[NIFL-TECHNOLOGY:2622] public service announcement video on the web

From: Phil Shapiro (pshapiro@his.com)
Date: Mon Sep 16 2002 - 18:50:41 EDT


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From: Phil Shapiro <pshapiro@his.com>
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Subject: [NIFL-TECHNOLOGY:2622] public service announcement video on the web
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hi everyone -

     last week i taught a free "video basics" training for literacy 
organizations in the washington dc area. as part of the training we 
shot, edited and uploaded a public service announcement for one of 
the organizations -- "hope manna."   "hope" stands for "helping 
others prosper economically."

      during the training there was lots of giggling, a sure 
indication that learning was taking place.

       we uploaded the video to apple's new .mac service (formerly 
"itools,"), which provides an attractive "red stage curtain" to 
surround quicktime movies on the web.  for those who might be 
interested, the video can be viewed at 
http://homepage.mac.com/pshapiro101/iMovieTheater2.html

       you will need quicktime 6 (or an mepg-4 browser plug-in) to 
view this file.  quicktime 6 is a free download from 
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/

        the duration of the public service announcement is 4-minutes. 
the file size is 3.7 megabytes. the pixel size of this movie is 240 x 
180 pixels.  the "quality" of this mpeg-4 is medium (rather than 
"high" or "best quality" -- which yields much larger file sizes.) 
this video is small enough in file size that you can watch it with a 
dial-up internet connection.

        this quicktime movie is best viewed using netscape or mozilla. 
http://www.mozilla.org
internet explorer can display the video, but you need to wait until 
the video is completely transferred to start watching it.

          for those who might not know, apple's new .mac service 
(pronounced: "dot mac") costs $100/year and gives 100 megabytes of 
web space. this would allow you to upload more than 1.5 hours worth 
of mpeg-4 video of the quality in the public service announcement 
above.

          i signed up for .mac myself.  to me it provides a lot of 
value for the money.  i'm hearing from others on the internet that 
they don't quite see the value.  decide for yourself.  it is indeed a 
close call.

         if you have an existing itools account (set up in the past 
1.5 years), you can upgrade to .mac for $50 for the first year, if 
you do so before the end of september, 2002.  ($100/year thereafter.)

           want to see a larger pixel size of the same public service 
announcement video?  i've uploaded one to 
http://storymakers.net/hopemanna1b.mov      the pixel size is 360 x 
270 pixels.
the file size is 6.7 megabyes.  the quality of the movie is 62 
percent (on the quality slider scale).

       helpful hint:  i've found that when you adjust the quality 
slider in making an mpeg-4 quicktime, sometimes the slider wants to 
jump all the way from "medium" to "high" quality, without letting you 
choose an intermediate value.  an effective technique i've discovered 
is to say sternly, "don't you dare!" when moving the slider. (do this 
while raising your eyebrows slighly menacingly.)   if you say this in 
the right tone of voice, the slider moves more compliantly, letting 
you choose intermediate values. 62 percent is my favorite 
intermediate value.

                 - phil shapiro
                   arlington, virginia






-- 
Phil Shapiro  pshapiro@his.com
http://www.his.com/pshapiro/ (personal)
http://www.mp3.com/philshapiro/ (guitar fingerpicking)
http://storymakers.net (multimedia explorations)



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