Three Steps to Video Production
From SPARK
Brief Summary
Training Peruvians to produce various media products using a three-step plan.
The training of people to do video well involves three steps; 1-mastering audio with the help of Audacity, 2-creating videos with still images, audio and dubbing existing videos with a new language track, and 3-creating scripts and storyboards with a video camera. Step one is foundational because if they don’t continue after this step they can still produce many different kinds of audio programs that will be beneficial. Grace and patience are critical in helping the trainees produce programs that address the core issues of their culture in a way they are uniquely able to do.
Introduction
Here in Cusco, Peru, there is a great interest among many groups to produce videos in Quechua. Most people want to address social issues, using video as the medium. However, in order to do video well, the person needs to acquire some skills in the area of audio and photography.
For this reason, when I agree to train someone I explain to them the three step process, which I will detail below. If they aren’t willing to go though this progression, I wish them well and send them on their way.
What is the three-step process? It involves audio first, then adding still images and giving them motion (video dubbing also is introduced in the second step), and then moving to editing full-motion video.
What was done
I start the trainee out with audio for a few reasons. Audio is the most important part of a video. It is the means by which we transmit the most important information. It is the key factor in whether the viewer continues watching the video or turns off the TV. For example, if I am watching the World Cup and the picture is a bit fuzzy but the audio is clear, I will continue watching the game. But if the picture is perfect and the audio is pure static, I will most likely turn off the TV in frustration. The bottom line is that we don’t like to listen to bad audio, while we tend to put up with a bad picture. Also, if the trainee never moves to the second or third steps, they still have gained a skill that will allow them to produce a variety of programs, limited only by their imagination.
When I first explain this process to the person asking to be trained, I explain that audio is the foundation of video, and that mastering audio is vital to good video production. Then I explain that if they choose to quit the training after covering just audio, they will still be able to produce radio programs, testimony cassettes, cassettes of musical groups, cultural programs, youth programs, dramatizations, radio “soap operas”, teaching cassettes, tapes to accompany children’s books, and the list goes on. When they see the wide variety of things to produce just in audio, they are usually amazed and ready to get started.
From there, I take them through the computer audio recording and editing exercises using Audacity. Learning to use Audacity not only gives them the ability to create audio programs, but it gets them used to the copying, cutting, pasting, and manipulating of files that they will do so often when they are editing videos. They also learn how to avoid recording at levels that introduce distortion, and how to adjust audio levels in a multi-track environment.
Once they have demonstrated a good understanding of recording and editing audio, I move them up to the second step. The second step teaches them two skills: creating videos with still images and audio and dubbing existing videos with a new language track.
I begin by showing some examples of videos I have made by either taking digital photos or scanning pictures and adding motion (the “Ken Burns effect”) and a narration track with sound effects. Then I teach how to frame a picture and how to put the subject in the “interesting” zones. From that point on, I begin using Sony’s Vegas Movie Studio 4.0 (aka. Sound Forge Videofactory 1.0 / 2.0 and Sony Screenblast Movie Studio 3.0). While there are a multitude of other programs that are similar, I have found that since Movie Studio was originally written by programmers who specialized in writing programs for audio editing, the interface is more friendly to those who learned audio editing first. Plus, Movie Studio 4.0 allows you to go directly from rendering your video to creating a DVD of your movie.
Depending on the student, we either scan a book that they want to make into a video, or we recruit some “actors” who act out a story while we take digital photos of them. Once we have our digitized images, we bring them into Movie Studio, add narration, sound effects, and music, and create motion within the images. I usually demonstrate how to use the different tools in Movie Studio first, and then turn them loose with their narration and images to create their program. I let them struggle with the program in order to learn it better. Mind you, we are at a distinct disadvantage here since the trade language is Spanish and 70% of the programs are only available in English.
When they have completed their first program, we then move to the skill of video dubbing. After capturing a portion of a video they would like to dub (assuming that they have already translated it into the target language), I demonstrate how to create audio envelopes where the narration is to be replaced, lower the volume, and insert the target language into the envelope. I feel free to teach this, as the Luke, Genesis and Jesus videos have already been dubbed with Cusco Quechua.
Once the trainee completes the second step, we then begin creating scripts and storyboards, and using a video camera. This part is currently theoretical, since none of the groups I am working with have reached this step. My plan is to discuss how stories are told in their culture, storyboard the video they want to create using the cultural model, create the script, and plan the video shoot. I also will cover in detail the role of the director, who will be key to making the video become reality. Once the video is shot, it is just a matter of assembling the scenes into a video, re-dubbing any or all of the dialogue, adding sound effects, music, and titles, and outputting the final product to VHS or DVD.
This three-step plan is not something that is accomplished in a two-week period. It is something that requires flexibility, patience, and a lot of visits to those who are in the process. Currently in Cusco, I am working with four different groups who are in various stages of the first or second step. I’ve found that it’s best to give an overview first, teach all of the functions of the program in a two-day workshop, and then let the trainee struggle for a few weeks with the programs. The second visit is very crucial, because the trainee now wants to use some of the advanced functions of the program, but can’t remember how they were done. It also gives me the opportunity to see what they have created so far and offer constructive criticism and help them polish their skills more.
The key to this training is grace and patience. The things the trainees will produce at first will most likely not be something you would want to show to a wide audience. In my case, however, most of the people who will see these productions do not have the same quality expectations that we do. They will absolutely love the programs, because they are created by someone who understands what is important to their culture! It is important to keep challenging the trainee to continue improving the quality of their programs and offering constructive criticism, all the while praising what they have done.
Results
The most exciting thing about training people in the three-step process is that they will be able to produce programs that address the core issues of their culture in a way that we never could. And even if they never get past the first step, they will still be able to create programs that will have an impact on their people and culture.
