Communication and Multimedia - Creating an Animoto Account

In preparation for the next assignment on Camera Techniques, you will create an account in an online video maker called Animoto. 

Set up your own account in Animoto. You can use your existing Google Account to sign up. Select the "start trial" option when you create your account.

NOTE: You can click here to check out a video on how Animoto works as well as step by step instructions on making an Animoto video. This link will come in handy when you do the next assignment

Once you have completed the steps above, you can go on to the next assignment on Camera Techniques. You will be using Animoto in the Camera Techniques assignment. 

Student Tracking Progress Form: If you did not get a Student Tracking Progress Form for this unit from the teacher, you can access and make a copy of one to your own Google Drive, by clicking here.
It is a great way to remember where you left off each day and to make sure you do not forget to complete any of the assignments.

Note: Some of the material used throughout the unit is from New Brunswick's Broad Based Technology 10 website.

Exploring Camera Techniques

You will be taking your own photos where you will explore some camera techniques. In preparation for  taking your own photos, look over the videos/links below on camera shots and techniques.

In Google Drive (using Google Docs) create a document and write a few lines for each video describing how or why each camera technique is important or how/when you could use it. Make sure to share the assignment with your teacher (allancarterspace@gmail.com).

Consider these sentence starters for your summary:

• I think this camera technique is important because...
• Two things I learned...
• The part I liked best...
• What was confusing...
• I'd like to know more about...

The five techniques discussed in the following videos are:

• Rule of Thirds
• Fill the Frame 
• Framing
• Point of View
• Level Horizon

Camera Techniques Assignment

• Now that you have looked at five camera techniques, it is time for you to take your own photos
• Your mission is to take five photos that show each of the five techniques above. 
• So, you will take a photo that shows how Rule of Thirds works, another photo to show Point of View, etc. 
• You can get a camera from your teacher and also a guide for the five techniques 
• Make sure to take good quality photos that are solid examples of the techniques 
• Once you have your photos, you will upload them to your Animoto account 
• Then you will create a slideshow of the five photos and make sure to label them for each technique 
• Then you will share a link to the Animoto video you created with your teacher using a Google Document in Google Drive (Share to: allancarterspace@gmail.com)
• Remember, you can click here to learn more about using Animoto

Rubric

• Each photo has a label/title explaining which camera technique it represents.          
• There are five photos and each is a good representation of the technique explored.
• The video is informative with high quality photos.
• There are no spelling or grammatical errors.
• Overall there is evidence of strong effort and careful consideration.          

Each statement is worth 4 for a total of 20 points.

Freak of Nature (Editing Exercise #1)

For this the next five exercises, you will be focusing on photo editing and manipulation. You will first become familiar with using PixlrE (online photo editing software). You can click here to go to the online app. NOTE: There is more than one Pixlr App, so make sure you are using PixlrE NOT PixlrX.

Tutorial Videos: Click here to see a number of short tutorial videos on PixlrX. These videos might come in handy whenever you need a refresher on how the online app works. 

Before the War Restore (Editing Exercise #2)

• Download one of the two pictures that are in very rough shape and use PixlrE to fully restore them to their war time glory. 
• Imagine if you were doing this for a family. To these people and their loved ones this gift is priceless and this kind of work can become a full time career opportunity for you or a good part-time job to have on the side. 
• Hint: Zoom in and continuously select new areas to paint for the best results.
• Consider repairs or even replacement of the backgrounds in photos to give a modern feel to a very old image.
• Save your final image and import into a Google Document or Google Draw on Google Drive. Include the following:
  • Explain why you selected the photo you did (out of the two choices)
  • What part was most challenging, what part was the easiest?
  • Have you ever retouched/restored a photo before? If so, explain why. 
  • Would you ever want to retouch and restore photos as a job or part of a job? Why or why not?
• Make sure to share the photo and the summary with your teacher (allancarterspace@gmail.com). Title it "Before the War Restore" (and include your name). 

ANOTHER OPTION: Is there an old photo that someone has in your family that is a keepsake, but is in bad shape? If so, you can use that photo for this assignment. The photo can be scanned in class or you can take a good quality picture of it. If this is a possible option, talk to your teacher.

