Using DVD Clips in Movie Maker

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Andy Rush

Use Clips Recorded with VLC in Movie Maker from umwnewmedia on Vimeo.

Ingredients

1 – Computer running a Windows operating system (the general procedure will work on a Mac).

1 – The HandBrake program.

1 – A clip from a DVD (like one that was produced using this procedure).

1 – The Movie Maker program (Windows Live Movie Maker is the latest version)

Directions

  1. Open the HandBrake program.
  2. Choose the video clip from your hard drive by clicking the Source button.
  3. Navigate to the file that you want to convert and choose Open.
  4. In the Presets area, choose Regular>Normal.
  5. Click the Start button in HandBrake to begin the encoding.
  6. The video will now be in a format that Windows Movie Maker will recognize. The easiest way to import it is to drag the video file to the Browse Photos and Videos area.
  7. You can now use the video file as you would any other in your editing project.
  8. Repeat the process if there are other videos you would like to use.
Posted in Video | Leave a comment

How we post screencasts at Digital Media Cookbook

Posted on June 10, 2010 by Andy Rush

“How we used to post screencasts at Digital Media Cookbook” – So, we need to give this post a new title. Something like “How to post screencasts using Screencast.com”. We are beginning to change over how we implement screencasts here at DMC. We’ll be using the Vimeo Hosting service. I think we’ll be doing an updated screencast and recipe soon.

How we post screencasts at Digital Media Cookbook from umwnewmedia on Vimeo.

Ingredients

1 – A Computer with Internet access.

1 – An account at Screencast.com.

1 – We use the Aspect Ratio Calculator site to scale the screencast video to a smaller size.

1 – A place to publish the HTML code from Screencast.com. We use a site on a WordPress multiuser installation.

Directions

  1. This process assumes that you have created a screencast in Jing, which is a free program to create screencasts. I use the Pro version of Jing to get an MPEG4 version, which I later upload to Blip.tv for the iPhone version.
  2. After the screencast has been completed, you have the option to save your video to several places, one of them being Screencast.com. Clicking on the Screencast.com button starts the upload process within the Jing program. It will notify you when your video has finished uploading.
  3. Once your video is uploaded you can navigate to Screencast.com, login and find your video. If you used Jing, it will be in a Jing folder (you can also use Camtasia Studio with Screencast.com)
  4. Click on the Jing folder and find the thumbnail icon for your screencast. Click on the Share button next to the thumbnail icon.
  5. In the Share Content window, look for the Embed on your page: area and click in the field with the “embed code”. Copy this, by selecting Edit>Copy from your browser menu, or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-c (PC) or Command-c (Mac).
  6. Now we create a new post in our WordPress blog. In the HTML editor (don’t use the Visual Editor to paste the code) we paste the code by choosing Edit>Paste from your browser menu, or by pressing CTRL-c or Command-c
  7. Next, we need to make some modifications to the code to fit it in the blog post. Depending on what size video you recorded, you will probably need to scale the video down in size to fit it in the blog post. There may be some trial and error here but you need to find the right pixel dimensions for the video. In our example we have a 1280×720 video. We scale it to 560×315. Different WordPress blogs have different spaces for posts. Starting with a 450 pixel wide setting should be good and you can adjust later.
  8. Depending on the aspect ratio of your video, the size that you scale your video to may vary. Let’s say we start with 1280×720, and we want to scale to a width of 450 pixels. Use the Aspect Ratio Calculator site to determine what the ratio should be. If the width needs to be 450 then the height needs to be 253 to maintain the 16:9 ratio.
  9. Now you need to change all of the occurrences of the 1280 width to 450 (there will be 3 of them), and all of the 720 height to 253. UPDATE – HTML5 code has no been added to the embed code for the screencasts. Whereas there used to be 4 places to update the dimensions, there are now 3.
  10. Make sure to give your post a title and then publish the page. You should now be able to view the page and watch the screencast from within the blog.
Posted in WordPress | Leave a comment

Overview

Posted on June 8, 2010 by Andy Rush

Digital Media Cookbook Site Tour from umwnewmedia on Vimeo.

