Preparing for the iMovie editing class:
Having your materials prepared in advance will make the production process much smoother. Here is a guideline for what to prepare prior to coming to class.

Create a script or a storyboard for your iRoom story
A" script" is a written description of your project and a" storyboard" is a visual roadmap for your project. Scripts and storyboards will help you and the people working with you understand what your story is about and how you have decided to tell it. To make your storyboard, write a list of the scenes you will show, along with the script or narration to go with them.

Example:

Scene 1: Wide shot (establishing shot) of my bedroom. We see the bed a desk and many photographs pinned on the wall.
Narration: "Welcome to my Room!"

Scene 2: A shot panning many photographs pinned on the wall. We see pictures of people, smiling, making funny faces, playing sports, etc.
Narration: "I've been taking pictures since I was seven years old. I take them of almost everyone and everything I see and I put my favorites up on my wall. "

Scene 3: A close-up shot of a photograph of my best friend Sam, he is standing on a skateboard at the skateboard park.
Narration: "This is a picture of my friend Sam, we've known each other since we were kids!"

Scene 4: On-camera interview with my friend Sam. (Sam is talking about me always taking pictures and how he likes to visit my room to check-out the new photos, but his favorites are always of him!)

Scene 5: Me on-camera showing my favorite photograph. (It's of my dog catching a frisbee in mid-air)
Narration: "This is my favorite picture that I took, it's of my dog Max. I always wanted to catch him while he was jumping in mid-air and I finally did!"

Scene 6: Shot of my dog walking into my room, he has a frisbee in his mouth.|
Narration: "I think it's Max's favorite too!"

Scene 7: Video of Max running and catching the frisbee in the back yard.
Narration: "Got it!!!"

The End

Narration:
If you are planning on adding narration (your voice speaking) to your project, write your script and record it on videotape before the class. To record your narration on videotape, either have someone else hold the camera or videotape yourself in the mirror. You can also place the camera on a table or shelf and sit in front of the camera while it is recording. Try to speak slowly and clearly. Do several versions until you hear one you like. We can also help you record your narration in class.

Logging Your Tape:
When you edit your movie you don't always edit the video in the same order you shot it. It is important to know where to find the footage on your videotape. You can do this by reviewing your videotape and making a list of the scenes you wish to use in the order they appear on the tape. This is called "Logging your tape". When you review the videotape you will notice that there are eight numbers that keep changing in the upper right corner of your viewing screen. These numbers are called "timecode" because they tell you the time of each scene in hours, minutes and seconds and frames. Each second of video has 30 frames.

01:12:23:00 means 1 hour 12 minutes and 23 seconds and 0 frames

Writing down the timecode number of the start of each new scene you wish to include in your story will save a lot of time in the editing process by helping to quickly locate the scenes you wish to transfer into iMovie. The most important numbers are the minutes and seconds. You do not need to write down the hours or frames. Bring the log of scenes with you to class.

Example:
xxx
Order of videotape footage for Jason

1. xxx12:23 xxxMax my dog walking into my room with frisbee
2. xxx14:15 xxxMy dog playing frisbee
3. xxx01:02 xxxEstablishing video of my room
4. xxx10:12 xxxClose-up of photograph of Sam
5. xxx02:00 xxxMy wall of photographs
6. xxx03:20 xxxMe on camera showing my favorite photographs
7. xxx12:23 xxxMe narrating my script
8. xxx12:23 xxxMe narrating my script again–I like this one!
9. xxx08:00xxx Interview with my friend Sam

Choose a favorite CD audio track and bring that to the iMovie editing class. You can use it to score your story.

Camera tips for the Canon Ultura:

Closeups: The camera is great for closeups. Set the camera lens to wide angle and try moving the camera very close to the thing you are videotaping. You can get as close as two inches, which means you can get a picture of your petÕs nose and whiskers or a tiny toy.

Mirroring: You can flip your camera viewing screen completely over so that you can point the camera at yourself and actually see your face. This is a called "mirroring" and is great for doing narration and making weird faces. You will need to turn mirroring on by using the camera menu.