Oct 23, 2012 | Featured Video, Projects
Those of you who have been with us in Cornerstone this fall got a glimpse of one of our summer projects. This was our second kick-off film to welcome freshmen to campus and the ACU Core–Kyle Trafton produced “You Are ACU” for us in 2010.
“Counting the Days” was produced by Matt Bardwell and Nathan Driskell, our media production specialists in the Learning Studio, and offered a creative break from our work on the Year One Report this summer. Enjoy.
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Behind the Scenes
The film combines time-lapse photography with a tilt-shift effect and graphics done in post-production. After we premiered the film in Cornerstone, the guys received a number of questions about how it was put together, so Matt walks through how the shots were done with a couple favorites that didn’t make the final cut.
Special thanks to Scot Colley, Kristian Allen, and Joel Swedlund for help getting some of these shots.
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Oct 18, 2012 | News & Events
As more and more students have had a chance to use the Media:scape tables in our collaboration rooms, we’ve heard from Mac users wanting an easier way to connect than checking out an adapter.
This last week we added Mac cables to each table–technically Mini Display Port cables–to make getting your work on-screen a little easier.
We will continue to have adapters to connect iPads and older model laptops available for check-out from the main Learning Studio desk.
Oct 4, 2012 | Projects
Using 20 pieces of spaghetti, a yard of masking tape and a yard of string, 750 freshmen in ACU’s Cornerstone course were given 18 minutes to build the tallest freestanding structure capable of holding a marshmallow on top.
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We worked with Mike Wiggins, chair of the Art & Design department, to design support materials and manage logistics for a design challenge to support his spotlight talk. The experience helped students understand the value of collaboration and creative problem solving in a range of disciplines.
To learn more about the origins of the Marshmallow Challenge, watch Tom Wujec’s TED Talk: bit.ly/buildatower
Thanks to the following students and faculty for sharing their reflections on the project:
Alex Jowett
Shacourtney King
Dr. Jeanene Reese
Latonia Smith
Susan Teel
Jacob Thomsen
Brandon Young
Sep 25, 2012 | News & Events
Last week we had a chance to share our experience working with iBooks Author on the Year One Report with members of the New Media Consortium. Nathan Driskell and Matt Bardwell joined me online for a one-hour webinar hosted by Holly Ludgate from the NMC. Here is the abstract:
In 2012 the AT&T Learning Studio at Abilene Christian University produced an annual report for corporate and on-campus audiences. The report needed to showcase media content within the broader context of our mandate to be a learning laboratory within the university. We chose iBooks Author to test its value as a tool for first-time users and design professionals. The session will walk through opportunities and challenges in using the new platform for major projects.
To review the Learning Studio: Year One Report, visit acu.edu/lsreport
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For those who couldn’t make it, here are a couple high points:
- Looked back at desktop publishing revolution brought on by Aldus PageMaker and the Apple LaserWriter, putting unprecedented tools in the hands of mere mortals. Discussed what it meant for design (for better and worse) and how decades later we’re seeing education built on those foundations.
- When iBooks Author released in January, many in education wondered if this was a similar threshold moment providing access to wider audience with higher fidelity experiences produced by non-professionals.
- Walked through initial assessment of the platform when we began work on Y1 Report in May. The largest question was whether an audience yet existed for iPad-only content that bypassed the base of iPhones and iPods already on our campus.
- Most important strength was the significant advance this represents to the PDF or ePub for the creation of truly rich content built with the known quantities of audio, video, and Keynote animations. Given similarities of the platform to Keynote and Pages, it’s also an application that is easy to train.
- Walked through a range of tips and suggestions in designing the overall document and media strategy (see the slides for a few of these).
If you’re planning upcoming training for iBooks Author, here are a couple resources we found valuable:
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Sep 17, 2012 | News & Events, Storytelling
This semester the Learning Studio will be adding support for media production on the iPad. Several classes with iPad access will be looking for ways to produce upcoming digital storytelling projects, so the following resources introduce some of the tools you may use.
Though there are a number of strong video-editing apps for iOS the easiest to pick up and use is iMovie for iPhone 4+, iPod 4+, and iPad 2+. The app runs $4.99 in the App Store or can be purchased at a discount for an entire class.
The iMovie for iOS app allows you to quickly create movie files from the following assets:
- Add photos from your camera roll and reorder them, edit their duration on screen and the Ken Burns effect to add motion.
- Record audio narration for your digital story directly into iMovie. Generally it’s easier to record your script FIRST and then change the duration of clips afterwards.
- Introduce video clips or other media, either recorded directly to the device or imported using the Apple Camera Connection Kit.
- Finally, export an HD copy of your movie back to the Camera Roll or directly to YouTube. Since most images are higher resolution than HD video, you should be able to export a 720p or 1080p version without noticing pixelation.
