Discovery Education’s digital story telling guru, gave conference attendees a peak into the magic that is possible with basic movie editing programs.
Joe went through all of the secrets he uses to create simple special effects in applications like iMovie, Microsoft’s Photo Story, or Movie Makers.
He showed how to morph faces to show children aging all by simply lining up their pictures and dissolving between them.
Black and white is a simple effect in iMovie and it can be powerful to show dream sequences or to establish action from the past.
Another easy way to fool the eye is to carefully edit a sequence of movements in front of a stationary camera. If you cut from one spot to the other it gives the idea of the passage of time. Instead of one constant sequences, it gives the idea of many events all sped up together.
Running the film in reverse can do amazing things and something as amazing as the “Field of Dreams” effect where objects seem to fade into a solid object is really just careful cuts and cross-dissolving. You can even disappear like Harry Potter with a green cloak and some chroma-key software.
The beauty of most of Joe Brennan presentations is that his techniques can be replicated quite easily if you have a little bit of experience. If you are lucky enough to get some time to sit down with Joe, he is a wonderfully patient guy who always is excited to help.
In an earlier interview with Ben Rimes, Joe stated that his “Making Movies” session is the best for beginners. If you are just getting started, catch Joe or checkout some of his great resources he offers online.
Session Links available at Denblogs.com/digital_storytelling
My favorite Joe page: Guerilla Graphics
Each year, MACUL tries to bring in speakers that cover a wide range of expertise when it comes to successfuly integrating technology within the classroom. A perennial favorite, Joe Brennan is a master of New Media Narratives and Digital Story Telling. As a blogger for the Discovery Educator Network, an Apple distinguied educator, and a former ICE Educator of the Year, Joe brings a wealth of knowledge on the subject of digital story teling to our conference.
I had the pleasure to speak with him earlier this week, and learn some simple tricks and ideas to keep in mind when making movies in the classroom. Joe also shared some tips for first time conference goers, and gave some recommendations about getting started with digital story telling. If you haven’t had a chance to attend one of Mr. Brennan’s sessions, listen to a “sneak peak” of his session in our featured speaker podcast.
If you’re interested in attending one of Joe’s sessions he’ll be presenting “Simple Special Effects” on Thursday, March 19th at 2:30 in room W1-51 of the Cobo Center, and “Digital Story Telling: Makin’ Movies” on Friday, March 20th at 10 AM in room W1-51 of the Cobo Center. Joe makes mention of both the ISTE 30th anniversary site, and the Flat Classroom Project in the podcast. Follow the links to learn more.
-
macul09 Photos
More Photos
