I've decided to cancel this assignment for Fall 2005.
-- Dave Sullivan
Producer Project
Most professional careers rely on your ability to present information and
communicate clearly. Watching a video or listening to the radio often has more
impact than reading the written word. Since computers make it easy to record
speech and videos, we want you to gain experience recording video files.
You should begin by playing the videos we
recorded on the Week 5 lecture page.
For this assignment, you will create a video-based tutorial that explains how to perform a computer-related task similar
to those needed to complete class assignments. This assignment requires creative thought: you must organize your thoughts so
your video is easy to follow and understand. Since this is critical to the
success of business professionals, treat this assignment as though it were a
real job project.
You will organize your instructions and demonstrations in five steps.
- First, select and research a specific computer skill or activity.
- Second, create a set of Microsoft PowerPoint slides that introduce
yourself and your topic, outline step-by-step instructions on how to do the
task, and conclude your presentation with a summary of what you covered in the
video.
- Third, find a computer with Microsoft Producer, video camera, and a
microphone.
- Fourth, record a series of at least three videos to illustrate the
activity visually.
- Fifth, publish the result at the correct network location for others to
view (and for grading to occur).
Step 1: Select an appropriate topic and learn about it thoroughly
Teaching a skill isn't as easy as simply performing the skill. Begin by
selecting a topic with sufficient complexity to be useful. Then research the
skill or activity until you understand it thoroughly. Take notes and decide what
you want to put in your video.
Part of our grading for this project will be a subjective decision about the
overall quality of your Producer Project. So if you select a topic that is quite
simple and does seem like it would be of real value to others, then do not
expect a top score on this activity.
Step 2: Build PowerPoint slides
Your videoclips will need to be supported by a set of PowerPoint slides.
- As you work through these instructions, be careful not to put a space in
the file or folder name of your PowerPoint slides or Producer Video.
- Build a folder named p:/classwork/ba271/Producer.
- Your working copy (or backup copy) of the PowerPoint slides should be
named tutorial.ppt. Thus, this copy of your PowerPoint slides should be
stored at P:/classwork/ba271/producer/tutorial.ppt.
- Create your slides without any slide transitions or custom animations.
- The first slide must have the title of your presentation and your name.
- The second slide should have an overview of what you intend to
accomplish in the presentation.
- Subsequent slides should describe individual steps you will be
demonstrating in your video.
- The last slide should summarize your video and describe where to go if
more information is needed.
- You are not limited in the number of slides you use.
- After you have created the PowerPoint slides, create a folder in your web
storage area,
\\cob-storage\studentwebdata\UserID\BA271\Producer, where UserID is
replaced with the log-in name you use with the College of Business network. Then save the final
(or published) copy of your PowerPoint presentation to this new
\BA271\Producer folder. Thus, if your UserID was Stuj123, then your PowerPoint slides would be
published at \\cob-storage\studentwebdata\Stuj123/BA271/producer/tutorial.ppt.
At this point you
should have two copies of the PowerPoint slides: one copy in your
/classwork/ba271 area and one in your website storage area.
Step 3: Find a computer with Microsoft Producer, video camera and microphone
Microsoft Producer: Microsoft Producer is an add-in that
supplements Microsoft PowerPoint. Microsoft released Producer near the beginning
of 2002, and it can be downloaded "for free" from the Microsoft website. Of
course, Microsoft is not really giving the program away for free: it will not
work unless the computer already has a functioning copy of Microsoft Office XP.
If you would like to know more about this program, we recommend reading
Microsoft's "Overview of Producer."
Video camera: Video cameras vary greatly in quality and cost.
Broadcast-quality cameras cost many thousands of dollars, web cameras that sit
on top of a computer typically retail for $50 to $100. If you are in Bexell
Hall, you can ask one of the basement computer lab assistants to give you a web
camera which will plug into a USB port on any of the computers in the building.
Microphone: Many video cameras have built-in microphones. If your
video camera doesn't have a built-in microphone, and if you are in Bexell Hall,
then you can check out a headset with a microphone from one of the basement
computer lab assistants. The headset typically will plug into sockets at the
back of the computer.
Step 4: Record videoclips with Microsoft Producer
Before you begin to use Producer, we recommend playing
this example of the
Peer-Review presentation video that was used in prior terms. Although
this project does not require you to review other peoples website, it does show
how the videos are used with a PowerPoint presentation.
If you are curious about the sort of files required to play this
presentation, then you should look inside Dr. Sullivan's presentation at
\\cob-storage\studentwebdata\sullivan\PeerReview. The sample presentation is 12
minutes and 24 seconds in length and requires 11.6 M of disk space. Note: the files
at this location contain only those files necessary
to play back the presentation. They do not contain the original source files
used to create the presentation.
Next, we recommend looking at the source files we used to create the sample
presentation. They are available at \\cob-storage\sullivan\public\PeerReview.