Here is a video screencast overview of what the Digital Media Cookbook web site is and where to find a few things. Again, it is a companion to the UMW New Media Center site that has numerous articles on a wide range of new media topics. The DMC site is the place to go for getting instructions, and instructional videos, on how to preform various technology tasks. The site offers recipes for managing, creating, and producing digital media. We hope you enjoy the site and find it helpful. We would appreciate any feedback regarding the site and the videos.

Posted in General | Leave a comment

Recording Segments from a DVD

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Andy Rush

Record clips in VLC from umwnewmedia on Vimeo.

Ingredients

1 – A Computer with a DVD-ROM drive running a Windows operating system.

1 – The VLC Program* (unfortunately this feature is only available in the Windows version of VLC).

1 – A DVD (most DVDs will work including commercial ones, but be aware of copyright issues).

Directions

  1. Insert into the computer the DVD that has the video segment you wish to use.
  2. If you have a default DVD player program installed on your computer, close that software. Open the VLC program.
  3. In VLC choose Media>Open Disc…
  4. For Disc Selection choose “DVD” (you may need to click the Browse button and select the disc).
  5. The disc should begin playing (you may need to choose “Play” or something similar from a disc menu). If you haven’t already, select View>Advanced Controls to make the Record button available.
  6. Navigate to the start of the segment you want to record. While the DVD is playing press the Record button. Press it again at the end point of the segment you want.
  7. Repeat the process if there is more than one segment that you would like.
  8. Recordings will be located in the My Documents (or Documents in Vista and Windows 7) folder and the file names will begin with “vlc-record…”
  9. These MPEG2 files are now available to convert/edit into the appropriate format.

* – I have discovered that VLC for the Mac CAN record segments from a DVD. It is a “hidden” feature, but can be accessed by using the keyboard shortcut “Shift-Command-r”. Press the shortcut once to start a recording, press it again to stop the recording. Files are saved to the “Movies” folder.

Posted in Video | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Integrating Picasa and Flickr with Picasa2Flickr

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Andy Rush

Integrating Picasa and Flickr with Picasa2Flickr from umwnewmedia on Vimeo.

Ingredients

1 – A Computer with Internet Access

1 – A Flickr Account.

1 – The Picasa program.

1 – The Flickr Uploader tool.

1 – The Picasa2Flickr plugin for Picasa.

Directions

  1. These directions will assume you have a Flickr account as well as the Picasa and Flickr Uploader tool already installed.
  2. Visit the Picasa2Flickr page and click on the link labeled picasa2flickr button. The latest update is 20 January 2009.
  3. If Picasa is not currently running, a small window should appear asking which application to launch. Choose Picasa and click OK.
  4. When Picasa is running you should see a question “Launch Picasa and import buttons?” – Choose Yes.
  5. You should now see the Configure Buttons window with a “Send To flickr” button under the Available Buttons.
  6. Click Add>> to move it to the Current Buttons listing, and then click OK.
  7. Now you can select a photo in Picasa and click the “Send To flickr” button in the bottom of the Picasa window.
  8. Before you can upload photos to Flickr, you will need to Authorize the Flickr Uploader program. If you have already done this, you will see an Upload button. Fill in the fields provided and you can upload your photo or photos.
  9. If you have not authorized the Flickr Uploader program, you will see a Sign In button. Click Sign In and a Flickr page will open in your web browser asking you to sign in, or if you are already signed in to Flickr, present you with the authorization page. Click Next in the box with the text “If you arrived at this page because you specifically asked Flickr Uploadr to connect to your Flickr account, click here:”
  10. On the next page you will see “Flickr Uploadr wants to link to your Flickr account.” Choose “OK, I’ll authorize it”
  11. Return to the Flickr Uploader program and click the Ready button. Now you can proceed with uploading photos.
Posted in imaging | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Using the Flickr Album Plugin

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Andy Rush

Using the Flickr Album Plugin for WordPress from umwnewmedia on Vimeo.

