HDV5200 Series Digital Video Camera Kits Teacher’s Reference Prepared by Harold Olejarz Art and Technology teacher, Wyckoff NJ www.HamiltonElectronics.
Introduction Welcome and thank you for purchasing the Hamilton Digital Video Exploration Kit. You and your students will find exciting ways to enhance teaching and learning with digital video. This kit will help you incorporate digital video into almost any lesson or project and this manual will help you get started on this wonderful adventure by introducing you to your new camera, software and digital video in general.
This guide offers information on how to work with digital video and digital images along with lesson ideas and Internet resources to help you and your students get the most out of your new camera. Working With Digital Video Developments in digital video and video editing software have given teachers and students the ability to produce professional video projects in any classroom. In this section I will review videotaping, editing and presentation and storage tips.
• Export your video to a computer daily. Never tape an entire project and then export it to a computer. Reviewing footage in a computer daily provides valuable feedback on the success of your camera work and sound quality, better to discover a taping problem early in a project. • If you are interviewing someone get the camera as close to your subject as possible for the best sound quality.
your project. Play it several times and ask others to review your footage before you make any final decisions. • Be sure to label your clips. This will make it easier to arrange your clips in the proper sequence and/or make changes in the sequence. • When adding transitions and text make sure that your clip is long enough to contain the text and/or transition. If it is not, the text will spill over into the next clip or the transition will not work properly.
purpose. Then, export the rendered video file as a Web page, multimedia greeting card, or send it to a friend by e‐mail. All these and more can be done in VideoStudio’s Share Step. If you are using a different video editing program check for similar options. • You can store your video on your computer but that takes up lots of hard drive space. You may want to purchase an external hard drive to store completed videos or videos in progress.
The first project I assign my students is an interview project. This is ideal for students working in groups of three; one student is the host, the second is the guest and the third is the cameraperson. You may have students research a topic or historical figure related to your curriculum and then interview one another on that topic or person. Instruct students to develop answers first when doing their research and once they have their answers they can easily develop the questions.
order and then assembling the clips in the proper order. Students will have an easier time assembling their clips in the proper order if they name their clips. For example, the question clips are labeled Q1, Q2, Q3, ... and the answer clips are labeled A1, A2, A3, ... Once al of the clips are identified they can then be placed in the proper sequence. When students try to tape an interview in real time with one camera the resulting video is marred by the camera moving between the “host” and “guest.
Students can also take a documentary approach to digital video projects. They may research a historical period or scientific invention and use that information as the basis for their documentary video project. This can easily be done by downloading still images from the Internet or scanning images from books. The still images may be imported into your video editing programs. Voice‐overs and additional video footage may be added to create a documentary in the style of Ken Burns.
Student Commercials Digital video can also be used for the ultimate commercial art project, a TV commercial. Students can take on the challenge of using 30 or 60 seconds to communicate a message and sell a product in an entertaining way. The TV commercial project may be started by a class discussion of favorite commercials and why they are successful. Teachers can easily tape some commercials and have students analyze how the commercials sell the product and use the media effectively.
of the video, what the students learned from the video. When the class is done with their appreciation's I then allow students to make suggestions for improvement. Students often focus on technical aspects and point out problems with sound, lighting and/or composition. A class discussion about video projects helps reinforce learning and gives students insights into what makes a quality video. Working With Digital Images In addition, to video your camera is also a high resolution digital still camera.
• Scaled to print in different sizes ‐ high resolution digital images may be printed in large or small sizes • Shared via e‐mail ‐ digital images may be sent to anyone with an e‐mail account • Shared via World Wide Web ‐ web sites can display digital images • Presentations ‐ images can be used in PowerPoint or other computer presentations • Digital video ‐ images can be imported into digital video projects and transferred to videotape or DVDs • Create database ‐ images can be imported into a database, for e
Back in the days of film cameras, we all knew that the negatives that came with our prints should be preserved and stored if we ever wanted to make more prints. When your pictures are digital, you don’t have a negative, but you do have the original picture file. You and your students should treat the original picture file as the negative and save your original image files that you download from your camera in folders in an organized way that best suits you and your students’ needs.
Posting pictures on the Internet is a popular way to present photos to an unlimited audience. If you are using a program like Photoshop Elements there is a Create Web Photo Gallery option in the File Menu. There are also many sites that offer a free and easy way to post your pictures online. Do remember, that if you post pictures of students, you need to get permission first. Digital Imaging Lesson Ideas There are thousands of ways to use digital photography to enhance your curriculum.
• Have students make flash cards by taking photographs demonstrating new vocabulary words or concepts. Print extra copies of the flash cards to develop a valuable classroom resource. • Create a visual seating chart that not only has the names of your students but their pictures too. • Students may use photographs to document their projects and create visual portfolios of their work. • Students may use photographs to illustrate writing assignments.
The web sites listed below offer a wide range of lesson plans and ideas that will help you get the most out of your Hamilton Digital Camera. Pics4Learning Lesson Index contains a listing of lessons in Language Arts, Science, Math and Social Studies. http://www.pics4learning.com/lessonplans.
Photo Collages ‐ Photomosaics ‐ digital imaging art lessons. http://home.wi.rr.com/clipartngraphics/ArtEdTech/ArtEd3.html Digital Imaging ‐ Mr. Olejarz ‐ digital imaging art lessons. http://www.wyckoffschools.org/eisenhower/teachers/olejarz/digitalimaging/inde x.html Emerald Ridge High School Digital Imaging Course ‐ digital imaging art lessons. http://digimg.erhs.org/index.html Internet Resources Digital Video Resources on the Internet • The Internet Archive ‐ http://www.archive.
• Schoolhouse Video ‐ http://www.schoolhousevideo.org/ Learn about a collaborative project between a middle school science teacher and a TV station. • Center for Digital Storytelling ‐ http://www.storycenter.org/ The Center for Digital Storytelling is a California‐based non‐profit arts organization rooted in the art of personal storytelling.
Image Search Engines Anyone who has used the Internet has probably used a search engine like Google or Yahoo. Most search engines have an image search feature that lets you search the Internet for pictures. A student may go to an image search engine, look for a picture of the Great Wall of China, download the picture, and use imaging software like Photo Express or Photoshop Elements to paste an image of a fellow student into the picture of the Great Wall of China.
Web Sites Offering Free Images There are also web sites that specialize in offering free images for use in educational projects. The images on these sites are a valuable resource that can be used along with the digital photographs your students take. Pics4Learning ‐ is set up for use by educators and students. This site also has lesson plans. http://www.pics4learning.com/ Kid's Image Search Tools lists special image databases. http://www.kidsclick.org/psearch.