The key files in this area are: five Windows Media Audio/Video Files (with .WMV
extensions), a Microsoft Producer file (with a .MSProducer extension), and a
PowerPoint file (with a .PPT extension). These source files collectively require
13.9 M of storage space, and they were used to create the presentation.
Here is an overview of what you are to accomplish with Producer. You will:
- Use a video camera to record at least two videoclips. These videoclips
will introduce and conclude your presentation. In addition to introducing
yourself, they should provide an overall perspective about the presentation,
and tie everything together in your concluding comments.
- Use Producer to capture the demonstration videoclip(s) directly from your
screen. These videoclips will demonstrate how to do the task you are
describing in your PowerPoint slides.
- Synchronize the PowerPoint slides with the videoclips so they play
together nicely.
- Give a File-Publish Presentation command to create a finished movie.
Now that you understand the overview of what to do, here are instructions for
preparing the Producer movie. We want you to feel free to be creative in your
use of Microsoft Producer, so you do not have to follow the instructions below
exactly. They are the minimum tasks you need to do to fulfill the requirements
of this assignment. You may elect to add transitions or other effects to
your final Producer presentation.
- Open Microsoft Producer and ask to "Use the New Presentation Wizard".
- When it asks you to select a presentation template, we recommend selecting
"Standard Video (320x240) - Resizable Slides".
- You can skip the step that asks you to select a presentation scheme.
- When it asks for "Presentation Information", fill in an appropriate title
and enter your name as the presenter. This information will appear on the
introduction page while the presentation is loading.
- When it asks you to "Import slides and still images", browse to where your
PowerPoint file (that you created in Step 1 above) is located. If you
completed Step 2 correctly, this file should be named
p:/classwork/ba271/Producer/tutorial.ppt.
- When it asks to "Import or capture audio or video", click the Capture
button.
- Capture two videoclips with the "Video with audio" choice. The first
videoclip should introduce yourself and provide overall objective of the
presentation. Name it p:/classwork/ba271/Producer/Introduction.wmv.
The second videoclip should tie the overall presentation together with a
concluding summary of what you demonstrated in your video. Name it
p:/classwork/ba271/Producer/Conclusion.wmv.
- When it asks about capture choices, I recommend selecting "Medium
video display (320x240) for delivery at 150 kbps".
- If your image appears out of focus, try twisting the lens on the video
camera clockwise or counter-clockwise.
| Frequently Asked Question: |
I had a problem when doing my Producer assignment.
Every time I started talking in my intro slide, it cut off the first
few words. I tried this about four times, and each time it cut me off.
I would purposely wait a couple seconds after I clicked ‘capture’ to
make sure it was running. It was very frustrating. I finally gave up
and inserted one of my cut-off introductions. |
| Answer: |
Here is a better solution than inserting a videoclip
that starts abruptly. Movie-editing programs like Microsoft Producer
let you trim the start and end points of each video. To do this, grab
the left or right edge of the video when it is in the timeline and
drag to make the video shorter. Unlike resizing an image in a paint
program, which distorts and actually stretches the image, when you
resize a videoclip, it trims the beginning or end of the videoclip.
How can you use this feature? I suggest starting each video
recording at least five or ten seconds before you begin speaking. That
way, you will be certain you have captured an appropriate beginning.
Then, later during the editing process, you can trim the start and
stop points for the video to exactly where you want them to begin and
end. |
- Capture one or more videoclips with the "Video screen capture with
audio" choice. Each of these videoclips should contain your demonstration
(or segments of your demonstration) of the topic(s) you were assigned. Name
them p:/classwork/ba271/Producer/demo1.wmv,
p:/classwork/ba271/Producer/demo2.wmv and so on.
- When it asks about capture choices, we recommend selecting a large
video (640x480) at 300 kbps. This fairly small window will not let you
view the area captured on your screen well, but it will keep the file size
reasonable.
- When the New Presentation Wizard is done, you should adjust your
presentation by dragging the edges of the slides back-and-forth until they are
synchronized nicely with the videos.
- Make the first two PowerPoint slide(s) appear while the first videoclip
(Introduction.wmv) plays.
- When next PowerPoint slide(s) display, align relevant sections of
your demonstration videoclip(s) (demo1.wmv, demo2.wmv and so on) so they
display at the appropriate time and duration.
- When the last PowerPoint slide displays, make the concluding videoclip (Conclusion.wmv)
play.
- You will need to adjust the Presentation Templates so the videos of
yourself occupy a small window while the screen-capture videos occupy larger
windows (see images below). To do this, click the Media tab near the top of
the screen, click Presentation Templates, and find the Standard Video (640 x
480) template. Drag this template down to the Template timeline. Make a copy
of the existing Standard Video (320 x 240) template. Adjust the length of the
templates so the first Standard Video (320 x 240) template corresponds to the
introduction.wmv file, the Standard Video (640 x 480) template corresponds to
the demo1-type *.wmv files, and the second Standard Video (320 x 240) template
corresponds to the conclusion.wmv file.