Be True to Your School or Design the Ride (Editing Exercise #3)

 OPTION #1 - Be True to Your School 

• Use PixlrE to create a design on the team bus so it can be a new vehicle for the school (see photo below). 
• Design it proudly and realistically. 
• Consider adding a school mascot theme, local area landmarks theme, or even just a wild and creative design theme (see some school logos below that you can use).
• If you use other photos to detail the bus, make sure to use copyright friendly or free photo and source where you got the photo from. the original website where the image is from (not Google). 

OPTION #2 - Design the Ride

• Use PixlrE to design your own vehicle or a vehicle of your choice (try to use copyright friendly or free photos and make sure to source the website).
• Make sure to also source the design features you put on your vehicle 

Toon Town Photo Bomb (Editing Exercise #4)

• For your fourth photo editing assignment, you will continue to use PixlrE.
• You will have an opportunity to realistically combine cartoons and people together in an image.
• You may have to adjust the brightness to pull off the realism you are looking for.
• Start by downloading some specific toon pictures and then some images of the real live people you want to combine with the toons. 
• The scene can be in real life or cartoon life but whoever goes into the other world should look as real as possible.
• In your reflection, make sure to include links to the websites where you downloaded the images you use. 
• If necessary, see the video tutorial below as well as an example. 
• Complete the assignment. Save your final image and import it into a Google Document or Google Draw on Google Drive. Make sure to share the photo and the summary with your teacher (allancarterspace@gmail.com). 
• Title the document "Toon Town Photo Bomb" and include your name in the title. Include a brief summary explaining the following:
• What scene did you pick? Why did you pick this scene?
• Who did you place in the scene? Explain your choice. 
• As the assignment mentions, the work you did is similar to the kind of work sometimes done when making films. Have you ever considered a career in the film or documentary industry? Explain why or why not. 
• Do not forget to provide links to the websites of any images you used. 

Click here to see the rubric that will be used for assessing your work during this part of the unit.

Hint: If the cartoon you are using is black and white you may want to adjust the real life picture to black and white first before combining the two images. The skills are the same set as those used in challenge #1. See if you can recall these without the help of a video tutorial here. 

Monster Mash (Editing Exercise #5)

• For your fourth photo editing assignment, you will continue to use PixlrE.
• You will search the internet for an image of "thrift store art." Or use one of the ones provided below. 
• With your chosen art, you will insert a monster. Make it look as realistic as possible. For example, the correct size of the monster in relation to the scene. 
• Remember, a monster can look like anything so ART ABILITY is not being tested here. 
• Just "paint" right over what is there and watch the background fade away and your MONSTER come to life.
• Complete the assignment. Save your final image and import into a Google Document or Google Draw on Google Drive. Make sure to share the photo and the summary with your teacher (allancarterspace@gmail.com). 
• Title the document "Monster Mash" and include your name in the title. Include a brief summary explaining the following:

1. Explain your art painting choice.
2. Discuss your monster. What inspired you in the creation of your monster?
3. What was the easiest part of this assignment? What was the hardest?

Click here to see the rubric that will be used for assessing your work during this part of the unit.

Final Challenge

To finish this unit you will create a series of photos that you will take (or have taken) and then edit them using the skills you learned over the past weeks. Remember to consider the camera techniques you explored at the beginning of this unit.

This assignment can be done with one other student partner or on your own. you will continue to use PixlrE.

Your series needs to have at least five photos that you have captured. You need to decide what you will "add" to these photos to make a series that has a recurring theme. Some possible ideas:

• Realistically bring a celebrity to the school
• Create a series of photos highlighting an interest you have 
• Take famous/popular film or television scenes and creatively add them to everyday situations

While, overall, you want the editing of your photo to appear realistic to the viewer, you can still do a series of photos that are humorous in nature.

Your photo series should have a title and you may want to add captions. Add your final edited photos on Google Slides and share it on Google Drive with your teacher (allancarterspace@gmail.com).