We learned quite a bit this week with the OzGREEN crew. We also made some awesome videos,  an OzGREEN/CuriousWorks Digital Media group on All Around You.net and a few blog posts with pix of our work. Here’s a quick recap of all the things we learned, broken into nice bitesized chunks.

Top 4 Things We Learned in the Past Two Days

• we had to reshoot our videos because the sound quality was bad
• we had good video because we had great lighting
• you can always use photos to overlay on spoken word
• you can even record yourself as you’re traveling about the conference, town and community

Techniques For Editing

• process of using the same questions and then edit all the answers together
• interviewee repeats question and then edits out the interviewer
• use of titles to show what the question is
• when editing, listen out for sections that relate to what you want to communicate

Tips for Using Photos in Interviews/Movies

• good to add in photos to give context to interviewee/place
• you can sometimes download photos of people – just be sure you let them know you are

Tips for Filming

• pay attention to the background of where you’re interviewing someone
• it’s good to have trees all around you:)
• variety of camera angles can keep attention when interviewing people/places

Tips for the Interviewing Process

• when interviewing/prepare what you want to say ahead of time
• if you have a particular focus, listen out for sections of the interview that relate to that point
  • for instance, if you’re interviewing about leadership, listen out for things that your subject says about leadership
  • if you’re interviewing about the environment, listen out for things that your subject says about the environment
• if you’re only using the mic on your camera to record sound, be sure to keep the camera relatively close to your subject
• dissolves can help to play with the sense of time in the video
• use the description of the video or the comments to give more info about the project – website to go to,
• photos can be used to represent the theme of the video
• you can use titles to clarify things in the video
• if you make a mistake, sometimes you can turn it around by some clever editing techniques;)
• it’s good to have natural light on people’s faces – medium close ups are good to use
• if you don’t have a tripod, look for things that can be used as a stable surface to place your cameras on

Tips for Using Sound/Music

• when adding music, try and make it instrumental – that way the singing doesn’t interfere with anyone speaking
• as soon as you’re at a venue where you want to record people, be sure you find a nice, quiet spot to record – watch out for air conditioners!
• if you’re interviewing people with differing heights, adjust the level of the camera to be on their level

Tips for Using AllAroundYou.net

• allaroundyou.net can be used to host your media – you can then embed your videos into other sites – you can even share links!
• it’s also how you can connect with Morgan and Shakthi (and anyone else you met and connected with at the workshop!)
• here’s a few tips on using it: http://toolkit.allaroundyou.com.au/tag/aay/

Tips for Using Facebook

• from the awesome Beth Kanter
  • So you want a Facebook Fan Page for Your Nonprofit? Here’s the Scoop!
  • Frank Barry, Guest Post: 4 Facebook Tips for Nonprofit Success – See What Others are Doing
  • A Guide to Facebook Activism
• from Mashable:
  • Facebook Pages vs Facebook Groups: What’s the Difference?

Tips for Using Windows Movie Maker

• 63 Video Tutorials For Rocking Windows Movie Maker (via Atomic Learning)