The picture above shows how the Standard Video (320 x 240) template arranges
the screen with a small video area next to a larger area for PowerPoint slides.
The picture above shows how the Standard Video (640 x 480) template arranges
the screen with a large video area to view screen-captured videos of other
websites. This template does not show PowerPoint slides. Instead, it only shows
the titles of PowerPoint slides.
This image shows the typical arrangement of items on a timeline for a short
3-minute presentation.
- Give a File - Publish Presentation command.
- Select that you want to publish the presentation on "My computer".
- Set the File name to: Tutorial.
- Set Publish Files to \\cob-storage\studentwebdata\UserID\ba271\producer.
- When you are asked about Playback Quality, select "For target audience
playback at 300 kbps".
- Expect the publishing process to take at least one minute for each
minute of the presentation. During this time, Producer will create a
subfolder named Tutorial_files, and it will put a bunch of new files
into this subfolder. These files collectively contain the web-publishable
version of your presentation ... so don't delete or rename this folder.
| Frequently Asked Question: |
I published my presentation and when I play it with a
browser, the presentation begins playing in the middle. Why does it do
this? |
| Answer: |
The most likely explanation is that your browser has
cached or stored information about where you stopped viewing this
presentation. So when you return to the presentation again, it begins
playing in the middle. If this is the case, you might log onto a different
computer and try playing the presentation on it. Most likely you will find
the presentation begins correctly on the new computer. |
| Frequently Asked Question: |
I built and published my producer project. But when I
play the video it skips my second and third demonstration. Trisha looked
at it and told me to e-mail you and just let you know that I’ve done it
all, but we think there is something wrong with the play back. |
| Answer: |
Microsoft Producer does not reliably publish presentations
correctly. Sometimes it won't complete the publishing process. If this
happens, its hour glass makes progress for a while and then stops moving
and the "remaining minutes" start counting to infinity. Other times, it
completes the publication process, but the presentation will not play back
correctly. For example, the presentation may skip a videoclip, or it may
show a black area where the videoclip is supposed to be, or it may cycle
through a couple of videoclips and never reach the end of the
presentation. All these problems are discouraging, and if you encounter
them, please follow the instructions below titled, "What to do if
Producer doesn't publish correctly for you". |
What to do if Producer doesn't publish correctly for you
Producer is a movie-making program, so it has lots of features that may be
unfamiliar to you. So we've found most problems that students have with Producer
can be traced back to the learning process and blunders made by students who are
editing and producing their first movie with a brand-new program. This sort of
learning -- while stressful -- is exactly why you are here at college. Grit your
teeth, try to figure out what is going wrong, ask for help (either from the help
system or a human), and make lots of guesses about how to proceed. These
strategies are likely to see you through successfully.
Some Producer problems are not the student's fault. For example, if you ask
Producer to publish your movie and its hour glass makes progress for a while and
then stops moving and the "remaining minutes" start counting to infinity -- then
the publishing process has broken for you. Other times, Producer will complete
the publication process, but the presentation will not play back correctly. For
example, the presentation may skip a videoclip, or it may show a black area
where the videoclip is supposed to be, or the sound may stop playing during a
videoclip, or it may cycle through a couple of videoclips and never reach the
end of the presentation. Since we do not know a reliable way to get students
past these problems, but we do want you to gain experience with recording and
playing movies, we have an alternative way of publishing your work. This method
involves a less fancy way of playing back the video segments that will work
reliably.
To understand this alternative, begin by playing the web page at
\\cob-storage\sullivan\public\peerreview\peerreview.htm.
This web page lets the user play video clips by clicking on hyperlinks to the
original .WMV source files. This process bypasses the need to have Microsoft
Producer pack up the various video clips into one combined Producer movie.
For you to make this alternative work, you will need to move all your .WMV
movies into \\cob-storage\studentwebdata\name123\ba271\Producer, where you replace name123 with your UserID. You also will need to move and rename
\\cob-storage\sullivan\public\peerreview\peerreivew.htm to become
\\cob-storage\studentwebdata\name123\BA271\Producer\tutorial.htm. At this point you will need to edit
tutorial.htm so its hyperlinks will play the .WMV files in the folder.
Despite what you may think if you get this far and things are not working
well for you, we have been trying hard to find a reliable way for you to record
movies and play them back successfully. The process is not as easy or reliable
as sending email. We expect that will change in the next few years.
Step 5 -- Test your work
If you completed the previous steps correctly, your area on
\\cob-storage\studentwebdata
should contain the following two files: tutorial.ppt and tutorial.htm. Both
files should be stored a ..\ba271\producer folder. Thus, if your Username was
Stuj123, then you should have files located at:
To test that your Producer presentation is in the proper location for
grading, go to the Producer Project
page in the Student Pages portion of this BA271 website, and click on your
PowerPoint and Producer movie links.
This page was last updated on 4/22/05
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