Ingredients

1 – A Computer with Internet Access

1 – A WordPress blog hosted on a web server (this example uses a WordPress MultiUser installation).

1 – The Flickr Album plugin installed on the WordPress blog

Directions

  1. These directions will assume you have a working WordPress installation with the Flickr Album Plugin already installed.
  2. Login to the Dashboard for your WordPress site.
  3. Click on the Plugins link on the left-hand menu.
  4. Locate the Flickr Album Plugin in the list of plugins. Click the Activate link.
  5. You should see a link to go configure the plugin.
  6. To use the Flickr Album Plugin, you need to have what is known as a Flickr API key. Follow the links to apply for one.
  7. Once you have obtained your Flickr API key (and Shared secret key), enter them into the appropriate fields and click the Next button.
  8. On the next page there are two steps. Step 1 is to click the button to Retrieve Flickr Permissions. This tells Flickr that your site will use the API key.
  9. The next step is to apply those permissions. Click the Apply Permissions button.
  10. If all went well you should see the Flickr Settings area where you can choose how you want images and albums to behave on your blog. Below that you should see some of your photos and/or albums appear. Make any changes you wish and click the Save Settings button.
  11. When you start a new blog post, you’ll see a new blue and magenta button above the editing window that allows you to add any Flickr images from your account. Basically you choose an image, select a size (medium works well), and click the button to “Insert Into Post”.
Posted in imaging | Leave a comment

Recording a Skype Call Using GarageBand, SoundFlower, and LineIn

Posted on July 17, 2009 by Andy Rush

Recording a Skype Call Using GarageBand, SoundFlower, and LineIn from umwnewmedia on Vimeo.

Ingredients

1 – A Macintosh Computer connected to the Internet (the Macintosh computer will come with the iLife software, including GarageBand)

1 – The Skype software

1 – The Soundflower software

1 – The LineIn software

Directions

UPDATE! This document has added some clarifications that may help people who were having issues.

  1. Start by going into the System Preferences (Apple Menu>SystemPreferences…) Click on the Sound icon.
  2. On the Sound Input tab, select the input you are recording with. In our case we have a USB headset with a microphone. On the Sound Output tab select “Soundflower (2ch)”
  3. Open the Skype software and choose the Preferences (Skype Menu>Preferences). Click the Audio icon. Choose “Soundflower (2ch)” as both the audio input and audio output.
  4. Open up the Garageband program and choose the Preferences (GarageBand>Preferences). Click the Audio/MIDI icon. Choose the audio output that you wish to hear the GarageBand output from, again, in our example we’re using the USB headset. The Input should be set to SoundFlower (2ch)
  5. Finally open up the LineIn program. In the Input from field select the microphone you are using. Once again, we’re using the USB headset. In the Ouput to field select “Soundflower (2ch)” and then make sure to click the Pass Thru button.
  6. You are now ready to record in GarageBand. Start a new Podcast project. Depending on your version of GarageBand the wording can be different, but in GarageBand ’08, from the File Menu select New and choose Create New Podcast Episode.
  7. Again, using GarageBand ’08, you will be presented with four new tracks. A Podcast Track, a Male Voice track, A Female Voice track and a Jingles track. You will record your microphone and the Skype Call on the Male Voice track. Be sure to turn on the (audio) Monitor in the Track Info area of GarageBand. You may also want to adjust the volume level in Skype for the callers
  8. If you have all of the above settings correctly set, you should see the audio level indicators move when you speak into the microphone AND when people on your Skype call are talking. If that is the case then you just need to click the record button in GarageBand, and then begin your “show”.

Thanks to Ahmad Humeid’s blog post which was the inspiration for this screencast – here is a summation of the settings to make this all work.

GarageBand:
Audio output: Built in Audio
Audio Input: Soundflower (2ch)

Skype:
Audio output: Soundflower (2ch)
Audio input: Soundflower (2ch)

System Preferences/Sound:
Output: Built-in Audio
Input: Audio line in (I am using a Mic)

LineIn Application:
Input from: Built-in Audio: Line In (ie the Mic)
Output to SoundFlower (2ch)

Dont forget to click the ‘Pass Thru’ Button in LineIn.

