CAPS and logo treatments (it helps with readability at various sizes). Don’t fall into the trap of letting your design software set this by default; it’s character specific. Same applies to the above, #1 & 2.

4. Lengthy lines of text

Reading many long lines of type causes eye fatigue. Readers are forced to moves their heads and eyes more often from one line to the next. Various sources I’ve researched state to keep lines of text under 50 – 60 characters long.

5. Mixing too many typefaces and weights

Too many typefaces on one page can become distracting and disconnecting (lacking unity). Try keeping your fonts choices to three or less per project. Too many weights can cause a reader to be unclear where important elements are on a page. This creates the possibility of the reader missing something important.

6. Not using serifs for lengthy-text material

Serifs are known to make reading lengthy material, such as books and magazines, more sustainable for longer periods of time. It also helps with eye strain/fatigue, and we all know that we need our eyes! Although this can be argued, serifs seem to sit better on the baseline.

7. Printing similar values of color on top of each other

For example, try printing a medium blue text on top of a medium brown box. Not only is it unappealing, but it makes it hard on the eyes. Also creates a muddy effect.

8. Reversed out text on less than 50% tints

Much like the above, this also increases eye strain and hinders readability. The words get lost in the background and typically prints less visible than seen on screen. This will save you time, money and Asprin for your printing headaches.

9. Overusing centered text

Using centered text creates a jagged and broken appearance to text — very disconnecting! Can be viewed as amateurish in most instances. Save it for those wedding invitations.

10. Large body copy

Normally, designers and non-designers (and yes, I did it too!) will immediately use a 12 point font for body copy. Smaller (even slightly smaller) fonts sizes creates a more professional, modern look. Large body copy can be clunky — think about the font size of a children’s book. Clunky right?… unless it’s the look your going for.

It’s also important to note that viewing text on a computer monitor is much different than printing it. In most instances, type on a screen appears smaller and less crisp. Also, most printers will advise you not to use font sizes under 7 points. May result in readability issues.

11. Not knowing what the Grid System is

Being a typography enthusiast, understanding the grid has become one of the best things I’ve learned in design to date. It’s the basis for creating clarity and making your type and layouts more cohesive. Check out the new site, The Grid System, for links and resources pertaining to grid systems.

Remember this list was composed to spread awareness and create discussion, not discourage anyone from trying new things and breaking the “rules”. I fully encourage all of you to go out and experiment with new ideas and concepts to become better typographers and designers.

References

http://www.thegridsystem.org/

http://www.bachgarde.com/html/works/typografins_v.html

Web Directions & Typographic Structure

Desktop publishing is the process of laying out and designing pages with your desktop computer. With software programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, PageMaker and Quark Xpress, you can assemble anything from a one-page document to a full-length book. Understanding how the software works, however, is only the beginning, and often the easiest part of the whole process.This notes is designed for the novice page designer who wants to learn the fundamentals of effective page layout. So whether you need to design a brochure, advertisement, screen graphics, interactive media, or an entire newsletter.

Principles of Layout and Design

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The principles of design suggest effective and pleasing ways to arrange text and graphics on the page as well as the arrangement of individual elements within illustration, logos, and the overall graphic design of a document. Generally, all the principles of design apply to any piece you may create. How you apply those principles of design determines how effective your design is in conveying the desired message and how attractive it appears.

There is seldom only one correct way to apply each of these graphic design principles. Not all sources agree on which are the most important graphic design principles although alignment, balance, consistency, contrast, proximity, and white space are the most widely recognized principles of design.

Principles of Design

Generally, all the principles of design apply to any piece you may create. How you apply those principles determines how effective your design is in conveying the desired message and how attractive it appears. There is seldom only one correct way to apply each principle but check your documents to see how well you have applied each of these six principles of design.

What are the Principles of Design?

Take a look at the big picture through stories and metaphors that relate each of the principles of design to real world activities and situations. Covers the commonly recognized principles of design of balance, proximity, alignment, repetition, contrast, and white space.

Proximity / Unity

In design, proximity or closeness creates a bond between people and between elements on a page. How close together or far apart elements are placed suggests a relationship (or lack of) between otherwise disparate parts. Unity is also achieved by using a third element to connect distant parts. Are title elements together? Is contact information all in one place? Do frames and boxes tie together or separate related elements in your document?

Alignment

Alignment brings order to chaos. How you align type and graphics on a page and in relation to each other can make your layout easier or more difficult to read, foster familiarity, or bring excitement to a stale design. Have you used a grid? Is there a common alignment — top, bottom, left, right, or centered — between blocks of text and graphics on the page? Does your text alignment aid or hinder readability? If certain elements are out of alignment, was it done purposefully with a specific design goal in mind?

Repetition / Consistency

Repeating design elements and consistent use of type and graphics styles within a document shows a reader where to go and helps them navigate your designs and layouts safely. Insure that your document utilizes the principles of repetition, consistency, and unity in page design. Do page numbers appear in the same location from page to page? Are major and minor headlines consistent in size, style, or placement? Have you used a consistent graphic or illustration style throughout?

Contrast

In design, big and small elements, black and white text, squares and circles, can all create contrast in design. Contrast helps different design elements stand out. Is there enough contrast between your text (size and color) and background (color and pattern) to keep text readable? Is everything all the same size even when some elements are more important than others?

White Space

Designs that try to cram too much text and graphics onto the page are uncomfortable and may be impossible to read. White space gives your design breathing room. Do you have enough space between columns of text? Does text run into frames or graphics? Do you have a generous margin? You can also have too much white space if items float on the page without any anchor.

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