Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Beginners' Guide for Creating an Audio Visual Presentation

image source: Technology Personalized
When I was asked to host a video editing seminar, I said yes; I don’t have any idea on what to say yet but  I took it as a challenge.  Another reason is the fact that I am an alumnus of the organization that invited me: The UPLB Grange Association; as a former Publicity Committee Head (PubCom Head), I’m just returning the favor for helping me develop my video editing skills.

When I was the current PubCom Head, I’m already planning on having this sort of seminar. The problem with my idea is that I only focused on the new PubCom members. It is not even arranged formally so I only told my members to watch and learn from the tutorials in the internet.  After that, I gave them tasks and it turned out fine.


Now, It’s different.  I can’t just tell them to watch tutorials from the internet so I did some research about what is a good Audio Visual Presentation (AVP).  I also tried to remember my experiences on making a presentation: what are my good and bad habits. As another challenge, I decided to impress them just by using Windows Movie Maker. I’m not saying it’s a bad tool but I think most video editors will agree that it has a lot of limitations. With this fact, I want them to feel that a mere tool should not limit their creativity.

Here’s what I think is a good read for creating an AVP: 3 Tips for Executing a Flawless Audiovisual Presentation.  Basically, it’s a summary of what I want to say and it’s also what I usually do so I decided to tackle each tip and share my experiences relating to each guide.


Creating a Mega Plan


Kris Simmons, the author from the link I shared, suggests we create a detailed outline of the presentation.  We should be sure about the texts, images, transitions, and animations in our AVP.  We should not forget any person who takes part on the realization of the presentation.

As for me, I do not have an outline but I do have a list of the names to be included in the AVP.  I also have a list of the texts that should appear in the presentation.  For the images and sounds, I just keep them in a file folder together with the project files.  Everything else like animations and transitions, are just in my head.  As for the schedule, I just think of the deadline.

I see no problem with my method except for my scheduling.  I always tend to underestimate rendering.  I only foresee the completion of the project up until the finalization of the plot, animations and transitions; almost no more time left to render the whole presentation.  Now that I’m aware of it, I’m thinking of setting other deadlines for prototypes or parts of the presentation.  For a 5 minute presentation, I think a 2-day rendering should be enough.  This 2-day allotment should be distributed not only with the individual deadlines set for each prototypes but with the entire work schedule.


Pick the Right Equipment for the Job


As the heading states, we should choose the tools for our AVP depending on what we want to put in it and how we want to present it.  There’s a lot of cool video editing software with 3D effects and animations but most of them are expensive and their system requirements are high.

Luckily for students and independent editors, there are free alternative software.  Though they’re not as powerful, I believe the gap between the capabilities of paid and free versions is not that great. We can also think of ways to work around certain problems with effects, animations and transitions.

Now for high system requirements, we can just use the low end software and let our imagination fly.  For Windows Movie Maker, we can play with different combinations of effects, animations, and transitions but keep in mind that too much variety on transition makes the presentation seem unprofessional.  It’s more of a personal opinion but I think some of you will agree.  Another thing with Windows Movie Maker, there are tutorials about editing an xml file to create your own animations; you may want to dwell on that.

While your at it, you can start investing for hardware upgrade that meets the requirements of high end software.  Aside from additional effects and animations, new hardware and software will enable you to publish high definition (HD) presentations.  You can also work faster compared to your old tools.

Editing for Post-Event Distribution


"Keep your presentation logical" – Kris Simmons.  We should be mindful of our AVP.  Aside from Kris Simmons’ suggestions, I watch my rendered presentation repeatedly and think of what can I improve or see if I missed something.  The good thing with rendered video is; you can spot an offbeat transition or animation.  After that, you can correct or improve your presentation.  Render, view and revise until you are satisfied with your work.  This is why rendering should not be taken for granted; I learned that the hard way.

Making an audio visual presentation is tedious but rewarding; especially if the audience are in awe upon watching your creation.  Just remember, a mere tool should not limit our imagination!

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Continue to part 2.

1 comment :

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