Posted in Audio, podcasting | 22 Comments

Produce an Instant Podcast from an iPhone

Posted on June 22, 2009 by Andy Rush

Audioboo for Instant Podcasts from umwnewmedia on Vimeo.

Ingredients

1 – An iPhone with access to the Internet (WiFi or 3G)

1 – A WordPress blog hosted on a web server (example uses Bluehost and has “Simple Script” installation script) with FTP access

1 – The FeedWordPress plugin installed on the WordPress blog

1 – The AudioBoo App for the iPhone

1 – An account at AudioBoo.fm

Directions

  1. These directions will assume you have a working WordPress installation with the FeedWordPress plugin already installed, and also the AudioBoo app and site already configured.
  2. Make a recording with your AudioBoo App on the iPhone. Start the app, click the Record icon then Start. Make you recording 5 minutes or less. Hit the Pause button to stop recording and then Publish when you’re ready to upload your file. You’ll need to fill out a few bits of information (a title, some tags, and a photo if you wish).
  3. The file will begin to upload to the audioboo.fm website. Progress is shown on the iPhone.
  4. When the AudioBoo app says it’s done uploading, your audio file should be available almost immediately at the AudioBoo website.
  5. The FeedWordPress plugin is now used to transfer (syndicate) the files at the AudioBoo website to the WordPress blog that you have chosen. You can set the plugin to syndicate the files automatically, or manually.
Posted in Audio, iPhone, podcasting | 2 Comments

Publish blog posts to more than one blog using syndication

Posted on June 22, 2009 by Andy Rush

Publish blog posts to more than one blog using syndication from umwnewmedia on Vimeo.

Ingredients

1 – A Computer with Internet Access

1 – A WordPress blog hosted on a web server (example uses Bluehost and has “Simple Script” installation script).

1 – The FeedWordPress plugin installed on the WordPress blog

Directions

  1. These directions will assume you have a working WordPress installation with the FeedWordPress plugin already installed.
  2. Get the full RSS feed, category feed, or tag feed from another blog/website.
  3. Login to the Dashboard for your WordPress site.
  4. Click on the Syndication link on the left-hand menu (FeedWordPress provides this as part of the installation).
  5. Paste the link to the feed you wish to use in the appropriate field and then click the Syndicate button.
  6. You should get a preview of a post from the feed you are using. If the feed preview works, you can click the button to “Use This Feed”.
  7. The FeedWordPress plugin is now used to transfer (syndicate) the posts from the WordPress blog that you have chosen. You can set the plugin to syndicate the files automatically, or manually.
Posted in WordPress | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Test a new WordPress theme

Posted on June 12, 2009 by Andy Rush

The Theme Test Drive WordPress Plugin from umwnewmedia on Vimeo.

Ingredients

1 – Computer with access to the Internet

1 – A WordPress blog hosted on a web server (example uses Bluehost and has “Simple Script” installation script) with FTP access

1 – The archive of the WordPress theme you want to test

1 – Theme Test Drive WordPress plugin – the plugin installation instructions are available on this site

Directions

  1. These directions will assume you have a working WordPress installation on a server with FTP access. In order to test a new theme you will need to upload it (using FTP) to your wp-content/themes directory
  2. Login to your WordPress dashboard
  3. DO NOT activate the theme – instead go to the Appearance tab (Design tab if you are using WP 2.6 or earlier) and click Theme Test Drive
  4. Note that Theme Test Drive has a theme uploader built in. Under the Usage area, select the theme you want to test from the drop-down menu
  5. Click the Enable Theme Drive button. When the message appears that your theme has been enabled, you may view it by visiting the site. If you want other non-admin users to see the site, have them add ?theme=xxx (where xxx is the name of the theme – it’s case sensitive) to the end of your website URL. They can test out any theme as long as they know the name of the theme
Posted in WordPress | Tagged , , | Leave a comment