Editing Lesson Blog

During today’s class we learned about the equipment we would be using to film our blog and how to edit the footage. First of all, there are some simple procedures that we have to do to check out a camera. Every time you check out a camera you must fill out an agreement form and give this to the teacher. This form would have your checkout time, the expected return time, the number of the camera, and your groups phone numbers. From there, the teacher will give you a camera and you must put your agreement in the classes folder. The camera must be returned the next class day. Other things we learned we would need to checkout include the SD card reader and the tripod. Additionally, every time you leave the classroom to film you must have a media studies pass and your ID. Now that we have completed all of these procedures we are now able to film and use the equipment.

The next thing we learned this class period was how to operate the equipment. The camera is fairly straight forward and is started by opening the flap on the side. If the camera does not start by opening the flap, the camera is likely out of battery. The flap has a touch screen LCD panel and can be flipped to show you what you are recording now matter how you film. Another important part of the camera is where the SD card is located. The SD card is a form of portable storage usually used in digital cameras such as the one we are using. Where the SD card goes is located on the end of the camera when the flap is open. The SD is put into the reader by gently pushing on it with the Sony logo facing towards yourself. Likewise, the SD card is ejected by gently pushing on it. Another important part of the camera, is how you record your footage. Recording begins when you push the silver button on top of the camera and paused every time you click the button again. This is known as a take. The last piece of equipment we learned to use was the tripod. The tripod’s height  can be adjusted by opening the legs, however, when carrying the tripod it must be kept in the smallest form factor. There is also a crane feature on the tripod that can adjust the height even more. To attach the camera to the tripod, you have to remove the base and then screw it onto the camera. This is then reattached to the tripod. Other things you can do with the tripod include panning and tilting by turning knobs on the tripod.

The last thing we learned this class period was how to dump, import, and export our footage. First, is taking the footage from the camera to computer, also know as dumping. What you have to do is take out the SD card, put it into the SD reader, and plug this into the USB port on your computer. Form there you will open the DCIM folder and find the folder with your time and date of filming. This is moved to the folder you created on your desktop. The SD card read and the SD card can then be returned to the teacher. To import the footage you have to launch Pinnacle Studios. The. You click import, open the folder on your desktop, and click start import. This will take some time, and make sure to import all your footage because you never know what you might need. To edit the footage place the takes you want to use on AV track 2. On there you can detach audio, add transitions, or adjust contrast. When you are satisfied, you click export. You want to make sure it is saved in .mpeg form and the best quality, then click start export. Before shutting down Pinnacle Studios make sure your film is saved to the location where you wanted it.