Digital Storytelling Tutorial

1. Digital Storytelling Tutorial Karen Anewalt Jennifer Polack-Wahl University of Mary Washington Fredericksburg, VA

2. Digital Storytelling Course • Motivation • Enrollments • Looking for new angle • Natural fit for student interests

3. Benefits to Teaching Storytelling/Digital Media • Way to Show Connection Between CS and Humanities Fields • Flexible Course Content • Emphasize CS, graphic design/art, storytelling, …. • Provide Context for Traditional CS Topics • Compression Algorithms • User Interface Design • Net-centric/Web Topics

4. Our Approach • Teach Digital Storytelling (Arts & Literature Gen Ed) • Emphasize CS Topics • Problem Solving • Algorithm development • Introduce programming • Use Free and Open Source Tools • Talk about Open Source Software movement • Have Fun!

5. Video Spin • http://www.videospin.com/Redesign/ • What is it? • Video creation and editing tool • What can it do? • Create video with audio • Create slideshows with audio • What can you emphasize? • Create an algorithm for combining different components to create a final project

6. Video Spin • Create a story out of five images, one video clip, three transitions and at least one audio track. • Must come up with a storyboard of each component before starting • For each image, video clip and audio track you must produce the list of steps that you are going to take to get them ready for Video Spin • Insert Photo 1 and have it slide in from the right • Insert Photo 2 and have it checker in • Fade In and Fade Out Audio to Fit Video Timeline • Create an intro transition slide • Create an end slide

7. Audacity • http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ • What is it? • Tool for recording live audio • What can it do? • Record audio • Edit & mix sounds • Multi-track recording • Convert files to popular formats • What can you emphasize? • Open source software movement

8. Audacity • Change the Bart Simpson Audio Clip •  OPEN the bart.wav • Once loaded will appear as a "wave pattern" in the Audacity Window. • If you play the sound file a few times, you will notice that it ends with the sound of a door closing. Our first task will be to remove this sound from the end of the wave pattern. • Play the sound a few times until you "See" where the door sound is in the wave pattern. Then, using your mouse, carefully select the door sound section of the graph. Then use the EDIT --> CUT menu option and remove this part of the sound file. • For our next task, we will AMPLIFY Bart's excuse for missing the makeup test, "Ohhhhh my ovaries". • To AMPLIFY, we first find and select the section, then use the menu item EFFECT --> AMPLIFY. Use the default amplify settings provided.

9. Audacity • Next, we will FADE OUT the last half of Bart's "Ohhh" exclamation. • To do this, simply select the right-most half of the section we just AMPLIFIED, and use the menu command EFFECT --> FADE OUT. Once completed, this should make this section of the wave pattern look bullet like. • Our last edit will be our most difficult. We will be modifying the section where Bart's Teacher says, "...then you are ready for your MAKEUP TEST." Instead, we want to have it say, "...then you are ready for your TEST." • The key to this removal is to SELECT the area you think consists of the word MAKEUP by trial and error. Use the PLAY button to make sure by repeatedly playing just that selection until it sounds right. If you don't hear just the word MAKEUP, then reselect until you are satisfied. Use the menu option EDIT --> CUT again to remove the word once you are satisfied.

10. GIMP • http://www.gimp.org/ • What is it? • GNU Image Manipulation Program • What can it do? • Edit photos • Image composition and authoring • What can you emphasize? • Introduce concepts of computer graphics and digital image processing

11. GIMP • Standard Functionality • Digital Image Processing • Noise smoothing. • Noise typically can be seen as RGB “flecks” • Techniques #1 • Right-click in the image and select Filters/Enhance/Despeckle. You can play around with the settings, but you’ll likely want to keep the radius pretty small and watch the White Level parameter too–too large a radius coupled with a lowered White Level and you’ll destroy details like the catchlights in the eye. • The “Recursive” option seems to cause a more aggressive filter effect. Try it if you have an especially noisy image. • Examine the resulting image, zooming in to examine shadow areas. You’ll notice that the noise is appreciably less objectionable. You cannot really eliminate it, but it is “smoothed out”. • Unfortunately, you may also notice that the image is softer; the despeckle filter actually blurs the image.

12. GIMP • Noise smoothing. • Technique #2 • As an alternative to Despeckle, you can try Selective Gaussian Blur. • Right-click in the image and select Filters/Blur/Selective Gaussian Blur.The radius works like you’d expect for a regular gaussian blur; as with Despeckle, you probably don’t want to get too aggressive with it or the image will be too soft. • The “Max. Delta” parameter controls how much of an edge needs to be defined for the blur to selectively skip it. It is a very rough control, obviously, so experimentation is the key. • I happen to think this one is just a tad better in terms of blurring the noise. It also is a little softer.

13. GIMP • Noise smoothing. • Technique #2 • As an alternative to Despeckle, you can try Selective Gaussian Blur. • Right-click in the image and select Filters/Blur/Selective Gaussian Blur.The radius works like you’d expect for a regular gaussian blur; as with Despeckle, you probably don’t want to get too aggressive with it or the image will be too soft. • The “Max. Delta” parameter controls how much of an edge needs to be defined for the blur to selectively skip it. It is a very rough control, obviously, so experimentation is the key. • I happen to think this one is just a tad better in terms of blurring the noise. It also is a little softer. • Other Digital Image Processing Techniques • Contrast Manipulation • Blurring • Compression

14. Storytelling Alice • http://www.alice.org/kelleher/storytelling/ • What is it? • Similar to Alice 2.0 but with emphasis on storytelling • What can it do? • Create stories and games • What can you emphasize? • Programming basics

15. Storytelling Alice • Differences from “traditional” Alice • Story-based tutorial introduction to Alice • Different characters/methods and scenes • “Users of Storytelling Alice spent 42% more time programming than users of traditional Alice.” -Kelleher • “Users of Storytelling Alice were just as successful at learning basic programming concepts as users of Generic Alice” – Kelleher • Storytelling Alice Example : • Traditional Alice Example :Snow Love

16. Picassa • http://picasaweb.google.com/home • What is it? • Google tool for photo organization • What can it do? • Create slideshows with captions • What can you emphasize? • Web hosting software • Integration with other Google tools lets you perform complex tasks like geotagging phtos in George Earth.

17. Picassa • Collage • Video • To geotag a photo, follow these steps: • Click the Geotag button in the Photo Tray. Google Earth opens up and a small Picasa window appears in the lower-right corner. • Navigate and zoom to the location in Google Earth that corresponds with where your picture was taken, and place the yellow cross-hairs on your chosen spot.

18. Blabberize • http://www.blabberize.com/ • What is it? • Funny tool for video creation • What can it do? • Turn a photo into a “talking” image • What can you emphasize? • Grab students attention & spark creativity

19. Outcomes: Course Survey

20. Outcomes: Course Survey

21. Outcomes: Course Survey

22. Digital Storytelling Blogs • Jim Groom: • http://digitalstorytelling.umwblogs.org/ • http://ds106.umwblogs.org/ • Jennifer Polack: • http://cpsc106.umwblogs.org/