May 17, 2012 | Storytelling, Workshops
In the Learning Studio this week, we’re working with a dozen faculty and MaryAnn McNair from the Center for Digital Storytelling. This is our third three-day workshop and we’re honored to continue this work with this program.
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Mar 31, 2012 | News & Events, Storytelling
Great interview with Bill Rankin on iTunes U about the changing nature of the university, the library, and disruptive potential of digital books.
“This new generation of books really opens a door for learning, inviting in people who never would have had a chance before. . . They put a printing press not just in the hands of teachers but in the hands of students. I think this is a new golden age of publishing that is about to emerge.”
The collection on iTunes U includes a more detailed discussion of “The Future of Digital Books” as well as a shout out to the Learning Studio in “Embracing Mobility.”
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Behind the Scenes
The Introduction video was shot in the Biblioteca Armando Olivares at the University of Guanajuato by Bill Frakes and Laura Heald of Straw Hat Visuals. Bill works regularly with Sports Illustrated as well as a range of music and advertising clients but ultimately describes himself as “a visual storyteller.”
The Biblioteca video as well as much of Bill’s most recent work has been shot on Nikon’s D3 and D4 series cameras. To really see the broad spectrum of what this generation of DSLRs bring to video and stills, see Bill’s Istanbul documentary.
Bill is a great teacher who has worked with several ACU faculty over the last couple years, inspiring through workshops he leads with the New Media Consortium our own Digital Academy and Lightpainting events.
For more on the team that put together Istanbul, see Scott Kelby’s blog.
Feb 1, 2012 | DSLR, Projects, Storytelling
In our first year, we’ve had opportunities to work with some extraordinary faculty at ACU. Nil Santana teaches a range of photography and graphic design courses in the department of Art & Design and has led several of our faculty workshops as well.
This week Nil sent us a video he’s been working on that we knew others would want to know more about. From the tradition of the short-subject documentary, Nil’s visuals capture the time-honored process of binding as the interview with Stan Chapman reflects on the future of an industry.
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About the Film
This is a project Nil will be giving students in an Advanced Photography class next fall, so he wanted to produce a sample film himself to help them understand the process.
The video was shot on a Canon 5D mkii with all pans and movement captured as video using a tripod. The only significant change he made to the video in post was bringing it into black and white.
One rule of thumb for students new to DSLR filmmaking is to try to keep the shutter speed as close to 2x the frame-rate as possible. Nil shot everything at 1/60 of a second and 30 frames per second (fps), making adjustments as needed to either ISO or f-stop to maintain that shutter speed.
Most of the wide shots were shot with a kit lens he had (28-135mm) but the striking close-ups of machinery used a fast 85mm that gave him the narrow depth of field.
Finally, all audio was captured in the camera with one of our check-out video mics, though he’s still looking for a better solution when recording on-site.
All editing was done in either FinalCut Pro or Soundtrack Pro.
For more information on DSLR filmmaking or check-out equipment for an upcoming project, drop by the Learning Studio.
Jan 31, 2012 | News & Events, Storytelling
One focus of our work in the first year in the new Learning Studio has been digital storytelling. Previous posts have highlighted workshops in May and August where guests from the Center for Digital Storytelling helped ACU faculty and staff understand the value of the approach.
The following interviews from December asked faculty to reflect on the value of teaching with digital storytelling for the first time. Thanks to each of them for their time and energy at each stage of the pilot.
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Jan 12, 2012 | Projects, Storytelling, Students
This fall we worked with students from across campus on digital storytelling projects, but one concentration of this interest came from the department of Psychology.
Becca Kester
Dr. Jennifer Shewmaker and Cherisse Flanagan teach courses that welcome psychology majors into the program and then prepare them for careers after graduation. Both teachers integrated storytelling assignments this semester to help students articulate the commitments that drew them to the field.
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Student Examples
Adrianna Smith
Kailee Donaldson
Gabe Guerra
Becca Kester
Becca Lewis
Morgan Mogler
Adrianna Smith
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