These Directions Can Be Found At
These directions can be found at: http://www.taskstream.com/main/?/ferrell1/digitales.html
www.yourstoryworks.org
PhotoStory
In this project, you will create a 90-second to 2-minute digital story using Microsoft Photo Story.
Background/Context
image from www.thestoryproject.ca
PhotoStory (digital storytelling) is a way of thinking about information to create an audio-visual representation of our beliefs. It is a creative and powerful method for organizing information. It can be used to convey emotions and/or build community. Our photostories will be based on NPR's essay series called, "This I Believe." Examples:
Tarak McLain, Six Year Old Kindergartner: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99478226
Geoffrey Canada, Teacher: http://www.thisibelieve.org/dsp_ShowEssay.php?uid=52984&topessays=25&start=
If you want to view more examples, visit the NPR project home page: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4538138
Instead of writing an essay, we will use photographs to express what we believe in the form of a photostory. Examples from classrooms:
Second Chances: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGXIn03_cLc
Go to this site and scroll down to "Student Examples on You Tube" if you want to see more photostories: http://www.taravangeons.com/technology_projects
“The goal of This I Believe is not to persuade Americans to agree on the same beliefs but to encourage Americans to pursue the much more difficult task of developing respect for beliefs different from their own.”
You can use a combination of photos, drawings, objects, or use only photos. You need to have music and/or a voiceover.
A great place to get music is: freeplaymusic.com
Use the Photostory program in our lab. If you want to work on this at home, you will need 2 programs:
1. Microsoft PhotoStory: Click below or copy and paste this address into your browser:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=92755126-a008-49b3-b3f4-6f33852af9c1&DisplayLang=en
Click on "Continue," and you may download the program for free.
2. Windows Media Player 10 or 11 to view the story (you may already have this on your computer). Click here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/10/default.aspx
You can use a combination of photos you take and photos from online, if you wish.
Include:
1. Title Screen
2. Credits for your photos and music
3. Music or a voiceover or both
4. 90-seconds to 2 minutes
5. Transitions between photos
6. If you do a voiceover (you can check out a laptop computer from the media lab in the octagon if you don't have a personal computer to do your voiceover on). Or, you can come in the lab when there aren't many people around to avoid background noise.
Citing Resources
Be sure that you cite all your images. To do so, you will cite the internet address. If the photos are yours, then cite by saying, "Photo is owner property."
If you get the images from Google Images, the reference you will use is the web page BEFORE you make the image full size (is in green letters). Download the image from full size.
To cite music, tell the artist and song title.
PhotoStory Directions
Save your project frequently. It will save as a wp3 file, which is the format you will use to edit your photostory. Save to a folder called PhotoStory on your jump drive.
You can crop, rotate, and remove red eye from your photos from the Import screen (first screen in PhotoStory).
Doing a Voiceover:
You can check out a microphone from the media lab in Duncan Hall. Do not use the white iMic attachment.
1. Plug the microphone into the mic port (is usually pink).
2. Turn the microphone on (red button).
3. Make sure your computer is not muted. Click the red button to record and stop recording.
Adding Music
When you add music from iTunes, it often is in a form other than mp3 or wav. To convert to an mp3 format:
Windows Computers:
1. 1. From iTunes, click once on your song to highlight it. Click on the Edit menu and pull to Preferences.
2. Click on the Advanced tab, then on the Import tab.
3. Click the drop down menu beside "Import Using," and click on "mp3 encoder." Click OK.
4. From iTunes, right click on your song, and then click on Convert to mp3.
Macintosh Computers:
1. From iTunes, click once on your song to highlight it. Click on the Edit menu and pull to Preferences.
2. Click on the General tab, then on the Import Settings.
3. Click the drop down menu beside "Import Using," and click on "mp3 encoder." Click OK.
4. From iTunes, right click on your song, and then click on Convert to mp3.
To Change the Length of Time that Your Photo is Displayed:
1. Be on the screen in PhotoStory that says "Customize Narration and Motion." Click on "Customize Motion." Near the bottom of the screen, click beside "number of seconds to display the picture," and put the number of seconds that you want the photo to show.
To Use Something Other Than a Photo for Your Credits or Title Screen:
Often, a photo will be too busy for text to show up on. You can save a background just like you do a photo (as a jpg) and import it to PhotoStory just like you do a photo. Here are a few sites that have backgrounds:
http://www.backgroundcity.com
http://www.webpagebackground.com
When you finish your photostory, you will create a windows media video (wmv format) on the last screen. Choose to make the playback for viewing on a computer. In the middle of the screen, click on Browse and navigate to your jump drive. BE SURE TO KEEP BOTH THE WP3 AND THE WMV FILES!