As we can see from the rise of YouTube, video is a crucial communications medium for the 21st century. Video documentation, in comparison to text, gives the viewer a more immediate sense of, 'show me, don't tell me.' As you move from your undergraduate experience, out into your career, the ability to make use video as well as writing to express the value of a system, the experience it gives users, and the technology that underlies it, will will translate into leadership. In order to understand what makes a good video, we will explore techniques from the art of cinema, in conjunction with the technology of video-making and distribution.

Develop a documentary video about your project. The focus should be on the research contribution. What does your interactive system do? What can we learn from your experience? How do users experience the system? What design principles, which can be generalized, have you discovered? Address interaction design and software design. How has your design process evolved? What key decisions have you made? What has motivated them? What are the "implications for design" by others?

The key to the video is its narrative. Use footage to tell the story of the your project's contribution. Combine screen shots (using Camtasia & iShowU) with live footage, as is appropriate for your particular project. Use cinematic storytelling techniques, such as contrast, parallelism, and reiteration. The final video should be 3 - 4 minutes long. Note, the short length makes the task harder. You must focus your presentation!

The first deliverable is a shot list and storyboard (also here). Plan the set of footage assets you will draw from. Acquire a bunch of them, to ground your plan. Consider transitions. Print out or sketch keyframe representations. Assemble them into a storyboard, which shows key footage segments ("scenes") that you will draw from, and the kinds of techniques (e.g., montage, dissoves, split screen, intercutting, smash cut) that you will use to assemble them. Also articulate what you will do with voice and any other sound during, and across the segments.

For the screening, produce an edited work. Assemble shots and scenes using Final Cut Pro. Use Soundtrack Pro and or ProTools to overdub narration. Generate titles either from within Final Cut or using the adjunct Motion application. Use a codec like H.264 to create a streamable compressed version of your video.

The goals of this assignment are:

Develop and utlize a filmic vocabulary for cinematic and documentary storytelling.

Develop video composition skills.

Develop video editing skills.

Develop sound acquisition / editing skills.

Learn to convey ideas about interaction/system design using the medium of video.

Use the medium of video to communicate the research contributions of your interactive system.

Before your presentation, post your video on YouTube. Send the link to your instructors, by email. Post it in the class Piazza.

Readings

Final Cut Pro Book (available on campus or VPN) Available on electronic reserve:

1. Murch, Walter, In the blink of an eye : a perspective on film editing.
   • p1-22
   • p32-42
   • p57-69
2. Van Sijll, Jennifer, Cinematic storytelling : the 100 most powerful film conventions every filmmaker must know.
   • x - xii Introduction
   • 45-66 Editing
   • 109-132 Scene Transitions
3. Artis, Anthony, The Shut Up and Shoot Documentary Guide.
   • 69-92 Image Control and Camerawork
   • 83-122 Lighting
   • 123-152 Sound
   • 115-181 Composition and Coverage
4. Archer, Steven, Pincus, Edward, The filmmaker's handbook : a comprehensive guide for the digital age.
   • Chapter 9, The Shoot
   • Chapter 13, Picture Dialogue and Editing