TPA Task 4 FAQ

What do I need to upload?

A 20 minute unedited video of you teaching. File size must be less than 500mb

What should I use to videotape myself?

Any camcorder will work. A Flip camera or similar type will also be sufficient. Using your cell phone may not provide sufficient video or audio quality to be evaluated. A tripod will help with stability of the video and placement of the camera.

How do I get the video reduced so the file size is less than 500mb?

Video from camcorders in their default format will far exceed the 500mb limit. It will be necessary to use video converters to reduce the file size. Examples of some of the native video resolutions are 720x480, 864x480, 800x600, and 1024x768. In order to get the file size under 100mb the resolution will need to be 320x240.

Any Video Converter is free for the PC and Mac and easily enables you to reduce your video to the appropriate size. Windows MovieMaker and Macintosh iMovie, both will allow you to reduce a video to the appropriate resolution. Note: some dvd camcorders do not work well in MovieMaker/iMovie and you will need to use Any Video Converter to reduce your file size.

How do I get Any Video Converter?

PC-

Mac -

How do I transfer the video to my computer?

DVD Camcorder – transfer disk from camera to computer. Note: if you computer can’t read the disk, you will have to finalize the disk in the camera

Flip Camera – connect the camera to the computer using the USB connector. Video may be segmented and will need to be joined.

Digital Tape Camcorder – The camcorder needs to be connected to a computer with a firewire port. Older Macs/some notebooks have built in firewire ports. Computers in AASE lab and KH2089 have firewire ports with cable.

Hard Drive Camcorder – connect the camera via USB.

Which video format should I choose?
.flv – Recommended video format. Frame size 32x240 Framerate 25. Note reducing video framerate from 25 to 20 will reduce filesize by 10% without affecting sound quality
Other video formats(Frame size 32x240 Framerate 25) may work. Success of selecting other formats will depend on the camcorders compression format /

ry 11/8/2011 Please send any suggestions or comments to